Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs)

Photo: The nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 75 years ago on 6 and 9 August—where over 170,000 people died—highlighted the dangers for mankind coming from the very existence of nuclear weapons. Source: Pugwash

Nuclear Ban Treaty Is Based on Common Sense

The following is the text of a statement by Sergio Duarte, President, and Paolo Cotta Ramusino, Secretary-General of the 1995 Nobel Peace Laureate Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs on the Ratification of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons by 50 States.

ROME (IDN) – Pugwash notes with deep appreciation the deposit of the fiftieth instrument of ratification of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) on October 24, 2020. The Treaty will enter into force ninety days from that date. This will be an important result of the efforts of the United Nations, Secretary-General Guterres and a large number of non-nuclear States, together with several non-governmental organizations, especially ICAN, to inscribe the rejection of nuclear weapons into positive international law.

: Ramesh Jaura; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 26 October 2020

Towards Banning the Bomb

The following is the text of a statement by Mr. Hirotsugu Terasaki, Director General, Peace and Global Issues of Soka Gakkai International (SGI) on the Ratification of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons by 50 States.

TOKYO (IDN) – We wish to wholeheartedly welcome the ratification, on October 24, 2020, UN Day, of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) by Honduras, meeting the 50-state minimum necessary for the entry into force. Three years and three months have passed since the treaty was adopted at the United Nations on July 7, 2017, with the support of 122 countries. March to Ban the Bomb.

: Ramesh Jaura; OPINION; 26 October 2020

Photo: Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. Source: SADA ELBALAD.

The Press Freedom Climate in Algeria Has Changed for The Worse Under New President

Viewpoint by M ElHaies

The writer is a consultant in CPJ’s Middle East and North Africa program. This article is being republished courtesy of CPJ which first carried it on its Website on August 26.

NEW YORK (IDN) – Two weeks after the imprisonment of a high-profile Algerian journalist, a former reporter has been sentenced to prison for his online commentary, cementing fears that Algeria’s new president, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, is on track to match his predecessor’s record of enacting restrictive policies toward the press even as he has promised democratic reforms.

: Africa & ME Editor; OPINION; 30 August 2020

Photo: This mural in Seattle's Chinatown echoes the slogan of the World Social Forum: 'Another world is possible'. CC BY-SA 3.0

The Long Walk from World Social Forum to World Party

Viewpoint by Roberto Savio

The writer is publisher of Other News, a vehicle for "voices against the tide", and founder of IPS-Inter Press Service News Agency. This article is being reproduced courtesy of Other News with the writer's permission. He can be contacted at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and his articles and comments can be read on Facebook @robertosavioutopia

ROME (IDN) – I was a member of the world’s first international party – the Transnational Radical Party – founded in 1989 by Italians Marco Pannella and Emma Bonino. The previous year, in West Berlin, I witnessed the mass protest against the meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, a precursor of the Battle of Seattle in 1999 where 40,000 protesters disrupted the annual meetings of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

: Roberto Savio; OPINION; 28 February 2019

Photo: United Nations General Assembly hall in New York City. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Proposed Cuts in UN Budget Worry Civil Society and NGOs

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – Civil society and non-governmental organizations have expressed "deep concern" over the proposals for substantial cuts to the United Nations (UN) biennial budget for 2018-2019.

Known for their longstanding support for the UN, the organizers of NGO dialogues and international cooperation met in New York and Geneva to discuss the financing of the UN and "the perils and challenges of a shrinking UN budget".

In a letter to the Chair of the General Assembly's Administrative and Budgetary Committee, known as the Fifth Committee, they have urged Member States to resist the anticipated cuts and to affirm the importance of a budget that can adequately support the UN and its vital work for peace, development, climate, human rights and social justice.