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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
New Report Faults Deterioration of Civil Rights in India, Urges UN To Interfere
By Jaya Ramachandran GENEVA | 14 July 2024 (IDN) — CIVICUS, World Alliance for Citizen Participation, has documented the use of restrictive legislation against activists, journalists and others critical of the state, along with harassment and attacks. In its report to the UN Human Rights Committee on the state of civic space in India, CIVICUS […]
Discredited ‘Ostpolitik’ of Willy Brandt Remains Pertinent
By Hans Kundnani* LONDON | 13 July 2024 (IDN) — The conventional wisdom in Germany is that Ostpolitik—which is usually taken to mean a policy based on the idea of peaceful co-existence with Russia going back to the approach taken by Willy Brandt as chancellor—is now completely discredited. Even those who admit that it was […]
The NATO Declaration Echoes the Deadly Strategy of Neoconservatism
For the sake of America’s security and world peace, the U.S. should immediately abandon the neocon quest for hegemony in favor of diplomacy and peaceful co-existence. By Jeffrey D. Sachs* This article was published in Common Dreams and is being republished with the author’s permission. NEW YORK | 13 July 2024 (IDN) — In 1992, […]
Is the IAEA Securing Medical Radioactive Sources in Conflict Areas?
By Tariq Rauf* VIENNA | 11 July 2024 (IDN) — On Friday, 12th July 2024, the 35-member Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will meet in emergency session to discuss the bombing of a children’s hospital in Kyiv and the safety and security of medical radioactive sources in use in the […]