By Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden | 25 July 2024 (IDN) — Once the Warsaw Pact closed shop there was no good or honest reason for keeping NATO going. The threat that NATO was created to deter disappeared when the Soviet Union collapsed. The European Union’s influence on the new post-Cold War order has been by […]
Ten Principles for Perpetual Peace in the 21st Century
The United Nations-based structures are fragile and in need of an urgent upgrade; we should consider this one at the U.N. Summit of the Future in September. By Jeffrey D. Sachs* This article was published in Common Dreams and is being republished with the author’s permission. NEW YORK | 24 July 2024 (IDN) — Next […]
Norway – A Global Peace Aspirant, Environmental Champion, and a Wealthy Quiet Achiever
By Dr Palitha Kohona* OSLO, Norway | 24 July 2024 (IDN) — A few days in Norway’s summer swept capital Oslo, on the way to the Arctic via Tronso with an expedition ship presented a mixed bag of surprises. Contrary to expectations, Norway was not full of rich, blonde or red haired and blue eyed […]
Bringing Local Sustainable Development to Scale
By Yossef Ben-Meir* MARRAKECH, Morocco | 22 July 2024 (IDN) — For many organizations and agencies around the world, the matter of scaling local successes of development remains a seemingly insurmountable challenge and obligation. When participating in conferences, strategic planning, open forums, and studies on this critical necessity, so much of the consideration is focused […]
Equality Now Hails the Gambia for Protecting Rights of Women
By Kizito Makoye DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania | 19 July 2024 (IDN) — Absa Samba, a prominent Gambian activist, exhaled a sigh of relief when the Gambian lawmakers overwhelmingly rejected a controversial bill that would have lifted a ban on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), a barbaric practice that had inflicted indelible psychological scars on her […]
Call for Effective Follow-Up Tools for Proposed UN Pact for the Future
By J Nastranis NEW YORK | 19 July 2024 (IDN) — The Summit of the Future on 22-23 September at the UN headquarters in New York “presents both an important milestone and another step in the long journey toward greater justice, security, and sustainable development for all nations and peoples”, says an open letter to […]
Women and Girls in Haiti Deprived of Basic Safety and Health Services
By Caroline Mwanga NEW YORK | PORT AU PRINCE | 18 July 2024 (IDN) — Ongoing political instability, escalating gang violence, and hurricane season are threatening the Caribbean Island, Haiti. Subsequently, as a recent UN Women report finds, nearly 300,000 internally displaced women and girls are living in makeshift camps lacking basic human necessities. They […]
In Memoriam, Ambassador Sérgio Duarte (1934-2024)
By Ramesh Jaura* BERLIN | 17 July 2024 (IDN) — We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Ambassador Sérgio Duarte, former United Nations High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, President of Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs, and a friend and supporter of IDN. I met him first at the 25th UN […]
Paul Kagame of Rwanda Returned to Power for a Fourth Term
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK | 16 July 2024 (IDN) — A battery of threats, arbitrary detention, prosecution on trumped-up charges, killings and enforced disappearances were deployed by the Rwandese President Paul Kagame in the recent presidential election that offered no surprises. In the ballots counted so far, Kagame and his ruling […]
The Gambia Decides to Uphold Ban on FGM — UN Agencies Commend
By Caroline Mwanga NEW YORK | 15 July 2024 (IDN) — The vote by the National Assembly of The Gambia to uphold the ban on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), reaffirming its commitments to human rights, gender equality, and protecting the health and well-being of girls and women, has been commended by UN agencies. FGM involves […]