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Photo: Michelle Bachelet, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Michelle Bachelet, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Credit: UN Photo/Laura Jarriel

UN Human Rights Chief’s China Visit Under Critical US Scrutiny

By Thalif Deen

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — The upcoming visit to China by Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, has come under critical US scrutiny.

Asked about the proposed visit, US State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters on May 20: “We are deeply concerned about the upcoming visit. Our understanding of the planned restrictions that she will be subjected to during the visit—based on that, we have no expectation that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) will grant the necessary access required to conduct a complete, unmanipulated assessment of the human rights environment in Xinjiang”.

: Thalif Deen; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 22 May 2022

Image: River Pripyat, Polesia / Fedor Lysenko/Shutterstock

Grave Concern for Environmental and Climate Damage Caused by Russian Invasion of Ukraine

Viewpoint by Kazuo Matsushita

This article was issued by the Toda Peace Institute and is being republished with their permission.

TOKYO (IDN) — War is the worst destruction of the environment and human rights.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine is truly a humanitarian crisis. In addition, the war has caused extensive damage to the environment, the effects of which are feared to be long-lasting. Even if the war were to end, the environmental devastation and pollution will make reconstruction difficult.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 22 May 2022

Photo: South African President (right) in a phone conversation with Putin. Credit: CGTN

South Africa on The Right Side of History or Captured by Cold War Allies?

Viewpoint by Professor Gerrit Olivier and Michèle Olivier

Gerrit Olivier is an emeritus professor at Pretoria University and former South African Ambassador in Russia and Kazakhstan. Michèle Olivier is a consultant in international law.

PRETORIA, South Africa | HULL, England (IDN) — A seemingly non-negotiable principle of South Africa’s foreign policy, is to be on the side of autocrats and dictators and habitually anti-West, irrespective of the issues. Cosy relations with the likes of Ethiopia’s Mengistu Haile Mariam, Sudan‘s Omar al Bashir Cuba’s Fidel Castro and Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe, characterised our foreign policy under all presidents since Nelson Mandela. With the present government being enamoured with a rabid war criminal like Vladimir Putin, we see a continuation of this policy.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 22 May 2022

Image: Cover of Electoral Integrity Report

US Falters, Europe Leads in Electoral Integrity

By Thalif Deen

NEW YORK (IDN) — When Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency during a political crisis in June 1975, she arrested hundreds of citizens, suspended civil liberties and imposed strict censorship of the press—temporarily downgrading “the world’s largest democracy” to a near-authoritarian state.

: Thalif Deen; SUSTAINABILITY; Peace & Justice; 21 May 2022

Global Call to Act on Land Degradation and Drought

By Devendra Kamarajan

ABIDJAN, Côte d’Ivoire (IDN) — The 15th Conference of Parties (COP15) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), concluded in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, has concluded with a united global pledge to boost drought resilience and invest in land restoration for future prosperity.

: Devendra Kamarajan; SUSTAINABILITY; Forests, desertification, land degradation & biodiversity; 21 May 2022

Image source: UK Ministry of DefenceImage source: UK Ministry of Defence

Nuclear Policies Violate Right to Life, Warn Civil Society Organisations

By Jaya Ramachandran

GENEVA (IDN) — While arms control and disarmament efforts have come to a halt, civil society organisations are insisting that nuclear policies contravene the right to life. “Every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life,” declares Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

: Jaya Ramachandran; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 21 May 2022

Photo: Africa braces for food price inflation as Russia-Ukraine war continues. Anatolii STEPANOV / FAO/AFP

Southern Africa Feels the Pinch of Russia-Ukraine War

By Jeffrey Moyo

HARARE, Zimbabwe (IDN) — Life is no longer the same for Zimbabwe’s shop owner, 34-year-old Richwell Mhasi in the capital Harare who has had to park his car at home, switching to his bicycle, cycling to and from work amid the rising prices of fuel since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war this year.

: Jeffrey Moyo; SUSTAINABILITY; Food security, nutrition & sustainable agriculture; 20 May 2022

Photo: ICAN Nobel Peace Prize Concert 2017. Credit: Ralf Schlesener

ICAN Successfully Promoting the Nuclear-Weapons Ban in Africa

By Jaya Ramachandran

GENEVA (IDN) — 2017 Nobel Peace laureate, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) and its partner organisations are carrying out activities across Africa to promote adherence to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) and to raise awareness of the grave threat that nuclear weapons pose to all humanity.

: Jaya Ramachandran; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 19 May 2022

Looks Like Another “Bad Blue” Just Bit the Dust

By Jeff Cohen and Norman Solomon*

SAN FRANCISCO, USA (IDN) — Three years ago, we helped write a report for RootsAction.org targeting 15 corporate Democrats in Congress who deserved to be “primaried.” We called the report “Bad Blues.” A common reaction back then was that those establishment pols were too strong and entrenched to be defeated.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 19 May 2022

Photo: Thousands of US troops were deployed to Eastern Europe amid Russia's military build-up. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Meleesa Gutierrez)

Endless War in Ukraine Hurts National and Global Security

Viewpoint by Katrina van den Heuvel*

This article is distributed by Globetrotter in partnership with The Nation.

NEW YORK (IDN) — What are the United States’ goals in the Ukraine war? Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin recently announced that the United States wants “Russia weakened to the degree that it can’t do the kinds of things that it has done in invading Ukraine.” The U.S. commitment toward that end has been substantial.