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Photo (left to right): ACP Group Secretary-General Dr Gomes and IFAD President Houngbo exchange letters of intent to strengthen cooperation. Credit: ACP

79-Nation ACP Group and IFAD Agree to Strengthen Cooperation

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (ACP-IDN) – The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), an international financial institution and specialized United Nations agency based in Rome, and the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States with Secretariat in Brussels plan to intensify their collaboration in several areas of common interest, such as joint financing, research, studies, and policy dialogue.

With this in view, ACP Secretary-General Dr. Patrick I. Gomes and IFAD President Gilbert Houngbo have signed a letter of intent on September 25 on the margins of the 73rd Session of UN General Assembly (UNGA73).

: J Nastranis; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; ACP Group of States; 27 September 2018

Photo: India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj hosted the G4 Foreign Ministers Meeting of Japan, Germany and Brazil to discuss progress on early reform of the Council, including the expansion of both permanent and non-permanent categories of membership. Credit: Twitter MEA India

India Hosts G4 Meeting Pressing For Security Council Reform

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – Brazil, Germany, India and Japan – also known as the G4 – have reiterated the compelling need for a protracted reform of the United Nations Security Council and restated their support for Africa's appropriate representation in a reformed and expanded Council, which under the UN Charter bears primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security.

A Joint Press Statement, issued after a meeting on the first day of the General Assembly's high-level General Debate on September 25, 2018, said: "The G4 [Foreign] Ministers reaffirmed the need for an early reform of the Council including the expansion of both permanent and non-permanent categories of membership to enhance its legitimacy, effectiveness and representativeness."

: J Nastranis; UN INSIDER; 26 September 2018

Photo: Prime Minister meets Xi Jinping, President of China on the sidelines of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit 2018 in Qingdao on June 9. Credit: India's Ministry of External Affairs.

India-U.S. Strong Partnership Not Endorsement of Washington-led Regional Order

Viewpoint by Jagannath Panda

The writer is a Research Fellow and Centre Coordinator for East Asia at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), New Delhi. He is also the Series Editor for Routledge Studies on Think Asia. This article was first published in East Asia Forum on September 23, 2018.

NEW DELHI (IDN-INPS) – Despite U.S. President Donald Trump's cold approach, the strategic partnership between India and the United States is deepening. The civil nuclear agreement signed in October 2008 marked a new beginning. And both the 2016 Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement and the 2018 Communication, Compatibility, Security Agreement have strengthened the relationship further. The U.S. decision to rename the Pacific Command the Indo-Pacific Command also gave a symbolic nod to India’s centrality in the region.

: Asia Editor; OPINION; 26 September 2018

Photo credit: The International Criminal Court.

Why the International Court for War Crimes Is Essential

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – Last year the office of the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) released a report which for the first time explicitly named U.S. military forces and CIA operatives in secret prisons as possible war crimes culprits for the alleged use of torture and rape. Because the American soldiers were based in Afghanistan which is an ICC member the ICC has broad jurisdiction over crimes committed by combatants on Afghan soil.

(However, since the U.S. is not a member it can't be prosecuted for alleged crimes committed in non-member ICC countries – for example in Iraq or Syria. It can also refuse for any of its citizens to be prosecuted on its own soil.)

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 25 September 2018

Photo: Winners of the 'SDGs and Her Competition' awards: Lucy Odiwa, owner of Tanzania-based WomenChoice Industries (right); and Mukuru Clean Stoves of Kenya owner, Charlot Magay (left). Credit: Sumaya Agha/UNDP

Sustainable Development Award Winners Celebrated at UN

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK(IDN) – Tanzania-based WomenChoice Industries and Mukuru Clean Stoves of Kenya are the global winners of the SDGs and Her Competition that seeks to increase knowledge about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their potential impact on women, as well as to encourage private sector partners and share best practices and innovative ideas.

They were celebrated at a side-event on September 24, 2018 during the high-level week of the UN General Assembly. The contest – co-sponsored by the World Bank Group, UNDP, UN Women, and the Wharton School Zicklin Center – showcases women micro-entrepreneurs who are helping to achieve the SDGs through their businesses.

: Santo D. Banerjee; THE WORLD; Africa; 25 September 2018

Photo: Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Hubei Provincial Museum in Wuhan city, Central China's Hubei province, April 27, 2018. Credit: XU JINGXING / chinadaily.com.cn

India's Stance on the Indo-Pacific Not Exclusionary of China

Viewpoint by Prateek Joshi

The writer is a Research Associate with the Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) India, a New Delhi-based public policy think-tank. This article was first published in East Asia Forum on September 21, 2018.

NEW DELHI (IDN-INPS) – In a move that heralds greater bilateral cooperation, Chinese Defence Minister Lieutenant General Wei Fenghe paid his first visit to India in August 2018. The visit was precisely a year after both sides decided to withdraw their forces following the two-month standoff at the Doklam trijunction. The det ails from the defence ministers' meeting point towards an adherence to greater confidence building measures to avoid Doklam-like situations from resurfacing.

: Asia Editor; OPINION; 25 September 2018

Photo: Riccardo Petrella, Professor Emeritus of the Université Catholique de Louvain-la-Neuve, speaks to UNRIC at the debate "The Geopolitics of Water" on 14 March 2013 in Brussels. Screenshot of Vimeo.

The Earth is the Common Home of All Inhabitants

Viewpoint by Riccardo Petrella*

ROME (IDN) – The first vast work of "worldwide" occupation and predation of the Earth and its inhabitants was that begun in the sixteenth century by a number of European states (Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, England and France). After the First World War, new actors – no less conquerors and predators than the former (in particular, the United States, Soviet Union, Japan and Germany) – extended and intensified the work of occupation and exploitation of the planet and the world.

: Phil Harris; OPINION; 25 September 2018

Photo: Russian defence ministry spokesperson Major-General Igor Konashenkov presents the results of an investigation into the shooting down on September 17 of a Russian Ilyushin Il-20 electronic signals intelligence aircraft. Credit: Russian MoD/YouTube

The Russia, Iran, Turkey, Israel and Syria Mosaic

Viewpoint by Pier Francesco Zarcone*

ROME (IDN) – Recent events in Syria (downing of a Russian Ilyushin plane and an agreement between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recip Erdoğan on Idlib) lead to some reflections starting with the Israeli bombing that caused more than ten Russian deaths.

Many political observers, including Alberto Negri writing in a September 19 article on the Antidiplomatico site, have noted that when Israel is involved Putin is less decisive than usual. In fact, so far there has been no real Russian reaction to many Israeli violations of Syrian sovereignty, apart from certain formal protests.

: Phil Harris; OPINION; 24 September 2018

The Call of the Most Excluded

By Emmaus International*

“It is not enough to take action, we must overcome, that is to say, take more action than the forces moving in the other direction”. Abbé Pierre

GENEVA (IDN) – The World Forum of Alternatives led by the most excluded was held in Geneva, Switzerland, from September 17-20, 2018 on the invitation of Emmaus International and its allies: movements led by people living in poverty and deprivation and victims of all types of discrimination.

The following is taken from the statement issued at the closing of the meeting.

: Phil Harris; SUSTAINABILITY; Poverty; 24 September 2018

Photo: 6 out of 10 young people in the region work in the informal sector, with lower wages, and less or no benefits or social protection. Such work in Latin America and the Caribbean is often related to domestic work, street vending, illegal mining and farming. (ILO) ©IFAD/Pablo Corral Vega

Helping Rural Latin America Beat the Economic Downturn

By Kwame Buist

ROME (IDN) – Over the last three decades, the countries of Latin American and the Caribbean have experienced a profound transformation which has extended to rural areas. All countries in the region, except for Haiti, are now considered middle-income.

This economic and rural transformation has resulted in many benefits, especially between 2004 and 2013, when millions of people left poverty behind. However, despite this success, over one-quarter of the region’s population continues to live in poverty. Now, the economic downturn of most of Latin America’s economies over the last few years threatens to send millions more back under the poverty line.