Peace & Justice

Photo: A cargo crane and grain dryer in Odessa port, Ukraine. Credit: Shutterstock/Unkas

War in Ukraine Raises Global Shipping Costs, Stifles Trade

Jaya Ramachandran with UNCTAD Report

GENEVA (IDN) — UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) says the war in Ukraine is stifling trade and logistics of the country and the Black Sea region, increasing global vessel demand and the cost of shipping around the world.

In a report entitled “Maritime trade disrupted: The war in Ukraine and its effects on maritime trade logistics” published on June 28, UNCTAD says Ukraine’s trading partners now have to turn to other countries for the commodities they import.

: Jaya Ramachandran; UN INSIDER; 28 June 2022

Photo: Dr Martin Luther King speaking against war in Vietnam, St. Paul Campus, University of Minnesota by Minnesota Historical Society. CC BY 2.0 via Flickr.

Weaponizing Non-Violence: A Change of Tactics Required in Ukraine

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN) — Non-violence can get you a long way, often further than violence. Look at Mahatma Gandhi whose movement compelled the British to withdraw from India years before they planned to. His famous long march to the sea to gather salt—the British insisted they run the salt industry and charged a lot for this necessary product—was the turning point. The British-led troops beat the protestors, which was reported all over the world and led to an outpouring of support for Gandhi in Britain.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 28 June 2022

Photo: Presidential candidate Raila Odinga (R) and his running mate Martha Karua (L, Front). Credit: Fred Mutune/Xinhua

Kenyan Frontrunner in Upcoming Poll Taps Woman Justice as Running Mate

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK | NAIROBI (IDN) — The former prime minister and a frontrunner in the August 9 presidential election, Raila Odinga, has tapped Martha Wangari Karua, a former justice and constitutional affairs minister, as his running mate—making her the first woman in Kenya to run on a major political party’s presidential ticket.

It is believed she can pull in a decisive number of votes among her Kikuyu people, the country’s largest ethnic group.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 27 June 2022

Image source: Asia Pacific Research Network

Asia Pacific Peace Groups Vow to Oppose US-Incited Impending War

By Devinder Kumar

MANILA (IDN) — Peace advocates from Japan, Australia, India, South Korea, and the Philippines, gathered to manifest their unity to oppose all kinds of "imperialist aggression" in the region, have in a global press conference held in Manila on June 24, called for just peace as they sounded the alarm on the intensifying tensions between China and the US superpowers.

: Devinder Kumar; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 26 June 2022

Myanmar Military Junta's War Crimes

Viewpoint by Jan Servaes

BRUSSELS (IDN) — During decades of internal conflict, the Myanmar military has been repeatedly accused of atrocities and war crimes. Except between 1948-1958 and 2010-2021, the army ruled Myanmar with absolute control for 73 years. Thanks to social media, the international community is now better informed about the atrocities perpetrated by this military.

: Asia Editor; OPINION; 26 June 2022

Image: Constitution preamble. Credit: Wikipedia Commons

Does Constitution or Selective Interpretation of Civilization Bind India?

Viewpoint by Dr Ram Puniyani

This article is the 21st in a series of joint productions of South Asian Outlook and IDN-InDepthNews, the flagship of the International Press Syndicate. The writer is a former professor of biomedical engineering and former senior medical officer affiliated with the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (now Mumbai) and meanwhile a social activist and commentator.

NEW DELHI (IDN) — A couple of years ago article 370 was abrogated, and our Supreme Court is yet to give its verdict on whether this move conforms to our Constitution.

: Suresh Jaura; THE WORLD; South Asia; 26 June 2022

Image: President Donald J. Trump, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bahrain Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Foreign Affairs for the United Arab Emirates Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyanisigns sign the Abraham Accords on Sept. 15, 2020, on the South Lawn of the White House. (Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead)

The Abraham Accords’ Implications for The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Viewpoint by Alon Ben-Meir

Dr Alon Ben-Meir is a retired professor of international relations at the Center for Global Affairs at New York University (NYU). He taught courses on international negotiation and Middle Eastern studies for over 20 years.

NEW YORK (IDN) — The Abraham Accords have been in the making for several years; what has ultimately brought them to fruition is the Arab states’ national security interests. By no means though have the Arab states abandoned the Palestinian cause, which will continue to haunt them and Israel until an independent Palestinian state is established.

: Africa & ME Editor; OPINION; 25 June 2022

Photo: Kazakh Minister addressing High-level Session of the First Meeting of the States Parties (MSP) to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). Credit: Katsuhiro Asagiri, IDN-INPS Multimedia Director

Kazakhstan Calls for Universalization of the TPNW

Following are excerpts from the text of the statement by Kazakh's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi, at the High-Level Opening Session of TPNW MSP1 on June 21, 2022.

VIENNA (IDN) — The First Meeting of States Parties to the TPNW is a remarkable historic achievement following a nearly decade-long collective effort to advance the universal objective of complete nuclear disarmament.

: Ramesh Jaura; OPINION; 23 June 2022

Photo: First Meeting of the States Parties (MSP) to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). Credit: Seikyo Shimbun

Faith Communities Greet First Nuclear Weapons Ban Conference

By IDN-INPS Team

VIENNA (IDN) — Faith communities "from a diversity of traditions and located all over the world" have joined together "with one voice to mark" the first meeting of the States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (MSP) to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW)."

: UN Bureau; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 22 June 2022

Photo: YouTube Screenshot of Zelensky with Troops. Source. France 24

There’s No Need for War with Russia

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN) — Conflicts have a history of spinning out of control. Trotsky, the one-time close comrade of Lenin, reportedly said, “You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you”. The overwhelming majority of Ukrainians were not interested in war until President Volodymyr Zelensky took his counterproductive stance on NATO membership and President Vladimir Putin subsequently launched his invasion and united most of Ukraine’s people against him.