Think-Tanks

Photo: ECOSOC's 2020 Operational Activities Segment (OAS) on development issues took place through a series of virtual meetings from 19 to 22 May and on 27 May 2020, under the chairmanship of the Deputy Permanent Representative of Mexico, as ECOSOC Vice-President. Credit: UN

COVID-19 Puts to Test the UN Development System

By Elena Marmo, Global Policy Watch (GPW)

This article first appeared in the GPW's blog.

NEW YORK (IDN) – Across the UN System, all hands are on deck to address the impact of COVID-19 from immediate humanitarian and health needs, to medium and longer-term socio-economic policy. Various initiatives are circling one another, raising issues of governance, reporting and accountability. Member States in the ECOSOC Operational Activities Segment explored some of these questions as they related to the UN Development System (UNDS). At the same time, in the 28 May and 2 June meetings on Financing for Development, they also explored policy ideas, with an emphasis on accounting for vulnerability in macroeconomic analysis.

: Opinion Editor; UN INSIDER; 11 June 2020

Photo: Flamingos at Talawe Wetlands in Navi Mumbai. Source: TERI.

COVID-19 Lockdown Is A Much-Needed Break for Nature

Viewpoint by Siddharth S Edake

NEW DELHI (IDN) – Today, I can see the forests of the Aravali Biodiversity Park at the far end, under a light blue sky dotted with fluffy white clouds. The air is crisp and clear, and close to around 20 yellow-footed green pigeons locally known as hariyal, a rare sighting for Gurugram, are feasting on the fruits of the shehtut (Mulberry) tree in front of me. The sound of traffic is replaced by the chirping of birds and the tinkling of wind chimes as they sway in the light breeze. For a nature lover and environmentalist, this is as good as it gets in a metropolitan city in India.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 17 May 2020

Photo: The foreign ministers from Iran and the countries of the P5+1, as well as the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, after agreeing the Iran Nuclear deal, 14 July 2015. Courtesy of Dragan Tatic/Wikimedia.

US Seeks Iran Arms Embargo Extension Riling Europe

By Kelsey Davenport and Julia Masterson

While Julia Masterson is research assistant, Kelsey Davenport is director for nonproliferation policy at Arms Control Association. The Association's website published this analysis on May 15.

WASHINGTON (IDN) – The United States is considering a range of options to prevent the October 2020 expiration of a UN embargo that restricts arms sales to and from Iran. Those options include making a legal case that the United States remains a bona fide participant of the nuclear deal with Iran that it withdrew from in May 2018 in order to use a Security Council provision to block the embargo's expiration.

: Arms Control Association; THE WORLD; USA and Canada; 16 May 2020

Iran Should Demonstrate That Its Nuclear Program Is Peaceful

By Kelsey Davenport and Julia Masterson

This article first appeared on Arms Control Association Website. Kelsey Davenport is director for nonproliferation policy, and Julia Masterson research assistant

WASHINGTON, DC (IDN) – International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Grossi raised concerns earlier in March about Tehran’s failure to cooperate with an agency investigation into possible storage and use of undeclared nuclear materials at three locations in Iran.

: Arms Control Association; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 19 March 2020

Image: With a U.S. administration under Trump, European unity and leadership is the only hope for driving China's climate ambitions at COP26 in Glasgow. As the UN Environment Programme’s latest report on the ‘emissions gap’ shows the targeted emission reductions need to be three times more than agreed in Paris in 2015. Source: UN Environment Programme.

Sino-EU Duo Is Crucial to Driving the Global Climate Ambition

Viewpoint by Adam Tooze*

NEW YORK (IDN) – There are turning points in history. Moments that matter, that mark beginnings and ends. As Martin Luther King reminded us: "There is such a thing as being too late". It is that which can give politics its fierce urgency. As far as global climate politics is concerned, 2020 may be such a moment — and it is vital that Europe should not be late.

The latest round of United Nations-sponsored global climate talks, COP26, to be hosted in Glasgow from November 9 to 19, was always going to be important. This is the moment, when the Paris agreement of 2015 is scheduled for another round of updated national commitments that reflect the ever-more alarming reality of the climate emergency.

: UN Bureau; SUSTAINABILITY; Climate Action; 24 January 2020

Photo: John R. Bolton holds a meeting with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in Moscow on 23 October 2018. CC BY 4.0

The Future of New START and NPT Hangs in the Balance

Viewpoint by Daryl G. Kimball

The writer is Executive Director of the Arms Control Association. The following is the text of his article published in January/February 2020 issue of Arms Control Today.

WASHINGTON, DC (IDN) – This year, the world will mark the 75th anniversary of the catastrophic atomic bombings of the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the 50th anniversary of the entry into force of the indispensable but imperfect nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT).

: Arms Control Association; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 11 January 2020

Photo: G20 leaders pose for a group photo at the start of the G20 Osaka Summit, 28 June 2019. Source: Japan’s Public Relations Office.

The G20 Should Have Nuclear Disarmament on Their Agenda

Viewpoint by Herbert Wulf*

DUISBURG, Germany (IDN) – Right now, two critical developments are literally threatening the very existence of humankind: the climate crisis and the possibility of nuclear war. There is a broad consensus when it comes to the severity of climate change, even if there is still absolutely no sign of a solution despite the affirmations by many governments. But at least the climate debate is a lively one, accompanied by countless demonstrations against policies that are damaging to the environment.

: Opinion Editor; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 10 January 2020

Image source: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Iran Discards the Last Key Component of Nuclear Deal Operational Limitations

Viewpoint by Kelsey Davenport and Julia Masterson*

WASHINGTON, DC (IDN | Arms Control Association) - Iran announced its fifth breach of the 2015 nuclear deal January 5, stating that it “discards the last key component of its operational limitations” put in place by agreement. In the January 5 statement Iran said its nuclear program “no longer faces any operational restrictions,” however Foreign Minister Javad Zarif did say that Iran will still continue to “fully cooperate” with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

: Arms Control Association; OPINION; 09 January 2020

The US-Iran War Continues Though Current Crisis Is Averted

Viewpoint by John Feffer

The writer is the director of Foreign Policy In Focus, which first carried it on 8 January. He is the author of several books and numerous articles. He has been an Open Society Foundation Fellow and a PanTech fellow in Korean Studies at Stanford University. He is a former associate editor of World Policy Journal.

WASHINGTON, DC (IDN) – The United States has been in a 40-year cold war with Iran.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 09 January 2020

Photo: Although the German composer J.S. Bach never visited China in his lifetime, his statue now welcomes visitors entering Shanghai from the city's main railway station. CC BY-SA 3.0

Germany Must Help Shape Faltering Multilateral World Order

Viewpoint by Jiang Feng

Prof Dr Jiang Feng chairs the University Council of Shanghai International Studies University (SISU) in China. This article first appeared on International Politics and Society Journal, published by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung’s Brussels office.

SHANGHAI | BRUSSELS (IDN-INPS) – For German government representatives and top politicians visiting China, a quick trip to Shanghai has almost become obligatory. The city’s rapid development provides a wealth of reasons for admiration and astonishment. Germans are often surprised that it’s much more modern than people generally assume and that it offers a very different picture from the one conveyed in the German press.