Peace & Justice

Photo: Members of CNDD-FDD rebel forces surrender their weapons and ammunition to United Nations Operation in Burundi (ONUB) peacekeepers in Mbanda, southern Burundi. 03 February 2005. UN Photo/Martine Perret.

Burundi Threatens to Deal a Severe Blow to UN Reputation

Viewpoint by Paula Donovan and Stephen Lewis

Paula Donovan and Stephen Lewis are Co-Directors of AIDS-Free World and its Code Blue Campaign, which seeks to end impunity for sexual offences by UN personnel.

NEW YORK (IDN) – It is a matter of extreme urgency that Burundi's presidential, legislative, and local elections, scheduled for May 20, be postponed. Admittedly, it's the eleventh hour, but the contagion of violence, and the viral contagion of COVID-19, make rescheduling imperative.

Three events of the past several days make an incontrovertible argument:

: UN Bureau; THE WORLD; Africa; 16 May 2020

Photo: Religious leaders in an online meeting. Credit: UN Photo/Rick Bajornas

UN Chief Appeals to 'Common Humanity' Across All Faiths to Tackle COVID-19

By UN News

NEW YORK (IDN) – Our shared vulnerability to the coronavirus pandemic reveals “our common humanity”, UN Secretary-General António Guterres told religious leaders in an online meeting to discuss the role they can play in limiting the damage caused by COVID-19.

Speaking during the meeting on May 12, Guterres said “it lays bare our responsibility to promote solidarity as the foundation of our response – a solidarity based on the human rights and human dignity of all … and it highlights the crucial role of religious leaders in your communities and beyond.”

: UN Bureau; UN INSIDER; 13 May 2020

Photo: Veterans in a letter called for Putin to "take a difficult but, as we see it, fair decision to hold the military parade on another date". Putin has meanwhile agreed to defer the military parade. Credit: Sergei Kiselyov/Moskva News Agency

Russia's Victory in WWII Changed the World but War Drums Continue

Viewpoint by Somar Wijayadasa*

NEW YORK (IDN) – On May 9, 1945, after four years of violent battles inside Russia, recorded as the bloodiest and most destructive military conflict in the whole history of humanity, the Russians defeated Nazi Germany in World War II. It is the single most important day in Russian history that elicits a strong feeling of pride and patriotic fervour that binds the nation together.

However, due to the coronavirus pandemic Russia's President Vladimir Putin had to postpone the massive military parade through Red Square. Postponing the event, Putin said, "On Victory Day, we honour the heroes who defended the country and the rest of the world and sacrificed their lives to protect others".

: Somar Wijayadasa; THE WORLD; Russia; 06 May 2020

Photo: ICC Prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, presents her Office’s 19th report on the Situation in Libya remotely. © ICC-CPI

ICC Prosecutor Reminds the Security Council of a Special Responsibility for Libya

By Fatou Bensouda

The following are extensive excerpts from the International Criminal Court Prosecutor Ms Fatou Bensouda's statement by video to the UN Security Council on May 5.

NEW YORK | THE HAGUE (IDN) – Despite some inevitable limitations caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, my Office's Libya team is forging ahead with its judicial work and investigations, managing to remain active and productive in these exceptional times. The Libya situation remains a priority for my Office, and I seize the opportunity in this forum to announce that my team is working on applications for new warrants of arrest.

: UN Bureau; OPINION; 06 May 2020

Photo: War crimes include the use of child soldiers; the killing or torture of persons such as civilians or prisoners of war; intentionally directing attacks against hospitals, historic monuments, or buildings dedicated to religion, education, art, science or charitable purposes. Credit: ICC

Limited Progress Achieved in Deterring War Crimes

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN) – With a bit more pushing and, after, unfortunately, a bit more killing the three remaining serious wars on the planet, in Syria, Afghanistan and Yemen, should come to an end. Then it will be time to take stock on what caused the killing, especially why so many innocents lost their lives and whether wars of this kind can be deterred in the future.

The world has already made a lot of progress over the last few decades: there are no interstate wars and the number of civil wars has steadily fallen, (albeit the graph has begun an upward turn in the last two years mainly because of mini-wars in West Africa).

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 05 May 2020

Fake News Is 'Infodemic' That Puts Lives at Risk

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – While Americans hotly debate the subject of "fake news," Africans and others around the world marked a day for reflection on press freedoms in theory and in practice. The theme for this year's event launched by the UN agency UNESCO was "Journalism without fear or favour".

The state of journalism in most parts of the world is precarious, according to many media specialists.

: Global Information Network; SUSTAINABILITY; Peace & Justice; 05 May 2020

People in the Global South Don't Need Debt Relief, They Need a New System

Viewpoint by Meera Karunananthan*

This article was originally published on openDemocracy. Any views or opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of IDN-InDepth News

OTTAWA (IDN) – "Those who led us into debt were gambling, as if they were in a casino … there is talk of a crisis. No. They gambled. They lost … We cannot repay the debt because we have nothing to pay it with. If we do not pay, our creditors will not die. We can be sure of that. On the other hand, if we pay, it is we who will die. Of that we can be equally sure." [Thomas Sankara, President of Burkina Faso, 1983-87]

: Phil Harris; OPINION; 05 May 2020

Why Russia Is Slow to Unlock Media Potential with Africa

Viewpoint by Kester Kenn Klomegah

MOSCOW (IDN) – Researchers and experts have identified a lack of interest and a well-coordinated mechanism as being behind the absence of effective Russian media cooperation with Africa. European and Western media brands, such as British Broadcasting Corporation, Cable News Network, Associated Press, Reuters, Agence France Press, Quartz and Bloomberg, are active with their African partners, while the Russian media are largely invisible.

: Kester Kenn Klomegah; THE WORLD; Russia; 01 May 2020

Photo credit: Minorities Rights Group International.

COVID-19 Strikes South Asia's Minorities Whose Rights Are Already Threatened

By Jaya Ramachandran

LONDON (IDN) – A new report warns that the minorities and other marginalised communities are even more exposed to the worst impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is hitting South Asia. It has come at a time when governments are inflicting sustained assaults on their rights. Minorities face severe obstacles in accessing their right to nationality amidst rising majoritarian nationalism across many parts of the South Asia, says the South Asia Collective (SAC) in its annual flagship report, South Asia State of Minorities Report.

: Jaya Ramachandran; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 30 April 2020

Photo: A new mosques in Eastern Sri Lanka. Credit: Kalinga Seneviratne, INPS | IDN

One Year on, Easter Bombing in Sri Lanka Continues to Puzzle

By Kalinga Seneviratne

This article is the 39th in a series of joint productions of Lotus News Features and IDN-InDepthNews, the flagship of the International Press Syndicate. Click here for previous reports.

SYDNEY (IDN) – A 22-year-old Sri Lankan law graduate became the first Islamic suicide terrorist a year ago in the predominantly Buddhist Sri Lanka. He detonated an explosive-filled rucksack amid a crowd of Easter Sunday worshipers at a Catholic Church in the seaside town of Negombo, close to the country's international airport.