Tag: United Nations

Trump’s “deal of the century”

On Tuesday, President Trump unveiled his Middle East plan, also dubbed as “deal of the century”, with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu (1). As expected, this blatantly biased plan didn’t get many glowing reviews. Here are some examples of the reactions.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 28.1.2020 (2):

“It’s a great plan for Israel.  It’s a great plan for peace.  Frankly, Mr. President, given all that you have already done for Israel, I’m not surprised.  You have been the greatest friend that Israel has ever had in the White House.”

“Your historic decisions to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital; to recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights; to reaffirm Israel’s legal claims in Judea and Samaria; to stand up to Iran; to pull out of that dangerous Iran deal; to confront — “confront” is not the word — to eliminate Qasem Soleimani — to support and encourage unbelievable cooperation between Israel and the United States in the military and strategic and intelligence fields — all this bear testament to the friendship and depth of your leadership and commitment to Israel.”

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson 29.1.2020 (3):

“No peace plan is perfect but this has the merit of a two state solution. It is a two state solution. It would ensure that Jerusalem is both the capital of Israel and of the Palestinian people.”

EU High representative Josep Borrell 28.1.2020 (4):

“The European Union will study and assess the proposals put forward. This will be done on the basis of the EU’s established position and its firm and united commitment to a negotiated and viable two-state solution that takes into account the legitimate aspirations of both the Palestinians and the Israelis, respecting all relevant UN resolutions and internationally agreed parameters.“

UN Secretary-General, note to correspondents 28.1.2020 (5):

“The Secretary-General has seen the announcement of the United States plan for the Middle East. The position of the United Nations on the two-State solution has been defined, throughout the years, by relevant Security Council and General Assembly resolutions by which the Secretariat is bound.
 
The United Nations remains committed to supporting Palestinians and Israelis to resolve the conflict on the basis of United Nations resolutions, international law and bilateral agreements and realizing the vision of two States – Israel and Palestine – living side by side in peace and security within recognized borders, on the basis of the pre-1967 lines.”

UN Special Rapporteur Michael Lynk 31.1.2020 (6):

“The Trump plan on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a lopsided proposal entirely in favour of one side to the conflict.”

“What the Trump plan offers is a one and a half state solution. This Potemkin state – lacking most of the commonly understood attributes of sovereignty beyond the right to fly its flag and issue stamps – would become an entirely new entity in the annals of modern political science.”

“This is not a recipe for a just and durable peace but rather endorses the creation of a 21st century Bantustan in the Middle East. The Palestinian statelet envisioned by the American plan would be scattered archipelagos of non-contiguous territory completely surrounded by Israel, with no external borders, no control over its airspace, no right to a military to defend its security, no geographic basis for a viable economy, no freedom of movement and with no ability to complain to international judicial forums against Israel or the United States.”

Turkey’s National Security Council (MGK) 30.1.2020 (7):

“The U.S.’ so-called peace plan aims to legitimize occupation, destruction and oppression of Palestine.”

“The only solution is the establishment of an independent Palestine on the basis of the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.”

The Arab League, part of statement 1.2.2020 (8):

“(The Arab League) rejects the US-Israeli ‘deal of the century’ considering that it does not meet the minimum rights and aspirations of Palestinian people.”

The Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit 1.2.2020 (9):

“The plan leads to a status that amounts to a one-state situation that comprises two classes of citizens, that is apartheid, in which the Palestinians will be second-class citizens, deprived of the basic rights of citizenship.”

“(The U.S. proposal) does not bring about stability or build peace, but sows the seeds for another 100 years of conflict and suffering.”

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, regarding cutting all ties with USA and Israel 1.2.2020 (10):

“We’ve informed the Israeli side … that there will be no relations at all with them and the United States including security ties.”

“I will never accept this solution. I will not have it recorded in my history that I have sold Jerusalem.”

References:

1) “This is what Donald Trump’s Middle East plan looks like” Al Jazeera 28.1.2020

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/01/donald-trump-middle-east-plan-200128192550276.html

2) “Remarks by President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu of the State of Israel in Joint Statements” White House 28.1.2020

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-prime-minister-netanyahu-state-israel-joint-statements/

3) “Boris Johnson praises Donald Trump’s plan for peace in the Middle East as he hits out at Jeremy Corbyn for being ‘characteristically negative’ about the blueprint” Daily Mail 29.1.2020

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7942665/Boris-Johnson-praises-Donald-Trumps-plan-peace-Middle-East.html

4) “EU responds to Trump’s Middle East peace plan” Euractiv.com 29.1.2020

https://www.euractiv.com/section/global-europe/news/eu-responds-to-trumps-middle-east-peace-plan/

5) “Note to correspondents: In respond to questions on the Middle East” United Nations Secretary-General 28.1.2020

https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/note-correspondents/2020-01-28/note-correspondents-response-questions-the-middle-east

6) “Israel / OPT: UN expert alarmed by ‘lopsided’ Trump plan, says will entrench occupation” United Nations OHCHR 31.1.2020

https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=25513&LangID=E

7) “Trump’s Mideast plan aims to legitimize destruction of Palestine: Turkey’s National Security Council” Daily Sabah 30.1.2020

https://www.dailysabah.com/politics/2020/01/30/trumps-mideast-plan-aims-to-legitimize-destruction-of-palestine-turkeys-national-security-council

8) “Arab League rejects Trump’s Middle East plan” Al Jazeera 1.2.2020

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/02/arab-league-holds-emergency-meeting-trump-plan-200201105251740.html

9) “Trump’s Mideast plan amounts to ‘apartheid’, Arab League says” Daily Sabah 1.2.2020

https://www.dailysabah.com/mideast/2020/02/01/arab-league-rejects-trumps-mideast-plan

10) “Palestine cuts all ties with Israel and US” Daily Sabah 1.2.2020

https://www.dailysabah.com/mideast/2020/02/01/palestinian-president-threatens-to-cut-all-ties-with-israel-and-us

UN environmental plans for the new decade

The UN Convention on Biological Diversity has published a 20-point draft plan to avert sixth mass extinction of species. The plan aims to organize conservation and restoration of crucial ecosystems and wildlife by 2030.

Read the full story on The Guardian:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/13/un-draft-plan-sets-2030-target-to-avert-earths-sixth-mass-extinction-aoe

Link to United Nations Environment Program UNEP report regarding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):

https://www.unenvironment.org/resources/report/united-nations-environment-programme-and-2030-agenda-global-action-people-and

2020 – International Year of Plant Health

In 2015, Finland proposed an idea that year 2020 would be International Year of Plant Health. In 2018, the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution A/RED/73/252 declaring year 2020 as the International Year of Plant Health.

“The year is a once in a lifetime opportunity to raise global awareness on how protecting plant health can help end hunger, reduce poverty, protect the environment, and boost economic development.”

Reference and More information:

https://www.ippc.int/en/iyph/

How right-wing populists and extremists use Christianity

Mark Galli, editor-in-chief of American religious magazine Christianity Today, wrote last week that President Trump is “morally lost” and should be removed from the office (1). Trump lashed out at the magazine in his tweets (2):

“A far left magazine, or very ‘progressive,’ as some would call it, which has been doing poorly and hasn’t been involved with the Billy Graham family for many years, Christianity Today, knows nothing about reading a perfect transcript of a routine phone call and would rather have a Radical Left nonbeliever, who wants to take your religion & your guns, than Donald Trump as your President.”

During recent years right-wing populists and extremists have used Christianity to promote their own ideology and to justify their actions. For example, Hungarian far-right leader Viktor Orbán has used Christianity to strengthen his authoritarian control. Some years ago, Orbán wanted to build “an illiberal, a non-liberal state”, but recently he has called his country “a Christian democracy” (3, 4). Dutch far-right politician and infamous Islamophobe Geert Wilders has wanted to enshrine “the dominance of the Judeo-Christian tradition” in the Dutch constitution (5). Far-right groups and parties in many countries have organized anti-immigration and anti-Muslim demonstrations and political stunts on the pretext of defending Christianity or Judeo-Christian values. For example, German far-right anti-immigration and anti-Muslim movement PEGIDA has had religion-themed demonstrations in front of Frauenkirche in Dresden, British far-right group Britain First has organized “Christian Patrols”, French far-right party National Rally (former National Front) has organized commemoration march for their Catholic saint Joan of Arc, Italian far-right party Northern League had a political rally where their leader Matteo Salvini swore to “put the gospel into action” and Spanish far-right party Vox vowed to start a new “reconquista” (reference to the era when Christians defeated the Moors and “reconquered” Southern Spain). (6, 7, 8) In USA, among the myriad of right-wing populist and extremist groups there are also extreme anti-abortion, anti-government and even anti-taxation militias who find excuse for their violent actions from the Bible (9).

Steve Bannon, former chief strategist of President Trump, tried to get European far-right leaders to join his organization The Movement, but that operation hasn’t been as successful as he expected. However, Bannon also has another elaborate plan: he wants to educate next generation of far-right leaders, or “culture warriors”, at an “academy for the Judeo-Christian West” in Italy. The academy would be run by a right-wing Catholic think thank Dignitatis Humanae Institute which was founded by Bannon’s close associate Benjamin Harnwell. The academy would become a “school for gladiators” and it would offer instruction in theology, philosophy, history and politics but it also would “institutionalize the thoughts and political insights of Steve Bannon.” However, the project has run into difficulties with Italian government. (11, 12, 14) American Cardinal Raymond Burke, who was named honorary president of the Dignitatis Humanae Institute, resigned. In his resignation letter Cardinal Burke wrote (13):

“In recent times it (i.e. the institute) has become more and more identified with the political program of Mr Bannon. While I have urged the institute to return to its original purpose of promoting the respect of human dignity it has not done so… I have therefore, effective immediately, terminated any relationship with the Dignitatis Humanae Institute.”

Bannon has also tried to build opposition against Pope Francis. Bannon advised Italian far-right leader Matteo Salvini to attack the pope over the issue of migration and refugees. Pope Francis has made the plight of refugees important part of his papacy and he has asked for compassion towards migrants. Bannon sees Pope Francis as “enemy.” (14)

Also other people close to Trump have used Christianity in their endeavors. When Secretary of State Mike Pompeo gave his speech in Cairo, Egypt, in January, he said (15):

“In my office, I keep a Bible open on my desk to remind me of God and His Word, and The Truth.

And it’s the truth, lower-case “t,” that I’m here to talk about today. It is a truth that isn’t often spoken in this part of the world, but because I’m a military man by training, I’ll be very blunt and direct today: America is a force for good in the Middle East.”

Pompeo also believes that it is possible that President Trump could be a new “Queen Esther” who will save Jews from “the Iranian menace.” Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu thinks that evangelical Christians, such as Vice President Pence and Secretary of State Pompeo, are actually more reliable allies of Israel than liberal American Jews. (16) Trump’s lawyer Jay Sekulow and his family run many non-profit organizations, for example Christian Advocates Serving Evangelism (CASE). It has turned out that the Sekulow family has used tens of millions of dollars of the money that was donated to their organizations for their own vast salaries as well as unusual loans and property deals. (17, 18) Sekulow is the leader of Trump’s personal legal team and his son Jordan is also member of the team (19, 20).

Even though right-wing populists and extremists use Christianity in their political activities and propaganda, polls suggest that their supporters are actually disproportionately irreligious. Church attendance seems to be one of the strongest statistical predictors for voting against the populist far right. (6) Many Christian religious leaders have condemned the use of Christianity in the far-right propaganda and hate mongering (6, 7). There is also a lot of interfaith dialogue and cooperation organized by United Nations and many other international and national organizations, for example Parliament of the World’s Religions, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue (KAICIID) and National Forum for Cooperation of Religions in Finland (CORE Forum). (21, 22, 23, 24)

References:

1) “Calling Trump ‘Morally Lost’, ‘Christianity Today’ Editor Calls For His Removal” NPR 20.12.2019

https://www.npr.org/2019/12/20/790130632/christianity-today-editor-discusses-calling-for-trumps-impeachment

2) “Trump attacks Christianity Today over bruising editorial” The Hill 20.12.2019

https://thehill.com/homenews/news/475445-trump-attacks-christianity-today-over-bruising-editorial

3) “Full text of Viktor Orbán’s speech at Băile Tuşnad (Tusnádfürdő) of 26 July 2014” The Budapest Beacon 29.7.2014

https://budapestbeacon.com/full-text-of-viktor-orbans-speech-at-baile-tusnad-tusnadfurdo-of-26-july-2014/

4) “Orbán deploys Christianity with a twist to tighten grip in Hungary” The Guardian 14.7.2019

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jul/14/viktor-orban-budapest-hungary-christianity-with-a-twist

5) “Can Geert Wilders be more than the Netherlands’ agitator-in-chief?” The Guardian 8.3.2017

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/08/can-geert-wilders-be-more-than-netherlands-far-right-agitator-in-chief

6) “Defenders of faith: why right-wing populists are embracing religion” New Statesman 30.5.2018

https://www.newstatesman.com/2018/05/defenders-faith-0

7) “Britain First’s Bury Park ‘Christian Patrol’ In Luton Condemned As ‘Intimidating’ And ‘Inflaming Tensions'” Huffington Post 26.1.2016

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2016/01/25/britain-first-luton-march-condemned_n_9067474.html?guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmZpLw&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAACaShTChTCMlkKHnZiAKzhGrd8Fe4J5w-Bityv62sHev310E29_OQSu4g97GYsaXZ28eRIvPcEgX1myuTIYbveyxDkIvy9NAyx49wAhwKGLNct3-UcrqS3ygBB8p1eu4PtEUTbQWmV2Wf9Olh2p4igWIEwooO7ZI8O3Z28v7q9bh&guccounter=2

8) “The rise of Spanish far-right party Vox shines light into the dark corners of the country’s politics” The National 5.1.2019

https://www.thenational.ae/opinion/comment/the-rise-of-the-spanish-far-right-party-vox-shines-a-light-into-the-dark-corners-of-the-country-s-politics-1.809539

9) “Holy Hate: The Far Right’s Radicalization of Religion” Southern Poverty Law Center 10.2.2018

https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2018/holy-hate-far-right’s-radicalization-religion

10) “Steve Bannon’s stuttering European adventure” Politico 19.4.2019

https://www.politico.eu/article/steve-bannon-european-parliament-the-movement-stuttering-european-adventure/

11) “Italy disrupts Steve Bannon’s plan for a right-wing academy in a monastery” The Washington Post 31.5.2019

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/italy-disrupts-steve-bannons-plan-for-a-right-wing-academy-in-an-italian-monastery/2019/05/31/0f804838-83d1-11e9-b585-e36b16a531aa_story.html

12) “Culture ministry failed to vet right-wing religious group close to Steve Bannon” The Art Newspaper 27.11.2019

https://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/culture-ministry-failed-to-vet-right-wing-group

13) “Cardinal Burke resigns from Dignitatis Humanae Institute” Independent Catholic News 27.6.2019

https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/37362

14) “Steve Bannon ‘told Italy’s populist leader: Pope Francis is the enemy'” The Guardian 13.4.2019

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/13/steve-bannon-matteo-salvini-pope-francis-is-the-enemy

15) “A Force for Good: America Reinvigorated in the Middle East” U.S. Virtual Embassy Iran 10.1.2019

https://ir.usembassy.gov/a-force-for-good-america-reinvigorated-in-the-middle-east/

16) “The Rapture and the Real World: Mike Pompeo Blends Beliefs and Policy” The New York Times 30.3.2019

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/30/us/politics/pompeo-christian-policy.html?auth=login-email&login=email

17) “Trump lawyer’s firm steered millions in donations to family members, files show” The Guardian 27.6.2017

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jun/27/trump-lawyer-jay-sekulow-donations

18) “Who Is Jay Sekulow? Trump Attorney Funnels Millions to His Family Through Nonprofits” Right Wing Watch 7.3.2019

https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/who-is-jay-sekulow-trump-attorney-funnels-millions-to-his-family-through-non-profits/

19) “Trump’s personal attorneys remain largely on the sidelines as the president contends with the impeachment inquiry” The Washington Post 3.12.2019

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trumps-personal-attorneys-remain-largely-on-the-sidelines-as-the-president-contends-with-impeachment-inquiry/2019/12/03/1076807c-150d-11ea-8406-df3c54b3253e_story.html

20) “Jordan Sekulow: President’s legal team working on two theories to bolster defense against impeachment” Fox News 21.12.2019

https://www.foxnews.com/media/jordan-sekulow-impeachment-legal-defense-president-trump-nancy-pelosi

21) World Interfaith Harmony Week United Nations

https://www.un.org/en/events/interfaithharmonyweek/index.shtml

22) Parliament of the World’s Religions

https://parliamentofreligions.org

23) KAICIID

https://www.kaiciid.org

24) CORE Forum

https://uskot.fi/en/home-2/

UN climate conference COP25 – some progress, some disappointments

UN climate conference COP 25 ended in Madrid during the weekend. UN Secretary-General António Guterres tweeted (1):

“I am disappointed with the results of #COP25.

The international community lost an important opportunity to show increased ambition on mitigation, adaptation & finance to tackle the climate crisis.

But we must not give up, and I will not give up.”

More information about the COP25 results:

1) “Progress made at COP25, despite lack of agreement to increase climate amibition” UN News 15.12.2019

https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/12/1053561

2) “UN climate talks in Madrid ended without resolving their toughest issue” Vox 15.12.2019

https://www.vox.com/2019/12/15/21022674/cop25-madrid-climate-change-greta-thunberg

3) “COP25: Key outcomes agreed at the UN climate talks in Madrid” CarbonBrief 15.12.2019

https://www.carbonbrief.org/cop25-key-outcomes-agreed-at-the-un-climate-talks-in-madrid

UN report: Israeli occupation of West Bank costs billions to Palestinians

According to UN report, Israeli occupation of the West Bank costs billions to Palestinians and it hurts economy and reduces job growth.

Read the full story on Al Jazeera:

https://www.aljazeera.com/ajimpact/israeli-occupation-west-bank-costs-palestinians-billions-191203114531218.html

UN agreement against exporting plastic waste to poorer countries – USA opposed

Nearly all the world’s countries have agreed on a deal that will restrict shipments of plastic waste to poorer countries. USA reportedly opposed the deal. After China stopped accepting recycling waste from USA, some developing countries have quickly become waste dumpsites. According to Claire Arkin, a spokeswoman for the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (Gaia), plastic waste from USA has been piling up in villages in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.

Read the full story in The Guardian:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/10/nearly-all-the-worlds-countries-sign-plastic-waste-deal-except-us