Diplomatic recognition has widened, but settlement expansion and territorial fragmentation threaten the foundations of Palestinian statehood. By Ramesh Jaura BERLIN | NEW YORK | 26 September 2026 (IDN) – Mahmoud Abbas delivered one of the most important speeches of this year’s United Nations General Assembly without being allowed into the hall. The Palestinian president appeared […]
Guterres Bids Farewell to a United Nations Under Strain
The outgoing Secretary-General leaves behind unresolved questions of war, representation, finance and climate justice. By Ramesh Jaura BERLIN | NEW YORK | 25 September 2026 (IDN) — The Security Council offers the clearest example. It becomes paralysed whenever a conflict touches the interests of a permanent member or a close ally. Russia can block action […]
Iran and the United States Find a Narrow Opening in New York
Indirect exchanges through Qatar have revived diplomacy, although the two governments remain far apart By Jamshed Baruah NEW YORK | 25 September 2026 (IDN) – The annual United Nations gathering is often dismissed as a succession of speeches. Much of its diplomacy, however, takes place outside the General Assembly Hall, in private rooms, hotel meetings […]
Ukraine and the Security Council’s Unresolved Contradiction
The body charged with maintaining international peace remains constrained when a permanent member is involved in the war. By J. Nastranis NEW YORK | 24 September 2026 (IDN) – The warning that the war in Ukraine has entered a dangerous new phase may sound familiar after more than five years of fighting. Repetition, however, should […]
When Artificial Intelligence Reaches the Security Council
The technology has moved from laboratories and boardrooms into the chamber responsible for international peace and security By Ramesh Jaura BERLIN | NEW YORK | 24 September 2026 (IDN) – The United Nations Security Council has spent most of its history discussing wars, peacekeeping missions, sanctions and threats posed by armed groups. Its meeting on […]
Global Poll: People Still Want the UN—But Want It to Deliver
Ahead of the UN General Assembly’s high-level debate, a 20-country survey finds strong support for international cooperation despite widespread anxiety about wars and the future. By Ramesh Jaura BERLIN | 20 September 2026 (IDN) — The United Nations may be struggling with wars it cannot stop, divisions among the major powers and growing doubts about the […]
The Significance of The Enemy States Clause for Germany
By Michael von der Schulenburg BRUSSELS | 16 September 2026 (IDN) — When the Allies of the Second World War drafted the United Nations Charter, they sought to establish a global system of collective security. Its aim was to “save succeeding generations from the scourge of war”. With the adoption of the UN Charter, all […]
Earthquakes and Japan: Does Preparedness Truly Equal Prevention?
By Kadhija Mohamed TOKYO | 8 September 2026 (IDN) — This past couple of months, our planet has seen a seemingly significant rise in the number of higher magnitude earthquakes in regions near tectonic fault lines all over the world. Last month alone there were devastating earthquakes with a magnitude of five or higher in […]
Rushed UN Resident Coordinator Restructuring Risks Guterres’s Legacy
By Mohammed Chiraz Baly The writer is a staff representative and former General Secretary of the CCISUA staff union federation. He is also a data analyst at UNCTAD focusing on investment financing in developing countries. GENEVA, Switzerland | 3 September 2026 (IDN) — At the end of a Secretary-General’s term, questions are asked about legacy. […]
A Nuclear Bomb Took My Arms Before I Was Born. We Must Not Let It Take Our Future
By Karipbek Kuyukov* ASTANA | 28 August 2026 (IDN) — I paint with a brush held between my teeth or my toes. I was born without arms in 1968 about 100 kilometres from the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site in eastern Kazakhstan. My parents’ generation watched mushroom clouds rise over the steppe without being told what […]