UN Insider

The World is Plunging into a Dangerous New Cold War 2.0

Viewpoint by Dr Joseph Gerson

The writer is President of the Campaign for Peace, Disarmament and Common Security

NEW YORK (IDN) — Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Putin’s repeated tense threats to resort to genocidal nuclear attacks if the West intervenes more directly in Ukraine must be universally condemned and opposed.

Despite Putin having told President Macron that he intends to take all of Ukraine, as demonstrations today are demanding, we must press for an immediate ceasefire, withdrawal of all foreign troops from Ukraine and negotiations.

: UN Bureau; OPINION; 09 March 2022

Feminist UN Campaign Report Wants UN Chief to Walk the Talk

By J C Suresh

WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN) — “Talk less, act more …. All words are like feathers in the air,” commented an informant of the Feminist UN Campaign's report on UN Secretary-General António Guterres' commitment to gender equality in his five-year first term.

In fact, key informants reported that staff remain disillusioned with the UN’s “macho culture of impunity,” are profoundly mistrustful of reporting and justice mechanisms in the system and are fearful of retaliation.

: J C Suresh; SUSTAINABILITY; Gender Equality; 09 March 2022

Image: Nuclear warfare is a common theme of World War III scenarios. Such a conflict has been hypothesized to result in human extinction. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Is World War III a Nuclear Reality or an Empty Threat?

By Thalif Deen

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — A Russian news agency quoted on March 2 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s dire warning: If a third world war (WWIII) breaks out, it would involve nuclear weapons—and be destructive.

At a virtual Geneva meeting on disarmament, he also hinted that Ukraine has been seeking nuclear weapons to counter the Russian invasion—a rumour that remains unconfirmed.

: Thalif Deen; Nuclear Weapoms; 08 March 2022

Photo: Russian-made Su-30K fighter jets sold to Ethiopia. Source: Horn Affairs

Traditional Ties Earn Russia African Countries' Silence in Critical UN Vote

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” Those were the prophetic words of the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu, recalled now by influencers on social media pressing South Africa to cut or reduce old “friendly ties” with Russia.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Russia; 08 March 2022

Image: Returning refugees survey the destroyed downtown of Pec, Kosovo, on Saturday, July 3, 1999. Northfoto/Shutterstock

Putin may be Executing the NATO Playbook from 1999, not Hitler’s from the 1930s

Viewpoint by Ramesh Thakur

This article was issued by the Toda Peace Institute and is being republished with their permission.

CANBERRA, Australia (IDN) — There are two competing narratives about Russia’s push into Ukraine. One holds that President Vladimir Putin has adopted Hitler’s playbook over Sudetenland and failing to check his aggression will fall into the trap of the appeasement at Munich in 1938. The alternative holds that Putin is executing the NATO playbook in Kosovo in 1999.

: UN Bureau; OPINION; 08 March 2022

Photo: Women protesting at the Nigerian National Assembly for inclusion of women in politics among other things. Source: The Premium Times, Nigeria.

Int’l Women’s Day: Nigerian Lawmakers Quashed Gender Equality Bill

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — For the third time in five years, Nigeria’s National Assembly has voted against a bill providing affirmative action for women in political party administration. The lawmakers also voted against a provision to create special seats for women in the national and state assemblies.

: Global Information Network; SUSTAINABILITY; Gender Equality; 08 March 2022

Image: Migrant farmworkers in the Italian region of Calabria | Credit: ANSA/Quotidiano Del Sud

COVID-Recovery: Fault Lines Expose Migrant Workers to Higher Health and Safety Risks

Viewpoint by Mahinda Seneviratne

SYDNEY (IDN) — Disruptions from war, impacts of climate, and the growing inequities in wealth distribution are some main factors that drive over 160 million international migrant workers to seek work for a living in overseas countries. The COVID-19 pandemic has magnified the 3-D jobs (dirty, dangerous, and difficult) that migrant workers face in their host country while exposed to precarious work.

: Asia Editor; OPINION; 06 March 2022

Photo: Thousands of Ukrainians seek safety in neighbouring Poland. © WFP/Marco Frattini

Help Immediately Stop the Russian War in Ukraine, Mr Secretary-General

Viewpoint by Inge Kaul, Senior Fellow, Hertie School

BERLIN (IDN) — The majority of the world wants peace. This is clear by now. Just consider the many large-scale anti-war demonstrations taking place around the world; and the outpour of solidarity and support for the people in Ukraine and the more than one million Ukrainians who fled from their country.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 04 March 2022

Ukraine: South Africa Slates European Nations at UN Over Treatment of Fleeing Africans

By Jonisayi Maromo, Independent Online (IOL)

PRETORIA (IDN) — The South African government has thrown its weight behind the statement of the African Union (AU), which expressed concern over the treatment of Africans fleeing the war in Ukraine.

Ambassador Mathu Joyini, South Africa’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations delivered a statement at an emergency sitting of the UN's General Assembly on Tuesday (March 1) night, calling on the European countries to resolve the situation, where African nationals have reportedly been barred from leaving the war-torn nation.

: UN Bureau; THE WORLD; EU & Europe; 02 March 2022

Photo: Back to back hurricanes in 2020 caused destruction and flooding across Central America, leaving thousands of people homeless. Credit: UNICEF/Inti Ocon/AFP-Services

UN Scientists Warn of Climate Change Threatening People and the Planet

By Jutta Wolf

BERLIN (IDN) — People and the planet are threatened by the impact of climate change, according to UN scientists. Ecosystem collapse, species extinction, deadly heatwaves and floods are among the "unavoidable multiple climate hazards” the world will face over the next two decades due to global warming, they warn.