Peace & Justice

Photo: Clockwise, from top left: U.S. combat operations in Ia Đrăng, ARVN Rangers defending Saigon during the 1968 Tết Offensive, two A-4C Skyhawks after the Gulf of Tonkin incident, ARVN recapture Quảng Trị during the 1972 Easter Offensive, civilians fleeing the 1972 Battle of Quảng Trị, and burial of 300 victims of the 1968 Huế Massacre. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

The Secret of Greatness Lies in 'Net Resources'

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – Let’s make America great again! Or as the prime minister of France said: Let’s make France great again. Or, as President Donald Trump conceded, let every nation in the world announce that they are going to be great again. But what makes for greatness? Over that there is a big dispute.

Strategists say that power has to be measured carefully because “the balance of power is the motor of world politics, playing a role as central as the role of energy in physics and money in economics”, as writes Professor Michael Beckley of Tufts University.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 23 April 2019

Photo: German Foreign Affairs Minister Heiko Maas chairs the Security Council meeting on Non-proliferation and supporting the Non-proliferation Treaty ahead of the 2020 Review Conference. 02 April 2019. United Nations, New York. Photo # 802676. UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe.

UN Eager to Advance Commitment to Nuclear Non-Proliferation

By Jamshed Baruah

NEW YORK (IDN) – Deeply concerned about the erosion of the disarmament and arms control framework that reaped significant post-cold-war-era gains, the United Nations is keen to ensure the continued viability of the landmark Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).

With an eye on the fiftieth anniversary of the Treaty’s entry into force and the twenty-fifth celebration of its indefinite extension, the 15-nation Security Council – chaired by Germany’s Foreign Affairs Minister Heiko Maas – convened a high-level meeting at the UN Headquarters on April 2, 2019.

: Jamshed Baruah; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 23 April 2019

Photo: Nuclear disarmament in the Middle East. Credit: USA Air Force.

New Attempt to Tackle Nuclear Proliferation Threat in the Middle East

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK (IDN) – A conference on the establishment of a Weapons of Mass Destruction-Free Zone (WMDFZ) and a Nuclear Weapons-Free Zone (NWFZ) in the Middle East appeared to have been consigned to oblivion until the First Committee of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) decided in December 2018 "to entrust to the Secretary-General the convening" of an international meeting to address the risk of nuclear proliferation in one of the world's most volatile regions.

: Santo D. Banerjee; THE WORLD; Middle East & North Africa; 21 April 2019

Photo: ICAN Executive Director Beatrice Fihn and Bekele Gonfa attended the AU Peace and Security Council in Addis Ababa to lobby for signature and ratification of the #TPNW. Credit: ICAN France

African Nations Can Choose Their Own Destiny

Viewpoint by Beatrice Fihn

Following are extensive excerpts from International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) Executive Director Beatrice Fihn’s address to the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council on April 4, 2019 at the organization's Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

ADDIS ABABA (IDN-INPS) – Across the world we have seen the devastating impacts of weapons on civilian populations. Humanitarian disarmament is a preventative approach aimed at reducing human suffering through the creation of norms and laws around weapons with indiscriminate and inhumane impact on civilians.

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; THE WORLD; Africa; 13 April 2019

Photo: Participants of the NAM Ministerial Meeting in Baku, Azebaijan. Credit: MEA India.

Think Tank Supports NAM Call for Reform of the UN System

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK (IDN) – Backing the 120-member Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), the International Institute for Non-Aligned Studies (IINS) has called for “comprehensive, transparent, inclusive and balanced” reform of the United Nations.

Recalling the final document of the 2018 NAM Ministerial Meeting held in Baku, Azerbaijan, the think tank emphasizes that the reform should be “pursued in an effective and accountable manner, fully respecting the political nature of the Organization as well as its intergovernmental, universal and democratic character, consistent with the UN Charter”.

: Santo D. Banerjee; UN INSIDER; 08 April 2019

Photo: President of Angola Joao Lourenco.

Angola Plans Manufacturing Russian Military Equipment

By Kester Kenn Klomegah*

MOSCOW (IDN) – Many African countries are looking for profitable business, investment and trade rather than development aid. Now Angola, a south-central Africa, has announced corporate plans to diversify its state business away from purchasing to full-fledged manufacturing of Russian military equipment for the southern African market, and possibly other regions in Africa – impeding realization of the Sustainable Development Goal 16 calling for peace and justice.

: IDN-INPS Middle East & Africa Editor; THE WORLD; Africa; 07 April 2019

Photo: New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern visits members of the Muslim community at the Phillipstown Community Centre, 16 March 2019 less than 24 hours after a terror attack to two mosques left 50 people dead and dozens seriously injured in Christchurch. Credit: Kirk Hargreaves/Christchurch city council.

Terrorism Comes Unannounced to Laid Back New Zealand

By Dr Palitha Kohona

The writer, former Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations, and former Foreign Secretary, returned recently from a visit to New Zealand.

COLOMBO (IDN) – White extremism and terrorism may appear to be uncoordinated and spontaneous. It certainly lacks the 'viciousness incarnate' tag conferred by the media and certain commentators when referring to Islamic terrorism associated with the brands of Al Qaeda, Hezbollah or ISIS or to Tamil terrorism in the form of the LTTE.

: Dr. Palitha Kohona; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 06 April 2019

Photo: The Inner Circle that helped Jammeh (centre) steal Gambia. Source: OCCRP. Credit: Edin Pasovic.

Gambia’s Ex-President Plundered Nearly One Billion Dollars

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – Experts who follow the money are still scratching their heads as to how a quarter of a billion dollars vanished from the national coffers along with former Gambian President Yahya Jammeh at roughly the same time.

Before his flight into exile in 2017, Jammeh ruled the small palm-fringed country in West Africa with an iron fist. Through the army and his private mercenaries, known as “the Jungulars”, he ruled by torturing and imprisoning political opponents and human rights activists, murdering journalists and depriving citizens of their right to exist.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 01 April 2019

Photo: Governor-General of New Zealand, Dame Patsy Reddy, lays flowers for the victims of the Christchurch mosque shootings at Hagley Park on 19 March 2019. CC BY-SA 4.0

Why a White Christian Isn't Called a Terrorist

By Kalinga Seneviratne

This article is the 31st in a series of joint productions of Lotus News Features and IDN-InDepthNews, flagship of the International Press Syndicate. Click here for previous series.

SYDNEY (IDN) – After a White Australian of Christian background Brenton Tarrant gunned down 50 Muslims praying at a Christchurch mosque on a Friday, it took the New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern more than a day to call it a “terrorist” act, and when she did so, the mainstream media in Australia and New Zealand quoted Tarrant’s mother as describing him an “angelic boy”.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 01 April 2019

Photo: Pope Francis addresses participants of an international conference entitled, 'Religions and the Sustainable Development Goals'. Credit: Vatican Media.

Vatican Encourages Faith Communities to Help Achieve SDGs

By Ramesh Jaura

BERLIN | VATICAN CITY (IDN) – Much water has flown under the Tiber bridges since the Holy See declined an invitation in 1923 to join the League of Nations stating that its only competency was in matters of elucidation of questions of principle in morality and public international law.

Forty-one years later, the Holy See became a permanent observer state at the United Nations on April 6, 1964. Since then four Popes have addressed the UN General Assembly: Paul VI in 1965, John Paul II in 1979 and 1995, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in 2008, and Pope Francis in 2015.