Speaking Out for People, Planet and Peace

By Kwame Buist

NEW YORK (IDN) – “Without education, we cannot achieve any of the SDGs,” UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed warned a meeting held at United Nations headquarters to mark International Day of Education.

And yet, with 2030 – the year set by the United Nations for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals – looming on the horizon, the world is lagging behind, prompting the UN Secretary-General to issue a global call for a Decade of Action to accelerate their implementation.

Viewpoint by Somar Wijayadasa*

MOSCOW (IDN) – If education is the ultimate gift one can give a child, then, the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia has given that gift to more than 150,000 deserving young men and women from many countries around the world – who otherwise would never have had the opportunity to receive higher education — especially in a foreign country.

Besides, the university is characterised by a cooperative and friendly attitude — one of respect and mutual assistance. With multinational traditions and customs, cuisine, dancing and music — the whole world is in one Moscow street: the Miklukho-Maklaya Street.

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN) – Let’s cut to the chase – there is no question, no doubt, that the government of Myanmar and the army which controls it have committed the most vile atrocities against the Rohingya people, a Muslim minority that lives in the West of the Buddhist-dominated country.

The International Court of Justice (the World Court) which ruled on January 23 against the Myanmar government, may not have concluded it was genocide as some say but it did unreservedly condemn the government for its atrocious sowing of violent mayhem against the Rohingya.

By Erol Avdović, WebpublicaPress

NEW YORK (IDN) – The United Nations has “some capacity to report back on ceasefire violations” and monitor the fragile peace in Libya, said chief spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General Stephane Dujarric, replying to this reporter’s question. The ceasefire was holding immediately after agreement was reached on January 19 in Berlin at the conference on Libya.

This high-profile international meeting was widely rated as very successful, though the situation in Libya continues to be described as chaotic and a source of insecurity throughout the Mediterranean basin.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.