Viewpoint by Ramesh Jaura BERLIN | TOKYO (IDN) — Like the United Nations, the global community-based Buddhist organisation Soka Gakkai International (SGI) is a beacon of hope to a world shrouded by dark clouds of unprecedented crises. An international association of the Soka Gakkai and an NGO in consultative status with UN ECOSOC, SGI has […]
The United States and Russia: Warmongers and Peacemakers
By Somar Wijayadasa* NEW YORK (IDN) – Just days after the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) that explicitly and unequivocally prohibits the use of nuclear weapons entered into force on January 22, 2021 – a remarkable victory for humanity – the United States and Russia extended their Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New […]
Russia Blames U.S. for Youth Protests
By Kester Kenn Klomegah* MOSCOW (IDN) – While Russia is currently investigating reasons behind the unsanctioned January 23 mass protest that took place in central Moscow and many other regions including the Far East, it has allegedly accused the United States of meddling in its domestic affairs. According to human rights organisations, over 3,600 people […]
Faith-Based Communities Greet the Global Ban on Nuclear Weapons
By Caroline Mwanga NEW YORK (IDN) – Rejecting the existential threat to humanity that nuclear weapons pose, a wide coalition of faith-based communities from around the world has hailed the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), the first international treaty to comprehensively ban nuclear weapons. Over 160 organizations endorsed a joint interfaith […]
The US Department of Defense Announces New Strategies for the Middle East and Space Force
By J C Suresh WASHINGRTON, D.C. (IDN) – The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) has announced that changing Middle East situation means changes for Israel. In another press release it said, partnerships are key to Space Force delivering warfighting capabilities. In the first release on January 15 it said: in a sign of the changing […]
Watchdog Indicates Barriers to UN Ban on Nuclear Weapons
By Jamshed Baruah GENEVA (IDN) – Most of the world’s states can become a party to the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) and comply with the Treaty without making any changes to their existing policies and practices, says Nuclear Weapons Ban Monitor (NWBM). But 42 states around the world currently engage […]
75 Years On The First UN General Assembly Resolution
Viewpoint by Sergio Duarte The author is Ambassador, President of Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs and former UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs. NEW YORK (IDN) – Seventy-five years ago, in January 1946, the United Nations General Assembly met for the first time after the signature of the Charter. Its first resolution was […]
The Nuclear Weapon States Urged to Advance Disarmament
By Bernhard Schell AMMAN (IDN) – The upcoming Review Conference (postponed to August 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic) of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is expected to be characterised by deep divisions among the nuclear-weapon states (NWS), and between them and the non-nuclear-weapon states (NNWS), which are deeply disappointed with the lack of progress […]
India Has an Ambitious Agenda as UN Security Council Member
By Devinder Kumar NEW DELHI (IDN) – With the start of the New Year, India joins the 15-member United Nations Security Council (UNSC) as a non-permanent member for the eighth time. Along with Norway, Kenya, Ireland and Mexico, India will have a two-year term: 2021-2022. Of the 15 UNSC members, five occupy a permanent seat. […]
Iran Joins China, Russia, EU, France, Germany and UK in Reaffirming Commitment to ‘Nuclear Deal’
By Robert Johnson BRUSSELS (IDN) – Amid speculations about Iran’s reaction to the assassination of the country’s eminent nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh on a road outside of Tehran on November 27, participants in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) have reiterated their commitment to preserving the agreement and stressed their respective efforts in this […]