Number 13 | 2020

Viewpoint by Tariq Rauf*

VIENNA (IDN) – It is sometimes said that it is easy to try to herd cats than to get the States parties to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) to agree on anything practical! This certainly seems to be the case now, as after dithering for several weeks the earth shaking announcement coming out of New York on March 27 is that "In light of the situation related to the COVID-19 pandemic, States Parties have decided to postpone the 2020 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons to a later date, as soon as the circumstances permit, but no later than April 2021. Information on the new dates of the Review Conference will be posted in due course".

By Daniel Johnson of UN News

GENEVA (IDN) – The impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on the elderly, the world's poorest, and the asylum seekers as well as the ways and means of addressing the after-effects are some major priorities of the United Nations.

Abandoning elderly at risk from coronavirus is 'criminal', the UN human rights office, OHCHR, has said. The rights of all people and particularly the elderly and infirm need to be respected at a time of crisis such as the ongoing pandemic, the OHCHR said, amid concern that some countries are doing too little to look after their senior citizens.

Viewpoint by Sanam Naraghi Anderlini MBE*

With over 70% of the global healthcare workforce made up of women and many more shouldering caregiving roles, women are at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19, but the consequences and new realities of our world have gendered implications that need to be understood. Sanam Naraghi Anderlini MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire), calls our attention to these impacts, the realities of women living this pandemic, and the relevance of the women, peace and security agenda now more than ever.

That's Why We Need Wickileaks and Julian Assange Should Be Exonerated.

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN) – Julian Assange of Wickileaks languishes in a British jail during a too-long wait for a court to decide if he can be extradited to the US where the government has made clear that it wants to put him on trial on charges that could land him in prison for the rest of his life, even though President Donald Trump was happy to quote from Wickileaks research on his opponent, Hillary Clinton, during his campaign for president. "I love Wickileaks", he said.

Viewpoint by Siddharth Chatterjee and Mutahi Kagwe

Mr. Mutahi Kagwe is the Cabinet Secretary for Health in Kenya and Siddharth Chatterjee is the United Nations Resident Coordinator to Kenya. This article was first published in Africa Renewal on 24 March 2020.

NAIROBI (IDN) – Many soldiers have seen first-hand the horrors of war and, terrifying though it often was, they knew who they were fighting, and could recognise their enemy.

The COVID-19 or the new Corona Virus is different. In this virus we have an enemy which is invisible and sometimes deadly, and the task is harder.

Africa Renewal Talks to FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero Cullen

NEW YORK (IDN) – The COVID-19 pandemic has put the world on a crisis footing, with unprecedented actions to restrict movements and plans for radical deployment of public funds to combat the threat posed by a novel coronavirus that knows no boundaries. Success will entail coherent and robust plans for our food systems. FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero Cullen outlines a framework for how countries can think about and craft these plans.

By Radwan Jakeem

NEW YORK (IDN) – In a clarion call for "an immediate global ceasefire in all corners of the world", UN Secretary-General António Guterres on March 23 urged warring parties across the world to lay down their weapons in support of the bigger battle against COVID-19: the common enemy that is now threatening all of humankind.

The ceasefire would allow humanitarians to reach populations that are most vulnerable to the spread of COVID-19, which first emerged in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, and has now been reported in more than 180 countries. So far, there are nearly 300,000 cases worldwide, and more than 12,700 deaths, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).