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Photo credit: The International Criminal Court.

Why the International Court for War Crimes Is Essential

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – Last year the office of the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) released a report which for the first time explicitly named U.S. military forces and CIA operatives in secret prisons as possible war crimes culprits for the alleged use of torture and rape. Because the American soldiers were based in Afghanistan which is an ICC member the ICC has broad jurisdiction over crimes committed by combatants on Afghan soil.

(However, since the U.S. is not a member it can't be prosecuted for alleged crimes committed in non-member ICC countries – for example in Iraq or Syria. It can also refuse for any of its citizens to be prosecuted on its own soil.)

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 25 September 2018

Photo: Winners of the 'SDGs and Her Competition' awards: Lucy Odiwa, owner of Tanzania-based WomenChoice Industries (right); and Mukuru Clean Stoves of Kenya owner, Charlot Magay (left). Credit: Sumaya Agha/UNDP

Sustainable Development Award Winners Celebrated at UN

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK(IDN) – Tanzania-based WomenChoice Industries and Mukuru Clean Stoves of Kenya are the global winners of the SDGs and Her Competition that seeks to increase knowledge about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their potential impact on women, as well as to encourage private sector partners and share best practices and innovative ideas.

They were celebrated at a side-event on September 24, 2018 during the high-level week of the UN General Assembly. The contest – co-sponsored by the World Bank Group, UNDP, UN Women, and the Wharton School Zicklin Center – showcases women micro-entrepreneurs who are helping to achieve the SDGs through their businesses.

: Santo D. Banerjee; THE WORLD; Africa; 25 September 2018

Photo: Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Hubei Provincial Museum in Wuhan city, Central China's Hubei province, April 27, 2018. Credit: XU JINGXING / chinadaily.com.cn

India's Stance on the Indo-Pacific Not Exclusionary of China

Viewpoint by Prateek Joshi

The writer is a Research Associate with the Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) India, a New Delhi-based public policy think-tank. This article was first published in East Asia Forum on September 21, 2018.

NEW DELHI (IDN-INPS) – In a move that heralds greater bilateral cooperation, Chinese Defence Minister Lieutenant General Wei Fenghe paid his first visit to India in August 2018. The visit was precisely a year after both sides decided to withdraw their forces following the two-month standoff at the Doklam trijunction. The det ails from the defence ministers' meeting point towards an adherence to greater confidence building measures to avoid Doklam-like situations from resurfacing.

: IDN-INPS Asia Editor; OPINION; 25 September 2018

Photo: Riccardo Petrella, Professor Emeritus of the Université Catholique de Louvain-la-Neuve, speaks to UNRIC at the debate "The Geopolitics of Water" on 14 March 2013 in Brussels. Screenshot of Vimeo.

The Earth is the Common Home of All Inhabitants

Viewpoint by Riccardo Petrella*

ROME (IDN) – The first vast work of "worldwide" occupation and predation of the Earth and its inhabitants was that begun in the sixteenth century by a number of European states (Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, England and France). After the First World War, new actors – no less conquerors and predators than the former (in particular, the United States, Soviet Union, Japan and Germany) – extended and intensified the work of occupation and exploitation of the planet and the world.

: Phil Harris; OPINION; 25 September 2018

Photo: Russian defence ministry spokesperson Major-General Igor Konashenkov presents the results of an investigation into the shooting down on September 17 of a Russian Ilyushin Il-20 electronic signals intelligence aircraft. Credit: Russian MoD/YouTube

The Russia, Iran, Turkey, Israel and Syria Mosaic

Viewpoint by Pier Francesco Zarcone*

ROME (IDN) – Recent events in Syria (downing of a Russian Ilyushin plane and an agreement between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recip Erdoğan on Idlib) lead to some reflections starting with the Israeli bombing that caused more than ten Russian deaths.

Many political observers, including Alberto Negri writing in a September 19 article on the Antidiplomatico site, have noted that when Israel is involved Putin is less decisive than usual. In fact, so far there has been no real Russian reaction to many Israeli violations of Syrian sovereignty, apart from certain formal protests.

: Phil Harris; OPINION; 24 September 2018

The Call of the Most Excluded

By Emmaus International*

“It is not enough to take action, we must overcome, that is to say, take more action than the forces moving in the other direction”. Abbé Pierre

GENEVA (IDN) – The World Forum of Alternatives led by the most excluded was held in Geneva, Switzerland, from September 17-20, 2018 on the invitation of Emmaus International and its allies: movements led by people living in poverty and deprivation and victims of all types of discrimination.

The following is taken from the statement issued at the closing of the meeting.

: Phil Harris; SUSTAINABILITY; Poverty; 24 September 2018

Photo: 6 out of 10 young people in the region work in the informal sector, with lower wages, and less or no benefits or social protection. Such work in Latin America and the Caribbean is often related to domestic work, street vending, illegal mining and farming. (ILO) ©IFAD/Pablo Corral Vega

Helping Rural Latin America Beat the Economic Downturn

By Kwame Buist

ROME (IDN) – Over the last three decades, the countries of Latin American and the Caribbean have experienced a profound transformation which has extended to rural areas. All countries in the region, except for Haiti, are now considered middle-income.

This economic and rural transformation has resulted in many benefits, especially between 2004 and 2013, when millions of people left poverty behind. However, despite this success, over one-quarter of the region’s population continues to live in poverty. Now, the economic downturn of most of Latin America’s economies over the last few years threatens to send millions more back under the poverty line.

: Phil Harris; THE WORLD; Latin America & the Caribbean; 24 September 2018

Photo: Kalabia, a floating environmental education program engaging THE NATURAL CURIOSITY OF CHILDREN TO TEACH conservation in Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia. Credit: nebula.wsimg.com

UNESCO-Japan Prize for Organizations in Namibia, Indonesia and Estonia

By Robert Johnson

PARIS (IDN) – UNESCO , the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, has nominated three non-profit organizations in Namibia, Indonesia and Estonia for outstanding projects aimed at promoting the role of education in connecting the social, economic, cultural and environmental dimensions of sustainable development, known as Education for Sustainable Development (ESD).

The initiative was launched within the framework of the Global Action Programme (GAP) and officially announced at the UNESCO World Conference on ESD from November 10-12, 2014 in Aichi-Nagoya in Japan. The GAP calls for scaling up of ESD action at all levels as a means of implementing all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

: Robert Johnson; SUSTAINABILITY; Quality Education; 24 September 2018

UN Chief Implores 'Faith and Inspiration' Kofi Annan Embodied

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." This quote from Edmund Burke, the 18th century Irish statesman as well as an author, orator, political theorist and philosopher, was one of late Kofi Annan's favourites, his son Kojo told the UN General Assembly on September 21 as it paid warm tributes to the former Secretary-General who died on August 18 at the age of 80.

It was more than a quote. It was his code. My father's race has ended, but the work continues. He believed this was the only work worth doing, creating a world where everyone can find home."

: J Nastranis; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; Kofi Annan; 23 September 2018

Photo: UN Photo/Mark Garten – Kofi Annan, 8 April 1938 – 18 August 2018.

Remembering Kofi Annan, UN Recalls His Contributions

By UN News

NEW YORK (IDN) – In yet another move to honour the contribution of late Kofi Annan to the United Nations as Secretary-General from 1997 to 2005, who died at the age of 80 on August 18, UN News carried an article on September 20, saying that he "championed everything from stronger human rights and peacekeeping operations around the world, to revitalizing the UN itself by insisting on creating a new dynamic deputy chief role, an effective ethics office and the mantra of zero tolerance for sexual exploitation."