Peace & Justice

Photo: Doctors and medical staff treating injured rebel fighters and civilians in Aleppo. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Kazakhstan Offers Astana As Venue Of Syrian Peace Talks

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) - In a major move ahead of joining the UN Security Council as its non-permanent member on January 1, 2017 for two years, President Nursultan Nazarbayev has offered the Kazakh capital of Astana as the venue for peace talks between the conflicting parties in the Syrian conflict.

According to official sources, the offer follows "a significant agreement between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan who had agreed to push Syria’s warring factions towards new negotiations".

"The latest reports of the successful evacuation of many civilians in Aleppo are, of course, welcome," said The Astana Times in an editorial on December 21. "However, it would be wrong to see this as a sign that the conflict in Syria is coming to an end," it added, stressing the need for peace talks.

: J Nastranis; THE WORLD; EU & Europe; 22 December 2016

Security Council Resolves to Halt Human Trafficking

By Santo D Banerjee

NEW YORK | VIENNA (IDN) – Human trafficking is a global problem particularly affecting people fleeing armed conflict, including women, children, internally displaced persons and refugees who are forced into modern slavery that fetches its perpetrators some $150 billion.

The UN Security Council is determined to put an end to this serious crime and violation of human rights, and has passed a resolution, which the Executive Director of the Vienna-based United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Yury Fedotov, describes as "historic".

“The resolution offers a powerful recognition by the international community that persons desperately fleeing armed conflict are especially vulnerable to trafficking in persons and to other forms of exploitation,” said the UNODC Chief, according to UN Information Service (UNIS) in Vienna.

: Santo D. Banerjee; UN INSIDER; 21 December 2016

Photo: Halamish, an Israeli settlement, stands in the northern West Bank, near the Palestinian village of Nabih Saleh. Credit: UNICEF/Mouhssine Ennaimi

Ban Asks Israel and Palestinians To Make Peace

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – Among several unresolved issues the outgoing UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon leaves behind is the Middle East, including the Palestinian question. In his final report to the Security Council on December 16, he said it saddened him that his last such briefing brought no sense of optimism for the future.

While the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was not the cause of the wars in the Middle East, resolving it could help to create momentum for peace throughout the region. He recalled that in 1947, acting on the basis of General Assembly resolution 181, the world had recognized the need for a two-State solution and had called for the emergence of “independent Arab and Jewish States”.

: J Nastranis; UN INSIDER; 18 December 2016

Photo: President-elect Nana Akufo-Addo. Credit: GhanaClass.com

UN Praises Ghana Polls as New President Awaits Inauguration

By Global Information Network

NEW YORK | ACCRA (IDN) – In a surprise upset for incumbent President John Dramani Mahama, Ghanaian voters turned out strongly for opposition candidate Nana Akufo-Addo, whose campaign for the presidency gave hope to thousands of jobless.

While Akufo-Addo bagged 54% of the vote, Mahama took 44% on December 7. It was the first time in Ghana that an opposition candidate defeated an incumbent President at the ballot box – a reason strong enough for outgoing United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to congratulate Akufo-Addo on his election as President of Ghana.

Ban thanked outgoing President John Dramani Mahama for his role in defusing tensions and preserving peace during the election period. According to a statement issued by his office on December 9, Ban reiterated UN’s commitment to continue assisting the Government of Ghana in consolidating democratic and development achievements.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 14 December 2016

Photo: OHCHR examines the issue of involuntary separation of Korean families from a human rights perspective. Photo: OHCHR

UN Focuses on 60 Years of Separation on Korean Peninsula

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) - In the midst of mounting political tension on the Korean peninsula, a new report from the United Nations human rights wing has drawn attention to more than 60 years of "involuntary" separation between families from the two Koreas and called for multifaceted steps in order to encourage reunion and alleviate the suffering of families.

The report, published on December 7 by the UN Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner (OHCHR), documents the experiences of families who have been torn apart since the 1950-1953 Korean War through displacement, forced disappearance and abductions, and as a result of those fleeing the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), official name of North Korea.

: J Nastranis; UN INSIDER; 07 December 2016

Geneva Conventions Prevent Wars from Getting Worse

By Jamshed Baruah

GENEVA (IDN) - A new survey finds that an overwhelming number of people living in countries affected by wars believe in the pressing need to impose limits on armed conflicts. Nearly half of those surveyed in conflict-affected countries are convinced that the Geneva Conventions prevent wars from getting worse.

But people in five countries that are permanent members (P5) of the UN Security Council appear to be more resigned to civilian casualties and suffering as an inevitable part of warfare:

The survey titled People on War was published by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on December 5, 2016. It sought to find out how people around the world perceive a range of issues related to war.

: Jamshed Baruah; SUSTAINABILITY; Peace & Justice; 05 December 2016

Photo: Jayantha Dhanapala. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Populism is Counterfeit Democracy

By Jayantha Dhanapala*

COLOMBO (IDN) - The bipolar Cold War contest between capitalism and communism appears in hindsight to be, frightening as it was, far more simple than the conflicts and tensions of the modern multipolar world. It was a struggle between two clearly identifiable ideological alternatives entrenched in two nuclear weapon armed military alliances wedded to a Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD) doctrine.

Today the situation is not as clear-cut. A global revival of nationalism – especially economic nationalism – laced with a complex mix of populism, anti-immigration policies and extremism of various forms transcends national boundaries together with rampant consumerism encouraged by globalization.

: Jayantha Dhanapala; OPINION; 26 November 2016

Photo: Faith Communities Concerned about the Humanitarian Consequences of Nuclear Weapons met with Kim Won-Soo, UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs to hand over an interfaith joint statement. at United Nations Headquarters, New York.

Faith-Based Groups Make the Case for Disarmament

Analysis by T.K. Fernandes

NEW YORK (IDN) - Since the deadly use of atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, the international community has been calling for the elimination of nuclear weapons. Despite slow progress, civil society has continued to tirelessly advocate for a nuclear-free world and is in fact one step closer to its realization in principle.

While speaking to IDN, Director of Peace and Human Rights at Soka Gakkai International (SGI) Kimiaki Kawai noted the importance of nuclear disarmament, stating: “We share common global challenges like climate change, poverty, hunger and disasters – so why don’t we utilize our rich resources for more meaningful purposes?”

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; SUSTAINABILITY; Peace & Justice; 20 October 2016

Photo: Technical University Main Building. Credit; Ulrich Dahl | Wikimedia Commons

World Congress in Berlin Demands Demilitarization of Minds

By Ramesh Jaura

BERLIN (IDN) - "Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed," declares the Preamble to the Constitution of UNESCO. This is also the crux of the message emerging from the World Congress titled 'Disarm! For a Climate of Peace – Creating an Action Agenda' from September 30 to October 3, 2016 in Berlin.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's famous remark, "The world is over-armed and peace is under-funded”, reverberated in the halls of Berlin's Technical University.

: Ramesh Jaura; UN INSIDER; 03 October 2016

Photo: Jayantha Dhanapala. Credit: CTBTO

From Placebo Nuclear Disarmament to a Nuke Free World

Viewpoint by Jayantha Dhanapala*

The following is a slightly abridged version of Jayantha Dhanapala's address to the International Peace Bureau (IPB) World Congress 'Disarm! For a Climate of Peace' from September 30 to October 03, 2016 at the Technical University Berlin, Germany.

BERLIN (IDN) - We are at a tipping point in history. The interconnected threats of nuclear weapons use, climate change and increasing inequality not only imperil the fabric of global society but also the very existence of human life and the eco-system that sustains it.

Increasing extremism and terrorism, conflicts triggered by regime change motives and the consequential displacement of people, the largest since World War II, with a rising tide of intolerance are other trends today.