 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Viewpoint by Tariq Rauf *
HIROSHIMA (IDN —August 6 and August 9 will mark the 75th 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 nuclear weapons inflicted.
By Bernhard Schell
DOHA | VIENNA (IDN | UNIS) —The second high-level meeting of the Global Judicial Integrity Network of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has launched in Doha under the patronage of Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Emir of Qatar, with hundreds of chief justices and senior judges from around the world in attendance.
Until February 26, the conference will take stock of the achievements of the Network since its launch and discuss existing and emerging challenges related to judicial integrity, exploring the efforts made by judiciaries to address them, and identify priority areas for the Network.
By Jamshed Baruah
GENEVA (IDN) – During the 75th anniversary year of the United Nations, "because of the centrality of human rights in all UN does, and because human rights are under assault", UN Secretary-General António Guterres has launched a Call to Action aimed at boosting equality and reducing suffering everywhere.
"Human rights are our ultimate tool to help societies grow in freedom," he told Member States on the opening day of the UN Human Rights Council’s 43rd session on February 24 in Geneva.
Viewpoint by Pepe Escobar, Global Research
MUNICH (IDN) – Few postmodern political pantomimes have been more revealing than the hundreds of so-called "international decision-makers," mostly Western, waxing lyrical, disgusted or nostalgic over “Westlessness” at the Munich Security Conference (MSC) from February 14-16, 2020.
"Westlessness" sounds like one of those constipated concepts issued from a post-party bad hangover at the Rive Gauche during the 1970s. In theory (but not French Theory) Westlessness in the age of WhatsApp should mean a deficit of multiparty action to address the most pressing threats to the "international order" – or (dis)order – as nationalism, derided as a narrow-minded populist wave, prevails.
By Jamshed Baruah
GENEVA (IDN) – Biram Dah Abeid, a descendant of former slaves who has been called "the Nelson Mandela of Mauritania", and Shaparak Shajarizadeh, a prominent Iranian women's rights activist have been honoured for their courage to fight gross violations of human rights
Abeid, founder of the Initiative for the Resurgence of the Abolitionist Movement (IRA), has mobilized tens of thousands of Mauritanians to protest slavery and the government's failure to apply anti-slavery laws.
By Franck Kuwonu, Africa Renewal
NEW YORK (IDN) – Voters across the continent will be heading to the ballot box this year to choose their leaders in presidential, parliamentary and local elections ending with Ghana in December.
Comorians will be electing a new 33-member national assembly following presidential elections in 2019 while Ghanaians will select their parliamentarians and president on 7 December.
Viewpoint by Jim Miles*
MONTREAL (IDN) – There is a lot of obfuscation and sloganeering about the Canada wide protests in support of the Wet'suwet'en First Nation of British Columbia and their resistance to corporate and governmental greed in pushing a natural gas pipeline through their traditional territory. On February 17, 2020 a CBC reporter cited – and probably paraphrased closely – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as saying his "most important relationship is with indigenous people".
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK (IDN) – Nigeria is rounding up journalists who investigate corruption – jailing them for indefinite periods of time and accusing them of treason.
Agba Jalingo, publisher of Cross River Watch, was arrested and jailed in August 2019 until this month when a Cross River court granted bail. He faces trial over a report written by the newspaper alleging that Cross River State Governor Ben Ayade diverted 500 million naira meant for the establishment of Cross River Microfinance Bank.
Viewpoint by Tim Gee*
LONDON (IDN) – In 2011, after a racial slur was used on a women's rights march, writer Flavia Dzodan wrote a blog called, 'My feminism will be intersectional or it will be bullshit'. The framing was picked up by others, adapting the title to environmentalism and to activism more broadly but it was far less talked about in the peace movement.
By Bernhard Schell
ISTANBUL (IDN) – Iran has been bashed for its January 5 announcement that it would no longer abide by certain "operational restrictions" on uranium enrichment in the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA. The declaration has also prompted doubts about the regime's activities and intentions and the fate of the nuclear deal.
We promote a sustainable future and culture of peace through our news reports, analyses, feature stories and viewpoints. We focus on UN’s sustainable development goals and a nuclear-weapons free world. We contribute to international understanding.
