digital cooperation and connectivity Courtesy: United Nations TV
29 April 2021

Making digitalization a public good

BY

On 27th April, the President of the UN General Assembly convened a one-day High-Level Thematic Debate on Digital Cooperation and Connectivity, bringing together the international community to commit to a common digital future for all and leave no one offline – especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Manjeet Kripalani, Executive Director of Gateway House, was invited to deliver the Keynote Address in the Opening Plenary session, held virtually in the UN Assembly Hall. Her speech on digitalization as a public good, is below.

food sedurity Courtesy: Rigues/Flickr
8 November 2013

Food security and WTO

BY

A recent UN report praises governments for promoting the right to food. At the same time, India’s Food Security Act will encounter resistance at the WTO meeting in Bali in December. Can India play an exemplary role in the global power struggle over food security?

dilma Courtesy: Ministério da Saúde/Flickr
17 October 2013

Brazil’s new global agenda for the internet

BY

After revelations that the U.S.’s NSA spied on her, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has ordered a series of measures to ensure online independence and called for an equitable global internet infrastructure. India can follow Brazil’s lead and make its communication systems less vulnerable

UNGA piece Courtesy: Patrick Gruban/WikimediaCommons
5 October 2012

UN General Assembly, partial attention

BY

Is a focus on a nuclear Iran in international forums such as the UN General Assembly necessary and appropriate? At a time when other crises – including Syria and Palestine – require the world’s undivided attention, this inordinate focus raises major concerns.

r2p Courtesy: UN Photo/Paul Banks
6 December 2011

Reconsidering R2P, post-Libya

BY

After the crass misuse of Responsibility to Protect (R2P) in Libya, the broader question is: where is R2P headed? Do the events in Libya herald a more explicit assertion of this doctrine in other parts of the world? And should India rethink its viewpoint towards this ambiguous doctrine?

reasserting Courtesy: PMO
26 September 2011

Reasserting India’s independence

BY

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s speech at the UN General Assembly has put Indian perceptions on the record and clearly outlined India’s independent foreign policy. India came out unequivocally in support of the Palestinian struggle & reiterated its traditional stance of respecting countries’ sovereignty.

mahmoud abbas and obama Courtesy: www.whitehouse.gov/WikimediaCommons
26 September 2011

Obama loses high ground on Middle East

BY

Repeated applause greeted Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' speech to the UN General Assembly, asking for support for the “establishment of Palestine.” But with the U.S. backing Israel, under almost all circumstances, will Abbas' proposal be able to bring about any change?

Wikimedia Commons Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
20 September 2010

Crisis of Relevance at the UN

BY Bernard Gwertzman

With the commencement of the sixty-fifth annual UN General Assembly, Stewart Patrick, CFR‘s UN specialist, says there is “increased sentiment in the UN General Assembly and also within the UN Secretariat that there is really a crisis of relevance to the world body and the organization.”