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November 22, 2024
 

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Cesar Chelala

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Cesar Chelala
Cesar Chelala, MD, PhD, is an international public health consultant for several UN agencies, and a writer on human rights, medical and foreign policy issues. He is a winner of an Overseas Press Club of America Award. His articles have been published in more than 70 countries worldwide.
COMMENTARY
May 28, 2009
Words alone won't end torture
"We are going to smash your hands to pulp like the Chileans did to Victor Jara." Those were the words of the torturers in a Uruguayan prison spoken to my friend Miguel Angel Estrella, a pianist from Argentina. They were referring to the fate of the imprisoned Chilean singer and guitarist Victor Jara,...
COMMENTARY
May 26, 2009
Nuremberg set a valid precedent for trials of war-crime suspects in Iraq's destruction
NEW YORK — The Nuremberg Principles, a set of guidelines established after World War II to try Nazi Party members, were developed to determine what constitutes a war crime. The principles can also be applied today when considering the conditions that led to the Iraq war and, in the process, to the...
COMMENTARY
May 11, 2009
French role in the export of torture practices
NEW YORK — Developing countries are routinely blamed for using brutal techniques on prisoners. The same condemnation should be extended to industrialized countries that not only used these techniques themselves but also exported them to other countries.
COMMENTARY
Apr 23, 2009
No place for doctors who torture
Physicians and other medical personnel were involved in the abusive interrogation of terrorists suspects held overseas by the CIA, according to a secret report by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The report was obtained by journalist Mark Danner, who has written extensively about...
COMMENTARY
Apr 14, 2009
Pakistan: building peace by building schools
You can try to force peace through military might — and you are bound to fail — or you can build peace through education. That seems to be the main lesson behind Greg Mortenson's life and work. Thanks to his efforts, 78 schools have been built in Pakistan and thousands of children have been educated,...
COMMENTARY
Mar 22, 2009
Legacy of a 'disappeared' family in Argentina
Politics can have a devastating effect on a country and its people, as I discovered during a recent trip to Argentina.
COMMENTARY
Mar 17, 2009
Golan Heights, Shebaa Farms could unlock peace process for Israel, Syria and Lebanon
NEW YORK — Any rapprochement between Israel and the Palestinians beyond a temporary ceasefire seems rather improbable at the moment. However, the Golan Heights' and Shebaa Farms' territories contested between Israel, Syria and Lebanon could spearhead a peace process in the Middle East now actively...
COMMENTARY
Feb 17, 2009
Rumsfeld prosecution could set precedent
NEW YORK — There is now enough evidence to try former U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld for war crimes, Manfred Nowak, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture, recently told "Frontal 21," a German television program.
COMMENTARY
Jan 26, 2009
Recalling the one who mixed politics, poetry
NEW YORK — At a time when we plainly see the negative effects of politics and greed in the life of nations, it is important to remember Pablo Neruda, a Chilean writer whom Gabriel Garcia Marquez called "the greatest poet of the 20th century — in any language." He was an artist who knew very well...
COMMENTARY
Jan 13, 2009
A good time to improve the United Nations
NEW YORK — In recent years the United Nations has become a target of criticism, particularly in the United States, even as the failure of the U.S. to pay its dues to the organization has considerably hindered its work and reduced its effectiveness. The election of a new American president provides...
COMMENTARY
Dec 26, 2008
Doctors held for talking with the 'enemy'
NEW YORK — Cyrus the Great, the first Achaemenid emperor and founder of Persia, would be ashamed of the actions of the Iranian government with regard to the uncalled for detention in June of two Iranian doctors, who are experts on AIDS. The flagrant abuse of their basic human rights would have been...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 16, 2008
Lessons from the tainted life of Guantanamo
NEW YORK — President-elect Barack Obama's promise to close the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, will go a long way toward ending one of the most shameful episodes in U.S. legal history.
COMMENTARY
Dec 9, 2008
America's chance to change course on Cuba
NEW YORK — The new political landscape in Washington and Havana offers a chance to change a foreign policy decision that has caused considerable, and unnecessary, suffering for almost half a century — the U.S. embargo against Cuba.
COMMENTARY
Nov 18, 2008
Health as a bridge to Middle East peace
NEW YORK — For more than two decades several projects have been carried out between conflicting sides in several regions around the world that have improved public health as a common denominator in the search for peace.
COMMENTARY
Nov 8, 2008
Domestic health-care issues to test Obama
The election of Barack Hussein Obama as U.S. president represents hope for the kind of transformational politics that can lead to a better, more secure world. It also suggests an end to the politics of divisiveness and a turn toward a political system more attuned to the needs of what both candidates...
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 4, 2008
Ukraine's reversal of fortunes in health care
NEW YORK — Once called the breadbasket of the Soviet Union because of its rich soil and favorable climate, Ukraine is now experiencing a rapid increase in cases of tuberculosis (TB), a disease often associated with poor living conditions.
COMMENTARY
Oct 21, 2008
Deterioration of public health in Zimbabwe
NEW YORK — Zimbabwe is a problematic state. Once the breadbasket of Africa, the country's population is now suffering the consequences of government policies that have seriously harmed their health and quality of life.
COMMENTARY
Oct 1, 2008
The Middle East quartet's failing mission
The creation in 2002 of the Quartet on the Middle East, comprising the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations, raised hopes for its critical contribution to the peace process in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A report released on Sept. 25, "The Middle East Quartet: A Progress...
COMMENTARY
Sep 6, 2008
Israel should abide by U.N. Resolution 1701
Claudio Graziano, commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) recently stated that Israel is violating the tenets of U.N. Resolution 1701 by flying over Lebanon, refusing to help remove unexploded cluster bombs fired during the second Lebanon war of July-August of 2006, and failing...
COMMENTARY
Aug 15, 2008
Ways of beating malaria without using DDT
NEW YORK — Malaria continues to be endemic in the developing world, causing more than 1 million deaths every year, mostly among children living in Sub-Saharan countries.
Two of America’s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington. Investors in Japan and China sold a pile of U.S. debt in the last quarter, just before the U.S. presidential election.
Russia launched intercontinental ballistic missile during attack on Ukraine, Kyiv says
A Yars intercontinental ballistic missile is launched during a test from the Plesetsk cosmodrome in Northern Arkhangelsk region of Russia, in this still image captured from video released on Oct. 29.
Ishiba aggravates his own political failures with diplomatic faux pas
Prime Minster Shigeru Ishiba is greeted at the APEC summit in Lima by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday. The Japanese leader was criticized for remaining seated while meeting several world leaders at the event.
Japan's 3.31 million visitors in October set monthly record
Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in December 2023. Famous autumn leaf colors contributed to increased tourism demand last month from many markets across Asia, Europe and North America, the Japan National Tourism Organization has said.
Japan ranks last in romance satisfaction for second straight year
In a survey of 31 countries, Japan ranked last in terms of those who felt loved, with just 51% of respondents saying so.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.
Haruki Murakami's 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' gives deep deja vu
For “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” translated into English by Philip Gabriel, Haruki Murakami confronts the ghosts who won't leave him alone.
Japanese expats in Asia find community through rugby
The Taiwan Fivewoods celebrate their victory at the 2023 Asian Japanese Rugby Cup in December of last year.
In Fukushima, a weekend of prose, poetry and translation
Aomori-based writer JJ Carter presented on tabletop gaming as creative inspiration for building characters and narratives.
For Dr. Nakamats, aging is just experience in action
Though he didn't win the recent gubernatorial election in Tokyo, the 96-year-old Dr. Nakamats' run was seen as inspirational in Japan's aging society.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?
By Kathryn Wortley

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