North Korea Continues to Defy UN with 17 Missile Tests in 2022

By Thalif Deen

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — The United Nations, faced with a defiant nuclear-armed Russia in a destructive war with Ukraine now running towards the third month, is fighting an equally unsuccessful confrontation with North Korea which is openly violating multiple Security Council resolutions as it continues launching ballistic missiles threatening neighbouring countries. [2022-05-12-03] ARABIC | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | KOREAN

Ukraine Proves UN Cannot Singlehandedly Usher in a Nuclear-Weapons-Free World

By Thalif Deen

Photo: The Sun rises behind Long Island City skyscrapers at dawn of the first day of the general debate of the General Assembly's seventy-sixth session (2021). UN Photo/Mark Garten

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — The devastating war in Ukraine—now moving towards the third month—has triggered several threats of the “nuclear option”.

The battle, which began with the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, is between one of the world’s major nuclear powers and a neighboring non-nuclear country. [2022-04-27-02] CHINESE | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | RUSSIAN | SPANISH

The End Of (Human) History?

Viewpoint by Sergio Duarte

The writer is an Ambassador, former United Nations High Representative for Disarmament Affair, and President of Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs.

Image: Montage of an inert test of a United States Trident SLBM (submarine launched ballistic missile), from submerged to the terminal, or re-entry phase, of the multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles. Source: Wikimedia Commons

NEW YORK (IDN) — Roughly three decades have gone by since the publication of Francis Fukuyama’s essay “The End of History?”. The interrogation mark makes clear that the social scientist and philosopher was not announcing an end to contradiction and conflict among nations. He was mainly asking whether Western liberal democracy could be considered as the final stage of human sociocultural evolution and the final form of governance that would endure. [2022-04-08-01] GERMAN | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | RUSSIAN

Avoidance of Nuclear Weapons in a Possible NATO-Russia War Should Be "Foremost" Responsibility

Viewpoint by Ramesh Jaura

BERLIN (IDN) — "We affirm that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought," pledged the leaders of the five nuclear-weapon states—China, France, Russia, UK, and the United States—in a joint statement on January 3, adding that they "consider the avoidance of war" between them and "the reduction of strategic risks" as their "foremost responsibilities". The five nuclear-weapon states are also the five permanent members (P5) of the UN Security Council, which has primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. [2022-03-26-33] JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | MALAY | SWEDISH | THAI |

Growing Number of Corporations Against Investing in Nuclear Weapons

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. [2022-03-14-32] JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | MALAY | NORWEGIAN | THAI | TURKISH

World’s Largest Arms Importers Include Nuclear Powers

By Thalif Deen

Photo: Sikorsky HSS-2 Sea King US helicopter whose production has been licensed to manufacturers in UK, Italy, Canada and Japan. Credit: US Navy

NEW YORK (IDN) — A significant spike in arms imports by Europe, East Asia and Oceania during the last five years has reaffirmed the continuously sharp increase in global arms sales—a rising trend undaunted by a faltering world economy or the two-year-long pandemic lockdown. [2022-03-14-31] JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | SWEDISH | TURKISH

The World is Plunging into a Dangerous New Cold War 2.0

Viewpoint by Dr Joseph Gerson

The writer is President of the Campaign for Peace, Disarmament and Common Security

Image source: Los Angeles Times

NEW YORK (IDN) — Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Putin’s repeated tense threats to resort to genocidal nuclear attacks if the West intervenes more directly in Ukraine must be universally condemned and opposed. [2022-03-09-30] ARABIC | BAHASA |JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF

Is World War III a Nuclear Reality or an Empty Threat?

 By Thalif Deen

Image: Nuclear warfare is a common theme of World War III scenarios. Such a conflict has been hypothesized to result in human extinction. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — A Russian news agency quoted on March 2 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s dire warning: If a third world war (WWIII) breaks out, it would involve nuclear weapons—and be destructive. [2022-03-08-29] GERMAN | HINDI | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF

Latin American and Caribbean Countries Support the Nuclear Test Ban

By Reinhard Jacobsen

Photo: CTBTO Executive Secretary Floyd meets Dominica’s Prime Minister, Roosevelt Skerrit. Credit: CTBTO

VIENNA (IDN) — The Commonwealth of Dominica announced its decision early February to join the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) that bans nuclear explosions by everyone, everywhere—on the Earth's surface, in the atmosphere, underwater and underground. The Treaty was signed 26 years ago but it has yet to enter into force. [2022-02-25-28] ITALIAN | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | PORTUGUESE

Nuclear Disarmament Requires Prompt Resolution, Says a Buddhist Peacebuilder

By Ramesh Jaura

Photo: SGI President Daisaku Ikeda. Credit: Seikyo Shimbun

BERLIN | TOKYO (IDN) — Along with the United Nations, the community-based Buddhist organisation Soka Gakkai International (SGI) offers a beacon of hope particularly when the world is plagued by crises threatening the survival of humankind.

Every year since 1983, SGI President Daisaku Ikeda, a Buddhist philosopher, peacebuilder and educator, has issued a peace proposal. His latest—and the 40th—titled "Transforming Human History: The Light of Peace and Dignity"—was released on January 26. [2022-02-21-27] ARABIC | HINDI | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF