| Iran Joins China, Russia, EU, France, Germany and UK in Reaffirming Commitment to ‘Nuclear Deal’ By Robert Johnson  BRUSSELS (IDN) – Amid speculations about Iran’s reaction to the assassination of the country’s eminent nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh on a road outside of Tehran on November 27, participants in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) have reiterated their commitment to preserving the agreement and stressed their respective efforts in this regard. [2020-12- 23 | 23] GERMAN | HINDI | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDFRead More A New Handbook on Parliamentary Action for Disarmament By Jamshed Baruah  GENEVA (IDN) – Nearly one-and-half years after UN Secretary-General António Guterres launched Securing Our Common Future: An Agenda for Disarmament in May 2018, a new handbook to support disarmament for security and sustainable development has been released. Its approach and focus draw primarily on the Agenda. Titled Assuring our Common Future, published by four international parliamentary organizations and two international policy bodies on November 5, 2020, the new publication offers background and examples of effective policies and parliamentary actions on a wide range of disarmament issues. [2020-12- 20 | 22] ITALIAN | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | PORTUGUESERead More #Youth4Disarmament Initiative Awarded Best Coalition Building Project of 2020 By UNODA  NEW YORK (IDN) – The #Youth4Disarmament initiative has been recognized as Best Coalition Building Project of 2020 by a Billion Acts of Peace. The initiative was nominated alongside 11 other inspiring projects, chosen from more than 8 million Acts for Peace.Billion Acts of Peace, an initiative of the PeaceJam Foundation, is a global movement led by 14 Nobel Peace Prize winners and youth around the world with the ambitious goal of creating 1 billion acts of peace by 2021. [2020-12-17] Read More NATO HQ Steps Up Misinformation Campaign Against TPNW By ICAN  GENEVA (IDN) – NATO’s 15 December statement on the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons as it enters into force reiterates misconceptions about the treaty and is tone-deaf to the global support for this landmark instrument, including popular support within several NATO countries.The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons was adopted in 2017 by 122 countries and will take full legal effect on 22 January 2021. It is the first international treaty to ban nuclear weapons and require victim assistance and environmental remediation for people and places harmed by nuclear weapons use and testing. [2020-12-16] Read More Doubts Whether Space Is Being Used Only for Peaceful Purposes By Ramesh Jaura  BERLIN | NEW YORK (IDN) – A Soviet cosmonaut and an American astronaut shook hands high above the planet Earth, on July 17, 1975, where the Soviet spaceship Soyuz-19 and the U.S. spacecraft Apollo had met and docked.In a message of greeting, the Soviet leadership described the “joint flight of the Soviet and US spaceships” as “a major step in the development of Soviet-American scientific and technological cooperation” opening up “new prospects for various countries to work together in the peaceful exploration of outer space”. [2020-12- 06 | 21] CHINESE | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | RUSSIANRead More Missile Defence Plans Threaten to Trigger Arms Race By J C Suresh  TORONTO | WASHINGTON (IDN) – President Trump’s legacy is far from inspiring. Joe Biden and his team face numerous crucial decisions. Arms policy experts believe that one of the momentous decisions confronting the new administration is “whether and how to move forward with Trump-era plans to expand the U.S. national missile defence footprint with new sea-based missiles that can shoot down long-range ballistic missiles”. But this will undoubtedly hamper progress on arms control. [2020-12-04 | 20] ARABIC | GERMAN | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDFRead More |
