Category: Peace & Security

A Special Report by Aurora Weiss VIENNA (IDN) — Austria’s capital is home to 20 international United Nations offices and organisations seated at the Vienna International Centre. But law enforcement in this country falls short of the UN’s requirements. The United Nations Convention against Corruption, for example, calls for independent bodies or persons specialized in […]

By Vladimir Socor * WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN) — The Ukrainian Presidential Office envisages a system of international security guarantees vis-a-vis Russia that would answer Kyiv’s post-war requirements. The guarantees would be provided by willing North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member countries, albeit, at the moment, short of NATO membership, this would potentially clear Ukraine’s path […]

Viewpoint by Norman Solomon and Jeff Cohen* SAN FRANCISCO (IDN) — These days, conventional media wisdom says that President Biden will have a smooth path to renomination if he wants it. Don’t be so sure. Fifty-five years ago, pundits scoffed when a Democratic senator announced that he was running against incumbent Lyndon Johnson for their […]

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation has announced 13 grants totalling more than $19.2 million to strengthen local and regional investigative journalism in Nigeria. The initiative, awarded through the foundation’s Nigeria program, seeks to reduce corruption by supporting Nigerian-led anti-corruption efforts that advance […]

By Ravindra Singh Prasad SUVA, Fiji (IDN) — It is an ironic fact in Fiji Islands, a multi-ethnic nation of under one million people in the South Pacific, that coups don’t work and ultimately lead to constitutional reforms and democratic elections. As Fiji goes to the polls on December 14, the choice is between choosing […]

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK | JOHANNESBURG (IDN) — A convoluted tale of monies hidden in a sofa in the home of the South African President Cyril Ramaphosa threatens to unseat a popular leader while it creates more headaches for the African National Congress. According to the charges, a fortune in U.S. […]

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — Genocide Prevention Day falls on December 9 and marks the anniversary of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (also known as the UN Genocide Convention. On this day, the victims of genocide worldwide are remembered. People around the world […]

Viewpoint by Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies* NEW YORK (IDN) — As the war in Ukraine has dragged on for nine months and a cold winter is setting in, people all over the world are calling for a Christmas truce, harkening back to the inspirational Christmas Truce of 1914. In the midst of […]

By Katsuhiro Asagiri Manama (IDN) — “Our world today is facing unprecedented challenges where conflicts are multiplying, and people whose identities are defined by religion, culture, or ethnicity continue to be besieged by hatred. Social and cultural divides are deepening; tribalism, ethnic violence, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, xenophobia, hate speech and ultra-nationalism are in full swing.” said […]

A Special Report by Aurora Weiss VIENNA (IDN) — United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), and the Austrian Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs (BMEIA) joined in early November to mark the 10th anniversary of the UN Plan of Action on […]