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By Ray Acheson
The writer is Director of Reaching Critical Will and Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF).
NEW YORK (IDN) — During the final day of the Sixth Review Conference of the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) in Geneva on December 13-17, the constant refrain from the Russian delegation, “our position has not changed”, led to the systematic removal from the document of progress across all remaining substantive issues.
By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — As the US withdrew the last of its troops from Afghanistan on August 31 following a deadly 20-year-old war, one of the messages coming out of Washington was clear: the US will curtail “boots on the ground” in all future conflicts—even though there are still more than 40,000 American troops stationed around the Middle East.
But the wave of the future may be 'killer robots'—mostly the deployment of drones or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)—in “shadow wars,” particularly against terrorist groups worldwide.
By Thalif Deen
NEW YORK (IDN) — When the last of the US troops pulled out of Kabul on August 31—after a prolonged 20-year military occupation of Afghanistan—they left behind a treasure trove of weapons but most of them abandoned by retreating Afghan forces who were American allies.
These weapons, including combat helicopters, armoured vehicles, battle tanks and transport aircraft, were apparently de-activated by the departing Americans, but some reportedly remain functional and battle-ready.
Viewpoint by Hassan Mahmoudi
The writer is a social analyst, researcher, an independent observer and commentator of Middle Eastern and Iran. The article reflects his personal perspectives and opinions, which are not necessarily shared by the International Press Syndicate Group and its flagship IDN-DepthNews.
STOCKHOLM (IDN) – The global arms embargo against Iran, imposed by UN in the Security Council Resolution 2231, will, shockingly enough, be lifted in five months.
By Taro Ichikawa
TOKYO (IDN) – Climate action and nuclear weapons abolition, with a focus on the individual lives and suffering often hidden behind macroeconomic indices, is the main theme of the 38th annual peace proposal by Daisaku Ikeda, president of the Soka Gakkai International (SGI) Buddhist network.
Titled 'Toward Our Shared Future: Constructing an Era of Human Solidarity', the proposals were released on January 26 marking the 90th anniversary of the establishment of the Soka Gakkai and the 45th anniversary of the founding of SGI.
By Ramesh Jaura
BERLIN (IDN) – Keeping humans in control of autonomous weapons and artificial intelligence is an important element of UN Secretary-General António Guterres' action plan to implement the Agenda for Disarmament, Securing Our Common Future, presented in May 2018.
"Essentially, the question is whether we are in control of technology or whether, ultimately, it controls us," said Foreign Minister Heiko Maas in his remarks on March 15 at the conference '2019 Capturing Technology. Rethinking Arms Control' at the German Foreign Office in Berlin. The development of fully autonomous killer robots, cyber weapons and new biological agents has created scenarios for which there are to date almost no internationally recognised rules, he added.
By Jaya Ramachandran
BERLIN | STOCKHOLM (IDN) – A new report has warned of the risks and challenges posed by the interaction of developments in biotechnology and advances in three emerging technologies: additive manufacturing (AM or so-called 3D printing), artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics.
The report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) cautions that the latest advances could increase the possibilities for the development, production and use of biological weapons. The existing biological arms control and non-proliferation governance framework, therefore, needs to be adapted to address the emerging security risks, says the report.
Viewpoint by Izumi Nakamitsu
The following are extensive excerpts from remarks by Izumi Nakamitsu, UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), at the International Conference on 'Capturing Technology. Rethinking Arms Control' in Berlin on 15 March 2019.
BERLIN (IDN-INPS) – Many of us feel a growing sense of unease about the challenges rapid technological developments pose to disarmament, arms control and international peace and security. The international community urgently needs to explore, articulate and confront these issues at the highest level. Because one thing is clear: the march of technology waits for no one.
By Somar Wijayadasa*
NEW YORK | MUNICH (IDN) – "The whole liberal world order appears to be falling apart – nothing is as it once was," said Wolfgang Ischinger, a senior German diplomat in an opinion article in the run-up to the 2019 Munich Security Conference (MSC) that he chairs.
He added: "When Vladimir Putin annexed Crimea and started the bloody conflict in Eastern Ukraine in 2014, many considered him to be the major cause of global destabilization."
"Nobody could have known," Ischinger went on to say, "that just a few years later the U.S. President, of all people, would seriously challenge the current international order. Donald Trump questions free trade just like he questions the Western set of values or NATO. This has massive consequences – not just for us Europeans."
By J C Suresh
TORONTO (IDN-INPS) – "We know that we cannot fight tomorrow's threats with today’s tools. Defending ourselves is no longer about just looking at a map and deciding where to position troops and equipment. We need to defend ourselves in the digital age, and in the age of artificial intelligence," NATO Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller told experts participating in the 8th Beijing Xiangshan Forum in China from October 24 to 26 2018.
IDN-InDepthNews offers news analyses, features, reports and viewpoints that impact the world and its peoples. It has been online since 2009. Its network spans countries around the world.