OPINION

Photo: (left) Collage of images of rural residents discussing a new territorial development plan at a meeting in Ovejas, in the Montes de María region in the north of Colombia, December 2017 and (right) map of the Montes de María region. Credit: Hobeth Martínez Carrillo.

Colombia's Conflict Victims Await 16 ‘Seats for Peace’ in Congress

Viewpoint by Hobeth Martinez Carrillo*

LONDON (IDN) – Four years after the UN-monitored peace agreement that was intended to end more than five decades of civil war in Colombia, the communities that suffered most during the armed conflict may finally be gaining places at the political table.

The members of the UN Security Council welcomed in a press statement on Colombia (SC/14081) continued progress by the three components of the Integral System for Truth, Justice, Reparation, and Non-repetition, with the participation of victims. They reaffirmed their full support for the critical role of these components in the peace process and stressed the need for them to be able to work independently and autonomously.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 22 March 2020

Photo: A passenger walks through an emptied check-in area at Haneda International Airport in Tokyo, Japan, March 19, 2020. Foreign visitors to Japan have plunged by 58% since the coronavirus outbreak. Credit: EPA-EFE/Franck Robichon

The World's Response to COVID-19 Has Slashed CO2 Emissions

Viewpoint by Simone Abram*

DURHAM, UK (IDN) – How do you respond to a crisis? It's obvious that the response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been dramatically different to anything provoked by repeated scientific warnings about climate change. The many organisations that declared climate emergencies throughout 2019 and 2020 have so far enacted nothing like the scale and speed of action to limit the spread of coronavirus.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 21 March 2020

COVID-19: Resources Needed for Gender and Social Inclusion

Women Front and Centre

Viewpoint by Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka

UN Under-Secretary-General and UN Women Executive Director.

NEW YORK (IDN) – One thing is clear about the COVID-19 pandemic, as stock markets tumble, schools and universities close, people stockpile supplies and home becomes a different and crowded space: this is not just a health issue. It is a profound shock to our societies and economies, exposing the deficiencies of public and private arrangements that currently function only if women play multiple and underpaid roles.

: UN Bureau; OPINION; 20 March 2020

Photo: We are all part of nature. Credit: CreativeAngela

How to Think Positively about Isolation during Coronavirus Lockdown

Viewpoint by Silvia Panizza*

PIEDMONT, Italy (IDN) – "They say when trouble comes, close ranks." So begins Jean Rhys's novel Wide Sargasso Sea. When the new coronavirus started spreading in Europe, my first impulse was to travel home, to Italy, to be with my family. Lesson number one learned from the virus: you remember what matters to you.

Rhys was, of course, talking about racial tensions in colonial times, not families vs other commitments, or humans vs viruses. But she knew that there are good ways and bad ways of closing ranks.

: Phil Harris; OPINION; 20 March 2020

Water Security: A Lifeline for People and Planet

Viewpoint by Inge Kaul*

BERLIN (IDN) – In the face of upsurge of the coronavirus, World Water Day 2020 may seem to have no relevance. But the fact is that water is vital for life on earth. It is inextricably linked to climate change, protecting health and saving lives. Water is essential for practicing hand hygiene and combating the spread of COVID-19 and many other infectious diseases.

Therefore, I am deeply concerned about the relatively low-level of attention and priority accorded to water at the practical-political level.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 20 March 2020

Photo: Collage of images of Joe Biden (left) and Bernier Sanders (right) from Wikimedia Commons.

Bernie Sanders Pushes Democratic Party to the Left

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN) – Is Bernie Sanders still in with a chance? It is a slim one, but in these primary elections one never knows. There have been a number of surprising upsets.

Even if Joe Biden comes out on top and has to face Donald Trump for the presidency the Democratic Party has been pushed to the left by Senator Sanders. That is all to the good.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 19 March 2020

The Largest US-Led Military Exercise in Europe Continues Despite COVID-19

Viewpoint by Jan Oberg*, The Transnational Foundation, TFF.

LUND, Sweden (IDN) -– Defender Europe 20 is a huge, basically US military exercise, on European soil between February and May this year. It has already started. In the midst of a closed-down coronavirus Europe. And it is war-preparing, not peace- or confidence-building.

The diagram above from the British Army offers you details of this perverse, surreal idea – take note of Italy being one of the planned participants!

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 18 March 2020

Photo: Handover ceremony at UN compound in Beijing for donation of critical medical supplies to the Chinese government. Credit: UNDP China

International Cooperation Vital to Defying the Consequences of Coronavirus

Viewpoint by Beate Trankmann*, UNDP Resident Representative in China

BEIJING (IDN) – Since its outbreak, the effects of the coronavirus have been felt in countries across the world. With around 110,000 confirmed cases of COVID19 and over 4,000 deaths as of March 10, this epidemic has put public health systems and emergency services under immense pressure. Demand for medical supplies and protective equipment has surged, and many people have been quarantined due to suspected contamination. However, while the circumstances have been severe, this crisis has also been a strong reminder of China’s resilience and the importance of international solidarity.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 18 March 2020

Photo: The Kampala-Entebbe Expressway under construction, 17 February 2016. Source: The Coversation | Dai Kurokawa/EPA

Massive African Infrastructure Projects Often Hurt, Not Help, Local People

Viewpoint by Tom Goodfellow*

SHEFFIELD (IDN) – Big infrastructure projects are always controversial. Yet in parts of the world associated with severely deficient infrastructure, the positive value of major infrastructure investments is often taken as a given.

This assumption needs to be subjected to much greater scrutiny, as I argue in new research that explores the narrative of Africa’s “infrastructure gap” and why different bodies are rushing to “plug” it. The nature of the relationship between infrastructure and economic growth is already contested. Despite their tendency to produce a short term boom, there is evidence that big infrastructure investments can exacerbate economic fragility.

: Phil Harris; OPINION; 17 March 2020

Image: 1984 awardees of Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for theories concerning "the specificity in development and control of the immune system” and the discovery of “the principle for production of monoclonal antibodies". Credit: Nobelprize.org

A COVID-19 Vaccine Quickly and Cheaply Is Possible

Viewpoint by John Scales Avery*

The writer is a theoretical chemist noted for his research publications in quantum chemistry.

COPENHAGEN (IDN) – Public health experts say that if the COVID-19 epidemic is not successfully contained, it could become a global pandemic, perhaps spreading to 80% of the world's population. With a 1% mortality rate, this would mean that 70 million people would die of the disease. With a 2% mortality rate, the total number of deaths would be twice that number, 140 million people. Comparable numbers of people have died in the tragic wars and pandemics of the past. There is a serious danger that it might happen again.