Category Archives: News

Marking the 36th anniversary of the attack on Sardasht

The Sardasht chemical attack is one of the most devastating uses of chemical weapons in the Middle East. On June 28, 1987, the Iraqi Air Force conducted an aerial bombardment on the town of Sardasht, located in northwest Iran. The attack involved the use of chemical weapons, specifically mustard gas and nerve agents. The attackContinue reading “Marking the 36th anniversary of the attack on Sardasht”

Analysis: The eyes of the world on Egypt for COP27

Egypt will be hosting the upcoming COP27 Conference in Sharm El Sheikh from 6 November – 18 November 2022. Egypt has been consistently taking action to establish itself as a proponent of climate change action and has attained status as a Green Economy Flagship country. It has been implementing measures to combat air pollution, aContinue reading “Analysis: The eyes of the world on Egypt for COP27”

At the NPT, the Middle East has something to teach everyone

On Tuesday August 9th, METO hosted a side event at the 2022 NPT Tenth Review Conference in association with the Irish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the New York office of the German-funded, Rosa Luxemburg Foundation. The Conference, after having been delayed for the last two years due to COVID-19, lasted from August 1st-August 26thContinue reading “At the NPT, the Middle East has something to teach everyone”

The Hills are Alive with the Sound of… Nuclear Ban Week!

With apologies for the allusion to Julie Andrews singing about the hills of the Austrian Alps, Vienna (rather than Salzburg) will be METO’s de facto home for one week in June, where we will converge with civil society activists, diplomats, government representatives and many other stakeholders from all over the world in the campaign toContinue reading “The Hills are Alive with the Sound of… Nuclear Ban Week!”

The war in Ukraine: Repercussions in the World and in the Middle East

On Wednesday, April 13, METO together with our friends at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP) organized a webinar on the above topic with four speakers with connections to the region: Dr Ali Fathollah-Nejad (Iran/Germany), Associate Fellow at the American University of Beirut; Amb. Lina Arafat (Jordan), METO; Amb. Karim Haggag (Egypt), Professor atContinue reading “The war in Ukraine: Repercussions in the World and in the Middle East”

Consequences of chemical weapons still felt by victims 34 years after the attack on Halabja, Northern Iraq

The 16th of March 2022 marks the 34th anniversary of the despicable attack on Halabja by the forces of Saddam Hussain on the Kurdish population of Northern Iraq. The population was targeted with what experts later concluded to be “a lethal cocktail of mustard gas, and the nerve agents Tabun, Sarin and VX.” Mustard gasContinue reading “Consequences of chemical weapons still felt by victims 34 years after the attack on Halabja, Northern Iraq”

METO at St Andrew’s University

On February 16th, METO and the University of St. Andrews Foreign Affairs Society hosted a roadshow discussion on the future of Weapons of Mass Destruction in Global Politics. Emad Kiyaei joined via Zoom to talk to many St. Andrews students interested in futures in diplomacy and disarmament. Britt Gronemeyer, a member of METO’s university networkContinue reading “METO at St Andrew’s University”

Reorienting Western perspectives on WMD disarmament in the Middle East

On the 12th of February, METO and Influencing Corridors of Power (ICOP) co-hosted a hybrid event ‘Reorienting Western perspectives on WMD disarmament in the Middle East’, which took place at SOAS University of London. The event was moderated by Alice Filiberto and Zemal Sheerani, who are both members of METO University Network, and introduced byContinue reading “Reorienting Western perspectives on WMD disarmament in the Middle East”