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Viewpoint by Alemayehu G. Mariam
The writer is a professor of political science at California State University, San Bernardino, a constitutional lawyer and Senior Editor of the International Journal of Ethiopian Studies. The source of this article is Pambazuka News, which republished it on November 23. It first appeared in The Hill. The views in the following article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of IDN-INPS editorial team. – The Editor
Viewpoint by Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka
The writer is UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women. Following is the text of the statement titled 'A life without the threat of violence for everyone: leave no one behind' released on 16 November launching 'Sixteen Days of Activism against Gender Violence' ahead of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, 25 November 2017. – The Editor
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*
LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) - What drives people to extremes? Why do the people behind Wahhabism, Al-Qaeda or the Islamic State (IS) get so charged up and angry?
Perhaps to understand we should go back to the 16th century in Europe and the furious debate about the “divine right of kings”. For decades the royal houses of Europe had been becoming less accessible to their subjects. William of Orange, ruler of the powerful Netherlands, said he had “received his power from God and God alone.”
BERLIN | NEW DELHI (IDN-INPS | WION) - Major Siddharth Chatterjee (Retd), the United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator and the UNDP Resident Representative in Kenya, a humanitarian and development professional, a feminist and a passionate advocate for youth empowerment who has served in many war-ravaged and fragile parts of the world spoke exclusively to WION about his passion for advancing gender equality, his impressions of Kenya, the UN reform, and his transition from the Indian Army to the UN.
By António Guterres, UN Secretary-General
Following are extensive excerpts UN Secretary-General António Guterres' remarks on November 15, 217 at the Opening of the High-level Segment of COP23, the 23rd session of the Conference of the Parties (COP23) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). After thanking – The Editor
BONN (IDN-INPS) – It is fitting that this year’s conference is led by Fiji, a nation on the frontlines. Last month I visited other small islands facing the impacts of a warming world: Antigua and Barbuda and Dominica. The hurricane damage was beyond belief.
By Alice Slater*
NEW YORK (IDN-INPS) – NATO’s recent provocative decision to build up its military forces across Europe by sending four new multinational battalions to Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Poland, comes at a time of great turmoil and intense questioning of global security with new forces for both good and evil straining to make their mark on the course of history.
On November 10-11, at the Vatican, Pope Francis held an international conference to follow up on the recently negotiated treaty to prohibit the possession, use, or threat of use of nuclear weapons leading to their complete elimination which was negotiated in the UN General Assembly this summer by 122 nations, although none of the nine nuclear weapons states participated.
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*
LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) - When Donald Trump stretched his hand across our television screens on Sunday (November 12) to shake the hand of the Philippines’ president, Rodrigo Duterte, and then said he had “a great relationship” with him I felt my gorge contracting.
Having tasted the great, if sometimes flawed, (remember the totally counterproductive policy of arming the Afghani mujahedeen against the Soviet invaders) campaign of another U.S. president, Jimmy Carter, to put human rights at the centre of American foreign, to see this bald regression is a bitter fruit to swallow.
By Alexei Arbatov
Dr. Alexei Arbatov is the head of the Center for International Security at the Institute of Primakov National Research Institute of World Economy and International Relations. He is a former scholar in residence with the Carnegie Moscow Center’s Nonproliferation Program. Formerly, he was a member of the State Duma, vice chairman of the Russian United Democratic Party (Yabloko), and deputy chairman of the Duma Defense Committee. He is a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and is the head of the academy’s Center for International Security at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations. Following is the complete text of his paper presented to the conference on 'Perspectives for a world free from nuclear weapons and for integral disarmament' at Vatican City on 11 November 2017 – The Editor
By Izumi Nakamitsu
The author is High Representative for Disarmament Affairs United Nations (UNODA). Addressing the conference on 'Perspectives for a world free from nuclear weapons and for integral disarmament' at Vatican City on 10 November 2017, she expressed her gratitude to Pope Francis and the Holy See for their commitment to a world free from nuclear weapons. The Holy See was one of the very first to sign and ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Following are extensive excerpts from her remarks. - The Editor
The author is Secretary General of the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs and Professor of Physics at the University of Milan, Italy. Pugwash was awarded Nobel Peace Prize in 1995. Following are extensive excerpts from a paper Professor Cotta-Ramusino presented to the conference on 'Perspectives for a world free from nuclear weapons and for integral disarmament' at Vatican City on 10 November 2017. - The Editor
