By Katsuhiro Asagiri and Kunsaya Kurmet-Rakhimova* ASTANA. 10 September 2023 (IDN) — The Central Asian Republic of Kazakhstan is playing a key role in implementing the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW)—as the designated president of the third meeting of states parties of the TPNW, and the co-chair of the working group on […]
Indonesia Favours “Cooperation” as Tensions Simmer at ASEAN Summit
By Kalinga Seneviratne SINGAPORE. 9 September 2023 (IDN) — At the just concluded ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) summit in Jakarta, President of Indonesia Joko Widodo pleaded with the world’s big powers to “strengthen cooperation, not sharpen rivalries”. “I don’t know how many words of peace and stability we utter at every meeting… […]
The World Must Come Together to Address Global Challenges
By Kristalina Georgieva and Ajay Banga Following are excerpts from the Joint Statement issued by Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank, on 7 September 2023. WASHINGTON, DC. 8 September 2023 (IDN) — The world confronts significant economic challenges, the existential threat of climate […]
Ukrainian Refugees—Mostly Women—Reluctant to Return Home
Ukrainian Refugees—Mostly Women—Reluctant to Return Home By Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury* DHAKA. 7 September 2023 (IDN) — In the wake of the conflict in Ukraine that erupted on 24 February 2022, millions of Ukrainians sought refuge in various countries across Europe and beyond. A unique feature of this refugee flow, however, is its striking gender […]
Contentious Preparations for the 2026 NPT Review Conference
Analysis by Sergio Duarte The writer is an Ambassador, a former High Representative of the United Nations Office of Disarmament Affairs., and President of Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs. NEW YORK. 7 September 2023 (IDN) — The preparatory cycle for each Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) […]
Establishment of a U.S.-ASEAN Center in Washington, D.C.
JAKARTA. 6 September 2023 (IDN) — At the U.S.-ASEAN Summit in Indonesia on September 6, US Vice President Harris joined with the leaders of ASEAN in announcing their intent to establish, through a public-private partnership, a U.S.-ASEAN Center in Washington, D.C. To that end, the State Department has established a public-private partnership with Arizona State […]
US Accused of Double Standards at the UN Security Council
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS. 6 September 2023 (IDN) — As North Korea continues to defy the Security Council, it has made a mockery of one of the most powerful political bodies at the UN—openly violating its resolutions with monotonous regularity. The violations have triggered strong condemnations by the US, the Group of 7 (G7), […]
From Nagasaki to Vienna: Youth Advocates for a Nuclear-Free Future
By Mitsunobu Takahashi * VIENNA. 5 September 2023 (IDN) — The first session of the Preparatory Committee for the 2026 NPT Review Conference was convened from 31 July until 11 August at the Vienna International Centre in Austria. This was my first time to attend such an international conference at the United Nations. I arrived […]
Global Heatwave Tells North and South that Climate Change Is Here
Analysis by Kalinga Seneviratne SINGAPORE. 5 September 2023 (IDN) — When heatwaves hit Southeast Asia, India and China in July, breaking temperature records across Asia, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said the “global boiling” era has arrived. And it didn’t take long for wildfires fuelled by high temperatures to spread across North America, Hawaii and Europe. […]
China’s Shandong Province Expands Its Footprint to The Pacific
By Kalinga Seneviratne SUVA, Fiji. 2 September 2023 (IDN) — A high-powered delegation of Chinese ocean and marine scientists and Asia-Pacific scholars from Shandong Province visited Fiji promoting South-South cooperation to mitigate climatic change—Pacific Islands’ biggest security threat. Facilitated by the Chinese Embassy here, Shandong Province and Fiji signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to […]