GLOBAL ISSUES – Page 176 – IDN-InDepthNews

GLOBAL ISSUES2015-04-222023-07-10

Wanted An International Mediterranean Summit

By Mirjam van Reisen* | IDN-InDepthNews Viewpoint

BRUSSELS (IDN) – The European Council is expected to formulate a coherent European response to the continuing humanitarian disaster in the Mediterranean on April 23. The tragic deaths of more than 1000 men, women and children as well as the recognition that the situation is spiralling out of control, seem to have finally alerted Europe to the scale of the crisis. EU High Representative Federica Mogherini for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy – who is also Vice-President of the European Commission – and her staff deserve commendation for their determination and commitment to get things moving.

GLOBAL ISSUES2015-04-202023-07-10

The Mediterranean Catastrophe Calls For An International Response

By Mirjam van Reisen* | IDN-InDepthNews Viewpoint

BRUSSELS (IDN) – Despite one of the largest humanitarian disasters of recent years unfolding on their doorstep, and another 700 deaths on April 19, the EU and its Member States seem totally paralyzed and incapable of providing an urgent and appropriate response. The deaths of men, women and children only seem to promote further rounds of discussion. These will – in due course – no doubt result in yet another political declaration and yet more empty promises.

The urgency of the situation demands action, not words.

After several years of intense debate, the EU seems further away from providing any tangible and effective response to the crisis than ever before. Europe has proved totally incapable of agreeing to anything that could halt the loss of life in the Mediterranean. While the diplomats and politicians talk interminably the death toll is increasing remorselessly. The deliberate downscaling of search and rescue operations, and the blunt refusal to respond to even the most basic requests for international protection, have caused the death and suffering of some of the most vulnerable and desperate people.

ARMAMENTS2015-04-172023-07-10

Nuclear Testing Legacy Haunts Pacific Island Countries

By Shailendra Singh* | IDN-InDepthNews Analysis

SUVA, Fiji (IDN) – Prominent Pacific Island anti-nuclear campaigners want a revival of their once-robust movement to support the international effort against ‘nuclearism’. Their call coincides with a major international meeting at the United Nations in New York – the 2015 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) from April 27 to May 22, 2015.

GLOBAL ISSUES2015-04-142023-07-10

Access To Medicines Key To The Right To Health And Life

By Martin Khor* | IDN-InDepthNews Analysis

GENEVA (IDN) – Access to medicines, even if a person is too poor to afford it, is a cornerstone to the realization of the right to health and life. There has been significant progress in new and better medicines. However prices of the medicines are often priced so high so as to be out of reach of the poor or even the middle classes in many countries, not only in developing but also in developed countries.

A major reason for this is the monopoly granted to drug companies through patents, which prevents competition. Sometimes the prices are so astronomical so as to make super profits for the companies. The latest example is the new drug for hepatitis C, sofosbuvir, which is sold for USD84,000 for a 12 week course, or USD1,000 a pill. Profits for the company Gilead have run at many billions of dollars already.

ARMAMENTS2015-04-102023-07-10

Mixed Middle East Reaction to Iran Nuclear Deal

By Mel Frykberg | IDN-InDepthNews Analysis

RAMALLAH (IDN) – Regional reactions to the April 2 framework agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme have been mixed both in Israel and its Arab neighbourhood. Vested interests including geopolitical ambitions, economic competition, religious ideology, personal political ambition, and strategic alliances have all played their part in this mixed reaction.

GLOBAL ISSUES2015-03-312023-07-10

Trilateral Forum Highlights NGOs’ Key Role in Dire Situations

By Jamshed Baruah | IDN-InDepthNews Analysis

BERLIN | SENDAI (IDN) – Tearing down ideological barriers and overcoming historical animosities, civil society organisations from Japan, China and the Republic of Korea participated in a landmark trilateral forum during the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDRR).

ARMAMENTS2015-03-232023-07-10

France Sees Nuclear Arms As Deterrent

By A.D. McKenzie | IDN-InDepthNews Analysis

PARIS (IDN) – As world leaders prepare to meet in New York next month for the 2015 Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), French activists say they are not holding their breath for any real commitment to enforce the 45-year-old accord.

GLOBAL ISSUES2015-03-192023-07-10

UNDP Unveils Blueprint for Swift, Unified Crisis Response

By Ramesh Jaura | IDN-InDepthNews | IPS

SENDAI, Japan (IDN | IPS) – The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has announced a new 10-year global plan to support country efforts to reduce the risk of disasters that kill people and destroy livelihoods. The plan was unveiled at the Third World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction which ended on Mar. 18.

“Called ‘5-10-50’, the programme will support countries and communities to deliver better risk-informed development, and targets 50 countries over 10 years, with a focus on five critical areas: risk awareness and early warning; risk-governance and mainstreaming; preparedness; resilient recovery; and local/urban risk reduction,” UNDP Administrator Helen Clark said at a special event on Mar. 17 in Sendai, in the centre of Japan’s Tohoku region, which bore the brunt of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that led to the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster.

GLOBAL ISSUES2015-03-182023-07-10

Key to Preventing Disasters Lies in Understanding Them

By Ramesh Jaura | IDN-InDepthNews | IPS

SENDAI, Japan (IDN | IPS) – The Third World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction concluded on Wednesday after a long drawn-out round of final negotiations, with representatives of 187 U.N. member states finally agreeing on what is being described as a far-reaching new framework for the next 15 years: 2015-2030.

ARMAMENTS2015-03-182023-07-10

Israel and Iran Obstacles to Nuke Free Mideast Depending on Perspective

By Mel Frykberg | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis

TEL AVIV | RAMALLAH (IDN) – Six world powers are looking towards the end of June to reach an agreement in regard to Iran’s nuclear programme in return for lifting the sanctions imposed on the Islamic theocracy.

In the interim Iran’s nuclear ambitions are once again dominating the headlines as the Western powers look to the end of March for an agreement on a political framework before June’s deadline.

This framework agreement comes shortly before the next Nuclear Proliferation Treaty (NPT) review conference from April 27 to May 22, 2015 at UN Headquarters in New York.