Humanity’s just one misunderstanding away from ‘nuclear annihilation’ warns UN chief

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

An article from the United Nations

As geopolitical tensions reach new highs, and some governments are spending billions on nuclear weapons in a false bid for peace and security, countries must uphold the nearly 80-year norm against their use, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in New York on Monday (August 1). 
 
The UN chief was speaking at the opening of the Tenth Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, which runs through 26 August. 


Sculpture at the United Nations created by Zurab Tsereteli. It depicts St. George slaying a dragon created from fragments of Soviet SS-20 missiles and United States Pershing nuclear missiles that were destroyed under the terms of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty of 1987.

Mr. Guterres highlighted some of the current challenges to global peace and security, with the world under greater stress due to the climate crisis, stark inequalities, conflicts and human rights violations, as well as the devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Disarmament not disunity 

He said  the meeting is taking place amid these challenges, and at a time of nuclear danger not seen since the height of the Cold War. 

“Geopolitical tensions are reaching new highs.  Competition is trumping co-operation and collaboration.  Distrust has replaced dialogue and disunity has replaced disarmament.   States are seeking false security in stockpiling and spending hundreds of billions of dollars on doomsday weapons that have no place on our planet,” he said. 

Currently, almost 13,000 nuclear weapons are now being held in arsenals around the world, he added. 

“All this at a time when the risks of proliferation are growing and guardrails to prevent escalation are weakening.   And when crises — with nuclear undertones — are festering, From the Middle East and the Korean Peninsula. To the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, and to many other factors around the world.” 

He said today, humanity was “just one misunderstanding, one miscalculation away from nuclear annihilation.” 

A new path 

The Secretary-General underlined the importance of the non-proliferation treaty, saying it is needed “as much as ever”, while the review meeting provides an opportunity “to put humanity on a new path towards a world free of nuclear weapons.” 

He outlined five areas for action, starting with reinforcing and reaffirming the norm against the use of nuclear weapons, which requires steadfast commitment from all parties to the treaty. 

“We need to strengthen all avenues of dialogue and transparency. Peace cannot take hold in an absence of trust and mutual respect,” he said. 

(Continued in right column)

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

Question related to this article:
 
Can we abolish all nuclear weapons?

(Continued from left column)

Countries also must “work relentlessly” towards the goal of eliminating nuclear weapons, which begins with new commitment to shrink their numbers. 

This will also mean reinforcing multilateral agreements and frameworks on disarmament and non-proliferation, which includes the important work of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).  

Address ‘simmering tensions’ 

For his third point, Mr. Guterres focused on the need to address the “simmering tensions” in the Middle East and Asia.  

“By adding the threat of nuclear weapons to enduring conflicts, these regions are edging towards catastrophe. We need to redouble our support for dialogue and negotiation to ease tensions and forge new bonds of trust in regions that have seen too little,” he said.   

The Secretary-General also called for promoting the peaceful use of nuclear technology, such as for medical purposes, as a catalyst for advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

Finally, he urged governments to fulfill all outstanding commitments in the treaty, “and keep it fit-for-purpose in these trying times.” 

Unexpected dimension

The head of the IAEA, the UN’s nuclear watchdog, spoke of how the “spectre of war” has brought a new and unexpected dimension to nuclear safety in Ukraine.

Rafael Mariano Grossi said that at the beginning of the conflict, now nearly six months old, he outlined Seven Pillars of nuclear safety that should never be violated.  They include respecting the physical integrity of nuclear power plants, and ensuring staff can carry out their duties without undue pressure.

“All these seven principles have been trampled upon or violated since this tragic episode started,” he told the conference.

While the IAEA was able to work with Ukraine to restore the systems at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, site of the 1986 disaster, Mr. Grossi continues to push for a mission to the Zaporizhzhya plant, the largest in the country, which is occupied by Russian forces.

Ladies and gentlemen, we are ready to go,” he said. “We hope to be able to come to Zaporizhzhya because if something happens there, we will only have ourselves to blame for it. Not a catastrophe, not an earthquake, or tsunami.  It will be our own inaction to blame for it.”

Iran and DPRK

Mr. Grossi also addressed other issues, including related to monitoring of Iran’s nuclear programme. 

“We know that for us to be able to give the necessary and credible assurances that every activity in the Islamic Republic of Iran is in peaceful uses, we need to work collaborative(ly) with them,” he said.

“It can be done, we have been doing it in the past, but we need – and I say this very clearly – we need to have the access that is commensurate with the breadth and depth of that nuclear programme.”

The situation in the Democratic Republic of Korea (DPRK) also remains a concern, and he expressed hope that IAEA inspectors will be able to return to the country.

(Thank you to Sarah Guerard for sending this article to CPNN.)

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, global, United Nations,

English bulletin August 1, 2022

CULTURE OF PEACE IN LATIN AMERICA

The elections of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in Mexico, Gabriel Boric in Chile, Jose Pedro Castillo in Peru, and Gustavo Petro in Colombia, as well as the potential for the election of Lula da Silva in Brazil are being considered as a “second progressive wave.”

It is compared to a “first progressive wave” from 2008 to 2016 when Latin leaders included Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, Luz Ignacio Lula da Silva in Brazil, Nestor Kirchner in Argentina, Rafael Correa in Ecuador, and Evo Morales in Bolivia.

During the earlier wave, CELAC, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, issued a declaration proclaiming their region as a “zone of peace.” One of the points in their declaration was “The promotion in the region of a culture of peace based, inter alia, on the principles of the United Nations Declaration on a Culture of Peace.”

The culture of peace figues strongly in the new wave.

In Colombia, “the government has considered implementing a “Pact for Total Peace” that includes not only the implementation of the existing agreement and the creation of others with other illegal armed agents, but it goes beyond the end of the conflict in the territories.”

The victory of the left in Colombia and the potential normalization of relations between Colombia and Venezuela promises to bring renewed peace to that Latin American region.

Also in Colombia, the City of Medellin involved more than 1300 young people in the Week for Disarmament, “to consolidate a culture of peace and Non-Violence in the city of Medellín.”

In Honduras, newly-elected President Xiomara Castro is instituting “Mesas de seguridad ciudadana” within the framework of the Community Police in 298 municipalities. She explains that “I want to promote a culture of peace and citizen participation in our country with preventive actions, establishing bonds of trust and proximity between the Police and the community.”

In Mexico, “the Government of Jalisco has begun work on its first “State Culture of Peace Program”, one of the main instruments derived from the state’s Culture of Peace Law, designed to reduce the various forms of violence that occur there.

Also in Mexico, 10 cities in the Yucatan have signed agreements to “to coordinate efforts to strengthen the culture of peace “.

In Chile, the new Constitution promises to transform the country “from a ‘democratic republic’ to a ‘parity democracy’. . . (so) . . . that women occupy at least 50% of all State bodies,” and “proposes to take measures to achieve substantive equality and parity.”

In Bolivia, this year has been declared the “Year of the Cultural Revolution for De-patriarchalization , seeking to establish structural solutions to curb the persistent cases of violence against women in the country.”

In the Dominican Republic, “the Dominican College of Journalists (CDP) and the National Conflict Resolution System (Sinarec) have signed an agreement to promote a culture of peace at the national level through workshops, courses, seminars and other forms of education.”

The first progressive wave was suppressed by North American imperialism in collaboration with right-wing forces in Brazil and Bolivia and attacked by economic sanctions and in some cases military threats against Cuba, Venezuela and Nicarague.

Will the new wave be able to resist these pressures?

In Brazil, where one of its candidates was recently assassinated, the Workers Party of Lula is resisting explicitly by way of the culture of peace, offering a workship on “Culture of Peace and Militant Self-protection.”

Among his campaign promises Lula says he will “defend the integration of South America, Latin America and the Caribbean, with a view to maintaining regional security and promoting development, based on productive complementarity.” Earlier, he promised to create “a pan-Latin American currency, in order to be freed of the dollar.”

Brazil is already a member of the BRICS alignment which promises freedom from domination by the dollar, and most recently Argentina has asked to join.

In Mexico, the government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador has proposed to replace the Organization of American States which is dominated by the United States with an organization that is independent like CELAC.

Referring to the two progressive waves, Evo Morales says, ““Those times are returning, We need to again consolidate these democratic revolutions for the good of humanity. I have a lot of hope. In politics we must ask ourselves: are we with the people or are we with the empire?”

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Evo Morales: “an economic model that belongs to the people, not to the empire”

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

Excerpts from an article by Matt Kennard*, 14 July, in Declassified UK

The President of Bolivia from 2006-19 invites Declassified to his house deep in the Amazon rainforest for an exclusive interview – on the UK role in the coup that overthrew him, how he reversed 500 years of history and industrialised Bolivia, and the efforts of the US and its British ally to bring him down.



Video of interview

When Evo Morales, Bolivia’s first indigenous president, was overthrown in a British-backed  coup in November 2019, many believed his life was in danger. Latin America’s history is littered with liberation leaders cut down by vengeful imperial powers. 

Legendary resistance leader Túpac Katari, like Morales from the Aymara indigenous group, had his limbs tied  to four horses by the Spanish before they bolted and he was ripped apart in 1781.

Some 238 years later, Bolivia’s self-declared ‘interim president’ Jeanine Áñez appeared in Congress days after the coup against Morales brandishing a huge leatherbound Bible. “The Bible has returned to the government palace,” she announced.

Her new regime immediately forced through Decree 4078  which gave immunity to the military for any actions taken in “the defence of society and maintenance of public order”. It was a green-light. The following day, 10 unarmed protestors were massacred by security forces.

When the coup was looking inevitable, Morales had gone underground. 

His destination, with his vice-president Álvaro García Linera, was El Trópico de Cochabamba, a tropical area deep in the Amazon rainforest in central Bolivia, and the heartland of his Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS) party and its indigenous base. . . .

Days after Morales and Linera arrived in El Trópico, Mexico’s left-wing president Andrés Manuel López Obrador sent a plane to rescue them, flying them out of Chimoré airport again. 

Obrador later said that the Bolivian armed forces targeted the aircraft with an RPG rocket moments after it took off. It appears the UK-backed coup regime wanted the deposed president – who had served for 13 years – dead. Morales credits Obrador with saving his life. 

Villa Tunari

Morales is back in El Trópico now, but in very different circumstances. 

After a year of ‘interim government’ democracy was eventually restored in October 2020 and Morales’s MAS won the elections again. The new president Luis Arce, formerly Morales’ economy minister, took power and Morales made a triumphant return from exile in Argentina.

After a tour of much of the country on foot, Morales settled back in El Trópico. 

He has recently moved into a house in Villa Tunari, a small town that sits just 20 miles down the road from Chimoré airport. It has a population of just over 3,000. . . .

I got the interview because of an investigation I wrote in March 2021 revealing the UK’s support for the coup which deposed Morales. . . .

Local journalists told me that Morales often mentions the article in his speeches, so I start with that.

“Just last year, through the media, we were informed that England had also participated in the coup,” he tells me. This, he continues, was a “blow against our economic model, because our economic model has produced results.”

He adds: “It is an economic model that belongs to the people, not to the empire. An economic model that does not come from the International Monetary Fund. An economic model that comes from the social movements.”

Morales continues: “When we came to government in 2006, Bolivia was the last country in South America in terms of economic and development indicators, the penultimate country in all of America.”

Over the next 13 years of his government Bolivia experienced its most stable period since it declared independence in 1825, and achieved unprecedented economic success, even praised by the IMF and World Bank. Crucially, this success was translated into unprecedented improvements  for Bolivia’s poor.  

“For the first six years we had the highest levels of economic growth in all of South America and that was because of those policies that came from social movements based on nationalisation,” Morales tells me.  

He was part of the “pink tide ” of left-wing governments in Latin America in the 2000s, but his model was more economically radical than most. 

On his hundredth day in office, Morales moved to nationalise  Bolivia’s oil and gas reserves, ordering the military to occupy the country’s gas fields and giving foreign investors a six-month deadline to comply with demands or leave. 

Morales believes it was this programme of nationalisation that led to the Western-backed coup against him.

“I continue to be convinced that the empire, capitalism, imperialism, do not accept that there is an economic model that is better than neoliberalism,” he tells me. “The coup was against our economic model…we showed that another Bolivia is possible.”

Added value

Morales says the second phase of the revolution – after nationalisation – was industrialisation. “The most important part was lithium,” he adds. 

Bolivia has the world’s second-largest  reserves of lithium, a metal that is used to make batteries and which has become increasingly coveted due to the burgeoning electric car industry.

Morales remembers a formative trip to South Korea he made in 2010. 

“We were discussing bilateral agreements, investments, co-operation and they took me to visit a factory that produced lithium batteries,” Morales says. “Interestingly, South Korea was asking us for lithium, as a raw material.”

Morales said he asked at the factory how much it cost to build the facility. They told him $300m. 

“Our international reserves were growing,” he adds. “I said at that moment, ‘I can guarantee $300m dollars’. I said to the Koreans, ‘let’s replicate this factory in Bolivia. I can guarantee your investment’”. The Koreans said no. 

“That’s when I realised that industrialised countries only want us Latin Americans so that we can guarantee them their raw materials. They don’t want us to give us the added value.”

At that point, Morales resolved to start industrialising Bolivia, reversing half a millennium of colonial history. 

The traditional imperial dynamic which had kept Bolivia poor was that rich countries would extract raw materials, send them to Europe to be made into products, industrialising Europe at the same time, and then sell them back to Bolivia as finished products, at a mark-up. 

(article continued in right column)

Questions related to this article:
 
Can Latin America free itself from US domination?

(article continued from left column)

With the country’s lithium deposits, Morales was adamant this system was finished. Bolivia would not just extract the lithium. It would build the batteries, too. Morales calls it “value added”.  

“We started with a laboratory, obviously with international experts that we hired,” he says. “Then we moved on to a pilot plant. We invested around $20 million, and now it’s working. Every year it produces about 200 tonnes of lithium carbonate, and lithium batteries, in Potosí.” 

Potosí is a city in southern Bolivia that became the centre of the Spanish empire in Latin America after gargantuan silver deposits were discovered there in the 16th century. Called  “the first city of capitalism”, it is estimated up to eight million  indigenous people died mining Potosi’s Cerro Rico (Rich Hill) for silver, all of it destined for Europe.

Morales continues: “We had a plan to install 42 new [lithium] plants by 2029. It was estimated that profits would be five billion dollars. Profits!”

“That’s when the coup came,” he says. “The US says China’s presence is not permitted but…having a market in China is very important. Also in Germany. The next step was with Russia, and then came the coup.” 

He continues: “Just last year, we found out that England had also participated in the coup – all for lithium.” 

But Morales says his people’s long struggle for control over their own riches is not unique.

“This is a struggle not only in Bolivia, or Latin America, but throughout the world,” Morales says. “Who do natural resources belong to? The people under the control of their state? Or are they privatised under the control of transnationals so they can plunder our natural resources?”

Partners or bosses?

Morales’ nationalisation programme put him on a collision course with powerful transnational companies who were used to the traditional imperial dynamic.

“During the 2005 campaign, we said, if corporations want to be here they do so as partners, or to provide their services, but not as bosses or owners of our natural resources,” Morales says.  “We established a political position with regards to transnational companies: we talk, we negotiate, but we do not submit to transnational corporations.”

Morales gives the example of hydrocarbon contracts signed by previous governments.

“In previous contracts – contracts made by neoliberals – it literally said ‘the title-holder acquires the rights to the product at the mouth of the well.’ Who is the title-holder? The transnational oil company. They want it from the mouth of the well.” 

He adds: “The companies tell us that when it is underground it belongs to the Bolivians, but when it comes out of the ground it is no longer the Bolivians. From the moment it comes out, the transnational corporations have an acquired right to it. So we said, inside or outside, it all belongs to Bolivians.”

Morales continues: “The most important thing now is that of 100% revenue, 82% is for Bolivians and 18% for corporations. Before it was 82% for the companies, 18% for the Bolivians, and the state had no control over production – how much they produced, how they produced – nothing”. . .

Placing conditions

Since the formation of the Monroe Doctrine in 1823 – which claimed the Western Hemisphere as the US’s sphere of influence – Bolivia has been largely under its control. This changed for the first time with the advent of the Morales government. 

“As a state, we want to have diplomatic relationships with all the world, but based on mutual respect,” Morales tells me. “The problem we have with the US is that any relationship with them is always subject to conditions.”

Morales continues: “It’s important to have commerce and relations based on mutual benefit, not competition. And we found some European countries that do that. But above all we found China. Diplomatic relationships with them aren’t based on conditions.”

He adds: “With the US, for example, their economic plan, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, if you wanted to access it you had to, in exchange, privatise your natural resources.”

The MCC was a project  of the George W. Bush administration which sought to run aid more like a business. Headed by a CEO, it is funded by public money but acts autonomously, and has a corporation-style board which includes  business people expert in making money. The aid “compacts” it signs with countries come with attached policy “conditionalities”.

“China doesn’t place any conditions on us, same as Russia, and like some countries in Europe,” Morales adds. “So that is the difference” . . . .

Morales believes that information and communication for the “people who do not have a voice” is the most important issue today. He is currently working on building independent media in Bolivia. 

“The people without many means of communication are faced with a hard struggle to communicate,” Morales says. “We have some experience, for example in El Trópico. We have a radio station, we don’t have a national audience, but it is listened to and followed a lot by the right-wing media.” They follow mainly to find attack lines on Morales.

“How nice it would be if the people had their own media channels,” Morales continues. “This is the challenge the people have. This media we have, which belongs to the empire or the right-wing in Bolivia, that’s how it is in all Latin America. It defends its interests…and they are never with the people.”

He adds: “When, for example, the right-wing makes a mistake it is never revealed, it’s covered-up and they protect themselves. The [corporate] media is there to defend their big industries, their lands, their banks, and they want to humiliate the Bolivian peoples, the humble people of the world.”

‘I have a lot of hope’

Latin America has long been the world’s home of democratic socialism. I ask Morales if he has hope for the future. “In South America, we are not in times of Hugo Chávez, Lula, [Néstor] Kirchner, [Rafael] Correa,” he says.

Together these progressive leaders pushed for the integration of Latin America and the Caribbean, through organisations such as the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) in 2008 and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) in 2011. 

“We came down, but now we are recovering,” Morales adds.

Recent events point to another left-wing resurgence in the continent. Morales points to recent victories in Peru, Chile and Colombia and Lula’s expected return to the presidency in Brazil soon. 

“Those times are returning,” he says. “We need to again consolidate these democratic revolutions for the good of humanity. I have a lot of hope.”

He continues: “In politics we must ask ourselves: are we with the people or are we with the empire? If we are with the people, we make a country; if we are with the empire, we make money. 

“If we are with the people, we fight for life, for humanity; if we are with the empire, we are with the politics of death, the culture of death, interventions, and pillaging of the people. That is what we ask ourselves as humans, as leaders: ‘Are we at the service of our people?’” . . . .
_________

* Matt Kennard is chief investigator at Declassified UK. He was a fellow and then director at the Centre for Investigative Journalism in London. Follow him on Twitter @kennardmatt

____________

(Thank you to Joe Yannielli for sending this article to CPNN.)

Latin America, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

UN General Assembly declares access to clean and healthy environment a universal human right

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

An article from the United Nations

With 161 votes in favour, and eight abstentions*, the UN General Assembly adopted a historic resolution on Thursday (July 28), declaring access to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, a universal human right.

The resolution, based on a similar text adopted last year by the Human Rights Council, calls upon States, international organisations, and business enterprises to scale up efforts to ensure a healthy environment for all. 

The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, welcomed the ‘historic’ decision and said the landmark development demonstrates that Member States can come together in the collective fight against the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.

“The resolution will help reduce environmental injustices, close protection gaps and empower people, especially those that are in vulnerable situations, including environmental human rights defenders, children, youth, women and indigenous peoples”, he said in a statement released by his Spokesperson’s Office.

He added that the decision will also help States accelerate the implementation of their environmental and human rights obligations and commitments.

“The international community has given universal recognition to this right and brought us closer to making it a reality for all”, he said.

Guterres underscored that however, the adoption of the resolution ‘is only the beginning’ and urged nations to make this newly recognised right ‘a reality for everyone, everywhere’.

Urgent action needed

In a statement, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet also hailed the Assembly’s decision and echoed the Secretary-General’s call for urgent action to implement it.

“Today is a historic moment, but simply affirming our right to a healthy environment is not enough. The General Assembly resolution is very clear: States must implement their international commitments and scale up their efforts to realize it. We will all suffer much worse effects from environmental crises, if we do not work together to collectively avert them now,” she said.

Ms. Bachelet explained that environmental action based on human rights obligations provides vital guardrails for economic policies and business models.

“It emphasizes the underpinning of legal obligations to act, rather than simply of discretionary policy.  It is also more effective, legitimate and sustainable,” she added.

A resolution for the whole planet

The text, originally presented by Costa Rica, the Maldives, Morocco, Slovenia and Switzerland last June, and now co-sponsored by over 100 countries, notes that the right to a healthy environment is related to existing international law and affirms that its promotion requires the full implementation of multilateral environmental agreements.

It also recognises that the impact of climate change, the unsustainable management and use of natural resources, the pollution of air, land and water, the unsound management of chemicals and waste, and the resulting loss in biodiversity interfere with the enjoyment of this right – and that environmental damage has negative implications, both direct and indirect, for the effective enjoyment of all human rights.

According to the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment, Mr. David Boyd, the Assembly’s decision will change the very nature of international human rights law.

“Governments have made promises to clean up the environment and address the climate emergency for decades but having a right to a healthy environment changes people’s perspective from ‘begging’ to demanding governments to act”, he United Nations Conference on the Environment in Stockholm, which ended with its own historic declaration, was the first one to place environmental issues at the forefront of international concerns and marked the start of a dialogue between industrialized and developing countries on the link between economic growth, the pollution of the air, water and the ocean, and the well-being of people around the world.

UN Member States back then, declared that people have a fundamental right to “an environment of a quality that permits a life of dignity and well-being,” calling for concrete action and the recognition of this right.

(article continued in right column)

Question for this article:

Despite the vested interests of companies and governments, Can we make progress toward sustainable development?

(Article continued from the left column)

Last October, after decades of work by nations at the front lines of climate change, such as the Maldives archipelago, as well as more than 1,000 civil society organisations, the Human Rights Council finally recognised this right and called for the UN General Assembly to do the same.

“From a foothold in the 1972 Stockholm Declaration, the right has been integrated into constitutions, national laws and regional agreements. Today’s decision elevates the right to where it belongs: universal recognition”, UN Environment chief, Inger Andersen, explained in a statement published this Thursday.

The recognition of the right to a healthy environment by these UN bodies, although not legally binding— meaning countries don’t have a legal obligation to comply— is expected to be a catalyst for action and to empower ordinary people to hold their governments accountable.

“So, the recognition of this right is a victory we should celebrate. My thanks to Member States and to the thousands of civil society organizations and indigenous peoples’ groups, and tens of thousands of young people who advocated relentlessly for this right. But now we must build on this victory and implement the right”, Ms. Andersen added.

Triple crisis response

As mentioned by the UN Secretary-General, the newly recognised right will be crucial to tackling the triple planetary crisis.

This refers to the three main interlinked environmental threats that humanity currently faces: climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss – all mentioned in the text of the resolution.

Each of these issues has its own causes and effects and they need to be resolved if we are to have a viable future on Earth.

The consequences of climate change are becoming increasingly apparent, through increased intensity and severity of droughts, water scarcity, wildfires, rising sea levels, flooding, melting polar ice, catastrophic storms and declining biodiversity.

Meanwhile, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution is the largest cause of disease and premature death in the world, with more than seven million people dying prematurely each year due to pollution.

Finally, the decline or disappearance of biological diversity – which includes animals, plants and ecosystems – impacts food supplies, access to clean water and life as we know it.

* States who abstained: China, Russian Federation, Belarus, Cambodia, Iran, Syria, Kyrgyzstan and Ethiopia.

(Note from the editor: Here is a translation of the explanation of their vote by the Russian Federation.

Mr Chairman, We would like to start by thanking the delegations of Slovenia, Switzerland, Costa Rica, Maldives and Morocco as the main sponsors of the draft resolution “The human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment” for their openness and constructive approach upon approval of the document.

The Russian Federation attaches great importance to the protection of environment and gives it increased attention both at the national, as well as at the international level. The theme of the draft resolution is at the intersection of two branches of law – international human rights law and international environmental law. However, neither universal environmental agreements nor international human rights treaties do not disclose the content of such concepts such as “clean environment”, “healthy environment”, “sustainable environment” or any similar concepts.

The wording of the existing international acts differ significantly. The main legal content of these concepts today occurs in national level. Each of the countries, based on the situation prevailing there and conditions, defines its own standards.

In this regard, the proclamation of the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, without defining at least minimum standards universal character, prematurely.

Moreover, we are convinced that a new right can be recognized exclusively within the framework of international treaties, which are carefully prepared by authorized experts and approved by states. Only in this case can we speak of legal recognized law to be taken into account by States. Chosen one the authors of the method – the recognition of the right through the resolution of the General Assembly – is, at least controversial from a legal point of view, and in the future may lead to negative consequences.

In view of the foregoing, the Russian Federation cannot support the submitted draft resolution A/76/L.75 and puts it on vote. However, recognizing the importance of the topic under consideration as a whole, the Russian delegation will not oppose, but will refrain from voting.

Thank you for your attention.

(Thank you to Georgina Galanis for sending this article to CPNN.)

global, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, United Nations,

Call for Applications: Strengthening Young Women Peacebuilders’ Capacity in Complex Crises

. WOMEN’S EQUALITY .

An announcment from the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations

Are you a young woman peacebuilder or human rights defender leading a local organization? Are you working to build and sustain peace, provide humanitarian relief in your community, prevent conflicts, or fight for human rights and equality? If your answer is YES, do not miss this opportunity!

WHAT IS THE PROGRAMME ABOUT?

The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), in collaboration with the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), are launching the pilot initiative Strengthening Young Women Peacebuilders’ Capacity in Complex Crises, a programme that seeks to support young women leading civil society organizations in fragile and/or conflict-affected countries.

The objective of this initiative is to provide capacity-building for young women-led organizations to strengthen their fundraising skills, and to create a space for peer exchange, networking, sharing of best practices, and lessons learned among young women peacebuilders.

A 4-day, in-person workshop will be held in November 2022 in Tbilisi, Georgia. You will learn about:

* Key policy areas such as peacebuilding and sustaining peace, the women, peace, and security (WPS) and the youth, peace, and security (YPS) agendas;

* Key project management skills: designing and drafting project proposals (including conflict analysis, theory of change, logical frameworks), fundraising, donor outreach, and reporting.

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Questions for this article

Does the UN advance equality for women?

Do women have a special role to play in the peace movement?

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WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO APPLY?

To be eligible, you must meet the following criteria:

* Be a young woman between 18 and 30 years old. LGBTIQ+ individuals are encouraged to apply.

* Be a citizen of, and be living in, one of the following countries or territories: Afghanistan, Burundi, Burkina Faso, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Chad, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Honduras, Iraq, Kenya, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Moldova, Mozambique, Myanmar, Niger, Nigeria, Palestine, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, and Yemen.

* Have not yet received funding from the United Nations.

* Be a founding or key member of a legally registered civil society organization working on peacebuilding, human rights, women’s rights, youth rights, or related.

* Have a working knowledge of either English, French, or Spanish.

HOW TO APPLY

Please fill in the online application form  before 15 August 2022.

For any inquiries, please send an email to marie.doucey@unwomen.org.

global, United Nations, WOMEN'S EQUALITY,

NAM Baku Summit unique opportunity to find solutions to solve real world issues – Pakistani expert

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

An article by Nargiz Sadikhova from the Trend News Agency

The Youth Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) member countries is being held in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku on July 25-29.


Photo from twitter. Click on photo to enlarge.

Representatives of youth from more than 60 countries of the NAM are taking part in the event.

The NAM Baku Summit is a unique opportunity where youth delegates from across the globe belonging to multiple NAM countries from diverse cultures and expertise would participate physically, Qaiser Nawab, Pakistani strategic communications expert, advocate for social change told Trend.

He noted that the world today is home to the largest generation of young people in history.

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Question for this article:

Are we seeing the dawn of a global youth movement?

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“Connected to each other like never before, young people contribute to the resilience of their communities by proposing innovative solutions and driving social progress. At the same time, they continue to face multifaceted challenges, including, among others, access to quality education, healthcare, and decent work, forced displacement, different forms of discrimination and marginalization, all of which impede them to achieve their full potential,” he said.

Nawab noted that the way young people navigate their way and overcome these challenges is critical for the progress of mankind.

“The NAM Baku Summit is a unique opportunity where youth delegates from across the globe belonging to multiple NAM countries from diverse cultures and expertise would participate physically. The youth of today are progressives that go unconventional about different global issues. So, the best brains from different corners of the NAM member states would happen to share ideas, find solutions to solve real world issues as well as help in advocating the case of humanity, global culture of peace and Sustainable Development,” he said.

In his words, the youth of the NAM members states can play an important role in advancing the principles of the movement by using technology and by presenting an innovative ideas, visions, recommendations as well as perspectives on current challenges that they face in ensuring sustainable progress and how these difficulties could be overcome through concerted and adequate responses of the NAM Member States.

“In order to have a sustainable solutions, youth must be involved and convinced that the multilateral rules-based order is the need of the hour considering the multifarious challenges confronting the international order in the form of climate change, poverty, rising inequality, migration, as well as weapons proliferation, deteriorating oceans and cybercrime. It’s indeed a great initiative by the Chairmanship of NAM, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev,” he said.

global, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Nonviolence International: Calling for Peace in Ukraine

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

An article by Paige Wright for Nonviolence International (NVI)

NVI-Ukraine has worked for years to promote peace & reconciliation in Ukraine.

1) NVI-Ukraine serves as the coordinator of the Eastern European Network for the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC). GPPAC is the longstanding network of peace groups in the region. GPPAC has long worked to ameliorate internal ethnic, religious and community conflicts in Ukraine and the region. You can see statements from GPPAC below on the current war.

2) NVI-Ukraine hosts a nascent Ukrainian Stop the War Coalition. This is a network of groups in Ukraine working to nonviolently resist the Russian invasion and to support the Russian anti-war movement. See below for details on its membership.


Andre Kamenshikov speaking in the video of Civil Resistance in Ukraine and the Region

3) NVI-Ukraine is currently focusing on how to address ordinary Russian citizen with anti-war messaging. Although Russia is a dictatorship – public opinion does matter a lot. In fact, the Russian government is not able to currently sell to its own population the concept of an all-out war against Ukraine, thus it uses euphemisms such as a “special military operation” etc. Due to this – the government cannot announce a full mobilization, it does not have the legal instruments to send people to the battle zone against their will and so on.

As the war drags on, Russia’s key military objectives remain unfulfilled. The Russian government is tempted to carry out more and more measures which will gradually put the entire country in a de-facto state of war, even if war is never officially announced. This cannot be done without significantly increasing pressure and demands on all of society. Our hope is that if anti-war attitudes and resistance will continue to grow, while the motivation of those who support the government remains insufficient, this will put the country’s leadership in a situation where it will have no other option as to seek peace and discontinue its imperialist policies. You can see NVI’s internal public opinion and messaging reports here.

4) NVI-Ukraine continues to work closely with a variety if international efforts to facilitate visits, meetings, delegations, humanitarian efforts, and project explorations. We would like to draw attention the work of Nonviolent Peaceforce, Patrir, and PAX. We also speak out to the media on nonviolent alternatives in Ukraine, Russia, and the region. See below for media interviews.

Ukrainian Stop the War Coalition

Nonviolence International-Ukraine is supporting the Ukrainian Stop the War Coalition (USWC) which is building a network of activists and groups to resist the Russian invasion and to support peacebuilding efforts that can provide a platform for future reconciliation. The USWC is focusing on

1) supporting nonviolent resistance to Russian occupation,

2) promoting war-resistance, both passive and active, in Russia and Belarus,

3) strengthening the social fabric in Ukraine created by the war, such as between internally displaced people and their host communities.

NVI is asking for supporters to donate generously. Nonviolence International, based in DC, will provide administration and fiscal sponsorship support.

Steering Committee

Andre Kamenshikov, Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC), regional network coordinator for Eastern Europe, 30 years of practical experience in civil peacebuilding and humanitarian work in Russia, Ukraine and post-soviet states. Based in Kyiv.

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

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Olha Zaiarna, GPPAC regional liaison officer, researcher with experience in both government and public institutions working on peacebuilding and conflict management. (Based in Kyiv)

Dmitro Zvonok, socio-psychologist, trainer at the Ukrainian Peacebuilding School initiative, dialogue facilitator, developer of a number of educational games for dealing with conflicts on a community level, internally displaced person from eastern Ukraine.

Igor Semivolos, Head of Association for Middle Eastern Studies of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, founder of the Ukrainian Peacebuilding School initiative.

The USWC will focus its efforts in the following 3 areas. However, given the fast-moving events on the ground, priorities may understandably shift.

Nonviolence International is proud that Andre Kamenshikov, NVI Ukraine director, was part of this impressive gathering.

Civil Resistance in Ukraine and the Region

How does civil resistance work and what can it achieve? This panel shares how civilians are using strategic civil resistance to diminish the power and impact of the Russian military.

In Ukraine, civilians replace road signs to confuse Russian military vehicles, they block roads with cement blocks and iron pins, and they have set up a complex humanitarian aid system with neighboring countries. Within Russia, protests and resignations by universities, media outlets, and professionals denounce the military invasion. Join us to learn more about the strategy of civil resistance in Ukraine and the region.

Panelists include leading experts in civil resistance, some joining us from the frontlines in Kyiv.

As a member of the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC), Nonviolence International supports and endorses the following statement made by GPPAC. We note that the tensions around Ukraine and the potential for war will have destructive consequences for all citizens and all nations involved. Now more than ever do we stand for diplomacy in a coalition with other nonviolent actors. We hope you do the same.

GPPAC Statement on the situation around Ukraine, February 24, 2022

As a global network of peacebuilders, GPPAC is gravely concerned by the situation around Ukraine. We condemn the military operations launched by Russia today on February 24, in violation of international law and the Charter of the United Nations. We call for an immediate cessation of all military actions which threaten the lives and livelihoods of citizens of all countries involved. In particular, we urge:

* All parties to uphold obligations under international humanitarian law regarding conduct during wartime.

* The international community to provide humanitarian assistance to the people of Ukraine.

* Third parties, especially EU countries, to provide safe haven for those people who do not wish to take part in wars of aggression.

* The international community must pursue all possible efforts urgently to resolve this crisis through non-violent, diplomatic means, and support antiwar and humanitarian efforts of civil society as well as do everything possible to guarantee the safety and security of the people of Ukraine.

Please see NVI’s database of Nonviolent Tactics.

There is enormous civilian resistance to this war around the world. In Russia, hundreds of thousands of people have protested with signs and chanting in the streets and more than 7000 have been arrested. In Ukraine we see enormous civil resistance with tactics including various kinds of blockades, mutual aid, changing streets signs, boycotting Russian products, direct appeals to soldiers, singing. Please visit our database of 350 tactics that can inspire people around the world to do something at this time.

On our website you will find a collection of our current resources on Ukraine including press releases, media appearances, statements we support, and shared perspectives. We hope that these not only inform you about Ukraine and nonviolence efforts surrounding it but also that it inspires you to walk with us in nonviolence and support peace activists bravely taking on this stand.

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, Europe

Pretoria, South Africa : Sustainability Research & Innovation Congress 2022

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

Excerpts from the website of Sustainability Research & Innovation Congress

The Sustainability Research & Innovation Congress (SRI) unites more than 2000 global sustainability research leaders, government and civil society experts, funders and innovators to inspire action and promote a sustainability transformation.

A joint initiative of Future Earth and the Belmont Forum, this truly global, annual event sparks meaningful conversations, provides a platform to share innovative ideas, and creates an inspiring and inclusive space for collaboration and action.

This year, hosted by the Future Africa Institute in Pretoria, South Africa, and online, the second edition of SRI offered a program of over 200 interactive sessions, workshops, trainings, networking events, innovation demonstrations, satellite events, and much more. 

Highlights from Day One – June 21

Transdisciplinary research in Africa could be the turnkey that unlocks progress in the research and scientific innovations that address climate change, gender-based violence and achieving net zero targets – but collaboration is pivotal.

This was the consensus among speakers at the opening plenary session on the first day of the Sustainability, Research and Innovation (SRI) Congress in Pretoria.

Highlights from Day Two – June 22

The second day of the SRI Congress saw many diverse topics take center stage as a series of transdisciplinary hybrid content sessions showcased sustainability’s impact on culture, art, and finance.

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Question for this article:

How can we ensure that science contributes to peace and sustainable development?

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In a special session held in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) titled The role of Biodiversity Finance in a changing world post the pandemic, key stakeholders and leaders in the biodiversity finance space participated in a lively discussion on government initiatives across Southern Africa to improve investment into biodiversity, and also showcased innovative approaches to Biodiversity Finance globally.

Highlights from Day Three – June 23

The ethical concerns around the development and application of Artificial Intelligence (AI), harnessing Africa’s natural capital, and taking healthcare solutions to where they are needed most, local communities, were just some of the insightful discussions held on the third day of the Sustainability, Research and Innovation Congress (SRI) 2022.

Highlights from Day Four – June 24

As extreme weather events continue to have an increasing and intense impact across Africa and the world, governments along with the private sector will have to join hands in planning for the “cities of tomorrow” that allow for healthy environments with access to clean power, air and water.

The fourth day of the Sustainability, Research and Innovation Congress (SRI) 2022, saw engaging sessions that addressed these broad yet interconnected issues and crucially, what sustainable strategies and solutions could be implemented.

Highlights from Day Five – June 25

Predicting the future is hard. Scientists and foresight experts work with data and stakeholders to build scenarios, historians lean on their knowledge of the past to peek into the present and beyond, investors read weak signals – yet more often than not, we are surprised by life.

At the Sustainability, Research and Innovation (SRI) Congress’s closing plenary session, a group of leading professionals actively engaging with the future, scientists and science fiction writers, as well as foresight analysts, convened to give a taste of the future – or at least their makings of it.

SRI2023 to be held in Panama

The National Secretariat for Science, Technology and Innovation (Senacyt) will host the congress in collaboration with its co-host, the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI).

(Note: Thank you to Uzma Alam for calling this event to the attention of CPNN.)

Africa, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Is language a human right?

Language as a human right is not explicitly mentioned in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

For this reason, a commission of the international organization PEN drafted a document on linguistic rights that was submitted to UNESCO in 1996.

One of the articles in the document declared the following collective rights for language groups:

* the right for their own language and culture to be taught;

* the right of access to cultural services;

* the right to an equitable presence of their language and culture in the communications media;

* the right to receive attention in their own language from government bodies and in socioeconomic relations

The document was “ noted with interest” by the UNESCO Executive Board, but was not adopted as official policy, perhaps because it was so long and complicated.

The question may be raised again now that we enter the International Decade of Indigenous Languages 2022-2032..
.
_____________

Below are articles in CPNN about this question:

Africa confronts linguistic imperialism with Kiswahili

d-human rights

Africa confronts linguistic imperialism with Kiswahili

. . HUMAN RIGHTS . .

An article from the Monitor

The move by the African Union — the apex organisation for African states — to adopt Kiswahili as one of its official working languages, is not only culturally and political significant, but a shot in the arm in its global spread.

This comes just three months after the United Nations on November 23, 2021 designated July 7 as the World Kiswahili Language Day.

It becomes the first African language, which is spoken by more than 200 million people, to be honoured by UNESCO.

Kiswahili, mainly spoken in the East African region, is a fusion of the dialect born of Bantu and Arabic languages, has earned its place of pride as one of the world’s top 10 most spoken languages and Africa’s most widely used native lingua. It enjoys official status national in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. It is also widely spoken in parts of DR Congo, Rwanda and Burundi.

Officially, it was being used in the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) regional blocs before AU’s adoption.

Over the years, Kiswahili has spread south of the continent, to parts of Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique, while Burundi, Madagascar and the Comoros islands have also adopted it.

In June 2020, South Africa introduced Kiswahili as an optional subject in the hope that the language could become a tool to foster cohesion among Africans.

And it’s in this light that the AU move to adopt Kiswahili is a milestone in mainstreaming it– and eventual launch globally.

Proponents of a single language for Africa are hoping that the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCTFA) will be the catalyst required to launch Kiswahili as Africa’s language of trade and continent-wide communication.

“Aside from fostering shared identity, Kiswahili as a language is a very important tool in the geopolitics of things. It will unite Africa just as other languages like French, Spanish or English have united those who speak them,” said Prof Macharia Munene, a history lecturer at the Nairobi-based United States International University Africa.

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Question related to this article:

Is language a human right?

(continued from left column)

“Although it will take a few decades before Kiswahili gains a foothold in every African state, the recent developments are important catalysts.”

An expression of culture 

According to him, language is intrinsic to the expression of culture, arguing that’s why American culture is quite dominant in the world.

It is on that premise that he argues China is doing everything to promote mandarin, hoping it will use it to stamp its cultural influence in the world.

Kenya, Uganda and South Africa are some of the states where China has made initiatives to popularise mandarin.

But China and France –– which also announced plans to make French the language of Africa –– encounter a continent increasingly conscious about its identity.

The diplomatic use of Kiswahili in Africa, and its subsequent introduction into schools’ curricula across the continent is expected to help forge friendships, cultural and economic relationships.

According to Global Voices—an international multi-lingual organisation of writers, translators, academics and digital rights activists—currently, there are more than 7,100 languages spoken around the world, 28 per cent of which are spoken on the African continent.

Despite the existence of some 2,140 local languages in Africa, English, French and Arabic reign supreme.

English on the other hand dominates online spaces in the region.

But this has shrunk to between 51-55 per cent as opposed to 80 per cent on online dominance two decades ago. Projections indicate that Kiswahili, which is now online, will become an increasingly important instrument of trade.

Renowned author Stanley Gazemba asserts that the language has the potential to forge strong trading ties between the people of eastern, central and southern Africa and to promote cultural cohesion.

“If widely promoted in these regions, the language can single-handedly remove the artificial barriers and boundaries imposed by imperial powers,” he wrote in The Elephant.

“There are an estimated 2,000 languages spoken on the continent. Colourful as this may appear, it also poses a challenge in marshalling all these diverse cultures into thinking and working towards a collective goal, which necessitates the creation and promotion of a lingua franca that can be used seamlessly across political and administrative borders, and which can ultimately allow the African people to speak in a single voice.”

“Kiswahili has proved to be a useful tool in unlocking the potential of this sleeping giant in the regions south of the Sahara.”

Kiswahili is taught in universities around the world, including in China, while in the USA, an estimated 100

Africa, HUMAN RIGHTS