Il Nuovo Testamento Greco-Latino-Italiano – Conferenza Episcopale Italiana, Roma, 2020

On the same day of the United Nations International Translation Day, the 30th of September 2020, Il Nuovo Testamento Greco-Latino-Italiano was published by the Italian Catholic Bishops’ Conference (CEI), a date chosen by the United Nations in honor of St. Jerome. The publication of the NTGLI presents two specific innovations: 1. at a ‘textual’ level for the most recent editions of the New Testament used (The Greek New Testament-5th Revised edition; Nova Vulgata, Bibliorum Sacrorum Editio, Editio typica altera; La Sacra Bibbia - Versione ufficiale della Conferenza Episcopale Italiana) and 2. at a ‘cultural’ level for the cooperation among different Christian confessions in Bible translating. In 1988 the Conferenza Episcopale Italiana initiated an extensive and in-depth revision of the CEI1971-74 Bible based on the most recent critical editions of the original Hebrew and Greek texts. The new CEI Bible was published in 2008. Created for the liturgical use, with its 1971-74 edition the CEI Bible became the reference text, almost a new Vulgata. The NTGLI is a strategic tool for future translations of the New Testament in the 4,000 languages without a Bible translation, also aiming to contribute to the affirmation of peace for humanity, as stated in the United Nations Charter: “United Nations Charter, Chapter I, Purposes and Principles, Article 1: The Purposes of the United Nations are: To maintain international peace and security...[and] to develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples…”

Cash Transfer Programmes in Pakistan through a Child Well-Being Lens

This paper analyses data from a qualitative study undertaken with children and their families in two cash transfer programmes (CTPs) in Pakistan. Using a three-dimensional child well-being model that distinguishes material, relational and subjective dimensions, it argues that CTPs have helped extremely poor families sustain their basic dietary needs and marginally increase their health spending. Additional conditional payments have led to increased primary school enrolments, but CTPs have failed to address the distinctive vulnerabilities of children, including their nutritional needs, relational well-being and social status. A more holistic and child-sensitive approach to social protection would be the way forward to improve child well-being in line with the United Nations Charter on Rights of Children (UNCRC) to which Pakistan is a signatory.

The international court of justice at the crossroad between law and politics the example of the caselaw on nuclear weapons

The International Court of Justice is identified by Article 92 of the United Nations Charter as the “principal judicial organ of the United Nations”. This definition has consecrated the International Court of Justice as the World Court, as the guardian of the application of international law. Is this picture still actual? Is the International Court of Justice currently performing a guardian role? What does it happen when highly politically sensitive issues, like nuclear proliferation and nuclear disarmament, arrive before this Court? To address these questions, this work will analyse the case-law of the International Court of Justice on nuclear weapons. Retracing the jurisprudence of this Court on this issue will shade a light on many characteristics of the World Court and its members, questioning its concrete role in the present international arena.

1. Evolution of diplomacy

‘The evolution of dimplomacy’ looks briefly at the evolution of modern diplomacy, focusing on diplomats and what they do, paying attention to the art of treaty-making. A case can be made that treaties of international peace and cooperation comprise nothing less than the diplomatic landscape of human history, from the benchmark European treaties of the Congress of Vienna (1815), Brest-Litovsk (1918), and Versailles (1919) to the milestone events such as the Covenant of the League of Nations (1919), the United Nations Charter (1948), and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (1949).

The Significance of SAARC in the South Asia Region: A Theoretical Study

This article has investigated whether the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is significant in the South Asia region of Asia continent in the world or not. The SAARC was established on 8th December 1985. It is the regional intergovernmental organization and geopolitical union of states in South Asia. The present SAARC comprises of 8 member states such as Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. It is an economic and political organization in this region. The SAARC countries are of different sizes both geographically as well as population wise and have different resource endowments. With its population, economy and area wise, India is the largest country in the SAARC region. The basic driving force behind an establishment of the SAARC was the desire of the contracting parties for promoting peace, stability, amity and progress in the region through strict adherence to the principles of an United Nations charter and Non-Alignment. The last 19th SAARC summit scheduled was supposed to be held at Islamabad in November 2016, but this was postponed after the terrorist attack at Uri in India. After this incident, the 19th SAARC summit was not held so far.

Teaching Literature in Schools for Democratic Citizenship

Education is a human right and benefits both the individual and the whole society. Education that encourages debate and discussion and acknowledges complexity and ambiguity is essential for people to develop a respect for others and for democracy—that is, to participate as citizens. This concept is encapsulated in the United Nations Charter of Human Rights. The humanities and the creative arts are important curriculum areas that can encompass diversity and complexity and support the development of a necessary critical disposition. Study in these areas helps to create people who are at home in a culture in which openness to others and criticality in receiving ideas are paramount. Literature plays a key role in attaining these curriculum aims.

Part V Global and Regional Security Mechanisms, Ch.58 The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe

This chapter details how, for several decades, the normative framework for European security has been based on the principles and commitments of the Helsinki Final Act. The Helsinki principles and commitments, the result of more than two years of almost unbroken diplomatic negotiations, became the basis for guiding mutual relations amongst the participating States during the Cold War and helped to smooth the process of post-Communist transition. They remain relevant today as the fifty-seven participating States of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) look to return to a rules-based system in order to enhance predictability, trust, and stability. The chapter looks at how OSCE principles and commitments have contributed to promoting security and cooperation in Europe. It explores how a political body, and the norms articulated by its participating States, fit into the framework of international law, and influence or are driven by it. Moreover, the chapter considers the impact that the unclear legal status of the OSCE has, particularly on operational activities. It analyses the OSCE as a political arrangement, its legal context, its structures, the status of its international legal personality and its impact, the OSCE as a regional arrangement under the United Nations Charter, and the various dimensions of the OSCE’s work.

Part II Predominant Security Challenges and International Law, International Security, Ch.17 International Disarmament and Arms Control: In the Middle of a Paradigm Shift?

This chapter discusses disarmament and arms control, which were envisaged as an integral part of the collective security system set out in the United Nations Charter. Whereas disarmament is related to the reduction (or even the total abolition) of a category of weapons, arms control was developed in the context of nuclear deterrence. Given that the goal of arms control conventions was the stabilization of the security environment, such agreements usually included measures such as mutually agreed limitations on certain armaments or freezing their number at a given level. International law on disarmament and arms control is in essence treaty law: hence, the chapter identifies the distinctive features of the existing legal framework. In the post-Cold War era, the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention has represented the most successful model for subsequent treaties. The chapter then focuses on current developments in both international politics and military technology and their impact on international security and arms control efforts.

Part IV Power Politics, International Law, and Global Security, Ch.50 The Russian Federation

This chapter details Russia’s official position with respect to international security. In Russia, the term ‘international security’ applies primarily to international security in its military and political dimensions, including the use of force in self-defence or in pursuit of an international mandate, as well as arms control and non-proliferation. Recent developments, reflective of Russia’s assertive approach to its military instrument as means of maintaining security along its periphery, include the reinstated military presence in Abkhazia and South Ossetia following their separation from Georgia, and the reinstatement of Russia’s jurisdiction over Crimea. The latter was achieved, by and large, without violence, and with a local drive to secede from Ukraine backed by the Russian military presence. Other recent developments include Russia’s military support for the Government of Syria as part of international counter-terrorism efforts. It is fair to say that other facets, such as human rights, sustainable development, and environmental protection, to name a few, are also acknowledged. These, however, are more likely to be viewed as autonomous spheres of regulation, adjacent to, and intertwined with, international security. Whatever the scope and embrace of international security, according to Russia’s official position, it hinges on the rule of international law and its supremacy, drawn from the United Nations Charter.