Op-Eds Archive
Operationalising the “responsibility to protect”
The Global Centre for R2P will be a catalyst for implementing the commitment of all countries to protect people around the world from genocide, crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing, and war crimes.
Can't let them get away
When Henry Kissinger received the Nobel peace prize, comedian Tom Lehrer quipped that "satire had become obsolete". Something similar could be said about the proposal on the table to declare General Suharto, who died recently, National Hero of Indonesia.
The time has come to kill all the plastic bags
China is banning the distribution of free plastic shopping bags, effective this June. Australia says it will phase out plastic shopping bags by the end of 2008. These moves are just the latest in a string of official actions to restrict the use of plastic shopping bags.
Clinton restoration, or Obama's coronation?
It was one of those poignant moments that come but rarely in politics. On the Monday following Barack Obama's epic victory in the South Carolina primary, in front of about 7,000 adoring and delirious fans, Ted Kennedy crowned him heir apparent to Camelot.
Of monkeys and kangaroos
Whether or not Harbhajan Singh called Andrew Symonds a monkey, and whether or not this is racially offensive, Indians and Australians will likely agree that the conduct of the International Cricket Council is that of the three monkeys who see, hear or do no evil.
The healing of America
Having listened to the folks of New Hampshire in the final week before the primary, Hillary Clinton famously said she found her own voice. In South Carolina her voice was drowned by her husband's bark which frightened the voters.
Looking for innovative ideas: West Africa looks toward the private sector
West Africa, tragically known for its share of civil war, large-scale atrocities, mass displacement of populations and economic decline since the end of colonial rule in the 1960s, has long been a textbook example of what is referred to in academic literature today as a "fragile and/or a failing region."
A week is a long time in politics
Barack Obama has reframed the contest in terms of the past versus the future and the choice between status quo and change.
West is failing Kenya
The violent clashes, political turmoil and mayhem that have gripped Kenya over the past few weeks, following the seriously flawed presidential elections on December 27, 2007, which were marred by egregious irregularities, dispel any Western-backed notions regarding the country as a model democracy to be replicated elsewhere on the continent.
Fighting the cancer of corruption
The war on corruption cannot be left to governments. The role of civil society and the press is vital in lobbying for better laws and law-enforcement, highlighting corruption, reshaping attitudes and reversing public apathy toward corruption.
Afghan soldiers, police just aren't up to the job
The Taliban's brazen assault on the luxury Serena Hotel in the heart of Kabul on Jan. 14 could signal a disturbing new turn in the Afghan war.
Democratic campaign: America at its best
Barring a truly spectacular upset, regardless of what happens from now on, the Democratic Party will have either a black or a woman as its presidential candidate.