SUSTAINABILITY

Photo: Tulips garland Mt Daisen. Credit: Palitha Kohona

Are the Japanese Really Different? Maybe

Viewpoint by Dr Palitha Kohona

The writer was on an extended visit to Japan recently. He returned from a four week trip in April 2019. Some his observations might provide some clues for their phenomenal success despite being devastated by War. There might be useful lessons for other countries following the path to development.

TOKYO (IDN) – Arriving in Japan after a long and tiring flight is such a pleasure. Polite immigration officials in neat uniforms are there to guide you and to organise the orderly rapidly moving immigration queues.

: Dr. Palitha Kohona; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 17 May 2019

Photo: Seven presidential candidates (clockwise): Sadybek Tugel, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Amirzhan Kosanov, Toleutai Rakhimbekov, Amangeldy Taspikhov, Daniya Yespayeva and Zhambyl Akhmetbekov.

7 Candidates Mark Kazakh Passage Through Historical Transition

By Radwan Jakeem

NEW YORK (IDN) – The Central Asian republic of Kazakhstan is living through an historical transition. For the first time since the country adopted the Constitutional Law on the independence of the Republic and held the first presidential election in 1991, Nursultan Nazarbayev is not contesting the forthcoming polls on June 9, 2019.

He was elected for a fifth term in the 2015 elections and was entitled to hold the office of the President until 2020. But he stunned the nation March 19, announcing during a nationally televised address that he would be relinquishing the office he had held for nearly three decades.

: Jaya Ramachandran; CENTRAL ASIA; 15 May 2019

Photo: Girl on roof of a factory in India. Source: UNFPA © Andrea Bruce/Noor

In Quest of a More Equal World

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – Maybe, after all, there is an argument for saying that the world needs more violence not less if we are to make its societies more equal. This is one conclusion one can derive from Walter Scheidel’s new book, The Great Leveler.

He starts from what we all know by now: the richest 62 persons in the world own as much net wealth as the poorer half of humanity. This is the number that could fit inside a London double-decker bus.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 14 May 2019

Photo credit: Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform.

Deep Sea Marine Science Is Key to Unlocking the Potential of Our Oceans

Viewpoint by Michael W. Lodge and Vladimir Ryabinin

The following is a joint op-ed by Michael W. Lodge, Secretary-General of International Seabed Authority, and Vladimir Ryabinin, Executive Secretary of IOC-UNESCO.

KINGSTON, Jamaica (IDN) – There has never been a time of greater promise or greater challenge for the future of our oceans. This is the topic on everyone’s minds as the international community gathers in Copenhagen (May 13-15) for the first Global Planning Meeting for the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030).

: J Nastranis; OPINION; 14 May 2019

Photo: Press Briefing by Syed Hasrin Syed Hussin (right), Chair of the Third Preparatory Committee for the 2020 NPT Review Conference, on May 10, 2019 at the UN Headquarters in New York. Credit: Katsuhiro Asagiri | IDN-INPS

Malaysian Diplomat Shows Courage on Way to Landmark NPT Review Conference

Viewpoint by Ray Acheson

This article first appeared as Editorial in NPT News in Review, Vol. 16, No. 7 on May 10, 2019. The writer is the Director of Reaching Critical Will – the disarmament programme of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF). She represents WILPF on several coalition steering groups, including the 2017 Nobel Laureate International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN). Ray is a 2018 UN Women Metro-NY "Champion of Change". – The Editor

NEW YORK (IDN-INPS) – Standing up to bullies is always hard. It takes courage and resilience. Ambassador Syed Hussin of Malaysia and his team demonstrated this in spades. They listened to vehement criticisms from nuclear-armed states for the revised draft recommendations.

: Ramesh Jaura; OPINION; 13 May 2019

Photo: Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan (left) with Saudi Prince Mohammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (second from right) in February 2019. Source: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Twitter account.

Pakistan's Juggling Act on a Precarious Tightrope

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) – Pakistan risks falling off the tightrope it walks as it attempts to balance its relations with rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran.

: Phil Harris; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 13 May 2019

Photo: Michelle Bachelet, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, with President Paul Biya of the Cameroon.

Move Fast on Cameroon Before a Window of Opportunity Closes

Viewpoint by Rene Wadlow, President, Association of World Citizens

GENEVA (IDN) – On May 8, 2019, Michelle Bachelet, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, after a three-day mission to the Cameroon, welcomed the Cameroon government's willingness to cooperate over finding workable solutions to what she called "major human rights and humanitarian crises" caused by months of serious unrest and violence across the southwest and north of the country.

She said: "I believe that there is a clear – if possibly short – window of opportunity to arrest the crises that have led to hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people as well as the killings and brutal human rights violations and abuses... It will take significant actions on the part of the Government and substantial and sustained support from the international community."

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; OPINION; 12 May 2019

Photo: Buddhist monk taking food in Bangkok. Credit: Kalinga Seneviratne.

Buddhist Kingdom of Thailand Caters to Muslim Tourists

By Setiawan Liu

This article is the 32nd in a series of joint productions of Lotus News Features and IDN-InDepthNews, flagship of the International Press Syndicate. Click here for previous series.

BANGKOK (IDN) – An Indonesian tourist found the Buddhist dominated Thailand more comfortable than the Christian majority Netherlands where she had gone a few years ago. It is because Thailand – whose major revenue earner is tourism – has developed its tourism industry to cater for the multicultural tourists of today.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 12 May 2019

Photo: Putin addressing the plenary meeting of the Congress of the Russian Rectors’ Union. Credit: Mikhail Metzel.

Russia Targets Foreign Students to Boost Image Abroad

By Kester Kenn Klomegah

MOSCOW (IDN) – The Russian Ministry of Higher Education, the Russian Rectors' Association and Education NGOs have been on their heels to realize important tasks given them by President Vladimir Putin. As an integral part of educational reforms, he has stressed the importance of enormous initiatives and modernization efforts.

He also pointed to the growing contribution of universities to research, new technology development, and implementing and training qualified personnel for projects at various levels, ranging from national to regional and municipal initiatives.

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; THE WORLD; EU & Europe; 10 May 2019

Photo: Most of Eritrea’s population are disenfranchised due to forced conscriptions and a life below the poverty line. Source: face2faceafrica.com

Exodus of Eritreans in Post-Peace Era Continues

By Kristina Melicherová

BRUSSELS (IDN) – Hope for change in Eritrea after the July 2018 Ethiopia-Eritrea peace agreement has faded. Nearly a year after Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced his country would accept the Algiers Agreement of 2000 and make peace with Eritrea, the flow of refugees fleeing the repressive regime continues unabated.

A senior official from Ethiopia’s refugee agency recently confirmed that the situation in the border area between Ethiopia and Eritrea has not changed since the official closing of all border crossings for vehicles in April 2019. He confirmed that the number of refugees from Eritrea to Ethiopia continues to increase, with as many as 250 people being processed every day.