Viewpoint by Abdul Bari Nijrabi and R. Maxwell Bone* WASHINGTON, DC | KABUL (IDN) – The U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pomepo made an unannounced visit to Kabul on June 25, 2019 During his nearly eight hours in the Afghan capital, the top diplomat of the United States met with senior government officials along with […]
There’s Only One Way Out of the Global Coffee Crisis: Pay More
Viewpoint by Darío Soto Abril & Roberto Vélez Darío Soto Abril is CEO of Fairtrade International and Roberto Vélez is CEO of the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation (FNC). BONN | BOGOTA (IDN) – The global coffee industry is facing an unprecedented price crisis which not only threatens our daily cup of the black stuff but […]
Putin’s Russia Doesn’t Compare with The Days of The Gulag
Putin’s Russia Doesn’t Compare with The Days of The Gulag Viewpoint by Jonathan Power MSCOW (IDN-INPS) – Here’s a joke, borrowed from a Russian website. The Russians always have had a dry humour. “Trump, Merkel, May and Macon – Putin is heartily sick of them all. They keep calling and calling, so he switches his […]
Ultimata to Iran and Pakistan Threaten to Cloud China’s FATF Presidency
Viewpoint by James M. Dorsey James M. Dorsey – a senior fellow at Nanyang Technological University’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, an adjunct senior research fellow at the National University of Singapore’s Middle East Institute and co-director of the University of Wuerzburg’s Institute of Fan Culture – offered this viewpoint to IDN. SINGAPORE (IDN) […]
President Xi of China Remains an Enigma
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – Xi Jinping, president of China, remains an enigma. You watched him on television reviewing the dancing in Pyongyang in the company of Kim Jong-un and his face is near to expressionless when in repose. He doesn’t stand like an arrogant man and we recall that time when […]
Families in a Changing World Call for Reality Check
Viewpoint by Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka The writer is UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director, of UN Women. NEW YORK (IDN) – What’s a family? Classically, we think of a mother, a father and the children. The father goes out to work, the mother takes care of the children, maybe she works part time, at home or close […]
Science & Technology Can Contribute to Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation
Viewpoint by Izumi Nakamitsu The following are extensive excerpts from the statement by Izumi Nakamitsu, UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) at the High-Level Panel “CTBT: Science and Technology in a Changing World” on 24 June at Hofburg Palace, Vienna, in the opening session of the Science and Technology Conference2019 (SnT2019) 24 June-28 June […]
Send in to the Persian Gulf a Flotilla Under the UN Flag
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – In 1980 in his State of the Union address President Jimmy Carter said: “Any attempt by any outside force to gain control of the Persian Gulf will be regarded as an assault on the vital interests of the United States and such an assault will be repelled […]
Trump Administration Should Rethink its Failing Iran Policy
Viewpoint by Kelsey Davenport and Daryl G. Kimball Iran has announced that it will exceed a limit on enriched uranium set by the 2015 multilateral nuclear agreement, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The following is the text of a statement by Kelsey Davenport, director for nonproliferation policy and Daryl G. […]
Resist Erosion of NPT to Rid the World of Atomic Bombs
Crumbling Security Landscape Ahead of the 2020 Review Conference Viewpoint by Sergio Duarte Ambassador Sergio Duarte is President of Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs, and a former UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs. He was president of the 2005 Nonproliferation Treaty Review Conference. NEW YORK (IDN) – The forthcoming 50th anniversary of the […]