InDepthNews – Page 651 – IDN-InDepthNews

UN INSIDER2017-06-102023-07-10

UN Chief Lauds Kazakhstan, Vows Close Cooperation with SCO

By Ramesh Jaura

This is the first in a series of articles from Kazakhstan which being geographically located both in Asia and Europe, considers itself a Eurasian country. The articles are based on information gathered during the visit from June 7 to June 15 on the occasion of the opening of EXPO 2017 in Astana. Video clips accompany the articles in this series. – The Editor

ASTANA (IDN) – UN Secretary-General António Guterres has appreciated Kazakhstan for playing “an increasingly dynamic role on the international stage” as a non-permanent member of the Security Council, stressed the importance of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and urged it to show leadership on climate change.

Latin America & the Caribbean2017-06-092023-07-10

Where Forced Child Pregnancy is Not Fiction

By Phil Harris

ROME (IDN) – She is 10-years-old when she is raped by her mother’s companion and becomes pregnant. Extremely ill, undernourished and underweight during her pregnancy, her mother requests an abortion and although the law permits termination of a pregnancy if authorities deem the carrier’s health is in danger, the request is denied by the State.

The girl’s mother is arrested and temporarily imprisoned for failing in her duty of care to her daughter, despite having previously reported the abuse to the police, who did not act.

Meanwhile, the State sends the girl to an institution against her wishes, where she is made to stay until the birth of her child. She is not allowed any visitors, apart from an aunt who is allowed to come once a week for two hours.

MULTIMEDIA2017-06-092023-07-10

Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit in Astana, June 8-9

Oceans, seas and marine resources2017-06-082023-07-10

Unlocking the Potential of the Blue Economy

By Dr Patrick I. Gomes, ACP Secretary-General

Following are extensive excerpts from the opening remarks by the Secretary-General of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP) at the breakfast event – ‘Unlocking the potential of the blue economy for the Sustainable Development of SIDS‘ – on June 6 in the margins of the Oceans Conference at the UN headquarters in New York. – The Editor

NEW YORK (IDN-INPS) – There is reason to believe that the year 2017 promises to be an important year for the oceans. With the inclusion of a stand-alone goal for oceans, Sustainable Development Goal 14, we see new impetus at the international efforts to address the current opportunities and challenges that the oceans present.

OPINION2017-06-082023-07-10

Why Qatar?

Analysis by Pier Francesco Zarcone*

ROME (IDN) – The sudden rupture of diplomatic relations with Qatar announced by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates and Yemen on Jun. 5 triggers a crisis with unexpected outcomes and is likely to spell big trouble as much for those who wanted it as for the likely behind-the-scenes co-protagonist: the United States.

It takes no stretch of the imagination to argue that this situation, which exploded shortly after US President Donald Trump’s May 20-21 visit to Saudi Arabia for the Riyadh Summit, is connected with this trip. On that occasion, the US president assumed two positions that were only formally contradictory but, in substance, reveal the existence of a precise design for further destabilisation in the area.

OPINION2017-06-072023-07-10

UN’s Myanmar Fact-Finding Mission Raises Many Questions

By Shenali Waduge

COLOMBO (IDN) – The appointment of a three-member team by the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on May 30 to investigate alleged abuses by Myanmar military forces against the country’s Royingya Muslim minority raises many questions about its neutrality, particularly as all the three members have questionable backgrounds as to their fitness to carry out an impartial inquiry.

The three-member panel comprises lawyers Indira Jaising from India and Radhika Coomaraswamy from Sri Lanka, and Australian human rights advocate Christopher Dominic Sidoti, according to a statement from the UNHRC.

UN INSIDER2017-06-062023-07-10

Canada is Nature – Nature is Canada: Celebrating World Environment Day

By Bradnee Chambers

A native of Haliburton, Ontario, Dr. Bradnee Chambers is the Executive Secretary of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS).

BONN (IDN | CMS) – There is nothing more Canadian than nature. It pulses through our veins and it has been part of our identity since the founding of Canada 150 years ago. It defines our history and will define our future. This is why it was such an honour for Canada to host World Environment Day 2017 with its theme “Connecting People with Nature”.

Catherine McKenna, Canada’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change said that she was proud and excited that Canada was chosen as this year’s host country and encouraged her fellow citizens to join the celebrations, and to recommit to leaving a healthier environment for future generations.

Nuclear Weapons2017-06-062023-07-10

Forward to a Mad Cold War with New Nuclear Technologies?

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – It was all smiles out on the range when, against a deep blue sky, an American interceptor rocket took out on May 30 an incoming “enemy” long-range, missile (which in a real attack would be carrying a nuclear warhead). Generals and Congressmen and women jumped for joy.

But what was there to be joyous about? Over the decades of the Cold War the nuclear deterrent was supposed to be the instrument that kept the peace. MAD, it was called- Mutually Assured Destruction.

UN INSIDER2017-06-062023-07-10

Oceans in Crisis Around Africa

By Jeffrey Moyo

HARARE (IDN) – As soon as dusk falls, Petina Dube emerges from her house balancing a sack full of garbage which has been lying uncollected in her yard amid reports that the municipal garbage collectors have no fuel to carry out their job across many residential areas in the Zimbabwean capital, Harare.

At the age of 43, Dube, a resident of Warren Park high density suburb in Harare, apparently does not care where the garbage will go after she dumps it. “I am honestly not worried about where this garbage will end up; I will just dump it by a stream not far from here,” says Dube.

But for many environmental experts like Happson Chikova, who holds a degree in environmental studies from Zimbabwe’s Midlands State University, waste dumped anywhere eventually ends up in oceans and this spells bad news for marine life.

UN INSIDER2017-06-042023-07-10

Kazakhstan Proposes ‘Intensified Dialogue’ With North Korea

By J Nastranis

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – Disarmament, non-proliferation and nuclear security have been the critical priorities of Kazakhstan’s national policy since the Central Asian republic’s independence in 1991 and from the time of joining the United Nations in March 1992.

Also as a non-permanent member of the Security Council for two years beginning January 1, the country has been working with unrelenting determination to promote disarmament and non-proliferation as the sine qua non of the world body.

“The position of Kazakhstan remains stable and consistent,” Ambassador Kairat Umarov, Kazakhstan’s Permanent Representative to the UN in New York, said at the UN Security Council (UNSC) meeting on June 2.