Armed Conflicts

Slums, Camps, Terrorism: Experts Worry about Coronavirus Hitting South Asia

By Samira Sadeque
As coronavirus makes its way through different continents, countries, and communities around the world having claimed more than 23,000 lives, experts are ringing alarm bells about the implications of the disease as it hits South Asia, which hosts almost 2 billion of the world’s population. 

Coronavirus Worsens Yemen’s Long Tale of Woe

By Abdul Mohammed
In every room in Yemen’s Al-Saba’een hospital, patients in critical condition waited on chairs, and still others laid on the bare ground. I saw women and girls sharing beds in pairs, and children laying close together being treated.

What does U.N. Secretary General’s Call for Ceasefire Mean for Countries in Conflict?

By Samira Sadeque
Conflict experts are concerned the the global ceasefire called for by the United Nations amid the coronavirus outbreak may not work and could lead to a rise in violence.

Could the Coronavirus Be a Biological Weapon in the Not-Too-Distant Future?

By Thalif Deen
The devastating spread of the deadly coronavirus across every continent-- with the exception of Antarctica-- has triggered a conspiracy theory on social media: what if the virus was really a biological weapon?

Polycephaly* in Afghanistan: Failure of the US or Curse of History

By Saber Azam
The fourth and last presidential election in Afghanistan on 28 September 2019 was yet another setback to the democratic process. Not only did it take months for the Independent Election Commission to announce the results but they were again marred by allegations of massive fraud that culminated with two candidates declaring themselves as winners.

The 2020 NPT Review Conference: From the Sublime to the Ridiculous

By Tariq Rauf
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and coincidentally the tenth quinquennial (five yearly) review conference is scheduled to be held at the United Nations in New York from 27 April to 22 May.

US and France Significantly Increase Arms Exports

By Ida Karlsson
There has been a significant increase in arms exports from the United States and France, according to a new report. The flow of arms to the Middle East has increased, with Saudi Arabia being the world’s largest importer.

Realising Women’s Rights Difficult for Africa’s Fragile States

By Miriam Gathigah
Pokot girls are expected to face the knife stark naked and with courage. To inspire confidence, their fathers sit a few metres away from them with a spear in hand.

Coronavirus Threatens to Wreck Nuclear Review Conference

By Thalif Deen
First, it was the ill-fated annual sessions of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), scheduled for March 9-20, which was undermined by the spreading coronavirus COVID-19.

What ails Libya’s peace process?

By Emina Osmandzikovic
A succession of meetings over the last two months in Berlin, Geneva and Munich has signified a renewed multilateral effort to resolve the Libyan civil conflict. With 13 nations led by the UN, seeking to enforce a brittle arms embargo and comprehensive cease-fire, the concerned parties have been seeking to resolve the rivalry between the UN-recognized administration based in the capital of Tripoli and the country’s western regions with the backing of Turkey, Qatar and Italy, and the rival eastern-based government led by General Khalifa Haftar, with the support of Egypt, France, Russia and other states.

A Multi-Billion Dollar US Mideast Arms Market May be in Jeopardy

By Thalif Deen
When President Saddam Hussein ran one of the world’s most authoritarian regimes in the militarily-volatile Middle East during 1979-2003, US newspapers routinely described him as “the strongman of Iraq” — as most journalists rightly view dictators worldwide.

Investigation a Crucial Tool for Preventing Child Rights Violations in Armed Conflicts

By Nina Suomalainen
There has been a disturbing increase in violence perpetrated against children in conflicts worldwide, coupled with almost total impunity.

Globalization of Indifference: Ai Weiwei and the Refugee Crisis

By Jan Lundius
Humans belong to a species that is constantly on the move . Since some Homo Sapiens 125,000 years ago began to move from the African continent, humans can be found all over the world, even in such utterly inhospitable places as the icebound plateaus of Antarctica. By moving, humans have tried to escape inadequate food-supply or otherwise unacceptable living conditions. Natural forces have forced them to leave, or even more commonly – violent actions by other humans. With them migrants have brought their means of expression and interaction, some of them expressed through their art.

UNFPA Highlights Need to Address Sexual and Reproductive Health of Women in Crisis Areas

By Samira Sadeque
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is appealing for $683million in their mission to address sexual and reproductive health services for women and girls in conflict areas in the world. 

A Humanitarian Response to the Crisis in Zimbabwe

By Craig Dube
In November 2019, the UN’s Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food described Zimbabwe – a country once hailed as the bread basket of Africa – as a state on the brink of man-made starvation.

Children are Bearing the Bitter Brunt of Counter-Terrorism Efforts: Report

By Samira Sadeque
Counter-terrorism efforts adopted by governments around the world in response to threats of terrorism are affecting children negatively in numerous ways, a report by Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict (Watchlist) claimed last week. 

US Mideast Peace Plan: from a Paper Pharaoh & a Fake Moses

By Ameen Izzadeen
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin (Bibi) Netanyahu was slapped corruption charges last week while he was hobnobbing with US President Donald Trump in Washington. Bibi has, apparently, done his homework in psychology. He knew the quickest way to get around Trump was to flatter him.

US Mideast Peace Plan: Israelis Offered the Cheese & Palestinians the Holes

By Thalif Deen
The Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem has described the much-ballyhooed US Middle East peace plan as “more like Swiss cheese-- with the cheese being offered to the Israelis and the holes to the Palestinians”.

**UPDATE** African Nations Caught in Conflict Re-commit to Inclusive Education

By Stella Paul
Djibouti’s President Ismail Omar Guelleh knows that his country is in need of an education system that is, “innovative, based on universal principles and values and adaptive of the local realities”.

China Ranked World’s Second Largest Arms Producer Trailing Behind US

By Thalif Deen
Donald Trump, the vociferously unpredictable US president, has long chastised China for seeking “unfair” advantage over trade and tariffs, violating intellectual property rights and “manipulating” the country’s currency to its advantage.

Mosul, an Epicentre of the ISIS Conflict, is a Devastated Iraqi City

By Mark Lattimer
As Iraq this month faces the threat of new conflicts – including a proxy war between the US and Iran – the shadow of the last conflict runs long.
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