SYNDICATION Archives - Page 7 of 19

SYNDICATION, Think-Tanks2016-02-182023-07-12

Counter-terrorism – South East Asian Style

At the recent counter-terrorism conference in Jaipur, a star-studded galaxy of policy makers, security analysts and law enforcement officials debated on tackling the Daesh threat. Some of the most positive steps to counter the terror propaganda came from South East Asia and India’s neighbourhood

By Sameer Patil

“कोई बेगुनाह फंसे नहीं, और कोई गुनहगार बचे नहीं (No innocent should suffer and no guilty should escape),” will be the cornerstone of India’s counter-terrorism policy, as stated by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, in a fitting end to the India Foundation’s Counterterrorism Conference held in Jaipur on February 2-3, 2016.

SYNDICATION, UNITED NATIONS2016-02-172023-07-12

Boutros Boutros-Ghali – The Nobility of Ideas and Ideals

By Roberto Savio* | IDN-InDepthNews Analysis

ROME (IDN) – It is no coincidence that Boutros Boutros-Ghali (BBG), who died on February 16, was the only Secretary-General in the history of the United Nations to have served only one of the two terms that have always been allowed. The United States vetoed his re-election, in spite of the favourable vote of the other members of the Security Council. He was considered too independent.

We have now forgotten that in 1992, on U.S. request, BBG authorised a UN intervention in Somalia, run by a U.S. General, the aim of which was to distribute 90 million dollars of food and aid to the former Italian colony, shaken by an internal conflict among several war lords. The intervention cost 900 million U.S. dollars in military expenses, and ended with the downing of two Black Hawk helicopters and the tragic death of 18 American soldiers, dragged through the streets of Mogadishu.

News Media, SYNDICATION2016-02-172023-07-12

In Memoriam: UN Chief Boutros Boutros-Ghali Whose 2nd Term was Blocked by the U.S.

Boutros Boutros-Ghali, who passed away on February 16 at the age of 93, was the only UN Secretary-General (1992-1996) to be denied a second term in office because of a US veto in the 15-member Security Council.

The U.S., which preaches the concept of majority rule to the outside world, exercised its veto even though Boutros-Ghali had 14 of the 15 votes in the Security Council, including the votes of the other four permanent members of the Council, namely the UK, France, Russia and China.

Individual Journalists, SYNDICATION2016-02-162023-07-12

The Heavy Price of Ignoring Realism in U.S. Foreign Policy

LONDON – There are three schools of thought in American foreign policy: two you have heard about and a third that is relegated to the background.

The first and arguably the most prominent is the neo-conservative. These people, in the days of the Soviet Union, were the rabid anti-communists who wanted to beat the Soviet Union into the ground with vastly increased spending on defence.

Today they are the ones who supported the extreme right wing agitators who overthrew the middle-of-the-road president of Ukraine, Wiktor Yanukovich. They supported President George Bush’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and want President Barack Obama to intervene in Syria.

SYNDICATION, UNITED NATIONS2016-02-142023-07-12

UN Stresses Need to End Use of Child Soldiers

J Nastranis | IDN-InDepthNews Report

NEW YORK (IDN) – Tens of thousands of boys and girls are associated with armed forces and groups in conflicts in more than 20 countries around the world, says Leila Zerrougui, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict.

In a press release marking the International Day against the Use of Child Soldiers, observed every February 12 since 2002, she said that an upsurge in global conflicts and brutal war tactics continues to make children extremely vulnerable to recruitment and use by armed groups.

SYNDICATION, UNITED NATIONS2016-02-142023-07-12

Advisors Hired to Make UN System Fit for 2030 Development Agenda

By J Nastranis | IDN-InDepthNews Report

NEW YORK (IDN) – An independent team of 12 advisors headed by two former senior UN officials has been tasked with making the United Nations development system fit for supporting the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development that took effect on January 1.

The UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Bureau – headed by Oh Joon, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Republic of Korea – announced on February 12 the establishment of the team to support the second phase of the ECOSOC Dialogue on the longer-term positioning of the UN development system in the context of the 2030 Agenda.

SYNDICATION, UNITED NATIONS2016-02-142023-07-12

Countries, Not UN, Responsible for Implementing 17 SDGs

By J Nastranis | IDN-InDepthNews Analysis

NEW YORK (IDN) – Since all the world’s governments adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in September 2015 and it took effect on January 1, two important questions being discussed around the world are: How will we measure progress in translating the Agenda into practice, and who is responsible for achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

SYNDICATION, UNITED NATIONS2016-02-132023-07-12

UN’s Trust Fund Facilitates ‘Digital Ports’ in Latin America and the Caribbean

NEW YORK (IDN) – The Perez-Guerrero Trust Fund (PGTF), managed by the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC), has partnered with the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA) to map current trends, share best practices and promote sound and cooperative policies for ports in Latin America and the Caribbean.

SYNDICATION, UNITED NATIONS2016-02-122023-07-12

Boost for South-South and Triangular Cooperation

By Ramesh Jaura | IDN-InDepthNews Analysis

BRUSSELS (IDN) – Representatives of governments, civil society, and the private sector as well as global development partners have pledged to build new South-South and triangular partnerships to empower women and youth through jobs and entrepreneurship with a view to ensuring integrated rural development.

While South-South cooperation (SSC) is between and among developing countries, triangular cooperation (TrC) involves a traditional donor from the ranks of the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC), an emerging donor in the South, and a beneficiary country in the South.

SYNDICATION, UNITED NATIONS2016-02-112023-07-12

‘Ratify Treaty to Ban Nuclear Testing Before Fatigue Creeps in’

IDN-InDepthNews Interview with CTBTO Chief Dr Lassina Zerbo

BERLIN | VIENNA (IDN) – Twenty years after it was opened for signature, the CTBT has come to stay as a de facto global treaty banning all nuclear testing – “if we take North Korea outside of the scope” – but Dr Zerbo Lassina wants to see it de jure because he is concerned that the longer it takes for its entry into force, the greater is the risk of a “fatigue” creeping in that could lead to people saying: “Why are we investing in something if we don’t know when the treaty will come into force?”