Green Mobility

On April 23, 2016, Pakistan became a signatory to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, joining 174 other countries in a pledge to combat climate change. The surprise victory of Donald Trump in the US has cast doubts on this agreement. The prospects of American commitment to the agreement are slim — the president-elect has said that climate change is something the Chinese came up with to “make US manufacturing non-competitive”.

Take Middle Path on Foreign Policy

The Government received a reality check last week in Geneva when the Attorney General (AG) and the chief of National Intelligence (CNI) got a rude shock at a UN committee monitoring torture when they were cross-examined to the point that they had to beat a hasty retreat from the floor.

Refugees Slipping in, Getting Help

Wearing a burqa, Rashida Khatun was waiting in front of Lambabil fish market along the Cox's Bazar-Teknaf highway yesterday afternoon.

G77 Congratulates UNIDO on Its 50th Anniversary

In a congratulatory message on its 50th anniversary, Ambassador Virachai Plasai, Permanent Representative of Thailand to the United Nations and chair of the Group of 77, singled out the achievements of the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).

Terrorism’s Decreasing Numbers

Numbers, like words, tell stories. In recent years, the stories told by the numbers of Pakistan have mostly been sad ones that have largely to do with death. Collectively, they enumerate deaths from disease, deaths in childbirth, deaths at the hands of loved ones and the country’s security/state apparatus. Meanwhile, the numbers of deaths from terrorist attacks have been responsible for the state of the most bereft. We have, over the years, counted dead children, dead mothers, dead fathers, dead governors and dead prime ministers. People have died at terror’s hands while shopping, while taking their children to school, while praying and in hospitals while already dying.

The Less Talked about Abuse of Children

The NSPCC (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children), UK defines child abuse as any action that causes significant harm to a child, be it physical, sexual, or emotional. These terms bring to mind cases of molestation and rape, or torture caused by outsiders. Seldom do we think of the harsh behaviour inflicted by family members and teachers, whereas these are the things children are least able to revolt against.

G77 Partners UNIDO in Advancing Industrialization of Developing World

The Vienna-based UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), which commemorates its 50th anniversary this year, has continued to play a leading role in the industrialization of developing nations and economies in transition, since the UN agency’s creation in 1966.

Is Donald Trump Bad for the Environment?

Donald Trump's presidency is going to be a game-changer for the world. The impacts that it will have on major world issues such as terrorism, racism and global finance have been extensively discussed in the public sphere. Trump has claimed that he will make America “great again” by applying the same principles that have made him a business tycoon. Many of Trump's supporters believe that his methods will make all Americans richer and more successful like Trump himself. However, environmentalists are not impressed by this rhetoric. Businessmen are generally known to only think in terms of profit and loss. From this perspective, the environment can be degraded as long as it is profitable to do so. The US needs a responsible leader who will make the planet more sustainable by taking into account the needs of future generations; however, their new President is just another powerful businessman who could not care less about the environment.

Is This a Matter of Degree Between the Bad and the Infinitely Worse?

Whatever possessed an undoubtedly bewitched Government to deputize a senior intelligence official, alleged to have held command responsibility when detainees were severely and systematically tortured, to represent the State before the United Nations Committee against Torture (UNCAT)? One would be hard pressed to find a greater irony than this, per se.

Reaping the Whirlwind

The targets may be different but the perpetrators of the two deadly attacks carried out in Balochistan in the space of one month are the same. The responsibility of the carnage at the shrine in Khuzdar as well as the slaughter of police cadets in Quetta have been claimed by the militant Islamic State group and its affiliates.

Great Expectation along the Silk Road

We live in a world of increasing interdependency and complexity, where international cooperation is necessary, however increasingly multifaceted and complicated. Global challenges such as climate change, global health and security issues require ever higher degrees of global effort and collaboration if they are to be overcome. This calls for new ideas on how to make global governance work better for all countries and people.

Coordinates of Safety

If we go by the National Crime Records Bureau reports, incidence of serious crimes against women rose from 237 per day in 2001 to 313 per day in 2015. These crimes include rape, kidnapping and abduction, dowry deaths and cruelty by husbands and relatives. Minor girls, adolescent and old women are frequently victims of brutal rapes and murders. Of these crimes, 30 per cent were rapes (including intent to rape). Higher incidence of crimes during 2001-2015 coupled with low conviction rate of 21 per cent of cases reported suggests that women are more vulnerable to serious crimes.

Civil Service Reform

An effective public service has remained key to the achievement of national economic and social goals across the world. A capable and motivated bureaucracy has played an instrumental role in economic growth and overall prosperity in many countries.

Celebrating Global Entrepreneurship Week

In November we celebrate Global Entrepreneurship Week, a celebration of all of the innovators and job creators who launch startups that bring ideas to life, drive economic growth, and expand human welfare. Since the first Global Entrepreneurship Week in 2007, millions of people have participated in thousands of exciting events held in more than a hundred countries around the world. Last year alone, US embassies and consulates hosted or participated in more than 125 events in at least 75 countries, including here in Bangladesh where last year we launched the one-of-a-kind Makerspace, a co-working space that convenes entrepreneurs, engineers, audio and visual artists, and computer scientists to innovate and problem solve, at the Edward M. Kennedy Center for Public Service and the Arts.

UAE Promotes Tolerance, Rejects Violence: Lubna Al Qasimi

On the occasion of the International Day for Tolerance, a United Nations-led campaign celebrated on November 16th each year, the UAE's Minister of State for Tolerance, Sheikha Lubna bint Khalid Al Qasimi, has issued a statement on how the state follows the values of tolerance, as laid down by the founding fathers of the nation.