Category: OPINION

By Kairat Abdrakhmanov, Kazakhstan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs

Following are extensive excerpts from Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov’s address to the United Nations General Assembly on September 21, 2017 in New York. He draws attention to President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s initiative “to convene a summit of all states possessing nuclear weapons to collectively discuss further steps towards their nuclear disarmament and attaining nuclear-weapon-free world,” and “to call for joint efforts to ensure that the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons enters into force by 2020,” the 50th anniversary of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons entering into force. – The Editor

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – In his first statement at the United Nations in October 1992 President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev endorsed the concept of preventive diplomacy – the idea which is now very much highlighted by the Secretary-General and President of the General Assembly.

By Rex W. Tillerson, the U.S. Secretary of State

Following are extensive excerpts from remarks by the U.S. Secretary of State during the United Nations Security Council Session on Nuclear Non-Proliferation on September 21, 2017. The complete text is available on https://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2017/09/274362.htm – The Editor

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – At a time when stabbings, crudely constructed bombs, and trucks driven into crowds of innocent men, women, and children are often our enemies’ weapons of choice to attack us, it is easy to become complacent and see the threat of nuclear attacks as a relic of the Cold War.

The threat of a nuclear attack remains a grim reality. Those who would trigger such a horrific scenario pose a unique threat to the security of peace-loving nations.

Viewpoint by Hugh Dugan*

The author is Visiting Scholar at Seton Hall University’s School of Diplomacy and former senior advisor to eleven U.S. ambassadors to the United Nations.

NEW YORK (IDN) – Many globalists feared last week the arrival of ‘Hurricane Donald’ unleashing its wrath on the United Nations at its annual opening session. In the end, it was downgraded to a tropical storm affecting only North Korea and Iran.

Trump’s tone and body language, which was all that his critics were prepared to dissect, were one with the script he revised up to the last minute. Much to their surprise, in fact he did not call to drain the UN swamp. And he opted against twitterizing the place as the “Deep UN”. Few came up with much to dislike, other than a few words meant to draw headlines.

By Kisao Hattori

Following are extensive excerpts from the remarks by 91-year old Kisao Hattori at the Soka Gakkai International (SGI) Youth Summit for the Renunciation of War on September 2, 2017 at the SGI Kanagawa Culture Center in Yokohama, Japan. The gathering was convened to mark the 60th anniversary of second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda’s ‘Declaration Calling for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons’. The summit was held 18 days before the UN treaty prohibiting nuclear weapons opened for signature in New York. – The Editor

YOKOHAMA (IDN-INPS) – I was exposed to the atomic bomb radiation in Hiroshima as a visiting soldier and joined Soka Gakkai (SG) after the war. I am 91 years old now. I was a witness to President Josei Toda calling for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons here in Yokohama.

By U Henry Van Thio, Vice-President of Myanmar

Following are excerpts from the statement by U Henry Van Thio, Vice-President of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, at the General Debate of the 72nd Session of the United Nations General Assembly on September 20, 2017. – The Editor

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – We welcome this year’s theme “Focusing on people – striving for peace and a decent life for all on a sustainable planet”. Peace and stability is something that we are striving to achieve in Myanmar after nearly seven decades of civil strife and conflict.

Last year from this podium, our State Counsellor Daw Aung San SuuKyi set out the government’s vision to end decades of internal armed conflict in Myanmar and to find lasting and meaningful solutions to the complex situation in Rakhine State.

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – “It’s not over until the fat lady ends her song” – so goes the adage, referring to the often-overweight soprano who sings the last aria in Wagner’s opera, Götterdämmerung.

British Prime Minister Theresa May is not fat in a bodily sense, but she is fat-headed, convinced of her own righteousness over Brexit, although she herself voted Remain in the Brexit referendum and then changed her opinion so she could win enough votes from Brexit members of parliament to become Prime Minister.

By Dr. Daisaku Ikeda, President, Soka Gakkai International (SGI)

TOKYO (IDN) – The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, adopted this past July at the United Nations, will soon be opened for signature. The negotiations that produced this Treaty saw the participation of nearly two-thirds of all UN member states, and it is deeply moving to witness the first concrete steps toward the Treaty’s entry into force. I earnestly hope that the initial 122 countries that supported its adoption will be joined by other states becoming signatories to the Treaty, so that it can become international law as quickly as possible.

The quest for a world without nuclear weapons was the focus of the first UN General Assembly Resolution adopted in January 1946, soon after the birth of the United Nations. In the more than seven decades since, nuclear disarmament has been the subject of repeated resolutions.

By Didier Reynders, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belgium, Ibrahim Al-Jafari, Foreign Minister of Iraq and Lassina Zerbo, Executive Secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO).

The nuclear test conducted by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) on September 3, 2017 sent shockwaves not only through the inner layers of the earth, but also throughout the international community – particularly as initial estimates of the magnitude of the blast were released.

The treaty prohibiting nuclear testing was signed 20 years ago, but is still not in force. While North Korea continues to develop its nuclear capacity by testing, it seems more urgent than ever to ratify it. The international community would do well to strengthen international law. Belgium, Iraq and the CTBTO will do their part.

By Shishir Gupta | Courtesy Hindustan Times*

The United Nations human rights chief Zeid Ra‘ad al-Hussein has described the situation in Myanmar a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing.” Secretary-General António Guterres has called for Muslims from Myanmar’s Rakhine state to be granted nationality or at least a legal status that would allow them to lead a normal life, while also urging the international community to help provide assistance for the nearly 380,000 people who have fled into Bangladesh. Indian journalist Shishir Gupta highlights a hitherto overlooked aspect of the situation: “the bloody contribution of Pakistan-based jihadist groups to this catastrophe.” – The Editor

By Silvia Espíndola*

The author is Undersecretary of International Cooperation of the Republic of Ecuador. Following are excerpts from his statement at the Workshop titled South-South Cooperation forty years since BAPA: Challenges and Opportunities during the ECOSOC Development Cooperation Forum (DCF) meeting, held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on September 6, 2017 – in the run-up to the UN Day for South-South Cooperation was celebrated worldwide on September 12. – The Editor

GENEVA (IDN-INPS | SouthNews) – Since the Buenos Aires Plan of Action for Promoting and Implementing Technical Cooperation among developing countries (1978), South-South cooperation has been steadily gaining momentum and has shown encouraging trends. Many initiatives attest to the increasing importance of South-South cooperation as a growing dimension of international cooperation for development.