InDepthNews, Author at IDN-InDepthNews

ARMAMENTS2016-07-122023-07-10

Ignoring Iraq Report Lessons Will Be Catastrophic – Pugwash

GENEVA (IDN) – Reacting to the Report of the Iraq Inquiry headed by Sir John Chilcot, published early July, the 1995 Nobel Peace Prize winning Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs have stressed the critical importance of heeding the lessons of the inquiry.

“In a world where nine countries possess over 15,000 nuclear warheads and global military expenditure is at a staggering US $1676 billion, while terrorism fuelled by extremist ideologies adds to the toxic mix of the traditional causes of war, the folly of not heeding the lessons of Chilcot will be catastrophic,” the Pugwash Conferences’ leaders warn.

The statement released on July 12 is signed by Jayantha Dhanapala, President, Paolo Cotta-Ramusino, Secretary General, Saideh Lotfian, Chair, Pugwash Council, Steve Miller, Chair, Executive Committee, and Tatsujiro Suzuki, Pugwash Executive Committee.

ARMAMENTS2016-07-122023-07-10

European Parliaments Demand ‘No-First-Use’ – Obama’s Nuclear Agenda Analysed

IDN | INPS Special Report

Alyn Ware and Jean-Marie Collin analyse the Declaration of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE PA) early July, calling for taking nuclear weapons off high alert and adopting no-first-use policies. In this context, they explore whether President Obama’s reported plans along the same lines would fly.

BERLIN | PARIS | WELLINGTON (IDN | INPS) – The Parliamentary Assembly of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE PA) convened in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, July 1-5 and called on all OSCE States with nuclear weapons or under extended nuclear deterrence relationships to reduce the risks of a nuclear war by taking nuclear weapons off high alert and by adopting no-first-use policies.

This plea was part of the Tbilisi Declaration, which was adopted by the OSCE PA on July 5. The Declaration also highlighted the risks of nuclear confrontation between Russia and NATO, welcomed the UN Open Ended Working Group on Taking Forward Multilateral Nuclear Disarmament Negotiations (OEWG) and supported the commencement of such negotiations in 2017.

DEVNET2016-07-112023-07-10

UN Spurs Sustainable Development in North and Central Asia

By Devinder Kumar

NEW DELHI (IDN) – Within days of being elected as non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for two years beginning January 1, Kazakhstan has affirmed its “commitment to work in partnership to address the critical social and economic development needs of the people of North and Central Asia”.

An agreement for the purpose was signed on July 11 in Bangkok between the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the Government Kazakhstan. GERMAN | HINDI | JAPANESE | SPANISH

UN INSIDER2016-07-112023-07-10

ACP Joins UN to Advance South-South Cooperation

By Rita Joshi

BERLIN | BRUSSELS (IDN) – The African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States and the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) have agreed to embark on concrete joint initiatives to foster South-South and triangular cooperation amongst their mutual constituencies, according to the ACP Press Office.

The ACP Secretary General Dr. Patrick I. Gomes and the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary General for South-South Cooperation and UNOSSC Director Jorge Chediek exchange letters at the ACP headquarters in Brussels on July 11.

The agreement outlines the key areas of cooperation such as: fostering South-South and triangular cooperation among the two parties’ mutual constituencies, as well with other developing countries to support intraregional and regional integration; and deepening institutional partnerships to scale up knowledge-sharing, showcasing and scaling up of development solutions, and technology transfer.

UN INSIDER2016-07-112023-07-10

UN Spurs Sustainable Development in North and Central Asia

By Devinder Kumar

An agreement for the purpose was signed on July 11 in Bangkok between the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the Government Kazakhstan.

Under the Agreement, which supplements the Host Country Agreement, the Government of Kazakhstan has committed to provide the premises for the ESCAP’s Subregional office for North and Central Asia (SONCA), along with a recurring annual grant for operational and programme costs of the office.

Asia-Pacific2016-07-112023-07-10

China Pivots to Iran as U.S. Gets Caught Up in Sanctions

Analysis by Debalina Ghoshal *

NEW DELHI (INPS-IDN | Yale Global) – Since the signing of the controversial Iranian nuclear deal that lifted most international sanctions, China has emerged as a principal beneficiary. This is as much a result of aggressive Chinese push as it is difficulties faced by the West. China has pursued opportunities in the Iranian nuclear energy market, increased investment and expanded influence, with what could be rightly called a Middle Eastern pivot.

The country predicted to become the world’s largest energy consumer by 2030, is wasting no time in availing itself of Iran’s energy resources. China’s demand for oil imports is expected to grow from 6 million barrels per day to 13 million by 2035, and Iran, ranked fourth in the world with proven oil reserves and second with reserves of natural gas, is considered a reliable supplier.

OPINION2016-07-102023-07-10

New Global Power Equations Emerging Slowly But Surely

Viewpoint by Shastri Ramachandaran *

BEIJING (IDN) – Tashkent and Seoul were both in the news in the last week of June, for events which may have set in motion changes with far-reaching consequences for power equations in Asia and the Asia-Pacific. Hence, the two cities may well be remembered as the trigger-point of developments on which Sino-Russian strategic partnership may have an impact.

Seoul was the venue for the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) plenary, which frustrated India’s attempts to gain entry. Around the same time, although Tashkent was witness to more momentous events, the bilateral meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping stole the thunder. Only because the Modi-Xi meeting was about India’s bid for NSG membership, widely publicized as enjoying unstinted U.S. support.

Asia-Pacific2016-07-102023-07-10

RANDOM THOUGHTS: Hillary Clinton and Sri Lanka

By Palitha Kohona *

COLOMBO (IDN) – During the 25-year war against the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Sri Lanka’s traditional arms suppliers imposed restrictions. The government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) had to look elsewhere – and China was willing to help.

Following the defeat of the LTTE in May 2009, the former Mahinda Rajapaksa regime chose to focus on rapid economic revival and development of infrastructure. The U.S. reneged on its commitment to provide $500 million from the Millennium Development Account for road development.

The recently-released e-mails reveal that then-U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton tried to block an International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan to GOSL and that the IMF did not like it.

UN INSIDER2016-07-092023-07-10

NATO Keen to Deepen Cooperation with the United Nations

By Jamshed Baruah

WARSAW (IDN) – Cooperation with the United Nations is becoming “increasingly important” for the world’s leading military alliance, NATO. The 28-nation bloc is therefore ready to “further deepen” existing interaction with the world body, particularly in view of the multiplying challenges to international peace and security.

While NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg stressed that the military bloc “poses no threat to any country,” its leaders agreed to enhance NATO’s military presence on the Russian borders in the east, with four battalions in Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania on a rotational basis – to be in place starting 2017.

Political observers expect this decision to deepen tensions with Russia, which would be reflected in the UN Security Council’s deliberations influenced by five veto wielding permanent members (P5): U.S., Russia, China, Britain and France.

Climate Action2016-07-082023-07-10

New Partnership to Implement Paris Climate Change Agreement

By Jutta Wolf

BERLIN (IDN) – Many developing countries have made their first ever commitment to complying with climate targets with the adoption of the Paris Agreement endorsed in December 2015. A new partnership – initiated jointly by the German Ministry for the Environment and that for Economic Cooperation and Development together with the World Resources Institute (WRI) – now aims to help them transform these targets into specific strategies and measures.

The initiative aims at supporting developing countries in specifying and implementing their nationally determined contributions and help them unify existing climate and development goals with a view to achieving greater harmonisation of various donor programmes. The partnership will be officially launched at the Marrakesh climate conference (COP22) in November.