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Water Is Key to Climate Action and Sustainable Development

UN 2023 Water Conference will be the first of its kind since 1977

Viewpoint by Gilbert F. Houngbo*

This article was issued by Africa Renewal and is being republished with their permission.

NEW YORK (IDN) — Water flows through all major global issues; from health to hunger, gender equity to jobs, education to industry, disasters to peace.

For that reason, it has to be made an integral part of all global meetings to do with making the world a better, safer and fairer place. Right now, this is not the case.

: Africa Renewal; SUSTAINABILITY; Climate Action; 05 January 2023

Photo: US President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev after signing in Prague the "New START", the only arms control agreement still surviving. Credit: Kremlin.ru

The Decline & Fall of Nuclear Disarmament in 2022

By Thalif Deen

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — As a politically and militarily tense 2022 came to an inglorious end, nuclear threats kept hitting the front pages of newspapers with monotonous regularity last year.

The rising tensions were triggered primarily by threats from Russia, the continuous military rhetoric spilling out of North Korea and Iran's unwillingness to give up its nuclear option—and its increasingly close relationship with two of the world’s major nuclear powers, Russia and China.

: Thalif Deen; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 04 January 2023

Photo: (From left to right) Ambassador Mr. Alexander Kmentt, Ms. Rebecca Jovin and Ms. Elena Sokova address the audience about the key role of disarmament education in advancing international peace and security, and the indispensability of partnerships in these effortsImage credit: UNICEF/UN0579998/Lateef

UN Takes to New Ways to Promote Nuclear Disarmament

By Jaya Ramachandran

GENEVA (IDN) — UN Secretary-General António Guterres announced on 24 May 2018 his Agenda for Disarmament, which outlines a set of practical measures across the entire range of disarmament issues, including weapons of mass destruction, conventional arms and future weapon technologies.

Action 1 for "Securing Our Common Future," the title of the Agenda, aims to "facilitate dialogue for nuclear disarmament". It underlines that disarmament and non-proliferation remain indispensable tools for the creation of a secure environment favourable to human development, as enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations.

: Ramesh Jaura; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 04 January 2023

UNICEF Pledges Humanitarian Assistance in 11 Emergencies

By Radwan Jakeem

NEW YORK (IDN) — UN Children's agency UNICEF has pledged to continue to support children and families facing humanitarian crises across the globe in 2023. "Today, there are more children in need of humanitarian assistance than at any other time since the Second World War," says UNICEF.

Worldwide, children and their families are facing a deadly mix of crises, from conflict and displacement to disease outbreaks and soaring rates of malnutrition. Climate change is making these crises worse and unleashing new ones.

: Ramesh Jaura; UN INSIDER; 03 January 2023

Image: Twelve "Masters" under the Firmament, Losbuch (Middle Rhine/Hesse, around 1370). Copyright: Austrian National Library

Jews and Muslims Can Live Peacefully

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN) — The newly appointed prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, makes little pretence of his hatred of Muslim Palestinians. Neither does an overwhelming majority of those who elected him. Yet they never answer the conundrum, how can they expect to live indefinitely cheek-by-jowl with the Palestinians with animus running continuously so near the surface?

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 03 January 2023

Photo: Protests in the streets of Accra against surge in inflation. File photo courtesy of Nipah Dennis/AFP.

Ghana Seeks IMF Bailout As Inflation Soars

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK | KAMPALA (IDN) — For years, few expected a financial crisis in Ghana, much less to see Ghana become a debtor nation like some of its more troubled neighbors in West Africa.

“Ghana is a major cocoa and gold exporter, so why is the West African nation battling its worst economic crisis in decades?” asked Kent Mensah, a journalist.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 02 January 2023

Photo: Kampala Shopping Mall before the fireworks display. Source: The Star.

New Year’s Tragedy at Uganda Mall Takes Nine Lives

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK | KAMPALA (IDN) — A poorly designed shopping mall in Kampala, Uganda, according to visitors, was a disaster waiting to happen.

On New Year’s Eve, that disaster became every parent’s nightmare. After fireworks were exploded outside the Freedom City Mall, families moved towards narrow corridors to exit—and the crowd became a crush separating children from their parents. Nine people died, mostly between 10 and 20 years of age.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 02 January 2023

Photo: Shell spills in Nigeria. Source: Global Information Network

Dutch Court Upholds $15 Million Payout to Nigerian Communities

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK | AMSTERDAM (IDN) — A Dutch court has upheld a payout to residents of the Niger Delta of US$15.9 million for oil spills that contaminated land and waterways in three communities.

In the case brought by Friends of the Earth, Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary was found to be responsible for the spills that occurred between 2004 and 2007.

The payout will benefit the communities of Oruma, Goi and Ikot Ada Udo that were impacted by the four spills.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 02 January 2023

Photo: Sri Lanka President Ranil Wickremesinghe. Credit: Asian Affairs London.

Sri Lanka: A Year of Turmoil and Suffering—And No End in Sight

By Neville de Silva*

This article was issued by Asian Affairs (London).

LONDON (IDN) — Not since the British left in 1948, handing over power to its former colony then known as Ceylon, has Sri Lanka suffered such economic calamity and political turmoil as in the year just ended.

Struggling to survive under ever weightier burdens heaped on them in the budget for 2023 by a mandate-less new president propelled to—curiously—by his long-time political rivals, the people know only too well that last year’s dark days will spill over into 2023 and very probably well beyond, as the country continues to flounder amidst economic and political uncertainty.

: Asia Editor; OPINION; 02 January 2023

Photo: Natanz Nuclear Facility. CC BY 2.0

No Nuclear Weapon Can Save Iran from its Internal Strife

Viewpoint by Dr Alon Ben-Meir

Dr Alon Ben-Meir, a retired professor of international relations at the Center for Global Affairs at New York University (NYU), taught courses on international negotiation and Middle Eastern studies for over 20 years.

NEW YORK (IDN) — Words from various officials in the know suggest that, although President Biden stated that the Iran Nuclear deal is “dead,” the President would still like the 2015 deal to be revived. However, several obstacles must first be resolved.