Category Archives: global

Chinese proposal of principles for a peace settlement of the Ukraine War and reactions around the world

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

A press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Peoples Republic of China

(Editor’s note: Here is the proposal of principles for a peace settlement of the Ukraine War as published by the Chinese government, presented by the Chinese President Xi to Russian President Putin during his recent visit, and scheduled to be presented virtually by him to Ukraine President Zelensky. While it lists the principles needed, it does not consider whether Russia must give back some of the territories it has seized during the war.)

China’s Position on the Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis
2023-02-24 09:00

1. Respecting the sovereignty of all countries. Universally recognized international law, including the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter, must be strictly observed. The sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all countries must be effectively upheld. All countries, big or small, strong or weak, rich or poor, are equal members of the international community. All parties should jointly uphold the basic norms governing international relations and defend international fairness and justice. Equal and uniform application of international law should be promoted, while double standards must be rejected. 

2. Abandoning the Cold War mentality. The security of a country should not be pursued at the expense of others. The security of a region should not be achieved by strengthening or expanding military blocs. The legitimate security interests and concerns of all countries must be taken seriously and addressed properly. There is no simple solution to a complex issue. All parties should, following the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security and bearing in mind the long-term peace and stability of the world, help forge a balanced, effective and sustainable European security architecture. All parties should oppose the pursuit of one’s own security at the cost of others’ security, prevent bloc confrontation, and work together for peace and stability on the Eurasian Continent.

3. Ceasing hostilities. Conflict and war benefit no one. All parties must stay rational and exercise restraint, avoid fanning the flames and aggravating tensions, and prevent the crisis from deteriorating further or even spiraling out of control. All parties should support Russia and Ukraine in working in the same direction and resuming direct dialogue as quickly as possible, so as to gradually deescalate the situation and ultimately reach a comprehensive ceasefire. 

4. Resuming peace talks. Dialogue and negotiation are the only viable solution to the Ukraine crisis. All efforts conducive to the peaceful settlement of the crisis must be encouraged and supported. The international community should stay committed to the right approach of promoting talks for peace, help parties to the conflict open the door to a political settlement as soon as possible, and create conditions and platforms for the resumption of negotiation. China will continue to play a constructive role in this regard. 

5. Resolving the humanitarian crisis. All measures conducive to easing the humanitarian crisis must be encouraged and supported. Humanitarian operations should follow the principles of neutrality and impartiality, and humanitarian issues should not be politicized. The safety of civilians must be effectively protected, and humanitarian corridors should be set up for the evacuation of civilians from conflict zones. Efforts are needed to increase humanitarian assistance to relevant areas, improve humanitarian conditions, and provide rapid, safe and unimpeded humanitarian access, with a view to preventing a humanitarian crisis on a larger scale. The UN should be supported in playing a coordinating role in channeling humanitarian aid to conflict zones.

6. Protecting civilians and prisoners of war (POWs). Parties to the conflict should strictly abide by international humanitarian law, avoid attacking civilians or civilian facilities, protect women, children and other victims of the conflict, and respect the basic rights of POWs. China supports the exchange of POWs between Russia and Ukraine, and calls on all parties to create more favorable conditions for this purpose.

7. Keeping nuclear power plants safe. China opposes armed attacks against nuclear power plants or other peaceful nuclear facilities, and calls on all parties to comply with international law including the Convention on Nuclear Safety (CNS) and resolutely avoid man-made nuclear accidents. China supports the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in playing a constructive role in promoting the safety and security of peaceful nuclear facilities.

8. Reducing strategic risks. Nuclear weapons must not be used and nuclear wars must not be fought. The threat or use of nuclear weapons should be opposed. Nuclear proliferation must be prevented and nuclear crisis avoided. China opposes the research, development and use of chemical and biological weapons by any country under any circumstances.

9. Facilitating grain exports. All parties need to implement the Black Sea Grain Initiative signed by Russia, Türkiye, Ukraine and the UN fully and effectively in a balanced manner, and support the UN in playing an important role in this regard. The cooperation initiative on global food security proposed by China provides a feasible solution to the global food crisis.

10. Stopping unilateral sanctions. Unilateral sanctions and maximum pressure cannot solve the issue; they only create new problems. China opposes unilateral sanctions unauthorized by the UN Security Council. Relevant countries should stop abusing unilateral sanctions and “long-arm jurisdiction” against other countries, so as to do their share in deescalating the Ukraine crisis and create conditions for developing countries to grow their economies and better the lives of their people.

11. Keeping industrial and supply chains stable. All parties should earnestly maintain the existing world economic system and oppose using the world economy as a tool or weapon for political purposes. Joint efforts are needed to mitigate the spillovers of the crisis and prevent it from disrupting international cooperation in energy, finance, food trade and transportation and undermining the global economic recovery.

12. Promoting post-conflict reconstruction. The international community needs to take measures to support post-conflict reconstruction in conflict zones. China stands ready to provide assistance and play a constructive role in this endeavor.

Questions related to this article:
 
Can the peace movement help stop the war in the Ukraine?

Does China promote a culture of peace?

Reactions around the world

As expected and widely reported, the Chinese proposal was welcomed by Russia and Belarus and rejected by the United States and its NATO allies.

But what about the rest of the world.

The proposal was officially welcomed and supported by President Orban of Hungary and by the Minister of International Relations of South Africa. The support by Hungary was reported as headline news in Cuba and Niger. The South African support was echoed in columns published by the South African news sites Business Live and SABC news.

Writing from Brazzaville, Congo, the journal Adiac reported the remarks of the Chinese ambassador to that country by headlining “China offers ways out of the crisis in Ukraine.”

Many media around the world criticised the fact that the Chinese proposal failed to demand the return of regions seized by Russia, including Arab News published in Saudi Arabia, Jornada of Mexico and Utusan Malaya .

On the other hand, the Mexican commentator Javier Jiménez Olmos welcomed the proposal, saying that the return of regions seized by Russia is implied by the proposal’s recognition of Ukrainian sovereignty and its territorial integrity.

Other media simply said that the plan has no chance of success unless the Americans and NATO change their opposition, for example the Emirates Center for Policies and commentator Jamil Matar from Egypt.

In this regard, the editorial of the Business Standard of Bangladesh said that the American refusal shows that “America is losing influence and prestige globally” and Ahmed Al-Hiyari, writing from Jordan, said, All the items that China put forward in its paper have already been adopted by the Americans and Europeans through their positions towards the war in Ukraine, whether it is respect for the sovereignty of all countries and that all countries are equal, regardless of their size, strength or wealth, or abandoning the imposition of unilateral sanctions and renouncing the Cold War mentality, and stopping Fighting and conflict. . . . Nevertheless, the Americans and Europeans hastened to say that it did not amount to a plan, and at another time by questioning it. . . .The red line is that China is forbidden to succeed in Ukraine.

The Libyan media Tawasul headlined the remarks by the deputy spokesman for the United Nations Secretary-General, Farhan Haq, who said: “It is too early for the international organization to evaluate the Chinese peace proposal to end the war in Ukraine. We will need more details on the proposal in the first place.”

Some voices were more critical of the Chinese proposal.

Writing from India, Ranjit Kumar of the Navbgarat Times said that “The 12-point proposal put forward by China is heavily tilted in favor of Russia. . . Ukraine cannot accept China’s peace offer because the Russian army’s advance will turn into the Russia-Ukraine border if the ceasefire comes into force.

And writing from Indonesia, the news agency Inilah quotes the India-based EurAsian Times that the Chinese plan contradicts their own policy towards Taiwan, since the Chinese do not respect their sovereignty and have imposed sanctions against them.

East Asia, FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, global,

New report of Inter-Parliamentary Union shows that women MPs have never been so diverse

.. DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION ..

A press release from the Inter-Parliamentary Union

According to the latest IPU report, Women in Parliament 2022, women’s participation in parliament has never been as diverse and representative as it is in many countries today. And for the first time in history, not a single functioning parliament in the world is male-only. 


Celia Xakriaba, a climate activist, is one of 4 indigenous women to be elected to the Brazilian Parliament. Photo from Wiki Commons.

The findings in the annual IPU report are based on the 47 countries that held elections in 2022. In those elections, women took an average 25.8% of seats up for election or appointment. This represents a 2.3 percentage point increase compared to previous renewals in these chambers.

Brazil saw a record 4,829 women who identify as black running for election (out of 26,778 candidates); in the USA, a record number of women of colour (263) stood in the midterm elections; LGBTQI+ representation in Colombia tripled from two to six members of the Congress; and in France, 32 candidates from minority backgrounds were elected to the new National Assembly, an all-time high of 5.8% of the total.  

Other positive trends include technological and operational transformations, largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which have increased the potential for parliaments to become more gender-sensitive and family-friendly. The influence of gender issues on election outcomes, with increased awareness of discrimination and gender-based violence, as well as alliances with other social movements, also helped drive strong results for women in some of the parliamentary elections.

However, overall progress towards global gender equality remains painfully slow: the global share of women in parliaments stood at 26.5% on 1 January 2023, a year-on-year increase of only 0.4 percentage points, the slowest growth in six years.

Mixed regional findings

Overall, six countries now have gender parity (or a greater share of women than men) in their lower or single chamber as of 1 January 2023. New Zealand joined last year’s club of five consisting of Cuba, Mexico, Nicaragua, Rwanda and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), at the top of the IPU’s authoritative global ranking of women in parliament.

Other notable gains in women’s representation were recorded in Australia (the strongest outcome of the year with a record 56.6% of seats won by women in the Senate), Colombia, Equatorial Guinea, Malta and Slovenia.

High stakes elections in Angola, Kenya and Senegal all saw positive strides for women. Wide divides characterized results in Asia: record numbers of women were elected to the historically male-dominated Senate in Japan but in India, elections to the upper chamber led to women occupying only 15.1% of seats, well below the global and regional averages.

The Pacific saw the highest growth rate in women’s representation out of all the regions, gaining 1.7 percentage points to reach an overall average of 22.6% women in parliament. Every Pacific parliament now has at least one woman legislator.

In the 15 European chambers that were renewed in 2022, there was little shift in women’s representation, stagnating at 31%.

(continued in right column)

Questions for this article:

How can parliamentarians promote a culture of peace?

Prospects for progress in women’s equality, what are the short and long term prospects?

(continued from left column)

In the Middle East and North Africa region, seven chambers were renewed in 2022. On average, women were elected to 16.3% of the seats in these chambers, the lowest regional percentage in the world for elections held in the year. Three countries were below 10%: Algeria (upper chamber: 4.3%), Kuwait (6.3%) and Lebanon (6.3%).

Bahrain is an outlier in the region with a record eight women elected to the lower chamber, including many first-time lawmakers. 73 women ran for election to the lower chamber (out of a total of 330 candidates) compared with the 41 women who ran in the last election in 2018. Ten women were also appointed to the 40-member upper chamber.

Quotas work

Legislated quotas were again a decisive factor in the increases seen in women’s representation. Legislated quotas enshrined in the constitution and/or electoral laws require that a minimum number of candidates are women (or of the under-represented sex). Chambers with legislated quotas or combined with voluntary party quotas produced a significantly higher share of women than those without in the 2022 elections (30.9% versus 21.2%).

Women’s leadership on climate change

Women in Parliament 2022 gives several examples of female climate leadership including Prime Minister Sanna Marin of Finland, who has pushed for net zero by 2035, and Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados, who is aiming to phase out fossil fuels by 2030.

At COP27, the UN Climate Change Conference, Senator Sherry Rehman, the Minister of Climate Change in Pakistan, was one of the prominent advocates which led to the successful establishment of a loss and damage fund to support poorer countries who are greatly affected by climate change. However, despite this leadership, women continue to be under-represented in decision-making positions on climate. For example, women accounted for less than 34% of country negotiating teams and only 7 out of 110 Heads of State present at COP27.
 
Quotes from IPU leadership

Lesia Vasylenko, President of the IPU Bureau of Women MPs.

“Every woman who is elected brings parliaments one step closer to becoming more inclusive and representative. And it’s great to see much more diversity this year in many elections around the world. But overall progress is far too slow, with half the world’s populations still vastly under-represented. There is an urgent need to change this to strengthen democracy everywhere.”

Duarte Pacheco, IPU President

“The only way to make real progress toward achieving gender equality in parliaments is to share the responsibility between men and women. I call on my male colleagues in every parliament in the world to work with their female counterparts to move forward and accelerate the pace of change.”

Martin Chungong, IPU Secretary General

“Our research shows that there are still too many barriers preventing women from entering parliament or indeed forcing them to leave politics, as we have seen recently. We have the data, tools and solutions to make gender equality a reality by, for example, making parliaments gender-sensitive and free of sexism, harassment and violence. What we now need is the political will at the highest level to make it happen.”

***

The IPU is the global organization of national parliaments. It was founded more than 133 years ago as the first multilateral political organization in the world, encouraging cooperation and dialogue between all nations. Today, the IPU comprises 178 national Member Parliaments and 14 regional parliamentary bodies. It promotes democracy and helps parliaments become stronger, younger, gender-balanced and more representative. It also defends the human rights of parliamentarians through a dedicated committee made up of MPs from around the world.

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, global, WOMEN'S EQUALITY

United Nations: CSW67 Opening statement: Digital rights are women’s rights

. . WOMEN’S EQUALITY . .

Opening statement to the Commission on the Status of Women at its 67th session, by Ms. Sima Bahous, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women

A new kind of poverty now confronts the world, one that excludes women and girls in devastating ways—that of digital poverty.   

The digital divide has become the new face of gender inequality, which is being compounded by the pushback against women and girls that we see in the world today.    


Ms. Sima Bahous, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women, delivers her opening statement to the 67th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women in the General Assembly Hall at United Nations Headquarters in New York, 6 March 2023. Photo: UN Women/Ryan Brown

That is why the work of this 67th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) could not be more timely nor more critical.   

We meet to do what this Commission does best: develop norms and standards for an urgent issue of significant importance that offers both opportunity and challenge.  

The CSW mandate is exemplified in the priority theme of this year’s Commission. 
  
The digital revolution presents unprecedented opportunities for women and girls.  At the very same time, it has also given rise to profound new challenges, compounding gender inequalities in severe ways.   

The Secretary-General’s report is unambiguous. We will not achieve gender equality without closing the digital gap. 
 
The data are sobering.  Women are 18 per cent less likely than men to own a smartphone, and far less likely to access or use the Internet.  This past year alone, 259 million more men than women were online. Only 28 per cent of engineering graduates and 22 per cent of artificial intelligence workers globally are women, despite girls matching boys’ performance in science and technology subjects across many countries.
   
In the technology sector globally, women not only occupy fewer positions, but they also face a gender pay gap of 21 per cent.  Nearly half of all women working in technology have faced workplace harassment. 

The gap in access to digital tools and opportunity is widest where women and girls are often most vulnerable. This gap disproportionately affects women and girls with low literacy or low income, those living in rural or remote areas, migrants, women with disabilities, and older women.  It jeopardizes our promise to leave no one behind. 
    
These differences have serious consequences for women and girls.   

The digital divide can limit women’s access to life-saving information, mobile money products, agricultural extension, or online public services.  In turn, this fundamentally influences whether a woman completes her education, owns her own bank account, makes informed decisions about her body, feeds her family, or gains productive employment. 
  
At its heart, the digital gap is pervasive because technology is pervasive in all aspects of our modern lives. 
  
We must also squarely face the threats to the safety and well-being of girls that technology can present when abused.  Even where they enjoy access to digital tools and services, discrimination has taken a foothold and continues to find new ways to deny them their rights. 
  
Research has shown that 80 per cent of children in 25 countries reported feeling in danger of sexual abuse and exploitation when online, with adolescent girls the most vulnerable. 

A survey of women journalists from 125 countries found that three-quarters had experienced online violence in the course of their work and a third had self-censored in response. 

Afghan women who spoke out through YouTube and blogging had their doors marked by the Taliban, with many fleeing their country for safety.  
 
In Iran, and as noted in the Secretary General´s report on the situation of human rights there, many women and girls continue to be targeted because of their participation in online campaigns.  
 
We continue to see radical groups and some governments use social media to target women, particularly women human rights defenders.  

Women’s rights activists cannot play their role in advancing equality if they fear reprisals.  They become, in effect, invisible.   

This is the new, digital repression and oppression. We stand in full solidarity with women and girls subjected to repression and oppression worldwide. 

The reality is that those forces and actors who would deny women and girls their rights are as adaptable as they are evil. 
  
So, we must adapt faster and more effectively than they do, with stronger responses, protections and ultimately, greater resolve.  
 
Technology and innovation are indeed enablers.  What they enable is up to us. 

At the same time, the digital revolution offers the potential for unprecedented improvement in the lives of women and girls.  We must not spurn it. 

Research by UN Women and DESA shows that global progress towards the SDG targets has become more precarious than ever.   

We live in a world of poly-crises that make progress ever more uneven including in the digital space, creating new and unique barriers for women and girls.   

These crises span from the still-unresolved challenges of COVID, to the global economic divide advancing unprecedented inequities across food and energy access, to conflict and instability such as that in Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Myanmar, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Ukraine and Yemen. 

We need every advantage we can find to bring the SDGs back on track. 

Technology and innovation are proven accelerators to drive concrete progress, once again, across the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.  

(Article continues in right column.)

Questions related to this article:

Does the UN advance equality for women?

Is Internet freedom a basic human right?

(Article continued from left column.) 

Harnessed effectively, technology and innovation can be the game-changers to catalyse poverty reduction, decrease hunger, boost health, create new jobs, mitigate climate change, address humanitarian crises, improve energy access and make entire cities and communities safer and more sustainable – benefitting women and girls. Now is the time to shape the outcomes of CSW67 to inform the SDG Summit and the Summit of the Future in 2024 and the Global Digital Compact. 

In countless ways, the Sustainable Development Goals depend on the world’s ability to leverage technology and innovation for good.   

Consider social media.  It allowed women, desperately seeking help in the face of rising domestic violence during COVID-19 lockdowns, to access information and support.   

It has generated ‘heat maps’ to focus disaster response, most recently in the tragic earthquakes of Türkiye and Syria.  

Social media has been a crucial connector for the women’s movement within and between countries. 

Technology has facilitated our work across UN Women’s bold mandate.   

In countries such as Niger and Haiti, we have been able to digitalize data collection in Rapid Gender Assessments, saving time and money, as well as offering new, more powerful data management and visualization. 

In Ukraine, national authorities, civil society organizations and the private sector are working together to build digital solutions that support gender-responsive aid, economic recovery and reduce digital gaps.   

From artificial intelligence to virtual reality, to the blockchain – possibilities to harness technology, to save and improve lives and achieve the vision of the United Nations Charter, where every member of the human family lives a life of freedom and dignity, seem truly limitless.  

It is up to us to decide the course we wish to chart, and whether, ultimately, we use the opportunity being afforded us to build a better world, leaving no woman or girl behind in the digital revolution.   

Let me turn to the way forward. 

Our challenge is not to train more women or distribute mobile handsets.  Rather, it is to fix the institutions and the harmful gender stereotypes surrounding technology and innovation that fail women and girls.   

The Secretary-General’s report offers us solutions that I hope will be reflected in your Agreed Conclusions.   

First, we must close the gender digital divide.  Every member of society, especially the most marginalized, must have equal access to digital skills and services.  Digital services, especially e-government services, must be tailored and accessible for all women and girls. 

Second, we must invest in digital, science and technology education for girls and women, including those girls who missed out on education first time around.   

These opportunities cannot merely be the provision of basic computer skills. They must extend to the whole suite of capabilities needed to secure 21st century jobs in a digital world.  

Third, we must ensure jobs and leadership positions for women in the tech and innovation sectors.  As the Secretary-General said: “There is a great danger for gender equality, misogyny is embedded in the Silicon Valleys of this world”.  This demands profound institutional change.  That burden lies in large part on the leaders of the technology sector.    

Fourth, we must ensure transparency and accountability of digital technology. By design, technology must be safe, inclusive, affordable, and accessible.  This includes ensuring that unconscious or conscious bias is not embedded into new technologies and in the field of artificial intelligence.   

Fifth, we must place the principles of inclusion, intersectionality, and systemic change at the core of digitalization.  

If women are not included among technology and artificial intelligence creators, or decision-makers, digital products will not reflect the priorities of women and girls.    We must ensure that women and girls are a central part of the design, development, and deployment of technology.   

Sixth, we must confront misinformation head on, and we must work with men and boys to foster ethical and responsible online behaviour and make equality a cornerstone of digital citizenship. 

Finally, we must make the necessary effort and investment to ensure that online spaces are free of violence and abuse, with mechanisms and clear accountability to tackle all forms of harassment and discrimination and hate speech.   

We have turned a blind eye to their damaging effects for too long.   

Technology should liberate, it is instead aggravating violence, with online behaviours that seek to control, harm, silence or discredit the voices of women and girls.  

If we do not leave this Session having said collectively, unambiguously, “enough, no more”, then we will have failed. 

All these solutions demand the concerted actions not only of governments but of the whole of society, and in particular the private sector.   

The Action Coalition on Technology and Innovation, launched as part of the Generation Equality Forum, is one example of a platform that cultivates multi-stakeholder partnerships dedicated to advance gender equality through alliances between governments, private sector, youth, civil society, and the UN System.  We need to see this reflected at national levels and extended further. 

The issues of which this Commission is seized have always evolved, but rarely has that evolution been so dramatic, the opportunities it presents so transformative, the threats accompanying it so alarming, yet the solutions so clear.   

The pace of change demands that we contribute a global normative framework that ensures we harness technology towards the achievement of gender equality –  and that we do it here and now.   

We cannot indulge in distraction when presented with an opportunity to achieve something so necessary and so timely.  
 
I am confident we will spare no effort in showing that this Commission is of one mind and asserts with one voice that “digital rights are women’s rights”.  

This must be the vision and the outcome of CSW67.  

I look forward to working with you all to that end. 

I thank you. 

global, United Nations, WOMEN'S EQUALITY,

UN Security Council: ‘Radical change of direction’ needed in women, peace and security agenda

. . WOMEN’S EQUALITY . .

An article from the United Nations

New goals and effective plans on women’s involvement in peacebuilding are needed before it is too late, the head of the UN agency leading global efforts to achieve gender equality warned the Security Council on Tuesday. 

Sima Bahous, Executive Director of UN Women, was speaking during a Council meeting to reaffirm the importance of Resolution 1325  on women, peace and security,  adopted in October 2000, and to take stock of implementation since it turned 20 nearly three years ago. 


UN Photo/Manuel Elías Verónica Nataniel Macamo Dlhovo, Minister for Foreign
Affairs and Cooperation of Mozambique and President of the Security Council
for the month of March, chairs the Security Council meeting on
Women and peace and security.

“As we meet today at the mid-point between the 20th and 25th anniversaries, on the eve of International Women’s Day, it is obvious that we need a radical change of direction,” she said. 

No significant change 

Ms. Bahous noted that although several historic firsts for gender equality occurred during the first two decades of the resolution, “we have neither significantly changed the composition of peace tables, nor the impunity enjoyed by those who commit atrocities against women and girls.” 

She said the 20th anniversary “was not a celebration, but a wake-up call,” pointing to situations from across the globe that have emerged since then.

They include the regression of women’s and girls’ rights in Afghanistan in the wake of the Taliban takeover, sexual violence committed in the war in the Tigray region in Ethiopia, and online abuse targeting women opposing military rule in Myanmar. 

Women and children also comprise a staggering 90 per cent of the nearly eight million people forced to flee the conflict in Ukraine, and nearly 70 per cent of those displaced within the country.
 
Military spending increasing 

Furthermore, women peacebuilders had hoped that the COVID-19 pandemic would cause countries to rethink military spending, as the global crisis revealed the value of caregivers and the importance of investing in health, education, food security and social protection. 

“Instead, that spending has continued to grow, passing the two-trillion-dollar mark, even without the significant military expenditure of the last months,” she said. “Neither the pandemic nor supply-chain issues prevented another year of rising global arms sales.”  

The way forward 

Ms. Bahous outlined two suggestions that show what a change of direction could look like for the international community. 

“First, we cannot expect 2025 to be any different if the bulk of our interventions continue to be trainings, sensitization, guidance, capacity building, setting up networks, and holding one event after another to talk about women’s participation, rather than mandating it in every meeting and decision-making process in which we have authority,” she stipulated. 

Her second point focused on the need to get resources to women’s groups in conflict-affected countries, particularly through the Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund. 

The UN-led partnership was established in 2015 and has so far supported more than 900 organizations. 

“We urgently need better ways to support civil society and social movements in these countries. That means being much more intentional about funding or engaging with new groups, and especially with young women,” she said. 

(Article continues in right column.)

Questions related to this article:

UN Resolution 1325, does it make a difference?

Does the UN advance equality for women?

Can the women of Africa lead the continent to peace?

(Article continued from left column.)

Women’s involvement equals success 

The meeting was chaired by Mozambique, which holds the rotating Security Council presidency this month.
  
The country’s Foreign Minister, Verónica Nataniel Macamo Dlhovo, expressed hope that the debate will lead to action, such as stronger strategies on gender equality, as well as women’s effective participation in peacekeeping and peacebuilding. 

“There is no doubt that by involving women in the peacebuilding and peacekeeping agenda in our countries, we will achieve success,” she said, speaking in Portuguese. 
“Under no circumstances do we want that the people who bring life into the world are negatively impacted. We must protect them. Use women’s sensitivity to resolve conflicts and maintain peace on our planet.” 

Respect international law 

Currently, more than 100 armed conflicts are raging around the world, according to Mirjana Spoljaric, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
 
The organization sees the daily brutal impacts of armed conflict on women and girls, she said, which include “shocking levels” of sexual violence, displacement, and deaths during childbirth because they lack access to care.
 
Ms. Spoljaric upheld the importance of international humanitarian law during conflict and urged States to apply a gender perspective in its application and interpretation. 

“Respect for international humanitarian law will prevent the enormous harm resulting from violations of its rules, and it will help to rebuild stability and reconcile societies,” she said. 

States also must ensure that the clear prohibition of sexual violence under international humanitarian law is integrated into national law, military doctrine and training. 

“Engaging more boldly and directly weapon bearers on this issue – with the ultimate goal that it does not occur in the first place – should become a de facto preventive approach, supported and facilitated in times of peace to prevent the worst in times of war,” she added. 


African women leaders network

Bineta Diop of the African Union Commission also addressed the Council, highlighting its work in getting countries to accelerate implementation of the resolution.
This is being done through a strategy focused on advocacy and accountability, and in building a network of women leaders on the continent.

“We are ensuring that women’s leadership is mainstreamed in governance, peace and development processes so as to create a critical mass of women leaders at all levels,” she said.

“We need to make sure that they are in all sectors of life. not just in peace processes.”

Partner with women activists 

Nobel Peace Prize winner Leymah Gbowee from Liberia called for amplifying the women, peace and security agenda. She recommended steps such as engaging and partnering with local women peace activists, who she called “the custodians of their communities.” 

Women must also be negotiators and mediators in peace talks. “It is amazing to see how only the men with guns are consistently invited to the table to find solutions, while women who bear the greatest brunt are often invited as observers,” she remarked. 

She also urged countries to “move beyond rhetoric” by ensuring funding and political will, because without them, Resolution 1325 “remains a toothless bulldog”.
  
Ms. Gbowee stressed that women, peace and security must be seen as a holistic part of the global peace and security agenda.  
 
“We will continue to search for peace in vain in our world unless we bring women to the table,” she warned.  “I firmly believe that trying to work for global peace and security minus women is trying to see the whole picture with your one eye covered.” 

Africa, global, United Nations, WOMEN'S EQUALITY, ,

Amnesty International: Human Rights wins in 2022 

… . HUMAN RIGHTS … .

An article by Amnesty International

Confronted withwhat can sometimes seem like an endless cycle of bad news in the media, it’s easy to feel despondent. But, amid the gloom, there were plenty of good news stories to celebrate this year.

Throughout 2022, Amnesty’s ongoing campaigning, media and advocacy workcontributed to positive outcomes for people all over the world whose human rightswere being violated. Individualsunjustly detained were freed from prison.Human rights abusers were held accountable. Vital legislationand resolutionswerepassed by governmentsat national and international level. Progress towards the global abolition of the death penalty continued.And important advances were made both for the rights of women and LGBTI people.

Here’s a round-up of human rights wins in 2022.

Individuals freed from unjust imprisonment

Amnesty’s ongoing work for individuals helped secure the release of people across the world, delivered justice for families, and held abusers accountable.

In January, university lecturer Professor Faizullah Jalal was released after being arbitrarily arrested and detained by the Taliban.

Hejaaz Hizbullah, a Sri Lankan lawyer and Amnesty prisoner of conscience, was granted bailin February after almost two years of pre-trial detention under Sri Lanka’s draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).Two other detainees held under the PTA, Ahnaf Mohamed Imran and Divaniya Mukunthan, were also released on bail in August and September respectively.

In Honduras, the “Guapinol eight”, a group of water rights defenders and prisoners of conscience, were unconditionally released in February, after spending more than two years in prison for their human rights work.

The following month, in neighbouring Guatemala, IndigenousMayan environmentalist and prisoner of conscience Bernardo Caal Xol was released early after being jailed on bogus charges related to his activism. More than half a million actions were taken on his behalf during Amnesty’s 2021 Write for Rights campaign.

Elsewhere, Magai Matiop Ngong — for whom more than 700,000 actions were taken during Write for Rights 2019— was released from prison in South Sudan in March, having been sentenced to death at the age of 15 in 2017.

August saw the release of schoolteacher Hriday Chandra Mondal, who was detained for discussing the difference between science and religion in his classes. All charges against him were subsequently dropped.

In May,18-year-oldPalestinian Amal Nakhleh, who suffers from a chronic autoimmune disorder, was released from Israeli administrative detention following 16 months of campaigning by Amnesty and others.

In July, a Russian court acquitted Yulia Tsvetkova of “production and dissemination of pornographic materials” over her body-positive drawings of vaginas that were published online.

Following an Urgent Action by Amnesty, Maldivian activist Rusthum Mujuthaba, who was being held on blasphemy charges in relation to a social media post,was released from prison in August.

Palestinian national Dr.Mohammed al-Khudariwas released from prison in Saudi Arabia in October after spending more than three years in arbitrary detention along with his son, Dr.Hani al-Khudari. Both men were handed down prison sentences based on trumped-up charges. Dr.Hani al-Khudari remains in prison despite the expiry of his sentence in February andAmnesty continues to campaign for his release.

Six Palestinian men who reported that they had been tortured in Palestinian Authority prisons were released on bail within two weeks ofAmnesty’s intervention in November.

Thanks to the support of Amnesty Argentina, a Ukrainian familywas able to escape the war and settle in the country in November. A short film documenting their story is available here.

In Yemen, journalist Younis Abdelsalamwas released in December after being arbitrarily detained for over ayear for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression.

Justice for families, abusers held accountable

In Malawi, justice was served in April when a court convicted 12 men over the 2018 killing of MacDonald Masambuka, a person with albinism.

In June, partial justice was finally delivered for the 2016 murder of environmental and Indigenous rights activist Berta Cáceres, as David Castillo was sentenced to prison for co-authoring her killing. Amnesty continues its campaign to bring others suspected of responsibility for Berta’s murder to justice.

After pressure from the US authorities, and following a visit by President Biden to Israel, the Israeli Defense Ministry agreed in October to pay compensation to the family of Palestinian-American Omar As’ad, who died after Israeli soldiers ill-treated him at a checkpoint in January.

In November, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation informed the Israeli government that it would conduct an investigation into the May killing of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh by an Israeli soldier.

In December, a Lebanese judge indicted five State Security members on charges of torture in the case of Syrian refugee Bashar Abdel Saud, who died in custody in August.

Continued progress towards the global abolition of the death penalty

Amnesty’s campaign for the global abolition of the death penalty saw further success in 2022, as a string of countries abolished or took significant steps towards abolishing the punishment.

The abolition of the death penalty for all crimes came into force in Kazakhstan inJanuary. Papua New Guinea followed suit in April, repealing the punishment 30 years on from its reintroduction.

Via social media , Zambia’s President announced in May that the country would begin the process of abandoning the death penalty and, in June, Malaysia’s government initiated the process of removing the mandatory death sentence for 11 offences.

In September, a new law which removed death penalty provisions from the penal code in Equatorial Guinea came into effect.

(Click here for the French version of this article, or here for the Spanish version .)

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Question(s) related to this article:
 
What is the state of human rights in the world today?

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Meanwhile, the overwhelming majority of countries in Sub-Saharan Africa that have not yet abolished the death penalty for all crimes, including Kenya, Malawi, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe, continued to carry out no executions.

Landmark national legislation and international agreements

At both national and international level, Amnesty’s work was vital in helping secure the passage of essential legislation and resolutions, as well as ensuring that companies were held accountable for their human rights responsibilities.

National

There were important wins on Refugee and Migrants’ Rights in the U.S. For example, in March, the Department of Homeland Security announced the designation of Afghanistan for Temporary Protected Status (TPS). The move offers protection from deportation to Afghans without visa status and in the U.S. before March 15, 2022, allaying immediate fears of a return to a Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. Amnesty USA is Campaigning for a bill that would provide a path to citizenship for Afghans seeking safety, the Afghan Adjustment Act. 

In a win for the protection and promotion of the right to freedom of expression in May, the Supreme Court of India suspended the 152-year-old sedition law.

The government of Sierra Leone drafted a new mental health bill in June that is more aligned with international human rights standards than the outdated and discriminatory ‘Lunacy Act’ of 1902. This was a central call in Amnesty’s May 2021 report focusing on the issue.

In Niger,the country’s parliament adopted amendments to the cybercrime lawin Junethatlifted prison sentences for libel and insults. The law had been routinely used to target and arbitrarily detain human rights defenders, activists and journalists.

In the US, legislation on gun violence long campaigned for by Amnesty USA and partners was adopted, with the passage of the Safer Communities Act in June. The legislation provides an additional $250 million for community violence interruption (CVI) programmes.

Amnesty saw impact from our work on children in conflict zones in Niger, including increased UN monitoring of the situation. In July, the UN Secretary-General called on his Special Representative on Children and Armed Conflict to “promote enhanced monitoring capacity in the Central Sahel region”, which would cover the tri-border region of Niger, which was one of the main recommendations ofour September 2021 report.

Throughout the year, Amnesty also saw some businesses take their human rights obligations more seriously.

Following Amnesty’s request, the authorities of Sierra Leone asked the Meya mining company operating in Kono district to respond to our concerns about the negative impact of its activities on local people. The company replied that it was engaged in various actions to improve the safety of populations and access to drinking water for communities.

Amnesty’s investigation into the aviation fuel supply chain linked to war crimes in Myanmar played a role in several companies announcing their withdrawal from jet fuel sales to the country, where shipments risk being used by the Myanmar military to carry out deadly air strikes. The companies included Puma Energy, which announced its exit less than two weeks after being presented with Amnesty’s findings. Thai Oil and Norwegian shipping agent Wilhelmsen also confirmed they would pull back from the supply chain, with more expected to follow.

International

Following Amnesty’s report, in March, UN Special Rapporteur (SR) Michael Lynk said that Israel is practising apartheid, followed by UN SR Balakrishnan Rajagopal in July, joining a growing chorusof expert assessments.

In April, the European Union reached political agreement on the Digital Services Act (DSA), a landmark regulatory framework that will, among other things, require Big Tech platforms to assess and manage systemic risks posed by their services, such as advocacy of hatred and the spread of disinformation.

Important progress was made on environmental justice, with the passage of a resolution at the UN General Assembly in July recognizing the right to a healthy environment. The news followed a similar resolution passed by the UN Human Rights Councilat the end of 2021.

In July, ten European countries: Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Sweden rejected the Israeli Defense Ministry designation of seven Palestinian civil society organizations as“terrorist” and “illegitimate”. The US government expressed its concern when theIsraeli military raided the offices of the organizations in August, and UN experts condemned the Israeli attacks on Palestinian civil society in October.

At its 51st session, the UN Human Rights Council released a special resolution on Afghanistan in September. Amnesty suggested the inclusion of a call for the UN Special Rapporteur to prepare a thematic report on the situation of women and girls. Several countries supported the idea, and it was included in the final resolution.

In October, the UN Human Rights Council renewed the mandateof the Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela—a key independent international mechanism actively investigating and regularly reporting on past and ongoing international crimes and other human rights violations—until September 2024. And, in November, the Human Rights Council passed a landmark resolution to establish a new fact-finding mission to investigate alleged humanr ights violations in Iran related to the ongoing nationwide protests that began on 16 September 2022.

The mandate of the OHCHR’s Sri Lanka Accountability Project was extended for a further two-year period in October. The project has a mandate to collect and preserve evidence for future accountability processes — a key aspect of ensuring pressure remains on the Sri Lankan government to remedy and stop both historical and current human rights violations.

Victories for women’s rights

The year saw a number of victoriesf or women’s rights, with Amnesty at the forefront.

In the latest progress on sexual and reproductive rights in Latin America, Colombia decriminalized abortion during the first 24 weeks of pregnancy in February.The news followed the legalization of abortion in Argentina in 2020 and the decriminalization of abortion in Mexico 2021.

In May, the lower chamber of Spain’s parliament passed a bill containing important measures to prevent and prosecute rape. Finland’s parliament passed similar measures in June, adopting reforms that make lack of consent key to defining rape. Finland also passed reforms in October that eased the strictest abortion laws in the Nordic region.

September saw the acquittal of Miranda Ruiz, a doctor who had been unjustly prosecuted in Argentina for having guaranteed a legal abortion.

Notable wins for LGBTIrights

Amnesty contributed to some notable wins for LGBTI rights throughout 2022.

In an important affirmation of transgender individuals’ rights to dignity, happiness and family life, South Korea’s Supreme Court ruled  that having children of minor age should not immediately be the reason to refuse to recognize the legal gender of transgender persons.

In July, same-sex marriage became legal in Switzerland, after almost two-thirds of the population voted in favour of it in a referendum. Slovenia followed suit in October, legalizing same-sex marriage after a constitutional court ruling.

A ban on the award-winning film Joyland, which features a transgender person as a central character, was reversed in Pakistan in November.

global, HUMAN RIGHTS, Uncategorized

Historic UN Ocean Treaty agreed – Greenpeace statement

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

An article from Greenpeace (reprinted according to CC-BY International License)

A historic UN Ocean Treaty has finally been agreed at the United Nations after almost  two decades of negotiations. The text will now go through technical editing and translation, before officially being adopted at another session. This Treaty is a monumental win for ocean protection, and an important sign that multilateralism still works in an increasingly divided world.


A school of fish swim in the Pacific Ocean in Australia. © Ocean Image Bank/Jordan Robin  published by the United Nations.

The agreement of this Treaty keeps the 30×30 target – protecting 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030  – alive. It provides a pathway to creating fully or highly protected areas across the world’s oceans. There are still flaws in the text, and governments must ensure that the Treaty is put into practice in an effective and equitable way for it to be considered a truly ambitious Treaty. 

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Question for this article:

Sustainable Development Summits of States, What are the results?

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Dr. Laura Meller, Oceans Campaigner, Greenpeace Nordic, said from New York: “This is a historic day for conservation and a sign that in a divided world, protecting nature and people can triumph over geopolitics. We praise countries for seeking compromises, putting aside differences and delivering a Treaty that will let us protect the oceans, build our resilience to climate change and safeguard the lives and livelihoods of billions of people.

“We can now finally move from talk to real change at sea. Countries must formally adopt the Treaty and ratify it as quickly as possible to bring it into force, and then deliver the fully protected ocean sanctuaries our planet needs. The clock is still ticking to deliver 30×30. We have half a decade left, and we can’t be complacent.”

The High Ambition Coalition, which includes the EU, US and UK, and China were key players in brokering the deal. Both showed willingness to compromise in the final days of talks, and built coalitions instead of sowing division. Small Island States have shown leadership throughout the process, and the G77 group led the way in ensuring the Treaty can be put into practice in a fair and equitable way.

The fair sharing of monetary benefits from Marine Genetic Resources was a key sticking point. This was only resolved on the final day of talks. The section of the Treaty on Marine Protected Areas does away with broken consensus-based decision making which has failed to protect the oceans through existing regional bodies like the Antarctic Ocean Commission. While there are still major issues in the text, it is a workable Treaty that is a starting point for protecting 30% of the world’s oceans.

The 30×30 target, agreed at Biodiversity COP15, would not be deliverable without this historic Treaty.  It’s vital that countries urgently ratify this Treaty, and begin the work to create vast fully protected ocean sanctuaries covering 30% of oceans by 2030.

Now the hard work of ratification and protecting the oceans begins. We must build on this momentum to see off new threats like deep sea mining and focus on putting protection in place. Over 5.5 million people signed a Greenpeace petition calling for a strong Treaty. This is a victory for all of them.

global, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, United Nations,

The Global South refuses pressure to side with the West on Russia

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

An article by  by Vijay Prashad in Peoples Dispatch

Europe and the US ignore Africa, Latin America, and Asia’s calls to find a solution that ends the war in Ukraine—and, as Namibia’s prime minister put it, redirect funds spent on weapons toward solving global issues.


Francia Márquez Vice President, Republic of Colombia speaking at the Munich Security Conference next to Namibia’s Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila, Enrique Manalo (Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Republic of the Philippines) and Mauro Luiz Iecker Vieira (Minister of Foreign Affairs, Federative Republic of Brazil). Photo: MSC/Baier

At the G20 meeting in Bengaluru, India, the United States arrived with a simple brief. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said at the February 2023 summit that the G20 countries must condemn Russia for its invasion of Ukraine and they must adhere to US sanctions against Russia. However, it became clear that India, the chair of the G20, was not willing to conform to the US agenda. Indian officials said that the G20 is not a political meeting, but a meeting to discuss economic issues. They contested the use of the word “war” to describe the invasion, preferring to describe it as a “crisis” and a “challenge.” France  and Germany  have rejected this draft if it does not condemn Russia.

At the G20 meeting in Bengaluru, India, the United States arrived with a simple brief. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said at the February 2023 summit that the G20 countries must condemn Russia for its invasion of Ukraine and they must adhere to US sanctions against Russia. However, it became clear that India, the chair of the G20, was not willing to conform to the US agenda. Indian officials said that the G20 is not a political meeting, but a meeting to discuss economic issues. They contested the use of the word “war” to describe the invasion, preferring to describe it as a “crisis” and a “challenge.” France and Germany have rejected this draft if it does not condemn Russia.

Just as in Indonesia during the previous year’s summit, the 2023 G20 leaders are once again ignoring the pressure from the West to isolate Russia, with the large developing countries (Brazil, India, Indonesia, Mexico, and South Africa) unwilling to budge from their practical view that isolation of Russia is endangering the world.

The next two G20 summits will be in Brazil (2024) and South Africa (2025), which would indicate to the West that the platform of the G20 will not be easily subordinated to the Western view of world affairs.

Most of the leaders of the G20 countries went to Bengaluru straight from Germany, where they had attended the Munich Security Conference. On the first day of the Munich conference, France’s President Emmanuel Macron said  that he was “shocked by how much credibility we are losing in the Global South.” The “we” in Macron’s statement was the Western states, led by the United States.

What is the evidence for this loss of credibility? Few of the states in the Global South have been willing to participate in the isolation of Russia, including voting  on Western resolutions in the United Nations General Assembly. Not all of the states that have refused to join the West are “anti-Western” in a political sense. Many of them—including the government in India—are driven by practical considerations, such as Russia’s discounted energy prices and the assets being sold at a lowered price by Western companies that are departing from Russia’s lucrative energy sector. Whether they are fed up with being pushed around by the West or they see economic opportunities in their relationship with Russia, increasingly, countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America have avoided the pressure coming from Washington to break ties with Russia. It is this refusal and avoidance that drove Macron to make his strong statement about being “shocked” by the loss of Western credibility.

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Question related to this article:
 
Free flow of information, How is it important for a culture of peace?

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At a panel discussion  on February 18 at the Munich Security Conference, three leaders from Africa and Asia developed the argument about why they are unhappy with the war in Ukraine and the pressure campaign upon them to break ties with Russia. Brazil’s Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira—who later that day condemned  the Russian invasion of Ukraine in a tweet — called  upon the various parties to the conflict to “build the possibility of a solution. We cannot keep on talking only of war.”

Billions of dollars of arms have been sent by the Western states to Ukraine to prolong a war that needs to be ended before it escalates out of control. The West has blocked  negotiations ever since the possibility of an interim deal between Russia and Ukraine arose in March 2022. The talk of an endless war by Western politicians and the arming of Ukraine have resulted in Russia’s February 21, 2023, withdrawal from the New START treaty, which—with the unilateral withdrawal of the US from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in 2002 and the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty in 2019—ends the nuclear weapons control regime.

Vieira’s comment about the need to “build the possibility of a solution” is one that is shared across the developing countries, who do not see the endless war as beneficial to the planet. As Colombia’s Vice President Francia Márquez said  on the same panel, “We don’t want to go on discussing who will be the winner or the loser of a war. We are all losers, and, in the end, it is humankind that loses everything.”

The most powerful statement in Munich was made by Namibia’s Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila. “We are promoting a peaceful resolution of that conflict” in Ukraine, she said, “so that the entire world and all the resources of the world can be focused on improving the conditions of people around the world instead of being spent on acquiring weapons, killing people, and actually creating hostilities.” When asked why Namibia abstained at the United Nations on the vote regarding the war, Kuugongelwa-Amadhila said, “Our focus is on resolving the problem… not on shifting blame.” The money used to buy weapons, she said, “could be better utilized to promote development in Ukraine, in Africa, in Asia, in other places, in Europe itself, where many people are experiencing hardships.” A Chinese plan for peace in Ukraine—built on the principles of the 1955 Bandung Conference—absorbs the points raised by these Global South leaders.

European leaders have been tone-deaf to the arguments being made by people such as Kuugongelwa-Amadhila. The European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell had earlier shot himself in the foot with his ugly remarks  in October 2022 that “Europe is a garden. The rest of the world is a jungle. And the jungle could invade the garden… Europeans have to be much more engaged with the rest of the world. Otherwise, the rest of the world will invade us.” In the February 2023 Munich Security Conference, Borrell—who is originally from Spain — said  that he shared “this feeling” of Macron’s that the West had to “preserve or even to rebuild trustful cooperation with many of the so-called Global South.” The countries of the South, Borrell said, are “accusing us of [a] double standard” when it comes to combating imperialism, a position that “we must debunk.”

A series of reports published by leading Western financial houses repeat the anxiety of people such as Borrell. BlackRock notes  that we are entering “a fragmented world with competing blocs,” while Credit Suisse points  to the “deep and persistent fractures” that have opened up in the world order. Credit Suisse’s assessment of these “fractures” describes them accurately: “The global West (Western developed countries and allies) has drifted away from the global East (China, Russia, and allies) in terms of core strategic interests, while the Global South (Brazil, Russia, India, and China and most developing countries) is reorganizing to pursue its own interests.”

This reorganization is now manifesting itself in the refusal by the Global South to bend the knee to Washington.

Vijay Prashad is an Indian historian, editor, and journalist. He is a writing fellow and chief correspondent at Globetrotter. He is an editor of LeftWord Books and the director of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research. He is a senior non-resident fellow at Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, Renmin University of China. He has written more than 20 books, including The Darker Nations and The Poorer Nations. His latest books are Struggle Makes Us Human: Learning from Movements for Socialism and (with Noam Chomsky) The Withdrawal: Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, and the Fragility of US Power.

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, global

Nobel Peace Prize 2023: PRIO Director’s Shortlist Announced

…. HUMAN RIGHTS ….

An article from the Peace Research Institute Oslo

The director of the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), Henrik Urdal, announced his shortlist today for the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize, with human rights activists topping the list. 
The 2023 shortlist comprises of:

1. Narges Mohammadi and Mahbouba Seraj
2. Kyaw Moe Tun and Myanmar’s National Unity Consultative Council
3. The International Court of Justice
4. Victoria Tauli-Corpuz and Juan Carlos Jintiach
5. Human Rights Data Analysis Group


Left to right: Mahbouba Seraj and Narges Mohammadi

“History has shown us that respect for human rights is intrinsically linked to peaceful societies. The non-violent struggle for human rights is therefore a valuable contribution to peace and stability, and an advancement of the ‘fellowship among nations’ as stipulated by Alfred Nobel in his will. As this year marks the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, my Nobel shortlist reflects a timely and worthy focus on human rights defenders and activists,” said Henrik Urdal.

Each year, PRIO’s director presents his own shortlist for the Nobel Peace Prize. He offers his opinion on the most worthy potential laureates, based on his independent assessment. The PRIO director’s view on potential and worthy Nobel Peace Prize laureates is widely recognized and has been offered since 2002. Henrik Urdal presents here his sixth list since taking up the position of director in 2017.

Narges Mohammadi and Mahbouba Seraj

Oppressive regimes in Iran and Afghanistan have drastically reversed women’s rights in the past year, from executing Iranian youths for protesting gender inequality, to banning Afghan women attending university. Research shows that more gender-equal societies are more peaceful. If the Nobel Committee would like to shine a spotlight on the non-violent struggle for human rights as a contribution to peace, Narges Mohammadi and Mahbouba Seraj are highly deserving nominees to share the prize, based on their tireless efforts to improve women’s rights in Iran and Afghanistan.

Narges Mohammadi is a leading Iranian human rights activist and journalist who has campaigned for women’s rights and the abolition of the death penalty. She has spent multiple periods in prison in Iran and is currently serving a long prison sentence for charges including spreading ‘propaganda against the state’. Her imprisonment has been internationally denounced. Mohammadi is deputy head of the Defenders of Human Rights Center, which is led by the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Shirin Ebadi. She was also elected President of the Executive Committee of the National Council of Peace in Iran.

Mahbouba Seraj is a prominent Afghan journalist and women’s rights activist. After 26 years in exile, she returned to Afghanistan in 2003, and is now based in Kabul. She is a champion of children’s health, education, fighting corruption and empowering survivors of domestic abuse. She is also the founder of the nonprofit Afghan Women’s Network and the Organization for Research in Peace and Solidarity, and has pushed for women’s participation in the Peace Jirga and the High Peace Council.

Kyaw Moe Tun and Myanmar’s National Unity Consultative Council

Since the coup d’état on 1 February 2021, Myanmar’s military has reportedly killed over 2,800 people and detained more than 17,400. The UN has stated that the military brutality against the population amounts to crimes against humanity and possible war crimes. For their efforts to inclusively work for peace and democracy, and to end the violence by the security forces, Myanmar’s representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun, and the National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC) would be worthy recipients of the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize.

Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun denounced the military coup soon after it occurred, calling on states not to recognize or legitimize the junta. Since then, he has represented the people of Myanmar in the UN on behalf of the National Unity Government that was formed by elected members of parliament, representatives of various ethnic groups and civil society leaders. Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun has used his position to convey the voices of the Myanmar people to the international community.

The NUCC aims to end all forms of dictatorship and to build a federal democratic union in Myanmar that fully guarantees democracy, national equality and self-determination. It is an inclusive body with representatives from elected members of parliament, political parties, civil society organizations, officials from the civil disobedience movement and strike organizations, and ethnic resistance organizations.

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Question related to this article:

What is the state of human rights in the world today?

Where in the world can we find good leadership today?

How can just one or a few persons contribute to peace and justice?

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International Court of Justice

Mechanisms for peaceful resolution of conflicts between states are particularly important to maintain and support peace in an increasingly polarized world. The International Court of Justice (ICJ)  promotes peace through international law, akin to promoting peace congresses, another achievement highlighted in Alfred Nobel’s will. The ICJ would be a worthy recipient of the 2023 Peace Prize should the Nobel Committee wish to recognize the importance of multilateral collaboration for peaceful relations.

The ICJ was established in 1945 by the Charter of the UN to settle legal disputes between states and advise on legal questions within the UN. With all 193 UN member states party to the ICJ Statute, the Court has become a globally accepted multilateral mechanism for dispute resolution. While a Nobel Peace Prize to the ICJ would largely be seen as uncontroversial, the Court acted boldly and early on 16 March 2022 by ordering Russia to ‘immediately suspend the military operations’ in Ukraine. The Nobel Committee could emphasize this ruling as an attempt to stop an illegal war of aggression.

Other potential candidates for a prize focused on peace through international law are the International Criminal Court (ICC), or regional bodies such as the European Court for Human Rights or the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

Victoria Tauli-Corpuz and Juan Carlos Jintiach

Discrimination and injustice against indigenous peoples stokes tensions between communities that can lead to violence and armed conflict. The non-violent struggle to protect and strengthen the rights of indigenous peoples is a laudable rationale for being awarded the Peace Prize. Two worthy campaigners for the rights of indigenous peoples are Victoria Tauli-Corpuz and Juan Carlos Jintiach. This would also be an environmental prize for conservation action and the fight against climate change.

Philippine-born indigenous rights activist Victoria Tauli-Corpuz has worked for many years to advance the rights of indigenous peoples across the world. She served as the Chair of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and as the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Tauli-Corpuz founded and heads Tebtebba, the Indigenous Peoples’ International Centre for Policy Research and Education. She has also worked extensively with tropical forest conservation and against destructive development projects, climate change, social justice issues and the advancement of indigenous peoples’ and women’s rights.

Similarly, the Ecuadorian indigenous leader Juan Carlos Jintiach has played a key role in elevating the voices of indigenous peoples. He is a democratically elected leader of COICA (the federation representing Indigenous organizations in the Amazon Basin) and an active member of multiple indigenous rights groups. He served as the co-chair of the global indigenous caucus in the international indigenous forum on climate change within the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Jintiach has worked to connect the concerns of communities on the ground with global policy arenas, and has served as a consensus-building voice among these actors.

Human Rights Data Analysis Group

Research and knowledge can play an important role in promoting peace. A Nobel Peace Prize for organizations working to mobilize research and education in the service of preventing conflict would highlight the importance of truth-seeking and facts in the face of the propagation of divisive disinformation.

One such organization that would be a worthy recipient of a Nobel Peace Prize is the Human Rights Data Analysis Group (HRDAG). Based in the United States, HRDAG systematically documents and analyses data on human rights abuses. Founded by Patrick Ball, the organization aims to promote accountability for human rights violations through rigorous, non-partisan science.

Other worthy candidates for a prize focused on documenting human rights violations include the research agency Forensic Architecture, and the investigative journalism groups Bellingcat and Lighthouse Reports.


Background on the Nobel Peace Prize

The Nobel Peace Prize is arguably the most prestigious prize in the world. It is awarded annually by the Norwegian Nobel Committee to persons or organizations for their efforts to promote peace. The Norwegian Nobel Committee  bases its decision on valid nominations received by the 31 January deadline. Anyone can be nominated. Indeed, history has presented us with a few rather dubious nominees, including Hitler. The right to nominate  is reserved for members of national assemblies and governments, current and former members of the Committee, Peace Prize laureates, professors of certain disciplines, directors of peace research and foreign policy institutes, and members of international courts.

The five committee members have until their first meeting after the deadline to add nominations of their own. Urdal abstains from using his right to nominate, given his active role in commenting on the prize. He has no association with the Nobel Institute or the Norwegian Nobel Committee. The laureate will be announced in October.

global, HUMAN RIGHTS

Tourism as a force for Global Peace

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

An article by Ajay Prakash from Peace Tourism

Tourism is a large industry but it is also a complex one since, unlike most other industries, there is not one clear product. It incorporates many aspects, including accommodation, transport, attractions, travel companies, and more. It comprises a broad group of businesses focused on the satisfaction of customers and providing specific experiences for them. It is unique because it’s an industry that is based completely on connecting people across all boundaries of race, religion or nationality and bringing joy to their lives.


 Ajay Prakash, President – Travel Agents Federation of India

India has assumed the Chair of the prestigious G20 and this is the perfect opportunity to emphatically present before the world all that India has to offer. Our traditional values, our Sanskar of universal love and brotherhood, of tolerance and acceptance, of embracing unity in diversity and of welcoming the guest with the expression Atihi Devo Bhava are India’s gift to the world. This is the opportunity to step up what I would term our “Cultural Diplomacy” – to present afresh Indian values, knowledge and leadership to the world through both, government to government and people to people initiatives.

Tourism offers great opportunities for emerging economies and developing countries. It creates jobs, strengthens the local economy and contributes to infrastructure development; it can help to conserve the natural environment, cultural assets and traditions, to reduce poverty and inequality and to heal the wounds of conflict. It is an industry that has a cascading and multiplier effect on many other industries, thereby providing a major boost to the economy.

The economic aspect and effect of tourism has been well documented – It accounts for almost 10% of global GDP and employs 1 in 10 persons (of course these are pre-Covid numbers because the industry took a huge hit in 2020 and 2021) and traditionally the tourism growth curve has always been ahead of the GDP growth curve by a couple of percentage points.

But its impact goes far beyond the economic benefits and it is worthwhile to look at Tourism as a social force as opposed to an industry and how we can use it to establish a Culture of Peace.

Tourism is about connecting people with each other and with the Planet. When you travel with a gentle heart and an open mind, you discover that the differences that seemingly divide us pale into insignificance before all the common needs, aspirations and desires that are universal across nations, races or religions. We all want good homes, a bright future for our children, a healthy environment free from disease, clean water, the support of our communities … and Peace. We all share the same ideals, hopes and aspirations and travel teaches us that diversity is no need for antagonism.

Mark Twain said it very well “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.”

It’s obvious to everyone that Peace is a prerequisite for the success of tourism, but the converse is equally true and Tourism can also be a powerful force to foster Peace. But first, let us redefine Peace. Peace has to be marked by a presence, not an absence – it is not simply the absence of war or conflict; it is the presence of tolerance, of acceptance of love and understanding.

The Dalai Lama said “Peace does not mean an absence of conflicts; differences will always be there. Peace means solving these differences through peaceful means; through dialogue, education, knowledge and through humane ways.”
37 years ago, in 1986, a visionary man called Louis D’Amore established the International Institute for Peace through Tourism or IIPT. It was established with a vision that tourism, one of the largest industries, could become the first global Peace industry and the firm belief that every traveller is potentially an Ambassador of Peace.

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Question related to this article:

How can tourism promote a culture of peace?

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IIPT has only one purpose – to spread greater awareness of the power of Tourism as a vehicle for Peace. The aim of “Peace through Tourism” is to eliminate, or at least reduce, the conditions which lead us to a perception that violence is necessary.

So how do we do this?

The first step is to understand that we can make a difference, that we matter! Tourism is a huge industry; if we account for 10% of global GDP surely we are an industry that can make its voice heard and we are an industry that can influence global events. But for that we have to come together and we have to realize that we have the power. Like other industries, we too need to lobby the government so as to make an impact at the policy level.

The effects of climate change are all around us. What we term natural disasters are often the result of unchecked human activity – glaciers melting, sea levels rising, unseasonal floods and uncontrollable fires, toxic air and contaminated water. Is this the world we wish to leave for our children?

Along with 190 countries India has signed the COP 15 pledge of 30 by 30 – a pledge to preserve at least 30% of global biodiversity by 2030. That is a step in the right direction. Many such steps are needed for the sustainability of the Earth – still the only home for human beings in this vast universe.

We have to prepare our travellers and ourselves to make the change. As stakeholders in the industry we have to build sustainability and responsibility into our core business practices. It can be as small as keeping the air conditioning at 25 degrees, switching off lights when they’re not needed, avoiding single use plastics or the compulsive printing of every document. It could be as large as converting your entire fleet to electric vehicles. Once you start on the path of conservation, the opportunities will keep coming. The magic mantra is “Refuse, Reduce, Recycle.”

Never underestimate the power of one. A river starts as a drop, a few more drops join and it becomes a trickle, the trickle becomes a stream and finally it’s a mighty river that sustains life until it goes and meets the sea. That is how movements are born, too. Let us today resolve to work for a more responsible, peace-sensitive tourism.

Another area where the tourism industry can make a big difference is in promoting gender equality. Almost 65 – 70% of the workforce in tourism is female, but only 12 – 13% of them are in responsible or managerial positions. Women comprise almost half the world’s population, but they have never got an equal chance. The “Beti padhao, beti bachao” is a great initiative but then they also need to be given the opportunity to put that education to use. Numerous studies have proved that empowering women is not only socially or politically correct, but that it actually leads to a healthier bottom line.

The next step is to educate our travellers, to awaken them to the higher paradigm of tourism. If they are travelling to a new place, we need to sensitise them to the social and cultural differences, we need to create experiences and situations where they can interact positively with the local host community, we need to encourage them to buy local products, try local food. Many times this push will come from the travellers themselves.

Today’s travellers are much more tech savvy, they’re more aware, they’re more discerning and the younger generation is much more conscious of the ecological footprint of any activity. So if that’s the segment you want to connect with, now is the time to rework your business strategy.

The IIPT has a global Peace Parks program and has dedicated over 450 Peace Parks across the world. We need to create such symbols to reassert that Peace is a fundamental global right and that India is willing and able to lead the way.

In conclusion, I present the IIPT Credo of the Peaceful Traveller as a first step on the path to use tourism to foster a Culture of Peace.

IIPT Credo of the Peaceful Traveller©

Grateful for the opportunity to travel and experience the world and because peace begins with the individual, I affirm my personal responsibility and commitment to:
* Journey with an open mind and gentle heart
* Accept with grace and gratitude the diversity I encounter
* Revere and protect the natural environment which sustains all life
* Appreciate all cultures I discover
* Respect and thank my hosts for their welcome
* Offer my hand in friendship to everyone I meet
* Support travel services that share these views and act upon them and,
* By my spirit, words and actions, encourage others to travel the world in peace.
 

global, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

United Nation General Assembly divides over Ukraine resolution and Belarus amendment

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Analysis by CPNN

The United States and its allies claimed victory at the United Nations with the vote on a resolution condemning the Russian invasion of the Ukraine. The final vote was 141 for, 7 against and 32 abstentions.

But a thorough analysis suggests that the victory was not so one-sided. If one considers the votes on the Belarus amendment to condemn arms shipments to the Ukraine, the General Assembly was divided with more than half (101 countries) failing to follow the American line regarding the vote on this amendment.

Of the 91 votes that defeated the Belarus amendment, 45 were cast by Europe and the US/Canada while 46 by all the rest of the world.


Voting on Belarus resolution condemning arms shipments to Ukraine

Here are the operative paragraphs of the two resolutions and the voting details.

Principles of the Charter of the United Nations underlying a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine Draft resolution A/ES-11/L.7

1. Underscores the need to reach, as soon as possible, a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine in line with the principles of the Charter of the United Nations;

2. Welcomes and expresses strong support for the efforts of the SecretaryGeneral and Member States to promote a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine, consistent with the Charter, including the principles of sovereign equality and territorial integrity of States;

3. Calls upon Member States and international organizations to redouble support for diplomatic efforts to achieve a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine, consistent with the Charter;

4. Reaffirms its commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders, extending to its territorial waters;

5. Reiterates its demand that the Russian Federation immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders, and calls for a cessation of hostilities;

6. Demands that the treatment by the parties to the armed conflict of all prisoners of war be in accordance with the provisions of the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War of 12 August 1949 2 and Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions of 1949, 3 and calls for the complete exchange of prisoners of war, the release of all unlawfully detained persons and the return of all internees and of civilians forcibly transferred and deported, including children;

7. Calls for full adherence by the parties to the armed conflict to their obligations under international humanitarian law to take constant care to spare the civilian population and civilian objects, to ensure safe and unhindered humanitarian access to those in need, and to refrain from attacking, destroying, removing or rendering useless objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population;

8. Also calls for an immediate cessation of the attacks on the critical infrastructure of Ukraine and any deliberate attacks on civilian objects, including those that are residences, schools and hospitals;

9. Emphasizes the need to ensure accountability for the most serious crimes under international law committed on the territory of Ukraine through appropriate, fair and independent investigations and prosecutions at the national or international level, and ensure justice for all victims and the prevention of future crimes;

10. Urges all Member States to cooperate in the spirit of solidarity to address the global impacts of the war on food security, energy, finance, the environment and nuclear security and safety, underscores that arrangements for a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine should take into account these factors, and calls upon Member States to support the Secretary-General in his efforts to address these impacts;

11. Decides to adjourn the eleventh emergency special session of the General Assembly temporarily and to authorize the President of the General Assembly to resume its meetings upon request from Member States.

Belarus: A/ES-11/L.9 – amendment to draft resolution A/ES-11/L.7

1 ; After the eighth preambular paragraph, insert a new preambular paragraph reading: Noting with concern the continuing supply of weapons by third parties to the zone of conflict that obstructs the prospects for sustainable peace,

2. After operative paragraph 5, insert a new operative paragraph reading: Calls for the start of peace negotiations;

3. After existing operative paragraph 10, insert a new operative paragraph reading: Calls upon Member States to address the root causes of the conflict in and around Ukraine, including legitimate security concerns of Member States;

4. After existing operative paragraph 10, insert a new operative paragraph reading: Also calls upon Member States to refrain from sending weapons to the zone of conflict.

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Question related to this article:
 
Free flow of information, How is it important for a culture of peace?

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Here are the voting details of the 101 countries that did not follow the American line regarding the vote on the Belarus amendment.

15 countries voted for the Belarus amendment

Angola
Belarus
China
Cuba
North Korea
Egypt
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Honduras
Iran
Mali
Nicaragua
Russia
Syria
Zimbabwe

52 countries abstained on the Belarus amendment

Afghanistan
Algeria
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Bhutan
Bolivia
Botswana
Brazil
Brunei Daresalam
Burundi
Colombia
Congo
Djibouti
El Salvador
Gabon
Ghana
Guinea
Guyana
India
Indonesia
Iraq
Jordan
Kenya
Kyrgyzstan
Laos
Lesotho
Libya
Malaysia
Mexico
Mongolia
Mozambique
Namibia
Nauru
Nepal
Nigeria
Oman
Pakistan
Philippines
Saint Vincent
Saudi Arabia
South Africa
South Sudan
Sri Lanka
Sudan
Tajikistan
Thailand
Togo
Tunisia
Uganda
United Arab Emirates
Uwbekistan
Yemen

17 countries did not vote on the Belarus amendment although they voted for the final resolution

Cambodia
Chad
Comoros
DR Congo
Kiribati
Madagascar
Mauritania
Mauritius
Morocco
Niger
Rwanda
Saint Lucia
Serbia
Seychelles
Solomon Islands
Somalia
Timor Leste

4 countries did not vote on the Belarus resolution while they abstained on the final resolution

Armenia
Central African Republic
Kazakhstan
Vietnam

13 countries did not vote on the Belarus or the final resolution

Azerbaijan
Burkina Faso
Cameroun
Dominica
Equatorial Africa
Eswatini
Grenada
Guinea Bissau
Lebanon
Senegal
Turkmenistan
UR Tanzania
Venezuela

Note 1: The fact that a country does not vote on a resolution is not always a political statement. However, in this case, 21 countries did not vote on the Belarus amendment but voted or abstained on the final resolution while no country did the opposite, voting or abstaining only on the Belarus amendment. The other 13 that failed to vote on either the amendment or the resolution tend to be aligned with other countries that abstained rather than being aligned with the US, NATO and their allies. Thus it seems likely that in most cases the absence of a vote was a political statement, and it has been counted as such here.

Note 2: The representative of Mexico voiced his regret that the last-minute amendments by Belarus had not been tabled in sufficient time for their full consideration.

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