Eminent Persons Warn Against Any Demonstration Nuclear Test Explosion
By Reinhard Jacobsen
Image: More than 300 International Monitoring System (IMS) facilities certified out of the 337 the CTBTO has planned are already in operation. Credit: CTBTO.
VIENNA (IDN) – Members of the CTBTO Group of Eminent Persons (GEM) have expressed "deep concern about credible press reports" that senior U.S. officials have discussed the possibility of conducting "a demonstration nuclear test explosion". [2020–05-30 | 05] JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | PORTUGUESE | SPANISH
Global Civil Society Demands Bolder Action from NPT States Parties
By Jamshed Baruah
Image credit: Pixabay
GENEVA (IDN) – A diverse network of national and international peace and nuclear disarmament non-governmental organisations has in a joint statement urged government leaders, particularly from the nuclear-armed states and their allies, to act with greater urgency and cooperation to meet unfulfilled promises to reduce nuclear risks and advance progress on disarmament, and to realise their commitment to the “complete elimination of nuclear weapons”. The statement coincided with the 25th anniversary on May 11 of the indefinite extension of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). [2020–05-12 | 04] ARABIC | GERMAN | HINDI | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | THAI
World Conference Calls for Abolition of Nuclear Weapons and Reversing Climate Change
By Santo D. Banerjee
Image credit: World Conference
NEW YORK (IDN) -– In a dramatic warning from 13 Nobel Prize winners about the existential dangers of nuclear weapons and climate crisis, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists on January 23 set the hands of its iconic 'Doomsday Clock' to 100 seconds to midnight. [2020–04-30 | 03] CHINESE | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | KOREAN | RUSSIAN
An Unexpected Chance for the Success of Postponed NPT Review Conference
Viewpoint by Sergio Duarte
The writer is Former UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs and current President of Pugwash.
Photo: US President Lyndon Johnson addresses the UN General Assembly during the signing of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, 1968. Eventually, 188 countries signed the treaty, which was made into law in 1970. Photo credit: Screen capture from the documentary 'Good Thinking, Those Who've Tried To Halt Nuclear Weapons'.
NEW YORK (IDN) – It took patience from the President-designate of the 2020 NPT Review Conference, a sober assessment of the situation by a number of states, particularly from the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and help from the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA). In the end, the parties to the Treaty agreed to postpone the Conference to next year, "as soon as circumstances permit, but no later than April 2021". [2020–04-12 | 02] ARABIC | CHINESE | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | SPANISH
A Nobel Peace Laureate Calls for Slashing Military Spending and Investing in Healthcare
By Jutta Wolf
Image credit: IPB
BERLIN (IDN) – The world's oldest peace NGO, the 1910 Nobel Peace Prize-winning International Peace Bureau (IPB), is calling for a "dramatic reduction" of military spending in favour of healthcare and meeting social needs. A petition launched on March 27 and signed by all interested will be submitted to the United Nations General Assembly on the first day of the next session opening on September 15, 2020. [2020–04-02 | 01] ITALIAN | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | RUSSIAN
Behind North Korea's New Missile Launches in the Midst of Coronavirus Pandemic
By Santo D. Banerjee
Photo: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump at the Singapore Summit on June 12, 2018. Source: @Scavino45 of Dan Scavino Jr., the White House Director of Social Media and Assistant to the President.
NEW YORK (IDN) – While the international community has been engrossed in combating the global COVID-19 pandemic, it has been constrained to respond to North Korea's first missile launches this year. The United Nations Security Council convened behind closed doors on March 5 but failed to agree on a resolution. [2020-03-26 | 33] ITALIAN | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | KOREAN | THAI
Committee on Teaching About the UN Demands 'War No More'
By Narin B. Stassis
The writer currently serves as the Vice Chair of the Committee on Teaching About the UN. She is a former Director of Curriculum and Instruction, a lifelong Educator, and holds a Master's degree in International Education from Lesley University.
NEW YORK (IDN) – The United Nations was created with a determination "to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war". As the world body celebrates its 75th anniversary this year, the Committee on Teaching About the United Nations (CTAUN), convened a conference, "War No More", co-sponsored by the Permanent Mission of Korea to the United Nations. [2020-03-06 | 32] GERMAN | ITALIAN | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | THAI
Trump's Abandonment of Nuclear Deal with Iran Backfires
By Reinhard Jacobsen
VIENNA (IDN) — The quarterly report on Iran released by UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), on March 3 has revealed a significant increase in the country's stockpile of enriched uranium since its last report. The stockpile stood at 1,020.9 kg in February, up from 372.3 kg in November 2019, reports Jane's Defence Weekly. [2020-03-06 | 31] ARABIC | GERMAN | HINDI | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF
Uncertainty Haunts the Future of Non-Proliferation Treaty and Disarmament
Viewpoint by Tariq Rauf *
Photo courtesy of UNITAR Hiroshima Office.
HIROSHIMA (IDN)—August 6 and August 9 will mark the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. No sentient human being who has met or seen the hibakusha (survivors), or visited the hypocentres in the two cities, or seen the photographic evidence of the destruction of these two Japanese cities, can avoid being shocked and horrified by the devastation that nuclear weapons inflicted. [2020-02-28 | 30] JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | KOREAN | MALAY | THAI
U.S. Abrogation of Iran Deal Leaves a Puzzling Legacy
By Bernhard Schell
Image source: Forum IAS.
ISTANBUL (IDN) – Iran has been bashed for its January 5 announcement that it would no longer abide by certain "operational restrictions" on uranium enrichment in the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA. The declaration has also prompted doubts about the regime's activities and intentions and the fate of the nuclear deal. [2020-02-15-29] ARABIC | ITALIAN | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | PORTUGUESE | SPANISH
