Iran’s commitments under the Nuclear Treaty are just short of total surrender

Speaking about the framework agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme that was reached between Iran, the P5+1 (China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, United States­ plus Germany) and the European Union, Joseph Cirincione, a leading nuclear expert and president of Ploughshares Fund, said:

Opinion: The Pope, Partisanship and the Common Good

Pope Francis delivered two very strong messages in his speech to Congress Thursday morning: let's work together and let's protect the vulnerable.

Opinion: Recognize the Aspirations of ACP Group of Developing Countries

The significance of the issues covered in the post-2015 development agenda, to be adopted at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit on 25-27 September, cannot be over-emphasized.

Opinion: Gov’ts Should Take Action on Renewed Commitments to Women and Girls

Heads of states from around the world will meet at the United Nations this week to commit to 17 goals, which will set out the entire international development agenda for the next 15 years. A central aim will be to end poverty and fight injustice and inequality.

Opinion: Farming the Way Out of Poverty in Honduras

For Honduran farmer Salomón Lorenzo Vázquez, Tuesday has become the most important day of the week. As he tends his lettuce, cauliflower, and broccoli on the farm he has maintained for 20 years, he waits for his weekly visit from the USAID-ACCESO field officer, the man who has helped double his income.

Opinion: Food Loss & Waste Has Got to Do a Lot with Sustainable Development

More than 150 world leaders will meet in New York this weekend to adopt the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a set of global targets intended to end extreme poverty, fight inequality and injustice, and curb climate change. The SDGs will help set the global development agenda for the next 15 years, focusing attention on the opportunities that will allow for more a sustainable future.

Opinion: Kenya Cannot Rise If Its Women Are Left Behind

Consider this. A young girl called Amina Mohamed who is the 8th of 9 children, from a modest Muslim home in Kakamega County in Kenya was encouraged by her parents to complete her education and pursue her dreams.

Opinion: Fifteen Years and Forever

The next 15 years will be decisive for our planet’s future. During this period we will face some of the 21st Century’s greatest challenges, amidst an ongoing and profound transition in the global economy.

Opinion: Why China is in the Security Council and Japan is Not

Will Tokyo’s bid for a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council be frustrated by its Foreign Ministry’s undiplomatic and uncalled for attack on U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon?

Opinion: Global Justice Necessary For Lasting Peace

Last year saw considerable reflection on the First World War, which began a century ago. In reality, it was very much a European war, but with nonetheless profound implications for the last century.

Opinion: South-South Cooperation Crucial for Sustainable Development Goals

World leaders will meet at the United Nations summit from Sep. 25 to 27 in New York at a high-level plenary meeting of the General Assembly. This year’s summit is special in many respects.

Opinion: Maldives Reflects its 50 Years at the U.N.

The 70th anniversary of the United Nations, which culminates at the high level segment of the General Assembly this week, has prompted numerous reflections on the organization’s many achievements: from its work to rebuild the world in the aftermath of war to scores of lifesaving health programs and peacekeeping efforts.

Opinion: Dance with the Dragon

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a meeting with India Inc. to discuss the global economic crisis and how the country can seize the emerging opportunities. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government does believe this crisis is indeed an opportunity as the economy’s fundamentals remain strong.

Opinion: Indonesia’s Climate Commitment Ahead of Paris Talks

Indonesia’s Ministry of Environment and Forestry took a step forward on the road to Paris when it published a draft of its new climate plan, or Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC), for public consultation on Sep. 1, 2015. As the world’s sixth-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, Indonesia’s climate commitment is an important piece of the global response to climate change.

Opinion: The Century of the Centenarians

With improving life styles, advances in medical science and technologies and declining mortality rates at older ages, the 21st century is witnessing the remarkable rise of centenarians, people who are aged 100 years or older.

Opinion: Brazil’s Crisis is a Blessing and a Curse

The Lula development model that lifted 35 million people out of poverty and raised living standards for another 20 million people during the governments of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (2003-2011) has run its course.

Opinion: Protracted Stagnation Threatens International Solidarity, Development

A new post-2015 international development agenda is to be officially launched next week at a U.N. summit in New York. The ambitious list of 17 development goals includes a call for a revitalization of the global partnership for sustainable development.

Campaign to End Nuclear Tests: Kazakhstan Launches ATOM E

Despite United Nations General Assembly resolutions since 1946, calling for an end to lethal arsenal, the possession of nuclear weapons has continued to be a symbol of scientific sophistication or military power, until 29 August 1991, when Kazakhstan, upon gaining independence, closed its Nuclear Test Site in Semipalatinsk - the second largest in the world.

Opinion: The Early History of Iran’s Nuclear Programme

Iran has had a nuclear programme since 1959 when the United States gave a small reactor to Tehran University as part of the “Atoms for Peace” programme during Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi’s reign.  When the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) was introduced in 1968 and entered into force in 1970, Iran was one of the first signatories of that Treaty.

Opinion: A Call for Public Participation in National Budget Processes

After forming governments, authorising them to tax us and to spend on our collective needs, do we remain watchful about our money? No, we don’t. Not even when we know governments borrow from money markets on the strength of the tax fund created, often beyond our means to repay. Why?

Opinion: From Inequality to Inclusion

Recent years have seen a remarkable resurgence of interest in economic inequality, thanks primarily to growing recognition of some of its economic, social, cultural and political consequences in the wake of Western economic stagnation.