IDN-InDepthNews

ARMAMENTS2017-01-122023-07-10

Marshall Islands and Tony de Brum ‘2016 Arms Control Persons of the Year’

WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN | INPS) – The Republic of the Marshall Islands and its former Foreign Minister, Tony de Brum, have been awarded the ‘2016 Arms Control Person of the Year’. Over 1,850 individuals from 63 countries participated in the selection.

Ten individuals and groups were nominated by the Arms Control Association (ACA) for their leadership in advancing effective arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament solutions or for raising awareness of the threats posed by mass casualty weapons during the past year. The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation is a consultant to the Marshall Islands in their Nuclear Zero lawsuits.

UN INSIDER2017-01-112023-07-10

Ban Ki-moon Leaves Behind a Mixed Legacy

By Rodney Reynolds

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – When former Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stepped down on December 31 after a 10-year tenure at the United Nations, he said his “deepest regret” was to leave office with “the continuing nightmare in Syria” where a six-year-old civil war has virtually devastated a country beyond physical recognition.

As Ambassador Marc-Andre Blanchard told a General Assembly December meeting that without action, Syria would soon become “a giant graveyard, as food supplies have been exhausted and families were eating grass and the little garbage left,” in order to survive.

Africa2017-01-112023-07-10

Community Volunteers Help Tanzanian Widows Access Land Rights

By Kizito Makoye Shigela

MUFINDI, Tanzania (ACP-IDN) – At Kiyowela village in Tanzania’s southern highlands, every widow has a story to tell about how community volunteers have helped them solve property disputes with their relatives.

Zaituni Lekiza still remembers the suffering she went through when her father-in-law kicked her out of her matrimonial home after her husband died two years ago. “He asked me to leave because I no longer belonged to the family,” she told IDN.

The 39-year-old mother of two, who lives in Mufindi district, had been married for eight years but was thrown out of her home after her father-in-law accused her of being behind the death of his son.

Asia-Pacific2017-01-102023-07-10

THAAD Deployment Uncertain After S. Korean President Exits

By Shastri Ramachandaran

NEW DELHI (IDN-INPS) – As the impeachment trial of South Korean President Park Geun-hye over a corruption scandal began on January 5, international commentators began to ask what will be the political consequences of her exit, and more specifically what it will mean for the deployment of the controversial missile system THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense). ‍

Park’s powers as president were suspended by the National Assembly, which voted on December 9 to impeach her. This followed months of protests by millions of Koreans seeking to oust her for allegedly extorting money and favors from companies in collusion with her confidante, Choi Soon-sil, for the latter’s foundations.

OPINION2017-01-102023-07-10

Reviewing Whether Obama Could Have Reached More At Home

By Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – President Barack Obama steps down at the age of 55. He will probably live, given his healthy lifestyle, until he’s over 90. So what on earth is he going to do for the next 40 years? Run for King of England? He would probably win, as he is much more popular in Europe than he ever was at home.

Realistically we don’t know and right now probably he doesn’t. But of one thing we can be sure of as he writes his second autobiography in his very special prose he will be critically re-evaluating every decision and policy change he made. This is an honest man if on a few occasions he failed to be. And we, the jury, try to be, if sometimes we fail too.

UN INSIDER2017-01-092023-07-10

Trump’s Nuclear Twitter Menacing Ahead of UN Talks in March

By Ramesh Jaura

BERLIN | NEW YORK (IDN) – Ahead of the inauguration of Donald Trump as 45th President of the United States on January 20, analysts are far from certain whether he would take to policies that reduce nuclear dangers or resort to actions resulting in a suicidal arms race.

The guessing game is taking place against the backdrop of the United Nations General Assembly having confirmed that beginning March 2017, it would hold a conference open to all member states, to negotiate a “legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading towards their total elimination”. The conference to be held at UN headquarters in New York will be divided into two sessions: from March 27 to 31 and from June 15 to July 7.

UN INSIDER2017-01-092023-07-10

UN Agency Seeks $813 Million to Support Palestine Refugees

By Jamshed Baruah

GENEVA (IDN) – In the face of humanitarian crisis plaguing Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory – including East Jerusalem – and those who have fled the conflict in Syria, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has launched an $813 million emergency aid appeal.

Speaking to UN News, Pierre Krähenbühl, the Commissioner General for UNRWA said: “Palestine refugees are among the worst affected by the conflict. Over 95 per cent of those who have remained in Syria – 430,000 – are in critical need of sustained humanitarian assistance.”

Africa2017-01-082023-07-10

Moroccan Campaign Not Dampening Some Migrants’ Dreams

By Fabíola Ortiz

FEZ, OUJDA and NADOR, Morocco (IDN) – Morocco, traditionally a pathway for sub-Saharan Africans wanting to reach Europe, is now enforcing a national strategy to contain the flow of migrants towards the EU and stifle the aspirations of those still wanting to cross.

There are many reasons that lead people to depart from their countries and become a migrant, often risking their lives on dangerous routes in search of a better life.

Abdoul Karime is a 19-year-old Ivorian who first came to Morocco in 2013 when he was still a teenager and since then has been living amid improvised tents in an informal settlement next to the main train station in the city of Fez.

OPINION2017-01-072023-07-10

Ban Ki-moon Leaves a Legacy of Mediocrity

By The Nation (Thailand)*

BANGKOK (IDN-INPS) – Ban Ki-moon ended (on December 31) his decade as Secretary-General of the United Nations amid praise from many quarters, but this was mere diplomacy. Astute witnesses to his two terms in office know that, given the chance to stop wars, forge peace and foster international fraternity, to make the world safer and more equitable to all, he accomplished precious little.

His primary goal on taking office at the beginning of 2007 was to bring lasting peace to the Middle East. In this too he failed. Ban’s achievements in the area of environmental protection, specifically the Paris Protocol on climate change, allow him a legacy that is mixed at best.

UN INSIDER2017-01-062023-07-10

Germany’s Ursula Mueller New ASG For Humanitarian Affairs

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK (IDN) – In a fresh move to deliver on his pledges on gender parity and geographical diversity, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has announced the appointment of Ursula Mueller of Germany as Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator in the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Mueller is the fourth key woman for four key posts. According to a statement on January 5, she will succeed Kyung-wha Kang of the Republic of Korea, who is currently serving as Chief of the Transition Team in the Executive Office of the Secretary-General. She has served as Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs since April 2013, and was Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights from January 2007 to March 2013.