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Photo: India's Agni-V ballistic missile at Republic Day parade in January 2013. Source: Ministry of Defence, Government of India.

India Urged to Join the Nuclear Weapon Ban Treaty

By Ramesh Jaura

BERLIN | NEW DELHI (IDN) — India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi is confronted with an increasing demand to join the landmark Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). It was adopted in January 2021 by 122 members of the UN General Assembly—a clear majority—and has entered into force after its ratification by 50 member-States of the UN. The number of signatories has since risen to 91. The Treaty bans the use, possession, testing, and transfer of nuclear weapons under international law.

: Ramesh Jaura; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 01 December 2022

Photo: British and German soldiers playing soccer in No-Man’s Land during the Christmas Truce in 1914. Credit: Universal History Archive.

Now is a Good Time for a Ukraine Ceasefire and Peace Talks

Viewpoint by Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies*

NEW YORK (IDN) — As the war in Ukraine has dragged on for nine months and a cold winter is setting in, people all over the world are calling for a Christmas truce, harkening back to the inspirational Christmas Truce of 1914. In the midst of World War I, warring soldiers put down their guns and celebrated the holiday together in the no-man’s land between their trenches. This spontaneous reconciliation and fraternization has been, over the years, a symbol of hope and courage.

: Opinion Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Peace & Justice; 30 November 2022

Photo: Ambassador Palitha Kohona with Chinese TV film crew at his office in Beijing.

China–Sri Lanka: Two Millennia of Mutually Enriching Relations

Viewpoint by Ambassador Palitha Kohona*

BEIJING (IDN) — Sitting in the middle of the Indian Ocean at the southern tip of India, Sri Lanka occupies an enviable strategic position. A blessing that it has successfully leveraged to advantage in the past and a curse that will continue to attract the rapacious attention of global and regional powers seeking to dominate the Indian Ocean region strategically, economically and culturally.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 30 November 2022

Photo: Some urban Zimbabweans have resorted to growing vegetables in their backyards to supplement their food amidst rising inflation in the country. Credit: Jeffrey Moyo/ IDN.

Urban Dwellers in Southern Africa Turn to Backyard Farming

By Jeffrey Moyo

HARARE, Zimbabwe (IDN) — At unoccupied swathes of land behind houses in Bloomingdale, a medium-income suburb in the Zimbabwean capital Harare, numerous maize fields and vegetable gardens have emerged as urban dwellers enduring economic hardships switch to backyard farming.

Zambia, despite emerging from an economic crisis during former President Edgar Lungu’s reign that ended last year, has dozens of urban dwellers taking up agriculture to supplement their earnings.

: Jeffrey Moyo; SUSTAINABILITY; Food security, nutrition & sustainable agriculture; 30 November 2022

A Workshop Helps Fill the Basket of Knowledge on the Pacific

Climate Change, Human Mobility and Peacebuilding Draw the Focus

Viewpoint by Volker Boege

Toda Peace Institute issued this article, and it is being republished with their permission.

BRISBANE, Australia (IDN) — While UN Secretary-General António Guterres in his opening speech at this year’s COP 27 in Sharm El-Sheikh on November 7 stated that humanity is “on the highway to climate hell with our foot on the accelerator”, a workshop held in Wellington, New Zealand, just a few days before, explored the consequences of this hellish trip for the security and peace of communities and countries in the Pacific region.

: Opinion Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Climate Action; 29 November 2022

Slim Possibility of Asia-Pacific Getting on Track to Net-Zero

Viewpoint by Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana

The writer is an Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).

BANGKOK (IDN) — The recent climate talks in Egypt have left us with a sobering reality: The window for maintaining global warming to 1.5 degrees is closing fast and what is on the table currently is insufficient to avert some of the worst potential effects of climate change.

: Opinion Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Climate Action; 28 November 2022

Photo: Recent floods in Pakistan covered a third of the country, with devastating consequences for families and the economy. Credit: UNDP Pakistan floods

Finding The Right Money for Vulnerable Countries

The Importance of Loss and Damage Fund (LDF)

Viewpoint by Inge Kaul

The author is a fellow at the Hertie School of Governance, Berlin, Germany. Comments are welcome and can be addressed to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

BERLIN (IDN) — For decades, there have been non-conclusive deliberations regarding how the international community can support poor and vulnerable countries in their efforts to cope with and recover from the havoc wreaked on their territory by the ill-effects of global warming, such as severe droughts, floods, storms, or rising sea levels.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 27 November 2022

The 34th World AIDS Day: “Achieving Equity to End HIV”

By Somar Wijayadasa*

Last year, every two minutes one person got infected with HIV, and every minute one person died of AIDS-related causes.

NEW YORK (IDN) — Every year on December 1, people throughout the world commemorate World AIDS Day to raise awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection.

The day is earmarked to educate people about the disease’s causes and early symptoms, to eliminate the stigma associated with it, to support those who are HIV positive, and pay tribute to those who lost their lives to the disease.

: Somar Wijayadasa; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 27 November 2022

Myanmar Junta Craves Legitimacy Amid Crimes Against Humanity & War Crimes

Viewpoint by Jan Servaes

BRUSSELS (IDN) — Since the February 1, 2021 coup, Myanmar's military has committed a variety of atrocities that, according to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, may amount to "crimes against humanity and war crimes".

To consolidate its power against widespread popular resistance, the self-proclaimed State Administration Council (SAC) led by Min Aung Hlaing has killed at least 2,465 people, conducted indiscriminate airstrikes in ethnic areas and razed hundreds of villages. The country has plunged into chaos and teeters on the brink of a failed state.

: Asia Editor; OPINION; 27 November 2022

Photo: The colour orange is used to represent a brighter future, free from violence against women and girls. Source: UN Women

Push Forward—Act Now to End Violence Against Women & Girls

Viewpoint by Sima Bahous

The following is the text of the statement by Ms Bahous, UN Under-Secretary-General and UN Women Executive Director, on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, 25 November 2022.

NEW YORK (IDN) — Five years ago, the global #MeToo movement brought new urgency and visibility to the extent of violence against women and girls. Millions of survivors came forward to share their experience. They forced the world to recognise a reality that shames every one of us. Their courage and voice led to a powerful collective activism and a sea-change in awareness.