Peace & Justice

Photo: Weapons being burnt during the official launch of the Disarmament, Demobilization, Rehabilitation and Reintegration (DDRR) process in Muramvya, Burundi. Source: Africa Renewal.

African Union Campaigning to Achieve Peace and End Conflict

NEW YORK (IDN) – Realising a conflict-free Africa is the dream of every African. In this edition, we highlight the current hotspots; the root causes of conflicts; the various efforts in search of peaceful co-existence and development and the African Union’s quest for silencing the guns by 2020.

In 2013 African Union (AU) member state representatives gathered at its headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where the Organisation of African Unity was established in 1963, to celebrate the body’s 50th anniversary.

: Africa Renewal; THE WORLD; Africa; 01 February 2020

Image: Blast mine - American M14, Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Trump Administration's Landmine Policy a Dangerous Misstep

By J C Suresh

TORONTO | WASHINGTON, DC (IDN) —In yet another move to reverse former President Barack Obama’s strategies for a more humane world, the Trump administration is poised to rescind his predecessor's 2014 directive to no longer “produce or otherwise acquire any anti-personnel landmines,” known as APLs, according to several media reports. APLs are small explosive devices placed under, on, or near the ground. The new policy would reportedly lift current restrictions on deploying landmines outside the Korean Peninsula.

: J C Suresh; THE WORLD; USA and Canada; 30 January 2020

Photo: Main Building of the Peoples Friendship University in Moscow. Courtesy of PFUR University.

A Renowned Russian University Celebrates 60th Anniversary

Viewpoint by Somar Wijayadasa*

MOSCOW (IDN) – If education is the ultimate gift one can give a child, then, the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia has given that gift to more than 150,000 deserving young men and women from many countries around the world – who otherwise would never have had the opportunity to receive higher education — especially in a foreign country.

Besides, the university is characterised by a cooperative and friendly attitude — one of respect and mutual assistance. With multinational traditions and customs, cuisine, dancing and music — the whole world is in one Moscow street: the Miklukho-Maklaya Street.

: Somar Wijayadasa; THE WORLD; Russia; 29 January 2020

Photo: On May 30, 2016, former Chadian dictator Hissène Habré was convicted of crimes against humanity, war crimes, and torture, including sexual violence and rape, by the Extraordinary African Chambers in the Senegalese court system and sentenced to life in prison.Source: Human Rights Watch.

World Court Gives Myanmar 4 Months to Put Its House in Order

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN) – Let’s cut to the chase – there is no question, no doubt, that the government of Myanmar and the army which controls it have committed the most vile atrocities against the Rohingya people, a Muslim minority that lives in the West of the Buddhist-dominated country.

The International Court of Justice (the World Court) which ruled on January 23 against the Myanmar government, may not have concluded it was genocide as some say but it did unreservedly condemn the government for its atrocious sowing of violent mayhem against the Rohingya.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 28 January 2020

Photo: Angela Merkel invited representatives of a total of twelve states to Berlin, to the Conference on Libya. In recent years the country has become one of the most important transit countries for refugees heading north. Credit: Bundesregierung/Bergmann

UN In Search of a Way Out of Passive Role in Libya

By Erol Avdović, WebpublicaPress

NEW YORK (IDN) – The United Nations has “some capacity to report back on ceasefire violations” and monitor the fragile peace in Libya, said chief spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General Stephane Dujarric, replying to this reporter’s question. The ceasefire was holding immediately after agreement was reached on January 19 in Berlin at the conference on Libya.

This high-profile international meeting was widely rated as very successful, though the situation in Libya continues to be described as chaotic and a source of insecurity throughout the Mediterranean basin.

: UN Bureau; UN INSIDER; 28 January 2020

Image credit: Transparency International

Politics-Big Money Nexus Feeds Corruption

By Sean Buchanan

LONDON (IDN) – In the last year, anti-corruption movements across the globe have gained momentum as millions of people joined together to speak out against corruption in their governments.

Protests from Latin America, North Africa and Eastern Europe to the Middle East and Central Asia made headlines as citizens marched in Santiago, Prague, Beirut and a host of other cities to voice their frustrations in the streets.

: Phil Harris; SUSTAINABILITY; Peace & Justice; 26 January 2020

Photo: The Peace Palace in The Hague (Netherlands), seat of the International Court of Justice. Credit: Jeroen Bouman - Courtesy of the ICJ.

UN Court Censures Myanmar for Violating Genocide Convention

Viewpoint by Rene Wadlow, President, Association of World Citizens

GENEVA (IDN) – On January 23, 2020, a panel of 17 judges of the World Court (ICJ) voted unanimously calling on Myanmar (formerly Burma) to take all measures in its power to prevent genocide of the remaining 600,000 Rohingya that the Court stated were extremely vulnerable to violence at the hands of the military. The Court calls for emergency provisional measures in order to respect the requirements of the 1948 Genocide Convention.

: Rene Wadlow; SUSTAINABILITY; Peace & Justice; 23 January 2020

[IDN-InDepthNews – 20 January 2020] Photo: The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, addresses the Berlin Conference on Libya alongside the UN Secretary-General António Guterres (r). Credit: Federal Government/Guido Bergmann.

Berlin Conference on Libya Sparks Expectations of an End to Protracted Conflict

By Ramesh Jaura

BERLIN (IDN) – A tiny glimmer of hope has emerged for Libya which has been torn by fighting between rival armed factions since the ouster of late ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. Participants in a high-level ‘Berlin Conference on Libya’, hosted by German Chancellor Angela Merkel on January 19, gave the go-ahead for the comprehensive ‘Berlin Process’ to put an end to the conflict and bring lasting peace to the oil-rich North African country trapped in clashing interests of Russia and Turkey – and other countries.

Participants agreed to respect the UN arms embargo and truce in the war-ravaged country. They pledged to establish an oversight mechanism to ensure long-term peace and put an end to the “disastrous humanitarian situation faced by thousands of civilians,” as UN Secretary-General António Guterres put it, in the face of conflict growing “deeper and more destructive”.

: Ramesh Jaura; THE WORLD; Middle East; 20 January 2020

Photo: After the police pouncing on People Power leader Robert Kyagulanyi Sentamu aka Bobi Wine at the start of his countrywide consultations on January 6, his supporters are devising new ways to go past the police. Source: The Independent.

Militant Youth Pin Hopes on Uganda’s ‘New Nightmare’

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – He’s elusive. He escapes, he hides. Police keep chasing him like a video game character or a superhero in a movie.

But despite their best efforts, authorities have been unable to stop Robert Kyagulanyi – a member of parliament and a popular reggae singer who records under the stage name Bobi Wine. He plans to seize the seat held by aging President Yoweri Museveni when elections are held in 2021.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 16 January 2020

Photo: Screenshot UN Video ‘Least Developed Countries’. Credit: UN

The World’s Poorest Need Bold Actions by the Better Off

By Jamshed Baruah

GENEVA (IDN) – As the United Nations launches an ambitious global effort to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, the fate of the world’s 47 most impoverished nations – the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) – has assumed added importance. UNCTAD, an organization of the UN, is therefore urging them to use external aid to structurally transform their economies. Donors, it adds, should align their support with the national development plans of the poorest nations.