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Photo: The aftermath of the devastating airstrike on the Tajoura Detention Centre, in the suburbs of the Libyan capital, Tripoli, on 2 July. Credit: UNSMIL/Georg Friedrich.

UN Report Condemns Missile Attacks Against Civilians and Migrants in Libya

By Jamshed Baruah

GENEVA (IDN) – A United Nations report has condemned a missile attack against Mitiga Airport, near Tripoli’s centre. At least two civilians were injured, while the tarmac and several buildings were damaged.

The joint report of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) and the UN human rights office in Geneva, published on January 27, said that at least 287 civilians were killed and around 369 others injured in 2019 alone, with airstrikes accounting for 60 per cent of those casualties. The situation shows no sign of abating.

: Jamshed Baruah; THE WORLD; Middle East & North Africa; 27 January 2020

Photo: A view of participants in the UN Youth Climate Summit on 21 September 2019. Credit: UN.

Climate and Nuclear Weapons Are the Focus of Buddhist Leader's Peace Proposals

By Taro Ichikawa

TOKYO (IDN) – Climate action and nuclear weapons abolition, with a focus on the individual lives and suffering often hidden behind macroeconomic indices, is the main theme of the 38th annual peace proposal by Daisaku Ikeda, president of the Soka Gakkai International (SGI) Buddhist network.

Titled 'Toward Our Shared Future: Constructing an Era of Human Solidarity', the proposals were released on January 26 marking the 90th anniversary of the establishment of the Soka Gakkai and the 45th anniversary of the founding of SGI.

: Taro Ichikawa; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 27 January 2020

Image credit: Transparency International

Politics-Big Money Nexus Feeds Corruption

By Sean Buchanan

LONDON (IDN) – In the last year, anti-corruption movements across the globe have gained momentum as millions of people joined together to speak out against corruption in their governments.

Protests from Latin America, North Africa and Eastern Europe to the Middle East and Central Asia made headlines as citizens marched in Santiago, Prague, Beirut and a host of other cities to voice their frustrations in the streets.

: Phil Harris; SUSTAINABILITY; Peace & Justice; 26 January 2020

Photo: The aftermath of the bushfires in Prospect Hill, Sydney (near Pemulwuy and Greystanes) in January 2020. CC BY-SA 4.0

Australia Battling Devastation Wrought by Worst Ever Bushfires

By Kalinga Seneviratne

SYDNEY (IDN) – Australia’s worst summer in living memory has burnt over 18 million hectares. The UN Environments Programme (UNEP) estimates that more than 5,900 buildings including over 2,800 homes have been destroyed as of mid-January. In addition to a death toll of 33 people so far, about one billion animals, and many more bats and insects, are likely to die in total over the coming weeks and months as a result of lost habitat and food sources, says UNEP.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 25 January 2020

Image: Collage of pictures from UNCTAD and Deutsche Bank Research.

Trade Wars Threaten Food Security to the Detriment of the Poor

Viewpoint by Dr. Mukhisa Kituyi, UNCTAD Secretary-General

GENEVA (IDN) – International trade has proven to be a critical mechanism for growth and development. It helps build stronger value chains, mitigate conflict and provides access to higher quality and quantities of goods and services.

It has also provided consumers with access to a more diversified and nutritious food basket. However, for trade to improve food security to the greatest number of people across the globe, greater international cooperation is necessary.

: UN Bureau; SUSTAINABILITY; Food security, nutrition & sustainable agriculture; 24 January 2020

Image: With a U.S. administration under Trump, European unity and leadership is the only hope for driving China's climate ambitions at COP26 in Glasgow. As the UN Environment Programme’s latest report on the ‘emissions gap’ shows the targeted emission reductions need to be three times more than agreed in Paris in 2015. Source: UN Environment Programme.

Sino-EU Duo Is Crucial to Driving the Global Climate Ambition

Viewpoint by Adam Tooze*

NEW YORK (IDN) – There are turning points in history. Moments that matter, that mark beginnings and ends. As Martin Luther King reminded us: "There is such a thing as being too late". It is that which can give politics its fierce urgency. As far as global climate politics is concerned, 2020 may be such a moment — and it is vital that Europe should not be late.

The latest round of United Nations-sponsored global climate talks, COP26, to be hosted in Glasgow from November 9 to 19, was always going to be important. This is the moment, when the Paris agreement of 2015 is scheduled for another round of updated national commitments that reflect the ever-more alarming reality of the climate emergency.

: UN Bureau; SUSTAINABILITY; Climate Action; 24 January 2020

Photo: The Peace Palace in The Hague (Netherlands), seat of the International Court of Justice. Credit: Jeroen Bouman - Courtesy of the ICJ.

UN Court Censures Myanmar for Violating Genocide Convention

Viewpoint by Rene Wadlow, President, Association of World Citizens

GENEVA (IDN) – On January 23, 2020, a panel of 17 judges of the World Court (ICJ) voted unanimously calling on Myanmar (formerly Burma) to take all measures in its power to prevent genocide of the remaining 600,000 Rohingya that the Court stated were extremely vulnerable to violence at the hands of the military. The Court calls for emergency provisional measures in order to respect the requirements of the 1948 Genocide Convention.

: Rene Wadlow; SUSTAINABILITY; Peace & Justice; 23 January 2020

Image credit: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Russia Exhorts US to Extend New START Without Preconditions

By Kingston Reif and Shannon Bugos

WASHINGTON, DC (IDN | Arms Control Association) – Russian officials repeated in late December and early January President Vladimir Putin’s call for extending the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) as soon as possible, though Washington continues to remain silent on the future of the accord, which is scheduled to expire in just over 12 months.

: Arms Control Association; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 23 January 2020

Photo (left to right): Collage of pictures (from public domains) of U.S. Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Alice Wells, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visiting Sri Lanka in January 2020. Credit: IDN-INPS

World Powers Come to Woo Sri Lanka

By Kalinga Seneviratne

COLOMBO (IDN) – Two months after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa assumed office on November 18, 2019, the Indian ocean island republic of Sri Lanka has had the unique distinction of hosting top diplomats of three world powers – the United States, China and Russia. One of the president’s first significant announcements was that Sri Lanka would follow a staunchly non-aligned independent foreign policy.

January 14 was a busy day for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, his brother Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena when they had a series of meetings with three foreign dignitaries: the U.S. Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Alice Wells, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 23 January 2020

Photo: Millions of people are not benefiting from progress, with the gap set to widen unless deep-rooted development barriers, including discrimination and unequal political participation, are tackled. Credit: UNDP Peru/Mónica Suárez

High Levels of Inequality Can Escalate Political Instability

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK (IDN) – As the United Nations prepares to mark its 75th anniversary in September, the Organisation has yet to fulfil the obligation enshrined in the mandate of the Charter: “to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom“ by employing “international machinery for the promotion of the economic and social advancement of all peoples“.

The authors of the landmark World Social Report 2020 point out that fifteen years ago, the Report on the ‘World Social Situation‘ had warned that growing inequality could jeopardize the achievement of internationally agreed development goals.