OPINION

If your eyes roll at international gatherings like the G20 foreign ministers’ summit this week in Bonn or the Security Conference I’ll be attending this weekend in Munich, let me confess, mine used to as well. But after nearly two decades of harassing and attending such gatherings, I’ve discovered the dirty little secret of these events is they’re often not …

Nelly Sarpong, Berlin-based Ghanaian-born writer, bemoans human trafficking and what we as individuals can do to combat this modern-day slavery. Imagine going to a supermarket and seeing human beings on the stands with barcodes on them, being sold and resold as commodities. Imagine human beings being auctioned to the highest bidder. Imagine human beings as puppets being at the mercy …

Under US pressure, the UN refuses to lift an embargo against the tiny nation of Eritrea, while ignoring constant aggressions by its huge neighbour, Ethiopia, writes Dr Fikrejesus Amahazion. The UN has abrogated its responsibility to uphold international law – and, instead, coddles Washington’s military ally, he argues. During one of his debates with Socrates, Thrasymachus alleges that “justice is …

Governments face complex challenges in maintaining peace and security and at the same time preserving constitutional values, writes Henry Anozie and he suggests what has to be done to fight the war on terror successfully. The series of violent attacks – from the shooting in the Munich shopping mall to the suicide attack in Ansbach – within a week in …

Frankfurt-based published author and musician Che Chidi Chukwumerije writes on what it means to be German even when your roots are thousands of kilometres away. “Being German is more than being a colour. It is being a type. It is being a part-bearer of Germany and Germany’s future within you,” he says. Being German is more than being white – …