New Sanctions on North Korea May Prove Counterproductive

By Rodney Reynolds

UNITED NATIONS (IDN | INPS) – After nearly two months of closed-door negotiations, the 15 member UN Security Council (UNSC) decided to impose new sanctions on North Korea penalizing Pyongyang for its fourth nuclear test conducted on January 6.

The resolution, adopted unanimously by the UNSC, imposed some of the toughest sanctions on North Korea calling on all UN member states to inspect cargo destined for – and coming from – Pyongyang, in all airport and sea ports.

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The Beginning of the End for Nuclear Weapons?

By Daisaku Ikeda *

TOKYO (IDN | INPS) – Last year’s NPT Review Conference closed without bridging the chasm between the nuclear-weapon and non-nuclear-weapon states. It was deeply regrettable that no consensus was reached at this significant juncture marking the seventieth anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Hope still remains, however, thanks to a number of important developments. These include: the growing number of countries endorsing the Humanitarian Pledge, a commitment to work together for the resolution of the nuclear arms issue; the adoption in December 2015 by the UN General Assembly of several ambitious resolutions calling for a breakthrough; and rising calls from civil society for the prohibition and abolition of nuclear weapons. READ IN JAPANESE

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Despite Hurdles Nuclear-Weapons-Free World Not a Lost Cause

 By Jamshed Baruah

GENEVA (IDN) – The stalemate on nuclear weapons disarmament needs to be resolved amid increasing concern about the “prodigious” number of warheads still in circulation, said former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan addressing a Working Group at the UN in Geneva.

But the first session of the Open Ended Working Group on Multilateral Nuclear Disarmament Negotiations (OEWG) did not come close to breaking the stalemate. The nuclear armed states did not participate in the deliberations February 22-26, though several countries relying on nuclear weapons joined. These included many NATO countries as well as Japan, South Korea and Australia.

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Japan and Kazakhstan Campaign for Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty

日本・カザフスタン、核実験禁止条約発効へ外交努力

 【ウィーン／東京IDN＝ラメシュ・ジャウラ】

包括的核実験禁止条約機関（CTBTO）準備委員会が６月の閣僚会議招集を準備する中、カザフスタンと日本が、条約の発効に向けた取り組みを強化するとの公約を再確認している。

１月２５日から２月４日にかけて開かれたシンポジウム「平和と安全に向けた科学・外交」の第１週、ウィーンの両国代表は、昨年９月にニューヨークの国連本部でそれぞれの外相が開始した取り組みを推し進めると述べた。

日本の岸田文雄外相とカザフスタンのエルラン・イドリソフ外相は、昨年９月２９日、第９回「CTBT発効促進外相会合」の共同議長を務めた。

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