Viewpoint by Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – Timing is everything. Dear Reader you’re right. If I was going to write on the conviction in a UN court of General Ratko Mladic I should have done it last week when the court sentenced him to life imprisonment for the mass murder of a significant part […]
In Sri Lanka, Development Begins with Reconciliation
By Prasad Kariyawasam Prasad Kariyawasam is Sri Lanka’s Foreign Secretary. Following are extensive excerpts from his address to the UN’s Peacebuilding Commission at the UN Headquarters in New York on November 20, 2017. – The Editor UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – Sri Lanka is known, perhaps mostly, as the place where Ceylon Tea originates from, or […]
Industrial Development is About a Decent Life for All People
By Miroslav Lajčák, President of the UN General Assembly Following are extensive extracts from the remarks of Miroslav Lajčák, President of the 72nd Session of the UN General Assembly, at the 17th session of the UNIDO General Conference ‘Partnering for Impact: Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals’ in Vienna on November 27, 2017. Li Yong was […]
Need to Perceive Africa from an African Point of View
By Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, President of Malta Following are extensive extracts from the speech delivered by Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, President of Malta, at the 17th session of the UNIDO General Conference ‘Partnering for Impact: Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals’ in Vienna on November 27, 2017. Li Yong was re-appointed for a second term (2017-2021) as […]
Climate Change Hopes Vanish into Thin Air
By Andrea Vento* ROME (IDN) – The great hopes for a historical understanding to contain global warming in the wake of the proclamations of world leaders prior to the recent UN climate change conference in Bonn have evaporated. The ‘climate’ of confidence surrounding the conference – held in Bonn from November 6 to 17, officially known as the 23rd […]
Military’s Role Crucial in Post-Mugabe Zimbabwe
Viewpoint by Alemayehu G. Mariam The writer is a professor of political science at California State University, San Bernardino, a constitutional lawyer and Senior Editor of the International Journal of Ethiopian Studies. The source of this article is Pambazuka News, which republished it on November 23. It first appeared in The Hill. The views in […]
Sri Lanka’s ‘Vision 2025’ Development Programme Gets Going
By Indrajit Coomaraswamy Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy is Governor of the Sri Lanka Central Bank. The following, a rather comprehensive view of the state of the Sri Lankan economy, is based on a statement made at the United Nations on 20 November 2017. – The Editor UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – Sri Lanka has experienced a 27-year […]
The Threat of a Nuclear War is Very High Today
Viewpoint by John Scales Avery John Scales Avery is a theoretical chemist noted for his research publications in quantum chemistry, thermodynamics, evolution, and history of science. Presently an Associate Professor in quantum chemistry at the University of Copenhagen, since the early 1990s, he has been an active World peace activist. During these years, he was […]
Religious Extremism Down The Memory Lane
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – What drives people to extremes? Why do the people behind Wahhabism, Al-Qaeda or the Islamic State (IS) get so charged up and angry? Perhaps to understand we should go back to the 16th century in Europe and the furious debate about the “divine right of kings”. For […]
Kenya A beacon of Hope, says UNDP Representative Siddharth Chatterjee*
BERLIN | NEW DELHI (IDN-INPS | WION) – Major Siddharth Chatterjee (Retd), the United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator and the UNDP Resident Representative in Kenya, a humanitarian and development professional, a feminist and a passionate advocate for youth empowerment who has served in many war-ravaged and fragile parts of the world spoke exclusively to WION about his passion […]