OPINION

Image: The United States conducted the first in a series of high-yield thermonuclear weapon design tests, the Castle Bravo test, at Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands, as part of Operation Castle on 1 March 1954. Credit: U.S. Department of Energy. Credit: U.S. Department of Energy.

CEND Is Creating the Conditions to ‘Never Disarm’ – 74 Years Since Hiroshima, Nagasaki

Viewpoint by Tariq Rauf

The writer is a Vienna-based nuclear arms control specialist, who was Head of Verification and Security Policy Coordination, Office reporting to the Director General at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) from 2002—2011/2012, in which capacity he was the Alternate Head of the IAEA NPT Delegation. The views expressed in this paper are purely personal.

VIENNA (IDN) – With August 6 and 9 respectively marking the 74th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, no sentient human being who has met or seen the hibakusha (survivors), or visited the hypocentres in the two cities, or seen the photographic evidence of the destruction of these two Japanese cities, can avoid being shocked and horrified by the devastation that was inflicted by nuclear weapons.

: UN Bureau; OPINION; 05 August 2019

Photo: Ambassador A.L.A. Azeez, Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the UN in Geneva, addressing the panel on nuclear disarmament at plenary meeting of the Conference on Disarmament on 30 July 2019 in Geneva. Credit: Sri Lanka Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva.

Nuclear Disarmament Through the Vortex of Global Concern

Viewpoint by A.L.A. Azeez

The writer, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the UN in Geneva, is concerned about the security landscape in most regions as well as globally. He pleads for all feasible measures to resume discussions on substantive matters. Nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation are the foremost among them, he adds. The following are extensive extracts from his remarks made in his personal capacity as a member of the panel on nuclear disarmament at plenary meeting of the Conference on Disarmament on 30 July 2019 in Geneva.

: Ramesh Jaura; OPINION; 04 August 2019

Photo: Chinese enthusiastically celebrate country’s successful test launch of a nuclear missile (1966). Source: UCS

China Holds Firm on No First Use of Nuclear Weapons, Misses U.S. Assurances

Viewpoint by Gregory Kulacki

The writer researches the cross-cultural aspects of nuclear arms control negotiations between the United States, China and Japan. He is China project manager and senior analyst at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). The following was first published at UCS's blog on July 24, 2019.

CLAREMONT, CA, USA (IDN | UCS) – Ever since I took this job 17 years ago U.S. colleagues of all political and intellectual persuasions have been telling me that sooner or later China would alter, adjust, amend or qualify the policy that China will never, under any circumstances, use nuclear weapons first.

: Asia Editor; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 03 August 2019

Photo: Accompanied by their NATO counterparts, the then Soviet inspectors enter a weapons storage area to verify NATO compliance with the INF Treaty. Created on 16 August 1989. Source: Wikimedia Commons

INF Treaty’s Demise Opens Door to a Dangerous Arms Race

Viewpoint by Daryl G. Kimball

The writer is Executive Director of the Arms Control Association. The following is the text of his statement issued on August 2.

WASHINGTON, DC (IDN | Arms Control Association) – The loss of the landmark INF Treaty, which helped end the Cold War nuclear arms race, is a blow to international peace and security. Russian noncompliance with the INF Treaty is unacceptable and merits a strong response. But President Trump’s decision to terminate the treaty will not eliminate Russia’s noncompliant 9M729 missiles — and is a mistake.

: Ramesh Jaura; OPINION; 02 August 2019

Photo: Internet has replaced the ‘Gutenberg era’, promising the horizontal system of information instead of the vertical. But that hope has been belied. Picture shows Gutenberg statue at the Johannes Gutenberg-University, Mainz. Credit: BR-Bavaria Radio.

The World Is on a Breakneck Course Towards Barbarisation

Viewpoint by Roberto Savio*

ROME (IDN | OtherNews) – When all is said and done, it appears that Thomas Hobbes, the 17th century English philosopher who had a dire vision of man, was not totally wrong. From the frivolous to the serious, in just a week we have had four items of news which would not happen in a normal world.

An English porn beauty with 86,000 followers on social media has put bottles of the water she bathes in on sale at 30 pounds a bottle and has sold several thousand bottles.

: Phil Harris; OPINION; 01 August 2019

Photo: Mosques affiliated to Wahabis are fast becoming popular among youth in Kashmir. Source: India Today.

Saudi-Iranian Rivalry and Turkish Ambitions Meet in Kashmir

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) – Thought that sectarianism was a pillar of Saudi-Iranian rivalry? Think again, think Kashmir where the two countries’ geopolitical rivalry and Turkish ambitions cross sectarian lines.

: Phil Harris; OPINION; 31 July 2019

Photo: Four soldiers carrying rifles near helicopter under blue sky. Credit: Somchai Kongkamsri

US War with Iran will Violate Law Against Aggression

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – In 2010 the signatory states of the International Criminal Court, established to prosecute war crimes, convened a conference to add aggression to the list of crimes the court could try. The U.S., Russia, Iran, China and India have refused to sign up as ICC members and have not welcomed the addition of “aggression”. But fifteen NATO states have. Moreover, Russia wrote its own law into its Criminal Code. It prohibits “Planning, Preparing or Waging an Aggressive War”. It goes further: it prohibits “Public Appeals to Unleash an Aggressive War”. This opens the door to Russian leaders and politicians being prosecuted in domestic courts.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 30 July 2019

Photo: A new study has highlighted gaps in protection for migratory birds globally. Credit: CMS

Forty Years of Action for Animals on the Move

Viewpoint by Amy Fraenkel

The writer is Acting Executive Secretary of the UN Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (www.cms.int)

BONN (IDN) – This year marks the 40^th Anniversary of the United Nations’ Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), the only global agreement between countries aimed at protecting thousands of terrestrial, oceanic and avian animals such as elephants, antelope, gorillas, whales, dolphins, sharks, rays, and many species of birds – that fly, walk or swim across the planet. In February 2020, India will be hosting the 13^th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to CMS in the city of Gandhinagar.

: UN Bureau; OPINION; 30 July 2019

Photo: The Security Council has primary responsibility, under the United Nations Charter, for the maintenance of international peace and security. Credit: UN Photo/Kim Haughton

Nationally-owned Transitions Are Key to Sustainable Peace

Viewpoint by António Guterres

Following are extensive extracts from the UN Secretary-General's remarks at Security Council Briefing on Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace: Strengthening Partnerships for Successful Nationally-owned Transitions on July 18, 2019.

NEW YORK (IDN-INPS) – United Nations special political missions and peacekeeping operations are some of our most effective tools to promote and maintain international peace and security. But they are temporary. We are strengthening our focus on moments of transition, when our missions are reconfigured or leave a country.

: UN Bureau; SUSTAINABILITY; Peace & Justice; 27 July 2019

Graphic: The anti-corruption organizations of China and Laos have decided to jointly supervise the construction of China-Laos Railway and establish a mechanism to uphold integrity, which can be seen as a model for clean governance. Credit: Song Chen/China Daily

China’s Risky Bets Along the Belt and Road Initiative

Viewpoint by James M. Dorsey

SINGAPORE (IDN) – China’s infrastructure and energy driven one-trillion-dollar Belt and Road initiative involves risky bets across a swath of land populated by often illiberal or autocratic governments exercising power without independent checks and balances.