By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS, 30 November 2023 (IDN) — Speaking at a side event during a weeklong meeting of States Parties on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), Hirotsugu Terasaki, Director General of Peace and Global Issues, Soka Gakkai International (SGI), warned that the past two months have seen the outbreak of wide-scale violence […]
Ukraine War: A Steppingstone to Something Worse and More All-embracing?
By Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden | 29 November 2023 (IDN) — Trotsky, the one-time close comrade of Lenin, reportedly said, “You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you”. In a time when there is talk of using nuclear weapons, we should pause to think about this. This is how it […]
A Nuclear Attack by Design — or by Accident — Must Never Happen
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS | 27 November 2023 (IDN) — As two of the world’s nuclear powers—Russia and Israel—are engaged in two devastating conflicts, a lingering question remains: could the military tension looming over both countries trigger a nuclear attack either by design or by accident? “That is one scenario that must never happen”, […]
The Nuclear Arms Control Architecture is Collapsing
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS | 25 November 2023 (IDN) — A weeklong meeting of the States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), takes place in the rare context of two devastating conflicts involving nuclear powers: Russia vs. non-nuclear Ukraine and Israel vs non-nuclear Hamas, along with the growing nuclear […]
A Middle East Nuclear Free Zone Remains Grounded
By Thalif Deen* UNITED NATIONS | 12 November 2023 (IDN) — A longstanding proposal for a nuclear-weapons-free zone (NWFZs) in the politically and militarily volatile Middle East has been kicked around the corridors and committee rooms of the United Nations since 1995. Over the last 28 years, the proposal has failed to get off the […]
Freeze on Arms Sale to Nigeria Over Enforced Disappearances?
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK | 12 November 2023 (IDN) — An arms race has been breaking records around the world—defying efforts to keep firearms, handguns, and larger weapons from falling into the wrong hands. Of the many countries currently in conflict, 32 are in Africa. The list includes Algeria, Burkina Faso, […]
Jayantha Dhanapala: A Leader for Nuclear Disarmament
By Randy Rydell Remembering Mr. Jayantha Dhanapala, at the UN First Committee’s Side Event hosted on 7 November by the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) at the United Nations. UNITED NATIONS | 9 November 2023 (IDN) — I am very pleased to have this opportunity to speak today and to meet once again […]
Nuclear Tensions Loom Over War Zones
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS | 9 November 2023 (IDN) — The two ongoing military conflicts in Europe and the Middle East are pitting two nuclear powers—Russia and Israel—against a non-nuclear state (Ukraine) and a non-nuclear militant armed force (Hamas). The military might is overwhelmingly in favor of both Russia and Israel in the two […]
Don’t Even Think About Starting a Nuclear War
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS | 3 November 2023 (IDN) — In New York City, where streets in mid-town Manhattan are routinely congested and the traffic flow incredibly overwhelming, there is a warning sign outside some buildings that says it all: DON’T EVEN THINK OF PARKING HERE. If you do, either your vehicle will be […]
Russia’s Decision to Revoke Ratification of CTBT Comes Under Fire
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS | 1 November 2023 (IDN) — A decision by the Russian parliament to pass a bill on 18 October to revoke its ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) has come under heavy fire. Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says he was “dismayed” by the Duma’s decision to revoke […]