By Reinhardt Jacobsen VIENNA (IDN) – The first-ever musical event of its kind at the United Nations in Vienna has showcased the richness of culture and art that migration brings. Co-hosted by the UN migration agency (IOM) and the United Nations Information Service (UNIS), the ‘Voices of Migration’ concert at the Vienna International Centre on […]
Experts Accentuate the Significance of Trump-Putin Summit
By Ramesh Jaura BERLIN | NEW YORK (IDN) – “We are on the brink of a new cold war,” warned UN Secretary-General António Guterres on May 24, 2018 adding that there are no negotiations under way between the U.S. and Russia for further strategic nuclear arms reductions. Whether presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin would […]
Real Money Crucial for Success of Paris Climate Pact
By Harjeet Singh The writer is Global Lead on Climate Change at ActionAid International and is based in New Delhi. The commitment and sincerity of developed countries to provide climate finance will determine whether the Paris Agreement will succeed in combating climate change, he warns. Views are personal. This article first appeared on ‘India Climate […]
UN Warned Against Taking a Case-by-Case Approach to Self-Determination
By Kwame Buist NEW YORK (IDN) – A case-by-case approach to the issue of the world’s remaining ‘non-self governing territories’ must not be misinterpreted as a rationale for legitimising the political and economic inequality of dependency status, the recently concluded session of the UN Special Committee on Decolonisation was told. The committee concluded its 2018 […]
UN Report Bashes India and Pakistan for Multiple Human Rights Violations in Kashmir
By Ramesh Jaura BERLIN | GENEVA (IDN) – In its first ever report on the human rights situation in Indian- and Pakistan-Administered Kashmir, the UN has listed human rights violations and abuses on both sides of the Line of Control, and highlighted a situation of chronic impunity for violations committed by security forces. “There is […]
Argentina Reiterates Validity of Claims to Falklands/Malvinas Islands
By Kwame Buist NEW YORK (IDN) – The UN Special Committee on Decolonisation has approved a draft resolution calling for a peaceful and negotiated settlement of the dispute between Argentina and the United Kingdom concerning sovereignty over the Falkland/Malvinas Islands as the only way to end the “special and particular” colonial situation of the islands. […]
Africa Is the Epicentre of UN Peace Operations Since 2008
By Timo Smit The author is a Researcher with the SIPRI Peace Operations and Conflict Management Programme. He is currently in charge of maintaining SIPRI’s database on multilateral peace operations (including data-collection), and conducts research on trends in peacekeeping. This article first appeared on June 20,2018. – The Editor STOCKHOLM (IDN-INPS) – This year it […]
‘Normal’ Sexuality and the Audiovisual Porn Industry
Viewpoint by Marcelo Colussi* Users of pornography users only watch a well-edited video. They do not see what goes on behind the scenes, the girls who are crying and sent out of the recording studio because they cannot stand the violent sexual acts they are asked to take part in. (Shelley Lubben, former porn actress) […]
Remembering the Berlin Airlift 70 Years On
By Frederick Kempe* Following is the text of the slightly modified blogpost based on Frederick Kempe’s weekly newsletter InflectionPoints on 26 June, which originally appeared with the caption ‘Europe Beyond Trump’. Kempe is president and chief executive officer of the Atlantic Council. You can follow him on Twitter @FredKempe. – The Editor WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN) […]
EU Summit Must Conquer Misleading Immigration Policies
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power* The Syrian and African migration that has filled our television screens the last two years is overstated. The massive Syrian flow was a panic attack. Now it has dramatically subsided. There is no reason to think there will be another such great influx from the eastern Mediterranean countries. The African migration […]