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Global South

ICJ’s Israel Genocide Decision: Historic Victory For Palestinians, Global South

January 28, 2024 Ben Norton, Geopolitical Economy. , , , , ,
The International Court of Justice at the Hague made history on January 26 by stating that there is sufficient evidence to investigate allegations that Israel has committed genocide against the Palestinian people. In the words of the UN News agency, the ICJ “declared that Palestinians had a right to be protected from acts of genocide, calling on Israel to ‘take all measures within its power’ to prevent such actions and allow the entry of desperately needed humanitarian aid into the war-shattered enclave”. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the top legal authority of the United Nations. In December, South Africa introduced a case at the ICJ that accused Israel of committing genocide against the Palestinian people as part of its brutal war on Gaza.

Wealthy Corporations Use Investment Agreements To Extract Millions From Developing Countries

January 25, 2024 Nicholas Kusnetz and Katie Surma, Scheer Post. , , , ,
When Rafael Correa entered Ecuador’s presidency in 2007, the nation faced an opportunity and a challenge. Ecuador’s economy depended on oil, and global crude prices were near a record high. Much of the oil was extracted by foreign companies, however, so as prices surged more wealth began flowing overseas. More than a third of Ecuadorians were living in poverty, and Correa had come to power as a leftist promising “radical, profound and quick changes to the current model of so much exploitation, of so much injustice.” Soon after taking office, Correa increased a recently enacted windfall tax on oil companies. The idea was to use the tax as leverage to extract better terms from the companies, and this fight against foreign firms quickly became a high-profile pillar of Correa’s broader campaign to assert the nation’s sovereignty.

The Center Of Gravity Is Tilting To The South

January 24, 2024 Mikaela Nhondo Erskog, Popular Resistance. , , , ,
When the countries of the Global North, led by the United States, demanded that the countries of the Global South adopt the North Atlantic Treaty Organization position on the war in Ukraine (namely to isolate Russia), they refused, accusing the West of double standards. Numerous leaders have since pointed to the Global North’s weakening credibility, signaling a new mood in the Global South. These changes are shaped, on the one hand, by the Global North’s loss of economic power alongside its increasing militarization and, on the other, by the Global South’s growing political demand for sovereignty and economic development.

South Africa’s Case Against Israel Is ‘Make Or Break’ For International Bodies

January 22, 2024 Margaret Flowers, Clearing the FOG. , , , , , ,
Beginning on January 11, the International Court of Justice held two days of testimony regarding the case brought by South Africa against the state of Israel calling on The Court to impose provisional measures to stop Israel from committing acts of genocide against Palestinian people. Clearing the FOG speaks with South African lawyer and activist, Azhar Sakoor, about the significance of the case and other legal efforts aiming to hold all who are complicit with genocide in Palestine accountable. Sakoor also describes the current legal efforts as a 'make or break' moment for international institutions such as the United Nations that will determine whether they continue to exist or are replaced by other institutions and methods of upholding international law.

Palestine Awakens The Revolution

January 21, 2024 Nylah Burton, Mondoweiss. , , , , , ,
When Patrice Lumumba was assassinated in 1961, Langston Hughes wrote, “They buried Lumumba/In an unmarked grave/But he needs no marker… My heart’s his grave/and it’s marked there.” Since Israel began its slaughter in Gaza on October 7, I have felt my own heart become a grave for over 25,000 people in Palestine. I, along with the rest of the world, have borne witness to the world’s most documented genocide in history. I have watched, from my phone, the attempted annihilation of an entire nation. These 100 days of genocide have replaced every cell in my body and made me into a different person. I am not the same as I was before witnessing these atrocities; my soul has shifted to revolve around this revolution. I’m not alone. The world has changed right along with me.

Global South Takes Israel To Court

January 19, 2024 Vijay Prashad, Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research. , , , , , ,
On 11 January, Adila Hassim, an advocate of the High Court of South Africa, stood before the judges of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and said: ‘Genocides are never declared in advance. But this court has the benefit of the past 13 weeks of evidence that shows incontrovertibly a pattern of conduct and related intention that justifies a plausible claim of genocidal acts’. This statement anchored Hassim’s presentation of South Africa’s 84-page complaint against Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. Both Israel and South Africa are parties to the 1948 Genocide Convention.

BRICS+ And The Future Of The International Order

December 16, 2023 Elias Khalil Jabbour, Geopolitical Economy. , , , , ,
The emergence and rise of new poles of power to the detriment of existing ones is nothing new in history. Since the 18th century, there have been countless examples of transitions in international hegemony. This accelerated with the emergence of industrial capitalism in England, which was more advanced than the Portuguese and Spanish commercial capitalism that for centuries had dominated much of the world, especially Latin America. Even the capitalist dynamic inaugurated by England has characteristics that are not unfamiliar to economic historians with great theoretical and conceptual rigor.

Food Sovereignty Guarantees A Future: La Via Campesina Conference

December 5, 2023 Lucas Estanislau, People's Dispatch. , , , , ,
Another model of production in the countryside is possible. This was the affirmation that was present in several speeches by representatives of more than 180 peasant organizations from different regions of the world during the opening acts of the 8th International Conference of La Via Campesina, which took place this Sunday in Bogotá, the capital of Colombia. The Conference which began in the Colombian capital on December 1 will go until December 8, with the participation of more than 500 representatives of rural and peasant movements from more than 82 countries. The aim is to discuss experiences in building food sovereignty, fighting hunger, and creating alternative projects to agribusiness.

How Gaza War Galvanizes Global Indigenous Solidarity Movement

November 28, 2023 Ramzy Baroud and Romana Rubeo, LA Progressive. , , , , , ,
For decades, the struggle for national liberation in Palestine was rightly understood to be part and parcel of a global struggle for liberation, mainly in the Global South. And since national liberation movements were, per definition, the struggle for Indigenous people to assert their collective rights for freedom, equality, and justice, the Palestinian struggle was positioned as part of this global Indigenous movement. Alas, the collapse of the Soviet Union; the growing dominance of the United States and its allies; and the return of Western colonialism in the form of neocolonialism to Africa, the Middle East, and elsewhere, have localized many of the Indigenous movements’ struggles.

New Mood In The World Will Put An End To The Global Monroe Doctrine

November 24, 2023 Vijay Prashad, Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research. , , , , , , , , , , ,
Every day since 7 October has felt like an International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, with hundreds of thousands gathering in Istanbul, a million in Jakarta, and then yet another million across Africa and Latin America to demand an end to the brutal attack being carried out by Israel (with the collusion of the United States). It is impossible to keep up with the scale and frequency of the protests, which are in turn pushing political parties and governments to clarify their stances on Israel’s attack on Palestine. These mass demonstrations have generated three kinds of outcomes.

Mistrust Of West Defines Global South Attitudes To Palestine

November 16, 2023 Vijay Prashad, The Electronic Intifada. , , , ,
Every day since 7 October feels like an International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian people: a million people gather in Istanbul, another million in Jakarta, and then yet another million across the African continent and in Latin America. It is impossible to keep up with the protests. These in turn are pushing political parties and governments to clarify their stances on the Israeli attack on Palestinians in Gaza. And the mass demonstrations have generated three kinds of outcomes: A new generation of people have now been drawn by the mass struggles not only into pro-Palestine activity, but into anti-war – if not anti-imperialist – consciousness.

Eritrea’s Defiance And Independence Remain Its Supreme Crime

October 25, 2023 Dr. Fikrejesus Amahazion, Black Agenda Report. , , ,
During a recent trip to a popular local café in the heart of Asmara, Eritrea I met a tourist from a large Western country. As we sipped on rich, strong coffee, we discussed a variety of topics, ranging from history and the weather to culture, art, and sport. Our wide-ranging discussion also touched upon politics and the generally poor state of reporting by Western mainstream media. It was during this portion of our extended and lively conversation that the visitor explained that they were genuinely flummoxed and increasingly troubled by how so much of the reporting and discourse that they had been exposed to prior to their arrival in our nation had been extremely negative and, as they could now clearly see and judge for themselves first-hand, blatantly wrong. It was, to use their exact words, “as if Eritrea had been targeted.”

The Perilous Path From Western Domination To De-Dollarization

October 3, 2023 Justin Podur, People's Dispatch. , , , , , ,
Two interesting things happened at the BRICS summit in South Africa in August. Several new members were invited to join BRICS in 2024: Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. And, at Brazil’s urging, a commission was established to study the possibility of a new currency to replace the dollar in international trade. Currency swap agreements will continue to be the way the process moves forward in the short term, though, because the dollar cannot be replaced in a rush. To escape the shackles of dollarization, Global South countries have a perilous path to walk. The major problems, as described by political economists Michael Hudson and Radhika Desai, are as follows...

G77+China Holds Summit In Cuba Calling For A Different World Order

September 27, 2023 Abayomi Azikiwe, Black Agenda Report. , , , , , , ,
A meeting of the Group of 77 and China took place on September 15-16 in the Republic of Cuba where frustrations with the existing world system were articulated by the participants. A declaration  issued at the conclusion of the summit demanded the restructuring of the existing economic order which continues to be dominated by the capitalist mode of production, exchange and social relations. Founded in 1964, today the organization has 130 member-states from Africa, Asia-Pacific, the Caribbean and Latin America. The summit has a rotating chairpersonship shared by all of the geopolitical regional affiliates. The summit occurred during a period of intense hostilities from the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) towards the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China.

At UN General Assembly Session, Global South Leaders Call For Urgent Reforms

September 22, 2023 People's Dispatch. , , ,
On the first day of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, September 19, countries from the Global South raised the demand for urgent reforms in multilateral institutions, both political and economic, for a just and democratic world order. The session was addressed by UN General Assembly chair Dennis Francis, UN Secretary General António Guterres, and leaders of various countries including Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, among others. Each of these leaders highlighted the growing geopolitical tensions in the world and the failure of multilateral institutions to resolve them.
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