GLOBAL GOVERNANCE – Page 15

CTBTO2017-09-242023-07-10

Conference Calls for Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Becoming International Law

By Jamshed Baruah

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – “A CTBT that is in force would be a milestone on the road to a world free of nuclear weapons. It has the potential to prevent a nuclear arms race and an escalation of regional and bilateral tensions,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres. He was referring to the Comprehensive Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) that bans nuclear testing on the Earth’s surface, in the atmosphere, underwater, and underground.

“Make no mistake: we need this Treaty,” said Miroslav Lajcák, President of the UN General Assembly. “I applaud the CTBT Preparatory Commission for raising awareness about the dangers associated with testing and for its partnership with the United Nations,” added Guterres.

ACP Group of States2017-09-132023-07-10

79 Countries Gather in the Bahamas to Address Sustainable Development of Fisheries and Aquaculture

By Viwanou Gnassounou

ACP Assistant Secretary General for Sustainable Economic Development and Trade.

Fisheries and aquaculture are critical for poverty eradication and sustainable development in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific. With this in view, ministers and senior government officials from 79 countries that constitute the ACP Group of States will gather in Nassau, the capital city of the Bahamas – the coral-based archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean Bahamas with 700-plus islands – from September 18 to 21, 2017. “The focus will be on bolstering high level shared commitments, sharing national or regional best practices and seeking consensus on priority issues that need multilateral action,” says Viwanou Gnassounou, ACP Assistant Secretary General for Sustainable Economic Development & Trade. – The Editor

The Group of Twenty (G20)2017-07-222023-07-10

The G20 Need to Return to their Roots

By Inge Kaul

BERLIN (IDN-INPS) – When the finance ministers of the G7 countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States) proposed the G20 in the late 1990s, a good sense of realism prevailed. They recognized that addressing issues of global finance required the political support from – and involvement of – emerging market economies.

This view proved prescient in seeking policy responses to the 2007–2008 global financial crisis. The leaders of the G20 met at their first summit in Washington D.C. in 2008 to agree on measures to resolve the crisis through dialogues among the “systemically relevant” countries.

The Group of Twenty (G20)2017-07-182023-07-10

G20 Leaves Three Billion People Out in the Cold

Analysis by Ravi Kanth Deverakonda

GENEVA | HAMBURG (IDN) – The G20 summit in Hamburg on July 7 and 8 delivered a grand declaration of compromises on “major global economic challenges” and “shaping an interconnected world”, but failed to address the grave economic and existential problems of more than three billion people in poor and developing countries, according to those who attended the meeting.

The 15-page declaration issued by the leaders of the 20 major industrialised and developing countries attempted hard to reverse the tide of opposition against globalisation, asserting that “globalisation and technological change have contributed significantly to driving economic growth and rising living standards across the globe.”

The Group of Twenty (G20)2017-07-112023-07-10

G20 Summit Unlikely to Change the World for the Better

By Samantha Sen

HAMBURG (IDN) – The moment said almost all at the G20 summit in Hamburg July 7-8. The heads of government were gathered in a hall, they were requested to turn around towards a presentation. All looked in the direction required – except for U.S. President Donald Trump. And so everyone was looking one way, the U.S. President another. He turned around after a nudge.

Which is where the ‘almost’ comes in. Momentary symbolism on offer like this has to stop somewhere. Trump was given that nudge by British Prime Minister Teresa May. It isn’t May trying to turn Trump towards a consensus with other leaders; she’s looking her own other way herself. And she refused to raise climate change with Trump in the course of a 50-minute bilateral meeting; she only raised it informally after that meeting had ended.

CTBTO2017-07-052023-07-10

Conference Pleads for Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Becoming Law

By Ramesh Jaura

This is the second in a series of two reports on the Science and Technology Conference of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) from June 26 to June 30, 2017 in Austria’s capital Vienna. The first article appeared on July 4. – The Editor

NEW YORK | VIENNA (IDN) – At a crucial point in time when the United Nations Conference to negotiate a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading towards their total elimination has submitted a draft treaty and the international community is focussed on the North Korean ICBM threat, an international conference has underlined the need for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) becoming law without any further dithering.

ACP Group of States2017-06-032023-07-10

The ACP Celebrates 42nd Birthday and Reflects on the Future

By Klara Smits

BRUSSELS (ACP-IDN) – The African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States commemorated ‘ACP Day 2017’ on June 2, reflecting on “development partnership” with the European Union (EU), which it described as “a multi-dimensional and transformative experience”.

These issues were discussed in two panels. But in greater detail in the book – The ACP Group and the EU Development Partnership: Beyond the North-South Debate – launched on the occasion. The book constitutes a systematic and critical assessment of the nature, evolution, and prospects of the development partnership between the 79-member African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) group of states and the 28-member European Union (EU).

ACP Group of States2017-05-062023-07-10

79 ACP States Reflect on Future Ties with EU and the World

By Jaya Ramachandran

BRUSSELS (ACP-IDN) – The African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries are determined to “undertake the reforms needed to transform the ACP Group into an effective global player, fit for the 21st century, and responsive to the emerging priorities” of member states.

This emerged from the two-day gathering of the ACP Council of Ministers who concluded the 105th session on May 4 with key decisions that will influence how the bloc of 79 countries will carve out a more effective role in the international arena.

According to the President of the Council, Ethiopia’s Minister of Finance and Economic Cooperation, Dr Abraham Tekeste, “The current occupancy of the Presidency of the UN General Assembly by Fiji, and the current membership of Senegal and Ethiopia in the UN Security Council, serve to underscore the positive contributions by ACP countries at the global levels.”

CTBTO2017-03-102023-07-10

The Key to Realizing Trump’s Nuclear Dream is the CTBT

Viewpoint by Brenna Gautam

Note: Brenna Gautam, a J.D. Candidate at Georgetown University Law Center, is a member of the CTBTO Youth Group. This article appears in cooperation with the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), as part of the initiative ‘Youth for CTBTO’. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the CTBTO. – Editor

WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN) – “It would be wonderful, a dream would be that no country would have nukes,” President Donald Trump announced, “but if countries are going to have nukes, we’re going to be at the top of the pack.”

The announcement can be neatly split in two. The first, wistful for nuclear disarmament, falls in line with the history of Republican successes in arms reductions: while Democrats since Kennedy have frequently proposed reductions, it has been Republican administrations that ultimately put these into effect.

ACP Group of States2016-07-242023-07-10

Brexit Implications for 79 ACP Countries Yet Unknown

By Robert Johnson

LONDON (IDN) – The outcome of the Brexit referendum on June 23, 2016 has set the UK on a path to leave the European Union (EU) that will also result in an end to its membership of the bloc’s Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) the free trade deals between the European Union (EU) and the 79 countries of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group.

According to experts, while Brexit will have consequences for the UK, its impact on the ACP countries could be far reaching. Precisely how and in what ways was the subject of a brainstorming session of leading experts organized by the Ramphal Institute on July 15.

Named after Shridath “Sonny” Ramphal, second Commonwealth Secretary-General (1975-1990), the Ramphal Institute’s mandate is to tackle development issues and the wider world. So the focus was on Brexit and the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs).