The nuclear safety standards of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) do not contain guidance or recommendations in the context of warlike scenarios. Since the beginning of the war last February, several Ukrainian nuclear facilities have suffered or are suffering from the effects of military operations taking place in their vicinity. Such operations have taken…
ON THE OCCASION OF THE GENERAL DEBATE OF THE 77TH SESSION OF THE UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY by the former UN system staff members signing below In a couple of weeks, the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly will be opening, with world leaders flocking to New York for the “General Debate” high-level segment….
On July 11th, 2022, I was invited to attend “Russia and the Geopolitics of Borders and Migration” a conference held by the State University of Paraíba in Brazil, in partnership with the Research Project “Citizenship between Walls” [Cidadania entre Muros] that studies the phenomenon of ‘wall-building’, a geopolitical event that leads to the creation of…
There is no doubt that climate change is a global reality. The news, day after day, shows the effects of what, more than “change”, should be called and treated as a climate emergency. Only in the last couple of weeks, we have had historic temperature records in the United Kingdom and thermometers exceeding 40ºC in…
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UCNFCC), the world’s first climate change treaty, is 30 years old. It was adopted on 9 May 1992 and opened for signature at the Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro on 4 June 1992. Should the world be celebrating? Looking back Personally, I take…
Historically speaking we, humans, are known for our ability to move, for our ability to migrate and adapt to new environments whatever those may be. Recent technological and economic advances have increased dramatically our ability to travel. These factors are valuable to us as they promote cultural, linguistic, and even economic exchanges. However, for years,…
Energy, mostly in the form of fossil fuels, drives everything we do. Nearly all aspects of 21st-century life, from commuting to work to waging a war, depending on the consumption of energy, make the latter arguably the most valuable tradable commodity in the human world. Consequently, the more one controls the energy supply, the more…
*This tribune was originally published in French in Le Monde dated 30/3/2022 After unsuccessfully and repeatedly calling on Russian President Putin to end this deadly conflict and respect the United Nations Charter, Antonio Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations (SG), seems to have disappeared from the radar. Heads of State talk to Putin, heads…
By Tapio Kanninen and Georgios Kostakos* After the Russian invasion of Ukraine that started on 24 February 2022, the world was horrified at the prospect of a new major war in Europe. Condemnation for the invasion rightly goes to President Vladimir Putin of Russia. An overblown Western reaction, though, may have dangerous consequences for the…
As the war in Ukraine approaches the one-month mark – (the Russian invasion started on 24 February 2022) – and in view of the escalating destruction and human suffering, plus the potential for a wider confrontation and even nuclear war, the need to put an end to it becomes ever more urgent. This article looks…
