By Kirsten Mildren The writer is Head of Campaigns & Advocacy, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). NEW YORK (IDN) — On 19 August 2003, a bomb attack on the Canal Hotel in Baghdad, Iraq, killed 22 humanitarian aid workers, including the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Iraq, Sergio Vieira […]
Exploring why Afghan Forces Vanished So Fast
Viewpoint by Manish Rai KABUL (IDN) — The Taliban now control almost the whole of Afghanistan including the capital city, Kabul, almost two decades after they were driven out by US troops. It was widely expected that after the United States’ complete withdrawal the Taliban will make significant territorial gains.
Development Banks Must Prioritize Childcare to Improve Women’s Economic Standing During and After COVID-19
Viewpoint by Megan O’Donnell Megan O’Donnell leads the Center for Global Development’s COVID-19 Gender and Development Initiative, which aims to promote gender equality and long-term prosperity in low- and middle-income countries by informing global and national decision-makers’ policy responses to the current pandemic and future crises. WASHINGTON DC (IDN) — Lack of access to quality […]
Jeffrey Sachs Should Lead a Knowledge Coalition to Enhance Power to Reduce if not Stop the Exploitation of Africa
Viewpoint by Babafemi A. Badejo, Ph.D The writer is Professor of Political Science/International Relations, Chrisland University, Abeokuta, Nigeria, and former Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Somalia. He can be contacted at ffembee@yahoo.com +2348055331448 ABEOKUTA, Nigeria (IDN) — The United Nations held a pre-Summit on Food Systems on July 26-28, 2021, as a […]
The Truth Behind Damned Lies About Afghanistan
Viewpoint by Azu Ishiekwene The writer is the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of LEADERSHIP newspaper based in Abuja, Nigeria. ABUJA (IDN) — In journalism proverb, Afghanistan is a convenient shelter, the writer’s fantasy island from topical issues at home. In the current deluge of news from that country, however, that proverb appears to have lost its meaning. […]
After US and NATO Withdrawal, Afghanistan’s Future Is Unclear
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden (IDN) — The Soviet Army invaded Afghanistan in December, 1979 and withdrew, exhausted and demoralized, 10 years later. In Moscow a joke had long circulated: “Why are we still in Afghanistan?” Answer: “We are still looking for the people who invited us.” The same is true for the Americans […]
Action on Land Degradation Crucial to Averting the Worst Ravages of Climate Change
By Ibrahim Thiaw UN Under Secretary General and Executive Secretary to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, Mr Ibrahim Thiaw, responds to the IPCC Special Report on Climate Change and Land. BONN (IDN) — We have known for over 25 years that poor land use and management are major drivers of climate change, but have […]
Media and Western Governments Give Little Chance to Non-Violence as A Tool of Political Change
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden (IDN) — By any reasonable measure violence should have had its day. Throughout our long history violence and war have solved little. In most cases, if not all, war could have been pre-empted by deft diplomacy and non-violent action. Take Afghanistan where after America’s longest ever war the US […]
Code Red for Humanity — Imminent Risk of Hitting 1.5 degrees C
By António Guterres, UN Secretary-General NEW YORK (IDN) — Today’s IPCC Working Group 1 Report is a code red for humanity. The alarm bells are deafening, and the evidence is irrefutable: greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel burning and deforestation are choking our planet and putting billions of people at immediate risk. Global heating is […]
Call for ‘Immediate Signing’ of the Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty
By MATSUI Kazumi, Mayor of the City of Hiroshima Every year on August 6, the City of Hiroshima holds a Peace Memorial Ceremony to pray for the peaceful repose of the victims, for the abolition of nuclear weapons, and for lasting world peace. During that ceremony, the Mayor issues a Peace Declaration directed toward the […]