IDN-InDepthNews

UN INSIDER2016-04-052023-07-10

Two New Candidates for UN Chief Undermine East European Claims

By Rodney Reynolds

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – When Antonio Guterres, the former UN High Commissioner for Refugees and ex- Prime Minister of Portugal, announced his candidature for the post of UN Secretary-General on February 29, he virtually undermined the longstanding claim that the next UN chief should be from Eastern Europe under a system of traditional geographical rotation.

But traditions are generally meant to be trodden down – at least at the United Nations.

Until Guterres’ declaration, all other officially declared candidates were from Eastern Europe: Dr Srgjan Kerim of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia; Vesna Pusic of the Republic of Croatia; Dr Igor Luksic of Montenegro; Dr Danilo Turk of of Slovenia; Irina Bokova of Bulgaria; and Natalia Gherman of of Republic of Moldova.

On April 4, Helen Clark, the former Prime Minister of New Zealand, announced her official candidature for the same post, throwing the race even more widely open.

UN INSIDER2016-04-042023-07-10

UNDP’s Helen Clark Lays Claim to the Post of UN Chief

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – Helen Clark, New Zealand’s first woman Prime Minister from1999 to 2008 and current Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) since 2009, is convinced that she is “up to the task” of leading the United Nations when Ban Ki-moon’s term expires at the end of the year.

Helen Clark threw down the gauntlet to three women and four male candidates for the post of the UN Secretary-General on April 4. The woman candidates are: UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova of Bulgaria; Vesna Pusic, former Foreign Minister of Croatia, and Natalia Gherman, former Foreign Minister of the Republic of Moldova. The male candidates are: Srgian Kerim of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia; Igor Luksic of Montenegro; Danilo Turk of Slovenia, and former UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres, who also served as the Portuguese Prime Minister.

ARMAMENTS2016-04-042023-07-10

2016 Nuclear Security Summit: Obama’s Last Hurrah

Analysis by Jayantha Dhanapala*

KANDY, Sri Lanka (IDN) – In the practice of general medicine a placebo is defined as a medicine or a procedure prescribed for the psychological benefit for the patient – to humour or placate rather than for any physiological or therapeutic effect. U.S. President Barack Obama’s rhetoric in Prague in April 2009 gave the world a tantalizing vision of a nuclear weapon free world: “The existence of thousands of nuclear weapons is the most dangerous legacy of the Cold War …. I state clearly and with conviction America’s commitment to seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons.”

Since then we have had the anti-climax of four Nuclear Security Summits and repeated warnings about nuclear terrorism but no meaningful nuclear disarmament.

Pocketing his prematurely awarded Nobel Peace Prize, the U.S. President has reverted to being the conventional leader of the greatest military-industrial complex in the world spending approximately US $ 610 billion annually of the global military expenditure of US $ 1.8 trillion and a staggering US $ 355 billion over the next ten years on nuclear weapon modernization.

Individual Journalists, SYNDICATION2016-04-032023-07-12

When the Pope Turned His Back

Analysis by Jonathan Power

With his focus on economic justice, Pope Francis is still riding a wave of adulation three years into his job. And perhaps it’s deserved, but as leader of the Jesuits and then as bishop and archbishop in Argentina, he failed to publicly denounce the abuses of the military junta. Jonathan Power compares the pope’s silence to the courage of Brazil’s church hierarchy, which stood up to dictatorship. Power urges the pope to explain exactly what went on and how the Argentine church erred. The pope’s admission, Powers argues, would inspire his followers to think more profoundly about moral dilemmas and, perhaps, even help them be braver in the face of evil.

LUND, Sweden (World Policy Journal) – It’s no wonder Pope Francis is still riding a wave of adulation nearly three years into his job: He speaks out against child abuse within the Catholic Church and against homophobia at large; he renounces the panoply, regalia, and bureaucracy that repels so many; he condemns “the idolatry of money” and says “working for a just distribution” of wealth is a “moral obligation.” And sometimes, at midnight, he visits the homeless on the streets of Rome, wearing only a black cassock.

ARMAMENTS2016-04-022023-07-10

UN Chief Welcomes Outcome of Nuclear Security Summit

By J Natranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – The international community must pursue broader measures of prevention in the context of the UN Global Counter Terrorism Strategy, in particular by addressing the conditions conducive to terrorism, especially preventing violent extremism, stopping the flow of foreign fighters, blocking terrorist financing, and working to promote human rights and sustainable development, according to the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Reacting to the outcome of the Nuclear Security Summit that concluded on April 1 in Washington, D.C. Ban’s Spokesperson said: “The Secretary-General welcomes the outcome of the 2016 Nuclear Security Summit. He wholeheartedly endorses the Communiqué adopted by the participating States as well as the Action Plan in support of the United Nations. These will help to ensure that the gains made through this process will be sustained in the future.”

Asia-Pacific2016-04-012023-07-10

Nepal Between the Dragon and the Elephant

Analysis by Shastri Ramachandaran

MUMBAI (IDN) – Yet another South Asian country, Nepal, is falling for the charms of China. The language of this new dalliance, regardless of where it may lead, is causing unease in India. Arriving in Beijing on March 20 for a week-long visit, Nepalese Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli said that his country’s relationship with China was “as high as the Himalayas”, which he said symbolised friendship.

In what could be a red rag to New Delhi, Oli called China an “all-weather friend”, a term loaded with China’s value for Pakistan as a deterrent against India. China-Pakistan friendship, however, has moved to a higher realm — that of “iron brothers forever”, as Chinese President Xi Jinping underscored on his first state visit to Pakistan in April 2015. The parallel with Pakistan does not end there.

UN INSIDER2016-03-312023-07-10

Obama Joins Japan and Kazakhstan to Campaign for CTBT

Analysis by Catherine Baumann

BERLIN | VIENNA (IDN) – “The security of the world demands that nations — including the United States – ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and conclude a new treaty to end the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons once and for all,” wrote U.S. President Barack Obama in his opinion article for the Washington Post on March 30 on the eve of the fourth Nuclear Security Summit in Washington.

Responding to Obama’s call, Lassina Zerbo, Executive Secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), tweeted: “(We) need a #CTBT summit to cast test-ban into law & stop countries like #DPRK developing #nuclear weapons.”

Obama’s clarion call for ratification of the CTBT, banning all nuclear tests everywhere and anywhere – in run-up to the end of his presidency nine months from now – is of crucial importance.

UN INSIDER2016-03-302023-07-10

UN Biodiversity Convention Finds Reason to Rejoice

Analysis by J C Suresh

TORONTO (IDN) – The Arctic Partnership announced in Washington, D.C. by U.S. President Barack Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been welcomed by Executive Secretary Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

Although focused on climate action, the partnership agreed on March 10 has far-reaching consequences for biodiversity in the Arctic, including the role of indigenous peoples and their traditional knowledge, he said.

Opened for signature at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, and entering into force in December 1993, the CBD is an international treaty for the conservation of biodiversity, the sustainable use of the components of biodiversity and the equitable sharing of the benefits derived from the use of genetic resources.

Africa2016-03-292023-07-10

South African Leader Protests Corporate Influence

NEW YORK | JOHANNESBURG (IDN | GIN) – South Africans are rising up against the outsized influence of corporate entities and wealthy individuals allegedly doling out contracts and jobs within the African National Congress (ANC).

Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, at a recent event, rebutted the charge, declaring the ANC was not for sale and anyone who wanted to capture the state should “go next door”.

Speaking to about 1,500 professionals and academics at the ANC event in Sandton on March 23, Ramaphosa declared: “Those who want to capture the ANC and influence it to advance personal or corporate interests, you have come to the wrong address. Try next door. We will not be captured.”

Africa2016-03-292023-07-10

South African Anti-Mining Activist Leaves a Proud Legacy

NEW YORK (IDN | GIN) – Sikhosiphi ‘Bazooka’ Rhadebe will be remembered as a man of principle who chaired the Amadiba Crisis Committee (ACC) and fought to hold back titanium mining in South Africa’s Xolobeni coastal dunes.

“Our beloved Bazooka made the ultimate sacrifice defending our ancestral land of Amadiba,” the ACC said in a published statement. Rhadebe, who said his name had appeared on hit list, was gunned down on March 22 by two men who approached him dressed as police.

The ACC had successfully blocked efforts by Minerals Commodities Ltd of Australia and its South African subsidiary to get a mining license after the company failed to obtain an environmental impact survey or a social impact plan.