By Izumi Nakamitsu The author is High Representative for Disarmament Affairs United Nations (UNODA). Addressing the conference on ‘Perspectives for a world free from nuclear weapons and for integral disarmament’ at Vatican City on 10 November 2017, she expressed her gratitude to Pope Francis and the Holy See for their commitment to a world free […]
The Vatican Galvanizes Support For A Nuke-Free World
By Ramesh Jaura VATICAN CITY (IDN) – The Vatican’s first international conference on the prospects for “a world free from nuclear weapons and for integral disarmament” on November 10-11 was not intentionally planned to overlap with U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit to Asia as the U.S. faces heightened tensions with North Korea. It has been […]
Arab Media Sustains a Heavy Presence at the UN
By Shanta Roy
UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – The day-to-day news coverage by the UN press corps represents a virtual political barometer of the outside world – from a UN perspective.
Since most news organizations in the developing world cannot afford either a fulltime or a part-time correspondent at the UN, they have traditionally relied on the mainstream wire services and news organizations such as Reuters, BBC, the Associated Press, Deutsche Welle, Agence France-Presse (AFP) and the Chinese news agency Xinhua — all of them fully staffed and geared for extensive UN coverage.
What’s Going On in the Middle East?
By Pier Francesco Zarcone*
ROME (IDN) – The military breakthrough in the Syrian war appears to be definitive … at least according to Robert S. Ford, former U.S. ambassador to Syria.
Even though the conflict has not yet come to an end, in a recent interview with Foreign Affairs Ford stated that the Syrian army has won the war and the United States must “abandon hopes of supporting a separate Kurdish region” having “no good options in Syria” so that “hopes of getting rid of [Bashar Hafez al-] Assad are far-fetched fantasies.”
The reason for this situation was Russian intervention. An obvious question comes to mind: why and in what way did the Russians succeed? In this regard, it is necessary to clarify a number of points.
UN Takes Yet Another Step Towards a Nuke-Free World
By J Nastranis
Note: This report draws heavily on information and analysis provided by the Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament (PNND) and UNFOLD ZERO, a platform for UN focused initiatives and actions for the achievement of a nuclear weapons free world. – The Editor.
NEW YORK (IDN) – As surging tensions between North Korea and the U.S. raise again the spectre of a nuclear war, the United Nations has called on leaders around the world to come together in a High-Level Conference to reduce nuclear dangers and pave the way for nuclear disarmament.
In a resolution adopted by the General Assembly on November 1, the UN has set the dates and mandate for a High-Level conference on nuclear disarmament to take place from May 14-16, 2018 at the world body’s headquarters in New York.
Milestones of the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia 100 Years Ago
By Somar Wijayadasa*
NEW YORK (IDN | INPS) – The 7th of November this year marks the centenary of the Russian Revolution – an indelible landmark and a turning point in the history of Russia – that established the Communist rule under what became the Soviet Union that is officially known as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). The revolution shaped world politics of the 20th century, and saved the Soviet Union from the brutal war, and propelled it to superpower status.
It is called the October Revolution as it happened on October 25 (on the old, Julian calendar), and also known as the Bolshevik (meaning majority) Revolution because it was led by Bolshevik Party leader, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (1870-1924) – a revolutionary, politician and political theorist. The strategy for the revolution was crafted by the Russians – due to intolerable conditions resulting from centuries of serfdom under which the Russian people suffered during the Czarist autocratic rule.
ISIL Members Accused of ‘International Crimes’ in Mosul
By Jaya Ramachandran
GENEVA (IDN) – A UN report has accused the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Daesh) of perpetrating serious and systematic violations in Iraq’s Mosul city that amount to “international crimes”.
Published on November 2 by the UN assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the report is based on direct witness testimony, and documents mass abductions of civilians, the use of thousands as human shields, the intentional shelling of civilian residences, and indiscriminate targeting of civilians trying to flee the city.
Congressional Report Warns of Skyrocketing Costs of U.S. Nuclear Arsenal
By J C Suresh
TORONTO | WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN) – A new study throws limelight on the skyrocketing costs of the current plan to sustain and upgrade U.S. nuclear forces and outlines several pragmatic options to maintain a credible, formidable deterrent at less cost.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) study published on October 31 estimates that sustaining and upgrading U.S. nuclear forces will cost taxpayers $1.24 trillion in inflation-adjusted dollars between fiscal years 2017 and 2046. When the effects of inflation are included, the CBO expects the 30-year cost to exceed $1.5 trillion. These figures are significantly higher than the previously reported estimates of roughly $1 trillion.
Donald Trump and the War Industry: Nothing Has Changed
Viewpoint by Marcelo Colussi *
GUATEMALA CITY (IDN) – During his presidential campaign, Donald Trump had the audacity (bravado? stupidity?, bad political calculation?) to ask himself if it was convenient to continue the war in Syria and tension with Russia.
The idea probably crossed his mind of putting the emphasis mainly on stimulating a sluggish domestic economy, which is gradually lowering the standard of living of ordinary American citizens.
His feverish promises to bring back industry – dislocated to other parts of the world with cheaper labour – do not appear to have gone in vain. Less than a year after his administration took over, it can be seen how U.S. foreign policy is still marked by the almighty military-industrial complex and wars continue unabated.
Japan Determined to Play a Bridging Role for a World Free of Nuclear Weapons
Viewpoint by Tarō Kōno, Japan’s Foreign Minister
The UN General Assembly’s First Committee adopted on October 28 Japan’s draft resolution ‘United action with renewed determination towards the total elimination of nuclear weapons’, which is scheduled to be put on a vote in a plenary meeting of the UN General Assembly in early December. 144 countries including nuclear weapon states supported it. Following are extensive excerpts from the transcript of the video message by Japan’s Foreign Minister Tarō Kōno, posted on October 20, 2017 on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ channel (mofachannel) on YouTube.
TOKYO | UNITED NATIONS (IDN-INPS) – Unfortunately the difference of approaches towards a world free of nuclear weapon has become clear between nuclear and non-nuclear weapon States as well as among non-nuclear weapon States. Besides as the international security environment deteriorates, the discussion towards such ultimate goal has become further complicated.