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A New Book Proposes an Alternative U.S. Foreign Policy

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – At last a book that attacks the "Blob" and holes it below the water line. Whether it can sink it is another matter. I'm talking about 'The Hell of Good Intentions: America's Foreign Policy Elite and the Decline of U.S Primacy' by the Harvard professor of international affairs, Stephen M. Walt, released on October 18, 2018. [Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN: 9780374902612. Publicity: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.]

The "Blob" is a wonderful word conjured up by President Barack Obama's deputy National Security Advisor, Ben Rhodes. It means the group of congressmen, generals, industrialists, academics and journalists who specialize in foreign policy and have an influence promoting what Walt calls "Liberal Hegemony".

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 23 October 2018

Photo: Yerzhan Ashikbayev, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan, chairing a side event at the Kazakh Permanent Mission to the UN in New York. Source: UNODA

Kazakh Initiated Forum Underlines Importance of NWFZs

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK (IDN) – High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu has expressed her "gratitude" to the Kazakhstan for their continued partnership with the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), including through a series of Nuclear Discussion Forums (NDF), now in its eighth year.

She was addressing a side event of the UN General Assembly's First Committee on October 18 at the Permanent Mission of Kazakhstan to the United Nations. The event featured a panel discussion about Consolidating and Enhancing Cooperation among Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones (NWFZs). It was chaired by Yerzhan Ashikbayev, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan.

: Santo D. Banerjee; CENTRAL ASIA; 23 October 2018

Photo: Izumi Nakamitsu, the UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA). Credit: UNODA

Full Potential of Nuclear Weapon-Free Zones Has Yet to be Recognised

Viewpoint by Izumi Nakamitsu

The following are extensive excerpts from a statement by Izumi Nakamitsu, the UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) at a side event on October 18, 2018, organized by the Permanent Mission of Kazakhstan to the United Nations on Consolidating and Enhancing Cooperation among Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones. – The Editor

NEW YORK (IDN-INPS) – Between the Treaty of Tlatelolco, which was signed in in 1967, to the Central Asian Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone, which entered into force in 2009, the world has experienced a growing adherence from States to nuclear weapon-free zones treaties.

: UN Bureau; OPINION; 23 October 2018

Photo: The Lesotho National Development Corporation (LNDC) is the main parastatal of the Government of Lesotho charged with the implementation of the country’s industrial development policies. Credit: LNDC

Lesotho and South Africa Among Winners of UN Awards

By Ronald Joshua

GENEVA (IDN) – Bahrain, India, Lesotho and South Africa have won 2018 United Nations Investment Promotion Awards for excellence in boosting investment into sectors that will have social and economic benefits and help countries meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Organized by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the awards honour investment promotion agencies (IPAs) and their governments for their achievements, but also showcase best practices in attracting investment into SDG-related projects that can inspire investment promotion practitioners in developing and developed countries.

: Ronald Joshua; UN INSIDER; 22 October 2018

Photo: The United States Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) was high on Gorbachev's agenda at the Geneva Summit in November 1985. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Time Out for Nukes!

Viewpoint by Alice Slater

The author is a member of the World Beyond War Coordinating Committee and the UN NGO Representative of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation.

NEW YORK (IDN) – With 122 nations having voted last summer (July 2017) to adopt a treaty for the complete prohibition of nuclear weapons, just as the world has banned chemical and biological weapons, its seems that the world is locked in a new Cold War time-warp, totally inappropriate to the times.

: UN Bureau; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 22 October 2018

Photo: Cox’s Bazar deputy commissioner Md Kamal Hossain visiting Rohingya camp Kutupalong. Credit: Md Mojibur Rahman Rana.

A Crisis Within a Crisis for the Rohingyas

By Naimul Haq

DHAKA, Bangladesh (IDN) – Despite a well-coordinated effort to address the Rohingya refugee crisis in Cox’s Bazar, a coastal town bordering Myanmar, some major challenges still need attention.

The local administration admits that with over one million forcibly displaced Myanmar citizens arriving in such a short time, it is indeed difficult to manage the environmental damages and rising crime rates faced by the local people.

Cox’s Bazar deputy commissioner Md Kamal Hossain told IDN that in terms of supplies of food, commodities and household basics efforts have been well coordinated. However, “environmental damage and the crimes rising by the day are major concerns but they are being addressed now and hopefully we would soon find solutions.”

: Naimul Haq; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 21 October 2018

Photo: Delegates at the Nutrition Africa Investor Forum in Nairobi. Credit: Ishara Callan.

Africa Eyes Accelerated Investment in Nutrition

By Justus Wanzala

NAIROBI (IDN) – Incessant humming noise emanating from air conditioners welcomes one into an in expansive warehouse at Twiga Foods pack house in Syokimau area of Kenya's capital. It is mid-morning and workers are busy sorting, cleaning and packing fresh produce ready for the market.

Established in 2014, Twiga sources produce from Kenyan farmers for sale to vendors in urban areas. It handles 14 products among them onions, bananas, capsicums, carrots, tomatoes, pineapples, pawpaws, passion fruits and mangoes. It buys produce from 8,370 farmers and sells to an estimated 5,226 vendors.

: Justus Wanzala; THE WORLD; Africa; 20 October 2018

Photo: UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet (file photo) ILO/M. Creuset

'To be the Voice of the Voiceless' is Michelle Bachelet's Top Priority

By J. Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – A top priority of the new UN Human Rights Commissioner Michelle Bachelet, who replaced Jordan's Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein on September 1, 2018, is "to do what my mandate tells me to do, to be the voice of the voiceless." In addition, it is "also to engage with governments so they respect human rights, protect people from rights violations, and promote human rights."

In an extensive interview with UN News, twice-elected President of Chile and the first head of UN Women describes advancing human rights, a "never ending process". Watch video.

: J Nastranis; UN INSIDER; 19 October 2018

Photo: Saudi writer and media personality Jamal Khashoggi [Beforeitsnews.com/Facebook]

UN Chief 'Deeply Troubled' by Khashoggi's Death, Rights Experts Slate Saudi Arabia

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – While UN Secretary-General António Guterres in a statement released on October 19, said that he is "deeply troubled" by the reported confirmation of the death of Jamal Khashoggi, independent UN human rights experts have commended business leaders who have decided to pull out of a high-level investment conference – also known as 'Davos in the Desert' – taking place October 23-25 in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.

A tweet posted by the Saudi Foreign Ministry on October 19 stated that the missing Saudi journalist, a columnist with the Washington Post newspaper, was killed, claims reportedly echoed on Saudi State TV.

: J Nastranis; UN INSIDER; 19 October 2018

China Lacking a Clear Strategy for Overseas Investments

Viewpoint by Xie Ping

The author is professor at the PBC School of Finance, Tsinghua University and is former executive vice president of China Investment Corporation. This article first appeared on October 8, 2018 in EastAsiaForum.

BEIJING (IDN-INPS) – China has become one of the world’s biggest investors. The explosive growth of its outward investment is helping China connect to world business, absorb advanced technologies, upgrade its traditional industries and stimulate exports. But as China steps up its outward investment, foreign governments are also tightening their regulatory and security review regimes, making the hurdles even higher for Chinese firms looking to invest overseas.