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Graphic: Collage of COVID-19 affected countries from World Health Organisation (left) and NPT partner countries from Wikimedia Commons

Relentless Spread of Coronavirus Obliges Postponing the 2020 NPT Review to 2021

Viewpoint by Tariq Rauf *

VIENNA (IDN) — As Spring is in the offing, the days are drawing near when representatives of up to 191 countries will convene at a review conference at the United Nations in New York, from 27 April to 22 May, to celebrate 50 years of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) being in force. Coincidentally, this also will be the tenth in a series of quinquennial NPT review conferences. Nonetheless, as at present the COVID-19 virus continues to spread globally, the wise and prudent course would be to postpone the NPT review conference to next year and not risk the health of the participants or contribute to the further propagation of the disease and further strain already stressed health care systems not only in the developed world but especially in developing areas.

: Opinion Editor; UN INSIDER; 02 March 2020

Photo: Community leaders in Afghanistan strategize human rights. Credit: UNAMA

The Civil Society Prepared for Intra-Afghan Peace

By Bernhard Schell

DOHA | KABUL (IDN) — Women, youth as well as community and religious leaders in Afghanistan have been craving for peace and earnestly preparing for it long before the United States signed a landmark agreement with the Taliban on February 29.

The deal sets the stage to end America's longest war stretching over more than 18 years and allow President Donald Trump to begin the promised withdrawal of American troops. U.S. forces and their allies have been present in Afghanistan since 2001.

: Bernhard Schell; SUSTAINABILITY; Peace & Justice; 01 March 2020

Photo: The Government of Kenya, the UN and development partners receive a warm reception in West Pokot on 26 February 2020. Credit: UN

UN Supports Sustainable Development of Kenya's 'Last Frontier'

Viewpoint by Mohammed Simba Guleid

The writer is the CEO of the Frontier Counties of Kenya and the former Deputy Governor of Isiolo County.

NAIROBI (IDN) – The United Nations estimates that Sub-Saharan Africa loses 40 billion hours per year collecting water. In most of Kenya's water-scarce regions, this invariably involves an already poorly-nourished mother lugging a 20-kg jerrycan for about three hours every day under 40^o C temperatures – often carrying a baby on her back.

: Africa & ME Editor; THE WORLD; Africa; 01 March 2020

Photo: An arsenic-free water plant has been established in Sirajganj, Bangladesh, enabling students to access arsenic-free water. Previously, they had to rely on pond water, making them susceptible to disease. 5 May 2016. ©GMB Akashss

SDG 11 and the Crucible of Sustainable Development Success

Viewpoint by Jaffer Machano

The writer is Global Programme Manager, Municipal Investment Finance, United Nations Capital Development Fund. This article first appeared 18 February in UN Chronicle, a digital magazine of the United Nations, produced by the Department of Global Communications.

NEW YORK (IDN) — The lexicon of sustainable development includes an oft-used term: market failure. The term has been attributed to, and popularized by, a Hungarian-born economist who would eventually serve under United States President Lyndon Johnson before teaching at Harvard University—Francis Michel Bator.

: UN Bureau; SUSTAINABILITY; Sustainable Cities & Communities; 29 February 2020

Photo: Screenshot from UN WebTV with Rosemary DiCarlo, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, briefing the UN Security Council on 28 February on the critical situation in Syria.

UN Urges Russia and Turkey to Secure 'Fresh Ceasefire' in Syria

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) — The UN has in an emergency session of the Security Council on Syria strongly urged Russia and Turkey "to build on previous agreements to secure a fresh ceasefire" across the war-torn northwest. The meeting was convened on February 28 following the death on the battlefield of dozens of Turkish troops.

According to UN News, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres built on his impassioned call earlier in the day for Syrian Government forces backed by Russia, who are attempting to drive the last opposition forces out of Idlib, backed by Turkish forces, to all "step back from the edge of further escalation".

: J Nastranis; UN INSIDER; 28 February 2020

Collage credits: Swift Postal (left) and Catherine Oshotse from Africa Renewal (right).

Africa Is Joining the Burgeoning World of Digital Economies

By Yun Shi

SAN DIEGO, CA, USA (IDN | Africa Renewal) — Catherine Oshotse, a 27-year-old entrepreneur from Lagos, Nigeria, has the internet to thank for her growing business. Selling hair extensions and women’s handbags online to customers across Africa and abroad has grown her client base from 10 in 2015 to more than 1,000 currently. Of these, 70% are in Africa and 20% in the United Kingdom and the United States.

“You just go to my website and click on the item you want to buy. I receive an email that somebody has placed an order, then I deliver the package. Very easy!” Ms. Oshotse tells Africa Renewal in an interview.

: Africa & ME Editor; THE WORLD; Africa; 28 February 2020

Photo courtesy of UNITAR Hiroshima Office.

Uncertainty Haunts the Future of Non-Proliferation Treaty and Disarmament

Viewpoint by Tariq Rauf *

HIROSHIMA (IDN) —August 6 and August 9 will mark the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. No sentient human being who has met or seen the hibakusha (survivors), or visited the hypocentres in the two cities, or seen the photographic evidence of the destruction of these two Japanese cities, can avoid being shocked and horrified by the devastation that nuclear weapons inflicted.

: Opinion Editor; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 27 February 2020

Photo: U.S. President Donald Trump (R) listens to Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He (L) during a meeting to discuss trade issues in the Oval Office of the White House in in Washington, Jan 31, 2019. Credit: IC

Trump's Trade Deal Poses New Dangers to Southeast Asia

Viewpoint by Calvin Cheng*

KUALA LUMPUR (IDN) — After two years of alternating between tense escalation and fleeting periods of calm, the United States and China reached a preliminary phase one trade deal in December 2019. Government spokespersons in both countries promptly cheered the signing of the agreement — but observers around the world remain a little more circumspect.The primary achievement of the phase one deal seemed to be tempering the uncertainty of further tariff escalation, with both sides agreeing to cancel their upcoming tariff hikes.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 27 February 2020

Photo: De. Stella Nyanzi. Source: Global News.

Ugandan Court Frees Radical Advocate for Girls' Health

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — She's one medical anthropologist, activist and poet you don't want to wrestle with.

Dr. Stella Nyanzi is apt to say exactly what's on her mind – even if the object of her verbal dart is the President of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, or his wife Janet, the First Lady.

What set off the rockets this time was an exchange between the First Lady and Members of Parliament on a presidential pledge to provide free sanitary pads to school-going girls.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 26 February 2020

Photo Credit: Illustration by Emil Lendof/The Daily Beast

America's Christian Right, Republicans and Donald Trump – 6

Viewpoint by John Newsinger*

This is the sixth of a six-part article originally published in International Socialism under the title The Christian right, the Republican Party and Donald Trump. Click here for part five of the series. Any views or opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of IDN-InDepth News.

LONDON (IDN) – As for President Clinton, who many evangelicals came to regard as the Antichrist, with him in office the secular humanists were in power and Christian America was in greater danger than ever before.