Armed Conflicts

“Aggression of children in the Arab region needs to come to an immediate end,” says Chairman of the Geneva Centre

By Geneva Centre
(Geneva Centre) - The Chairman of the Geneva Centre for Human Rights Advancement and Global Dialogue, Dr. Hanif Hassan Ali Al Qassim, appeals to international decision-makers to address all forms of violence against children in armed conflicts. The Geneva Centre’s Chairman made this call to action on the occasion of the 2018 International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression commemorated annually on 4 June.

Unilateral Coercive Measures have Devastated the Syrian Economy & Ruined Civilian Lives

By Idriss Jazairy
I have been entrusted by the Human Rights Council with the task of monitoring, reporting and advising on the negative impact on the enjoyment of human rights of unilateral coercive measures. The United Nations has repeatedly expressed concern that the use of such measures may be contrary to international law, international humanitarian law, the UN Charter and the norms and principles governing peaceful relations among States1.

Why Israel Dropped Out of the Security Council Race: Not Enough Votes

By Kacie Candela
From the start, it was a closely watched contest pitting Germany, Belgium and Israel against one another for their regional bloc’s two seats in the next term on the United Nations Security Council. Israel has never held a seat on the Council, and as it celebrates its 70-year membership in the UN in 2018, the country was aiming high for the June 8 election.

$1.7 Trillion Global Spending on Military in 2017: Highest since End of Cold War

By Maged Srour
According to the latest report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), in total, countries around the world spent $ 1.739 billion on arms in 2017. Although there was a marginal increase of 1.1 percent rise in real terms on 2016, the total global spending in 2017 is the highest since the end of the cold war.

Upholding International Law in the Context of International Peace & Security

By Dr Amrith Rohan Perera
The Security Council debate last week – on “Upholding International Law within the context of Maintenance of International Peace and Security – took place at a crucial moment when the strengthening and invigorating of collective measures for the maintenance of international peace and security has become an imperative.

Can Preventive Diplomacy Avert Military Conflicts?

By Thalif Deen
In the paradoxical battle against military conflicts, is preventive diplomacy one of the political remedies that can help deter wars before they break out? Miroslav Lajcak, President of the UN General Assembly, points out that prevention takes many forms, and it must tackle conflict at its roots – before it can spread.

“What do you Become When you Shoot to Kill Someone who is Unarmed, & not an Immediate Threat to You?”

By Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein
Appalling recent events in Gaza have called this Council into Special Session. Since the protests began on 30 March, 87 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli security forces in the context of the demonstrations, including 12 children; 29 others, including three children, were killed in other circumstances. And over 12,000 people have been injured, more than 3,500 of them by live ammunition.

White House Should State Opposition to Saudi Threat to Acquire Nuclear Weapons

By Daryl G. Kimball and Thomas Countryman
We are deeply disappointed by the counterproductive response from the Trump administration to the statements from senior Saudi officials threatening to pursue nuclear weapons in violation of their nonproliferation commitments.

We Need a Gender Shift to save Our Girls from the Jaws of Extremism

By Ambassador Amina Mohamed and Siddharth Chatterjee
Consider this. Boko Haram, the ISIS-affiliated insurgent group has sent 80 women to their deaths in 2017 alone. The majority of suicide bombers used by terror group Boko Haram to kill innocent victims are women and children, US study reveals.

Trump’s Dangerous Abrogation of the Iran Deal

By Stephen Zunes
The Trump Administration’s decision to pull the United States out of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action—the landmark nuclear agreement between Iran and the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia, China, and the United States—strikes a dangerous blow against arms control and international security and even more firmly establishes the United States as a rogue nation.

“I Wake Up Screaming”: Gaza’s Children Bear the Brunt of Violence

By Will Higginbotham and Tharanga Yakupitiyage
Reham Qudaih wakes up nightly to the same nightmare: her father shot, lying on the ground in a pool of blood. “In my dreams he is on the ground shot. When I have that dream – which I’ve had more than once I wake up screaming,” she told the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).

Economic & Social Costs of Gun Violence Appalling

By Izumi Nakamitsu
Every day, hundreds of lives are lost due to gun violence worldwide. Guns are responsible for about half of all violent deaths – nearly a quarter million each year. But the dire consequences of gun violence are not limited to those slain by guns. For every person killed by a gun, many more are injured, maimed, and forced to flee their home and community. Still many more live under constant threats of gun violence.

How Do You Attain “Sustainable Peace” Amidst Rising Military Conflicts?

By Thalif Deen
The underlying message at the fifth annual Stockholm Forum on Peace and Development was summed up in its telling title “The politics of peace.” But the task ahead was overwhelmingly difficult: How do you advance peace and development against the backdrop of political unrest in parts of Asia and Africa and continued conflicts in the Middle East— all of them amidst rising global military spending triggering arms sales running into billions of dollars.

Economies Flourish and Traffickers Profit from the Struggles of Low-Skilled Migrants

By Agnes Igoye
I was 14-years-old the first time I came face to face with a human trafficker. The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) raided my home. Ruthless, they demanded virgins and young girls. In a horrifying escape, I endured a treacherous, long journey that ended in an internally displaced people’s camp. I was lucky. Many Ugandan children were not. By the end of the nineteen years’ civil war, UNICEF estimated that the LRA had abducted some 20,000 children.

Despite Setbacks, Africa Viewed as Continent of Hope, Promise & Vast Potential

By Thalif Deen
Africa has long been one of the world’s most beleaguered continents – singled out mostly for its conflicts, political and economic instability, rising poverty and hunger, inequalities and its environmental challenges. And in international circles, it is described as “Afro-pessimism.”

Time to Get Serious About Peace & Development

By Jan Eliasson
Four months ago UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued a “red alert”, noting that instead of progressing towards greater peace, the world had moved in reverse towards deepening conflicts and new dangers: “Global anxieties about nuclear weapons are the highest since the Cold War.

To Sustain Peace: Heed the Warnings & Prevent the Next War

By Sanam Naraghi Anderlini
New York and Washington DC may be three hours apart geographically, but in global affairs, they are worlds apart. With the wars in Syria, Yemen and elsewhere unabating, at the UN in New York, terms like ‘conflict prevention’ and ‘sustaining peace’ are back in vogue, with world leaders attending a major summit. Meanwhile in Washington while the talks with North Korea took center stage behind the scenes the drum roll of war against Iran is revving up.

Kenya- Overcoming Rivalry & Conflict Through Cultural Diplomacy

By Siddharth Chatterjee
Cultural diplomacy is a soft power that promotes the exchange of ideas, information, art, and culture to strengthen friendship and cooperation among nations and communities.

Displaced Pashtuns Return to Find Homes “Teeming” with Landmines

By Zofeen Ebrahim
"If I'm assured that my home and my village has been de-mined, I'd be the first to return with my family," says 54-year old Mohammad Mumtaz Khan.

The Nowhere People: Rohingyas in India

By Neeta Lal
A devastating fire in a shanty at Kalindi Kunj, a New Delhi suburb, that gutted the homes of 226 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar, including 100 women and 50 children, has trained a spotlight on India's ad hoc policy on international migrants.

Exhibition of Artifacts Stolen From Ethiopia Revives Controversy

By James Jeffrey
A new exhibition that opened April 5 at London's famous Victoria and Albert museum of ancient treasures looted from Ethiopia has revived debate about where such artifacts should reside, highlighting the tensions in putting Western imperialism in Africa and the past to rest.
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