Number 12 | 2022

By Jaya Ramachandran

GENEVA (IDN) — "The nuclear weapons narrative is changing. The implicit permission to make weapons of mass destruction is getting revoked by governments, parliamentarians, cities and the financial sector," says a new report, released ahead of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which marks a turning point in post-Cold War history. Significantly, the Russian invasion has also triggered the fear of a third world war, which would involve nuclear weapons.

By UN News

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — The magnitude of civilian casualties and destruction of civilian infrastructure in Ukraine cannot be denied, the UN political chief told the Security Council on March 17, demanding a thorough investigation and accountability.

“Civilians are entitled to protection against the dangers arising from military operations,” insisted Rosemary DiCarlo, Under-Secretary General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, as she briefed the Council on the latest events.

Viewpoint by Darini Rajasingham-Senanayake

The writer, Dr Darini Rajasingham-Senanayake, is a Sociocultural and Medical Anthropologist based in Colombo. Her latest publication is 'Multi-religiosity on Contemporary Sri Lanka: Innovation, Shared Spaces, Contestation".(Routledge 2022)

COLOMBO (IDN) — Necessity is the mother of invention: Protests are mounting by people from all walks of life in all parts of Sri Lanka against the soaring cost of living, food and fuel shortages, black outs, lockdowns, forced Covid injections, and the sale of national assets by the ruling dual US citizen Rajapaksa led regime in Colombo.

By Thalif Deen

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — UN Secretary-General António Guterres has warned that the current devastating war in Ukraine has an equally destructive impact on the outside world: an assault on the world’s most vulnerable people and countries.

The worst affected are the world’s poor as food, fuel and fertilizer prices are skyrocketing while one of the world’s major bread baskets, Ukraine, is being bombed—a country which alone provided more than half of the World Food Programme’s (WFP) wheat supply.  

Viewpoint by M Rafiqul Islam

The writer is Emeritus Professor of Law, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. This article was issued by The Daily Star of Bangladesh and is being republished with their permission.

SYDNEY (IDN) — The UN General Assembly emergency session adopted a resolution against Russia's aggression in Ukraine on 2 March 2022. It was adopted by 141 votes of total 193 members with 5 negative votes and 35 abstentions of which Bangladesh was one. Given the highly polarised geopolitical orientation of current international relations and UN operational narratives, this write-up argues that the pragmatic decision of Bangladesh was justified.

Viewpoint by Volker Boege

This article was issued by the Toda Peace Institute and is being republished with their permission.

BRISBANE, Australia (IDN) — On 25 February, the government of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea (PNG) declared a State of Emergency in the Atolls Constituency of the region. On 28 February, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its latest climate science report.