By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS. 26 September 2023 (IDN) — When the United Nations commemorated the 10th anniversary of International Day for the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, the President of the General Assembly, Dennis Francis, was dead on target when he warned that the risk of nuclear annihilation “is not a chapter from our past; […]
Ukraine Conflict: A Peace Proposal to Avert an All-Out War
By Michael von der Schulenburg* VIENNA. 25 September 2023 (IDN) — At the end of August this year, four highly respected German personalities presented a peace proposal for ending the war in Ukraine through a ceasefire and subsequent peace negotiations: It is arguably the most comprehensive and groundbreaking peace proposal made by any government, international […]
Cocaine Trade is Flourishing Again in South America
By Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury* DHAKA. 24 September 2023 (IDN) — The cocaine trade is experiencing a resurgence in South America, bouncing back from a downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the intriguing positions of several regional countries, Latin America has yet to seriously discuss its drug policy, instead clinging to the prohibitionist and […]
A New UN Report Warns of Slow Progress Towards SDG16
By Reinhard Jacobsen VIENNA. 23 September 2023 (IDN) — A first-of-its-kind report jointly produced by three United Nations organizations, shows that progress towards achievement of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16 is worryingly slow, with limited information to drive evidence-informed policies. The report calls for urgent action and substantial investment on Goal 16 to expand data […]
The Global South Gains Strategic Impact After BRICS XV Summit
By P.I. Gomes *The writer is a former Secretary-General of the Organisation of African, Caribbean & Pacific States (OACPS). PORT OF SPAIN, Tobago. 22 September 2023 (IDN) — When the XVth Summit of the BRICS—Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa—concluded with the Johannesburg II Declaration, it agreed that six new members would join the group […]
‘Humanity Has Opened the Gates of Hell’ For Climate Catastrophe: UN Chief
By Arul Louis* UNITED NATIONS. 20 September 2023 (IDN) — UN Secretary-General António Guterres issued the grim warning, “Humanity has opened the gates of hell”, as he pitched the Climate Solidarity Pact for industrialized that have benefitted the most by using fossil fuels to cut emissions and support emerging economies to reach climate change goals. […]
Development Goals Need a Rescue Plan, Warns UN Chief
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS. 20 September 2023 (IDN) — When the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted by the 193-member General Assembly back in 2015, they were hailed as a panacea for some of the world’s economic, social and environmental ills. The SDGs were aimed at eradicating extreme hunger and poverty, ensuring […]
Clarion Call for a World Free from Nuclear Weapons
By Ramesh Jaura BERLIN. 19 September 2023 (IDN) — Mark* is 28 years. Like him, those in their twenties believed that atomic bombs, which the United States dropped over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, belonged to a remote past. However, since Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to deploy nuclear weapons in the Ukraine […]
UN Chief Wants $500 Billion Annual Development Fund, Financial Reforms
By Arul Louis* UNITED NATIONS. 18 September 2023 (IDN) — UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday renewed his call for the reform of the “outdated, dysfunctional and unfair” World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and for a $500 billion stimulus fund for the world organisation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Speaking at the opening […]
A High Seas Treaty Aimed at Protecting Polluted Oceans is Now a Reality
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS. 16 September 2023 (IDN) — A historic new international treaty, described as “a monumental win for the protection of the world’s oceans”, will be open for signature by member states beginning September 20 during the high-level meeting of world political leaders at the UN General Assembly (UNGA). The treaty will […]