OPINION

Photo: The U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo assured that Washington is serious about pursuing peace in Afghanistan as efforts are underway to revive direct talks between Taliban and Afghan government to end the ongoing violence in Afghanistan. Credit: The Khaama Press News Agency

The Taliban and Iran Topped Pompeo’s Visit to Afghanistan

Viewpoint by Abdul Bari Nijrabi and R. Maxwell Bone*

WASHINGTON, DC | KABUL (IDN) – The U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pomepo made an unannounced visit to Kabul on June 25, 2019 During his nearly eight hours in the Afghan capital, the top diplomat of the United States met with senior government officials along with representatives of the Afghan opposition and civil society. This was Pompeo’s second visit to the South Asian country since he was sworn in as Donald Trump’s Secretary of State at the end of April 2018.

: UN Bureau; OPINION; 03 July 2019

Photo: UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Jan Kubis and the Director of UNRWA Affairs in Lebanon, Claudio Cordone meeting with Palestine refugees in Mieh Mieh refugee camp, Lebanon. 2019 UNRWA Photo by Ahmad Mahmoud

Palestinians Reject The 50 Billion Dollar ‘Deal of The Century’

Viewpoint by Somar Wijayadasa*

NEW YORK (IDN) – A workshop entitled ‘Peace for Prosperity’ to introduce the United States President Donald Trump’s Peace Plan (also known as the ‘Deal of the Century’) for the Palestinians, was held in Bahrain on June 25-26 – hosted by Trump's son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner.

According to Kushner, the deal includes: $50 billion in economic aid; extensive infrastructure investment; double the Palestinians' GDP; create over a million jobs; lower unemployment to single digits; and reduce the poverty rate by half – over the next decade.

: Somar Wijayadasa; THE WORLD; Middle East & North Africa; 03 July 2019

There’s Only One Way Out of the Global Coffee Crisis: Pay More

Viewpoint by Darío Soto Abril & Roberto Vélez

Darío Soto Abril is CEO of Fairtrade International and Roberto Vélez is CEO of the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation (FNC).

BONN | BOGOTA (IDN) – The global coffee industry is facing an unprecedented price crisis which not only threatens our daily cup of the black stuff but also – far more importantly – jeopardises the livelihoods of millions of small-scale growers around the world.

Coffee traders, roasters and retailers must face the fact that not paying a fair price to farmers risks the future economic sustainability of the global coffee business.

: Phil Harris; OPINION; 02 July 2019

Photo: Russian President Vladimir Putin meet with Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights Anna Kuznetsova on May 31, 2019. Credit: en.kremlin.ru

Putin’s Russia Doesn’t Compare with The Days of The Gulag

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

MSCOW (IDN-INPS) – Here’s a joke, borrowed from a Russian website. The Russians always have had a dry humour. “Trump, Merkel, May and Macon – Putin is heartily sick of them all. They keep calling and calling, so he switches his phone to voicemail. His message says; “Hello, you have called Russian President Vladimir Putin. Unfortunately, I cannot take your call at the moment. If you want to surrender, press 1. If you want to threaten sanctions, please press 2. If you want to discuss the situation in Ukraine, press 3. All buttons other than 1 activate our Topol-M intercontinental missiles. Have a nice day!” After you’ve laughed remember it does not reflect current Russian attitudes.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 02 July 2019

Map: Financial Action Task Force countries. Source: FATF

Ultimata to Iran and Pakistan Threaten to Cloud China’s FATF Presidency

Viewpoint by James M. Dorsey

James M. Dorsey – a senior fellow at Nanyang Technological University’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, an adjunct senior research fellow at the National University of Singapore’s Middle East Institute and co-director of the University of Wuerzburg’s Institute of Fan Culture – offered this viewpoint to IDN.

SINGAPORE (IDN) – China’s chairmanship of an international anti-money laundering and terrorism finance watchdog could put to the test the cohesiveness of global efforts to counter political violence with Iran and Pakistan hoping that they will be able to avoid blacklisting with China at the helm.

: Phil Harris; OPINION; 27 June 2019

Photo: Xi with the first lady during the Moscow Victory Day Parade on 9 May 2015. CC BY 4.0

President Xi of China Remains an Enigma

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – Xi Jinping, president of China, remains an enigma. You watched him on television reviewing the dancing in Pyongyang in the company of Kim Jong-un and his face is near to expressionless when in repose. He doesn’t stand like an arrogant man and we recall that time when he went out to eat in a noodle cafe he joined the back of the queue. His face doesn’t look hard, as did Hitler’s or Stalin’s or Donald Trump’s and Boris Johnson’s do today.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 25 June 2019

Families in a Changing World Call for Reality Check

Viewpoint by Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka

The writer is UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director, of UN Women.

NEW YORK (IDN) – What’s a family? Classically, we think of a mother, a father and the children. The father goes out to work, the mother takes care of the children, maybe she works part time, at home or close to home so she can be there when the children get back from school. It’s a common formula in advertising, movies and the media. It’s the pattern of romance plots, the story of song lyrics, the image for illustrations in schoolbooks. It’s comforting, stable, predictable. And it’s wrong, for the majority of families in the world.

: UN Bureau; OPINION; 25 June 2019

Photo: Izumi Nakamitsu, UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) addressing the High-Level Panel “CTBT: Science and Technology in a Changing World” on 24 June at Hofburg Palace, Vienna, as part of the Science and Technology Conference2019 (SnT2019) 24 June-28 June 2019. Credit: CTBTO

Science & Technology Can Contribute to Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation

Viewpoint by Izumi Nakamitsu

The following are extensive excerpts from the statement by Izumi Nakamitsu, UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) at the High-Level Panel “CTBT: Science and Technology in a Changing World” on 24 June at Hofburg Palace, Vienna, in the opening session of the Science and Technology Conference2019 (SnT2019) 24 June-28 June 2019.

VIENNA (IDN-INPS) – The world is witnessing a technological revolution through which an unparalleled convergence in scientific and technological innovations are changing almost every aspect of people’s daily lives. Communications, logistics, manufacturing and, yes, war and peace-making have all been, and will continue to be, revolutionized in our lifetimes.

: UN Bureau; OPINION; 24 June 2019

Photo: Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia. Credit: IOM – UN Migration

Continuous Influx of Eritrean Refugees Challenges Ethiopia

Viewpoint by Kristina Melicherová

BRUSSELS (IDN) – Refugee and host communities in Ethiopia came together on June 20 to commemorate World Refugee Day through various cultural activities, organized within refugee camps as well as urban settings. But the reality behind the festivities is that hundreds of Eritrean refugees continue to cross the border between Eritrea and Ethiopia every day.

Despite the peace deal between Ethiopia and Eritrea, signed in July 2018, the internal situation and oppression of Eritrean people, mainly through the indefinite military service, remains intact. The continued inflow of young Eritreans fleeing oppression is putting strain on Ethiopia’s refugee camps.

: UN Bureau; THE WORLD; Africa; 22 June 2019

Photo: U.S. Navy convoy in the Strait of Hormuz on July 21, 2016. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Send in to the Persian Gulf a Flotilla Under the UN Flag

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – In 1980 in his State of the Union address President Jimmy Carter said: “Any attempt by any outside force to gain control of the Persian Gulf will be regarded as an assault on the vital interests of the United States and such an assault will be repelled by any means necessary, including military force.”

Dear President Donald Trump: We’ve been here before and it’s as ludicrous this time as it was nearly 40 years ago. Why on earth are you sending in a flotilla of ships and 2,500 troops? Why are you so convinced that the mines that exploded on two oil tankers, neither of which were American, in the Persian Gulf are the work of the Iranians?