SUSTAINABILITY

Photo: Tjekero Tweya, Namibia's Minister of Industrialisation, Trade and SME Development of the Republic of Namibia, and President of the ACP Council of Ministers addressing the 37th session of ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA) in Bucharest. Source: New Era Live.

Post-2020 ACP-EU Partnership Expected to be Unique

WINDHOEK (ACP-IDN) – Namibia has reaffirmed its commitment to the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) and European Union (EU) partnership and says it will do all it can to honour and work toward the commitments embodied in the Cotonou Agreement and post-Cotonou when it expires in 2020.

This was the message by Minister of Industrialisation, Trade and SME Development of the Republic of Namibia and President of the ACP Council of Ministers, Tjekero Tweya, when he spoke at the 37th session of ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA) March 18-20 in Bucharest, Romania.

: Robert Johnson; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; ACP Group of States; 21 March 2019

Photo: The 37th plenary of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA) was formally opened on 18 March in Bucharest, Romania. Credit: ACP Press

ACP-EU Parliamentarians Confer on Crucial Issues in Bucharest

By Robert Johnson

BRUSSELS | BUCHAREST (ACP-IDN) – Migration, rule of law, climate change, ACP-EU relations beyond 2020, renewable energies and education were among issues discussed at the 37th ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA) in Bucharest.

From March 18 to 20, 2019, the Assembly brought together Members of the European Parliament and representatives from developing countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific in Bucharest, Romania.

: Robert Johnson; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; ACP Group of States; 21 March 2019

Photo: Canterbury Mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Time to Address Socioeconomic Issues in Terrorism Reporting

Viewpoint by Kalinga Seneviratne

SYDNEY (IDN) – The reporting of the attack in New Zealand on March 15, 2019 where a White terrorist of Christian background mowed down over 50 Muslims praying at a mosque in Christchurch has obviously focused on religion and migrants.

In a statement released following the Christchurch massacre, Australian senator Fraser Anning from Queensland blamed the New Zealand immigration program which “allowed Muslim fanatics to migrate” who promote a “violent ideology” as the cause of the attack. He was condemned widely in Australia for spreading such hate speech, but his diatribes distracted attention from the socio-economic issues that have fuelled the attack.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; OPINION; 21 March 2019

'From Village Boy to Global Citizen'

In Memory of Dr. Shelton Gunaratne, journalist and professor, who became world-renowned for merging Eastern philosophy with Western communication theory.

By Dr. Ari Wijetunga, Dr. Asoka Dias and Dr. Junius Gunaratne

NEW YORK (IDN) – Dr. Dhavalasri Shelton Abeywickreme Gunaratne, a former Sri Lankan journalist and professor emeritus of Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM) in the United States, passed away on March 8, 2019.

A prolific academic, Dr. Gunaratne, made substantial contributions to the field of mass communication. He wrote and published numerous books and academic papers that analyzed media in the developing world, reflected on freedom of the press internationally and constructed theoretical frameworks to explain media development, particularly in Asian countries.

: J Nastranis; OPINION; 20 March 2019

Photo: Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland addresses parliamentarians from 79 African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) and 28 European Union (EU) countries at the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly in Bucharest.

Commonwealth Offers Closer Cooperation to Help ACP Group Realise ‘Full Potential’

By Robert Johnson

BRUSSELS | BUCHAREST (ACP-IDN) – Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland has reaffirmed the 53-nation group's support for the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States, while urging deeper collaboration to boost their trade and development potential.

She was addressing the 37th session of the ACP and European Union (EU) Joint Parliamentary Assembly on the impact of Brexit on ACP-EU Partnership in Bucharest, Romania. The Assembly aims to promote greater dialogue, cooperation and understanding among ACP and EU countries.

: Robert Johnson; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; ACP Group of States; 19 March 2019

Photo: Representatives of countries to benefit from Japan-funded projects with UNIDO Director General Li Yong (fourth from left) and Ambassador Mitsuru Kitano of Japan (fifth from right). Credit: UNIDO

Japan Funds UNIDO Projects in 9 Countries with $5.8 Million

By Reinhardt Jacobsen

VIENNA (IDN) – Japan will contribute more than US$5.8 million for sustainable development projects in Ethiopia, Gabon, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Liberia, South Sudan, the State of Palestine and Syria. The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) has welcomed an official announcement to this effect.

“We thank the Government of Japan for the trust placed in us to deliver tangible results in close cooperation with all involved partners,” said UNIDO Director General Li Yong at a joint kick-off ceremony with Ambassador Mitsuru Kitano, the Permanent Representative of Japan to the International Organizations in Vienna.

: Reinhard Jacobsen; UN INSIDER; 18 March 2019

Photo: Heiko Mass, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Germany, addressing the Security Council meeting on collective action to improve United Nations Peacekeeping Operations on 28 March 2018. Credit: UN Photo/Loey Felipe.

Germany Backs UN Chief in Countering Autonomous Weapons

By Ramesh Jaura

BERLIN (IDN) – Keeping humans in control of autonomous weapons and artificial intelligence is an important element of UN Secretary-General António Guterres' action plan to implement the Agenda for Disarmament, Securing Our Common Future, presented in May 2018.

"Essentially, the question is whether we are in control of technology or whether, ultimately, it controls us," said Foreign Minister Heiko Maas in his remarks on March 15 at the conference '2019 Capturing Technology. Rethinking Arms Control' at the German Foreign Office in Berlin. The development of fully autonomous killer robots, cyber weapons and new biological agents has created scenarios for which there are to date almost no internationally recognised rules, he added.

: Ramesh Jaura; SUSTAINABILITY; Peace & Justice; 17 March 2019

Photo: The IAI Harop (or IAI Harpy 2) is a loitering munition developed by the MBT division of Israel Aerospace Industries. It is an anti-radiation drone that can autonomously home in on radio emissions. Rather than holding a separate high-explosive warhead, the drone itself is the main munition. CC BY 4.0.

New Report on Arms Control and the Convergence of Biology and Emerging Technologies

By Jaya Ramachandran

BERLIN | STOCKHOLM (IDN) – A new report has warned of the risks and challenges posed by the interaction of developments in biotechnology and advances in three emerging technologies: additive manufacturing (AM or so-called 3D printing), artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics.

The report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) cautions that the latest advances could increase the possibilities for the development, production and use of biological weapons. The existing biological arms control and non-proliferation governance framework, therefore, needs to be adapted to address the emerging security risks, says the report.

: Jaya Ramachandran; ARMAMENTS; Conventional & Autonomous Weapons; 17 March 2019

Photo: Izumi Nakamitsu, UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs. Credit: UN

Countering Challenges Affecting Disarmament, Arms Control and Non-Proliferation

Viewpoint by Izumi Nakamitsu

The following are extensive excerpts from remarks by Izumi Nakamitsu, UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), at the International Conference on 'Capturing Technology. Rethinking Arms Control' in Berlin on 15 March 2019.

BERLIN (IDN-INPS) – Many of us feel a growing sense of unease about the challenges rapid technological developments pose to disarmament, arms control and international peace and security. The international community urgently needs to explore, articulate and confront these issues at the highest level. Because one thing is clear: the march of technology waits for no one.

: Jaya Ramachandran; OPINION; 16 March 2019

Photo: Youth attending the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bonn, Germany. Credit: UNFCCC

UN Chief Emboldens the 'Fridays for Future' Climate Movement

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – "My generation has failed to respond properly to the dramatic challenge of climate change. This is deeply felt by young people. No wonder they are angry," says UN Secretary-General António Guterres in an opinion piece for The Guardian, in the wake of unprecedented March 15 demonstrations by schoolchildren across the world against climate change inaction.

The youth-led School Strike for Climate movement Fridays for Future held the first global climate demonstration in history spanning over more than 100 countries from Australia to America embracing the developing nations of India and Uganda and the Philippines and Nepal – countries acutely impacted by climate change.