Category Archives: global

NAM Baku Summit unique opportunity to find solutions to solve real world issues – Pakistani expert

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

An article by Nargiz Sadikhova from the Trend News Agency

The Youth Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) member countries is being held in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku on July 25-29.


Photo from twitter. Click on photo to enlarge.

Representatives of youth from more than 60 countries of the NAM are taking part in the event.

The NAM Baku Summit is a unique opportunity where youth delegates from across the globe belonging to multiple NAM countries from diverse cultures and expertise would participate physically, Qaiser Nawab, Pakistani strategic communications expert, advocate for social change told Trend.

He noted that the world today is home to the largest generation of young people in history.

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Question for this article:

Are we seeing the dawn of a global youth movement?

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“Connected to each other like never before, young people contribute to the resilience of their communities by proposing innovative solutions and driving social progress. At the same time, they continue to face multifaceted challenges, including, among others, access to quality education, healthcare, and decent work, forced displacement, different forms of discrimination and marginalization, all of which impede them to achieve their full potential,” he said.

Nawab noted that the way young people navigate their way and overcome these challenges is critical for the progress of mankind.

“The NAM Baku Summit is a unique opportunity where youth delegates from across the globe belonging to multiple NAM countries from diverse cultures and expertise would participate physically. The youth of today are progressives that go unconventional about different global issues. So, the best brains from different corners of the NAM member states would happen to share ideas, find solutions to solve real world issues as well as help in advocating the case of humanity, global culture of peace and Sustainable Development,” he said.

In his words, the youth of the NAM members states can play an important role in advancing the principles of the movement by using technology and by presenting an innovative ideas, visions, recommendations as well as perspectives on current challenges that they face in ensuring sustainable progress and how these difficulties could be overcome through concerted and adequate responses of the NAM Member States.

“In order to have a sustainable solutions, youth must be involved and convinced that the multilateral rules-based order is the need of the hour considering the multifarious challenges confronting the international order in the form of climate change, poverty, rising inequality, migration, as well as weapons proliferation, deteriorating oceans and cybercrime. It’s indeed a great initiative by the Chairmanship of NAM, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev,” he said.

global, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Satish Kumar to Receive the 2022 Goi Peace Award

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

An article from The Goi Peace Foundation

The Goi Peace Foundation will present the 2022 Goi Peace Award to Satish Kumar, peace activist and environmental thought leader.

The selection committee has chosen Satish Kumar for the Goi Peace Award in recognition of his lifelong dedication to campaigning for ecological regeneration, social justice, and spiritual fulfillment. Through his writings and educational activities, and as an embodiment of ecological and spiritual principles of living simply, he has inspired many people to transform themselves in order to transform the world.


Photo from the Dartington Trust

Satish Kumar will receive the award during the Goi Peace Foundation Forum 2022 to be held on November 23, 2022. (More information about the event will be announced soon.)

Satish Kumar, a former monk and long-term peace and environment activist, has been quietly setting the global agenda for change for over 50 years. He was just nine when he left his family home to join the wandering Jains, and 18 when he decided he could achieve more back in the world, campaigning for land reform in India and working to turn Gandhi’s vision of a renewed India and a peaceful world into reality.

Questions related to this article:

Where in the world can we find good leadership today?

How can just one or a few persons contribute to peace and justice?

In 1973 Satish settled in the UK becoming the editor of Resurgence magazine, a position he held until 2016, making him the UK’s longest-serving editor of the same magazine. During this time, he has been the guiding spirit behind a number of now internationally respected ecological and educational ventures. He cofounded Schumacher College, an international center for ecological studies, where he continues to serve as a Visiting Fellow.

His autobiography, No Destination, first published by Green Books in 1978, has sold over 50,000 copies. He is also the author of You Are, Therefore I Am; The Buddha and the Terrorist; Earth Pilgrim; Soil, Soul, Society and Elegant Simplicity: The Art of Living Well.

He continues to teach and run workshops on reverential ecology, holistic education and voluntary simplicity and is a much sought-after speaker both in the UK and abroad.

About the Goi Peace Foundation and the Goi Peace Award

Based in Japan, the Goi Peace Foundation  is a public benefit organization supported by members around the world working together to create a culture of peace. Its mission is to foster a sustainable and harmonious global society by promoting consciousness, values and wisdom for creating peace, and building cooperation among individuals and organizations across diverse fields, including education, science, culture and the arts.

Established by the Goi Peace Foundation in 2000, the Goi Peace Award  is an international award presented annually to honor individuals and organizations in various fields that have made outstanding contributions toward the realization of a peaceful and harmonious world as envisioned in the Declaration for All Life on Earth.

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, global

Novel Approach to Nuclear Disarmament

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

Received at CPNN by email from Nomad, Damon
 
Dear Colleague for Peace,
 
There are many organizations, campaigns, and initiatives for nuclear disarmament.   Unfortunately, few people can focus on the message, sounds too complex or it’s lost in the buzz of our busy lives.  I have spent the last three years working full-time on a novel way to advocate for the cause, literally novels.  I have written a three-novel trilogy, dedicated to the cause of eliminating nuclear weapons, in the framework of espionage thrillers, without gratuitous violence and wars.

Question related to this article:
 
Can we abolish all nuclear weapons?

I want to get people interested in disarmament by reading an exciting thriller, founded on science, international relations, and policy.  I have worked and found a publisher. I have no advertising budget or social media platform. I am reaching out to the community of interested people and organizations to help.
 
Please pass the message on, see the link below to the first book published by Speaking Volumes.
 
Phantom in the Desert (Nuclear Proliferation Trilogy): Nomad, Damon: 9781645406402: Amazon.com: Books
 

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, global

One year driving action for gender equality. One year of Generation Equality

. WOMEN’S EQUALITY .

An article from the Generation Equality Forum

One year ago, the Generation Equality Forum brought together leaders from governments, civil society, youth and the private sector to take bold global action on gender equality, marking the start of an ambitious 5-year journey convened by UN Women.

Since the Forum, convened by UN Women and co-hosted by the Governments of France and Mexico, countries and partners have already initiated implementation of commitments made  through six Action Coalitions, and a series of global, innovative, multi-stakeholder partnerships for gender equality., In addition, signatories to the Women, Peace and Security, and Humanitarian Action Compact are beginning to make progress on Compact framework actions, designed to drive progress on implementation of existing global commitments to the women, peace and security, and gender in humanitarian action agendas.

Progress made throughout the first year of the Generation Equality initiative includes  work by the Government of Kenya, global leader of the Action Coalition on Gender Based Violence, to make strides in advancement on the implementation of their 12 commitments, which include national gender-based violence prevention and response policies, resource allocation on programmes for prevention and response to gender-based violence, consultations with civil society and violence survivor, production of gender-sensitive data and evidence, and the ratification of international conventions, amongst other actions, including an investment of over US$1 million to eliminate female genital mutilation in the next four years. As part of the one-year anniversary of the Forum, Kenya published a report on the progress that has been made on each one of their commitments.

Other important advancements have been achieved by the Global Alliance for Care Work, which in the last year has presented new evidence on the impact of policies that grant remuneration, recognition and redistribution of care work done by women, helping to develop new national policies and bringing together care work activists and decision-makers to the table.

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Questions for this article

Does the UN advance equality for women?

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Youth activists have also made progress in coordination with UN Women by leading the Generation Equality localization of commitments, which provides the opportunity for young activists to share how they have leveraged their experiences during the Generation Equality Forum to localize activities in their communities, and in June 2022 a workshop was organized with 32 adolescents and girls to discuss actions and sharing experiences to strengthen the impact at a local level. During CSW66, youth networks convened to outline recommendations for Compact Signatories to increase youth participation and leadership in the women, peace and security and humanitarian space.

The 2021 Generation Equality Forum secured over 1,000 policy, advocacy and financial commitments for gender equality and a historic US$40 billion pledged to make gender equality a global reality. One year on, those commitments have doubled to more than 2,000 and advocates are beginning the important work of ensuring accountability with a first progress report due for publication in September. 

New commitments include high-impact actions, such as the one presented by the Nordic Council of Ministers for Gender Equality and LGBTI, consisting of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland and the autonomous areas of Greenland, Åland and the Faroe Islands. The Nordic Council of Ministers presented a joint commitment to invest in gender-conscious climate solutions and to implement domestic policies that interweave sustainable development, gender equality, and youth engagement with climate action. The private sector has also stepped up commitments, an example being the Koc Group, which will mobilize its Group of companies in support of the Action Coalition on Technology and Innovation for Gender Equality.

These and other Action Coalitions commitments by Member States, private sector, foundations, civil society and youth leaders can be viewed through the Generation Equality Commitment Dashboard, launched recently by UN Women: https://commitments.generationequality.org/dashboard/directory/.

The Compact, which calls for the redesign of peace and security and humanitarian processes to systematically and meaningfully include women and girls, has seen more than 160 signatories   pledging investments to over 1000 Compact Framework actions. In the last year, Compact leaders and signatories have developed a Compact Monitoring Framework to track progress and gaps over the next five years, and Compact Signatories have prioritized financing, programmatic, policy and advocacy actions to address women’s and girls’ rights in conflicts and crises in Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Mali, Myanmar, Syria, Ukraine and Yemen.


Compact Signatory Actions can be explored on the Compact Dashboard here: https://wpshacompact.org/wpsha-compact-dashboard/.

A progress report on the first year of Generation Equality implementation will be launched in September at an event in conjunction with the UN General Assembly. Further details will be available closer to the date.

global, United Nations, WOMEN'S EQUALITY,

La Via Campesina calls on States to exit the WTO and to create a new framework based on food sovereignty

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

A press release June 15 from La Via Campesina

La Via Campesina, the global peasant movement representing the voices of more than 200 million small-scale peasants from Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas, has been mobilizing all week against the WTO. The food crisis that is currently hitting the world is further proof that free trade – far from bringing about food security – is making people starve.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has once again failed to offer a permanent solution on public stockholding for food security purposes. For more than eight years, rich countries have been blocking concrete proposals from African and Asian members of the G33 in this regard.

Jeongyeol Kim, from the Korean Women Peasant’s Association and an International Coordination Committee (ICC) member of La Via Campesina, points out that:

“Free Trade Fuels Hunger. After 27 years under the rule of the WTO, this conclusion is clear. It is time to keep agriculture out of all Free Trade Agreements. The pandemic, and the shock and disruptions induced by war have made it clear that we need a local and national food governance system based on people, not agribusinesses. A system that is built on principles of solidarity and cooperation rather than competition, coercion, and geopolitical agendas.”

Burry Tunkara, from the Gambian Organization of Small-scale Farmers, Fishermen and Foresters and one of the main youth leaders of La Via Campesina, echoes the same sentiment in this testimony:

“The WTO only defends the rich and their commercial interests. It is a tool of neo-colonialism. It only serves the interests of multinationals to find new markets and cheaper labour. It’s time to stop that!

The socio-economic agenda of the poorest and low-income countries is not a priority for the WTO. The proof: its inability to provide a safeguard mechanism against the “dumping” of rich countries and its approach to fisheries subsidies to the detriment of small-scale fisherfolk. There is no point in trying to reform an institution built to favour the business interests of a handful of multinational corporations.

Perla Álvarez from Paraguay, and member of the Latin American Coordination of La Via Campesina (CLOC) stated that a systemic change is urgent and necessary:

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(Click here for the article in French or click here for the article in Spanish).

Question for this article:

What is the relation between movements for food sovereignty and the global movement for a culture of peace?

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“The global food crisis is our moment of reckoning. There is no place for a ‘business as usual’ approach here. We are presenting short-term and long-term proposals that can radically shift the way in which trade affects farming communities around the world.”

Today, June 15, from Geneva, while the WTO Ministerial Conference has once again betrayed the expectations of the populations that have been most affected by the food crisis, we, La Via Campesina, share our proposals;

La Via Campesina calls on all national governments to rebuild public stocks and to support the creation of food reserves at the community level with local products from agroecological practices. LVC also called on all governments to put in place the anti-dumping legislation necessary to prevent exporters from destroying local markets.

Yudhvir Singh of the Bhartiya Kisan Union, one of the unions that spearheaded the historic mobilization of Indian peasants in 2021, shared his country’s experience with public food stocks:

“Peasants need strong public policies, such as minimum prices and public stock, to continue to make a decent living by producing food. The WTO’s attacks against our model of market regulation are extremely dangerous. The G33 must continue to resist and build based on the aspirations and hopes of small-scale producers.”

La Via Campesina has called for an immediate suspension of all existing WTO rules that prevent countries from developing public food stocks and regulating market and prices. Governments should have the right to use self-selected internal criteria to protect and promote their food sovereignty. Each country should be able to develop its own agricultural and food policy and protect the interests of its peasants, without harming other countries. The use of agricultural products for agro-fuels should be prohibited. La Via Campesina has also called for a halt in speculation.

“Agrarian Reform is necessary to build food sovereignty,” added Zainal Arifin Fuat of Serikat Petani Indonesia and member of LVC’s International Coordination Committee. “Governments must put an end to grabbing water, seeds and land by transnational corporations and ensure small-scale producers fair rights over common resources.”

We, La Via Campesina, insist that within the framework of the pandemic and the global supply crisis, governments should prioritize local markets.

Morgan Ody, peasant in Brittany, France, and general coordinator of La Via Campesina, stated on behalf of the global peasant movement:

“The World Trade Organization is a failed project. Our global peasant movement calls on all States, especially those in the South, to leave the WTO immediately. We must create a new international framework for agriculture and trade based on food sovereignty. Only then can we defend the interests of small-scale food producers.”

For queries, write to press@viacampesina.org | Press Kit: https://linktr.ee/laviacampesina

Note: La Via Campesina counts 181 peasant organisations in over 80 countries as its members. The global peasant network and its allies led the negotiations in the UN for 17 years, resulting in the United Nations adopting a UN Declaration for Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP) in 2018.

global, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Vienna: first Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

An article from The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN)

The historic first Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons concluded in Vienna today 23 June with the adoption of a political declaration and practical action plan that set the course for the implementation of the Treaty and progress towards its goal of the total elimination of nuclear weapons.

States parties met amid heightened tension and growing risks of the use of nuclear weapons, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its threats to use nuclear weapons. Addressing the opening session of the meeting, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, “The once unthinkable prospect of nuclear conflict is now back within the realm of possibility. More than 13,000 nuclear weapons are being held in arsenals across the globe. In a world rife with geopolitical tensions and mistrust, this is a recipe for annihilation.”

During the meeting, many states parties condemned Russia’s actions, expressing their determination to move ahead with implementing the TPNW and eliminating nuclear weapons, based on the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of their use and the growing risks that such use could occur. These discussions were supported by harrowing testimony from survivors of use of nuclear weapons in Hiroshima and Nagasaki (Hibakusha) and representatives of communities harmed by testing of nuclear weapons in the Pacific, Kazakhstan and elsewhere, which illustrated the grim reality of nuclear weapons and highlighted the importance and urgency of the meeting’s work.

Nagasaki survivor Masao Tomonaga said “This political declaration is a very strong document, despite many difficulties we face. With this powerful document we can go forward, and all Hibakusha support this,it is a great document to make my city, Nagasaki, the last city ever to suffer from an atomic bombing”. 

Representatives of youth groups emphasized the need to engage young people in universalizing and implementing the treaty, and the role that they could play in helping to achieve the treaty’s aims. A delegation of parliamentarians from 16 countries (including nine NATO members) highlighted the work of parliamentarians in building support for the TPNW domestically, persuading governments to join, and speeding the processes of ratification.


The meeting concluded with the adoption of a Declaration  and Action Plan. In the Declaration, states parties expressed their alarm and dismay at threats to use nuclear weapons, and condemned unequivocally “any and all nuclear threats, whether they be explicit or implicit and irrespective of the circumstances.” Affirming that the TPNW is needed more than ever in these circumstances, the states parties resolved to “move forward with its implementation, with the aim of further stigmatizing and de-legitimizing nuclear weapons and steadily building a robust global peremptory norm against them.”


The Declaration reiterated the humanitarian basis of the treaty and the moral, ethical and security imperatives which inspired and motivated its creation and which now drive and guide its implementation. States parties resolved to move ahead with implementing all aspects of the treaty, including the positive obligations aimed at redressing the harm caused by nuclear weapons use and testing. They also reaffirmed the complementarity of the treaty with the international disarmament and nonproliferation regime, including the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT), and undertook to continue to support the NPT and all measures that can effectively contribute to nuclear disarmament.

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(Click here for an article in French .)

Question related to this article:
 
Can we abolish all nuclear weapons?

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The Declaration concluded that “In the face of the catastrophic risks posed by nuclear weapons and in the interest of the very survival of humanity … We will not rest until the last state has joined the Treaty, the last warhead has been dismantled and destroyed and nuclear weapons have been totally eliminated from the Earth.”


The Action Plan contains 50 specific actions for taking forward the mission of the treaty and realizing the commitments made in the Declaration. The Action Plan includes actions on universalization; victim assistance, environmental remediation and international cooperation and assistance; scientific and technical advice in support of implementation; supporting the wider nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime; inclusion; and implementation of the treaty’s gender provisions.

The meeting also took a number of decisions on practical aspects of moving forward with implementation of the treaty. These included:

* Establishment of a Scientific Advisory Group, to advance research on nuclear weapon risks, their humanitarian consequences, and nuclear disarmament, and to address the scientific and technical challenges involved in effectively implementing the Treaty, and provide advice to states parties.

* Deadlines for the destruction of nuclear weapons by nuclear-armed states joining the treaty: no more than 10 years, with the possibility of an extension of up to five years. States parties hosting nuclear weapons belonging to other states will have 90 days to remove them.

* Establishment of a program of intersessional work to follow the meeting, including a coordinating committee and informal working groups on universalization; victim assistance, environmental remediation, and international cooperation and assistance; and work related to the designation of a competent international authority to oversee the destruction of nuclear weapons.

On the eve of the meeting, Cabo Verde, Grenada, and Timor-Leste deposited their instruments of ratification, which will bring the number of TPNW states parties to 65. Eight states told the meeting that they were in the process of ratifying the treaty: Brazil, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominican Republic, Ghana, Indonesia, Mozambique, Nepal and Niger.


ICAN Executive Director Beatrice Fihn welcomed the outcome of the meeting and the many concrete actions agreed. “This meeting has really been a reflection of the ideals of the TPNW itself: decisive action to eliminate nuclear weapons based on their catastrophic humanitarian consequences and the unacceptable risks of their use. The states parties, in partnership with survivors, impacted communities and civil society, have worked extremely hard over the past three days to agree on a wide range of specific, practical actions to take forward every aspect of the implementation of this crucial treaty. This is how we are building a powerful norm against nuclear weapons: not through lofty statements or empty promises, but through hands-on, focused action involving a truly global community of governments and civil society”
 
Read ICAN’s preliminary analysis of the Declaration and Action Plan here.

Further reading:

– Experts and governments meet to discuss the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons

– Caribbean nations rally behind UN nuclear weapon ban treaty

– Namibia ratifies UN nuclear weapon ban treaty

– Saint Kitts and Nevis ratifies UN nuclear weapon ban treaty on Nagasaki anniversary

– Belgian Parliament to vote on ending nuclear weapons

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, Europe, global,

SIPRI: Global nuclear arsenals are expected to grow as states continue to modernize

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

An article from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute

13 June 2022. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) today launches the findings of SIPRI Yearbook 2022, which assesses the current state of armaments, disarmament and international security. A key finding is that despite a marginal decrease in the number of nuclear warheads in 2021, nuclear arsenals are expected to grow over the coming decade.

Signs that post-cold war decline in nuclear arsenals is ending

The nine nuclear-armed states—the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea)—continue to modernize their nuclear arsenals and although the total number of nuclear weapons declined slightly between January 2021 and January 2022 (see table below), the number will probably increase in the next decade.

Of the total inventory of an estimated 12 705 warheads at the start of 2022, about 9440 were in military stockpiles for potential use. Of those, an estimated 3732 warheads were deployed with missiles and aircraft, and around 2000—nearly all of which belonged to Russia or the USA—were kept in a state of high operational alert.

Although Russian and US total warhead inventories continued to decline in 2021, this was due to the dismantling of warheads that had been retired from military service several years ago. The number of warheads in the two countries’ useable military stockpiles remained relatively stable in 2021. Both countries’ deployed strategic nuclear forces were within the limits set by a bilateral nuclear arms reduction treaty (2010 Treaty on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms, New START). Note, however, that New START does not limit total non-strategic nuclear warhead inventories.

‘There are clear indications that the reductions that have characterized global nuclear arsenals since the end of the cold war have ended,’ said Hans M. Kristensen, Associate Senior Fellow with SIPRI’s Weapons of Mass Destruction Programme and Director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists (FAS).

‘All of the nuclear-armed states are increasing or upgrading their arsenals and most are sharpening nuclear rhetoric and the role nuclear weapons play in their military strategies,’ said Wilfred Wan, Director of SIPRI’s Weapons of Mass Destruction Programme. ‘This is a very worrying trend.’

Russia and the USA together possess over 90 per cent of all nuclear weapons. The other seven nuclear-armed states are either developing or deploying new weapon systems, or have announced their intention to do so. China is in the middle of a substantial expansion of its nuclear weapon arsenal, which satellite images indicate includes the construction of over 300 new missile silos. Several additional nuclear warheads are thought to have been assigned to operational forces in 2021 following the delivery of new mobile launchers and a submarine.

The UK in 2021 announced its decision to increase the ceiling on its total warhead stockpile, in a reversal of decades of gradual disarmament policies. While criticizing China and Russia for lack of nuclear transparency, the UK also announced that it would no longer publicly disclose figures for the country’s operational nuclear weapon stockpile, deployed warheads or deployed missiles.



(Click on table to enlarge)

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Question related to this article:
 
Can we abolish all nuclear weapons?

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In early 2021 France officially launched a programme to develop a third-generation nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN). India and Pakistan appear to be expanding their nuclear arsenals, and both countries introduced and continued to develop new types of nuclear delivery system in 2021. Israel—which does not publicly acknowledge possessing nuclear weapons—is also believed to be modernizing its nuclear arsenal.

North Korea continues to prioritize its military nuclear programme as a central element of its national security strategy. While North Korea conducted no nuclear test explosions or long-range ballistic missile tests during 2021, SIPRI estimates that the country has now assembled up to 20 warheads, and possesses enough fissile material for a total of 45–55 warheads.

‘If the nuclear-armed states take no immediate and concrete action on disarmament, then the global inventory of nuclear warheads could soon begin to increase for the first time since the cold war,’ said Matt Korda, Associate Researcher with SIPRI’s Weapons of Mass Destruction Programme and Senior Research Associate with the FAS Nuclear Information Project.

Mixed signals from nuclear diplomacy

There were several landmarks in nuclear diplomacy during the past year. These included the entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) in January 2021, having received the required 50 state ratifications; the extension for five years of New START, the last remaining bilateral arms control agreement between the world’s two leading nuclear powers; and the start of talks on the USA rejoining, and Iran returning to compliance with, the Iran nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

During 2021, the nuclear-armed permanent members (P5) of the United Nations Security Council—China, France, Russia, the UK and the USA—worked on a joint statement that they issued on 3 January 2022, affirming that ‘nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought’. They also reaffirmed their commitment to complying with non-proliferation, disarmament and arms control agreements and pledges as well as their obligations under the 1968 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, and pursuing the goal of a world without nuclear weapons.

Despite this, all P5 members continue to expand or modernize their nuclear arsenals and appear to be increasing the salience of nuclear weapons in their military strategies. Russia has even made open threats about possible nuclear weapon use in the context of the war in Ukraine. Bilateral Russia–USA strategic stability talks have stalled because of the war, and none of the other nuclear-armed states are pursuing arms control negotiations. Moreover, the P5 members have voiced opposition to the TPNW, and the JCPOA negotiations have not yet reached a resolution.

‘Although there were some significant gains in both nuclear arms control and nuclear disarmament in the past year, the risk of nuclear weapons being used seems higher now than at any time since the height of the cold war,’ said SIPRI Director Dan Smith.

A mixed outlook for global security and stability

The 53rd edition of the SIPRI Yearbook reveals both negative and some hopeful developments in 2021.

‘Relations between the world’s great powers have deteriorated further at a time when humanity and the planet face an array of profound and pressing common challenges that can only be addressed by international cooperation,’ said Stefan Löfven, Chair of the SIPRI Governing Board.

In addition to its detailed coverage of nuclear arms control and non-proliferation issues, the latest edition of the SIPRI Yearbook includes insight on developments in conventional arms control in 2021; regional overviews of armed conflicts and conflict management; in-depth data and discussion on military expenditure, international arms transfers and arms production; and comprehensive coverage of efforts to counter chemical and biological security threats.

For editors

The SIPRI Yearbook is a compendium of cutting-edge information and analysis on developments in armaments, disarmament and international security. Three major SIPRI Yearbook 2022 data sets were pre-launched in 2021–22: total arms sales by the top 100 arms-producing companies (December 2021), international arms transfers (March 2022) and world military expenditure (April 2022). The SIPRI Yearbook is published by Oxford University Press. Learn more at www.sipriyearbook.org.

Media contacts

For information and interview requests contact, Alexandra Manolache, SIPRI Media and Communications Officer (alexandra.manolache@sipri.org, +46 766 286 133), or Stephanie Blenckner, SIPRI Communications Director (blenckner@sipri.org, +46 8 655 97 47).

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, global

UN rights chief concludes China trip with promise of improved relations

. HUMAN RIGHTS .

An article from the United Nations

At the end of her official visit to China, the first such trip in 17 years, UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet announced new areas of engagement between her office and the Chinese Government on rights issues, and summarized the many rights issues raised during her six-day May mission.


High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet during her visit to China, in Ürümqi, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China. (Photo from OHCHR)

During Saturday’s virtual press conference, Ms. Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, outlined the new opportunities for dialogue between her office and the Chinese authorities that were discussed during the visit, which include an annual senior strategic meeting, and a working group that will meet in Beijing and Geneva, as well as online.

The working group, explained Ms. Bachelet, will discuss specific thematic areas, including development, poverty alleviation and human rights, minority rights, business and human rights, counterterrorism and human rights, digital space and human rights, judicial and legal protection, and human rights.

The High Commissioner pointed out that, as her Office does not have a presence in China, the working group will allow for structured engagement on these and other issues, and provide a space for her team to bring specific matters of concern to the attention of the Chinese Government.

Tibet, Xinjiang, and Hong Kong on the agenda

During her mission, Ms. Bachelet spoke with a range of government officials, several civil society organisations, academics, and community and religious leaders. In addition, she met several organizations online ahead of the visit, on issues relating to Xinjiang province, Tibet, Hong Kong, and other parts of China. 

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Question for this article:

What is the United Nations doing for a culture of peace?

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In Xinjiang, home to the Muslim Uighur minority, Ms. Bachelet raised questions and concerns about the application of counterterrorism and de-radicalisation measures and their broad application, and encouraged the Government to undertake a review of all counterterrorism and deradicalization policies, to ensure they fully comply with international human rights standards, and are not applied in an arbitrary and discriminatory way.

On the Tibet Autonomous Region, Ms. Bachelet reiterated the importance of protecting the linguistic, religious, and cultural identity of Tibetans, and allowing Tibetans to participate fully and freely in decisions about their religious life, and for dialogue to take place. 

Regarding Hong Kong, Ms. Bachelet urged the Government to nurture – and not stifle – the tremendous potential for civil society and academics in Hong Kong to contribute to the promotion and protection of human rights. She described the arrests of lawyers, activists, journalists and others under the National Security Law as “deeply worrying”, and noted that Hong Kong is due to be reviewed by the UN Human Rights Committee in July.

“To those who have sent me appeals, asking me to raise issues or cases with the authorities – I have heard you”, she declared. “I will continue to follow up on such issues and instances of concern on a sustained basis”.

‘China has a very important role to play’

The rights chief praised China’s “tremendous achievements” in alleviating poverty, and eradicating extreme poverty, 10 years ahead of its target date. 

The country, she added, has gone a long way towards ensuring protection of the right to health and broader social and economic rights, thanks to the introduction of universal health care and almost universal unemployment insurance scheme. 

A number of other developments in the country were welcomed by Ms. Bachelet, including legislation that improves protection for women’s rights, and work being done by NGOs to advance the rights of LGBTI people, people with disabilities, and older people.

The UN rights chief underscored the important role that China has to play, at a regional and multilateral level, and noted that everyone she met on her visit, from Government officials, civil society, academics, diplomats and others, demonstrated a sincere willingness to make progress on the promotion and protection of human rights for all. 

(Editor’s note: Bachelet’s trip does not support US propaganda claiming that China is engaged in genocide in Xinjiang.)

East Asia, global, HUMAN RIGHTS, United Nations, ,

Women of the World Call for Peace

. WOMEN’S EQUALITY . .

An article from Scheerpost

Presented on May 10th, 2022, by Women Transforming Our Nuclear Legacy, a coalition of the women leaders and activists from around the world call for peace in Ukraine and and an end to the threat of nuclear war. 


Video of their videoconference

Born out of an American-Russian Women’s Dialogue and Peacebuilding Initiative founded just over a year ago, the group started with the goal of improving US-Russia relations, reducing tensions, averting a nuclear war, and working together for the disarmament and elimination of nuclear weapons.

Over the last year, they wrote multiple open letters published in both countries calling for peace. Their most recent open letter, published a week before the Russian invasion of Ukraine link stood with Ukraine calling for peace. They have issued an appeal for peace in Ukraine calling for an immediate ceasefire “to stop the killing, bloodshed, and immense human suffering.”

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Question related to this article:
 
Can the peace movement help stop the Ukraine war?

Do women have a special role to play in the peace movement?

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SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES:

Mairead Corrigan Maguire is a Nobel Peace Laureate and Co-founder of Peace People, Northern Ireland. Mairead was the aunt of three Maguire children who died as a result of being hit by an Irish Republican Army getaway car after its driver was shot by a British soldier. She responded to the violence facing her family and community by organizing massive peace demonstrations appealing for an end to the bloodshed and a nonviolent solution to the conflict. Mairead was awarded the l976 Nobel Peace Prize for her courageous efforts in co-founding a movement to help bring about peace and end the violence arising out of the ethnic political conflict in Northern Ireland. Since receiving the award, she has dedicated her life to promoting peace and disarmament, both in Northern Ireland and around the world.  

Dr. Paula Garb is a Senior Fellow at the Center for Peacemaking Practice at George Mason University. For the past twenty-eight years, Dr. Garb has facilitated citizen dialogues and taught peaceful problem-solving skills in conflict zones of the South Caucasus and to gang intervention workers in Southern California. She also taught mediation and conflict resolution at the University of California, Irvine for twenty-five years.  Dr. Garb serves on the board of UCI’s Center for Citizen Peacebuilding which she co-founded and co-directed for twenty years. She has also published numerous books and journal articles on peacebuilding. 

Ambassador Elayne Whyte Gomez is a diplomat and academic who previously served as the Ambassador from Costa Rica to the United Nations in Geneva. In 2017, Ambassador Whyte presided over the UN Conference that negotiated and adopted the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.  Facing extraordinary time pressure, and, at times, contentious debate, Ambassador Whyte facilitated the adoption of this landmark agreement by a vote of 122 nations in favor, one against, and one abstention. Among her many accomplishments, she is also the first woman and the youngest person ever to serve as vice minister of Foreign Affairs in Costa Rica. 

Cynthia Lazaroff is the Senior Creative Producer for US-Russia Relations: The Quest for Stability, a seven-part multimedia documentary produced with philanthropic support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. Over the past forty years, Cynthia has been engaged in Track II and 1.5 diplomacy with Russia and the former Soviet Union. Cynthia is the Founder & Director of Women Transforming Our Nuclear Legacy  & NuclearWakeUpCall.Earth.

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, global, WOMEN'S EQUALITY

World Social Forum 2022 in Mexico: First two days

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

Two articles from La Coperacha and Prensa Latina

The World Social Forum 2022 (WSF) began yesterday (May 1) with a march from the Monument to the Revolution to the capital’s Zócalo in CDMX (Mexico City), joining with the May Day March for International Labor Day.


After the march, the activities of the WSF moved to the Plaza de Santo Domingo, a few meters from the Zócalo, where a Nahuatl ceremony was held and a manifesto was read by three women, one from Cherán, Michoacán, and the other from Tunisia. and one from Palestine.

The WSF seeks to generate proposals and exchanges of organizations and social movements opposed to neoliberalism and all forms of capitalist and imperialist domination. This year CDMX has been the venue in a hybrid format, with face-to-face and virtual activities.

Participants from India, Ukraine, Palestine, Tunisia, Kurdistan, Morocco, Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, as well as trade unionists from Mexico, solidarity economy groups and members of indigenous peoples began activities (which conclude on May 6) in several venues of the Historic Center, including the Plaza Santo Domingo, the Universidad Obrera, the City Museum, the Rule and the Museum of the City.

In Plaza Santo Domingo, the Social and Solidarity Economy dialogue tables were installed with around 100 producers, five urban gardens, eco-technologies, dry toilets and with the circulation of the Alegría solidarity currency. In addition, the tents of Palestine and Kurdistan were installed.

Solidarity, community or complementary currencies have become a practice that some of the members of the WSF have used to break with the use of official money, which they consider to be based mainly on a model of debt money.

For this edition of the WSF, 21 years after the first forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil, a solidary lodging network was established where the majority of foreigners have stayed without generating excessive expenses.

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(Click here for the original articles in Spanish)

Question for this article:

World Social Forums, Advancing the Global Movement for a Culture of Peace?

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Other venues that will host the hundreds of activities of the WSF are the Corpus Christi Temple, the School of Public Administration, the Historical Center Trust, the Mining Palace, the Palace of Autonomy, the auditorium of the Mexican Union of Electricians and that of Section 9 of the National Coordinator of Education Workers.
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The public debt and the abolition of debts acquired illegitimately, in particular due to the abusive payment of interest, are at the center of the second day of activities of the World Social Forum (May 2).

This section is held in the Ernesto Velasco Torres auditorium, of the Mexican Union of Electricians (SME), in conjunction with the New Workers Central and other labor institutions.

It is part of the theme Economic Alternatives for the Peoples and Socioeconomic Justice, and includes the study of the indebtedness processes in Latin America and the Caribbean and the struggles against illegitimate debts in Puerto Rico and Argentina.

It also addresses the vision of Latin America in the face of the fall of the dollar and its effects, the universal basic income as the foundation of another possible world, as illustrated with pilot tests in Catalonia and debates in Argentina. The presentation is carried out by the Humanist Network for Universal Basic Income.

On the same economic theme, the Kgosni group will present “Túmin, beyond a community currency” a reflection on the reconstruction of the social fabric and the importance of one’s own means of communication, as part of the economic alternatives of the peoples and socioeconomic justice.

Another basic point of the day is the one related to community feminism presented by Abya Yala in which she analyzes the struggles against discrimination, racism and for self-determination, as well as what women describe as a battle against patriarchy and heteronormative .

A very specific issue is that of resistance against the struggle for search, truth and justice for disappeared relatives in the “Dirty War” period of the 60s, 70s and 80s of the last century in the Mexican state of Guerrero, but related to today, especially the Movement for Truth and Justice for Relatives of Disappeared Persons.

The exhibition, which takes place in the Palacio de la Minería, one of the venues of the forum, is accompanied by a workshop on the disappearance of girls and women in Mexico under the title Community Feminism, organized by Abya Yala.

In this framework, a posthumous tribute will be paid to the Mexican social activist Rosario Ibarra de Piedra, who died last month.

Finally, another key point in this Monday’s session is the one entitled “Indigenous Migration in Mexico. Peacebuilding, migration and strategies against war. Comprehensive accompaniment from a feminist perspective for women on the move on the southern border of Mexico”, by the Red Mesoamericana Mujer, Salud y Migración.

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, global, Latin America,