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Photo: Applause for adoption of the UN Treaty Prohibiting Nuclear Weapons on July 7, 2017 in New York. Credit: ICAN

Opening for Signature of the UN Treaty a Milestone for Prohibiting Nuclear Weapons

By Sergio Duarte, Ambassador, former U.N. High Representative for Disarmament Affairs*

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) - The opening for signature of the Treaty on the Prohibitions of Nuclear Weapons on September 20 at the United Nations in New York marks a milestone in the long history of efforts by the international community to eliminate the most destructive and cruel of all weapons invented by man.

The wide adherence to the negotiating process of the Treaty, carried out with the strong support of civil society organizations, reflected a growing global recognition that a ban on nuclear weapons is an integral part of the normative framework necessary to achieve and maintain a world free of such weapons. It is not a hasty or impromptu movement born out of frustration for the protracted lack of concrete progress on nuclear disarmament or by humanitarian considerations. Rather, it responds to a longstanding aspiration of humanity.

: Sergio Duarte; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 20 September 2017

Photo: U.S. President Donald J. Trump, addresses the 72nd General Assembly’s annual general debate 19 September 2017. Credit: UN Photo/Cia Pak

Trump's UN Speech Arouses Fear of a 'Dark and Difficult Phase' in Reducing Nuclear Threat

By Devendra Kamarajan

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) –"Trust within and among countries is being driven down by those who demonize and divide. We are a world in pieces. We need to be a world at peace," said UN Secretary-General António Guterres in his address to the General Assembly on September 19.

In contrast, the U.S. President Donald Trump warned North Korea: "The United States has great strength and patience, but if it is forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea." He also threatened Iran and Venezuela.

Reacting to these threats, the Arms Control Association criticised Trump's address as a failure of nuclear leadership. "Trump’s address is yet another sign that we are entering a dark and difficult phase in the long-running effort to reduce the threat posed by nuclear weapons," said Daryl G. Kimball, Executive Director of the organization based in Washington, D.C.

: Devendra Kamarajan; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 19 September 2017

Photo: “We will pursue every option to protect Scotland’s position in Europe and, by extension, the interests of EU citizens who live and work here," First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, told EU diplomats following the EU referendum. Credit: FirstMinister.gov.scot

Scotland Might Pave the Way out of Brexit

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) - “It’s not over until the fat lady ends her song” – so goes the adage, referring to the often-overweight soprano who sings the last aria in Wagner’s opera, Götterdämmerung.

British Prime Minister Theresa May is not fat in a bodily sense, but she is fat-headed, convinced of her own righteousness over Brexit, although she herself voted Remain in the Brexit referendum and then changed her opinion so she could win enough votes from Brexit members of parliament to become Prime Minister.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 19 September 2017

Photo: Dr. Daisaku Ikeda. Credit: Seikyo Shimbun.

Heed the Voices of the Hibakusha Urging All States to Sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

By Dr. Daisaku Ikeda, President, Soka Gakkai International (SGI)

TOKYO (IDN) - The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, adopted this past July at the United Nations, will soon be opened for signature. The negotiations that produced this Treaty saw the participation of nearly two-thirds of all UN member states, and it is deeply moving to witness the first concrete steps toward the Treaty’s entry into force. I earnestly hope that the initial 122 countries that supported its adoption will be joined by other states becoming signatories to the Treaty, so that it can become international law as quickly as possible.

The quest for a world without nuclear weapons was the focus of the first UN General Assembly Resolution adopted in January 1946, soon after the birth of the United Nations. In the more than seven decades since, nuclear disarmament has been the subject of repeated resolutions.

: Daisaku Ikeda; OPINION; 18 September 2017

Ratify the CTBT – Ban Nuclear Testing

By Didier Reynders, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belgium, Ibrahim Al-Jafari, Foreign Minister of Iraq and Lassina Zerbo, Executive Secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO).

The nuclear test conducted by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) on September 3, 2017 sent shockwaves not only through the inner layers of the earth, but also throughout the international community – particularly as initial estimates of the magnitude of the blast were released.

The treaty prohibiting nuclear testing was signed 20 years ago, but is still not in force. While North Korea continues to develop its nuclear capacity by testing, it seems more urgent than ever to ratify it. The international community would do well to strengthen international law. Belgium, Iraq and the CTBTO will do their part.

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; OPINION; 17 September 2017

Over 110 Countries Commit to Halt Land Degradation

By Jaya Ramachandran

BERLIN | ORDOS CITY, China (IDN) – Land degradation is one of the planet’s most pressing global challenges. A third of the world’s land is degraded. But the good news is that by the end of the 13th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 13) to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) on September 16, 2017 in China's Ordos City, 113 countries had agreed to specify concrete targets, with clear indicators, to reverse degradation and rehabilitate more land.

A new global roadmap to address land degradation was also agreed. The UNCCD 2018-2030 Strategic Framework is regarded as the most comprehensive global commitment to achieve Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) in order to restore the productivity of vast swathes of degraded land, improve the livelihoods of more than 1.3 billion people, and to reduce the impacts of drought on vulnerable populations.

: Jaya Ramachandran; UN INSIDER; 16 September 2017

Photo: Opening of 72nd Session of the UN General Assembly: Miroslav Lajčák (centre), President of the UNGA 72, gavels open the session’s first meeting. He is flanked by Secretary-General António Guterres (left) and Catherine Pollard, Under-Secretary-General for General Assembly and Conference Management. 12 September 2017. Credit: UN Photo/Kim Haughton

R2P Back on the UN General Assembly's Agenda After 12 Years

By J Nastranis

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) - For the first time in twelve years, the UN General Assembly has included – with the recorded vote of 113 in favour to 21 against, and 17 abstentions – “The Responsibility to Protect" in the agenda for its 72nd session that kicked off on September 12.

The protractors of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) consider it a global political commitment, which was endorsed by all member states of the United Nations at the 2005 World Summit to prevent genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. Yet, as a "not an official record" of the General Assembly's plenary on September 15 points out, several delegations took the floor to express their concerns about formally adding the item to the agenda.

: J Nastranis; UN INSIDER; 16 September 2017

Photo: Displaced Rohingya people in Rakhine State. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

There's More to the Catastrophe in Myanmar than Meets the Eye

By Shishir Gupta | Courtesy Hindustan Times*

The United Nations human rights chief Zeid Ra‘ad al-Hussein has described the situation in Myanmar a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing.” Secretary-General António Guterres has called for Muslims from Myanmar's Rakhine state to be granted nationality or at least a legal status that would allow them to lead a normal life, while also urging the international community to help provide assistance for the nearly 380,000 people who have fled into Bangladesh. Indian journalist Shishir Gupta highlights a hitherto overlooked aspect of the situation: "the bloody contribution of Pakistan-based jihadist groups to this catastrophe." – The Editor

: IDN-INPS Asia Editor; OPINION; 15 September 2017

Photo: Delegates attending the fifth thematic session of the General Assembly for the Global compact on safe, orderly and regular migration. Credit: UNIS Vienna.

Experts Explore Pathways for the Global Compact for Migration

By Julia Rainer

VIENNA (IDN) – "Smuggling of migrants, trafficking in persons and contemporary forms of slavery, including appropriate identification, protection and assistance to migrants and trafficking victims," was the title of the Fifth thematic session of the UN General Assembly hosted on September 4-5 by the United Nations Office in Vienna (UNOV).

The event aimed at supporting the inter-governmental process designed to lead to the adoption in 2018 of a global compact on safe, orderly and regular migration – a goal agreed by the member states when adopting the New York Declaration on Refugees and Migrants in September 2016.

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; UN INSIDER; 15 September 2017

Photo: Prof. Erin Moore constructs a "future" home for bees during UNESCO conference. Credit: A.D. McKenzie | IDN-INPS

Critical Thinking, Civic Values, Urged for Sustainability

By A.D. McKenzie

PARIS (IDN) – Given the rampant technological changes taking place, it’s impossible to predict what the world will look like in even 20 years, and only the development of critical thinking and common civic values will help humankind to deal with the future.

That is the viewpoint of Sonia Dhillon Marty, head of a foundation that is seeking to “foster civic engagement” through art, architecture, design, sustainable farming and technology”, as she puts it. “If we are together, people will listen, politicians will listen,” Dhillon Marty said during a conference in Paris, September 12-13 at the headquarters of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).