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US Economic Sanctions On Cuba In The context Of The COVID-19 Pandemic

December 27, 2020 Raúl Rodríguez, Ethics and International Affairs. , , ,
On March 12, 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic.1  Shortly after that, on Friday, March 26, during his participation in a virtual summit of leaders from the G20 countries, UN Secretary-General António Guterres appealed for the waiving of sanctions that could undermine countries’ capacities to respond to the pandemic.2 A few days later,the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Hilal Elver, made a similar call for the immediate lifting of international sanctions to prevent hunger crises in countries hit by the pandemic:“The continued imposition of crippling economic sanctions on Syria, Venezuela, Iran, Cuba, and, to a lesser degree, Zimbabwe, to name the most prominent instances, severely undermines the ordinary citizens’ fundamental right to sufficient and adequate food.”

Battle Brewing In Canada Over Rights Of Indigenous Peoples

December 27, 2020 Brett Forester, APTN News. , , ,
Non-Indigenous opponents fear it would give First Nations, Inuit and Metis too much power. Indigenous opponents fear it won’t give them enough. Supporters tout it as a leap forward on rights, title and reconciliation. Detractors say it strengthens the shackles of the colonial status quo. A battle is brewing over UNDRIP in and outside the halls of power – and a whole lot remains unclear. “As with any law, there’s unknowns,” said professor and legal scholar John Borrows, reached by phone a day after Justice Minister David Lametti tabled Bill C-15 in the House of Commons. “There’s unknowns with our Constitution. There’s unknowns with UNDRIP. But the fact that this has got a process to work through those unknowns is better than the free for all we have right now.”

US Votes Against UN Resolution Condemning Nazis

December 19, 2020 Alan Macleod, Mintpress News. , , ,
The United States and Ukraine were the only two nations to vote against a United Nations resolution Wednesday on, “Combating glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism and other practices that contribute to fuelling contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.” The resolution passed 130-2. The resolution featured 70 fairly bland statements condemning the crimes of Adolf Hitler, while also expressing concern at the rise of contemporary Neo-Nazi groups. “Neo-Nazism is more than just the glorification of a past movement, it is a contemporary phenomenon with strong vested interests in racial inequality and an investment in gaining broad support for its false claims of racial superiority,” the document warned, expressing its alarm that, in many parts of the world, it is on the rise.

Urgent Call To End The Illegal Sanctions

December 18, 2020 Progressive International. , , ,
U.S.-backed economic sanctions impact nearly one-third of humanity in some thirty countries, causing untold death and devastation by denying them access to global markets restricting the ability to generate wealth, stabilise currency, and provide basic human essentials for their people. For the past several decades, the United States of America has used its considerable institutional power (over finance and diplomacy) to strangle countries that do not fall in line with its global political and economic agenda. The most dramatic case is Cuba, which has faced a blockade for six decades, a blockade that the UN General Assembly votes to dismantle annually.

UN Experts Concerned About Charges Against US Indigenous Leader

December 17, 2020 United Nations. , , ,
Nicholas Tilsen, human rights defender of the Oglala-Lakȟóta Sioux Nation and president of the indigenous-led NDN Collective, is due in court on 18 December, charged with four felonies and three misdemeanours after he and others blocked a road leading to a fireworks celebration event, led by President Donald Trump, which was held on 4 July at the South Dakota site in the Black Hills region.   “Obviously we cannot pre-judge the outcome of the case against Nicholas Tilsen, but we are seriously concerned about his arrest and the charges brought against him in connection with the exercise of his rights as an indigenous person, particularly the right to assembly”, the five UN Special Rapporteurs said.  

United Nations Removes Marijuana From List Of Most Dangerous Drugs

December 4, 2020 Zack Budryk, The Hill. , ,
A United Nations panel has voted to remove medical cannabis from a list of dangerous drugs. In the Wednesday vote, the Commission for Narcotic Drugs voted on several World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations related to cannabis. Among them was a recommendation that the drug be stricken from Schedule IV of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. The list currently puts cannabis alongside drugs like heroin, cocaine and fentanyl. While the vote will not have any immediate or binding effect on international cannabis laws, it will open doors for reforms that use such international agreements as guidelines, according to The New York Times.

Venezuela Calls On UNSC To Reject Unilateral Sanctions

November 30, 2020 Telesur English. , , ,
"All countries suffering from this type of aggression inflicted by economic means must cooperate to put an end to the suffering of our peoples," Ambassador Moncada stressed. Speaking at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Wednesday, Venezuela's Ambassador Samuel Moncada proposed the formation of an "International Alliance Against Unilateral Coercive Measures" to halt the crimes against humanity committed by the U.S. government, which keeps arbitrary economic sanctions against 29 countries. 

The Significance Of The Nuclear Ban Treaty

October 28, 2020 Mohamed Elmaazi, World Beyond War. , , ,
The NPT has been lived up to to a surprising extent by the non-nuclear powers. It is amazing that more countries have not gone the nuclear path. The world is fortunate that more haven’t made that leap at a time when, according to El Baradei, at least 40 countries have the technological capability of doing so. The ones who are guilty of violating it are the five original signatories–the U.S., Russia, China, Britain, and France. They have completely ignored Article 6, which requires the nations possessing nuclear arsenals to reduce and eliminate those arsenals.

UN Nuclear Ban Treaty One Ratification Shy Of Taking Effect

October 24, 2020 The Japan Times. , , ,
Jamaica and Nauru are the latest countries to complete the ratification procedures, the United Nations said. The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, adopted in 2017, will enter into force 90 days after it has been ratified by at least 50 countries and regions. Although the pact will not be able to legally require nuclear power states to get rid of their arsenals, the launch of the world’s first treaty banning nuclear weapons is likely to gain global momentum toward reducing stockpiles. According to an official with the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), another country is expected to ratify the treaty in the near future.

Bullets Are Not The Seeds Of Life

October 22, 2020 Vijay Prashad, Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research. , , ,
On 9 October 2020, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the United Nations’ World Food Programme. In the citation for the award, the Norwegian Nobel Committee pointed to the ‘link between hunger and armed conflict’, noting that ‘war and conflict can cause food insecurity and hunger, just as hunger and food insecurity can cause latent conflicts to flare up and trigger the use of violence’. The demand for zero hunger requires ‘an end to war and armed conflict’, said the Nobel Committee. During the pandemic, the numbers of those who go to bed hungry at night have dramatically escalated, with estimates showing that half the human population has insufficient access to food.

Agribusiness Interests Hijack 2021 UN Food Systems Summit

October 17, 2020 Anuradha Mittal, In Depth News. , ,
Oakland, CA -This World Food Day (October 16) amidst the ongoing pandemic and the devastating impact of the climate crisis, a Food Systems Summit is being planned a year from now by the United Nations, to fulfil the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals. As the Summit takes shape, it is obvious that it does not intend to trigger the deep systemic changes necessary to address the massive challenges that we face. The Summit will do more of the same – green and poor wash – to preserve and perpetuate interests of agribusiness and agro-chemical corporations at the expense of people and the planet.

Labor Unions File UN Complaint Over ‘Outrageous’ Violations Of Workers’ Rights

October 8, 2020 Kenny Stancil, Commondreams. , , ,
United States labor leaders representing workers in several trade unions on Wednesday filed a complaint with the United Nations' labor agency, making the case that under the Trump administration, the U.S. has violated numerous international labor laws during the coronavirus pandemic.  The AFL-CIO and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) filed the complaint in Geneva, home of the International Labor Organization (ILO), a U.N. institution dedicated to protecting workers' rights related to workplace safeguards and collective bargaining. 

Ex-OPCW Chief Jose Bustani Reads Syria Testimony Blocked At UN

October 7, 2020 Aaron Maté, The Grayzone. , , ,
Jose Bustani was invited to brief the Security Council on the OPCW’s cover-up of an investigation into an alleged chemical attack in Douma, Syria in April 2018. The US, UK, and France bombed Syria after accusing the Syrian government of dropping toxic gas in Douma. OPCW inspectors later found evidence that undermined the official narrative, but were censored by their superiors under US pressure. As the OPCW’s first Director General, Bustani experienced first-hand the costs of challenging pro-war narratives.

China Leads Call In UN For US To End ‘Coercive’ Sanctions

October 7, 2020 David DeCamp, Antiwar.com. , , ,
New York - China, Russia, and 24 other countries called for an end to unilateral sanctions by the US and other Western countries on Monday. Chinese envoy Zhang Jun read a statement at the UN that said the sanctions have made it harder for governments to respond to the coronavirus pandemic. “The response to and recovery from Covid-19 requires global solidarity and international cooperation,” the countries said in a statement. “However, we continue to witness the application of unilateral coercive measures, which are contrary to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and International Law.”

UN Nuclear Ban Treaty Likely To Enter Force Early Next Year

October 5, 2020 Kyodo News. , , ,
New York -A U.N.-adopted nuclear ban treaty is likely to enter into force early next year as the number of signatories is anticipated to reach the needed threshold of 50 soon, possibly later this month, a diplomatic source said Friday. According to the source and the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, or ICAN, 46 countries and regions have completed ratification procedures. The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, adopted in 2017, will enter into force 90 days after it has been ratified by at least 50 countries and regions.
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