Peace & Justice

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

28 Corporations Pledge to Curbing Temperature Rise to 1.5°C

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – In the run-up to the UN Climate Action Summit on September 23, twenty-eight leading companies have responded to a call-to-action campaign and committed themselves to limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels with a view to reaching net-zero emissions by no later than 2050. In doing so, they are contributing to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), endorsed by the international community in September 2015.

: J Nastranis; UN INSIDER; 29 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

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 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.

: Phil Harris; OPINION; 26 July 2019

Photo: This three-year-old girl had been twice displaced with her family in the West Bank over the past year. Credit: UNRWA/Lara Jonasdottir.

UN Condemns Israeli Destruction of Palestinian Homes

By Sean Buchanan

NEW YORK (IDN) – Calling it “not compatible with Israel’s “obligations under international humanitarian law”, the United Nations has condemned Israel's demolition July 22 of 70 homes in an East Jerusalem neighbourhood under the control of the Palestinian Authority.

Israel’s Supreme Court has reportedly ruled that the houses in the Palestinian community of Sur Bahir were built too close to the separation barrier in the occupied West Bank, violating a construction ban.

: UN Bureau; UN INSIDER; 23 July 2019

Photo: IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano. Credit: D. Calma/IAEA

Nuclear Watchdog Chief Amano Leaves Behind a Rich Legacy

By Reinhard Jacobsen

VIENNA (IDN) – Within days of his decision to step down for health reasons in March 2020 as Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Yukia Amano passed away at the age of 72 on July 22, 2019. His latest mandate was due to run until 2021. He headed the agency since 2009.

In a letter to the IAEA's Board of Governors announcing his decision to resign, Amano – a Japanese national – wrote that over the past decade, the agency also known as the nuclear watchdog had delivered "concrete results" to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, in line with its mandate. "I am very proud of our achievements and grateful to Member States and Agency staff," Amano said.

: Reinhard Jacobsen; SUSTAINABILITY; Peace & Justice; 23 July 2019

Photo: Côte d'Ivoire Foreign Minister Marcel Amon-Tanoh and Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov at a joint press conference in Moscow on 17 July 2019.

Russia-Côte d'Ivoire Agree to Elevate Bilateral Relations

By Kester Kenn Klomegah

MOSCOW (IDN) – The ways and means of invigorating bilateral relations in political, trade, economic, educational and humanitarian areas were the centrepiece of the first diplomatic encounter between Foreign Minister Marcel Amon-Tanoh of Côte d'Ivoire, also known as Ivory Coast, and his counterpart Sergey Lavrov of Russia, in Moscow.

The two Foreign Ministers also exchanged views on major global and regional issues, such as crisis settlement and peacekeeping in Africa. Countering international terrorism and extremism in the context of collective efforts to neutralize these threats in Africa and beyond too topped their agenda.

: Kester Kenn Klomegah; THE WORLD; Russia; 19 July 2019

Photo: Walter Lindner (right), German Ambassador to India, with RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat. Credit: OFM

Outrage After German Ambassador to India Visits Paramilitary RSS Headquarters

By OFMI*

This article is the eighth in a series of joint productions of South Asian Outlook and IDN-InDepthNews, flagship of the International Press Syndicate.

NAGPUR, India (IDN) — Controversy is raging after Germany’s Ambassador to India, Walter Lindner, visited the Nagpur, Maharashtra headquarters of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on July 17 despite the group’s implication in anti-minority pogroms and heavily documented inspiration by European fascist movements, including that of Nazi Germany.

: J C Suresh; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 18 July 2019

Photo: Pearl-Qatar, an artificial island spanning nearly four square kilometres, is one of the attractions of Doha for foreigners. CC BY-SA 3.0

Intra-Afghan Dialogue Seen as A Step Towards Peace

By R. Maxwell Bone

The writer is Vice President for Political Affairs, Democracy, and Governance at the International Institute for Peace, Democracy, and Development (IIPDD). He lives in Washington, DC. Follow him on Twitter @maxbone55.

WASHIGTON, DC (IDN) – A broad delegation of representatives from Afghan society partook in an Intra-Afghan dialogue session with the militant group the Taliban on July 7-8. The talks in the Qatari capital which were jointly organized by the Gulf State and Germany marked the first time that such a diverse group formally engaged in dialogue with the Taliban.

: Asia Editor; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 14 July 2019

Photo: The July 7-8 talks between the Taliban and Afghan delegates in Doha. Credit: MEMRI

Germany and EU Encouraged by Afghan Talks in Doha

Afghanistan On the Long Road to Trust and Reconciliation

By Rita Joshi

BERLIN (IDN) – As a friend to Afghanistan, Germany has supported efforts to achieve peace in the country for many years. After 40 years of almost constant violence, the main prerequisites for peace, according to the German Foreign Office, are "a willingness to engage in dialogue and a certain level of trust across deep divides."