Articles by Thalif Deen – Inter Press Service-IPS
We found 15 results.
US Faces Collective Defiance at UN over Jerusalem
Thalif Deen – Inter Press Service-IPS,
25 Dec 2017
22 Dec 2017 – Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the UN, said: “We will remember it (the voting against the US), when we are called upon once again to make the world’s largest contribution to the UN”. The final tally on the vote was 128 in favour to 9 against (Guatemala, Honduras, Israel, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Togo, United States), with 35 abstentions.
→ read full articleWorld’s Nuclear Arsenal Declines but Multi-Billion Dollar Modernization Continues
Thalif Deen – Inter Press Service-IPS,
20 Jun 2016
The bad news is the continued modernization of nuclear weapons both by the US and Russia. Although details of the Russian program are not public, the US plans to spend $348 billion during 2015–24 on maintaining and comprehensively updating its nuclear forces. Some estimates suggest that the US nuclear weapon modernization program may cost up to $1 trillion over the next 30 years, according to SIPRI. Russia and the US together account for more than 93 per cent of all nuclear weapons on the planet.
→ read full articleU.N. Can Help Devalue Nukes as Geopolitical Currency
Thalif Deen – Inter Press Service-IPS,
2 Sep 2013
When the 193-member U.N. General Assembly (UNGA) holds is first-ever high-level meeting on nuclear disarmament in September [2013], there is little or no hope that any of the nuclear powers will make a firm commitment to gradually phase out or abandon their lethal arsenals.
→ read full articleChina Leads Battle Against Poverty, Says U.N.
Thalif Deen – Inter Press Service-IPS,
8 Jul 2013
The United Nations has singled out China – the world’s most populous country with over 1.3 billion people – as one of the key success stories in the longstanding battle against poverty.
→ read full articleU.N.’s Water Agenda at Risk of Being Hijacked by Big Business
Thalif Deen – Inter Press Service-IPS,
18 Feb 2013
Amidst growing new threats of potential conflicts over fast-dwindling water resources in the world’s arid regions, the United Nations will commemorate 2013 as the International Year of Water Cooperation (IYWC). But Maude Barlow, a former senior advisor on water to the president of the U.N. General Assembly in 2008-2009, warns the U.N.’s water agenda is in danger of being hijacked by big business and water conglomerates.
→ read full articleAsian States Are World’s Largest Arms Buyers
Thalif Deen – Inter Press Service-IPS,
26 Mar 2012
According to the latest figures released Monday [19 Mar 2012] by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the world’s five largest arms importers in 2007-2011 were all Asian states beating out the traditional frontrunners – the rich, oil-blessed Middle Eastern countries.
→ read full articleSomalia’s Rich Maritime Resources Being Plundered, Report Says
Thalif Deen – Inter Press Service-IPS,
27 Feb 2012
With the country’s 3,300-km coastline virtually unprotected, industrial fishing vessels from Europe and Asia have entered the area in large numbers and are plundering Somalia’s rich maritime resources. “Having over-fished their home waters, these sophisticated factory ships are seeking catch in one of the world’s richest remaining fishing zones,” says the report published by the New York-based Global Policy Forum (GPF).
→ read full articleHow the U.S. Manipulates Key U.N. Appointments
Thalif Deen – Inter Press Service-IPS,
23 Jan 2012
When Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announces his new team of senior officials shortly, his appointments will be based not only on merit but also on demands made by the five big powers – the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia – as well as key donors who sustain U.N. agencies through voluntary contributions.
→ read full articleU.N.’s First Official Report on Gays Notes Widespread Bias
Thalif Deen – Inter Press Service-IPS,
19 Dec 2011
In its first-ever official report on the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, the United Nations confirms there is widespread discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in “all regions” of the world. In many cases, asserts the 25-page report released Thursday [15 Dec 2011], “even the perception of homosexuality or transgender identity puts people at risk”.
→ read full articleCape Verde Recognised for Political, Economic Leadership
Thalif Deen – Inter Press Service-IPS,
31 Oct 2011
When the former president of Cape Verde, Pedro de Verona Rodrigues Pires, was recently awarded the five-million-dollar African Leadership prize, the ex-Portuguese colony that he headed for nearly 10 years was singled out as one of the key African success stories for “good governance”, including multi-party democracy, rule of law and respect for human rights.
→ read full articleSouth-South Cooperation Revs Up
Thalif Deen – Inter Press Service-IPS,
29 Aug 2011
Brazil has been using its growing strength to forge ties with other countries in the global south. The Brazilian Cooperation Agency is currently participating in scores of economic projects, mostly in the agricultural sector, in more than 80 developing countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. The projects range across industries from livestock and fisheries to horticulture and food production.
→ read full articleWorld Population to Hit Seven Billion by October
Thalif Deen – Inter Press Service-IPS,
11 Jul 2011
The United Nations commemorates World Population Day on July 11 against the backdrop of an upcoming landmark event: global population hitting the seven billion mark by late October this year.
→ read full articleU.N. to Launch International Year of Cooperatives
Thalif Deen – Inter Press Service-IPS,
23 May 2011
When the United Nations commemorates the International Year of Cooperatives (IYC) in 2012, the world body will recognise the contributions made by cooperatives to socioeconomic development, including poverty reduction, employment generation and social integration. Currently, an estimated 800 million cooperative members are involved in diverse sectors throughout the world economy. And these enterprises sustain around 100 million jobs worldwide.
→ read full articleDoes it Matter if the Torturer Is Right-Handed or Left-Handed?
Thalif Deen – Inter Press Service-IPS,
7 Feb 2011
Jeanne Kirkpatrick, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, once made the highly-debatable distinction between “friendly” right-wing “authoritarian” regimes (which were mostly U.S. and Western allies) and “unfriendly” left-wing “totalitarian” dictatorships (which the U.S. abhorred). Kirkpatrick’s distinction between user-friendly right-wing regimes and unfriendly left-wing dictators prompted a response from her ideological foe at that time, former Secretary of State Cyrus Vance, who shot back: “It seems to me that if you’re on the rack (and being tortured), it doesn’t make any difference if your torturer is right handed or left-handed.”
→ read full articleUN: Defining Terrorism
Thalif Deen – Inter Press Service-IPS,
29 Nov 2010
The UN remains unable to draw a distinction between “freedom fighters” and “state sponsored terrorism”…. terrorism has become a political epithet designed to place enemies beyond the pale as opposed to a technical term the purpose of which is to define certain criminal acts that violate the laws of war and for which the perpetrators can be held accountable. “Thus, in the Middle East, it has reached the point where Palestinian or Arab armed activities that target Israeli military personnel are characterised as terrorist acts, while Israeli armed activities that deliberately target civilians are characterised as legitimate acts of self- defence,” he said.
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