Viewpoint by Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – At first I was a bit surprised to find that the English admonition, “Good fences makes for good neighbours” exists in many other languages. I shouldn’t have been taken aback. A moment’s reflection should have told me that fences and walls to divide off peoples have been […]
Gabon Draws the Focus as Longtime President is Hospitalized
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – Balloons and fireworks will have to wait as the longtime President of Gabon has been hospitalized at the King Faisal hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, suffering from severe fatigue. The party of President Ali Bongo Ondimba had just “coasted to victory” in a second round […]
UN Cheers Sahle-Work Zewde’s Election as First Female President of Ethiopia
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – “Congratulations Madam President! Women do make a difference. We are proud of you!” That was the excited message from María Fernanda Espinosa Garces, President of the United Nations General Assembly, to UN Under-Secretary-General Sahle-Work Zewde on her election as the first female president of Ethiopia. […]
South Africa Needs Tackling Air Pollution Hot Spots Urgently
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – The world’s largest air pollution hotspot is not where you might think. No, it’s not in New Jersey. But if you said South Africa you’d be right, according to a newly-released study by the environmental group Greenpeace. With coal and transport as the two principal […]
UN Announces ‘SDG Hubs’ Connecting Universities with 2030 Global Agenda
By Ramesh Jaura NEW YORK (IDN) – The critical role of academia in general and the United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) in particular in advancing the goals of the United Nations Charter was underlined when the Organization celebrated the 73rd anniversary of its entry into force on October 24. In view of the fact that […]
Non-Proliferation and Nuclear Disarmament Go Hand in Hand
Viewpoint by Izumi Nakamitsu Following are extensive excerpts from remarks by Under-Secretary-General Izumi Nakamitsu, UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), at the Roundtable Discussion on the Nuclear Non- Proliferation Treaty (NPT) hosted by the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies and the Permanent Mission of Malaysia to the United Nations on 25 October 2018. […]
The INF Treaty Looks Likely to be a Dead Letter by April 2019
Viewpoint by Dan Smith The following article by Dan Smith, Director of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), first appeared on October 23, 2018 on the Institute’s website. He has a long record of research and publication on a wide range of conflict and peace issues. Smith served four years in the UN Peacebuilding […]
Women, Peace and Security is Germany’s Priority in 2019-2020 Security Council Membership
By Santo D. Banerjee NEW YORK (IDN) – When Germany joins the UN Security Council next January as a non-permanent member for 2019-2020, promoting the ‘Women, Peace and Security Agenda’ by ensuring a greater political participation of women and prevention of sexual violence in conflicts, will be one of its priorities. The Security Council has […]
Experts Underline the Gravity of a Potential Nuclear Conflict
By Claire Ochroch This report first appeared on October 25, 2018 in The Daily Pennsylvanian. NEW YORK (IDN-INPS) – Speakers from across the world stopped by Penn’s Perry World House on October 23 evening to discuss the importance of denuclearization. The event, called the Penn Peace Project, was hosted by the International Affairs Association. Speakers […]
Southern Africa Turns to Groundwater to Counter Climate Change
By Jeffrey Moyo CHIMOIO, Mozambique (IDN) – As the blazing heat of the sun beats down on her, 25-year-old Maria Sinorita from Chimoio, a Mozambican town lying approximately 100 km east of the country’s border with Zimbabwe, struggles to draw water from the well in her yard. For Sinorita, even the water she is drawing […]