Stories written by Jonas Gahr Store

WTO TALKS COLLAPSE AND THE BIRTH OF A NEW WORLD ORDER

By Jonas Gahr Store and - -
There is a clear lesson to be drawn from the unsuccessful WTO negotiations held in Geneva July 21-29: the world is witnessing a shift of power in the arena of the world economy and world trade as new states with growing economies and political ambitions are asserting themselves, writes Jonas Gahr Store, Foreign Minister of Norway. In this analysis, Gahr Store writes that we could have paved the way for the next major round of negotiations, on climate change in Copenhagen next year. Perhaps I was present at the collapse of a world order, the author writes, but at the same time, I witnessed the birth of a new world order where all countries are present and demand their rights, and that requires an almost unlimited willingness to negotiate, make compromises, and find sustainable solutions. We must use our failure in Geneva as a spur for the development of a world order that involves more states, a shift in the power balance, and essential new tasks relating to climate change, the environment, labour rights, and the fight against poverty.

A BAN ON CLUSTER BOMBS

By Jonas Gahr Store and - -
According to a new report from Handicap International an estimated 400 million people in 25 countries are directly or indirectly affected by unexploded cluster munitions, writes Jonas Gahr Store, Foreign Minister of Norway. In this article, the author writes that wars and conflicts always hit civilian populations hardest. Certain types of weapons, such as landmines and cluster munitions, affect civilians particularly severely. While an international ban on landmines has been introduced, there is as yet no corresponding ban on cluster munitions. This we need to change, because unexploded munitions from cluster bombs is really anti-personnel landmines in disguise. According to the United Nations Development Programme, 27 countries are currently affected by cluster munitions. Such munitions create severe humanitarian and development problems, besides maiming and killing civilians: agricultural areas cannot be cultivated without risk to life and health, and refugees are unable to return to the homes from which they fled. As a first step towards an international ban on cluster munitions, Norway hosted an international conference in Oslo on 22 and 23 February 2007. A total of 46 of the 49 participating countries endorsed the Oslo Declaration on cluster munitions, which advocates a ban on cluster munitions by the end of 2008.
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