World Scratches

Henry Kissinger: an itinerary by steps of the great geopolitical strategist vibrant engagement

2023-12-10T21:21:00.000-08:00

Giving a big picture of what has been the political contribution of the mastermind of Realpolitik, a strategy focused on the great powers' interests, and how it tackled many geopolitical crises, this essay is going to pinpoint the steps of his diplomatic career from the epoch of Cold War to nowadays.

Taking over the charge of US Secretary of State and US National Security Advisor in the ‘70s, under Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford presidencies, let’s have a look at the official data concerning his academic and political battles in the name of his republican values. The magician of the foreign relations USA has ever had, strived to build a shared future on the international scene, although thwarted by many parts.

Kissinger, a German refugee that was escaped from Nazism, was credited in the US with several diplomatic achievements. After serving US Army, he accomplished his M.A. and Ph.D. in Political Science at Harvard University, whose thesis was titled Peace, Legitimacy, and the Equilibrium, focused on the concept of "legitimacy”. He didn’t confuse legitimacy with justice but he based it on an international order accepted by all of the prominent powers, whereas an international order not welcomed by one or more of the great powers would have been "revolutionary".

After Nixon became president in January 1969, Kissinger was appointed National Security Advisor, demonstrating to be one of the most important foreign policy theorists.

Kissinger and Nixon offset their differences, being the former an international citizen, and the latter a classic American Stateman.

Vetting his outstanding role in the Asia-Pacific region to restore peace and to adjust the scheme of the US international relations, offering an overarching framework of his winning strategies, we can not mention his

policy of détente, that of relaxation of USA- Soviet frictions. Furthermore, he was the author of the rapprochement with the People's Republic of China Premier Zhou Enlai.

Détente and opening to the PRC

During the meetings held at the beginning of 1970s in China, Premier Zhou Enlai, then in charge of foreign policy, demanded the US recognize that Taiwan was a legitimate part of the PRC, pull U.S. forces out of Taiwan, and end military support for the Kuomintang regime. Kissinger accepted his requests by promising to pull 2/3 of the U.S. forces out of Taiwan when the Vietnam war would be ended. During these visits, came up the issue of which Chinese government deserved to be represented in the UN. Kissinger advised Zhou that, according to a public opinion poll, 62% of Americans wanted Taiwan to remain a UN member and asked him to consider the "two Chinas" compromise, proposed by Bush, to avert offending American public opinion. Finally, Kissinger agreed to the decision of the UNGA to expel Taiwan and to give the PRC's seat on the UNSC.

Kissinger's journeys paved the way for the 1972 Summit between Nixon, Zhou, and Mao Zedong, resulting from 23 years of diplomatic isolation and mutual hostility, realizing a strategic anti-Soviet alliance between the PRC and the US, enhancing their economic and cultural exchanges and establishing "liaison offices" in the PRC and American capitals.

Vietnam War

When he came into office in 1969, Kissinger prompted a negotiating strategy according to the US and North Vietnam would sign an armistice and agreed to pull their troops out of South Vietnam while the South Vietnamese government and the Viet Cong agreed to a coalition government. Kissinger's intention, notwithstanding Nixon's theory of holding a strong "linkage", was to leverage the Soviet Union influence over the US and unlike Nixon was less concerned about the ultimate fate of South Vietnam.

Kissinger played a key role in bombing Cambodia to disrupt raids into South Vietnam, an action that provoked the rise of the Khmer Rouge and its monstrous horrific massacre of more than a million people and for which he was criticized as a war criminal and as a perpetrator of gross violations of human rights.

After several attempts of persuasion of Theu, on January 1973, Kissinger and Thọ signed a peace agreement that called for the complete withdrawal of all U.S. forces from Vietnam in exchange for North Vietnam freeing all the U.S. POWs. Along with Thọ, Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in December 1973, for their negotiations of the ceasefires contained in the Paris Peace Accords on "Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam", not for the sake of American treasures but to avoid further bloodshed. Thọ rejected the award, telling Kissinger that peace had not been restored in South Vietnam. Kissinger humbly accepted it and donated it to the children of American service members killed in Indochina.

In 1974, the US Congress passed a bill restricting American aids to South Vietnam to $700 mln annually. At the same time, Kissinger lobbied Brezhnev, Mao and Zhou to stop Chinese military aid to North Vietnam. The following year, Kissinger urged Congress to redouble the military aid budget to South Vietnam to save the PAVN as the ARVN advancement on Saigon. Aids that were refused. Kissinger believed at that time and until his death, that if only Congress had approved his request South Vietnam would have been able to resist.

Kissinger argued that some countries, such as China, supported Pol Pot as a counterweight to Vietnam and USA. Kissinger declared he did not approve of this due to the genocide and that he would not have any skin in the game with Pol Pot, observing that the Thais and the Chinese did not want a Vietnamese-dominated Indochina.

Arab–Israeli conflict

In 1973 Kissinger admitted that he was so absorbed with the Paris peace talks that in Washington he missed the significance of the Egyptian-Saudi alliance. Sadat expelled Soviet advisors from Egypt in 1972, attempting to involve USA to disentangle his country from the Soviet sphere of influence. Although at first Kissinger tried to delay informing Nixon of the imminent start of the Yom Kippur War to refrain him from interfering in the nascent conflict, in the meanwhile he negotiated a ceasefire with Moscow. Kissinger wanted to stall a ceasefire to gain more time for Israel to push across the Suez Canal and promised the Israeli PM that the US would replace its losses in equipment after the war, as he believed it would enhance the peace process under the guidelines of UNSCR 242. In 1973, Meir requested $850 mln of American arms and equipment to replace its material losses. Nixon instead sent some $2 bln. The weapons supplies enraged King Faisal of Saudi Arabia, who retaliated by placing a total embargo on oil shipments to the US. Just in 1974, the king ended this embargo, after Kissinger had promised to sell Saudi Arabia the military aid that it had previously denied fearing they might be used against Israel.

Kissinger lobbied Israel to cede some of the newly captured land back to its Arab neighbors, contributing to the first phases of Israeli–Egyptian non-aggression. He then started a "shuttle diplomacy" flying between Tel Aviv, Cairo, and Damascus in a bid to make the armistice the basis of a permanent peace. From the negotiations resulted two ceasefires between Egypt and Israel, Sinai I in January 1974, and Sinai II in September 1975.

After his attempts to limit Soviet influence on Persian Gulf, supporting the Kurdish peshmerga guerrillas fighting for independence from Iraq; turning a cold eye to the 1971 genocide in Bangladesh; his engagement in Latin America with 1977 US-Panama treaties; the support on 1973 Chile coup that would have prevented the socialist Allende from coming into power; in Argentine backsiding the Argentine Armed Forces that toppled down the government of Isabel Peròn giving the ‘green light’ to the clandestine repression against leftwing guerrillas and other dissidents kept in concentration camps before execution, urging for the restoration of normal procedures; backing Brazil’s nuclear weapon program; the air attacks against Fidel Castro’s Cuba for his decision to send troops in Angola and, finally, after the Watergate Scandal, Kissinger continued to serve his country under Ford presidency until the end of his mandate and continued to participate in policy groups and to maintain political consulting, speakings, and writings from his homonym consulting firm, Kissinger Associates, giving an unparalleled contribution for the development of US foreign policy and masterclass in the statesmanship.

One month before his death, on November 29, 2023, in his home in Connecticut, about the 2023 Hamas- Israeli war, he declared the goals of Hamas can only be to mobilize the Arab world against Israel and to get off a track of peaceful negotiations.

During his lifetime, Kissinger generally received polarizing reactions: some have portrayed him as a strategic genius who struggled to act in a utilitarian manner, many others have depicted his foreign policy decisions as immoral and damaging in the long run. Many reputed him as one of the most effective secretaries of state in American history, but many activists and human rights lawyers have sought to prosecute him for war crimes, condemning him for the destruction of civilian populations and the environment in Indochina during the years 1969–1975 and accusing him of crimes against humanity, and of offenses against common or customary or international law, including conspiracy to commit murder, kidnap, and torture.

According to other perspectives, his role was simply overrated and his theories were almost conventional. Shortly, he wasn’t a war criminal but he wasn’t a very sophisticated thinker.

Kissinger gave shape to the history of the nation during the Cold War with an outstanding control of policymaking in International Affairs. If it is possible for diplomacy to be a form of art, Henry was an artist.

Looking ahead, US and the entire world have now to learn the lesson he gave to humanity in achieving bold pursuits for the sake of the Realpolitik, that privileged the interests of the superpowers, in an insurgence of both patriotism and nationalism, to the disadvantage of the less influential countries, following what later Trump called “America first”, in a world where leadership matters and where it’s continuously necessary redefining boundaries of opportunities. In a game of balance of powers with the Soviet Union in the international theatre, he detached himself with skepticism from the Wilsonian idealism, that has so often characterized U.S. foreign policy, believing that Washington could reorder the world in America’s image.

The key to his approach was to identify achievable goals rather than permanent solutions and for him, peace-making diplomacy was a process designed to ameliorate conflicts between competing powers, not resolve them.

He defined this realist philosophy in Diplomacy, his 1994 masterwork, in which he wrote: “International systems live precariously. Every ‘world order’ expresses an aspiration to permanence. … Yet the elements which comprise it are in constant flux”. Until the end, Kissinger worked around the clock in a series of writings culminating in a book titled The Age of AI, 2021, where he expressed his deep concerns that things were going to the wrong direction, as “relying on machines powered by data and algorithms and ungoverned by ethical or philosophical norms.” It would be missed the human element.

Kissinger left to the world a very complex legacy that taught us the primacy of diplomatic negotiations over the iron fist, providing solutions that step by step revealed to be suitable and successful without expecting a permanent status quo that wouldn’t be steady in the long run. It was his myope approach to the conflicts to fulfill the imminent needs and to buffer the most relevant frictions in the Middle East and Latin America, always taking into account the supremacy of US and super-powers interests and acting as an excellent guardian of the democratic and liberal values of his adoptive country.

Good luck in your next big trip in the mystery of our galaxy, dear Kissinger! The world will miss a genial equilibrist of unbelievable strength and tenacity that, by his talented savoir faire, gave a breath from the collisions between the main communist countries and the US, uniting the world in a more relaxing political atmosphere and giving room to talks and compromises that in the past were supposed to be unthinkable!

A retrospective flashback to justify Israel - Hamas war

2023-11-27T20:54:00.000-08:00

On Oct 7, 2023, a Hamas air strike was launched in Gaza Strip, Thousands of rockets from Gaza hit the regions of the middle and south Israel and militias of the Palestinian Islamic group, that USA and EU targeted as “terroristic organization”, went through the Israeli border from the Gaza Strip to take over the control of some southern locations. Up to now, in this last attack, Hamas militias killed at least 1,200 Israeli people, almost everyone civilians, caused more than 3000 wounded, and taken hostage 240 people.

Netanyahu declared that Israel will win this war triggered by Hamas. Starting aerial operation named “Iron swords” above Gaza, in the attempt of knocking down Hamas military targets.

The Gaza Strip is a coastal region of 360km2 populated by 2 million people, whose about 1,400,000 with the status of refugees. From 1967 to 2005, this region was militarily occupied by Israel. In 2007, 2 years after the Israeli withdrawn , Hamas took control of the Strip and since then, Israel has kept on operating a blockade that has lasted until nowadays... Today in Gaza more than 80% of the population lives thanks to the humanitarian aids and the enterprises engaged in the production of necessities are jeopardized as well as the overall economic growth. The growing number of Israeli settlements, the presence of check-points and roadblocks and the subdivision in regions for military and civil checks shows up the fragmentation of the territory.

To further complicate the political background, there’s also Israel's internal growing tension: on Dec 2022 was officially installed the nth government led by Netanyahu, after the right-wing coalition, won the parliamentary elections. These parties are conservatives and ultra-orthodoxes, contesting the ‘two States solution’, a formula that would settle down the State of Palestine in the West Bank.

Among the first Netanyahu decisions, there were the legalization of new Israeli settlements in West Bank and the approval of building new colonies, internationally denounced as illegal and being this the main obstacle to reach an enduring peace. The government approved a law to revoke the citizenship or residency visa not only for those condemned for terrorism , but also for those who receive a monetary support from the ANP.

Stepping back through the history of the Israeli- Palestinian conflict,we could explore vital issues: at the end of XIX century, when on the wave of the European nationalism and in response to the sharpening of the antisemitism, the journalist Herzl worked out the Zionism ideology, a political movement that claimed the Hebrews right of self-determination in Palestine, the key points of this ideology were enlisted in the “Balfour Declaration”, that’s the content of a letter that in 1917 the British Foreign Minister Arthur Balfour jot down to the Zionist lord Rothschild, prominent member of the British Jewish community, in which His Majesty affirmed its support to the creation of a “Jewish national hearth” in Palestine.

At the end of the war, the winners decided to distribute the Arab provinces of the Ottoman Empire: Palestine, Iraq and Jordan were entrusted to the Great Britain, whereas Syria and Lebanon shifted to the control of France. The presence of London and Paris in the region were institutionalized by the League of Nations, later UN, by the creation of Mandates, a system by which the colonial powers committed themselves to manage the territories and drove them in their path to the independence, facilitating the immigration of European Jews. This decision was not welcomed by the Arabs that carried out protest movements against the British and the Jewish community. In 1947, the UNGA approved a resolution that envisaged the Palestine partition in two States, one Jewish and one Arab, and entrusted Jerusalem to an international jurisdiction. This decision was a bold pursuit for the Jewish but not for the Arabs, that rejected the possibility they could get an independent State in their territories.

At that point, the relations between Jews and Arabs degenerated, leading, after the departure of the British at the end of the Mandate, to an outright armed conflict. In 1948, following to the Declaration of Independence of the State of Israel, the armies of Egypt, Transjordan, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq gave the start to the first Arab-Israeli war. At the end of the conflict in 1949 that loomed the defeat of the Arab armies, the borders of the newborn State of Israel consisted in the 78% of the mandatory territory of Palestine. During the conflict, about 700.000 Palestinians were forced to flee their homes and this exodus, known as Al- Nakbah, the catastrophe, is at the origins of the matter of the Palestinians refugees, one of the sticking points of the conflict.

The clashes continued until out flowing into the War of Six Days (1967), when the Israeli army succeeded to vanquish Egypt, Jordan and Syria. This victory allowed Israel to occupy Gaza Strip, West Bank and a part of Jerusalem, until then controlled by Jordan.

This defeat pushed Palestinians to a greater political activism. Between the ‘60s and the ‘80s, there was an insurgence of Palestinian groups and parties that gave voice to their national aspirations. In the ‘60s followed the foundation of the OLP, a structure that would give coverage to the parties and armed Palestinian groups. In 1973, Israeli and Arabs newly faced each other in the Yom Kippur war with the result of a restitution of Sinai to Egypt and a further Israel expansion to the Golan Height,

Exasperated by the failed recognition of their national aspirations, in 1987 the Palestinians of Gaza and West Bank started a series of protests against Israeli occupation – the first Intifada- that lasted until 1993– and in these disorders was born the Movement of Islamic Resistance (Hamas), an Islamist organization that took origin from Muslim Brotherhood and characterized by its inflexibility against Israel.

Between 1993 and 1995 were signed the Oslo Accords that, set off for a new and independent Palestine the division of the territory in three areas (A, B and C) and the creation of an autonomous administration, the National Palestinian. The insurgence of Netanyahu in the Israeli government in 1996, went to block the negotiations on the matters left open by these accords, giving a serious blow to the peace process.

The stalemate in negotiations contributed to newly inflame the Palestinian territories between 2000 and 2005 with the outburst of the Second Intifada. In 2002, Israel started the building of a wall of separation between its own territories and those of palestinians in the West Bank.

In the meanwhile, in 2020 were signed the Abraham Accords, that established a normalization of the diplomatic relations between Israel and the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan, whose exchanges notably increased.

The Israeli colonies are authorized and often financed by the Israeli government, although they are considered illegal from the international law. Today these colonies are present in the West Bank (including East Jerusalem), the Golan Heights, internationally considered part of the Syrian territory. East Jerusalem and Golan Heights, annexed by Israel.

Having a look at the crucial crossroad of Jerusalem, it must be said that its importance is due to the sacred places of all the three monotheistic religions. In Old Jerusalem are based the Temple Mount and the Wailing Wall, sacred to the Hebrews, the Al-Aqsa Mosque, sacred to Muslims, and the Church of Holy Sepulcher, the place of burial of Jesus.

The 1947 UN plan of partition envisaged that Jerusalem would have to undergo to the international protection. The line of the 1949 armistice divided the town into a west part, controlled by Israel, and an Est part, controlled by the West Bank. On the 1967 War of Six Days, Israel succeeded to conquering Est Jerusalem and all the West Bank to later annex this part of the town in 1980.

Since then, Israel has tried to change the demographic composition of this part of the city, bringing forward a politics of evacuation and demolition of the Palestine residential buildings and of settlement of Israeli citizens in the area. Palestinians on the other side tried to safeguard their presence in this portion of the city.

The matter of the Palestinian refugees dated back to the Nakba,. Today the Palestinians refugees are almost 6 millions and they are deployed in in the refugees camps in West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Gaza Strip and Est Jerusalem.

Nowadays, the only State that has fully integrated them and recognized full right of citizenship has been the West Bank. The matter of the refugees is one of the milestones of every negotiation: the resolution 194 of the UNGA set off, in facts, their right of refoulement in the territories of the Mandate of Palestine.

Israel fears the return of Palestinians as they would change the demography of the State, radically increasing the Arab population and dropping the Hebrews one..

The two States solution envisages the creation of two States, one Israeli and one Palestinian,. It’s a compromise solution that for years has been internationally preferred to the birth of a binational State or conferring the control of the territories to the West Bank.

It has been contested among Palestinians and Israel's stance has caused a stiffening of the Palestinian public opinion that at the end has agreed to a compromise but the Israeli leadership hasn’t seemed any more available to support it, bringing forward a project of progressive annexation of the Palestinian territories..

USA have increasingly taken on a mediation role. They eased all the normalization process between them. This pro-Israeli stance has made Washington less and less impartial in the Palestinian's opinion that they see as a sturdy sponsor of Tel Aviv..

EU, instead, has played a minor role in the peace talks. It is the main international partner of the ANP, which invested some billion euros to answer back to the humanitarian crisis of Gaza and to reinforce the democracy of Palestinian Territories .

Since October 7, 2023 when the Hamas attacks against Israel have returned to inflame the Holy Land, we are assisting in present days to a temporary ceasefire in which dozens of civilians held hostage in Gaza have been released in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners..Israel, backed by the US, is discussing, have agreed to an extension of the truce.

An estimated 5500 children have been killed in the Gaza Strip, hundreds more are reported missing and may be trapped under the rubble. One child in Gaza has been killed on average every ten minutes.

In the face of mounting violations against children, international rights advocates recently called on UNSG Guterres to immediately add Israeli forces, the al-Qassam Brigades (Hamas’ armed wing), and Islamic Jihad to his “list of shame,” Although his initial resistance, in fact, now he has no choice.

Guterres said that “Gaza is becoming a graveyard for children” having Israeli airstrikes hit 300 schools and killed 183 teachers in Gaza. The WHO has reported that at least 553 people have been killed in 178 attacks on medical facilities in Gaza between Oct 7 and Nov 21, and that the majority of hospitals in Gaza are no longer functional.

Israel’s blockade of water, food, medical supplies, electricity and fuel, has made also difficult the humanitarian assistance.

Adding parties to the list will not immediately protect children, but is an important mechanism that requires parties to adopt concrete action plans to end their violations..

Facing criticism over his failure to prevent Hamas infiltration on Oct. 7, Netanyahu is grappling with a double front war, one against Hamas and the other for his own political survival.

Finally, Israel-Hamas war has already had deep political and economic implications for all the countries of the MENA region. Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, i.e., are striving for mediation to put an end to the war, having a realist approach to geopolitical regional balances, and economic interests and it must be wondered how could relations with its neighbors evolve, what security risks will be in the Red Sea, although the Kingdom promises of a potential growth and prosperity.

Internet Sources:

Ispionline.it

Reuters.com

CNN.com

Hrw.org

Does it exist a “normalization” deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia by excluding Palestinians?

2023-10-03T08:08:00.004-07:00

Netanyahu outfront on multiple sidelines

How the economic stagnation reflects the political crisis

After the turmoil of the demonstrations collapsing the security establishment in the main streets of Israel, Netanyahu finally surrendered on March 2023, announcing a “suspension” of the overhaul of the justice system and of the Supreme Court until Jewish Easter, aiming at avoiding a civil war. But it’s not been a defeat for the government, as he left the bill on the table of the most urgent affairs, inviting the opposition to the dialogue for the necessary adjustments. The protests were triggered by the Minister of Defense, Gallant, who, in the general troubles devastating the country, has had the initiative to ask for a break. The rally that gathered hundred thousands people in front of the Knesset, in fact, paralyzed Israel, showing up that perhaps a mere suspension is not enough to appease this citizens’ anger, in the suspect that Netanyahu is just taking time and “the magician” won’t give up. In addition to the focal point of checks and balances that risks of being altered, undermining the basis on which are based all the contemporary democratic institutions, as demonstrated by detailed studies of many human rights activists, the Court played an essential role in legitimating the abuses against Palestinians. Thus, a profound shake-up is occurring, cracking down the core essence of the liberal democratic values propagandized by the basic laws in Jerusalem.

This breakthrough was a result of a compromise with the far-right parties and, in particular, between Netanyahu and its Minister of National Security Ben Gvir that appointed a ‘private militia’, a National Guard of Volunteers under his direction, declaring that he would renounce to oppose his veto to these reforms in exchange of this truce.

In the internal politics, Israel is currently facing two crises: “the only democracy existing in the Middle East”, as often it’s defined, is threatened both by the government of far-right parties and a drift that encompasses all its institutions, including the Supreme Court, other than an illegal military occupation.

Moreover, recently, the Knesset approved the 2023-24 national budget and even more complicated resulted to be the relation of the Premier with the Minister of Finance, an extremist leader of the religeous zionism, Smotrich, that declared that doesn’t exist no more something called “Palestinianan people”. A lifeline for the premier could come from Gantz and Lapid, open to the dialogue and further agreements along with the Head of State Herzog in order to find creative solutions. The premier Netanyahu leads a government made by extreme ultranationalist and xenophobe parties that during last weeks have clearly threatened to give up the majority if the executive wouldn’t take a stronger position against Gaza. A clear warning for the premier, well aware that he should avoid a government crisis that would expose him to the judicial proceedings he would face. He needed, in fact, their votes to approve the National budget, and only once approved, the government could be sure to survive without their help until 2025 spring.

The approval of the budget on May 24, which Prime Minister Netanyahu depicts as his government’s victory, comes after weeks of tense negotiations. The bill has been strongly criticized for jacking up the state’s spending in discretionary funds, including grants for the ultra-Orthodox Haredi community as well as for settlement projects in the occupied West Bank. Allocating funds to hardline pro-settler parties risks to further exacerbating the situation in Palestinian territories, and a worsening of instability could also undermine several actions on Netanyahu’s international agenda, as well as the ongoing normalization process with Saudi Arabia.

Thus, it’s self-evident that Israel will no longer be able to rank itself among the world’s developed economies. The budget allocates a huge number of resources to yeshivas (religious schools), national-religious political organizations, and allies of Netanyahu. Israel marches towards economic stagnation. Without overhauling the ultra-orthodox education system, Israel’s GDP is shrinking by 5% in a decade and 10% by 2050. At the end of the resounding bickering, the nearly NIS 998 billion ($270 billion) budget passed. The manner the budget was allocated shows how Netanyahu is totally dependent upon Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit party for his majority in the Knesset. This is the element tipping the balance and influencing the prime minister’s decision-making in matters of security, regional cooperation, and relations with the Palestinians.

In the meanwhile, in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is recorded an unprecedented rate of violence: clashes grinding on between Israel and Gaza, where in Mai the IDF have killed Ali Hassan Ghali, leader of the rocket launcher force by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), the second important militant group in Gaza, after Hamas, and considered responsible for many of the missile attacks that keep on hitting Israel in response of the fact that Israeli government has worsened the punishing measures against Palestinians and pushes for an expansion of settlements. Egypt is mediating to guarantee a ceasefire between both parties, and the Israeli Foreign Minister, Cohen, declared that he’s evaluating a Cairo proposal. The escalation is linked to the tensions provoked by the launch from the armed Palestinian fringes of hundreds of rockets against Israel, following the death in jail of Khader Adnan, affiliated to the Islamic Jihad, in a hunger strike for 87 days. In this occasion, the Egyptian intervention has been successful to getting a temporary ceasefire.

On October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists perpetrated a deadly air attack and a series of clashes in the Israeli territory, reviving a conflict that has lasted for 75 years still ongoing.

The urgency of a negotiation, also sponsored by Qatar and UN, is enforced by the fact that Palestinians are by now at the end of their tethering. Recently, Netanyahu, backed by the US, talked twice with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. US efforts to facilitate normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia are occurring, in fact, against the backdrop of the Israeli fundamentalist government that are making all their efforts to permanently annex the West Bank. The Crown Prince has laid out several deliverables he needs before Saudi Arabia would consider normalization: a US security guarantee, access to US weapons systems and assistance with a Saudi civilian nuclear program. Riyadh affirmed that normalization won’t happen unless Israel commits to establishing a Palestinian state with a capital in East Jerusalem.

Kamla Harris, on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of Israel’s foundation, which was hosted by the Israeli Embassy in Washington, said that, under President Biden, the USA will continue to stand for the values that have been the bedrock of the US-Israel relationship, which include the strengthening of their democracies, as they are both built on strong institutions, checks and balances and an independent judiciary. Cohen replied that he has great respect for Harris, but the judicial reform is an “internal Israeli issue that is in its negotiation stage and the State of Israel will continue to be democratic and liberal, as it has always been”. In her speech, Harris also referred to the Biden administration’s recently unveiled strategy to combat anti-Semitism.

As far as is concerned, instead, the relations between Iran and Netanyahu, the latter has recently proclaimed to be “committed to acting against the Iranian nuclear program, against missile attacks and what we call a multiform campaign”.

After this summary description of the internal and international panorama involving Israel and in addition to that, comes up to the eyes the exponential increasing of rallies of pacific movements, among which can be remembered the Pride Parade in Tel Aviv, that this year remarks in a slogan in Kaplan st. ”there is no pride in dictatorship”, reminding everyone that the rights of the gay community and equal rights for all are in danger.

In conclusion, Jerusalem keeps on being engaged in several struggles into multiple frontlines, and a field of catastrophic events undermine the stability of a democracy that strives for its own stability and has yet to choose if opting out for the implementation of the liberal values, strengthened over the years by the alliance with the western countries and made it member of many international organizations, or sacrificing them to the personal interests of the prime minister and the government currently in power. It’s been highlighted how the economic crisis is nothing but a reflection of the institutional and political ones in the rejection of the two State solution so much backed by UN and US. It’s hoped that, at the end of the ongoing round talks held by many moderate countries (a remarkable step towards dialogue between Jewishs and Arabs was already reached in the past 2020 by the Abraham Accords between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain) would be possible for all sitting around the tables to jet down a new agreement satisfying the two conflicting parts, beyond the nationalistic pride and stances, to preserve democracy, and to persevere in the strengthening of the peace process in the region for the safety and wellbeing of these populations, tormented by decades by the apartheid, on one side, and terroristic attacks, on the other one.

Netanyahu outfront on multiple sidelines

2023-09-30T20:34:00.000-07:00

Netanyahu outfront on multiple sidelines

How the economic stagnation reflects the political crisis

After the turmoils of the demonstrations collapsing the security establishment in the main streets of Israel, Netanyahu finally surrendered on March 2023, announcing a “suspension” of the overhaul of the justice system and of the Supreme Court until Jewish Easter, in order to avoid a civil war. But it’s not been a defeat for the government, as he left the bill on the table of the most urgent affairs, inviting the opposition to the dialogue for the necessary adjustments. The protests were triggered by the Minister of Defense, Gallant, that, in the general troubles devastating the country, has had the initiative to ask for a break. The rally that gathered hundred thousand people in front of the Knesset, in fact, paralysed Israel, showing up that perhaps a mere suspension is not enough to appease this citizens’ anger, in the suspect that Netanyahu is just taking time and “the magician” won’t give up. In addition to the focal point of checks and balances that risks to be altered, undermining the basis on which are founded all the contemporary democratic institutions, as demonstrated by detailed studies of many human rights activists, the Court played an essential role in legitimating the abuses against Palestinians. Thus, a profound shake up is occuring, cracking down the core essence of the liberal democratic values propagandized by the basic laws in Jerusalem.

This breakthrough was a result of a compromise with the far right parties and in particular between Netanyahu and its Minister of National Security Ben Gvir that appointed a ‘private militia’, a National Guard of Volounteers under his direction, declaring that he would renounce to oppose his veto to these reforms in exchange of this truce.

In the internal politics, Israel is currently facing two crisis: “the only democracy existing in the Middle East”, as often it’s defined, is threatened both by the government of far right parties and a drift that encompasses all its institutions, included the Supreme Court, other than an illegal military occupation.

Moreover, recently, the Knesset has approved the 2023-24 national budget and even more complicated resulted to be the relation of the Premier with the Minister of Finance, an extremist leader of the religeous zionism, Smotrich, that declared that doesnt’t exist no more something called “Palestininan people”. A lifeline for the premier could come from Gantz and Lapid, open to the dialogue and further agreements along with the Head of State Herzog in order to find creative solutions. The premier Netanyahu leads a government made by extreme ultranationalist and xenophobe parties that during last weeks have clearly threatened to give up the majority if the executive wouldn’t take a stronger position against Gaza. A clear warning for the premier, well aware that he should avoid a government crisis that would expose himself to the judiciary proceedings he would face. He needed, in fact, their votes in order to approve the National budget and only once approved, the government could be sure to survive without their help until 2025 spring.

The approval of the budget on Mai 24, which Prime Minister Netanyahu depicts as his government’s victory, comes after weeks of tense negotiations. The bill has been strongly criticised for jacking up the state’s spending in discretionary funds, including grants for the ultra-Orthodox Haredi community as well as for settlement projects in the occupied West Bank. Allocating funds to hardliner pro-settler parties risks to further exacerbate the situation in the Palestinian territories and a worsening of instability could also undermine several actions on Netanyahu’s international agenda such the ongoing normalisation process with Saudi Arabia.

Thus, it’s self-evident that Israel will no longer be able to rank itself among the world’s developed economies. The budget allocates a huge number of resources to yeshivas (religious schools), national-religious political organizations, and allies of Netanyahu. Israel marches towards economic stagnation. Without overhauling the ultra-orthodox education system, Israel’s GDP is shrinking by 5% in a decade and 10 by 2050. At the end of the resounding bickerings, the nearly NIS 998 billion ($270 billion) budget passed. The manner in which the budget was allocated shows how Netanyahu is totally dependent upon Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit party for his majority in the Knesset. This is the element tipping the balance and influencing the prime minister’s decision-making in matters of security, regional cooperation, and relations with the Palestinians.

In the meanwhile, in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is registered an unprecedented rate of violence: clashes grinding on between Israel and Gaza, where in Mai the IDF have killed Ali Hassan Ghali, leader of the rocket launcher force by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), the second important militant group in Gaza, after Hamas, and considered responsible of many of the missilistic attacks that keep on hitting Israel in response of the fact that Israeli government has worsened the punishing measures against Palestinians and pushes for an expansion of settlements.. Egypt is mediating to guarantee a ceasefire among both parts and the Israeli Foreign Minister, Cohen, declared that he’s evaluating a Cairo proposal. The escalation is linked to the tensions provoked by the launch from the armed Palestinian fringes of hundreds of rockets against Israel, following to the death in jail of Khader Adnan, affiliated to the Islamic Jihad, in hunger strike by 87 days. In this occasion the Egypt intervention has been successful in order to get a temporary ceasefire.

The urgence of a negotiation, also sponsored by Qatar and UN, is enforced by the fact that Palestinians are by now at the end of their tethering. Recently, Netanyahu, backed by the US, talked twice with Saudi Crown Prince Muhammed bin Salman. US efforts to facilitate normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia are occurring, in fact, against the backdrop of Israel fundamentalist government that are making all their efforts to permanently annex the West Bank. The Crown Prince has laid out several deliverables he needs before Saudi Arabia would consider normalisation: a US security guarantee, access to US weapons systems and assistance with a Saudi civilian nuclear program. Riyadh affirmed that normalisation won’t happen unless Israel commits to establishing a Palestinian state with a capital in East Jerusalem.

Kamla Harris, in occasion of the 75th anniversary of Israel’s foundation, which was hosted by the Israeli Embassy in Washington, said that, under President Biden, USA will continue to stand for the values that have been the bedrock of the US-Israel relationship, which include the strengthening of their democracies, as they are both built on strong institutions, checks and balances and an independent judiciary. Cohen replied that he has great respect for Harris, but the judicial reform is an “internal Israeli issue that is in its negotiation stage and the State of Israel will continue to be democratic and liberal, as it has always been”. In her speech, Harris also referred to the Biden administration’s recently unveiled strategy to combat anti-Semitism.

As far as is concerned, instead, the relations between Iran and Netanyahu, this last has recently proclaimed to be “committed to acting against Iranian nuclear program, against missile attacks and what we call a multiform campaign”.

In conclusion, Jerusalem keeps on being engaged in several struggles into multiple frontlines and it’s field of catastrophic events that undermine the stability of a democracy that strives for its own stability and have yet to choose if opting out for the implementation of the liberal values, strengthened over the years by the alliance with the western countries and made it member of many international organizations, or sacrificing them to the personal interests of the prime minister and the government currently in power. It’s been highlighted how the economic crisis is nothing but a reflection of the institutional and political ones in the rejection of the two State solution so much backed by UN and US It’s hoped that, at the end of the ongoing round of talks held by many moderate countries (a remarkable step towards dialogue between Jewishs and Arabs was already reached in the past 2020 by the Abraham Accords between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain) would be possible for all sitting around the tables in order to jet down a new agreement satisfying the two conflicting parts, beyond the nationalistic prides and stances, to preserve democracy, and to persevere in the strengthening of the peace process in the region for the safety and wellbeing of these populations, tormented by decades by the apartheid, on one side, and terroristic attacks, on the other one.

Israeli outrages along the streets

2023-09-30T20:32:00.001-07:00

Israeli outrages along the streets

What’s is currently at stake for Netanyahu government

During the latest months the world has been watching what’s it’s revealing to be as an alarming as thrilling escalation of protests in Israel, caused by both the non violent uproar inside the country, still ongoing after over 10 weeks, against the reforms of the judiciary system, and the bloody conflict in its long-lasting struggle against Hamas and the historical war that keeps on opposing them to the Palestinians, that are causing many deaths especially in the West Bank and Jerusalem. This awful situation has recently pushed the secretary of State Anthony Blinken to make a visit on the ground at the very frontline last February after the Israeli raid in the refugees camps of Jenin in Cisgiordania. Along with Blinken journey in Israel, other than in Palestine, Egypt and Cisgiordania, in an effort to restore the dialogue and to find pacific solutions for this Middle East crisis, are being taking rounds of talks that have shown how the Israeli- USA relationships, although their common values (at least in the proclaimed intentions and political programs by whose virtue Netanyahu has been elected) are changing and are becoming more and more complex.

Israeli democracy is at risk. Now more than ever, mainly because of the Netanyahu Parliement stance to override the Supreme Court decisions by adopting its own laws that could surpass the effectiveness of its sentences. At the origins of this political novelty there’s been a strenuous opposition between a center-right Knesset, whose majority also consists of orthodox and far-right parties, and a Supreme Court, whose judges are belonging to the left wing sphere of influence. The religious zionism is a party made up of homophobic elements. All these are only some of the factors that have caused the impossibility to reach a reliable agreement on a written constitution, being the political panorama so heterogeneous and fragmented.

Therefore, it’s happening a dreadful ideological conflict, remarkable for being undermining and twisting the essence of democracy, that, if put effectively in place, will destroy the traditional partition of powers of the checks and balances system.

Certainly the USA won’t give up on the defence of the liberal core values currently jeopardized in the country, where more than 150000 citizens are showing up in the streets and squares, exercising their political freedoms in absolutely totally pacific demonstrations that are deploying all their strength to make the voice of people heard in front of this constitutional and institutional crunch.

Israel, as said, has no written constitutions but is endowes by basic laws and customes that make it close to the western traditions. While Palestine is a UN Non-Member Observer, Israel, although having gained a full membership since 1949, keeps on perpetrating gross human rights violations but, as pertaining our field of investigation, it re-baptized itself as “Jewish and Democratic State” of Eretz-Israel (Land of Israel), that hightlig a “Declaration of Independence” and ““Basic Laws: Human Dignity and Liberty”, 1992, that aim to be a basis for the future constitution. In them, it’s declared the guarantee of “a complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race and sex, [..] the freedom of worship, conscience, language, education and culture; [..] the safeguard of the Holy places of all religions and to be faithful to the principles of the UN Charter”.

Unfortunately, these norms are merely declarative, being now possible for ordinary legislation overriding these generic principles that don’t prevail on statutory rules and jurisprudence.

Currently Benjamin Netanyahu has a majority of 64 seats over 120. As a consequence, he wouldn’t face any difficulty or hardness to proceed in his direction, if he wouldn’t be refrained by the strong opposition of the civil society whose rallies and shoutings are inflaming the international public opinion.

It’s now impossible and unclear forecasting what will happen next months and it’s feared a spiralling drop-down of the situation for the incoming Jewish Easter and the Arab Ramadan, that this year coincide in the same period. Up to now It’s hard to make predictions as a complete reverse seems unfeasible, and an implosion of the government and a coup d’Etat other than the creation of police state, where the institutions and the citizens must obey to the Armed Forces, are not to be excluded. Although the Supreme Court itself has declared this reforms plan unconstitutional, now Netanyahu political challenge seems to be that of making the law approved and to put an end to this structural affair that, as he said, will be as tossing up a plaster: a little bit painful but a quick process, playing out the role of the civilians demonstrations as the Parliement has been democratically elected.

Moreover, Netanyahu government is easing and liberalizing for its population the way they can freely take possess of weapons and has shown its readiness to use its own iron fist against the mass protests.

Ineffective has been revealed to be the mediation initiative of the president Herzog but it’s also true that Netanyahu has a limited space of action as the Likud party resulted winner during last elections especially thanks to its alliance with far right and extremists parties and as bribery trials are pending against him (main reason backing his interest to the judiciary system overhaul).

However, the negotiations are still restrained but it’s likely that, consequently to the almost tepid reaction and scepticism demonstrated by the Israeli allied in the MENA region and the weight of the inner population outcries, the reform that will pass will be highly softened and fruit of tiring compromises.

Notwithstanding the proclaimed pause on judicial reform plan, the mass demonstrations and the public anger in Israel keep on rising and standing out as, for the protesters, this step is insufficient to restore and protect the foundations of liberal values and they claim to scrap entirely this plan. Thus, in conclusion, the turmoil doesn’t stop on ravaging the inflamed Israeli streets and the peace process within this country other than with its Palestinian neighbours, seems far to be established yet, leaving the international community audience perplexed and alarmed for the destiny of what has always , so far, been considered the greatest herald of democracy in the Middle East, although, as denounced by many NGO, it has been smeared of the crime against humanity of apartheid and been the main perpetrator of persecutions against the arab minorities on its soil, in the name of the fight against terrorism, reaping victims against helpless civilians and making a significant contribution to the scaling up of unjustified violence and levels of tension.

In this context of everlasting collision between Arabs and Jews, thus, the bill of reform of the judiciary system looms as a derailment of the democratic system in the direction of a more and more authoritarian regime under the leadership of the far right parties, driving to a framework of consistent disorders and instability.

In Putin's net: humanitarian challenges in Syria

2023-02-21T01:16:00.002-08:00

On Monday 6 February 2023 at 13.25 local time a disrupting earthquake of 7.8 magnitude devastated with twenty seismic shocks the regions of central and eastern Turkey and the Syrian border. This has been, in the words of Erdogan, the worst humanitarian and natural catastrophy since 1939, when another quake invested the State, provoking 33000 dead and 100000 wounded people.

This time the tragedy spikes higher numbers: 34000 dead people are recorded so far, half a million people in need according to the WFP and 141000 rescue personnel digging into the rubble, especially the white helmets, working in 10 provinces and the Who warns a second disaster as cold winter sets in. Almost uncountable the homeless and the Internal Displaced people, especially in Syria where the aftermath of the earthquake add up to the IDPs of the civil war. Thus, the data are dreadly alarming.

What will happen thereafter is unlikely to be foreseen, both in Turkey where next June Erdogan will face the presidential elections, and much will be depending on the way he’ll succeeding in handling this crisis, and in Syria, internationally isolated and enjoying the support just from Russia and Iran.

The scenario is taking a bud turn for the humanitarian operations in this last country, as the main international organizations, UN and EU , other than the USA while releasing substantial financial aids to Turkey, are almost living Syrians to their destiny, being the country under severe sanctions.

Syria, in effect, fundamentally divided in three regions (the northwest occupied by the rebels, a northeast under the turkey influence and the rest of the country pro Assad regime) is coming from an history of twelve years of civil war against its sanguinary president that is succeeded anyhow to exterminate Isis forces in its womb, although few sacks of terrorist groups still remain. The country is living a deadlock now worsened by the earthquake. The external aids which have been provided are merely symbolic and hard to reach civilians also being debated the points of entry of the humanitarian assistance, ( Balabab or Damasco) and it’s internationally more and more left alone , having been kicked out also by the Arab League in 2011. In addition to that, on its territory it’s possible assisting to terrible fightings between international influencers and allied, as the Israeli attacks against Iranian bases on its lands.

Therefore a nation torn apart by a conflict both internally and externally, not exempted by terroristic attacks, fighting for supremacy aiming to share the area of influence in the Arab world and an economic and sanitary standoff arrived to a collapse see a large array of civilians trapped in a no escape situation et find hard to survive, having to face with burocratical and political blocks to the arrival of humanitarian aids.Then the world keep on watching , powerless, the development of a humanitarian crisis with no precedents in which political decisions get there upper hand and in which have been given priority on the humanitarian matter and the protection of human rights, relying just in Putin’s Russia, whose forces by the same way are at their lowest, and recently condemned by the international community as the perpetrator of crimes against humanity for the Ukraine vicissitudes. Thus in the near and the far east it’s crystal clear a degeneration of superpowers, as well as nationality of medium and small caliber that brings to collapse, entangled in a series of sanctions, that put at risk the possibility of profitable and optimistic diplomatic relations, plagued by the catastrophe of the war, by natural calamities and by an economic dependence by the energetic factor.

Here we are, thus ,that if to the social and political elements we sum up unforeseenable factors, such as for example un earthquake of long range or other environmental disasters, these autoritarian regimes show off all their vulnerability and lack of capacity to raise themselves up from the bottom, not forgetting that the president Assad, although the urgence, launched a first call for help to the UN just the 13 February, leaving its population kept on being exterminated, remaining in the meshes and under the shadow of a complex intertwining of difficult and ambiguous relations on the International panorama.

“The world where women shine”

2022-11-28T05:18:00.001-08:00

Next 3 Dec, 2022 it will kick start and be hosted in Japan the “World Assembly for Women” (WAW!), that’s the Japanese initiative for promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment and for mainstreaming gender into a new form of capitalism, pursuing the special focus to realize “a society where women shine”.

This conference will be held for the fifth year since the foundation of this cycle of events, concurrently with the W20, one of the engagement group of G20. Are invited to take part in it Ms Malala Yousafzar, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate for 2014 that is highlightening the importance of the education for girls, advocating that “one book and one pen can change the world”.Moreover it will join the talks the female foreign ministers and youth representatives other than Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. This initiative plunges its roots in the framework of the CEDAW, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, dated 1979, and the UNSC resolution 1325 aiming to implement it through the Japanese National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security in the achievement of the UN goals, by drafting, monitoring and evaluating brand new initiatives..

A special attention during these meetings is planned to be given to the LGBT matters, including an insight on the “diversity” issues, making room for lively large platforms of discussion on SDG5 topics. [1]

The government of Japan stresses that it will keep on providing support to the education and economic empowerment for women and girls in the society at large. Working through international agencies, Japan supports women in the vulnerable situations such as victims of SGBV.

In the words of Sima Bahous, UN Under-Secretary General Executive Director, UN Women[2], UN are honoured to reinforce their partnership with Japan and redouble their efforts and live up their shared commitment at this most crucial times.

UN women (United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women) has three main roles:

· To support inter-governmental bodies, such as the Commission on the Status of Women, in their formulation of policies, global standards and norms.

· To help Member States to implement these standards, providing suitable technical and financial support to those countries that request it, and forging effective partnerships with civil society.

· To lead and coordinate the UN system’s work on gender equality as well as promote accountability, including through regular monitoring of system-wide progress.

UN Women’s priority areas are: (1) Leadership and political participation, (2) Economic empowerment, (3) Ending violence against women, (4) Peace and security, (5) Humanitarian action, (6) Governance and national planning, (7) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and (8) HIV/AIDS.

In 2012, United Kingdom, one of the most influential countries in the revendications of women rights, launched “Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative” (PSVI) to raise awareness and put an end to the violation of women’s human rights in conflicts. Urging the necessity to end impunity for sexual violence in conflict and to boost the efforts of international community, the“Declaration on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict ” was adopted at the G8 Foreign Minister’s meeting in April 2013. Also, United Kingdom created “Champion’s Network” with cooperating countries and released “A Declaration of Commitment to end Sexual Violence in Conflict” with 114 countries. Japan strongly support PSVI and has funded to the projects conducted by the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict.

Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida attended and delivered speech at the High-level Ministerial Event on Women’s Economic Empowerment for Peacebuilding held at UN building in September 2013. In the event, representatives from about 70 countries participated and a political declaration which mentions about the importance of women’s roles in the peacebuilding process and women’s empowerment was released. By synthetizing, Japan proposes

A high-level Ministerial Event on Women’s Economic Empowerment for Peacebuilding
A declaration: Women’s Economic Empowerment for Peacebuilding
An inhering statement by Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida

In the main intentions of the UN, in facts, promoting the active role of women in STEM field contributes to achieve economic growth and to shorten gender disparity, involving creators, entrepreneurs, innovators and leaders in the field of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Although globally, girls’ enrolment in school has gone up within recent decades, in many settings, socio-economic and cultural obstacles such as prioritizing boys’ education, inadequate school sanitation facilities, and school-related gender-based violence prevent female learners from completing or benefiting fully from a high quality STEM education.

Furthermore, the global digital divide disproportionately prevents women and girls from accessing online STEM information and opportunities.

For too long, gender biases and stereotypes have steered women and girls away from science-related fields. Only about 30 per cent of all female students select STEM-related fields in higher education and even fewer pursue Doctoral degrees or hold leadership positions.

All this suggests, data in hand, how the society at large is still dominated by a prevailing men role presence and how much a sensitive contribution in raising awareness, not only by ONG, and propelling institutional interventions at all levels, from Member States to local partners, would be pivotal and unavoidable by concrete actions, investing budgets and involving key actors. By this initiative, Japan is demonstrating not to want to be a remote island in the matter of a possible progress and empowerment for women and girls, but acting as a springboard, a re-launch point, stimulating and encompassing talks and tangible resources by a proactive international commitment, in order to reach a realistic equality of gender in the mind and the heart of people, by emboldening the target of the realization of a peaceful and stable society and by guaranteeing a better future for the Planet.

[1] http://www.mofa.go.jp/fp/pc/page23e_000181.html

[2] “Japanese initiative for promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment”, Youtube

The lethal sacrifice of women in Iran

2022-10-28T04:03:00.004-07:00

Riots and clashes keep on inflaming the pacific movements in Teheran in the name of the defense of women rights and against the restrictions they have to face day by day for Islam’s sake in a climate of repression exerted by the clerical authority. After 40 days from the death of Mahsa Amini, an important date in the Islamic calendar, that marks the end of the mourning and the visit of the family of the girl stopped by the police the last 17 September because of an ill-donned and unadjusted veil, new public demonstrations have crowded the squares and the streets of Berlin proclaiming the “Women, Life, Liberty”slogan- At the same time an important signal of protests have been shown in Uk and USA, ” in sign of solidarity, against the brutality of the Iranian moral police that has so far caused 248 victims, 12000 arrests, 315 investigated for “conspiracy against the national security.

These pacific movements don’t involve just students of secondary and high schools but wide swaths of society, counting hundreds of civilians. The death of this woman has provoked a wave of indignation,becoming the emblem of ongoing injustices imposed by the Iranian authority, headed by Ali Khamenei . Furthermore many women with uncovered faces screamed against the ayatollah, defining him “the shame of the nation”, hymning to the crackdown of the regime, even through shrine attacks. These protests don’t concern just the question of the veil but also the abolition of the moral police and a greater freedom of expression and information. The Z generation (“Z” for Zoomer) pleads for important reforms. It’s undeniable, in fact, the importance represented by internet and social media in nowadays society in which people are, in comparison with darker past times, much more informed and aware of what’s going on in their country and internationally.After 40 years of gender discrimination, repression, fundamentalism and economic inequalities the Iranian government has been brought to the brink of collapse by people of any class and social rank, asking for a change. While up to now the anti-government movements referred to male figures, today in Iran the revolution is woman, not forgetting the death of the young Nika Shakaramini and Sarina Esmaeilzadeh, that contributed to foment the turmoil .

Responding to the unlawful killings of at least eight people by Iran’s security forces as they again opened fire on mourners and protesters in at least four provinces and building on growing international calls for a UN mechanism on Iran, Amnesty International invoked:

“The Iranian authorities’ reckless and unlawful use of firearms against protesters, including live ammunition, reveals yet again the tragically high cost of international inaction. All member states of the UN Human Rights Council must take decisive action now and immediately convene a special session on Iran in order to prevent further loss of life. Failure to act decisively will only embolden the Iranian authorities to further crackdown against mourners and protesters set to gather in the coming days during commemorations marking 40 days since the first deaths of protesters after the deadly repression began in mid-September. ”

“The UN Human Rights Council must make clear to the Iranian authorities that their crimes under international law will not go uninvestigated by establishing an independent reporting and accountability mechanism on Iran. The ongoing failure to enact such mechanism, despite widespread unlawful killings of protesters since the nationwide protests of December 2017-January 2018 is indicative of how such brutal tragedies in Iran have seemingly become normalized. It is long overdue for the international community to hear the cries of victims’ families and human rights defenders for justice.”

On 26 and 27 October 2022, Iran’s security forces intensified their use of unlawful force, including by shooting firearms with live ammunition, metal pellets and teargas, against protesters who had gathered in Kurdistan, West Azerbaijan, Kermanshah and Lorestan provinces.

On 21 November, UN experts, including the Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran, called on the Human Rights Council to urgently take action, including by establishing an international mechanism on Iran during a special session. The German minister of foreign affairs also spoke out in support of an independent UN mechanism on Iran.

In conclusion, Iranian authorities continue to brutally repress their own people, especially women, in their basic freedoms, from veil to education and leadership role in the public sphere. The country’s security and intelligence apparatus, along with Iran’s judiciary, harshly cracked down on dissent, including through excessive and lethal force against protesters and reported abuse and torture in detention. Impunity ramps up and Ebrahim Raeesi, a serial human rights violator, took over the presidency during unfree elections. Furthermore, deteriorating economic conditions due to US unilateral sanctions, government policies, and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic have increased the level of poverty in the nation and reduced living standards for millions. The hard work of the community itself and sensitization operated by many ONG, as the outlet Iran Wire and others, in the country and all around the world leave room that rising awareness and making appeal to the Human Rights Council within the UN, in the aftermath of these civilians screams of alarms could provoke a radical change and a more compliant regime with the international Human Rights standard, encouraging that need of resilience and adaptation that the Islamic countries in general found so difficult to realize and implement, in a strict interpretation of Koran.

Should the US end the war on drugs?

2022-06-12T05:20:00.001-07:00

The war on drugs is a global campaign, led by the U.S.federal government, of drug prohition, military aid and intervention, whose aim is to reduce the illegal drug trade in the US, popularized after the press conference given on 1971 by President Richard Nixon during which he declared drug abuse "public enemy number one". Two years before, Nixon had formally declared a "war on drugs" directed toward eradication, interdiction, and incarceration. The Drug Policy Alliance, which advocates for an end to the War on Drugs, have estimated that in 2021 the US has spent a cumulative $1 trillion on it.

Sixty years after the initiation of the UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs and years after Nixon initiative, fundamental reforms in national and global drug control policies are urgently needed.

This war is also fought abroad against the main exporters such as Colombia, Mexico and Latin America. As part of its Plan Colombia program, among other ones, the US government currently provides hundreds of millions of dollars per year of military aid, training, and equipment to Colombia, to fight left-wing guerrillas such as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC-EP), which has been accused of being involved in drug trafficking.

For what concerns internal data, 2020 was the deadliest year on record for fatal overdoses. According to estimates over 93,000 people died of preventable overdose in 2020, the highest amount ever recorded in a year. Synthetic opioids, including fentanyl and fentanyl analogues, were involved in over 60% of overdose deaths. Overdose rates involving these substances have steeply risen in the past decade, increasing nearly 40 % from June 2019 to May 2020. People of color have disproportionately suffered from overdose deaths, especially non-Hispanic Blacks whose, between 2014 and 2017, death rate involving synthetic opioids increased 818 %.

This demonstrates the need of a huge momentum by the government to take new measures for public health solutions. It has been argued that the Biden FRS Proposal won’t make the public safer. On the contrary, perpetuating the overcriminalization of these substances often pushes drug addict people further into the shadows where they will be more likely to encounter untested substances that increase their risk of overdose. Criminalization also creates a chilling effect on people calling for emergency services, for fear of being arrested or otherwise penalized. Now is the time to commit to evidence-driven responses with proven results: public health solutions focused on harm reduction and treatment. Congress must provide individuals with access to life-saving tools and education, including greater access to naloxone to prevent overdose deaths, evidence-based treatment and recovery services, medications like methadone and buprenorphine to treat opioid use disorder.

Shockingly, the Biden FRS Proposal accepts that classwide scheduling will inevitably misclassify some drugs as Schedule I, and that some people might wrongfully be prosecuted for those substances. Rather than reject this overreach, the Administration adopts an essentially guilty-until-proven-innocent approach. This is the antithesis of how the U.S. criminal justice system should operate and is creating dangerous new precedent.

Overenforcement in response to emerging substances makes necessary for the Congress impose harsh penalties on individuals on the base of clear and specific dispositions about what is or is not illegal.

Moreover, the Biden FRS proposal does not provide for retroactivity for past prosecutions of individuals pursuant to the temporary classwide scheduling policy. The federal government already has authority to “prosecute anyone who possesses, imports, distributes, or manufactures any unscheduled fentanyl analogue with a high potential for abuse, no medical value, and the ability to cause overdose deaths.”

Policymakers must turn to evidence and science, not fear to seek answers. The most effective ways to address the overdose crisis are evidence-based public health and harm reduction approaches. Such approaches are supported by nearly two-thirds of Americans, who believe drug use should be addressed as a public health issue, not as a criminal justice one.

The US House of Representatives narrowly approved, on April of this year, a reform bill that would end marijuana prohibition by removing this drug from the federal list of controlled substances. The bill would expunge the record of those convicted of marijuana-related offenses, and reduce sentences for others. Through a tax on sales, it would also fund services in communities most impacted by prohibition and provide support for a more diverse and inclusive market.

The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act passed on April 1 and it will next head to the US Senate. Bans at the state level wouldn’t be changed, though this act sends a strong signal about the importance of building on the wave of state-level reforms resulting in 18 states in allowing recently legal access to marijuana for adult use.

US drug laws severely impacted on black and brown communities since ‘90s: black people were much more likely to be arrested for simple drug possession – including marijuana – than white people, despite its consumption is at the same rates in both communities. The MORE Act in facts is focused on racial equity.

This bill will have long-term effects on minor drug convictions on immigrants, which can result in deportation, ineligibility for asylum, and inability to obtain papers to live legally inside the US. The bill would protect noncitizens from immigration consequences due to a cannabis-related event.

This last bill, now under Senate review, doesn’t seem to end the war on drugs pursued by decades in US (it should be absurd and absolutely nonsense) but it’s a good demonstration of tolerance and flexibility towards the use and distribution of the less dangerous types of these substances, like marijuana, spreadly and commonly used by people of any age, especially young generations by keeping on warning and using precautionary measures to deter the abuse and bringing forward educational campaigns in order to get aware about the negative neuronal effects, combining a joint effort of the justice system and the public health sector, being doctors and paramedical staff always on the frontline for population safety, for the prevention, treatment and rehabilitation from the addiction.

No one touch Roe v. Wade decision!

2022-05-09T00:32:00.003-07:00

During last days has been kicked up a fuss by the Politico journal that published a leaked draft US Supreme Court opinion on the Mississippi case that would overturn the Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973), a landmark decision by which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States protects a pregnant woman's liberty to choose to have an abortion without excessive government restriction. This case was a turning point in women's reproductive rights and has remained a hot-button issue within United States politics ever since. The Roe v. Wade decision held that a woman, with her doctor, could choose abortion in earlier months of pregnancy without legal restriction, based primarily on the right to privacy

Roe v. Wade is a legal case in which the SCOTUS on January 22, 1973, ruled (7–2) that unduly restrictive state regulation of abortion is unconstitutional. In a majority opinion written by Justice Blackmun, the Court held that a set of Texas statutes criminalizing abortion in most instances violated a woman’s constitutional right of privacy, which it found to be implicit in the liberty guarantee of the due process clause of the 14th Amendment (“…nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law”). Blackmun noted that only a “compelling state interest” justifies regulations limiting “fundamental rights” such as privacy and that legislators must therefore draw statutes narrowly “to express only the legitimate state interests at stake.” The Court then attempted to balance the state’s distinct compelling interests in the health of pregnant women and in the potential life of fetuses. It placed the point after which a state’s compelling interest in the pregnant woman’s health would allow it to regulate abortion “at approximately the end of the first trimester” of pregnancy. With regard to the fetus, the Court located that point at “capability of meaningful life outside the mother’s womb,” or viability, which occurs at about 24 weeks of pregnancy.

The decision struck down many U.S. federal and state abortion laws. In September it has been registered a case challenging the constitutionality of a Mississipi law banning abortion after 15 weeks with all the aftermath developments unfold. Many protests in the streets, supported by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the Global Justice Center, underline that banning abortion would go to worsen the negative impact on the health of pregnant people, especially on marginalized groups, such as people living in economic poverty, young people, and Black, Indigenous, and other people of color. These populations already face significant barriers accessing abortion care and recording many cases of unsafe abortions.

The greatest threat in fact is to get the unpopular results of countries such as Romania, South Africa, El Salvador, and Ecuador where there is a statistical relationship between restrictive abortion legislation and increases in maternal mortality.

Access to life and lawful abortion services is firmly rooted in the rights to life, to non-discrimination, to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment, and to privacy, among others. These rights are recognized in international human rights treaties ratified by the US, especially art. 6 of the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, art. 12 of the 1979 “UN Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discriminations Against Women”, the 1994 “Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment, and Eradication of Violence against Women”, known as the Convention of Belém do Pará, focused on the violence against women in the domestic and public sphere.

It has been signaled that in the Mississippi case, the judges were prepared to overturn the landmark ruling that protects abortion access in the US, by this way stepping out the international standards about the right of abortion to be determined and safely applied. The claimed purposes for banning abortion are to preserve the life of the fetus, to protect the life of the mother, to create deterrence against future abortions, and avoiding injuring the mother's ability to have children..

Recently, Argentina, Colombia, and Mexico have, by legislative changes or judicial rulings, either decriminalized abortion or loosened restrictions, better protecting women’s health and rights.

It has been clamorous how just a draft opinion has had the power to sting public opinion and mobilize civil society although abortion is still legal in the US, remaining a constitutional and human right proclaiming the still ongoing solidity of the claimed principles and results of ideological fights made by the ’68 movements all around the world, not forgetting that abortion rights are an integral part of the pregnancy rights and every woman should have the chance to choose if putting it forward or to stop it, if they can't afford for their children a safe family or, even worse, they are victim of rapes and sexual abuses, as the health of the child has the same importance of that of the mother and this tie will determine for several years the mental and general health conditions of the kid.

Will Russia suspension from UNHRC make it step back from its stance?

2022-04-12T04:48:00.001-07:00

As declared by the Secretary of State Anthony Blinken “By suspending Russia from the UN Human Rights Council, countries around the world chose to hold Moscow to account today for gross and systematic violations of human rights in its premeditated, unprovoked, and unjustified war of choice against Ukraine. We have seen growing evidence of Russia’s brutal disregard for international law and human rights in Ukraine, most notably in the death and devastation it has caused in communities such as Bucha, Irpin, and Mariupol. The atrocities the world has witnessed appear to be further evidence of war crimes, which serves as another indication that Russia has no place in a body whose primary purpose is to promote respect for human rights The world is sending another clear signal that Russia must immediately and unconditionally cease its war of aggression against Ukraine and honor the principles enshrined in the UN Charter. The international community will continue to hold Russia to account, and the USA will continue to stand with the people of Ukraine as they fight for their sovereignty, democracy, and freedom.”[1]
Already a month ago, the UNGA adopted a resolution on March 4, 2022 (ES-11/1) condemning Russia for the invasion of Ukraine and demanded that Russia “immediately, completely, and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.” That nonbinding resolution was adopted by a vote of 141-5.
The 7^th of April, 2022 amid condemnation from all around the world, Russia has been removed from its seat on Human Rights Council, following a resolution of the General Assembly by a vote of 93-24 (58 abstained). This step has a considerable political weight and diplomatic significance since it’s one of the five member of the UNSC and it’s been undebately stated the non politicization of human rights defense. By this resolution, Russian Federation, that was in the middle of the three years term on HRC, won’t be able to vote and to speak during meetings anymore. As a response, Russia canceled HRW, AI and 13 other offices of foreign non governmental organizations and foundations from the country.
The Resolution was initiated by the USA, in a crucial moment in which remarkable changes are occurring under the sign of the equality and inclusion, as demonstrated by the recent appointment of Ketanji Brown Jackson as the first African American woman with a seat on the US Supreme Court.
Russia, as well as China for the persecution in Xinjian of the Uyghurs minority although the accusations of crime against humanity and genocide, that anyhow has never been condemned by the Council, should never have been on the Human Rights Council in the first place, as demonstrated also in the past by its conduct in Chechnya, Georgia, Syria, and now by the acts of aggression against Ukraine, regardless of the principles of territorial integrity and soveregnity and the right of self-determination. Moreover we can’t forget the poisoning of dissidents around the world and imprisonment of Russian critics of Russian President Putin that prevented 158 countries from voting to put Russia on the council in 2020. For those hoping that “international justice” will leap into action, bear in mind that the ICC did not formally launch an investigation into Russia’s alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes during the 2008 war in Georgia until 2016[2]. This resolution has had its only last precedent against Qaddafi’s Lybia for the repression of anti-government protest movements by the police forces in 2011.
The U.S. and the other 92 member states deserve credit for suspending Russia from the Human Rights Council. But much work remains both to fix the U.N. human rights system and to hold Putin and Russia to account for the awful crimes committed in Ukraine and elsewhere.
The UN Human Rights Council consists of 47 members and is based in Geneva. Russia joined the body in January 2021 as one of 15 countries elected by the General Assembly to serve three-year terms. Under the 2006 resolution that established the Council, the General Assembly can suspend a country from membership if it commits gross and systematic violations of human rights.
Speaking after the adoption of the resolution, Deputy Permanent Representative Kuzmin, declared that Russia had already decided that day to leave the Council before the end of its term claiming the Council was monopolized by a group of States who use it for their short-term political and economic interests instead that for a true cooperation.
China was among the countries that voted against the resolution. Ambassador Zhang Jun reckoned not to want adding fuel to the fire, intensifying the conflict, and jeopardizing peace efforts.
For the EU, instead, the scale and gravity of Russia’s violations in Ukraine call for a strong, united international response. The rare decision the Assembly has taken by this resolution is a strong signal of accountability and will help preventing and discouraging more violations of human rights
The USA has talked about “an important and historic moment” not only about accountability for Russia, but also about standing with the people of Ukraine, taking a collective step in the right direction, ensuring that a persistent human rights violator will not be allowed to occupy a position of leadership on human rights at the UN[3].
The war has severely impacted social cohesion, community security and the resilience of local communities, especially women and girls: lack of access to social services including schools and strained community resources have increased the burden of local women who responsible for the care for children, disabled and elderly family members.
Recent estimates indicate that 54 % of people in need of assistance from the ongoing crisis are women. More than 2.3 million refugees from Ukraine - the vast majority women and children – having fled to neighbouring countries, and others displaced within the country, reaching the amount of 4.5 millions of escaping people in need. According to UN Women, although the atrocities of the war, women must be represented in all decision-making platforms on de-escalation, conflict prevention, mitigation and other processes in pursuit of peace and security for the people of Ukraine. Women and girls will be impacted differently and disproportionally by this humanitarian crisis, impeding them to have access to healthcare, housing and employment and UN Women, present in Ukraine since 2015 will try to ensure that their specific needs are adequately met[4]. The organization will use its expertise in Ukraine and neighboring countries to identify and respond to women and girls’ specific needs as they evolve, redirecting their programming on the ground and sharing their gender expertise with the UN System and their humanitarian partners to help make humanitarian response plans and their implementation more gender responsive[5].
Furthermore, UN Women has been supporting social mobilization soliciting the creation of self-help groups, has been working closely with civil society partners and women peacemakers, ensuring their voices are heard in decision-making on humanitarian aid provision, recovery, reconstruction and conflict resolution.
Since the beginning, the resilience of women and girls, as well as of other groups often left behind such as young people and members of the LGBTIQ community, have greatly impressed for guiding these efforts, also engaged in transit refugees or in their displacement response, facing the specific challenges including family separation, psychosocial stress and trauma, physical harm and injury, lack of access to sexual and reproductive health, exploitation and gender-based violence.
Strong expressions of concern have been revealed in statements by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and by the High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, leading calls for a ceasefire.
We are wondering if undertaking this resolution will be further fomented the divisions originated by this poignant war, as it results hard to believe that Russia, that is bringing forward continuous shelling and devastations above all on civilians, by killing and injuring them, although the many official denials, will be not induced but forced in peaceful process or change of strategy by the isolation and confinement within the international community until it will have strength and resources to fight for its supremacy on Ukranian neighbour. Nevertheless it’s undoubtedly the nth landmark step for the realization and implementation of the UN purposes, as expressed by the Charter, although its uncertain reactions, to rule according to the international law in the direction of the guarantees of freedoms and protection of human rights with zero compromise policy on fundamental values within the tables, institutions and bodies of the UN. Measures that, as pointed out and stressed, more often would have been taken in the international panorama also against other countries that regularly violate human rights although sitting on the Human Rights Council, such as China, Cuba, Pakistan, Somalia, and Venezuela among others. Although that, unsurprisingly the resolution continues to underwhelm until significant institutional and procedural reforms of the Council will be occured, as have been asked from many parts for several years, as many anomalies and malfunctioning of internal mechanisms of the UN system itself and of this body in particular are to be perfection enhanced in order to get more efficacy for the maintaining of peace and international justice, and at this point, given the horrific Putin permanent and inappropriate criminal conduct against Ukraine, careless of the advices and prompt solicitations from any part of the world not belonging its sphere of political influence or trade ties, whose despotism and authoritarianism has had as precedents just the WWII, we argue if we are in front of a conflict that will fully escalate once again, after almost a century, on a planetarian stage.

Other resources:
BBC World Service - Global News Podcast, Russia is suspended from UN's Human Rights Council
Ukraine conflict: 'Russian soldiers raped me and killed my husband' - BBC News

[1] Russia’s Suspension from the UN Human Rights Council - U.S. Embassy in Egypt (usembassy.gov)

[2] After War Crimes, Kicking Russia Out of the U.N. Human Rights Council Isn't Enough (foreignpolicy.com)

[3] http://news.un.org

[4] In Focus: War in Ukraine is a crisis for women and girls | UN Women – Headquarters

[5] Op-ed: What does the military offensive in Ukraine mean for women and girls? | UN Women – Headquarters

Under the veil

2022-04-10T21:43:00.002-07:00

"Under the veil" is an unbiased magazine created to highlight the whole world of women in all their aspects and women's rights, merging in itself two blogs ("Sparklingmoonshine.blogspot.com"- Art, Poetry and Entertainment- and "Worldscratches.blogspot.com" - International Affairs and Human Rights) and adding new original contents on global and gender studies, going beyond the transparencies and the obscuring curtains of public widespread information. In this magazine are reported both global and gender studies by which emerge my personal reflections, often in form of poetry or free thoughts,and glamorous and entertainment topics, including anthropology, psychology and lifestyle.

Below the horizon - the yearning hearts and tears of screwed up Afghan women after Taliban takeover (special insight)

2022-03-19T01:09:00.004-07:00

Below the horizon: the yearning hearts and tears of screwed up Afghan women after Taliban takeover

The Taliban shift takeover in Afghanistan and the fell of Kabul the 15 Aug 2021, after the flee of the president Ghani, followed to a long series of scathing attacks and crimes, is looming a catastrophe in terms of the protection of human rights in general and the rights of women in detail.

A series of four coordinated terrorist attacks against the US that took place the 9/11, 2001, plotted by Bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda, in which four commercial airliners traveling from the northeastern U.S. to California were hijacked mid-flight by 19 terrorists, causing mass casualties (3000 deads and 2500 injured) and partial or complete destruction of targeted buildings ( two of the planes hit the Twin Towers of the WTC; a third hit the west side of the Pentagon; a fourth plane missed the target of Washington, crashing instead into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania) started the War on Terror and the longest war in US history, just surpassing that fought in Vietnam by approximately five months.

These accidents prompted US President George W. Bush to ask the Taliban, de facto ruling Afghanistan, to extradite Osama bin Laden. In response to the Taliban's refusal to do so, USA and the Northen Alliance decided to invade the country to defeat and to expel this extremist Islamic political movement and military organization in a counter-terrorism strategy. In an intricate, relentless man-hunt, the US and a coalition of over 40 countries, including all NATO members, stood still into the country and formed a UN security mission called International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) with the purpose of consolidating a new democratic authority in Afghanistan and of preventing Taliban and al-Qaeda come back to power. After Enduring Freedom operation began and the new Afghan leaders elected Karzai to head the Afghan Interim Authority, took place the 2001 Bonn Conference, organized by the US Secretary of State Colin Powell at the behest of the President G.W. Bush and in which sat down together USA, Iran, Russia, Pakistan, India and representatives of Northern Alliance.

In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, the 2001 Bonn Agreement established an Interim Administration and a Code of Conduct to make it compliant to the international standards, in an attempt to harmonize Islamic principles with UN and other specialized agencies, international institutions and conferences with the rule of law and at the same time to Afghan legal traditions. The Bonn Agreement provided the legal framework to be applied until the adoption of a new Constitution, confirming the implementation of the previous Constitution of 1964 to the extent that its provisions are not inconsistent with those contained in this agreement. According to the agreement, the Interim Administration should be entrusted of the day-to-day conduct of the affairs of the State and have the right to issue decrees for the peace, order and good government of Afghanistan.

This agreement established the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (aihrc.org.af), national human rights institution working in the area of protection and promotion of human rights, set up on the basis of Bonn Agreement and Presidential Decrees, on the basis of art. 58 of the Afghan Constitution . And according to it every individual shall complain to the Commission on the field of violation of personal human rights. The Commission shall refer these breaches to legal authorities and assist them in defense of their rights. Among the several program units in the structure of the AIHRC it cannot be mentioned the Women’s Rights Unit.

AIHRC programs and activities are carried out by a Central Office in Kabul, eight regional offices and six provincial offices across the country. The AIHRC is a member of the ICC, presenting recommendations on working improvements to national human rights institutions in the protection and promotion of human rights and evaluating the compliance with the Paris Principles.

The Special Independent Commission for the Convening of the Emergency Loya Jirga should have expertise in constitutional and customary law. It had the task of drafting rules and procedures specifying criteria for allocation of seats to the settled and nomadic population residing in the country, criteria for allocation of seats to the Afghan refugees living in Iran, Pakistan and elsewhere from the diaspora, criteria for inclusion of civil society organizations. The Special Independent Commission ensured due attention to the representation of women as well as other segments of Afghan population.

The Interim Authority and the Emergency Loya Jirga shall act in accordance with basic principles and provisions contained in the international instruments of human rights and international humanitarian law in which Afghanistan takes part- The Interim Authority cooperated in the fight against terrorism, drugs and organized crimes. All the actions they undertake had to be consistent with the UNSCR 1378 (14 Nov 2001) and other relevant UNSC resolutions relating to Afghanistan.

The Annex 1 to the Bonn Agreement established ISAF in order to provide security, law and order throughout the country as the participants requested the assistance of the international community in helping the new Afghan authorities in the establishment and training of the new Afghan security and Armed forces. The UNSC authorized the deployment in Afghanistan of a UN mandate force to assist the maintenance of security for Kabul and its surrounding areas, with a withdrawal of all other military forces from Kabul and other urban centers. The ISAF main task was assisting in the rehabilitation, recovery and reconstruction of Afghanistan infrastructure.

The provisions of the 2001 Bonn Agreement were entrenched in the Afghanistan Constitution of 2004. While the ongoing tug of war, wave of violence and reconstruction efforts often makes difficult to get an accurate sense of what is going on, various NGOS are kept on reporting gross human rights violations perpetrated not only by Afghan government but also by American soldiers on civilians, enduring torture and inhumane treatments.

Excluded by the Bonn Conference in 2001, Taliban have been marginalized for long time but they continued their resistance efforts, even if formally declared to surrender and abstain from political life, but they do that just to get immunity for arrest. It would be difficult for those who were not in Afghanistan in 2001 and 2002 to realise how popular the Taleban, not just military but political and emotional, defeat was and at that time most Taleban accepted their world had changed, feeling how weirdly out of key they were. The Taleban that fled Afghanistan found a safe haven in Pakistan, forging a complex, well-funded and well-armed insurgency, committing war crimes daily, killing civilians with recklessness or intention.

In the following years two events shook up the political Taliban destiny in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region: the death of al-Qa‘ida founder Usama Bin Ladin in May 2011 and of Mullah Omar in 2013. Omar, who was the president of Afghanistan during the Taliban’s rule and a major Bin Ladin supporter, was wanted by the US Government through the Rewards for Justice program. Mullah Mansur, who was Omar’s second-in-command, in early Aug 2015 was selected as the new Taliban leader.

By 2017 the Taliban had nonetheless grown into a huge organisation, with a diversified military apparatus and a widespread governance structure. As fragmentation persisted, the different Shuras of the Taliban started evolving through separated paths: i.e., some more militaristic, or some more centralised than others. Even the issue of reconciliation with Kabul was viewed very differently by the different parts. To a large extent Taliban fragmentation is due to incompatible sources of funding in the region. To help run the organization, the Taliban had several commissions, based in Pakistan, critical to performing the key tasks of running an insurgency and governing territory After all, insurgency is a process of alternative State building, where insurgents provide governance to the population in areas they control. Leaders want to extract what they can from non-combatants to sustain their groups, such as information, food, housing, and supplies. Groups need to establish organizational structures that can secure funds through taxation and other means, organize policing, administer justice, and provide health benefits.The Taliban’s primary commissions allow them to perform these tasks, including a Military Commission, a Media Commission created for propaganda, a Commission for Financial Affairs to raise funds and a Political Commission to oversee peace negotiations.

The spread of the Taliban’s governance system unsurprisingly tended to follow quite closely the spread of the military forces. Some groups of Taliban did not believe much in governance and tended to invest less in it, or nothing at all. Their governance system was originally rolled out in remote areas, but was during last years extended to more heavily populated areas.

"Thanks to the US-led coalition forces, the government ruled and survived all these years. That the Taliban is making a spectacular comeback to claim power goes on to suggest that it never had lost its links with the masses." Dr Amalendu Misra, senior lecturer in Politics, Philosophy, and Religion at Lancaster University in the UK, insisted.

Although that, the Taliban rose from the ashes and reshaped their strength under Mullah Omar, launching in 2003 an harsh rebellion against the new Afghan government, waging an asymmetric warfare with guerrilla raids spiralling escalating to a point where large parts of Afghanistan had been reconquered by Taliban by 2007. ISAF counter-attacked by massively deploying troops reaching in 2011 a peak of 140,000 foreign soldiers .

After the final killing of Osama bin Laden in this year, NATO leaders began withdrawing their forces until the December 28, 2014, ending at the same time ISAF combat operations, officially transferring full security responsibility to the Afghan government. Incapable of militarily erasing Taliban, the members of coalition and separately the government of president Ghani drifted to diplomacy in order to quench the conflict. These efforts culminated in February 2020, when the US and the Taliban signed a conditional peace deal in Doha imposing a US troops complete withdraw by April 2021. The Taliban, in return, pledged to prevent any group in the territory of Afghanistan from attacking the US and its allies in the future. The Afghan government was not a party to the deal and rejected its terms regarding the release of prisoners.

The Doha Agreement , signed by the deputy prime minister Baradar, also known as the Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan, is a four pages document, unanimously endorsed by the UNSC , concluded on February 29, 2020 in order to stop the war and to start intra-Afghan dialogue for “a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire” since March 10.

Trump’s administration agreed to an initial reduction of its forces from 13,000 to 8,600 by July 2020, followed by a full withdrawal within 14 months, if the Taliban would have fulfilled their commitments. The US also pledged to closing five military bases within 135 days, and expressed its intent to end economic sanctions on the Taliban by August 27, 2020.

On 15 August 2021, after taking control of a vast majority of Afghan territory, the Taliban began capturing the capital city of Kabul, and many civilians, government officials and foreign diplomats were evacuated. President Ghani fled the country the same day and the day after, an unofficial Coordination Council was in the process of coordinating the transfer of the State institutions of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to the Taliban. Saleh proclaimed himself the caretaker President of Afghanistan and announced the formation of an anti-Taliban front along with Massoud but on 6 September the Taliban took control of most of the Panjshir province, pushing both to seek refuge in Tajikistan, causing the proclamation of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, under the supreme leader Akhunzada and the Prime Minister Akhund, A new, all-male cabinet was formed, abolishing the Ministry of Women's Affairs .

On this occasion occurred an extraordinary evacuation of ten thousands of civilians and military personnel. According to CNN, the new government is likely to be a unitary Deobandist Islamic Republic . A unitary State is a State governed as a single entity in which the central government is the supreme authority, which could create or abolish administrative divisions just exercising the powers that the central government chooses to delegate. Although political power may be delegated through devolution to regional or local governments by statute, the central government may abrogate the acts of devolved governments or curtail or expand their powers.

As forms of government, unitary States are opposed to federal states, that would have been the most suitable solution given the multietnicity and the several divisions characterizing the country (solution rejected in the name of Islam prophecies about Unitarian government and centralized institutions) and nowadays a large majority of the world's states (166 of the 193 UN Member States) have preferred a unitary system of government.

In a report by News18 , sources said the new government was going to be governed similarly to Iran with Akhundzada as supreme leader similar to the role of Saayid Ali Khamenei, and would be based out of Kandahar. The interim government is formed by the prime minister Akhund, two deputy Prime ministers (Baradar and Hanafi), Haqqani as a Minister of Interior, Muttaqi as Minister of Foreign Affairs The government's ministries and agencies will be under a cabinet presided over by the Prime Minister, Ishaqzai, Chief of Justice.

With the reestablishment of the Emirate in Afghanistan, the likely result is erasing all the progress that was made toward building democracy, and particularly, women and girls rights. The Talibans, in fact, are in many ways a different organization from that governing Afghanistan in the ‘90s and most of their leaders are committed to an extreme interpretation of Islam not shared by many Afghans, an autocratic political system that eschews democracy and is persistent in maintening relations with terrorist groups like al Qaeda.”

While the West has adopted a wait-and see approach to the Taliban, there were some sign of engagements with the new leaders gathering pace. The UN restarted humanitarian flights to parts of the country, China promised to keep opened its embassy in Kabul and to provide humanitarian assistance, Italy is involved in providing assistance to the refugees escaping Taliban.

Many street protests occurred for the stints applied to women rights and damages affecting in this war-wracked country, 3,8 mln of children suffering of malnutrition, as reported by Save the Children and Unicef.

The new government is taking place within the framework of an amended 1964 Royal Constitution of Afghanistan, that was enacted from1964 to 1973, when it was annulled following a coup d’etat, although some of its parts not conflicting with Sharia law were restored by future governments from 2002 to 2004 and from 2021. Its primary goals were to prepare the government and the people for gradual movement toward democracy and socioeconomic modernization . As of early September, the Taliban were planning the Cabinet to be men-only, stating that women would not be allowed to "work in high-ranking posts" in the government and that women were "ruled out" from the Cabinet. Journalists and other human rights activists, mostly women, defiantly protested in Herat and Kabul, claiming their right to have education, work and security and to be included and consulted in the makeup of the new government.

On 20 September 2021, UN Secretary-General António Guterres received a letter from acting minister of Foreign Affairs Muttaqi to formally claim Afghanistan's seat as a Member State and asked to address the UNGA but their situation is very critical.

The US withdrawals was completed on August 30, 2021, along with the end of the over-the-horizon counterterrorist attacks, term anticipated by Biden administration as he declared to have no interest to procrastinate the permanence in the country until the 20th anniversary of 9/11 attacks, although the shift of power .

Western nations have suspended most humanitarian aids to Afghanistan following the Taliban's takeover of the country in Aug 2021 and the WB and IMF also halted payments. According to HRW in Oct 2021, more than half of Afghanistan's 39 mln people faced famine and starvation due to an economic and banking crisis . Since the income of opium poppy is 10 times that of barley, the cultivation of opium poppy provides a stable income for farmers and taxation for the government, which has become the foundation a collapsed economy.

According to the Costs of War Project the war killed 176,000 people in Afghanistan; 46,319 civilians, 69,095 military and police and at least 52,893 opposition fighters. According to the UN, after the 2001 invasion, more than 5.7 mln former refugees returned to Afghanistan. However, since the renewed Taliban offensive of 2021, 2.6 million Afghans remain refugees, mostly in Pakistan and Iran, and another 4 mln remain IDPs within the country.

The withdrawal of US and Nato forces and the Taliban takeover coincided with the increasing of women rights abuses, the confinement of the role of women and girls, the relegation of their space and forms of expression in society, forbidding them a significant access in society other than a full participation in public life. Moreover, during last months, we have witnessed all the same a sequence of tragic events even if well hindered under the plague of misinformation, misconception and misperception, being independent journalism criminalized, due to a dichotomic repression of the freedom of press and of dissent both from government and civil society. This remarkably impacted on the human rights soundly acclaimed as the main achievements of the last twenty years reforms and in order to understand if the overall situation is improved or deteriorated, beyond the apparent renewed profile of this country in the international community, it should be proper a step-by-step overview of the main legal changes occurred, their practice and their customs as the Taliban, in power since 1996, imposed tough restrictions on women and perpetrated gross violations.

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, established in 1996, is not to be confused with the Emirate of Afghanistan (1823–1926) and Emirate of Afghanistan (1929), Islamic State of Afghanistan (1992–2002), or Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (2004–2021). The Taliban have at times been credited with being good at maintaining security, albeit through very heavy-handed means, and providing efficient forms of traditional justice, but they had little technocratic understanding of how to perform the other functions of government. With an exodus of people, one vulnerability could be an insufficient number of professionals to run state institutions, as the government does not have much revenue to spend on public services.

The Taliban demanded a new constitution for Afghanistan and promised an "inclusive Islamic system" to govern the war-torn country, reckoning that Kabul previous government constitution is invalid as imported from the West and being an obstacle for peace. They would rather prefer an Islamic constitution, with a new Charter drafted by Islamic scholars.

Many issues regarding how the Taliban would run Afghanistan have yet to be finalised, but Afghanistan would not be a democracy, as officially declared, for, in their believes, a democratic system does not have any base in their country. All could be discussed but the type of political system to apply in Afghanistan: just the Sharia law. The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, also known as the Taliban regime, established a theocracy. The Taliban regime was and have ruled Afghanistan for five years, until it was expelled from Kabul in late 2001. In its heyday, the Taliban never effectively ruled the entire territory of Afghanistan; about 10% of the northeast of the country was controlled by the United Islamic National Salvation Front of Afghanistan (better known as "Northern Alliance"). Since the beginning, the Taliban pursued radical policies, banned women from working, closed off to the outside world, and regressed living standards. Afghanistan became one of the countries with the highest illiteracy rate. Although very popular at start, the five-year civil war and the massacre of the Hazara increased public grievances. Islam is the most important unifying force within Afghan society, and the teachings of Islam have profoundly influenced their social and cultural aspects. The Muslims constitute over 99% of the population, the remaining 1% of Hindu and Jews. About four-fifths of these Muslims follows the orthodox Sunni Islam and most of the remaining follow Shi’a sects. The leading religious groups of Afghanistan are Mullahs, Qadis, Sadat, Khwaja, Sahibzada, Pir, and Fuqara. Learned among them are the Islamic scholars (Ulema) who consist of the Mullahs, Wadis, and Muftis (jurisconsults). There is no organized system to determine the power and influence of the religious leaders; Afghanistan is almost wholly governed by local patterns and the personal attributes of the Mullahs.

The Taliban immediately implemented the strictest interpretation of Sharia law ever seen in the Muslim world. They closed down girls’ schools and banned women from working outside the home, smashed TV sets, forbade a whole array of sports and recreational activities, and ordered all males to grow long beards. TV, videos, satellite dishes, music, and all games including chess, football, and kite -flying were banned. Taliban soldiers stood on main streets arresting men without beards.

The Taliban never gave an indication to how and when and whether they would set up a more permanent representative government, whether they would have a constitution or not, and how political power would be divided.

Since the times of Mullah Omar, the Kandahar Islamic Supreme Court became the most important court in the country. The Court appointed Islamic judges in the provinces, and once or twice a year assembled them all in Kandahar to discuss cases and the application of Sharia law. A parallel system existed in Kabul where the Justice Ministry and the Supreme Court of Afghanistan are based. Customary law, or Rawaj, is an institution which resists the process of social, political, and economic integration. This type of law varies from tribe to tribe and from region to region; in general, it institutionalized local socio-economic interests. It often not only circumvents the laws of the country, but also modified certain tenets of Islamic law, especially in matters of marriage, inheritance, and women’s rights. Each tribe has its own code of conduct regulated by a local assembly of elders (provincial Jirga).

The Taliban held sway in Afghanistan until October 2001, when they were seemingly routed from power by the US-led campaign against al-Qa‘ida. On 22 December 2001 Pashtun royalist Hamid Karzai was sworn in as head of a 30 member interim power-sharing government. The end of the American occupation and establishment of an Islamic system was the lofty objective of the Islamic Emirate. Establishment of official venue for the Islamic Emirate; removal of blacklist and prize list; release of prisoners and ending poisonous propaganda are among the preliminary steps needed for peace. Islamic Emirate considered it its obligation, on the call of its faith and conscious, to serve the Afghan people. The Islamic Emirate is committed to civil activities; to freedom of speech and to women’s rights in the light of Islamic rules, national interests and values. It considers it its responsibility to provide to the sons of the nation access to education and protect and build national installations and assets of public benefit. The unity of Muslims is very important in Islam. Many verses in the Holy Qur'an emphasize the need and importance of unity. Allah says: “That is, obey God, His Messenger, and his leaders”. The Taliban tried to establish a so-called "true Islamic country" and adopted a series of extremely radical measures, declaring that they would "restore the traditional way of life of Islam." The Taliban established religious police to supervise the implementation of Shariah laws, to closed movie theaters and television stations, to ban the use of Internet and to play Western music. The Taliban claimed that the law was based on the Koran, such as stoning adulterers to death; public executions of murderers. It was makrooh to buy and sell sex products conceived as sin and guilt, such as TV, VCRs, red albums, etc. Makrooh is a disliked or offensive act though which is not forbidden or subject to punishment, a person who abstains from this act, on the contrary he will be rewarded. If the customer is the right person, and the seller thinks that these items are not used in sin, then it is permissible.

Women must wear a veil when they go out, and they must be accompanied by a chaperone (mahram). As said, the Taliban deprived women of their basic rights. Since about 70% of teachers in Afghanistan are women, women’s ban on work has caused many schoolchildren to lose access to education, and Afghanistan has become one of the countries with the highest illiteracy rate. Public places are almost completely isolated from contact between men and women, and these last are denied to get medical treatments from contacting male doctors. Islam has instructed women to stay indoors as long as possible and they face a wide gamut of restrictions, such as wearing perfume when leaving, and to walk on the side of the road, not enter the crowd of men, and if they need to go out, the whole body will be wrapped in a chador or a long scarf or a thick colored cloth. Although the Qur'an does not refer to any particular ornaments, women who go out of the house for any reason should not wear any ornaments with a non-mahram. Even the freedom of speech is forbidden: if they need to speak, they have to be essential and talk for a short while, be polite but not seductive or using tone of elegance and preference.

In the recent years, Taliban seemingly moderated its views on some issues, such as the education of girls and the use of modern technology and digital platforms. Taliban deputy leader Haqqani wrote in Feb 2020 that the Taliban would “build an Islamic system in which all Afghans have equal rights, where the rights of women that are granted by Islam are protected” but they had a well-documented record of repression, intolerance, and human rights abuses against women, foreigners, ethnic minorities, and journalists. The Taliban’s persecution of women is particularly concerning: women who are victims of domestic violence have little recourse to justice in Taliban courts, and the Taliban discourages women from working, denies women access to modern healthcare, prohibits them to participate in politics, and supports punishments for them such as stoning and public lashing.

There are debates within the Taliban over the role and participation of women in public life. While some members support a hardline view, many others support it based on evidence from Islamic theology and history. They have been pushing for a more inclusive government with women in various positions. There are provisions within Hanafi jurisprudence for women to be judges and hold other senior public offices. Some hardliners cannot substantiate their position from an Islamic legal perspective and their views are rooted in culture. It is not easy to abandon a position that has been held by your forefathers.

When it comes to girls' education, hardly anyone in the Taliban could deny the clear statements of Prophet Muhammad on the obligation of seeking knowledge for men and women. Aisha, one of the wives of Prophet Muhammad, was a prominent scholar of Islam and a teacher to many prominent companions of the prophet. Some hardliners pushed for the suspension of girls' education until strict measures are applied to practice gender-based segregation.

Many senior Taliban figures, especially those who have lived abroad, take a more lenient view on this matter: while they are opposed to the suspension of girls' education, they believe that Afghan society is by nature fairly conservative and the overwhelming majority of people will abide by the Taliban's policies.

What are frequently described as “the gains of the last 20 years” were often limited to a minority of urbanised women and girls, whereas the losses imposed on them by a relentless war, in terms of deaths, injuries, trauma, insecurity, economic loss, were more conspicuous.

The Taliban’s rapid-fire advance through Afghanistan in August 2021 left women and girls, a whole generation of whom have grown up with rights and freedoms, among the most vulnerable people. They are definitely losing those hard-won achievements as the Taliban seized control of Kabul. Afghan women have been targeted for speaking out against attacks by Taliban or for holding positions of authority. Since the start of 2021, civilian deaths had risen by almost 50% with more women and children killed and wounded than in the first six months of any year since records began in 2009, the UN reported in July 2021.

As Kabul fell into the hands of Islamist insurgents, emerged numerous reports of Taliban going door-to-door, drafting lists of women and girls aged between 12 and 45 years who were forced to marry Islamist fighters.

The treatment of women across Islamic countries worldwide is very different: i.e., Pakistan had female prime minister, but in Saudi Arabia, the government only recently allowed women to have relevant positions in society. It is therefore unrealistic to expect under Taliban regime to get better records in terms of women's rights than other existing Islamic States in Central Asia. More moderate the experience in Islamic North African countries as Tunisia and Morocco.

For a whole generation of Afghan women who entered public life ( lawmakers, journalists, local governors, doctors, nurses, teachers and public administrators) while striving, working alongside male colleagues, to help build a democratically-run civil society, they also hoped to open up opportunities for next generations.

The achievements of women over the past two decades will be difficult to remove. Improving the quality of life and the status of Afghan women had been a key goal of the US and the international donor community since 2002. The US had committed $1 bln for gender-related programs in Afghanistan and spent another $1 bln on programs for which the advancement of women was a component. Since the Taliban regime was overthrown in 2001, millions of Afghan women have voted; and some women occupied prominent positions in society; 63 women were members of parliament (out of 320 seats); 68,000 women were instructors in schools and universities; 6,000 women serve as judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, police, and soldiers; about 10,000 women were health care professionals and 1,150 women entrepreneurs have invested $77 mln in their businesses.

Even so, Afghanistan remained one of the most challenging places in the world to be a woman: in 2018, the UN ranked Afghanistan 153rd out of 160 countries for gender equality,despite its constitution.

Women in Afghanistan used to be active participants in society. Before the Taliban took over in 1996, in fact, 70% of the teachers in the capital city, Kabul, were women, 40% of the doctors were female. Women were engineers, architects, lawyers, and judges. During the long years of war, the economy of many families became dependent on women's income.

However, the Taliban changed everything. Taliban banned any form of female education, from kindergarten through graduate school; wearing makeup, nail polish or jewelry; plucking eyebrows or cutting hair short; wearing colorful or stylish clothes, sheer stockings, white socks or shoes, or high heels; laughing, talking or walking loudly in public. In fact, one of the Taliban's dictates read, "Women, you should not step outside your residence." If women did venture outside, it had to be, always escorted, for essential purposes.

The Elimination of Violence Against Women (EVAW) presidential decree obliges police to arrest persons who abuse women but the implementation and awareness of this law limited. Forced virginity testing remained legal, and police, prosecutors, and judges continued to order virginity tests in cases of “moral crimes”, such as zina.

Certain factors appear central in relation to marriage: the marrying parties have little influence on the choice of partner. Local tradition and religion rule the institution of marriage. an institution marred by many discriminatory and oppressive practices such as no adequate registration routines put in place by the authorities, and whose formalities were of subordinate importance about its legal effectiveness. Irrespective of kinship group, ethnicity and geographical region, most of the marriages in Afghanistan were arranged, meaning that they were entered into following an agreement between families/groups. The marriage contract is thus an agreement between two families and not a confirmation of an affective relationship between two individuals. These arranged marriages were part of a complex set of traditions, loyalties and authorities. They play a key role in the establishment of alliances between families or in strengthening pre-existing networks and their agreements have strong political and economical aspects. The marriage tradition is endogamous, which in this context means that partners from one’s own kinship group, tribe or ethnic group are preferred. There were no reliable marriage statistics available for Afghanistan, but some surveys indicate that approximately half of all marriages involve persons in close kinship. Marrying a cousin is considered optimal, both cross and parallel cousins. While it is legal for male citizens to marry foreign non-Muslims, it is illegal for female citizens to do so.

The bride price is the sum which is paid to a woman’s parents in return for the right to marry their daughter. It is perceived as a compensation to the woman’s family for having raised her. The bride price is an accepted custom which is practised in large parts of the country. The tradition of paying bride price remains strong in rural areas, where it’s an important source of income for poor families. In certain areas, females are sometimes bartered in a method of dispute resolution which is called a baad, a method of settlement and compensation whereby a female from a criminal's family is given to the victim's family as a servant or a bride. Although baad is illegal under Afghan law, many of the victims do not know their rights.

According to Unicef the 57% of marriage agreements concluded in Afghanistan involve girls under 16 years of age. Polygamy, a man’s right to be married to several women at the same time, is legal both under Sharia law and Afghan civil law (a man can be legally married to four wives). The prevalence of polygamy has increased during the last three decades, because the conflicts in Afghanistan produced a growing number of widows. The increase of this form of marriage takes place within a population segment consisting of wealthy illiterates. When an unmarried girl elopes with a boy, his family and the villagers call for a Jirga and it decides the amount of the dowry to be given to the girl’s father. The boy must also pay a fine to the village in the form of the cow or sheep. The Taliban sought to reassure Afghan women. At the Moscow peace talks in Feb 2019, the one of their delegation said, “Islam has given women all fundamental rights, such as business and ownership, inheritance, education, work, choosing one’s husband, security, health, and right to good life.” Nevertheless, many questions regarding the Taliban’s stance remain, particularly around their interpretation of women’s rights according to Islam. The Taliban in fact denounced so-called “women’s rights activists” who, in their view, were encouraging women to violate Afghan customs. Thus, speci¬fic Taliban positions on women’s rights were difficult to ascertain. A June 2018 report published by Britain’s ODI on life under Taliban shadow governance appeared to validate such fears. The report’s author could identify no instances in which girls’ secondary schools were open in areas under heavy Taliban influence or control. Girls’ education in these areas generally terminated at the age at which girls reach puberty (between grades 4–6), when more restrictions were placed on their lives outside the home.

For what concerns the international relations of the Emirate, it must be said that since 1996, the Taliban have controlled the seat of government in Afghanistan for five years. During that period they received recognition from only three states (UAE, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia). Abdul Qahar Balkhi, a member of the Taliban's Cultural Commission, told US magazine Newsweek in Aug 2021 they were seeking global recognition for the Islamic Emirate. While organizations like the WB suspended aid to the country waiting to verify the conduct of Taliban, international aid and humanitarian organizations keep on hardly working in the country.

However, if the Taliban government can establish a system that will protect the rights and freedoms, especially those referring to women and girls, with such a relatively “moderate” system, it will be easier for Turkey and the Western States to do business. Moreover, it will be able to prevent Afghanistan from becoming a place where militant groups flourish and develop again, the foremost concern of the US and the West.

Although the Taliban began talking to Russia and China about possible economic cooperation projects, it remained to be seen how that will be put in practice. It’s also needed that humanitarian agencies provide urgent aids to Afghans displaced by the war. Up to now more than 5 mln Afghans are estimated to be IDP. The UN says nearly 400,000 people have been displaced this year alone as a result of ongoing violence. In order to unlock international funding, the international community’s recognition of a Taliban government will be fundamental, as the group was still blacklisted by the UN.

The Taliban shrugged off the idea of reliance on foreign aid, saying its fighters survived on bread and water while fighting the war. The question remains: would it be possible to convince millions of Afghan civilians to live without the foreign helps they have relied on for years? It was also an opportunity for foreign donors and aid agencies to persuade the Taliban to accept their terms in return for aid.

As international community is watching closely the development of Afghanistan situation, to what extent the Afghan Taliban will honor its promise to make its governance inclusive and to respect women's rights is a question in focus, which is key for relevant parties to consider whether to recognize Taliban government and restart investments.

In addition to women's rights and internal governance policies, neighboring countries of Afghanistan and world's major powers are urging Taliban to be inclusive and moderate, and cut off ties with all kinds of terrorism, separatism and extremism. Responding to concerns and worries among Afghan people and the international community, the Taliban has promised that it will respect women's rights, forgive those who fought against them and ensure that Afghanistan does not become a safe haven for terrorists, according to a Taliban spokesperson at a press conference on 17 Aug 2021. Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban's spokesperson promised it would "honor women's rights within the norms of Islamic law," with no specific argumentation.

On 29 July 2021, the US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken declared during an official visit in India that “An Afghanistan that does not respect the rights of its people, an Afghanistan that commits atrocities against its own people would become a pariah state”. Blinken warned the Taliban that they must show off a real intention for change if they want to gain global acceptance, international recognition and support.

What is happening in Afghanistan will deepen the impression among Arab governments that they can’t rely on the US to protect their security as they used to.

Thus, the main impact of the latest events in Afghanistan on the Middle East has boosted morale for any group backing the USA withdrawal from the region and undermined the confidence of those who perceive them as allies. The Taliban adhere to Sunni Islam and follow the ultra-conservative Deobandi school of the religion. Nevertheless, Islamist groups from around the region, from Palestine to Iraq, no matter if they were Sunni or Shiite, congratulated the Taliban on their victory..

The Taliban have declared they won't be making any official announcements until new government will be created and experts suggest that many changes on the ground should likely be viewed through the prism of the long running conflict between Sunni-majority Saudi Arabia and Shiite-majority Iran.

The Taliban ruled Afghanistan between 1996 and 2001, when the US invaded. In the 1990s, neighboring Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the UAE were the only countries in the world to offer the Taliban diplomatic recognition. For many years, the Taliban's relationships with Saudi Arabia were very close until Sept 11, 2001, when al-Qaeda, the Sunni Muslim terrorist group whose leadership had been sheltering in Afghanistan, carried out suicide attacks in the US, resulting in the deaths of over 3,000 people.

As allies of the US, the Saudis were increasingly forced to keep their distance. The UAE broke off diplomatic ties shortly after the Sept 2001 attacks. Since then, Qatar slowly worked as a mediator between the Taliban and other parties in those years, and from 2013 onwards, became infamous for being the only country in the world to formally host the Taliban's political commission. Iran's relationship with Afghanistan and the Taliban has also changed over the years. "There may be more ideological resonance between the Taliban and the Saudis but in terms of diplomatic relations the relationship with Iran is now much more developed," said Harpviken, who has written about the Taliban's foreign policy and is director of the Peace Research Institute Oslo . "The two almost went to war in 1988, and Iranians haven't forgotten that".

In a Dec 2020 interview, Iranian Foreign Minister Javid Zarif hinted that some of the Fatemiyoun Brigades, made up of Shiite Muslim Afghans, that sought refuge from Taliban persecutions in Iran, trained and equipped by the Iranians and that fought in both Iraq and Syria, might already have returned to Afghanistan. If an opposition to the Taliban were to emerge inside Afghanistan, it wouldn't be possible without comprehensive external support. The Saudi-Iran rivalry hasn't been very conspicuous on Afghan soil but it exists a threatening potential.

When it comes to official recognition of a Taliban-led Afghanistan, Middle Eastern countries are unlikely to be at the front of the line though, Pakistan will likely be first; then China, Russia, Turkey and Iran have indicated that they will pursue formal relations with the Taliban and are ready to recognize a Taliban government in Kabul. Many Middle Eastern states never wanted to upset the US, especially after some of them signed the Abraham Accords. There won't be a repeat of 1996, and the costs for a country like Saudi Arabia or the UAE to recognize Taliban government are clear."

As it concerns its international commitments, Afghanistan has been a signatory to all major international human rights conventions and treaties, especially the UN Convention against Torture (CAT) since April 1987, and, although that, a UN study in 2011 reported on interviews with 379 detainees found those held by police or intelligence services were subjected to beatings, removal of toenails and electric shocks . Some members of Afghanistan's National Directorate of Security (NDS), the Afghanistan national intelligence and security service, called to investigate cases involving "national treason, espionage, terrorism, sabotage, propaganda against the Government, war propaganda, assisting enemy forces, and organised activity against internal and external security" , have been accused of torturing suspects, harassing journalists, deliberately killing civilians during government raids. The security forces of local militias, which also have their own prisons, have been accused of torture and arbitrary killings; warlords in the north have used property destruction, rape, and murder to discourage displaced Pashtuns from reclaiming their homes; child and human trafficking remain common outside Kabul; civilians have been killed frequently in battles between warlord forces. Poor conditions in the overcrowded prisons have contributed to illness and death amongst prisoners and, to stop it, a prison rehabilitation program began in 2003.

.In the past, a radical change seemed to have been introduced by the promulgation of the 2004 Constitution, that incorporated many international principles, officially signed by Karzai, approved by consensus after the 2003 loya jirga and consisting of 162 articles, proclaiming the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. It is a text based on Islam that seemed to innovate for the recognition of the principle of equality, protection and implementation of human rights, at least on the paper, including women’s rights, minority rights, freedom of expression and assembly and so on. Under the new constitution, at least two females shall be the elected members of the House of People from each province. (Art. 83) .Article 22 stated that ”Any kind of discrimination and distinction between citizens of Afghanistan shall be forbidden. The citizens of Afghanistan, man and woman, have equal rights and duties before the law”. Although that, Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security ranks Afghanistan as one of the worst countries for women . A bill of rights was enshrined in chapter two of the Constitution of Afghanistan. The right to life and liberty were constitutionally protected as were the right to a fair trial and the presumption of innocence for all persons, giving the Republic a strong human rights framework that is guaranteed to all citizens. The constitution provided for an elected President and National Assembly and divided Afghanistan in 34 provinces, each one governed by a provincial council, with members elected for four-year terms, and a Provincial Governor appointed by the President. Afghanistan had two dominant justice systems: the formal state system and the informal traditional system. Despite existence of ordinary judicial system e.g. Supreme Court, National Security Court (dealing with terrorism related cases), first and second instance courts, "jirga" and "shura", traditional institutions, are operating. In the absence of an effective national judicial system, the right to judicial protection has been compromised as uneven local standards have prevailed in criminal trials.

The Chapter two of the Constitution , made up of 32 articles, concerns the”fundamental rights and duties of citizens”, among which must be underlined the importance, for the purpose of this dissertation, of art. 22, , 29, 54 and 58.The 2004 Constitution have been effective until 15 Sept 2021, after the Fall of Kabul. As of early September, the Taliban were planning the Cabinet to be men-only, stating that women would not be allowed to "work in high-ranking posts" in the government and that women were "ruled out" from the Cabinet. Journalists and other human rights activists, mostly women, protested in Herat and Kabul, calling for women to be included in the Cabinet. The acting Cabinet announced on 7 September was men-only, and the Ministry of Women's Affairs appeared to have been abolished.

One year before, in 2003, Afghanistan ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) , adopted by the UNGA the 18 Dec 1979. The Convention also has a provision obliging its Member States to carry out some legislative changes, including establishing gender equality in law, abolishing discriminatory laws and creating further institutions (tribunals and public bodies) protecting women against all forms of discrimination and violence. Furthermore, according to art. 18 of the Convention, Member States have to produce an annual report on the establishment of the Convention.

The come into force of CEDAW in Afghanistan affected 2004 Constitution, so that gender equality is more clearly defined by law and the government also recognises its duty to protect mothers and children. The Convention also contains provisions obliging its member states to carry out certain legislative changes concerning gender equality, abolishment of discriminatory laws and the creation of institutions (tribunals and public bodies) protecting women against all forms of discrimination and violence. Women constitutionally have equal rights to men, rights that have been severely restricted in the previous Taliban regime and now it’s expected a much more moderate reformulation of their form of government and legislation. According to 2004 Constitution women were permitted to work outside home, to engage in political activities, and each political party has to nominate a certain number of female candidates.

The Elimination of Violence Against Women Law was enacted in 2009 to offer legal and Sharia-based protection for women and to satisfy victims' demands for justice. A wide-scale national strategy has been put in place to protect women’s rights. A law eliminating violence against women is now in force, toughening the relating sanctions; a quota system has given women a role in the government and in new institutions such as the Public Prosecution Office; was also created the High Commission for the elimination of violence against women. Nevertheless, in March 2009, Afghan President Karzai signed into law an internationally condemned "Shia Family Law" which condones apparent spousal rape (Art.132), child marriage and imposes purdah on married Afghan women. By keeping women indoors, the Taliban claimed to be keeping them safe from harm. Although the offending legislation is said to have been dormant for a year, President Karzai tried to gain the support of Afghan northern Shia legislators and the neighbouring Islamic Republic of Iran, which are more integralist.

Thus, as a matter of fact, the Convention has brought no visible instantaneous practical changes and the institutional and legislative aspects of the law are being put in place progressively, so that in years to come a turnaround in women’s status in society is hoped to be a real possibility.

Therefore, despite various promises from the government to implement UNSCR 1325 (2000), were faced many hurdles in its implementation.

Another significant step forward seemed to be the law passed on 18 Sept 2020, according which Ghani intended to include mothers' names on their children's birth certificates and identification cards, a dream come true for many activist campaigners.

The Interim government followed the flee of Ghani and the exit of US forces from Afghanistan has not been recognized internationally, since the international community linked recognition to respect for women's and minority rights. Despite repeated assurances by the Taliban, severe restrictions in facts have been placed on their access to education and work. Education in lower grades resumed only in classes segregated by gender. In higher grades (7 through 12) and at the university level, classes for girls and women have been suspended. On 27 Sept 2021, the new chancellor of Kabul University, Ghairat, announced that women were not allowed to return to university to either study or work . The Taliban cited security concerns as the reason for these measures, however, did not specify under which conditions girls would be allowed to return to school.

The new Taliban interim cabinet does not include any women as either ministers or deputy ministers. Because of the abolishment of the Ministry of Women's Affairs, many protests led by women, especially in Kabul, have met violence by the Taliban security forces.

Many women in Afghanistan experience at least one form of abuse. In 2015, the WHO reported that 46% of women in Afghanistan had experienced at least one form of domestic violence from intimate partner, ranging from verbal and psychological to physical abuse and unlawful killing, often glossed over and tolerated by the community as widely practiced.

From infancy, girls and women are under the authority of their fathers or husbands. Their freedom of movement is restricted since childhood and also their choice of husbands is restricted. Women and girls are deprived of education and denied economic liberty. In their pre-marriage and post-marriage relationships, their ability to assert their economic and social independence is limited by their families. Most married Afghan females are faced with the stark reality that they are forced to endure abuse. If they try to extricate themselves from abuses, they invariably face social stigma, isolation, persecution for leaving their homes by the authorities and honor killings by their relatives.

With centuries-old patriarchal rules prevailing by customs and traditions and illiteracy, the issue of violence against women is not only pronounced but generally accepted. In order to reverse this trend, in 2009 was created by multiple organizations which were assisted by prominent women's rights activists in Kabul, namely Unifem, Rights & Democracy, Afghan Women's Network, the Women's Commission in the Parliament and the Afghan Ministry of Women's Affairs. Nowadays, Amnesty International reported that violence against women was perpetrated by both state and non-state actors. In April 2020, HRW reported that in Afghanistan, women with disabilities face all forms of discrimination and sexual harassment while they are accessing government assistance, health care and schools. Unicef has recently employed mobile health teams across Afghanistan to address the health issues of Afghan women and children. These teams will travel around the country to provide health services to those women who can’t access the services and will be equipped with urgent nutritional packages. Earlier, Unicef had estimated nearly half of the Afghan children to be facing malnutrition in 2022. On the other hand, the UN has estimated over 24 million people of Afghanistan to be on the verge of starvation as the country is going through the worst humanitarian disaster on Earth .

In 2020, the UNAMA concluded that the vast majority of the perpetrators of honor killings were not punished. Monitoring conducted by the Human Rights Service of the UNAMA and the Office of the OHCHR from Sept 2018 to Feb 2020 indicates that while the response by the justice sector to violence against women and girls, criminalized under the EVAW Law, continues to improve, the system also fails women and girls in a number of respects. Over an 18-month period, UNAMA documented 303 reports of violence crimes. The purpose of the document was to monitor the judicial processing of reported crimes and to understand what redress was provided by the justice system to women and girls, specifically by three State institutions mandated to ensure women’s access to justice in relation to such crimes: Departments of Women’s Affairs, EVAW prosecutors, and the Family Response Units of the Afghanistan National Police (ANP). Out of the 303 cases documented by UNAMA, only half progressed through the full justice chain to adjudication by a primary court; 31% were not resolved by the justice system for a variety of other reasons, such as failure to arrest the alleged perpetrator; while in other cases the response of the justice sector fails. UNAMA found that EVAW institutions registered so-called “moral crimes”, such as “running away” from home or attempted zina , despite the former not being a codified crime. It documented 40 cases of women being forced into suicide or self-immolation due to violence as in many cases women had sought, but failed, to receive assistance from their families or communities and distrusted the justice system. While information collected by UNAMA indicates that conviction rates for cases of murder of women and girls have increased, cases of so-called “honour killings” continue to occur and result in a much lower rate of conviction. Among the reported crimes of violence against women and girls, the 48,8 % were resolved by a primary court, the 17,2% where withdrawn or lacked of compliance, 15,8% failed to arrest, 3% mediated, 12,5% not resolved for other reasons, 2,6% were still in progress.

UNAMA monitored EVAW institutions’ response to crimes reported under the EVAW Law as well as murder, which is criminalized in the Penal Code, 2018. Perpetrators were arrested in only 31.8% of “honour killings”, as compared to a 60.8% arrest rate for murders unrelated to “honour” .

So-called “running away” is not a crime in Afghanistan. However, when women and girls leave their homes without permission of their mahram (a women’s husband, or her immediate male relative), or without providing information to their families about their whereabouts, they are sometimes arrested for “running away” from home and charged with attempted zina. Attempt to commit zina is not a codified crime in the Penal Code but is likely charged through a combination of Art. 643(1) and Art. 47, which proscribes attempts to commit crimes with running away. Detaining or prosecuting women for “running away” or attempted zina is a serious violation of women’s human rights. UNAMA documented 22 cases of murder perpetrated for reasons of so-called “honour”. In 15 of these cases, the alleged perpetrator was a close male family member. Honour is no longer a mitigating factor for murder cases under the Penal Code, which is a welcome development. However, the continuing practice indicates a persistent belief among some members of the community that women may be subjected to punishment in order to preserve or restore the integrity of cultural, traditional, or religious norms and social mores. UNAMA documented 16 cases of child marriage. Art. 28 of the EVAW Law prohibits the marriage of a woman who has not reached the legal age of marriage without considering the provisions of Art. 71 of the Civil Code, 1977. The EVAW Law does not define the legal age of marriage. However, Art. 70(1) of the Civil Code provides that girls have the legal capacity to marry once they attain 16 years of age; art. 71(1) provides that a girl who has not reached 16 years old may be married by her father or a competent court; and art. 71(2) prohibits the marriage of a girl under 15 years old. UNAMA also found that the vast majority of child marriages are arranged or condoned by the girls’ families. It is unrealistic to expect that the girls themselves, who are generally vulnerable and without resources, will be in a position to register a complaint with justice authorities or to withstand familial and societal pressure to maintain a complaint throughout the full course of the criminal justice chain. Given the severe physical and psychological harm of child marriage, this crime should be subject to ex officio prosecution. In many rape cases documented, the survivors were sent for a medical examination after reporting the crime to an EVAW institution. Such examinations should be conducted according to the Ministry of Public Health’s Gender-Based Violence Treatment Protocol . Women are often expected to undergo these examinations after reporting sexual violence, without providing fully informed consent. It is not the role of the healthcare provider to make interpretations about whether sexual violence took place, and identifiable injuries may not be evident in many cases. In at least eight cases of rape documented by UNAMA, the survivor’s report was assessed by the prosecution or primary court as cases of consensual extramarital sexual relations (zina). In many of them, the survivors were then prosecuted pursuant to Art. 643(1) of the Penal Code. The very possibility of being charged with a crime is likely to have a chilling effect on survivors’ willingness to report sexual violence.

A significant number of Afghan women served as members of Parliement until the fall of Kabul in early 2021. Several women also took positions as ministers, governor or ambassador to the US. In Sept 2020, Afghanistan has secured a seat on the UN Commission on the Status of Women for the first time, an achievement evaluated as a “sign of progress for a country once notorious for the oppression of women”.

The Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), which includes the Afghan National Police, have a growing number of female officers. In 2019, women made up 21,2% of the labor force in Afghanistan. In terms of percentage, women rank high in the fields of medicine and media, and are slowly working their way into the field of justice. Because women were still highly encouraged to consult a female physician when they go to the hospital, nearly 50% of all Afghans in the medical profession were women. The number of women having professions in the media was also rising. . However, even the women that are given the opportunity to have careers have to struggle to balance their home life with their work life, as household tasks are seen as primarily female duties. Education in Afghanistan has gradually improved in the last decade but much more is to be done to align it to the international standards. The literacy rate for females is merely 24.2%. There are around 9 mln students in the country, whose, about 60% are males and 40% females. Over 174,000 students are enrolled in different universities around the country and about 21% of these are females. In the early twentieth century, education for women was extremely rare due to the lack of schools for girls. Occasionally girls were able to receive an education on the primary level but they never moved past the secondary level. Kabul University was opened to girls in 1947 and by 1973 there were an estimated 150,000 girls in schools across Afghanistan. Unfortunately, marriage at a young age added to the high drop out rate but more and more girls were entering professions that were once viewed as just a male prerogative. Women were being given new opportunities to earn better lives for both themselves and their families. However, after the civil war and the takeover by the Taliban, women were stripped of these opportunities and sent back to lives where they have to stay at home and be controlled by their husbands and fathers. During the Taliban regime, many women who had previously been teachers began secretly giving an education to young girls in their neighborhoods, teaching from ten to sixty children at a time. The school locations were community homes for students, and were entirely financed and managed by women. Each day young girls would hide all their school supplies, such as books, notebooks and pencils, underneath their burqas to go to school. At these schools, young females were taught basic literary and numeracy skills, and various other subjects such as biology, chemistry, English, Quran, cooking, sewing, and knitting. Many women involved in teaching were caught by the Taliban and persecuted, jailed, and tortured. However, in 2015, the Kabul University began the first master's degree course in gender and women's studies in Afghanistan .

In the last decade, Afghan women have participated to many sports, such as football, basketball and skiing. In 2015, occurred the first participation of a woman in a marathon and previously, always for the first time, in 2004 Afghanistan sent women athletes to the Olympics.

Marriages in Afghanistan are usually in accordance with Islam and the culture of Afghanistan. The nation is a patriarchal society where it is commonly believed that elder men are entitled to make decisions for their families. A man can divorce his wife without the need of her agreement, whereas the opposite is not possible.

According to a 2020 Musawah organization “Thematic report on art. 16, Muslim family law and Muslim women rights in Afghanistan” , Afghan laws and practices enforce de jure and de facto discrimination against women in the following areas: discriminatory legal framework, child marriage, divorce rights, polygamy, inheritance and matrimonial assets and guardianship of children. Art. 54 of the Constitution of Afghanistan states that the family is the fundamental pillar of the society, and shall be protected by the State. It commits the State to adopt necessary measures to attain the physical and spiritual health of the family, especially mothers and upbringing of children, as well as the elimination of the traditions contrary to the principles of the sacred religion of Islam . Afghanistan are mainly governed by the following codified laws: for the Sunni majority the Civil Code is the main codified law that governs matters relating to marriage and family relations. Based on Art. 1(2) of the Civil Code, in the absence of codified laws that sufficiently address a particular matter of personal status of Sunnis, generally, the rules of Hanafi jurisprudence (fiqh) apply; and for the Shia minority the Shiite Personal Status Law (SPSL) is the main codified law that governs matters relating to marriage and family relations. Based on Art. 2(3) of the SPSL, in the absence of codified laws that sufficiently address a particular matter of personal status of Shias, the rules of Jafari fiqh are generally applied.

Despite the equality guarantee under Art. 22 of the Constitution, the Civil Code and the SPSL provide for a marital framework based on ‘reciprocal’ or ‘complementary’ rights (as opposed to ‘equal’ rights) between the two spouses, whereby in return for maintenance and protection from her husband, a wife is expected to obey him. Provisions in the family laws therefore discriminate. women as it is based on male authority and guardianship. In this field of discriminatory law, the reform process appears to be delayed: according to the State Party report, in 2016 the Ministry of Women’s Affairs (MoWA) together with relevant ministries and organisations undertook efforts to review and draft a Family Law to replace the Civil Code. According to women’s rights groups who provided inputs into the draft, there is little information pertaining to the timeline and process of finalizing and enacting the new revised Family Law. The amendments and new provisions proposed have also been watered down and don’t address all the most urgent areas of discrimination under the Muslim family laws. The draft currently remains under review with the Ministry of Justice. Musawa recommend the CEDAW committee to urge the State party to ensure that the draft Family Law is based on equality between spouses and a timely enactment of the Family Law, following consultations with women’s rights groups. For both Sunnis and Shias, the minimum legal age for marriage is 16 for females and 18 for males as per Art. 70 of the Civil Code and Art. 99(1) of the SPSL. However, marriages below the minimum legal age for marriage are permissible for both sects: For Sunnis: Art. 71(1) of the Civil Code provides that either a competent father or competent court may permit girls below 16 to marry. Art. 71(2) of the Civil Code absolutely prohibits the marriage of girls below 15; for Shias: Art. 99(2) and 99(3) of the SPSL provide that a guardian appearing before the court may permit girls and boys below 16 and 18, respectively, to marry if the marriage is considered necessary and in their best interest. The SPSL does not stipulate an absolute minimum age below which a marriage may not be authorised. According to women’s advocates, registration of marriages continues to be voluntary and as a result child and forced marriages are more likely to be unregistered. The lack of registration of marriages imposes difficulties on women with regard to their right to seek divorce in addition to their right to a dower (mahr), maintenance and child custody. The organization recommends the CEDAW committee to urge the State party to establish a standard minimum age of 18 years for all citizens of Afghanistan regardless of sex, sect, religion, tribe, geographic region, ensure mandatory registration of all marriages and facilitate a standard process for registering of marriages; improve awareness raising campaigns among tribal and rural communities about forced marriages and related penalties.

About polygamy, according to Art. 86 of the Civil Code and Art. 91 of the SPSL, both Sunni and Shia men may marry up to four wives. According to Afghanistan’s 2015 Demographic and Health Survey, 6% of marriages in Afghanistan are polygamous . The survey also found that: older women were more likely than younger women to have co-wives. For instance, 11% of married women aged 45-49 reported having co-wives, as compared with 3% of women aged 20-24; rural women were more likely to report having co-wives than urban women (7% versus 5%); lower educated women were slightly more likely to report having co-wives than higher educated women. Polygamous marriages in Afghanistan include: the very poor social status of divorcees which pressurises wives to agree to become a second or third wife to avoid being single; the view among men that the ability to enter into a polygamous marriage is an indication of material and social prestige; the failure of the existing wife to produce a male child; and the wife as an incurable disease. The organization recommends the Cedaw committee to urge the State party to ensure that Family Law must contain provisions to prohibit polygamy, following examples of other Muslim countries.

About “Divorce rights” between Muslim men and women there’s no equality. Both the Civil Code and the SPSL provide for three different mechanisms for divorce: unilateral repudiation (talāq) by husbands; judicial divorce (fasakh) by wife on fault grounds; and redemptive divorce (khul’) by wife with consent of husband. The marriage may also be annulled. Under both the Civil Code and SPSL, the husband may unilaterally repudiate a marriage without much restrictions. While the Civil Code is silent on the requirement for witnesses to the repudiation, the SPSL specifically requires the presence of two male witnesses who must be Muslims. A woman can initiate a judicial divorce only on specific grounds and must follow a different procedure than for talaq. She also has the responsibility to bring the burden of proof. According to reports by the Afghan government as well as civil society, several factors restrict a wife’s right to divorce: many women are not aware of their right to seek judicial divorce. This is due to several reasons: because divorce is culturally unfavourable; the lack of access to legal representation for women in family matters; the fear of losing custody of her children. Both Sunni and Shia husbands may delegate their unilateral right to divorce to their wives (isma) through a stipulation in the marriage contract, thus permitting her to pronounce talāq upon herself. Musawa recommend the Cedaw committee to urge the State party to amend divorce provisions whereby Muslim men no longer have the right to unilaterally divorce their wives without reason or out of court, ensure divorce procedures are just and fair for women, especially in instances of harm (eg. domestic violence) and that all divorces must be administered via in the court after assessing the best interest of the parties and child/ren involved. Divorces must be registered via an official body and a divorce certificate/document issued to both parties.

About “Inheritance and matrimonial property”, there is no legal concept of matrimonial assets for both Sunnis and Shias, and inheritance rights between women and men are unequal, although exceptions. The Civil Code and the SPSL detail the inheritance shares of beneficiaries. In many instances, women are entitled to half the share of the estate as compared to man. According to the Afghan government, it is relatively difficult for a woman to exercise her inheritance rights because: men often deprive women of this prerogative; women in turn do not ask for their inheritance because such requests are deemed ‘dishonourable’ and not socially acceptable; and in instances where women are courageous enough to ask for it, their access to justice is limited because women’s issues are not frequently considered by the competent authorities. Musawa recommends the Cedaw committee to urge the State party to introduce a matrimonial property regime, drawing from progressive legislation in other Muslim contexts such as Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore, that law on matrimonial property consider the financial and non-financial contributions of women during marriage and asks for reforms on granting inheritance on equal grounds for women and men.

About “guardianship of children”, both Sunni and Shia fathers have priority rights. For Sunnis, the Civil Code is silent on the person with the priority right over the guardianship of the children in a marriage. Nevertheless, it’s implied in the Civil Code that this priority right belongs to father through various provisions: under Art. 71(1) of the Civil Code, the father may conclude the marriage of girls between 15 and 16 years of age; under Art. 252, as long as the mother is married, she can’t take the child on a journey without the permission of the father; under Art. 256, the father shall provide maintenance to his son, until he has the power to work, and his daughter until she gets married; under Art. 268, a father has priority guardianship over the property of his children. In addition, according to all Sunni schools of law, the father is obliged to provide for education, upbringing, development, health and security of the minor child. For Shias, Art. 45 of the SPSL specifies that a father and paternal grandfathers have priority right over the guardianship of his children without the authorisation of the court. They may appoint an alternative guardian to manage the affairs of minors. Musawa recommends the Cedaw committee to urge the State party to amend and/or enact family law provisions to ensure that mothers and fathers have equal right to guardianship over children and to pursuethe best interest of the child/ren.

About the equality in marriage and challenging the maintenance-for-obedience framework, this idea of complementarity of rights is a manifestation of male authority and guardianship over women. It doesn’t in practice lead to equality in rights and responsibilities between the husband and wife. Men who fail to provide don’t lose their authority over women and women who financially provide for the family don’t enjoy corollary rights and privileges. It has been claimed that Quranic principles promote equality between sexes, the principle of justice and fairness, equalitarian family laws and practices that are based on social justice and enable families and their individual members to reach their full potential. Women’s lives and stories reveal that laws based on male authority and guardianship over women are untenable, unjust and discriminatory. Far from creating harmony in marriage, these laws are the main causes of marital breakdown and violence against women, thus there’s urgent need for reforms. About the guardianship of children, Quran doesn’t discriminate: it doesn’t distinguish between fathers and mothers. Even parents who are divorced should still exercise “mutual consent and due consultation”.

Musawah believes that Qur’anic principles and the richness of the Islamic juristic tradition enable us to formulate Muslim family laws today that are egalitarian and reflect the needs of contemporary societies. Islamic teachings and universal human rights standards, including the CEDAW Convention, are fully compatible and are dynamic and constantly evolving, based on changing times. Inspired by the Qur’anic vision of justice and gender relations, Musawah contends that gender equality and non-discrimination can only be achieved with laws that transform power relations in the family and in society in the direction of just outcomes.

The birth rate is 36.08 births/1,000 population as of 2021; the total fertility rate is 4.72 children born/woman (2021 est.) on a population of 37.5 million (July 2021 est.) and a Population Growth 2.34% (2021 est.) .

Homosexuality and cross-dressing were capital crimes for Taliban, punished by long prison sentences. Members of the Lgbt community are forced to keep their gender identity and sexual orientation a secret in fear of harassment, intimidation, persecution, and death. The religious nature of the nation has limited any opportunity for public discussion, being homosexuality deemed taboo.

The Constitution of Afghanistan establishes the prominence of Sharia law as a precursor to all other laws, policies and regulations, allowing for religious interpretations by the State in prohibiting all forms of same-sex sexual activity. Even the new Penal Code of 2018 has outlined and prohibited specific activities of a sexual nature, disproportionately affecting Lgbt community. Thus, it’s possible for Lgbt people in Afghanistan to be charged with violating Sharia law. These punishments are more likely to occur in isolated, rural communities where private citizens and vigilant groups strictly follow Islamic morals. In the cities, persons convicted of homosexuality are just generally sentenced to prison. All sexual behavior outside of a lawful Islamic marriage is illegal, with the maximum punishment being death. The Afghanistan Law of Marriages (1971) stipulates that a legal marriage must be between two Muslim adults of the opposite sex, and that it must meet the rules of Islamic law. While the law does not explicitly address the issue of same-sex couples, Art. 41 of the Marriage Law stipulates that where the law is silent on a particular issue, the decisions must be based on the principles of Sharia. Hence, Afghanistan family law doesn’t recognize same-sex marriages, civil unions or domestic partnerships. No law exists to address discrimination or harassment on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. The Afghan Social Democratic Party stated that it favored an international effort to fight the Aids-Hiv pandemic, but that homosexuality and same-sex marriages are opposed by all great religions. No political party or interest group has expressed support for Lgbt rights. Afghanistan law currently prohibits a political party, interest group or social club from advocating anything that is in opposition to Islamic morality. Absent a change in the law, it is unlikely that a political or social organization advocating Lgbt rights will be permitted.

Afghanistan's population is over 99% Muslim, and Islam is the only official religion. Homosexuality is often linked with prostitution and pedophilia and the level of awareness about sexual orientation or gender identity is limited. In 2012, Nemat Sadat, a human rights activist and former professor of political science at the American University of Afghanistan, mobilized a Lgbt movement and on 22 Aug 2013, he became the first public figure to come out as gay and campaign for Lgbt rights, gender freedom, and sexual liberation .

The application of the principles concerning gender affairs in Afghanistan may varies from group to group. Contradictions arise between traditional customary practices and the dictates of Islam are themselves subject to diverse interpretation among reformists and conservatives.

All agree that differences between men and women exist and are best preserved through recognized standards of behavior. None dispute the importance of women in the society. Respect for women is a notable characteristic and few wish to destroy this esteemed status in the name of Afghan culture values. The argument rages over definitions of what precisely represents a honorable behavior for women in modern realities. The current zealous need to protect women's morality stems from the fact that Afghan society perceives women as the perpetuators of the ideals of the society. As such they symbolize honor of family, community and nation, and must be controlled as well as protected so as to maintain moral purity. The practice of purdah, a Persian word standing for “curtain”, a current spread form of seclusion, including veiling, is the most visible manifestation of this attitude. Such restrictions are deemed necessary by conservative males because they consider women socially immature, with less moral control and physical restraint. According to the most conservative perspectives, women are untrustworthy and their isolation is paramount.

After 15 Sept 2021 Afghanistan’s international human rights obligations, according to UN Human Rights experts, for the recognition of a full participation in public and political life for all Afghan women have been put at risk. As a State party to the CEDAW since 2003, Afghanistan is required to eliminate discrimination against women in the political and public life of the country, and to ensure to women, on equal terms with men, the right to participate in the formulation and implementation of government policy, the right to hold public office and perform public functions at all levels of government including executive, judicial, administrative and other governing and key decision-making bodies. Ensuring women’s right to equal participation in political and public life in Afghanistan serves as a guarantee for a future for Afghan women and girls free of discrimination and violence. The Taliban in control of the territory is obliged to respect and protect human rights, as the duty to respect, protect and fulfil human rights obligations does not change every time new authorities take power, and as has been repeatedly reaffirmed, the duty applies regardless of states’ political, economic and cultural systems.

UN Human Rights expert condemn the marginalization of women in Afghanistan permitted to work in lower levels of government and in specific sectors, although the significant progress of the past two decades, such backsliding being harmful to the peace-building and development process of the country. The international commitments have made abundantly clear that peace and sustainable development is linked to equality between men and women, as stated in the Beijing Platform for Action and underlined in the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

Afghan women have demonstrated that they are not passive bystanders or only victims or targets, but active agents in peace-building and recovery processes, as human rights defenders, journalists, political activists, and public figures. Women’s full and equal participation must be seen as a guarantee of their fundamental human rights, including their right to work, education, housing, health, to freedom of expression and to participate in cultural life without discrimination, and essential to addressing the multiple crises confronting the country, with the spread of Covid-19, internal displacement, food insecurity and political instability. It’s important understanding that women are not just one more vulnerable group. They are half or more of the population in every sub-group and face very specific risks, from targeted violence to deprivation of liberty, education, livelihood and health care including right to reproductive health and services, and heightened threats of underage and forced marriage. Their situation is aggravated by multiple forms of discrimination based on different grounds, including but not limited to, their age, ethnicity, religion or belief, geographic location and status as displaced persons or refugees.

The Working Group on discrimination against women and girls has observed in its work on Afghan political transitions that the impact on gender equality in public and political life is related not only to the nature of regime change but also to the political will to guarantee women’s human rights, including the right to equal representation, as when women’s voices and the issue of women’s and girls’ human rights are absent from the political negotiations and from public discourse, even in democratic environments, pre-existing guarantees of gender equality in the law, including in national constitutions, can be challenged and new discriminatory provisions can be introduced in the legal framework at national and/or subnational levels.

The Special Rapporteur on violence against women noted that in Afghanistan women are discriminated on the base of gender and discouraged and restricted in the political participation.

This flagrant exclusion of women in the public and political life of Afghanistan must be urgently rectified at this critical moment. Un experts recall the international commitment made in the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action in 1993 that recognized the primacy of women’s human right to equality, stating that “The human rights of women and the girl-child are an inalienable, integral and indivisible part of universal human rights. The full and equal participation of women in political, civil, economic, social and cultural life, at the national, regional and international levels, and the eradication of all forms of discrimination on grounds of sex are priority objectives of the international community.”

International human rights mechanisms have also made clear that women’s right to equality and non-discrimination must prevail in any claimed clash with what are purported to be “traditional”, historical, religious interpretations or cultural attitudes inconsistent with them.

Women’s inequality before the law intersects with all other prohibited grounds of discrimination and contributes to the perpetuation of all forms of historical inequality that represents the main root of violent conflicts. Peace-building and conflict transformation processes present unique opportunities for the elimination of discrimination against women in law and practice. International human rights mechanisms include the Working Group on Discrimination against Women and Girls, the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, and the CEDAW Committee called on Afghanistan to eliminate discrimination against women and girls that work on removing impacting discriminatory provisions from the Civil Code, the Criminal Code and the Shia Personal Status Law such as provisions allowing child marriage for girls, polygamy, discrimination against women in the family, and the criminalization of adultery. UN Experts also claim a further strengthening of the Constitution by including specific grounds of discrimination, the amendment of the Criminal Code that include provisions criminalizing all forms of gender-based violence against women. While the 2009 promulgation of the EVAW law by presidential decree was an important step forward, it has now been rolled back and women have been left with no access to justice.

The international community must listen to the voices of Afghan women who are rightfully demanding a safe and secure environment for their full and equal participation in the country’s public and political life and a role in shaping its future. The protection of women’s and girls’ rights must be central to all laws, policies, political processes and institutional practice and the allocation of resources must be aligned with their priorities which include freedom from violence, freedom of movement and of expression, access to education and health care including reproductive health care, equal participation in cultural life, the right to work.

Therefore, the international community must immediately call for the immediate cessation of violence by state and non-state actors in Afghanistan and compliance with international human rights law; support the renewal of the mandate of UNAMA and ensure the continued implementation of its mandate with a gendered lens; call for reinstating the Ministry of Women’s Affairs that was vital to ensuring the access of women and girls to services across the country and ensure that women participate fully in the management and distribution of humanitarian assistance that Afghans are in urgent need of, and to which they can get access without impediment; ensure independent fact-finding and accountability mechanism to document and investigate past and ongoing human rights violations and international crimes by state and non-state actors in Afghanistan ; promote financial and political investment and support.

In facts, in order to satisfy victims' demands for justice, important national policy papers, initiatives, and action plans, such as the UNSCR 1325, the Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS), the National Action Plan for Afghan Women all supported women's legal status. However, due to prevailing corruption, insecurity and conservative societal practices, such laws and policies faced significant challenges in practice.

International organizations, national governments and civil society efforts resulted in the Women, Peace and Security Agenda through the adoption of UNSCR 1325 on peace and security that in Oct 2020 celebrated its 20th anniversary.

In 2000, the UNSC formally acknowledged through this resolution the changing nature of warfare, in which civilians are increasingly targeted, and women continue to be excluded from participation in peace processes. The resolution specifically addresses how women and girls are disproportionally impacted by violent conflict and war and recognizes the critical role that women can play in peacebuilding efforts. The Resolution urges all actors to increase the participation of women and incorporates gender perspectives in all UN peace and security efforts. Parties engaged in conflict must take special measures to protect women and girls from all forms of gender-based violence, especially rape and other forms of sexual abuse. Each of its mandates falls into one UNSCR 1325’s four basic pillars: participation, protection, prevention and relief. The experiences of men and women in war are different. In these differences, women offer a vital perspective in the analysis of conflict as well as providing strategies toward peacebuilding, increasing inclusiveness, transparency and sustainability of peace processes.

In alignment with the Resolution, international criminal courts and laws have adopted new standards and set clear precedent through the prosecution of sexual violence as a crime against humanity and war crime. Peaceful masculinities is a complementary approach to Women, Peace and Security that examines how men’s identity is often connected to the use of violence and seeks to develop a more peaceful, nonviolent approach to solving conflict.

On the basis of Res. 1325 have been launched a series of other resolutions, each addressing a unique concern regarding the protection of women and girls during conflict, and their participation in decision-making processes. We mention SCR 1820,: passed in 2008, that recognizes that conflict-related sexual violence is a tactic of warfare and calls for enforcement of zero-tolerance policies for peacekeepers with regards to acts of sexual exploitation or abuse; SCR 1888,: passed in 2009, that strengthens the implementation of Res. 1820 by calling for leadership to address conflict-related sexual violence, deployment of teams to critical conflict areas, and improved monitoring and reporting on conflict trends; SCR 1889, passed in 2009, that addresses obstacles to women’s participation in peace processes and calls for development of global indicators to track the implementation of Res. 1325; SCR 1960, passed in 2010 that calls for an end to sexual violence in armed conflict against women and girls, and provides measures aimed at ending impunity for perpetrators of sexual violence, including through sanctions and reporting measures; SCR 2106, passed in 2013, that calls for the further deployment of Women Protection Advisers on addressing sexual violence; SCR 2122, passed in 2013, that calls on all parties to peace talks to facilitate equal and full participation of women in decision-making, in peacemaking; SCR 2242, passed in 2015, that highlights the role of women in countering violent extremism and addresses the differential impact of terrorism on the human rights of women and girls; SCR 2467, passed in 2019, it recognizes that sexual violence occurs on a continuum of violence against women and girls and stresses the responsibility of addressing root causes of sexual violence, specifically structural gender inequality and discrimination; SCR 2493, passed in 2019, that urges U.N. member states to commit to implementing the nine previously adopted Women, Peace, and Security resolutions.

On Apr 2008, the Government of Afghanistan released its vision for poverty reduction in the form of the ANDS, attracting over $20 bln in aid pledges from international donors earmarked for its implementation. Although coordinated by the Afghan government, the development of ANDS was in many ways highly skewed towards meeting the goals and deadlines of international donors, due in part to its potential to be an internationally-approved Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP).

The ANDS, formally approved by President Karzai is the document that outlines the Government of Afghanistan’s strategies for security, governance, economic growth and poverty reduction. Started as an interim report in 2005, it’s the product of intensive consultations between the Afghan government and a wide array of stakeholders including tribal and religious leaders, the private sector, NGOs, and the international community.

The ANDS layed out the following goals: security, Governance, Rule of Law and Human Rights, Economic and Social Development. Along with the ANDS, the Afghanistan Compact serves as the primary mechanism for coordinating future Afghan and international reconstruction. Launched on 31 Jan 2006 at the London Conference for Afghanistan, the Afghanistan Compact marked the formal end of the Bonn Process.

Afghanistan adopted its first National Action Plan (NAP) in 2015, for the period 2015-2018 and 2019-2022, to be implemented in two phases. The NAP was developed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which serves as the head of the Steering Committee that will work in collaboration with government agencies, civil society, and international organisations for its implementation and monitoring. The NAP was developed to address the challenges women face in the aftermath of war and conflict in Afghanistan, and is organised under the primary pillars of S/RES/1325 (2000). Nevertheless, it does not address disarmament issues, nor does it connect the proliferation of weapons with women’s insecurity. There have been numerous difficulties in terms of resourcing the NAP implementation.

Capacity building of points for NAP completed with technical assistance from UNWOMEN. Ministry of Women’s Affairs (MoWA) reported that there is a roster of 66 women covering 34 provinces in Afghanistan, participating in peace negotiations.

In 2019, Afghanistan was among the top 15 countries in the world with the biggest increase in their military expenditure, it has ratified in 2020 the arms trade treaty and had until 2019 a military expenditure of $ 227 mln out of a GDP, estimated in 2020 of $77.04 billion

The development of the NAP was initiated in coordination with civil society, and conducted through the establishment of the following structures: Steering Committee with the Minister of Foreign Affairs as the Chairperson Member; Technical Working Group representatives from international organizations and foreign diplomatic missions in Kabul; Drafting Committee; Coordination Committee.

Under the Strategic Objective "Enhancing Women’s meaningful participation in the reconciliation, negotiation, and re‐integration at all levels", civil society organisations are assigned the action of "Establish a national roaster of potential women negotiators from all 34 provinces". The government recognises the important role of civil society as an independent monitoring and evaluation body for the successful implementation of the NAP, along with a separate Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Plan, including annual monitoring, mid-term (after two years) and final review (Evaluation) in the fourth year. The M&E Plan will include tracking and monitoring of financing for the NAP to ensure transparent and effective implementation, for which the Steering Committee is responsible.

The Taliban's policies on rights and freedoms are not always clear, and their actions sometimes contradict their rhetoric. The overall situation about the implementation of Human Rights in Afghanistan seems to be deteriorated rather than improved. On the one hand, on several occasions they have stated that women can do what is permissible within the confines of an Islamic and Sharia framework. In practice, when boys' high schools opened a few weeks ago, girls' did not , and Kabul University's newly appointed chancellor has forbidden women from enrolling in the country's largest and oldest public university. Women have also been ordered not to return to work in some public offices, whereas in others they have resumed their work. This situation is compounded by a major humanitarian crisis that is looming in Afghanistan. The IDPs has surpassed 5 million, with more than 600,000 people displaced this year, of which 80% constitute women and children. They are in dire need of shelter, food, medication and heating facilities for Afghanistan’s harsh winter. In addition, chronic poverty, the Covid-19 pandemic, a severe drought, a failing health system, and an economy on the verge of collapse have had a significant impact on millions of Afghans. The UN Human Rights Council has recently appointed a Special Rapporteur on October 2021 to monitor human rights situation in Afghanistan. While it is critical to take immediate and coordinated action to prevent further human rights violations, it is also imperative not to let this urgency preclude justice to victims of Afghanistan’s war, who account for nearly 70% of the total population.

On the momentum of the UN committees urge of Taliban respect and implementation of human rights of women and girls , and the pressure exerted by activists, a diverse array of human rights organisations have come together to establish an alliance to collectively monitor the dire human rights situation in Afghanistan and advocate for the protection of human rights and accountability for all violations and abuses.

The Alliance for Human Rights in Afghanistan members include Amnesty International, Front Line Defenders, Freedom House, Freedom Now, Human Rights Watch (HRW), MADRE, the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), and the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF).

The situation of human rights in Afghanistan has dramatically worsened since the collapse of the Afghan government and the Taliban’s return to power on 15 Aug 2021. The fighting in the country has ended but serious human rights infringements keeps on going relentless, while the nation plunge into an institutional chaos in which it has been found more difficult, than that it was figured out, reaching a consensus about a new shared constitution, being the 2004 been suspended, and a political framework that could mend religious dogmas and traditions with the international standards set by all the organizations it belongs(among others in the region SAARC, ECO, OIC and it holds an observer status in SCO.).

The prospected scenario for women rights doesn’t seem to be more comforting. After the fall of Kabul they have seen deprived themselves of the minimal basic freedoms and rights, the situation rolling back to the pre-Ghani (64) regency. “There has never been a greater need for human rights organizations to unite and ask for accountability and justice for the people of Afghanistan. People in Afghanistan are caught between the Taliban abuses and a humanitarian disaster, and the international community can and should do more to protect them”, as Amnesty International reported .

As reported in “La Repubblica” media experts fear that as the international community shifts its attention to the war in Ukraine, the Taliban may take advantage of the opportunity and intensify “persecution, torture and murders” and a number of female journalist asked Italian government to help them flee their country to save their lives. Many women activist women keep on inflaming the protests in the streets of all the democratic but also Islamic moderate countries in which they have found refuge to gain the support of the occidental powers in defense of their rights and freedoms . Enough to say that many of them are impeded to leave Afghanistan, undergoing severe restriction of the freedom of women for women inside the country and unimaginably hardlier outside it. Again, in the same journal has been reported how women Afghan organizations claim their women rights from outside their country in the interest of their fellow countrywomen and the Onu denunciation of the murder of 400 civilians after Taliban take over . Taliban have restricted the women rights and freedoms denounces the High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet but the main treat comes from this Islamic state responsible for the 80% of the victims. Local media reported the re-opening of public and private universities 20 days after the taliban assumed power, but the difference was that boys and girls had to continue their education separately. After the shift of power occurred last year, women activists have been the only main resistance to the Islamic Emirate, claiming their fundamental rights, and the fierce repression of their protests seems having reached the target to silence their voice inside their country. The same is happening for judges and prosecutorsfired without any specific reasons and after not receiving their salaries for several months.

On Oct 2021, the Islamic Emirate welcomed the reopening of the EU’s office in Kabul, saying that the step could be the beginning of engagement with European countries. “The decision of the European Union to reopen its office in the near future is a good step and it is in the interest of the people of Afghanistan,” said Ahmadullah Wasiq, deputy spokesman for the Islamic Emirate. They will evaluate their work from the vicinity and they will restart their political activities in a limited way in Kabul . On the same month, Members of the Taliban delegation, including Hanafi and acting Foreign Minister Muttaqi, take part in international talks on Afghanistan in Moscow on October 20.

Russia hosted a high-level Taliban delegation for talks attended by officials from China, Pakistan, and eight other countries, as Moscow seeks to assert its influence on Central Asia amid worries about instability or violence spilling from Afghanistan into the region. The US did not attend the meeting. The October 20 conference in Moscow was one of the Taliban’s most significant international meetings since the militants seized control of Kabul from the internationally recognized government in mid-August. Addressing the gathering, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia recognized Taliban’s “efforts to stabilize the military and political situation and set up work of the state apparatus,” as terrorist groups such as the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda were trying to “take advantage” of instability . Lately, during these days, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Muttaqi is holding several rounds of meeting focused on strenghtning the partnership with Central Asia countries, such as Uzbekistan, in relation to embolden security and unity in Afghanistan and to implement trade, energy, transportation & other major projects.Minister Muttaqi stressed that regional countries in a fast transforming political, economic & security environment should increase confidence in each other to save the region from repercussions of political changes . Muttaqi is attending also other meetings with the Minister of Information and Culture Mullah Khairullah Khairkhwah visiting the Afghan Embassy in Ankara, Turkey, and met with Afghan diplomats, citizens and students . There’s a good hope then the an opening to dialogue on these so sensitive topics for the democratization process and alignment with international standards and the economic development of the country could take place and a real willingness of change from the past avoid the jeopardy of a come back to past repressive and oppressive Taliban regimes. As a matter of fact, what’s going on in this country on the institutional level and which are the projects for the new constitution is covered by a veil of mystery, being all the official web resources blank, not working, still on Ghani government or blocked. Thus in this void on the divulgation of official information on media and institutional sources, all let us figure out how great could be the internal divisions between moderate and conservative about the destiny to give to Afghanistan, especially about the removed Ministry of Women Affairs and at the same time an attempt to protect its international engagements with western and Asiatic international organization to which it belongs. Below the horizon, we can deem that Internal Affairs are kept secret for an increased dissent and obvious divisions and nothing could let’s think about an unwinding period, above all for the financial collapse and humanitarian needs in which the country is plunged after years of wars, undermined by terrorism.

The Taliban announced 07 Sept 2021 an interim government in Afghanistan, declaring the country an "Islamic Emirate". It will be led by Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhunda as the new leader of the government of Afghanistan. In a statement attributed to Taliban Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada the government will uphold Sharia law. He submitted: "First and foremost, I congratulate our suffering and proud nation on withdrawal of all foreign forces, end of the occupation, and complete liberation of the country."

"As a caretaker and committed cabinet has been announced by the authorities of the Islamic Emirate to control and run the affairs of the country which will start functioning at the earliest, I assure all the countrymen that the figures will work hard towards upholding Islamic rules and Sharia law in the country, protecting the country's highest interests, securing Afghanistan borders and to ensuring lasting peace, prosperity and development God willing," he added.

Additionally Akhundzada said "Our previous twenty years of struggle and jihad had two major goals. Firstly to end foreign occupation and aggression and to liberate the country, and secondly to establish a complete independent stable and central Islamic system in the country."

"We want to have a peaceful, prosperous and a self reliant Afghanistan, for which we will strive to eliminate all causes of war and strife in the country, and our countrymen to live in complete security and comfort," he said.

He said that the Islamic Emirate will take serious and effective steps towards protecting human rights , the rights of minorities as well as the rights of the underprivileged groups within the framework of the sacred religion of Islam. On education, he submitted that it is one of the most important requirements of the country and that his government will have a duty to provide a healthy and safe environment for religious and modern sciences to all countrymen within the framework of Sharia.

Taliban officials had claimed that their new government would include different political and ethnic groups, but the interim setup is dominated by their old guard. "The Taliban do not see the need for an inclusive government anymore. For them it is more important that powerful figures are leading their government so that they can crush potential resistance movements," Sami Yousufzai, an Afghan journalist, told DW. "They have appointed ministers on the basis of their loyalties to the group," he added.

The European Union on 08 September 2021 said that the Taliban-appointed caretaker government "does not look like the inclusive and representative formation in terms of the rich ethnic and religious diversity of Afghanistan we hoped to see and that the Taliban were promising over the past weeks."

In conclusions, aberrant is the ongoing treatment of women under Taliban regime, despite the attempts of adaptations and implementations of UN resolutions, directives and negotiations and the NAPs. The internationally hailed principles on the protection of their human rights and prevention of crimes are not incontrovertible truths and realms but objects of the changing, swinging interpretations of the Sharia. More and more marginalized in every aspect of private and public life, Afghan women are de facto still secluded and isolated not for sake of protection but to be abused and destroyed in any of their needs and aspirations to live alike animals with reproductive functions, completely subordinated to the undebated will of authoritarian men in a patriarchal society that leave them a well luring social perspective of famine, starvation, ignorance, unemployment, terror and lack of financial and medical resources. This is the result of the implementation of their god will, currently refraining even the most powerful international organizations to provide concrete help and to facilitate the resurgence of the destiny of what is still considered to be the frail sex. As a matter of facts, women in this country don’t have even the possibility to live as a “normal” human being, and talking about a full and integrated participation in public life and a boosting of leadership appear to be a long-distant utopia. These are the sceneries offered to them by their conception of Islam and useless have been the attempts of civilization and democratization by the international community that finally has frozen financial aids, being the greatest part spent in weapons, and that they even dare to reject, in the name of a war against the US that has always relentlessly tried to find acceptable solutions for an enhanced cooperation in humanitarian, economical and health terms with zero tolerance against violence, terrorism, indiscriminate injustices and social discrepancies. Thus, in this case, we are in front of an overt inequality despite the unhelpful attempts made by the International community to sensitize their stubborn and intransigent cultures, to make the mentalities progress and adapt themselves to the evolution of time, to educate to the respect of the normal need of each human being and to the tolerance towards the other, to open up and take advantage to an international actors that don’t provide perfect solutions, sight unseen, but that always try in the compromise and the mediation to design new opportunities in the spirit of solidarity that could be forged in the shape of their realities, even if different, unwelcoming and degraded, in the name of the dignity of each human being, especially women, other than girls, that represents the core essence and the most fragile soul of the society, a veil, a litmus paper the takes back mirroring the destiny of the communities in which they live and in which the feminine principles should be the true masters. This in facts, as Whitman teach us in the “Leaves of grassW, about the essence of feminine principle in society and the democratic processes, is what happens when we oblige the mouth of the mother dwelling in each of us is valved, grasping the level of upheaval. They get what they sow as the woman and the values she embodies and symbolizes are the cornerstones of the unique way for the realization of a more pacific world, in which a real progress is possible and for all. It should be necessary instead focusing the attention on the fact that these men that are born from the womb of women to destroy their placenta and repudiate them haven’t understood that if there isn’t any respect and prospect for women, there isn’t either one for humanity and this world won’t have a future, will die sterile and will stumble in its willing of power itself, spreading out destruction and death in a war for supremacy.

Essential Bibliography and Internet sources:

Statement by United Nations Human Rights Experts OHCHR | Statement by United Nations Human Rights Experts, 15 Sept 2021

How the Taliban’s Victory Will Boost the Jihadi Narrative, Tore Refslund Hamming, 10 September 2021 Ispi Publications

How the Twenty-Year Afghanistan War Paved the Way for New Insurrectional Terrorism

Claudio Bertolotti, 2021, Ispi publications

After Afghanistan, Will the Middle East Experience an Increase in Terrorism?,Andrea Plebani, 01 December 2021, Ispi Publications

The Unending Cycle of Violence and Human Rights Violations in Afghanistan, Huma Saeed

11 October 2021, Ispi Publications

Crisis to watch: Afghanistan, Antonio Giustozzi, 22 December 2021, Ispi publications

Afghanistan’s Looming Catastrophe, Why the United States and Its Allies Must Act Now to Prevent a Humanitarian Disaster, P. Michael McKinley, December 3, 2021, Foreign Affairs

Review of final months begins three months after Afghanistan withdrawal - CNNPolitics

Zalmay Khalilzad, US envoy for Afghanistan steps down following chaotic evacuation - CNNPolitics

US calls talks with Taliban 'candid and professional' following Doha meeting - CNNPolitics

September 13, 2021 Blinken hearing on US Afghanistan withdrawal (cnn.com)

Afghanistan: Humanitarian crisis threatens basic human rights | | UN News

Top Human Rights News of 2021 | Human Rights Watch (hrw.org)

1325 National Action Plans – An initiative of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (peacewomen.org)

http://www.unwomen.org Gender-alert-Womens-rights-in-Afghanistan-en.pdf (unwomen.org), 2021

Cheshmak Farhoumand-Sims, Cedaw and Afghanistan, Journal of International Woman studies, November 2009

http://www.standup4humanrights.org

Afghanistan National Action Plan on UNSCR 1325 – Women,Peace and Security 2015-2022– http://unama.unmissions.org

www.undp.org/content/dam/afghanistan/docs/ANDS_Full_Eng.pdf

Hardliners get key posts in new Taliban government - BBC News, 7 sept 2021

Afghanistan’s Failed Constitution – The Diplomat

Brexit and the useless sense of an unshared solidarity

2022-02-05T08:39:00.012-08:00

When it came to joining the first European supranational project, the 1951 European Coal and Steel Community, the answer of the Great Britain was not so enthusiastic , believing that European integration was not economic and political in nature and when few years later in 1957 they have to choose between the British Commonwealth and the European Economic Community (EEC) they once again unconditionally favoured the former, complementing economic reasons to geopolitical ones, preferring belonging to the 1960 European Free Trade Association (EFTA) that allowed Britain to free trade with six other European States at the same time keeping its imperial preference system. Its first entry into the EEC was in 1973, along with Ireland and Denmark, but it has never been the happiest and satisfied of the Member States, arriving to put to the test the population with the 1975 Referendum in which, however, two-thirds of the votes cast favoured continued Union Membership even though it wasn’t eased the UK stance as an awkward European partner. With the coming into power of the Conservative party, Britain wanted its “money back” obstructing, following the French example 20 years earlier, the Council in 1982 in the so-called “rebate war”. Whereas for Britain the single market was an end in itself that could raise to a European stage the liberalizing and deregulatory element of the conservative Tatcher project, for the European Commission it was a means to the end of a deeper economic and political integration. This explained the British delusion and discontent before the adoption of the Single European Act in 1986, rebearing in mind their unchanged position before the initiative.

The 1992 TEU concluded in Maastricht set out for the foreign and security policy and the justice and home affairs an intergovernmental structure, creating what was at that time described as a “Europe of bits and pieces” , laying down the foundation of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) against which the British secured an opt-out and, having opposed further integration on social matter opposing a second opt-out by the proposition of the “Agreement on Social Policy concluded between the Member States of the EC with the exception of the UK of Great Britain and Northern Ireland”. The same strategy of a differential, rather than full membership surfaced with the 2007 Lisbon Treaty, where the UK obtained a partial opt-out from the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and completely rejected the Union law on police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters other than vetoing the EU Fiscal Compact. On the base of these perplexities and reluctance, the referendum called the 23 June 2016 under Cameron government showed off the UK wanted definitely to leave the European Union. Although under British constitutional law referenda don’t have any binding legal force, from that moment onwards UK began to prepare its withdrawal from the EU. What was unclear was whether this parliamentary ratification would need to happen at the beginning or at the conclusion of the withdrawal process, codified in the art. 50 of the TEU[1], the 2007 Lisbon Treaty. In the 2017 Miller judgment[2] was clarified that should have occurred a prior consent by the British Parliement.

The European Union is not a sovereign State but a Union of States, allowing its Members to withdraw or secede from it. While article 50 (1) EU declares the sovereign right of each Member State to withdraw from the Union, its intention must be notified to the European Council and for UK this happened on 29 March 2017 under the government presided by Theresa May.

The obligation of negotiating the withdrawal agreement by both EU and UK must be characterized by specific procedural and Institutional aspects: in the aftermath of the Brexit Referendum, the UK created a new Ministry: the Department of Exiting the European Union (DExEU), headed by the Secretary of State David Davis with the task of ensuring an orderly Brexit and to conduct the international negotiations with the EU. Moreover, a Joint Ministerial Committee on EU Negotiations has been established so as to allow the heads of the Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales administration to participate in negotiations. The EU Chief Negotiator Michael Barnier headed a small team of experts on issues ranging from the internal market to international Trade and have the main responsibility to report to the European Council, the Council and the Parliement.

The European Council insisted on a “phased approach” according to it must be distinguished a first approach for dealing with issues directly resulting from withdrawal, in particular the situation of citizens that have exercised their free movement rights, that deriving from old obligations will be guaranteed; the financial settlement for British commitments, in relation to the EU have followed a “divorce model” that kept on consider UK obliged to the old liabilities that sharply contrasted with the “club model” backed by UK according to this latter leaving the EU by virtue of art. 50 TEU is no more liable for outstanding financial obligations under the EU budget and, finally, the Irish questions. The impact of Brexit on the Irish border and its adjacent polities involves changes in trade, customs, immigration checks, local economies, services, recognition of qualifications, medical cooperation, and other matters, now that it is the only external EU land border between the UK and the EU.

After the UK Parliament voted to leave the EU, all parties said that they want to avoid a hard border in Ireland, due particularly to the border's historically sensitive nature. Border issues were one of three areas of focused negotiation in the Withdrawal Agreement. Following theUK exit from the EU on 31 January 2020, under the guidance of the leader of the Conservative Party,Boris Johnson, this border is also the frontier between the EU and an external country. The Northern Ireland Protocol of the Brexit withdrawal agreement commits the UK and the EU to maintaining an open border in Ireland, so that (in many respects) the de facto frontier is the Irish Sea Border between the two islands. This requires the continued application of the Common Travel Area as well as free trade of goods (including electricity) between Ireland and Northern Ireland. The latter requires the UK to follow EU law in Northern Ireland with respect to these areas, with jurisdiction of the ECJ in the interpretation of the law.

A second phase that would eventually turn to the future framework of cooperation between the UK and the Union for the transitional period of two years, during which the UK would still need to apply all EU law and continue to participate in the Custom Union and the Single Market, even if not considered any more as a Member.

The British process of treaty ratification was determined by two acts, the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 and the European Union Act 2011, to be applied and considered along with the Withdrawal Agreement. The European Union Act 2011 contains a special ratification procedure[3]. On the other side, the EU set out that the agreement shall be concluded on behalf of the Union by the Council, acting by a qualified majority, after obtaining the consent of EU Parliement and the Member of the Council representing the withdrawing Member State shall not participate in the discussion in the Council.

The EU law would continue to extend to the UK until 1972 European Community Act was itself repealed. That’s why the British government prepared the Great Repeal Bill, considering the previous act not as a source of EU law but as a sort of “conduit pipe”, a bridge, through which the EU laws flows in the UK domestic law. “Retained Union law” will continue to enjoy supremacy over British law adopted prior to Brexit whereas any British legislation adopted after Brexit will be able to amend or repeal retained EU law. The jurisprudence of the ECJ will cease to be binding on British Courts after Brexit. The jurisprudence of ECJ will continue relating to the retained case law.

As it concerns the framework for the future have been proposed several models: the Norway Model focused on the EEA, the Turkey model or custom Union model, the WTO model and the finally welcomed Canada model, establishing preferential or non-preferential trade agreements going beyond the WTO treatment, by creating a custom union or a free trade area. An outstanding example of preferential agreements is CETA: the free trade agreement concluded in 2017 between EU and Canada, strengthening their economic relations, while building their respective rights and obligations under the WTO, creating a free trade market for goods and services throughout the reduction or elimination of barriers to trade and investment, each part developing its own commercial policy vis-à-vis the rest of the world.

The EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) was finally signed on 30 Dec 2020 between EU, UK and Euratom, after the end of the transition period, before entering into force the 1st May 2021. The agreement provides for free trade in goods and limited mutual market access in services, as well as for cooperation mechanisms in a range of policy areas, transitional provisions about EU access to UK fisheries and UK participation in some EU programmes. Moreover, two separate treaties were negotiated and ratified relating to classified information and the field of nuclear energy.

In conclusion, the Great Britain has always tried to demonstrate its singularity in all the main aspects of its political involvement in the international relations with the other States and international organizations. It has always been shown off its flair for making its mark of distinction, proud of their own traditions residing in its national sovereignty and its Commonwealth always preferred as a market area of exchanges of goods, services and capitals in comparison with other free market areas. On the wave of the upsurging nationalisms all over the world and emerging a useless sense of an unshared solidarity, attached to the privileges and advantages that its imperialism and spheres of influence exert in the international panorama, they have always been keen to remark their undebated leadership and their determination to stay isolated in its relationship with its colonies consecrating and bolstering the supremacy of the Kingdom. What differs from the participation to the EU respect other international organization is the political inconsistence of the former, born gathering a number of States, not just in force of their common values, or a improper customised design of common identity for financial and economic reasons (Ceca,Euratom). Enough to say that we must have waited 50 years before a European Convention of Human Rights has been proposed and included in the Treaties, not being existent in the founding ones. More than this UK doesn’t share not only political values but also juridical heritage and common system, being focused on common law and unwritten constitution and not being rules by civil law. In that, in fact it’s much closer the tie that binds the Kingdom with their ex- North America colonies, USA and Canada. Thus being the origin of the EU the purpose to save from collapse and economic recession and public debt the greatest part of its component, Uk has reasonably no intention to bear this disproportionate burden that damages Uk, confident that not being confined in a secluded isolation and making room for much more relaxed ranges of cooperation, could stand still in the competitiveness of the international financial markets. Since the beginning, in fact, it rejected the EMU and the adoption of a common currency, as well as being reluctant to make their contributions to the EU in change of poor gains and compensations. By its exit from the organization the UK sets itself free from the cross to fill the gaps of the economies of the greatest part of the other EU countries , unsurpassed just by Germany and France, sure to overcome the new challenges of the financial markets, by virtue of its participation to all the main western international organization, among which WTO, UN and Nato and new solutions and partnerships.

[1] According to this article “(1)Any Member State may decide to withdraw from the Unionin accordance with its own constitutional requirements. (2)A Member State which decide to withdraw shall notify the Euopean Council of its intention. In the light of the guidelines provided by the European Council, the Union shall negotiate and conclude an agreement with that State, setting out the arrengements for its withdrawal, taking in account of the framework for its future relationship with the Union. That agreement shall be negotiated in accordance with art. 218 (3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. It shall be concluded in behalf of the Union by the Council, acting by a qualified majority, after obtaining the consent of the European Parliement. (3)The Treaties shall cease to apply to the State in question from the date of entry into force of the withdrawal agreement or, failing that, two years after the notification referred to in paragraph 2, unless the European Council, in agreement with the Member State concerned, unanimously decides to extendthis period. (4) For the purposes of paragraph 2 and 3, the Members of the European Council representing the withdrawing Member State shall not partecipatein the discussions of the European Council or Council or in decisions concerning it. A qualified majority shall be defined in accordance with article 238 (3) of the Treaty of Functioning of the European Union.

[2] R. (Miller) v. Secretary of State for exiting the European Union, 2017, UKSC5.

[3] Treaties amending or replacing TEU or TFEU

(1)A Treaty which amends or replaces TEU or TFEU is not to be ratified unless

-a statement relating to the treaty was laid before Parliement in accordance with section 5;

-the treaty is approved by Act of Parliement

- the referendum condition or the exemption condition is met.

(2) The referendum condition is that

-the Act providing for the approval of the treaty provides that the provision approving the treaty is not to come into force until a referendum about whether the treaty should be ratified has been held throughout the UK or, whether the treaty also affects Gibraltar, throughout the UK and Gibraltar

-the referendum has been held, and

-the majority of those voting in the referendum are in favour of the ratification of the treaty.

(3)the exemption condition is that the Act providing for the approval of the Treaty states that the treaty doesn’t fall within section .

The unhealthy air we breathe in: Covid-19 and its variants - towards a “New Normal”?

2022-01-26T07:35:00.010-08:00

Pollution is not the only thorn in the side that inflicts our respiratory tracts. Coronaviruses are a family of viruses known to cause respiratory infections. There is no vaccine yet to prevent them and no specific treatment other than managing the symptoms. The raging pandemic wave has begun with a first case in the by now famous city of Wuhan in China on March 11, 2020, when the WHO declared that an outbreak of the viral disease Covid-19, had reached the level of a global pandemic, therefore calling for governments to take urgent action to stop the spread of the virus. Phenomenon that hasn’t given any sign to stop up to now. Despite years of scientific and laboratory researches haven’t been yet prepared so effective vaccines to stop this new sneaky scourge for the humankind. The billions dollars investments addressed to solve this issue have not been useful to set up measures of prevention often unsuitable and unsatisfactory and governments, in the impotence to make a point to this tremendous tragedy, limited themselves to impose isolation, quarantine, social distancing, measures that are currently risking to topple down Boris Johnson’s UK government bumped up by the “partygate”. We are by now forced to plunge ourselves in our solitudes and in our naked lives, to perpetually don a masks in horrors theatre, as if this life wasn’t already a charade, striving to anchor again ourselves to an alienating positive thinking, in a nightmare where no fairy godmother will come to rescue us by a stroke of magic wand, untangling the knots and solving to the roots the dramatic contingencies that we are dealing with day by day.

After the initial phases of minimization of the problem, dictated by the fears of the Stock Exchange Index, and in order to elude a collective panic, in which this pandemic hasn’t given no sign to be eager to dampen and that presents itself always under new forms and new variants, that has been compared to the spread of a banal flu, the mortality index and the long hospitalizations have factually proclaimed large denials and make seeing first-hand the seriousness of the situation, compelling the governments, in the silliness of the official authorities and hesitations of the science, to impose always awkward and peremptory measures, still remaining not very clear if undertaken at the advantage or disadvantage of the civil population. For an excess of prevention’s sake they are reduced us to live like in Alkatraz, the death row, a lot of prisoners waiting for the end, for the averted and feared lethal effect.

By this way, the more and more frustrated medical and nursing staffs try to comply with and implement the guidelines and to impose intransigence on measures like isolation and quarantine inside the hospitals, as well as outside the medical, sometime makeshift, centers with social distancing and lockdown, de facto limiting the freedom of movement, not only of the people but also of the goods and capitals, freezing and bringing to an outright bankrupt international economy and finance in a game of odds that the patients could come out of the tunnel while the international monetary system shrinks, even if it seems to get slowly out of recession and are engineered new solutions more and more digital and green, increasingly fantastic and draconian in order to fight the crisis. Not disappointed, deluded people, then, but people of surrenders and the data day by day are more and more upsetting and alarming, although the geoeconomics experts are currently talking about a likely come back to a “new normal”.

International human rights law guarantees everyone the right to the highest attainable standard of health and pushes governments to move steps forward the prevention of threats to public health and to provide medical care to those in need. At the same time are also recognized in case of serious public health threats and public emergencies threatening the life of the nation restrictions to these rights and freedoms when they have a legal basis, are strictly necessary, based on scientific evidence and neither arbitrary nor discriminatory, of limited duration, respectful of human dignity, subject to review, and proportionate to achieve the objective.

Briefly giving some latest statistical updates given by the WHO, globally, the number of new Covid-19 cases increased in the past week (10-16 January 2022), while the number of new deaths remained similar to that of the previous week. Across the six WHO regions, over 18 million new cases were reported this week, a 20% increase, as compared to the previous week. Over 45 000 new deaths were also reported. As of 16 January, over 323 million confirmed cases and over 5.5 million deaths have been reported worldwide. Despite a slowdown of the increase in case incidence at the global level, all regions reported an increase in the incidence of weekly cases with the exception of the African Region, which reported a 27% decrease. The South-East Asia region reported the largest increase in new cases last week (145%), followed by the Eastern Mediterranean Region (68%). New weekly deaths increased in the South-East Asia Region (12%) and Region of the Americas (7%) while remaining approximately the same as the previous week in the other regions.

In an overview of the international applicable standards, under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which most countries have adopted, everyone has the right to “the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.” (art.12). Governments are obligated to take effective steps for the “prevention, treatment and control of epidemic, endemic, occupational and other diseases.” (art. 12,2 p.)

The United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which monitors state compliance with the covenant, has proclaimed that the right to health is closely buckled up to the realization of other human rights, including the rights to food, housing, work, education, human dignity, life, non-discrimination, equality, the prohibition against torture, privacy, access to information, and the freedoms of association, assembly and movement. The right to health provides that health facilities, goods, and services should be sufficient, indiscriminately accessible to everyone and affordable for all, even marginalized groups; acceptable, that’s to say respectful of medical ethics and culturally, scientifically and medically appropriate and of good quality. For the protection’s sake of this right must be guaranteed a true equality access to vaccines.

The Siracusa Principles, adopted by the UN Economic and Social Council in 1984, and UN Human Rights Committee general comments on states of emergency and freedom of movement provide authoritative guidance on government responses restricting human rights for the above mentioned reasons of public health or national emergency. It’s important to remember, in fact, that the states of emergency need to be limited in time and any curtailment of rights needs to be careful about the impact on specific populations or marginalized groups.

Emergency declarations based on the COVID-19 outbreak should not be used as a basis to target particular groups, minorities, or individuals. They should not be functional to cover up repressive action under the guise of protecting health and should not be used to quash dissent.

The Siracusa Principles speciﬁcally trace the same milestone principles set by United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

About this pandemic it’s been revealed to be essential guaranteeing freedom of expression and ensure access to critical information, in particular the right to seek, receive, and impart information regardless of frontiers. Permissible restrictions on this freedom motivated by reasons of public health may not put at risk the right itself. Governments, in facts, are responsible for providing information necessary for the protection and promotion of all the rights in general and of the right to health in particular. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights regards as a “core obligation” the commitment to provide “education and access to information concerning the main health problems in the community, including methods of preventing and controlling them.”

In a number of countries, governments have failed to uphold and protect the right to freedom of expression and combating disinformation, taking actions against journalists and healthcare workers, limiting effective communication about the onset of the disease and undermining trust in government actions. China initially withheld basic information about coronavirus from public, underreported cases of infection, downplayed the severity of the infection, and dismissed the likelihood of transmission between humans. Authorities detained people for reporting on the pandemic on social media and internet users for “rumor-mongering,” censored online discussions and curbed media reporting. In Iran institutional authorities had severely damaged public trust by cruelly repressing anti-government protests in the name of the pursuit of the public’s best interests. Data about the spread of the virus are underreported or poorly collected and analysed. Governments should ensure that the information they provide is accurate, timely, and consistent with human rights principles, for addressing fake and misleading news. All information about Covid-19 should be accessible and available in multiple languages, including for those with low or no literacy, should include qualified sign language interpretation for tv announcements; should be accessible to people with vision, hearing, learning, and other disabilities; telephone-based services and those provided by websites, internet and all technological devices should utilize plain language to maximize understanding and be clear also for children to help them to protect themselves. The US Federal Communications Commission’s “Keep Americans connected” pledge commits participating companies not to close their services to customers that are unable to pay their bills because of the disruptions caused by the coronavirus, to waive any late fees, and to open Wi-Fi hotspots to any Americans.

Restrictions such as mandatory quarantine or isolation of symptomatic people must be carried out in accordance with the law. Broad quarantines and lockdowns of indeterminate length rarely meet these criteria and are often arbitrary or discriminatory in application. Freedom of movement under international human rights law protects the right of everyone to leave or to enter any country, including one’s own, and the right to move freely in the whole territory of the country. Restrictions on these rights can only be imposed when lawful, for a legitimate purpose, and be proportionate. Travel bans may not have the effect of denying people the right to seek asylum or of breaching the absolute prohibition of refoulement where they face persecution or torture.

Governments have full authority under international law to ban visitors and migrants from other countries but these domestic and international travel bans historically have often had limited effectiveness in preventing the transmission. Enough to think about the Italian case where since last year has been changed often internal preventive policies, imposing severe lockdowns, especially in Lombardy and Veneto forcing people to a strict quarantine, prohibiting residents from leaving the areas. At the same time, they closed schools in many affected regions. Appealing to a surge in cases and an increasingly unsustainable burden on the public healthcare system, has been significantly limited the freedom of movement, other than other basic freedoms, restricting the possibility to travel except for essential work or health reasons, upon self-certification, closure of all cultural centers, such as cinemas, museums, and cancellation of sports events and public gatherings. Soon after the government closed from time to time, according to the public emergency, all bars, restaurants, and stores except food markets and pharmacies across the country. People infringing travel restrictions with no valid reasons can incur in considerable fines and face a three-month prison term. Even schools and universities were shut down throughout the country. People have been allowed out to shop for essential items, exercise, work, if unable to perform work from home, and for health reasons.

As dead-killing infectious pandemic, Covid-19, poses a higher risk to populations that live in close proximity to each other and it disproportionately affects older people and individuals with dangerous illnesses, such as cardiovascular or chronic respiratory disease, diabetes and hypertension. This risk is particularly critical in places of detention, such as prisons, jails, and immigration detention centers, as well as residential institutions hosting people with disabilities and nursing facilities for older people, where the virus can infect rapidly, especially if access to health care is already poor. States have the obligation to ensure medical care for those in their custody at least equivalent to that available to the general population, and must not deny detainees, including asylum seekers or undocumented migrants, equal access to preventive, curative or palliative health care. Asylum seekers, refugees living in camps, and people experiencing homelessness may also be at increased risk can also face even worse hardships because of their lack of access to adequate water and hygiene facilities.

In nursing and other facilities with large numbers of older people, visitor policies should balance the protection of older and at-risk residents with their need to meet their family and acquaintances. Many NGOs are denouncing that people in prisons and immigration detention centers often don’t get a proper health care in normal circumstances, even in economically developed countries such as the USA where many people are not convicted of a crime but are locked up simply because they cannot afford to pay the bail set in their case. Here prisons are frequently overcrowded of older men and women, other than immigrants, mainly due to lengthy sentences and forced to live in poor medical conditions.

In Italy prisoners have protested over fears of contagion in crammed facilities and against bans on family visits and supervised release during the coronavirus pandemic. Consequently, authorities have authorized the use of email and Skype for their contacts with relatives and for educational purposes and announced a plan to release and place under house arrest prisoners with less than 18 months on their sentence. The main prisoner rights organization in Italy, Antigone, estimated this could benefit at most 3000 detainees, while the penitentiary system is at around 14000 over capacity, calling for more significant measures to allow the release of a greater number of prisoners, especially older people and for alternatives to detention due to the increased risk of infection and no prospect for deportation, i.e. for those whose scheduled release may be soon, those who are in pre-trial detention for non-violent and lesser offenses, or whose continued detention is unnecessary or not justified, other than for other sensitive categories such as people with underlying health conditions, in order to protect their health, to guarantee access to treatment, also taking into consideration factors such as the gravity of the crime committed. If safe and legal deportations are suspended due to the virus, the legal justification for detaining deported people may no longer exist and, in these cases, authorities should release them and set out alternatives to detention. Authorities should publicly disclose their plans of action to reduce the risk of infection in their facilities and the steps they will take to contain it and protect prisoners. Persons in any form of detention have the same right to health as the non-incarcerated population and are entitled to the same standards of prevention and treatment. Moreover, they should ensure to be appropriately coordinated with public health departments and openly communicating with staff and people in custody, keeping on screening and testing for Covid-19, providing proper hygiene training and supplies, ensuring that individuals released or put on supervised leave have adequate accommodations and health care. Detention centers should consider alternative strategies such as video conferencing for individuals to be able to connect with family or legal counsel. Authorities should provide public notice that there will be no negative repercussions for missed court dates or check-ins during the time of the outbreak. In the absence of adequate State support, the UN and other inter-governmental agencies should press for access to formal and informal detention facilities to provide detainees with life-saving assistance.

As part of the right to health, the ICESCR pledge governments to create conditions that “would assure to all medical service and attention in the event of sickness.” They have an obligation to minimize the risk of occupational accidents and diseases, including workers access to health information and adequate protective clothing and equipment, ensuring that facilities have adequate water, sanitation, hygiene, healthcare waste management, and cleaning. Anxiousness and depression are not over, not only for the pandemic beaurocracy but above all due to the sharp job cuts causing many people be slashed from their workplace, fact that have the huge backlash of throwing many families in a complete desperation. Dr Fauci said “We are not out of the woods yet”. According to HRW research into hospitals and the acquired infections in Hungary, highlights the nation’s mismanaged, underfunded, and understaffed public healthcare system, poorly equipped to handle the aftermaths of the pandemic. Patients and medical experts denounced a lack of basic hygiene protocol, of isolation rooms, and a shortage of health professionals and medical supplies. In Venezuela, HRW has documented a health system in total collapse: hospitals shut down or operating at a fraction of their capacity, many are left without regular access to electricity or water. Again, sanctions imposed by the US on Iran have drastically constrained the ability of the country to finance humanitarian imports, including medicines. Concerned governments should support Iran’s efforts to contrast the pandemic, including by providing access to medical devices and testing kits. In Thailand, public health capacity has been curtailed by corruption.

Low-wage workers must be protected and employees encouraged to work from home. Remote work is not an option for millions of workers in fields like retail, restaurants, personal services, the gig economy, and informal sectors, more precarious sectors where wages tend to be lower and that have low rates of paid sick leave, especially in countries such as the US. HRW has long urged governments to guarantee paid sick and family leave to enable workers to take time off to care for new children or ill or older family members or to deal with their own serious health conditions without losing pay. In the context of Covid-19 and other disease outbreaks, paid sick and family leave helps ensure workers who are sick can stay home to minimize the spread of the virus. In facts, many governments guarantee some paid sick leave to all workers, others do not, exacerbating economic inequality and also contributing to gender inequity. Global supply chains have already been disrupted by Covid-19, which has led to reduced manufacturing and factory closures.

Moreover, governments should provide the right to education to all, even if schools are temporarily closed and the learning and education of hundreds of millions of students are interrupted. To guarantee education systems respond adequately, UNESCO has recommended that States “adopt a variety of hi-tech, low-tech and no tech solutions to assure the continuity of learning.” In many countries, teachers already use online learning platforms to complement normal contact hours in classrooms for homework, classroom exercises, and research, and many students have access to technological equipment at home. However, not all countries, communities, families, or social groups have adequate internet access, and many children live in places with frequent government-led internet shutdowns.

Governments should adopt measures to mitigate the disproportionate effects on children who already experience barriers to education by cooperating with teachers, school officials, and teachers’ unions and associations, or who are marginalized for various reasons. They should monitor students most at risk and making sure students receive printed or online handbooks and stationary on time, with particular attention to students with disabilities who may require proper, accessible material.

In countries with high school drop-out, closures may jeopardize efforts to increase enrollments and retention, particularly at the secondary level and should be monitored compliance with compulsory education and ensured returns once schools reopen. Education officials should focus attention on areas with high incidence of child labor or child marriage and ensure all children come back to school.

Furthermore, governments must address disproportionate impacts on women and girls. Specific risks to pregnant women exposed to Covid-19 are not yet clear even if the outbreak could negatively affect sexual and reproductive health and rights. Overloaded health systems, reallocation of resources, shortages of medical supplies, and disruptions of global supply chains could harm women’s access to contraception and pre- and post-natal and birth care. Although the risk of infection through breastfeeding is not known, the UN Population Fund has recommended that breastfeeding mothers who become ill should not been separated from their children. Another aspect to be examined is the higher incidence of the quarantine on domestic violence, as it’s happening in China, phenomenon altered and heightened by factors such as stress, cramped and difficult living conditions, and breakdowns in community support mechanisms.

Not enough, women globally do almost 2,5 times as much unpaid care and domestic work as men, and they are more likely than men to face additional care giving duties when schools close, making it harder to maintain paid employment. Japan is trying to help families with young children by offering to offset costs to businesses for workers taking paid leave to care for children during school shutdown, although the offered amount is quite low. Also Italy is trying to mitigate the effects of the lockdown on families with children through measures encompassing emergency paid parental leave or vouchers for families with children up to 12 years old or with disabilities. Up to 95% of female workers in some regions are employed in the informal sector where there is no job security and safety if a crisis like Covid-19 destroys their earnings. Informal work includes many occupations most likely to be harmed by a quarantine, social distancing, and economic slowdown, such as street vendors, goods traders, and seasonal workers.

Worldwide, 70% of outfront health and social service providers are women and may be heavily exposed to the virus at work more than other sectors of employment. Some female care and domestic workers are migrant, often vulnerable to abusive employment conditions, at risk of abuse, without adequate protections, and of being trapped and unable to reach their homes during a crisis.

Authorities should take steps to ensure that responses do not perpetuate gender inequity. When education is moved online, governments and education providers should monitor participation and retention of students in online courses for a gendered impact and respond quickly with strategies to retain and reengage women and girls if their participation falls off. They should also address the particular risks of job losses to women who may take on additional caregiving during school closures. They should ensure public awareness campaigns and that services are available to all victims. They have to root out discrimination against religious, ethnic or marginalized groups and stigma and to protect patient confidentiality. HRW found that people living with HIV in Kenya, South Africa, the Philippines and the US faced not impartial treatment due to their HIV status and have been prevented from accessing health care, getting jobs and attending school. Since the coronavirus outbreak, news reports from a number of countries have documented bias, racism, xenophobia, and discrimination against people of Asian descent, as they are apparently linked to the origin of the Covid-19, especially in the UK, US, Spain and Italy. President Donald Trump have fomented anti-Chinese sentiment by referring to the coronavirus as the “Chinese Virus”. Anti-immigrant leaders like Orban in Hungary and Salvini in Italy have seized on the pandemic to stoke xenophobic sentiment. Governments should make sure that patient confidentiality is protected even as authorities take steps to identify those who may have been exposed to the virus. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, had declared that “to effectively combat the outbreak means ensuring everyone has access to treatment, and is not denied health care because they cannot pay for it or because of stigma.” Another undermined category is that of LGBT people. Furthermore, in the US, 28 million people do not have medical insurance and nearly a third of the country have difficulty affording payments for treatment even though they are insured. Many people in the US report avoiding medical care or buying prescription medication because of the costs and, in an epidemic, avoidance of medical care not only harms those with the illness but also could lead to increased the spread of the virus.

It’s essential to promote the right to water and sanitation, as an integral part of the right to an adequate standard of living and the right to health, as underlined by the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. WHO has noted that billions of people around the world do not have access to safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygienic conditions, that must be improved waste management practices in communities, homes, schools, markets, and healthcare facilities, that more research is needed to understand the risk of contaminated drinking water, environmental transmission, and that wastewater operators must be trained and supported throughout the crisis.

According to the UN, a number of the many countries affected by Covid-19 are already dealing with emergency crises due to conflicts, natural disasters, or climate change and many people rely on humanitarian aid to survive and it should be provided as much support as possible.

Nowadays, the number of weekly deads is remained more or less constant, roughly 7.000 per day. Thus, globally the apparent lethality rate of the virus is fallen down from about 1,4% to 0,3% in a month. This is the main reason why are spiralling rumours about “the end of the pandemic” not by negationists or minimizers but by reknown experts, such as Christopher Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), according which Covid-19 will persist but the end of the pandemic is very close.

As in Italy the number of hospitalized people is tripled since Dec 10 to Jan 20 from 7.000 to more than 21.000 and that of patients in intensive care is more than doubled, from 8000 to 1700, is comprehensible why many are wondering when this wave will start to decrease. Over two months, according to a study conducted by ISPI in 46 countries out of a sample of 130 we are already in a decreasing stage. 37 out of the total is already in an advanced fall or completed: 28 of Subsaharian Africa countries but also European ones: the UK, Ireland, Greece, Malta, Cyprus and Montenegro. USA, Spain, Australia, Qatar and other 5 countries have already reached the peak of Omicron infections and are now in their way down.

In addition to the countries on the wane there are also 6 climbing down or plateau. These States have reached a peak of cases even if not registering net decline. In this small group there is Italy along with Croatia, Switzerland, Turkey, Lebanon and Thailand. For other 24 countries seems already started a slowing phase but has not been registered a peak of cases, above all in Latin America, India and Israel, instead in the last 54 we are still in the increasing phase of the epidemic curve including a majority of European countries, in particular in the Middle and Eastern Europe, (eminently Germany),and a consistent slash of Asiatic countries.

Italy is part of a little small group of countries in which the Omicron curves are not crumbled down so rapidly. In the 88% of the cases the epidemic Omicron curves have reached a peak in few weeks to suddenly abruptely drop.

The fact that Italy, along with few others, is at the moment an exception in comparison with the rest of the world can be interpreted in two ways: a negative one according to is likely that Omicron has different characterics in our country, perhaps because of different habits like social distancing in times of very rapid increases in the number of cases; or a positive one of the saturation of the national testing system. We are assisting today to a moment in which curve of the new positive cases “hold on” that the number of cases sufficiently drop down to reconnect to it and start once again to rapidly go down. Up to now the Omicron wave in Italy is lasted a little more than 3 weeks, thus in its course the phase of elevated cases is lasting more in comparison with what is happened in many other European countries. It’s therefore legitimate expecting that also in Italy it could be possible to see a sharp downturn of cases very soon. Only then we could finally draw conclusions and wonder if the end of the pandemic is close.

About the International trade in 2022 it must be remembered that if last year started by an up-and-coming resumption of the exchanges, after a negative 2020 because of the pandemic, these latest months the optimistic sensation that had characterized the first part of 2021 has to come to terms with some economic and geopolitical hurdles. The forecasts for next 12 months are overall positive, thanks to the global economy that should continue its recovery, even if the prolongation of the sanitary emergency could oblige to reconsider the estimations downward but the likely slowing down of the growth rate, the persistence of dysfunctions in the supply chains and the worsening of the geopolitical tension could take back once again the renaissance of that multilateral spirit held on for several years. After all, 2020 was not the expected annus horribilis: the flows of the Foreign Direct Investments are plummeted of 40% because of the strong uncertainty caused by the pandemics but the exchanges of goods shrinked just a little more than 5% if compared with 2019, although lockdown and bottlenecks along the Global Value Chains (GVCs). This has shown off that the International trade system, strongly globalized, has overall handled even exogenous shocks, unforeseen and strongly impacting as the pandemic is.

In 2021 the trade of goods was fine: according to l’UNCTAD they increased of 23% if compared with 2020, and even 11% if compared with pre-Covid levels. Not so good was the trade of services whose level is instead still inferior to 2019, above all because of the negative performance of sectors, such as tourism. Moreover, the last part of the year have been characterized by a slow down of the recovery because of a physiological component due to a normalization after the bounce back upwards, the beginning of the fourth epidemic wave and the long lasting bottlenecks along the GVCs. These have been overall the reasons that have been detrimental for the trade in combination with the peak of the demand in Europe and US in Christmas time that provoked prolongations in the delivery times and contributed to increase inflation. More concrete results would have been expected for multilateral governance: the nomination of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as new General Director of WTO, along with the election of Joe Biden as President of the USA created strong expectations about the solutions of the paralysis of the organization but the results have not come out essentially due to the sudden spread of Omicron variant. Moreover the Ministerial Conference that should have been held in December has been postponed.

From the perspective of the flows of goods and services, is legitimate expecting that the lately begun year is projected towards a continuation of the growth, following the consolidation of the global economic recovery. The International trade should expand of the 5,4% in 2022 (4,9% according to the IMF), a data definitely positive because superior to the PIL global growth: it should be therefore the confirmation that the economic crisis caused by the pandemic has been overcome with a major momentum in comparison with the financial 2008-9 crisis but it will take a little longer for the supply chains to come back to efficiently work. The come back to a new normal could be delayed by the persistent imposition of lockdowns by China in the attempt to nip in the bud likely resurgence of the pandemic: the implementation of the rigid “zero Covid policy” could be very expensive not only for Beijing, at the moment grappling with the Olympic Games that will take place next February, that is scrambling to contain the outbreak on the successful example of Tokyo, but also for the rest of the world that still importantly depends from the exchanges with China. Once for all, France is nowadays registering the highest number of cases in Europe, notwithstanding just 10% of population is unvax. Moreover, it’s hoped that this will be the golden moment for WTO come back to well perform and tackle a bunch of priorities. It will be fundamental searching for an agreement on the management of the intellectual property inherently to vaccines (liberalization of trademarks, granting licenses, easing a production of vaccines on large scale), matter that last year saw the emerging countries and advanced economies divided. Furthermore, it would be fundamental taking steps onwards on innovative topics for the International trade, as the l’e-commerce and the so-called “environmental goods”, in order to prepare engaging negotiations on the likely adoption of a carbon border adjustment mechanism, in a stance that see EU and USA isolated, upsurging accusations of a protectionism in disguise from the developing countries.

The fragmentation that characterized the last years on the level of the International relations will determine very likely the situation of the global exchanges even in 2022: it would be very hard that the relationships between USA and China will reach a settle down of the controversy that, from the merely economic matters (i.e., the increasing deficit of the American trade balance), are stretching also to the political and strategic ground. Furthermore, the mid-term elections in the USA and the taking place of the XX Congress of the Chinese Communist Party could focus the attention of Biden and Xi more on the domestic matters than on the international ones, leading to a further stiffness of the respective stances in behalf of the “adverseries”. The tip of the balance, represented by EU, is inclining now once again Washington following the strenghtening of the transatlantic relations thanks to the resolution of the Donald Trump duties war.

But must be considered also other dynamic initiatives, above all on the Asia- Pacific region: the Rcep agreement in which China takes part, recently become operative, and the African Continental Free Trade Area, AfCFTA, could be an important asset in order to uphold an economic recovery in the continent. The commercial regionalism will be a trend to keep tabs on, along with the projects of nearshoring e reshoring that could delay the globalization process and progressively redesign the geography of the GVCs. There will be then new opportunities but also challenges for a commercial system that will continue to be determined by the international balance of power.

Internet sources:

Percorso a ostacoli verso la normalità | ISPI (ispionline.it)

Omicron: la fine (dell'ondata) è vicina? | ISPI (ispionline.it)

Human Rights Dimensions of COVID-19 Response | Human Rights Watch (hrw.org)

WHO | World Health Organization

Beyond the hypocrisy of table talks: Russian expansionism and the fragile neutrality of Ukraine

2022-01-19T23:09:00.001-08:00

In the last days all broadcasted news in tv and articles in the foreign affairs magazines and newspapers are dominated by the episode of the amassing of Russian troops on the Ukraine east borders, that represents a real threat for the maintenance of the peace and stability not only for this country but also, indirectly, for all the western part of the continent, EU, and of the world.

Since the spring of 2021, there were simultaneous war scares in eastern Europe and the western Pacific, due to a Chinese intimidation campaign against Taiwan and a Russian military buildup on the Ukrainian border. Russian President Vladimir Putin, in the latest years of his mandate, having mobilized 175000 troops on Ukraine borders, was threatening to start Europe’s largest war in decades. Hotbed of conflict, in fact, is not only the east of Ukraine but all eastern Europe, first target of russian egemonic policy. Meanwhile, Tehran and Washington looked to be headed for a renewed crisis over Iran’s nuclear program and its drive for regional primacy. This multiple centers of interests in Transatalantic zone and Middle East has been a tough challenge for Biden, who took office hoping to reduce tensions in areas of secondary importance to focus his foreign policy towards his greatest antagonist: China. USA defense strategy has internationally come out of balance, with responsibilities highly surpassing the effective coercive means. Biden is getting closer with Russia holding periodical virtual meetings with Putin in a bid to establish a “stable and predictable” relationship, fearing not only it further takes the distance from Americans polarizing its sphere of influence in its satellite states and buffer zones but also globally putting on stage a blatant volte-face. He sought to find a path back to the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, thereby reducing the growing risk of confrontation in the Middle East; withdraw his troops in Afghanistan refocusing attention and resources on the Indo-Pacific and contrasted the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline linking Russia and western Europe, avoiding Berlin’s cooperation vis-à-vis with Beijing.

Biden’s Pentagon likewise spent 2021 focusing on how to deter or defeat Chinese aggression, “prioritizing China and its military modernization” as its pacing challenge.

Most problematic of all, U.S. relations with Iran and Russia has worsened, instead of ameliorating.

In fact, as it was not enough, Putin has authorized significant cyberattacks against critical infrastructure in the US. He threatened war against Ukraine in the spring and has now mobilized forces for what U.S. officials fear could be a major invasion and prolonged occupation of that country. It would be the third invasion in eight years. To preserve the peace, Moscow has demanded an acknowledged Russian sphere of influence and the rollback of NATO’s military presence in eastern Europe. The US could find itself facing grave security crises in Europe and the Middle East in addition to persistent tensions in the Pacific and these possibilities hint at a deeper problem in U.S. statecraft: his strategic overstretch. Already under Obama’s presidency, it was an open question whether the US could defeat China if Beijing assaulted Taiwan, or Russia if Moscow invaded the Baltic region. The most upsetting danger is that the US could have to fight wars against China and Russia at the same time, exposing to crisis the one-war military defence strategy. The geopolitical costs of true retrenchment and the financial costs of rearmament seem to surpass and take over confusion.

Putin has issued a stark ultimatum, asking for the US make “reliable and firm legal guarantees” that NATO will not expand eastward or else Russia will invade Ukraine to preserve its corridor to Crimea and a buffer zone in Donbas. Promises that could not be done by Americans and that on the contrary has been the only logic counterattack to his move. As a matter of facts, all the world is observing a standstill point in this “high-stakes gamble” but seems unlikely that Russia could really take such a decision, given the determination demonstrated by the secretary of State Anthony Blinken, in order to demonstrate and to act to be once again the giant that is never more from more about a century by now and finally ended with the dissolution of URSS in the ‘90s. It’s only a fact of old memories.

Putin’s keep on menacing that, cementing the alliance’s status quo, a deadly European war and a devastating conflict could come could be avoided, really conscious not be in the position to bear such a responsibility.

History shows that pledges of neutrality by Ukraine or any other country in the region do nothing to abate Putin’s appetite; rather, they feed it. Cannot be ignored Putin aggressive intentions, not only in a large-scale invasion of Ukraine now on the table, but also for his ambition to rearrange Europe’s security architecture to the detriment of the West. Evidently, he’s raving and he’s animated by a spirit of self-destruction with an ardent will of immolating itself in a suicide adventure! After a long time in which the West has listened Putin pretentions it’s come the moment to react with strength and clear voice, and taking stock of the situation.

It is obvious why Russia demands that Ukraine give up its ambitions for membership in the EU and NATO, but it is far less clear why anyone in the West should echo these ill-conceived suggestions. The people of Ukraine made a choice in 2013, after Ukrainian President Yanukovych, acting at Putin’s behest, sought to contravene public opinion and integrate the country with Russia instead of the EU. Consequently, Ukrainians took to the streets in the so-called Euromaidan protests that Yanukovych tried to brutally suppress, but he underestimated the will of Ukrainians, who responded with fury and ousted him. Ukrainians have no interest in cozying up to Russia and will never give up on integrating with the West. Putin, however, seemed not to have learned that lesson. In response to Ukraine’s orientation in 2014, Russia invaded Ukraine, occupied Crimea, and launched a deadly war in the Donbas in a blietzkrieg, taking the lion’s share with the white flies in an initiative that had doubtful consequences.

Putin greatly underestimated Ukrainian resolve and faced a massive response by a population poorly equipped but highly motivated that reduced Putin’s grand designs to a years-long stalemate on a tiny fraction of land near the Ukrainian border. The West—the US, the EU, and NATO—did too little, too late in imposing in July 2014 serious economic sanctions, isolating Russia and adjusting its policies. But its indecisiveness invited more aggressive actions from Russia, such as cyberattacks, election meddling, and targeted assassinations of opponents abroad.

In the years after Russia’s intervention, Ukrainians doubled down on their choice to align themselves with the West, enshrining in their constitution in 2018 the goals of EU and NATO membership.

Thus at the moment, Ukrainian neutrality is key to resolving the crisis, as testified in the events of 2014 with its straight neutral and even more four years earlier, putting an end to its ambitions for NATO membership passing a law stating that it was a nonaligned country that had no intention of joining any military alliance, backing instead since Euromaidan protests in 2013 an economic and political integration with the EU. If neutrality failed to stop Putin from launching a war in 2014, it is hard to see why it would stop him now.

Another ill-advised idea proposed by some experts is to pressure Ukraine into one-sided concessions, granting compromises that will supposedly make Putin more pacific but history teaches Ukraine that Moscow is never able to play the role of the mediator as demonstrated in Donetsk and Luhansk, the two Russian-occupied regions in the east of Ukraine and in Moldova’s Transnistria neutral region still occupied by Russian forces alike.

The fact that Putin is searching for a new ideological justification concerning Ukraine suggests that he really is on the verge of something big: an attempt to fundamentally rewrite the post–Cold War security order in Europe. Having created a crisis, he hopes to invite U.S. President Joe Biden to the negotiating table to solve it. There, he fantasizes, the two leaders will draw new lines across Europe, partitioning the continent into new spheres of influence. Russia is a master of selling lies, and keep on making poor figures on the international stage with its illegitimate and ridiculous demands for guarantees and one-sided concessions. But NATO ignore it and even doesn’t give the satisfaction of rejecting its ultimatums. They simply ignore them as much as they can and, meanwhile, the US and its European allies strengthen their efforts to deter Russia. The only effective way forward is the deterrence plan that Ukraine and its partners are currently crafting in order to send out a clear message to Moscow: Ukraine, staunchly propending to the West and aspiring to be a future member of the EU and NATO that are declaring that its sovereignty and territorial integrity are nonnegotiable by laws, is being defended by their prompt reaction according which in the worst-case scenario of an invasion, the West will enact severe sanctions, and by the provision of weaponry, training and personnel.

Ukraine’s goal is simple: peace through strength. For now, the US and its European allies should talk to Putin to win time while strengthening Ukraine. It’s hard to think that, given Nato proximity, 44 million Ukrainians would not be sensitive to the temptation to become part of it.

Thus, the noise of Russia's "drumbeat of war" on Ukraine is a pressing warning siren, getting Iran back into the agreement that would keep it from building a nuclear weapon. Iran's nuclear escalation is eliminating, in fact, the substance of the JCPOA reached in Vienna on 14 July 2015, between Iran and the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the UNSC—China, France, Russia, UK, US—plus Germany) together with the EU. After the Trump administration twice certified Iran's compliance in 2017, in May 2018 the United States withdrew from JCPOA as Trump pledged he would negotiate a better deal. Trump left office without fulfilling that pledge and analysts determined Iran had moved closer to developing a nuclear weapon since the American withdrawal even if the Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ensures that an atomic bomb is "haram" or forbidden in Islam.

Since the breakup of the Soviet Union, Moscow no longer shares a land border with Iran, but the last thing Russia wants is another nuclear war and, bringing China into the equation, this quickly becomes a three-dimensional chess. While concerned about a broader conflict in the Middle East that could disrupt some of its energy supplies, China shares few of Russia's fears of a nuclear-armed Iran.

Back to Ukraine border crisis, the Secretary of State Blinken is supporting this nation and intensifying the meetings with Zelensky, swearing sanctions against Russian hegemonic ambitions to make an invasion in this satellite country to get a breakthrough to the sea waters by an expansion to Crimea and taming Donbass turmoil.

Ukraine is in a shrill division between the wish to belong to EU and Nato and the will not to enter in conflict with the atavic allied Russia, in which area of influence it belongs, that regardless this brotherhood tie is keen to protect its geopolitical standpoint in the East and protect its economic profits deriving from the gas pipeline connecting it to Germany and central Europe. From the international negotiations and formal and informal talks it’s been looming the idea of a Ukraine integration in Nato without the acquisition of a formal status. This could be considered a huge point under the profile of the partition of the sphere of influence but that risks to be inconsistent as a matter of facts. Both EU and Nato in fact are pursuing a policy of the open door, that, as clearly stated, doesn’t involve an effective inclusion as there’s a long road to follow for this country to belong to these organizations and to build up a strong democracy, not only for economic reasons but also because of the burden of their traditions. Moscow choice of amassing troupes at the east border of Ukraine is in fact a peril to the whole east Europe. This stance dates back to the ancestral competition and aversion with the capitalistic western society and a Europe that is even overcoming the power of dollar at detriment of the national claims of popular sovereignty that are increasing in all their vehemence and rioting strength in the womb of the EU that, despite a roman catholic common tradition, is essentially kept united by financial and economic needs more than from a natural will of conjunction in order to not sink under the weight of the pressures coming from both the eastern (Russia) and the western side (USA) and to bring a stability and to represent a balancing zone of mediation, pursuing the purpose of all international organizations, both with a regional and universal vocation, to live peacefully in an egualitarian society in which all the States are put in the condition to sit down together at the same level, as equals in which are ensured and guaranteed the protections of the enshrined rights and freedoms, have the same economic power and sustainability, social perequation and redistribution of resources in the twilight of the ideological and financial egemonic pretentions all over the world wherever coming from.

On the other side of the planet, Blinken, as representative of a Nato Member State, is trying to create a unified front against Russian cyberattacks and military menaces of aggression, played out as simple training in a ridiculous stance that hide a nation unnerved by its military efforts, economic screwing and bringing forward an ideological belief, the communism, that doesn’t accept to be by now from so long definitely died, surpassed, and that haven’t never found an acceptable match in the reality of the working people that hoped to find out a real social redistribution of resources and social justice.

In conclusion, everyone talk about a world of equals, but each one pursuit oligarchic interests of predominance and the only solution prospected since the end of the WWII if we don’t want to re-plung in another planetarian destructive escalation of conflict is leaving a way, to give room to the liberal and democratic western organization that, through delicate equilibrium games, infinite rounds of negotiations, talks, the art of diplomacy are the only actors that keep on searching to achieve this aim for all, through the struggle of the ideological and religious beliefs, that have incontestably been at the origin of the deepest injustices, crimes and terror that have always destroyed entire civil societies trapped in webs of illusions and unrealistic dreams of personal and social redemption, through the delivering of humanitarian aids for societies wounded by starvation and diseases, dragged in lunatic wars that more and more drift apart from the real need of the individual in a politics that is no more on a human scale, where very often, as already criticized in the western world by many sides, and even deeper in the Middle East countries, is alarmingly on the rise a crisis of the democratic representativeness, that suffers more and more pitiless stabs in a desert of desperation and death in which “everybody for oneself”, and again through the imposition of sanctions inducing to shifts of often embezzling positions, changes of attitudes and behaviours of often authoritarian and autocratic political leaders, avoiding and escaping nuclear lethal threats and an irresponsible use of the technology, science and research not addressed to make progressist solutions of twistedness that tight humanity in a grip, that is not put at the service of the wellbeing and interests of the community but that are used to enhance the controls more and more closed down and arbitrary espionages in a society more and more paranoid in which wins the mentality of suspect behind the smiles of false or pretended collaborations and hands shakes of more and more ambiguous diplomatic attempts to reach agreements in which is hard to realize the common welfare, in which every parts remains always circumspect to be stabbed in the back and duplicity and in which is stressed a generalised crisis just of the reciprocal trust and of the existence of a real cooperation between the people other than between governors, beyond the fact to sit together to the same institutional tables of negotiations, official State visits, and you may wonder if there is a real possibility of compromise, if someone really want to yield something in order to receive something, in a positive do ut des, in order to achieve important results, if there is a real will to not entrench oneself in one’s position, if there is a logic of dialogue and an open mentality or each one is barricaded behind one’s own beliefs, trying to persuade or even worse impose one’s own perspective over that of the others and you may wonder what has been the sense of putting together a gathering of so different States in the womb of the international organizations and who really want to achieve common aims and a good benefit that seems so difficult to realize in practice other than with words and beyond the spread out common hypocrisy to which we all are well acquainted, caused by the fear of military, political and ideological retaliations and you may wonder if there is any more a status of security that would have been the main achievement and purpose of the over-financed and backed Nato that keeps of making military installations and spent billion dollars in often useless investigations.

Notes:

Ukraine-Russia: Putin and Biden are caught in a high-stakes gamble - CNN

La crisi Ucraina e il futuro della sicurezza europea (ispionline.it)

Una via diplomatica tra Russia e USA (ispionline.it)

Biden a Putin: “Dobbiamo parlare” (ispionline.it)

How a Muslim attack in a Texas synagogue become the litmus test of the crisis of international security

2022-01-17T15:35:00.004-08:00

The Muslim-Jewish conflict evidently seems to keep on going all over the world. Last episode has recently occurred at the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in Colleyville, Texas, by the 44 years old Malik Faisal Akram, the hostage-taker who as police stormed the building. The synagogue was the first Jewish congregation in Northeast Tarrant County. The CBI community officially opened the doors to its own new building in 2005.

CBI holds Sabbath morning services every Saturday, and members and non-members alike use to watch from home on the livestream, a practice many synagogues have adopted due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Akram reportedly demanded the release of Aafia Siddiqui, who is currently serving an 86-year prison sentence for the attempted murder of American troops and FBI agents who arrested her. It is unclear if he has any direct connection or relation to her.

There is no indication that other individuals are involved in the case. However, on Monday morning, two British teens were arrested and detained in custody for questioning in relation to the synagogue attack by Greater Manchester Police officers from Counter Terrorism Policing North West. The UK, apparently distracted by the party-goer stance of the PM Boris Johnson that seems even likely to blow up the government in these days behind the accusation of not being a good example in time of pandemic, isn’t undressing the garments of austere intransigence and the strong attachment to the rules that have always demarked it and the police forces keep on operating regardless for the security of the country.

In facts, Akram was from Blackburn, north of Manchester. The devastated Akram’s family’ apologized to all the victims involved in the incident, underlying that the offender was suffering from mental health problems, that it would be blamed any arbitrary attack on the safety of any human being, independently from the racial or ethnicity belonging and that it is unlikely it could represent what Biden has defined as an “act of terrorism” . However, FBI investigations are still ongoing.

Akram arrived in the US approximately five weeks ago, landing at New York's JFK Airport. He arrived legally in December, cleared vetting prior to his arrival, he was not in the US government watchlist and a review conducted far of U.S. intelligence community databases containing terror-related threat information shows no prior derogatory information on Akram. He spent three nights at Union Gospel Mission Dallas, a homeless shelter, in the week prior to the incident. He initially checked in to the shelter on January 6 and he left the facility for the final time on January 13, a little more than 48 hours before taking four people hostage inside the synagogue approximately 22 miles away.

Akram told hostage negotiators that he was not going to leave the synagogue alive and during the conversation with the negotiators, he demanded that Siddiqui be brought to the synagogue so they could both die together.

Officials said it's believed Akram wanted Siddiqui released. The attorney who represents Siddiqui said Saturday "she has absolutely no involvement with" the taking of hostages at the synagogue and said the perpetrator is not Siddiqui's brother.

At the request of the hostage taker, the rabbi of the largest Jewish congregation of the area who was being held hostage called a well known rabbi in New York City. Congregation Beth Israel is affiliated with the Union for Reform Judaism, whose website indicates the congregation serves 157 membership families.

In 2010, Siddiqui was sentenced to 86 years in prison by a New York federal judge following a 14-day trial. After Siddiqui was arrested in Afghanistan for her part in plotting al-Qaeda terrorist attacks in the US, UK and Pakistan, shooting at US Army troops as they detained her, she said the case against her was a Jewish conspiracy. Siddiqui dismissed her legal defense team because she said the lawyers were Jewish, and she demanded that jurors in the trial take DNA tests to make sure they were not Israeli or Zionists, in order “to be fair.”

She also wrote a letter to then-president Barack Obama telling him that Jews “have always back-stabbed everyone who has taken pity on them and made the ‘fatal’ error of giving them shelter.”

“It is this cruel, ungrateful back-stabbing of the Jews that has caused them to be mercilessly expelled from wherever they gain strength. This is why ‘holocausts’ keep happening to them repeatedly! If they would only learn to be grateful and change their behavior!!” Siddiqui wrote.

Siddiqui, a Pakistani scientist who graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and obtained a doctorate in neuroscience from Brandeis University, was taken into custody for questioning by the Afghan National Police in 2008, who said they found handwritten notes referring to potential targets of a "mass casualty attack". When a group of Americans attempted to speak to her, prosecutors said she was able to grab a US soldier's rifle and open fire on the interrogation team, although no one was hit by the gunfire.

At sentencing, the judge found that a terrorism enhancement applied to her crimes, citing statements she had made that the judge concluded demonstrated her actions and intent to retaliate against the US government, including "I hate Americans" and "Death to America."

Her family keeps on declaring she’s not a terrorist.

During a deadly hostage crisis in Algeria in 2013, a spokesperson for a militant group offered to release hostages if Siddiqui was released from US prison, along with Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, the mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center attack, who has since died in prison.

Siddiqui is being held in a medical facility that's part of a federal prison in Fort Worth, with a release date set for 60 years from now.

In the Saturday incident it was clear that Jewish community was the main target, being Siddiqui, also name “Lady Al- Qaeda” a raving anti-semite.

One time more in Texas are taking place human rights restrictions and violations. Noteworthy to be remembered how since September 1, 2021, abortion has been declared illegal in Texas once a fetal heartbeat can be detected. The Texas Heartbeat Act prohibits abortion when there is a detectable heartbeat, which may be as early as 6 weeks into a woman's pregnancy. Before this, elective abortions were allowed up to 20 weeks post-fertilization. The Texas Heartbeat Act is the strictest abortion law in the US that is currently in force, though it follows a trend also seen in other States. These last episodes remarkably characterize and smear of blood and infamy minority groups in American civil society.

This sensational case has waken up the public opinion because once again when are affected the american institutions and its intelligence services it’s yelled terrorism and a torea to new attacks. After the episodes of 9/11 it’s felt as much more alarming any incidents, especially involving Muslims, and it’s reconsidered the drumbeat of war triggered by al Qaeda which still represents a sore spot in the panorama of International security, today put particularly in crisis also on the other side of the Atlantic in the cases of the Russian cyberattacks against Ukraine and the engagement of Nato and EU that continue to pursuit an open door, even if not inclusive, policy with this last that risks to be subject to a russian invasion and the consequent American sanctions that aim to hit the exports and the production of Russian petroleum and gas pipelines. Undermined in their foundation and in a chaotic transitional jumble, the USA try again to take the lion’s share, not saving an eventual iron fist in a country that is still divided and sidelined behind the populistic Trump motto “America First” .

Therefore, in this episode find a junction the topic of the interior american security with the International one in a counter-terror key and results connected with the Israeli-Arab atavic skirmishes that keep on making their fuses explode even by small, sometimes as in this case, strategic events, the make us fear a wider-ranging escalations of violence even in a country as the USA in which the cases of racial discrimination are by now become a cliché and ordinary routine (enough to mention George Floyd and other contemporary anti-semite and anti-asiatic discrimination).

The rampant Trumpism, in facts, doesn’t appear to desist. Enough thinking about the clashes of Capital Hill that started exactly one year ago, the infinite judiciary odyssey that has involved even the judges of the US Supreme Court, whose “big lie” matter keeps on quarrelling the legitimacy of Biden administration and the suitability of the election law, nowadays vetted in the Senate. All events, these ones, that reveal how much the USA democratic institutions are passing through a phase of severe crisis and delegitimation that has even more lowered the american security minimum threshold. The USA has been hit in its national-populistic heart and pride, not only for the exacerbated inner divisions in which more than a multiracial melting pot, aims to enshrine its own patriotic hegemony in and outside Home.

A democracy in jeopardy. Every ignited fuse risks to make the keg powder blow up.

The threat is to find again Al Qaeda behind the corner. Today, the USA find themselves again to be a papier mâché giant that embodied in the old and weary face of Biden, can’t any more detain the leadership of world super power because undermined at the basic foundations: the high inflation inherited by Biden has more and more weakened the purchase capability of the US dollar in the International monetary system, especially in comparison with Euro, the delicate passage towards a green and digital economy due to the pandemic and the climate emergency, the fight against terrorism, especially the Islamic one. It seems to fall out victim of its authoritarianism itself, a “Gendarme State” that very often arbitrary abuses its own powers, implementing the law of retaliation not only against criminals but also when happen incidents provoked by the reckless and easy use of weapons, in which we start wondering where are finished the so loudly proclaimed freedoms of the people whereas it’s occurring a tightening-up of the inner repressive measures - “ police state” – and the more and more frequent imposition of international sanctions in every corners of the world in which democracy and international stability at put at risk. In this strange equilibrium games EU e UN keep on representing the tip of the balance, going further in their role of neutral mediator and peace-makers in the negotiations of the peace processes.

Biden has opened up a crack in the sign of a more egalitarian world and towards a pacific coexistence among people but we can see him still moving groping in the mare magnum of tangles and divisions caused by the Trump omnipotence delirium that has led the USA astray, both under the credibility profile and under the economic-financial one and for the maintaining of peace and domestic and International security, making clear how the ancestral conflicts between the Arab and Jewish communities, historic enemies, can topple down a Pandora box hardly protected in the web of the noble and subtle diplomatic threads and international alliances.

Footnotes:

FBI identifies hostage-taker at Texas synagogue - CNN

British national ID’d as hostage-taker at Texas synagogue - POLITICO

Texas synagogue siege: Rabbi describes being held hostage - BBC News

Yes, the Colleyville synagogue attack was 'specifically' targeting Jews - The Jerusalem Post (jpost.com)

Gantowisas: democracy and eternal feminine beyond the legends – a way to rethink world order

2022-01-13T20:53:00.007-08:00

More than a dissertation, by this short essay I’d like to bring to the limelight the myth of the eternal feminine in a quirky Iroquois adaptation, a long-lasting reality resisting the harshness and consumption of the elapsing of time. This myth, completely embodied in the story of the Gantowisas, that has contextualized it and made it a tangible and concrete reality, other than being an outstanding example upon which was based the USA Constitution, not only in its internal structure founded on the principle of popular sovereignty (“we the people”) and in the recognized fundamental freedoms (i.e., first amendment), but also for the way they manage their international relations and diplomatic affairs, has left its sign over the time in the matriarchal society which represents a triumphal model of democracy strongly acclaimed by feminists movements and the utmost bulwark of the belief that a true open equalitarian society can just come from women and the values inherent to them. In this piece, I’d like outlining how, being life-giver the traditional core essence of the woman from which is originated creation, men are just unessential appendages and accessories that contribute to the perpetuation of the species but evidently on a secondary level, confirming, by this assumption, the efficacy of this societal pattern, that have demonstrated women are be able to better take on the same roles usually conferred to men, enhancing business productivity, ameliorating equality in justice and getting proved innate skills of cherishing people and undertaking social responsibilities, enough endowed with the characteristics of self-management and adaptability throughout the revolving doors of diplomacy, all venusian qualities imprinting harmony and resilience in the highs and lows of the international relations, in the fight against the defuse of martial unbalances produced by a chauvinistic male dominance. The eternal feminine has been a running thread in human culture for thousands of years, but each generation has to reinterpret it, and embedded in the secular society, keeping in mind that everyone in everyday life should cultivate certain arrays of values such as: motherliness, inner beauty, devotion; nurturing, loving kindness, inspiration and creativity.

The matter is just not all about an enchanted, ethereal, angelic figure that has no weight in this world or the last word in debates, it’s not just something inspiring and mildening the asperities of life but it’s a concrete and determinant element in improving real democracy, guaranteeing fundamental freedoms for all and driving radical changes. Peace and dialogue against wars. Life, creativity and innovation against the stalemate and the power of death. Love, grace and equilibrium against brutalities, conflicts and injustices. Welcoming against invasions. Wisdom against instinctive hazard. Diplomatic qualities, in facts, are inherent to the nature of woman, having especially a flair and propensity to smooth away the social and interpersonal acrimonies, to make up for shortcomings and to appease the dissension, being endowed with those indispensable resilience and creative attitudes that lead to devise proper original solutions to resolve conflicts.

By the myth of the eternal feminine and the practical scalding example of the matriarchal societies centred on the pivotal role of the Gantowisas, we have learned as in these secluded microcosms, still accused to be primitive and out-of-date, have been developed and deployed the highest democratic and egalitarian freedoms and rights in a perspective of openness to the surrounding realities, to the dialogue and confrontation, to the tolerance, under banner of non violence and diplomatic liberality.

This myth could give an illustration of an alternative societal model. In this research, I have tried to convey deep insights aiming at spreading out the knowledge of Iroquoian culture and its political structure in every aspects of life, just departing from it[1]. Citing Goethe in the Faust, "The Eternal feminine attracts us to the higher"[2], statement by which the author reduced this myth to a meaning of gateway of salvation and of spiritual redemption from suffering and evil.

Lately, we can’t forget Pope John Paul II words, commenting the Apostolic Letter Mulieris dignitatem[3], echoing John Paul I, “the smiling pope” that several times pronounced himself on gender issues and birth control, that affirmed, “God is Father, and even more, is Mother”, born from Holy Mary, celebrated beyond the dogmas or legends about her Virginity and Immaculate Conception, “the Quintessential Woman”, “the mystic rose”, revealing the maternal face of the god of boundless love, to testify the modern openness of the Holy See to this topic and to emphasize the inescapable primary role of women in society, blending spirituality with a compelling sense of poetry, enchantment, transfiguration and mystery. Complementing my ideological mantra lying in the immanence of the perfection in nature and the sublime fascination of the beauty and the art, which are strictly feminine[4], can be evidenced how Oppel analysis of the Nietzschean thought[5] revised the traditional role of women, even if still strictly connected to the role of the superman and his proclaimed anti-misogynistic perspective.

Going straight to the point in the study of Iroquois culture[6] can be found that these Indigenous tribes are all about celebration of life and thanksgiving to the natural bless and the spiritual brotherhood with all human beings and flora and fauna species, whose mimic and recalling is interpreted with a sense of fusion and belonging to the land. By this way, considering all creatures as relatives, American Indians conceive all people as being the same children of a unique Mother, and they feel to be parts of an ordered balanced life, in a continuous search for the completeness of the being. Perceiving reality in a different way than that commonly intended by nowadays societies and conceiving time as a transcendental subsequence of Epochs, departing from the fall of Sky Woman on the Earth, differing from Roman Catholics, they believe in something cyclical, rejecting linearity and, in force of that, starting from this circular, dynamic concept of universe in which all things are related and belongs to only one family, they feel, as celebrated in each song and ceremony, that any creature is part of a somehow greater whole and that all these parts are intertwined one another by virtue of their integral and effective participation and the principle of reciprocity. The healing chants and rituals[7] are intense invocations of the restoration of the natural order and a continuous search for harmony. “Beauty is wholeness. Health is wholeness. Goodness is wholeness. And they are symbolized in the sacred hoop”[8], which is a female element. The role of the woman is associated with the springtime of the community. Their awareness derives first and foremost from the relationship and dialogue with the Spirit, that joins the discrepancies, mends the scratches and puts in harmony the bodies with the souls, not only healing but unleashing a sense of lightness and freedom and instilling that impalpable sense of joy letting them ride the wave of original and creative thinking and rhythmical dances and composition of sounds that float them on the magical enchantment of pleasure, caressing the fluidity of the fusion. All that can be called as spirits or gods or metaphysical, occult forces inform in these little corners of the world, often forgotten, every aspects of the institutional frameworks and structures, and social habits, nowadays as in the past, since the mists of times.

It could be illuminating to argue about how the myth of the eternal feminine has survived throughout the centuries, and how it’s more and more, even nowadays, an inspirational muse and a critical spectrum for political debates about new institutional democratic models[9]. Harking back to the Iroquois traditions, the real core of modern North American democracies, we can highlight how this myth is exalted by the leading role of the Gantowisas, the essential depositaries of the gifts allowed by our Universal Spiritual Mother, their necessary endorsement of responsibilities, their intrinsic mission to feed, to spawn and to develop human gender and species.

Following this pathway, I’d like to turn my interpretation of Iroquois culture, mixing spirituality, legends, what can be described as historical examples of possessed people, explaining what can be meant as possess, with Gantowisas, that, even descending their sacred powers from Sky Woman, are perfectly rooted on the planet Earth. What’s real and what’s transcendence, imaginary in their powerful healings and mystic realms? It’s evident how the power of mind and suggestions between thaumaturge and patient, or on their own, have a regenerating energy, and how it can be amped up in collective rites and ceremonies, between the shamanism and the religiosity, in addition to the undeniable efficacy of natural remedies in comparison with ordinary drugs. Solutions that have far distanced the progress of modern traditional science and that have attracted proselytes and caused many pilgrimages from all over the world. The Sacred Hoop, or Medicine wheel, is, as said, a female element, according which “life is a cycle and everything has its place in it”, based on four basic directions, each one offering its own lesson, color and animal spirit guide[10].

The Sacred hoop and its circular perspective goes beyond any Manichean partition considering what’s coming from a God as good and from a Devil as evil, rejecting concepts as original sin, redemption, faith, heaven and hell. The hoop is a field containing energy, in order to make it won’t be dispersed, and that could gather in an indissoluble uniqueness the whole world, including physical and spiritual creatures. In Native Amerindian culture there’s a keen sense of respect towards all forms of flora and fauna, not only as the main mean of subsistence, but also in order to preserve the longevity of the planet. The hoop is sacred because it opens up the way of awareness. The shamans heal sick people by the use of what are considered by European people just simply magic gifts, not special medicines, through wizard powers in which are intrinsic a sort of “mystic potence”. The nature of Native minds is global-holistic for its ability to identify themselves with all the complexities and to maintain these structures in a dynamic equilibrium. By the use of the sacred hoop, they demonstrate how the Cosmogony works, how the laws of nature and the cosmos rule all human beings, the mysteries of life and death, the mind and the individuality of the Self[11].

My personal perspective dares to be quite transcendental, compelling myself to use a cross-cutting lens to substantially focus the attention on the importance of the rights of women, often victims of abuses, tortures and suffering sterility, metaphorically including by this term all kinds of unproductiveness and unfruitfulness. These, in facts, although currently protected and proclaimed by the international community standards by resonant slogans, are still hardly implemented in many contexts, with no mention of the rights of Indigenous people that fortunately in Canada have had a better treatment than in the USA or other parts of the planet[12]. My utmost desire is here to shed light on what represents the inner essence of life, the straight sensitivity residing in every human being, made of a right balance game between its male and female components, and to remark what “Mother Nature” in the Iroquois culture have to teach to all of us in relation to the mentality of dialogue, comparison and inclusiveness.

Gantowisas represent the earthly emblem of the myth and the propelling power that makes everything in society work well, in harmony and in peace, from economic circuits, essentially trade and agriculture, to politics, justice administration and legal system, other than above all in the smallest but closest societal nucleus, represented by families, that they run with an enlarged vision, encircling in their own hands the full management of their communities and their international relations in a one world society, smoking together the pipe of amity and peace[13].

They are active agents, not passive victims; the kinship is traced through the female line; children are raised up and adopted by women; they own the lands, the crops and the longhouses, enjoy more privileges and greater freedom if compared not only with other American Indian women[14], but also with the so-called civilized nations.

In the words of a Cheyenne saying “A nation is not conquered until the hearts of its women are on the ground”[15] and, although the European conquest of Native America, Native women’s hearts are still beating.

The purpose of “The Great Law of Peace”, the oral Haudenausonee Constitution, written on wampum belts, is to help remembering the natural laws of creation fundamentally derived from Sky Woman, the spirit that informs equality and order other than beauty, health and goodness. In it is recalled the Tree of Peace, under which the Council of Fire of the Confederacy sit to discuss their affairs. The Tree has four Great White Roots in four main directions, symbolizing peace and strength. A certain numbers of wampum strings are given to each of the female families that in the USA represent the completeness of the union and certify the pledge of the nations (Mowaks, Oneida, Tuscarora, Onondaga, Cayuga and Seneca) that all formed, in a unique body, the Union of the Great Law.

Wampum belts are also used for storytelling. In these black lands surrounded by rocks and cliffs, among the hills of god and spirits, brightened up by the moon, they breath in the nature each day greater and greater sensations, instilling in them an unsoundable mystic sense that they can’t refrain to unavoidably transmit to the world. The used symbols narrated a story in the oral tradition or spoken words. Since there was no written language, wampum was a very important mean of keeping records and passing down stories to the next generation, and were created to keep trace of the treaties or historical events. The greatest part of Indian tradition is oral, although the European attempts to write it down, and, as such, is unclassifiable and uncategorizable, becoming for its fluidity and hard reachability, unlikely to be sifted through a partisan or homologating critic. They are the outright free thinkers, unmindful even of the use of pen, they don’t need. Poetries and songs, often onomatopoeic, move along the notes of nature and even prayers, that they rattle off as a breath, are free. Thoughts that go beyond the walls. They don’t know repetitive novenas lo learn by heart or to brainwash themselves. The same sense of freedom invests their dances, and the so called rituals, that are never identical one another but are expression of a pure creative art form. They have given origin to the highest form of religious apostasy: the denial of indoctrination.

The Gantowisas and the Jigonsaseh are the main actresses of the political life of the nation and formidable allies. The Gantowisas run local clan councils and held all the lineage wampum, nomination belts and titles, they run the funerals and retain exclusive rights over naming - i.e., the creation of new citizens and the installation of public officials. They nominate all male sachems as well as all Clan Mothers to office and have the power to impeach wrongdoer, they appoint warriors, declare war, negotiate peace and mediate disputes.

The ferocious nexus of sexism, classism, and machismo that also fatally warped western studies linger on in a rather blithe acceptance of the white suprematist propaganda that harshly criticized governmental women just because was deemed unconceivable. The Great Law carefully delineates the political operation of the clans In western debates although the work done by early feminists on corroborating the political centrality of the Gantowisas, the official history seems determined to ignore the full half of the Haudenausonee government and is not found a complete discussion on the woman’s complementary political structure to the Men Councils equally vital to the League, how their clan council are set up, how the Jigonsaseh declares war or peace, how Clan Mothers are selected, how they wield constitutional powers as judges or mediators, how speakers from the men Grand Council functioned, how the Gantowisas appoint warriors, how they help up and forward matters to the men Grand Council and how they decide issues of citizenship and political office through adoption and naming. The Jesuit Relation reported that the women had “beaucoup d’authorité” among their people, the Clan Mothers were highly respected and held their own councils and that the men’s councils concluded nothing without consulting the Gantowisas[16]. Lafiteau in 1724 declared that the Gantowisas were the real “souls of the councils” on which resides all clear authority[17], observing that their complete control over war parties was a “sign that they have a prestige somewhat more important than the Council of the Old Men itself”. In 1761, Pierre de Charlevoix documented that “the women have the chief authority amongst all the nations of the Huron language” adding that ”the chiefs are no more than their lieutenants”[18] with peace-making functions. According to the western mysoginist literature, Iroquois governmental models were considered as immoral, unnatural and reprehensible. Gantowisas were even pointed out as travestites, arising doubts about their true femininity.

In the excursus of the juridical Iroquois panorama could be interesting to have an outlook on the main treaties binding them, first as Aboriginal people, then as Indigenous people, with Canada Federal Government and the International Treaties on this topic other than exploring minorities and women rights[19].The written version of the Great Law, published by Arthur Parker in 1916[20], reported how it required Clan Mothers to hold councils and, instead of asserting that women has the same rights as men, pointedly stated that men has the same rights as women.

The best way to reconstruct the political role of Iroquoian women resides in women traditions: while Sky Woman and her Daughter of the First Epoch modeled considerable social power, the most politically powerful woman depicted in all of tradition appeared in the Second Epoch: the Jigonsaseh, “the great woman”, “the mother of nations”, “the peace queen”. In Wyandot-Seneca tradition is recalled as the reincarnation of the Lynx. Her words were laws and their sanctions were necessary in all political measures of inter-tribal importance. She played the role of both the Peace Woman and peacemaker’s mother and she took active part in the conferences and in deliberations resulting in the establishment of the League. There have been as many different women bearing the title Jigonsaseh as men bearing the title of Adodaroh. The Jigonsaseh acted in the political capacity of Head Clan Mother.

Among the symbolic practices adopted by the Peacemaker according to the Great Law there was that to “eat together from one bowl”, that meant that kinship subsisted between those who had shared food and, since it was forbidden to make war on one’s own kin, by feeding both sides from the same pot, Jigonsaseh effectively used this provision to make peace between warring factions. Jigonsaseh house was also called “peace house”: by her direct authority was negotiated peace and declared war. She used the power to stop conflicts by stating simple sentences, being their declarations outright laws[21].

A primary strategy of the League was peace through expansion. This was not a western-inspired view, but one inherent in the Great Law. In giving the Great Law, the Peacemaker had begun by planting the sacred council Tree of Peace and the Nations interested in joining the League might follow one of its four Shining roots. In describing the official symbols of the league, the peacemaker held up a bundle of five arrows for all to see, noting that singly each arrow was easily broken, but, tied together in a bundle, the arrows were very strong. Thus the League was united for physical strength and self-protection and the bundled arrows became a mechanism of havoc once the disruptive influence of European invasion began. The sudden depopulation caused by epidemic diseases pressured survivors to deliver pelts to European markets in order to acquire supplies that the overburdened remnants of society could no longer produce by themselves. The results was a series of “mourning wars”, condolence raids, whose primary purpose was to gain adoptees to rebuild the population[22].

These European promoted wars pitted the Wyandot from above the St Lawrence against the Haudenosaunee below the St Lawrence. These peoples had not been traditional enemies but long acknowledged relatives, being instead traditional enemies England and France. Between them, these interlopers infused a high level of negative tension and snarling rivalry into the once peaceful relations between the French “Wyandots” and the British “Haudenosaunee”, ranging them against each other as suppliers of raw materials (skins and furs). Thus the Wyandots- Haudenosaunee war was an affair initiated by the French and the British in pursuit of colonial empire.

In a series of concerted actions beginning in 1633, the Gantowisas called for the Wyandot nations to be invaded one by one, and they succumbed to League pressure. Following the first assault, many of them sued immediately for peace. Although negotiations for entering the League, peace talks fell apart in 1635 as it became clear that some of the more proselytized Wyandots were reluctant to boot out their French missionaries, a requirement for entering the League. In response, the Seneca and Onondaga Gantowisas pushed to continue the war against the French, taking Wyandot converts captive, sending young men to plant a League Tree of Peace. From Haudenosaunee perspective, this action was not really equivalent to disrupting peace talks, but their logical extension. Just the Wyandots, not the French had been invited. Ultimately, the fight escalated, culminating in what is still mistakenly call “the fall of Huronia” by historians. It’s important highlighting that the Haudenosaunee were not attacking the Wyandots per se but just Christian converts, with a particular eye to dislodging the French, so that many Wyandots were allied with the League against the French.

It was a women affairs appointing League warriors. Seneca - Wyandot Gantowisas also took on role as warriors, standing armed beside the men. The Jigonsaseh of 1687 temporarily assumed military power, fulfilling civilian and military leader roles. As a result of his war on the Senecas, Denonville was recalled to France in disgrace in 1689, soundly trounced by a woman, the Jigonsaseh of 1687-1690. She’s remembered by the Haudenosaunee as a great heroine of the League history as she defeated “the largest European force ever assembled in North America” up to that time. There is no reason to suppose that the position of Jigonsaseh was not continuously filled between 1650 and 1848 when the USA government presumed to dissolve the League and forced a “civilized” form of government on the Haudenosaunee of New York with the main purpose to deprive Clan Mothers of their traditional powers. At first, Women Keepership of the land and tokens of their involvement in the political process, including suffrage, were begrudgingly recognized. All real power was concentrated in the hands of the men’s Grand Council. Although that, continued to be recognized the women’s ownership of land and the original clan base of the Great Law was shunted aside, along with the Gantowisas’s remaining political powers. As a result, Haudenosaunee women were massively disempowered, with Seneca women not regaining voting rights until 1964. The office of Jigonsaseh seemed to be officially reinstated in 1853 with Gahahno. Those interested in maintaining a truly traditional government should look up her lineage and her heirs, reinstating her position and her powers, along with the Clan Mothers’ Councils. The Haudenosaunee began to feel the full weight of the western conqueror bearing down on them as soon as the Revolutionary War ended. With the forced assimilation, the “forgotten removals”,[23] the nations fell like pushed dominoes into the grip of settlers mitts that throttled Haudenosaunee culture. The engine of forced assimilations in New York involved the Quakers primary cultural adjustment to reduce the Gantowisas to a proper state of female subjection to male “protection”. Under the Quakers plan of civilization Iroquois women were to be reformed into pliant women bruised under the heavy thumb of their autocratic male relatives, according to the Christian- European model: the Gantowisas were to become submissive to their husbands, absent from public assemblies, quiet in places of worship, hopeless at finances and concerned only with the domestic sphere, confined to household chores and baby-making. They had to give up farming, men’s work in the European view. Was also under the Quakers influence that Gahahno was inaccurately described as a Virgin but virginity was a European, not a Iroquoian credential.

Concerning their International Relations, it must be recalled that the Grand Council of the Iroquois Confederacy declared war on Germany in 1917 during WWI and again in 1942 in WWII. Passports have been issued since 1997 for international travel, but after Sept 11 attacks was no more recognized legal value to the document. In 2010, the Iroquois Nationals lacrosse team was allowed by the U.S. to travel on their own passports to the World Lacrosse Championship [24] in England only after the personal intervention of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton but the British government refused to recognize Iroquois passports and denied the team members entry in UK.

The Onondaga Nation spent $1.5 million on a subsequent upgrade to the passports designed to meet 21st-century international security requirements[25].

Jigonsaseh’s story is vital to understand the powers and duties of the Gantowisas. Her negotiations with the Peacemaker and her personal centrality in ending the Second Epochal war resulted in the women sections of the Iroquois Constitution. The wampum belts of the Great Law “Clans and Consanguinity” and “Laws of Adoptions” are Jigonsaseh’s sections. The Roster of the Gran Mothers[26] named the Clan Mothers of the Canadian League. The organizing principle beyond the local-federal mechanism was Twinship in the form of gendered balance: the Clan Mothers’ Council mirrored the Men’s Grand Council and vice versa. It was the reciprocal interaction of these two bodies that ordered the functioning of the League. Everyone had both a Clan (mother) and a national citizenship (father). By women power to block decisions, it was no accident that Sganyadai:yoh’s woman-crushing Gaiwi:ho (Code of Handsome Lake) took over fifty years to be codified and recognized[27]. The men could not deliberate upon an issue that had not been sent forward by the Gantowisas. Within the Councils decisions were taken by consensus, according to the principle of popular sovereignty, the will of people, Ne’ Găshasde’sä, inspiring modern democracies, from which they highly differ because they don’t even need, because of the values and principles they rely upon, a Montesquieu system of checks and balances[28] distributed in distinct centers of power. Although sometimes depreciatorily labeled as “petticoat governments”, their legal principles are echoed in the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution.

The Gendering rule resulted in mirror-image councils of Clan Mothers balancing councils of men sachems. According to the protocol, men didn’t speak in women’s councils and vice versa. Ayonwantha was the Peacemaker’s Speaker to the men, as the Jigonsaseh was Speaker to the women. The Peacemaker needed two speakers, and, under this system of gendering, women sent male speakers to men’s councils, while men sent female speakers to women’s councils. Speakership was a conventional office accomplished by individuals sent forth to present the chiefs’, or Clan Mothers’, consensus message to the official opposite. Speakership operated on the principle of One-Mindedness, or functional consensus. All Spirits – from those of Mother Earth, the waters, the plants, the animals, GranMother Moon, Milky Way, etc. – were called together with the goal of achieving a perfect consensus of all sentient minds in a cosmic Ne’ Găshasde’sä. Speakers were selected for their good memories, clear oratory and faithfulness to the will of their constituent body. They operated independently of Clan Motherhood or sachemship: a speaker might or might not simultaneously be a chief or a Clan Mother.

The practice of naming and its gendering into a female power is quite ancient. Its genesis may be found in stories of the First Mother and Daughter: in the First Epoch of Time, when Lynx grew up, her mother sent her walking through the back of the Turtle every day, to see what existed on the great island and at her return Sky Woman advanced the challenge of naming creatures, proposing to be inspired by their movements.

Accordingly the power over names and titles passed to Gantowisas, the daughter of her first daughter. It was the clan mother who knew the rightful possessors of their names and titles of the League encoded into lineage wampum, often called “Chief belts”.

As a part of naming functions, the Clan Mothers held the lineage wampum of the Great Law. All white wampum is women’s wampum, whereas black (actually purple) belongs to the men. White wampum signifies peace and justice, the women’s gender purview, purple (“black”) wampum signified warfare and danger, the men gendered one. Gantowisas have also full power of naming wampum of adoption, that was not only an act of nuclear families taking in an orphaned or abandoned child, but that also consisted in granting full citizenship to someone from outside of the League, or the clan. Normally during inter-clan adoptions, the respective Clan Mothers agreed at the time of adoptions to return any lineage title that might later come the child’s way, so that, upon his death, the original lineage and clan might retain its rights to the title.

Gantowisas has the power to impeach civic wrongdoers: any sachem or Clan Mother found guilty of crimes in office, dereliction of duty or incompetence could be removed. Gantowisas were not empowered to impeach anyone until they had given the offender three warnings to amend his behaviour. If the final warning was ignored, the women may act.

Forms of denaming came with death. In the instant of death, Gantowisas after running funerals, also directed the following feasts and festivals..

The final cluster of political powers reserved to Gantowisas concerned warfare. Before they could empower the men to use their black wampum, authorizing specific military actions, Gantowisas were required, by law, to hold three successive peace councils. The “mourning wars” initiated just after these three persuasive efforts failed.. If the Indians go to war without the consent of the great women, the great spirit will not prosper them in war, but will cause disgrace[29].

As it concerns Women’s control of economy, the fact that the woodland business was not capitalized in the western sense didn’t mean that they were not production and above all agricultural economies. The primary asset was Mother Earth. Gantowisas controlled the Iroquoian economy, and not just through their ultimate legal ownership of the means of all production but through their sole rights to keep and distribute her bounty. Men acted as the Keepers of the Forests and women as the Keepers of the fields.

In the 18^th century, in Notes on the State of Virginia, 1782, Jefferson reinforced the image of “unjust drudgery” supposedly imposed upon Native Women denouncing that women are formed by nature for attentions, not for hard labor. In the 19^th century, during the period of their control on the New York reservations, the Quakers tried to save women from the fields but with shaky results. Iroquois women displayed a complete lack of interest in home arts as spinning, knitting and soap-making – except as entrepreneurial ventures. They remained interested in these activities as long as the Quakers supplied raw materials free of charge. They didn’t want the product for home use but were promptly selling their wares to the settlers, and at a tidy profit, since they had no expenses for their equipment. The campaign aiming at getting out of the fields Iroquois women was not unique to the Quakers but also a federal policy, also pursued by government boarding schools. On the contrary, Champlain found that the women enjoyed plenty of free time in which occasion they amuse themselves by gambling, going to dances, and feasts, chatting and killing time, doing what they like the most for their leisure. The Iroquois woman was not the overworked drudge she’s usually represented to have been.

Iroquoian woman invented a form of communal economics of agriculture and horticulture that guaranteed social security and preservation. What essentially distinguishes Iroquois economic system from the Western ones is their premise of natural plenty available to all, as opposed to the European presupposition of scarcity and the spiritual source of its management, being sharing and cooperation their paramount social values. The point of Iroquoian economics was not to exploit Mother Earth but to reciprocate her gifts of life with human gifts of Keeping. Under such a system, the traits of competition and individualism leading to accumulation of wealth – central in capitalism- were seen as expressions of insanity, conveying instead a mentality of generosity and inclusion. Iroquoian cooperation ruled out competition as a cultural value. Both men and women worked cooperatively in collective units focused on community-centred tasks, not ego-driven goals. The women’s farming society is based on the Gai’ wiu O’’dănnide ‘ osha principle, meaning “Good Rule, They Assist One Another”.

Conservation techniques of Native farmers, such as the protection of the ground moisture and village rotation, must be seen through the lens of their ecological sensitivity and limited social definition of “need”. They adopted agricultural techniques such as planning, timing and goal-oriented management. In an anti-marxist perspective, if materialism underpins capitalism, spirituality is the core of Iroquoian communalism. Mother Earth was a living entity. Her Spirit was the Spirit of the Lynx, her breast were the hills and the mountains, her sweat ran into rivulets of her streams, her waters were the lakes, the creases in her body were the valleys, the grasses were her hair and the trees were her lungs. Setting food on her skin of dirt was a sacred act. The Gantowisas were One with Mother Earth.

The Haudenosaunee constitution, for the economic rules of the League were written into the Great Law: “Women shall be considered the progenitors of the Nation”, “They shall own the land and the soil”. However, private property rights are not implied. What they hold is a sacred trust that have legal precedent in the Creation Story.

The fertility of Mother Earth was especially invoked on nights of full moon. There were certain rules as to how the Gantowisas made the distributions of the fields, depending on the need, the ability to produce, fairness and equality. In addition to clan plots, every town maintained common fields, reserved for use in communal feasts, councils and ceremonies. It was possible in post-contact days for individuals to manage “private” plots, after their consent. The redistribution of land was an ordinary affair as well as the management of allotted land. The Gantowisas elected Clan Mothers of the field annually. The Iroquois had a unique form of crop rotation: they moved themselves, not the fields, from place to place along a regular circuit every fifteen or twenty years. This allowed the fields and the forests of the latest site to lie fallow until the town folks returned to it, some four or five rotations later.

Planting was typically undertaken by the midnight light of the fat face of Granmother the Moon, by the use of fish and broken shells as fertilizer, a practice Native women taught to the English. Remaining in this field of expertise and going beyond, we can highlight the importance of the moon, associated with the female element and often with the world of dreams, oneirism, unconsciousness and occultism and how they can affect the psyche and determine the destiny of humanity [30].

The Gantowisas of present-day Canada supplied 65% of the people’s food, against the 35% supplied by men’s hunting and fishing. Iroquois economic profits are up to now boosted by ecoturism, casino and gambling. Women hold the taxes and the public treasure and Lafiteau westernized the matter turning the Gantowisas into the Exchequer of the League. The logic of Keeping was not materialistic but spiritual and let the Gantowisas have full rights over all products. After four hundred years of colonization by Dutch, British and French, Quakers and finally the Dawes Act, the spiritual economics of communal sharing once managed by Gantowisas has now crumbles into the dust of history.

About diplomacy it must be said that treating with guests was an ancient Gantowisas duty. On international scale, it was the duty of the Jigonsaseh; on the local level, responsibility of the Clan Mother of the longhouse. Hospitality was really part of the overall economic system: it consisted in an active redistribution of wealth, based on the principle that Mother Earth’s bounty belonged equally to all creatures. On the micro-level open-handed festivals cemented goodwill among all clans and nations; internationally, it strengthened alliances. Delâge termed this economic regulatory system “the rule of the gift”[31]. Gifting operated on the reciprocating principle of Twinship. The Twins must remain in balance: what comes from one must go to the other and back again. Hospitality was private generosity reflecting a comfortable personal surplus and gifting was the personal benevolence of wealthy towards the poor. Both were acts of individual conscience, undertaken at private discretion, and testify the good predisposition towards recipients. This act was frowned up by the Quakers as a sort of extortion and manipulation but it was not bribery but the enlargement of a social fabric to include new possibilities of alliances for peace, under which an increasing number of people might join together to share Mother Earth’s prosperity. Soon European diplomats begrudgingly acceded to the rules of Gifting, that was an expected part of treaty councils: both France and Britain bowed to the custom and reverted to it whenever it suited their purposes.

Iroquoian culture esteemed elder women as sowers of wisdom and givers of life, the guardians of next generation. This female focus led to social practices outrageous to Christian patriarchy: inheritance through the female line, female-headed households, pre and extramarital sexual relations for women, female control of fertility, permissive child rearing, trial marriages, mother-dictated marriages, divorce on demand, maternal custody of the children in case of divorce, polyandry and female appointed hunting wives were considered scandalous customs by the Europeans, especially their sexual mores. Gantowisas inspired the 19^th century American feminists, providing their free model of womanhood. In the colonial era, women were anything but the social ornaments that the 18^th century British etiquette insisted they must be. As Namias showed in White Captives (1993), the bold and adventurous “American Amazon” was no less than the female ideal, from the late colonial era until the Revolutionary and Federal periods[32]. Her athletic Amazon retraced the Iroquoian style of womanhood: active, resourceful, self-directed, rational, politically and socially powerful and completely responsible for the civic lessons of her children. Kerber examined women of the Revolutionary era and tried to fit the Amazonian attributes into the ideal of “Republican Mother”[33]. The prototype of republican education was Iroquoian. There was a reason that the first emblem of the USA was an Iroquois woman (Columbia, symbolizing strength) although their Constitution failed at first to include rights of personal conscience and individual liberty, later recognized in the Bill of Rights. These rights are the cornerstones of Iroquois society but were foreign to European cultures, attributing their proclamation to the arise of individualism following the Protestant revolution. Warren[34] argued that although many European scholars tried to recast the matrilinear focus into patriarchal terms, Mother and Daughter are still the key of the Iroquois understanding.

The place where women sat in honour was the longhouse, long, rib-and-rafter framed buildings covered with elm bark, looking something like an upside-down ”U” or the Greek letter “Ω”. These roomy buildings were also called Clan Houses, for each accomodated all members of its matrilineage. Linguistically, Haudenosaunee means “the completed longhouse”. Each clan house was presided over by its Clan Mother, that was not necessarily the oldest woman but the most impartial and politically sly of the elder women of that lineage.

Iroquois women commonly practised abortion and birth control techniques, if necessary, as Thomas Jefferson testified by the use of some vegetable, into the 20th century as in the 18th century. The French officer Lahontan and the Seneca scholar Arthur Parker reported that they drank the “Juice of certain roots” to prevent conceptions and to abort pregnancies without destroying the “generative organs”, merely preventing conception or ending pregnancies on a one-time basis. Although accused by the Longhouse Religion of “witchcraft, murder, and infanticide”, they absolutely knew the distinction between abortion and infanticide. The free use of abortion in fact was allowed to minimize the sufferings of mothers, according to the tradition of Creation in its concern for the lives and suffering of women. Annemarie Shimony was told that boiled sassafras shoots induced abortion[35] and in addition to that Iroquois women used the bark of Fagus grandifolia, of Zanthoxylum americanum or the boiled root of Ceanothus americanus. After westernization, the legalization of abortion and the spread of contraceptive pills, many modern Iroquoian women now opt for these newer antifertility methods. As important as preventing an unwanted conception was planning for one when a pregnancy was desired. Prospective mothers observed the phases of Granmother Moon, knowing that full moonlight was the time for conceiving children, to determine when they are ovulating. One of the side effects of controlled fertility was that every child was wanted and well looked after. Usually families have no more than three or four children, and not that many, if they cannot support them comfortably. The age of basic self-sufficiency for children was fixed at about five. An Iroquoian mother simply didn’t give birth to another child during the formative years of a child already in existence.

Once children were born, women held the exclusive right of naming them. Personal names served the purpose of attaching individuals to their communities. The names were usually given a year after birth since traditionally naming ceremonies didn’t take place until Green Corn time (late August through October) or the Midwinter Ceremony (January), when all the new children of a community were formally introduced to everyone attending the festivities. One of the rules of naming is that no one may be given a name currently in use.

Gantowisas had undisputed control over it in Iroquoia children rearing. Children belonged only to the mother, and acknowledged no authority but hers. Even one hundred-twenty years of missionizing didn’t alter the practice. The fondness of Iroquoian adults for children is legendary. Charlevoix reported that “the care which the mothers take of their children while they are still in the cradle is beyond all expression. They never leave them, they carry them everywhere about with them”.. Because of their gentleness, corporal punishment was unthinkable to them. Using “no whips, no punishments, no threats” such as Europeans habitually plied against their own children, the Iroquois permissiveness reflected their philosophy that children learned only from experience. They preferred verbal prompts and community pressure on them, publicly praising desirable behaviours and, conversely, publicly condemning undesirable ones. Heckewelder underlined that, unlike the alienating system of Europe, which only trained people to respond to punishment, the Iroquoian system turned out talented, responsible, civic-minded citizens capable of living in democracy, “in peace and harmony, and in the exercise of moral virtues”.

Civic duty was not the only lesson reserved for puberty. Sex was high on the list, as well. For them, sex and marriage were not necessarily connected, while controlled paternity was a nonsense idea. Sex was freewheeling and male jealousy was beneath contempt. Seneca women practiced polyandry. Divorce was frequent, free and easy. Sex began at puberty, at the behest of the girls. Boys might signal interest with their eyes or small presents but it was up to the girls to initiate the liaisons. Lahontan reported the reversal of sex role customs: “the men are as cold and indifferent as the girls are passionate and warm”. Premarital sex was considered normal and was considered a very important part of every young person development. No one, male or female, was pushed to marriage without having any idea of what she or he was getting into. Furthermore, love-making was held to strengthen both the female and male body, explaining its liberal use in the andacouandet healing ceremony, in which the healthy made love to the sick. Le Jeune recorded that sex played a part in an eight-to-ten shamanic spiritual ceremony[36].

Free love started generally at twelve; multiple marriages, lesbian unions, also interfamiliar ones, are admitted. There’s a tough understanding of homosexuality, leaving us imagine how distant this so-called “uncivilized barbarians” are from western countries, showing off a broader sense of tolerance and respect towards diversity and demonstrating to have a wider vision on how and about can work the dynamics of the interpersonal relations and the tantalizing fascination that the same sex could exercise on ourselves, in which we see reflected as in a mirror, inevitably boosting personality and self-esteem.

An accepted proposal did not seal a marriage contract. Instead, a trial marriage ensued, during which the girl was called asqua, meaning “maybe married”. After sampling time had passed, the mother, after consulting the girl, decided whether the couple matches well. If it was not the case, the girl returned the presents and called the marriage off. Champlain claimed that some women had been married between twelve and fifteen times. Once a full marriage was deemed suitable to proceed, the bride was now called aténonha, or “really married”. The young couple lived in the bride’s matrilineal longhouse and the mother of the girl, whose authority was complete, was responsible for the married life of her children.

Finally, what can be deduced from this overview about Gantowisas women and Iroquois culture and political, economical and social customs, is undoubtedly that can’t be eluded and passed beyond their strong bond with the lands, with Mother Earth, they even resemble into the colour of their skins and with which they feel to be as one, from which they stretch out, to which they take on luxuriance and even dirtiness, adaptability and steadiness and in which they are firmly rooted. Remarkable in their life is the voice of natural elements they are able to be tuned in, with which they continuously talk in infinite returning, circular dialogues that disclose the mysteries of the awareness, from which they keep on learning erudite lessons, always different and new, whose they can read out the signs and secret messages guiding their deeds and addressing their thoughts, reshuffling their wittiness and intuitivity, with the slightness of the wind and the acumen of the eagle. Whispers of nature echoing sentiments of universal god’s love they try to translate in forms of beauty and art and put into practice giving a precise imprinting to the institutional and structural model of their communities on the base of this rudimental but essential pattern, in a synodal democratic itinere, from the greek “syn-hodos”, that’s “walking together”, transpiring a deep sense of brotherhood, in a missionary spirit of communion and participation, in a no one left behind society in which are all equal and have the same dignity.

[1] Canale P, Eternal feminine: an inspirational source of democracy – an insight on Iroquois culture in USA and Canada, Barnes and Noble, 2021

[2] Goethe, Faust, Oscar Mondadori, 2016 (fist publication in 1832) “Everything that can be perceived/is only a symbol;/the imperfect, which cannot be realized,/here makes itself reality;/that which cannot be described,/here finally completes itself./It is the eternal feminine,/always attracting us to the higher.”,

[3] Mulieris Dignitatem (August 15, 1988) | John Paul II (vatican.va)

[4] Canale P., “Life’s blooms. Illustrations in poetry…the silent side of beauty”, Barnes and Noble, 2021, Introduction

[5] Frances Nesbitt Oppel. Nietzsche on Gender: Beyond Man and Woman (core.ac.uk), 2006

[6] Bruce E. Johansen – Barbara A. Mann, Encyclopedia of the Haudenosaunee, Greenwood, 2000

[7] The Iroquois Book of Rites on JSTOR

[8] Barbara A. Mann, Iroquoian Women – The Gantowisas, Peter Lang, 2011

[9] Johansen B., E., Debating Democracy: Native American legacy of freedom, Clear Light Pub, 1997

[10] Native American Medicine Wheel Legends and Traditions (learnreligions.com)

[11] F. Minnella, “Il sogno, il rito, l’estasi. Le vie del peyote degli Indiani d’America”, Massari Editore, 1998

[12] F. Minnella, L’America non esiste…io ci sono stato, Gruppo Editoriale L’Espresso, 2012

[13] Heckewelder, History, Manners and Customs of the Indian Nations, Philadelfia- Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1881

[14] Matriarchal Studies :: The Americas

[15] Allen, Paula Gunn, The sacred hoop: recovering the feminine in American Indian traditions, Boston, Beacon Press, 1986; Jaimes, Marie Annette. “Towards a new image of American Indian women” , Journal of American Indian Education [online] Oct 1982.

[16] Reuben Gold Thwaites, ed. And trans., Les relations des Jésuits, or The Jesuit Relations: Travels and Explorations of the Jesuit Missionary in New France, 1610-1791, New York, Pageant Book Company, 1959

[17] Father Joseph Francois Lafiteau, Customs of the American Indians compared with the customs of the primitive times, Toronto, The Champlain Society, 1974

[18] Pierrede Charlevoix , Journal of a Voyage to North America, 1761; Ann Arbor MI: University Microfils, Inc, 1966

[19] Canale P., Eternal feminine, Ibid., chapter. 2

[20] Arthur C. Parker, An analytical history of the Seneca Indians, Researchers and Transactions of the New York State Archeological Association (1926, Kraus reprint co.1970)

[21] Benjamin Franklin “Remarks concerning the Savages of North America”, Benjamin Frankling Writing, 1783 (New York, the Library of America, 1987)

[22] The Iroquois Peoples - WorldAtlas, 2017

[23] James P. Ronda, “Forgotten Removals: the life and the times of Hendrick Aupaumut” Minnestrista Council for Great Lakes Native American Studies, 1991-1992 Proceedings of the Woodland National Conference (Muncie: Minnestrista Cultural Center and Ball State University, 1993)

[24] Nicole Terese Capton Marques, Divided We Stand: The Haudenosaunee, Their Passport and Legal Implications of Their Recognition in Canada and the United States, S. Diego International Law Journal, 2011

[25] Benny, Michael, "Iroquois spend $1.5 million to upgrade passports". CNYCentral.com. Barrington Broadcasting Group, LLC, 2011

[26] Barbara A. Mann, Ibid., p. 156-160

[27] Arthur C. Parker, The Code of Handsome Lake, the Seneca Prophet, New York State Museum Bulletin, University of State of New York, 1913

[28] Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu, The spirit of laws, Bell, 1914

[29] Rotemberg D., The Mothers of the nation, Ta’ wil books, 1992

[30] Canale P., Oneiric dimension- the dreams: a place where to find the spirit, 2021, http://sparklingmoonshine.blogspot.com

[31] Delâge, D. Le Pays Renversé; Amérindien ei Européens en Amerique du Nord-est,1600-1644, Montréal, Boréal Express, 1985

[32] June Namias, White Captives: Gender and Ethnicity on the American Frontier, Chapel Hill, NC: Unicersity of North Carolina Press, 1993

[33] Linda K. Kerber, Women of the Republic Intellect and Ideology in Revolutionary America, Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1980

[34] Elaine Crovitz and Elizabeth Buford, “Mercy Otis Warren”, Courage knows no sex, North Quincy,The Christopher Publishing House, 1978

[35] Shimony A., Ibid, Conservatism among the Iroquois

[36] Twaites Reuben Gold, The Jesuit relations: travels and explorations of the Jesuit missionaries in New France, 1610-1791, New York, Pegeant Book Company, 1959

Twilight of the idols, liquid society and post-sovereignty

2021-10-21T12:50:00.006-07:00

In the last decades, post-sovereignism has made its way as a turning point in the anti-establishment aftermath following the proclamation of sociological theories, such as that of the so-called liquid society, hoping for the creation of a utopian “Universal Human Nation.” Is it occurring a re-edition of the Nietzschean “twilight of the idols[1],” intended as a synonym of the failures of an over-institutionalization that is drifting apart from direct representation?

The usefulness of the concept of Sovereignty has often come under academic scrutiny.

Sovereignty is an evolving concept that had its roots in the notion of the Westphalian State, characterized by a clearly defined territory governed by a fully empowered authority.

While Bodin interpreted sovereignty as the absolute, perpetual and permanent power of the sovereign, coming from divine origins, that authorizes him even to break the rules of his predecessors, from Rousseau onwards, it was intended as the expression of the will of the people that legitimizes the sovereign to exert his unlimited power on the base of a “social contract.”[LS1]

Later authors, such as Grotius and De Vattel, believed that natural law is the origin of modern Europe and international law. De Vattel, in The Law of Nations declared that international law is the law of sovereignty and that a conceived international legal system is an optic of externalization of full national powers. De Vattel was inspired by the Dutch Grotius, author of De jure belli ac pacis, one the most famous theorists of the natural law doctrine that was extended to the international legal order. In a global context marked by the religious wars after the Reform, which brought into international relations all the bitterness of religious hate, and in consideration of economic factors, such as colonial expansion, trade development, and exploitation of discovered territories, Grotius founded the legitimacy of international legislation in the natural order, intending natural laws as a dictation of a just reason that would lead to the observance of international agreements by virtue of good will (pacta sunt servanda), even justifying a just war (bellum iustum) in the event that these rules were breached.

While, generally speaking, the nationalism of the past was outward looking, the present nationalism is inward looking, a bastion against global networking.

Beyond these general philosophical hints, what is happening within States today and what is intended as Sovereignism, Populism, or the combination of the two notions?

The sovereignism motto is “taking back control” over territory, with a flair for boundaries obsession, and in Europe it is characterized by so-called Euro-scepticism, ranging from the demand for soft reforms to a hard opposition to European institutions, emphasizing the importance of Nation-States. New sovereignists propose a redistribution of power in a populist critique of representative democracies, both politically and economically, aiming to regain full State control over ruling in order to protect people's well-being. They debate the dyscrasia between semantics and political structures.

While new sovereignism’s main claims concern the representative system and territorial boundaries, populists are more centered on people, as “they were first” (i.e., USA Trump, Italian Five Stars, Austrian Kurtz, Hungarian Orbάn), legitimizing authoritarian forms of government. Populists claim an exclusive (anti-system, anti-state, anti-intellectual, anti-party) nationalism. It is an ideology that considers society as divided into two groups: the people and the élites (“us” and “them”), and demonizes globalization for its direct threats to existential security, propending to economic protectionism, political chauvinism, and isolationism.

Bringing the two concepts together, populist sovereignism means respatializing power. This joint concept opposes the people to both élites and foreigners and is taking over current populist movements and parties, organized around Sovereignist goals. Populist sovereignty supersedes the divide between right and left wings, as shown by the Five Stars Movement in Italy or Le Pen’s far-right Rassemblement National in France, even though some remarkable differences still remain in place. For right-wing populists (reigning for about thirty years in Switzerland and having significant experience also in the Netherlands) a re-territorialization and zero-sum perception of the sovereignty of the Nation-State is the main ideological task to a accomplish, while the left-wing supports a transnational redefinition of re-empowered demos.

Quoting Bauman, in this post-modern liquid society, a digital techno-liquid generation is looming, epitomized by the coming technocracy that seems to fill the gap between institutions and people for a more direct democracy. This concept has been conveyed also by populists and has been proposed as techno-populism, whose workhorse, in the words of Abhram Lincoln, is a new “government of people, by people, for people,”[LS2] achievable by modern communication technologies. Techno-populism and technocracy have a common ground: considering technology as a framework and not as a tool[2].

Bauman believed that the post-modern human is a symbol of the unlimited enlargement of desire and that it doesn’t make sense anymore to talk about sovereignty in the Westphalian meaning. For example, within the EU, sovereignty is taken into consideration for the implementation of the competence partition, the principle of subsidiarity, and the preemption policy. Scholars have so far developed two main principles: that of pre-emption and that of supremacy, which are two sides of the same coin[3] The first doctrine determines to what extent national law may be applied; the second one, instead, is often debated by Member States that keep on remaking the importance of national constitutional limits. These two doctrines complement each other and are vital in the overlapping of legislative spheres. What is questioned nowadays, mainly by the Euro-sceptic is if the EU could effectively convey a neoliberalim, could soften economic inequalities and maintain the promises made at its birth of a place largely providing a real welfare state and proclaiming income distribution theories.

Coming back to Bauman[4], all this is happening because today we live in a transnational dimension, not uniform but multiform, that could be interpreted as “an archipelago of dyasporas” [LS3] where the hobos[LS4] are the products and the main receivers of globalization, contested by sovereignists. Thus, in his opinion, it would be detrimental to perch on statist and isolationist positions, and it would be beneficial to reopen a dialogue and learn to coexist in an irreversibly cosmopolitan, multicultural and multireligious society. By building walls, in fact, the risk is to find ourselves in front of a “fortress in the middle of nowhere.” [LS5] Presiding over borders and forbidding the arrival of foreigners is impossible and counterproductive because it would limit human evolution and progress.

Now, we must point out from where we come and where we are going to: are we facing off, once again, a twilight of idols and a political decadence, as preconized by Nietzsche in the 19th century? Likewise, are we assisting to another case of ever-recurring cycles of human history?

Similarly to Bauman’s belief about the postmodern human as a symbol of a disproportionate enlargement of desire, going beyond eroded nationalism and sovereignism and leading to an utopian and humanist one-world society, Nietzsche demonized reason’s trends to systematize and formulate notions that are just quixotic because they detach us from our senses[LS6] . Facing the alternative between dismantling or re-proportioning current institutional assets, starting from both Nietzsche’s and Bauman’s condemnation of over-structures, distant from the real needs of the individual, this common feeling of dissatisfaction has been taken by new sovereignists as a reaction against the pivotal globalist trend, stigmatized as the main source of present inequalities and injustices. Stemming from individualism, it would be preferable to find a sense of commonality to deal with this new reality. In fact, toppling down current institutions is unlikely and would cause an implosion of unimaginable scale, and thinking about an anarchist solution would be highly absent-minded. Instead, re-proportioning and reformulating this status quo would help to overcome the lack of adherence between people’s will and their representatives. Thus, revamping a perspective of significant reforms of national and international institutions, without losing sight what is perceived as the closest feeling of individual self-identity and basic common ground, would avoid further misrepresentation in the crumbling credibility of the effectiveness of the international legal order and is what is mostly revendicated at the moment.

Nowadays, we are going through a new critical epoch characterized by the reshuffling of the old sovereignist opinions, putting at stake, reframing, and oozing[LS7] défaillances of current institutional frameworks.

For instance, China-USA tensions and the lack of a tangible reaction by the EU or the UN system are paving the way for a second Cold War.

As a result of the flourishing of new sovereignism, we are witnessing to the gradual withdrawal of the US from international organizations, such as WTO and WHO, and the escalation of its geopolitical, economic, military and technological rivalry with People’s Republic of China, which started to join the main international organizations about forty years ago. China is a dominant actor in the international geopolitical scenery, proclaiming the protection of its sovereignty and its right of self-determination, other than an homeland domestic jurisdiction, even to justify violations such as political meddling into its neighboring states, especially Taiwan and Hong Kong, in order not to be expelled by these organizations or to avoid further sanctions. Chinese ambition to overstretch its power by its interventions in the East China Sea has been, in fact, internationally declared as “completely unlawful” and represents a formal premise of a new Cold War.

In the US, neither Democrats nor Republicans look kindly to Beijing, and the Washington choice of political ambiguity is focused on deterring China from its never hidden ambition of reunification with its neighbors and to avoid the situation spirals out of control, being both countries aware that a new war on a global scale would be detrimental.

In a battle of tit-for-tat countermeasures, such as restrictions on Chinese access to the US market by the implementation of sanctions in an outright tariffs war and bans (i.e., Tik Tok), followed by the closure of consulates and soaring technological competitiveness, these countries are increasingly distrusting each other in a reciprocal decoupling, although they are still economically interdependent.

In a comprehensive view, we can’t forget that the EU economy largely depends on its exports, and that it would be more likely for them to undertake negotiations with China than they follow the US leadership.

In addition to that, the international community keeps on denouncing persistent and systematic infringements on human rights and fundamental freedoms in China[5] (i.e., abuses against Uyghur minorities in Tibet and persecutions; a fierce repression of democratic demonstrations in Hong Kong against Chinese national security laws) and is stressing the difficulty of turning officially their officially proclaimed democratic declarations of principles into practice.

In the succession of these events, what’s the role of the UN? Is the UN Charter, relating treaties and legislation just an ambiguous enlisting of rights not implemented in an orthodox way and no more felt as binding by the people? States operating under the rule of law are internationally caught in a web of obligations they cannot disregard, but to what extent they feel to be nowadays bound to them? In order to make the UN fit-for-purpose for the challenges presented by the 2030 Agenda, and in the pursuit of its main functions including the maintenance of international peace and security, many institutional reforms have been discussed, first and foremost, about the Security Council. On this subject, it has been claimed a more effective inclusiveness of developing countries, such as African States that are facing key topics like water management, poverty eradication and women empowerment, among others, and are currently sidelined from the main decision-making roundtables, and the creation of a more flexible membership in order to reform the veto-system, avoiding by this way a block of the Council activities. Furthermore, since his election in 2017, Guterres has proposed a UN 2020 reform agenda focused on a leading role of the Secretary-General[6], including a revision of the Secretariat architecture, prioritizing the prevention of conflicts, a more coordinated delivery of UN services at the country level by UN agencies and programs, forging a people-centered system, and guaranteeing proper inclusion of women, minorities, and indigenous groups.

Under these assumptions, it’s clear that the UN has often failed, especially in the last decades, to prevent wars and to fulfill its peace-keeping and peace-building tasks and that an overhaul and shaking-up of its legal system seems to be urgent and irrenounceable, being evident that its de jure authority is more and more far away from its de facto power.

A shifting balance of power and rapid globalization of threats—from the economic downturn caused by Covid-19 restrictions and the increase of the public debt in the least developed countries, to the traffic of drugs and arms sponsored by terrorist groups and the environmental crisis—challenge the UN to update its anachronistic mindsets. As a result of these sociological observations and political countermeasures to contain widespread dissatisfaction and dissent, we could talk today about a post-sovereignty era, referring to a phenomenon of revitalization of a Sovereignty-based paradigm that can push equal States to be bound by really legitimized international institutions and by a renewed international legislation, in the pursuit of an effective mirroring of the will of people in what has been defined as the “eternal return” of Sovereignty. In this perspective, significant revisions are ongoing, aiming at giving a consistent answer to ordinary people that find themselves more and more cut off from the control rooms of democratic decisions[a8] .

[1] Nietzsche F., Twilights of the idols, or, How to philosophise with a Hammer,Hackett Publishing Company, Inc., 1997

[2] De Blasio E., Technopopulism and direct representation, Taylor & Francis, 2020

[3][3] Schΰtze R., European Union Law, Cambridge University Press, 2018

[4] Bauman Z., Liquid Modernity, Cambridge, 2000

[5] http://www.hrw.org/ asia/china-and-tibet

[6] https://www.unmultimedia.org/ tv/unifeed/asset/2524/2524594

[LS1]It is difficult to discern the meaning of this paragraph, as it is rather wordy and indirect. Perhaps this can be rewritten to present a concise analysis of the difference between the interpretations of sovereignty.

[LS2]Please include source information for this quote.

[LS3]Please include source information for this quote.

[LS4]Is “hobos” the correct term here? Please confirm.

[LS5]Is this a quote from Bauman’s work? If so, please include source information.

[LS6]Can this sentence be rephrased for clarity? It is a bit hard to follow and could be condensed.

[LS7]The term “oozing” dos not seem to fit the context. Please confirm whether revision is needed here.

[a8]General suggestion: paragraphs normally do not contain just one sentence. Consider where such paragraphs in the piece can be merged into other paragraphs.

Palestinians caught in a vice grip during COVID-19 pandemic

2021-10-21T12:05:00.003-07:00

^{On March 2020 took place the
third general elections for the 120 sets on the Knesset. The results have seen
the victory of the right-wing Likud party, leaded by Netanyahu, obtaining 58
seats, although his charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust in Nov 2019,
and the left-wing “Blue and white” party, headed by Gantz. After several
compromises, the 20th of April an emergency government of national unity was
established for a limited period of time of 36 months, presided by Netanyahu
for the first 18 months and by Gantz during next 18 months, under the approval
of the president Rivlin. During the first phase, Gantz will be vice-premier and
Minister of Defence. The shifting on the guidance of executive will be regulated
by a Knesset’s law. This even slight predominance of Likud party will entail
the implementation of the US President Trump “deal of the century”, which encompasses
the Israel annexation of the occupied West Bank territory, including the Jordan
Valley region and some nature reserves. As a matter of facts, Israeli government
has been authorized to bring such a plan, that would include up to 30% of the
total West Bank area, to debate in the Knesset since 1 July 2020.}

^{AI underlines that this agreement
would worsen the “flagrant” human rights breaches occurring in the cited
territories, the impunity of the war crimes, crimes against humanity and other
gross violations. Being annexation an acquisition of territories by the
use of force, it’s infringing at the same time the art. 2 (4) UN Charter, norm
of jus cogens that expressly
prohibits the threat and the use of
force, both against the territorial integrity or political independence of any
State and in any other manner incompatible with the purposes of the UN. This
plan would extend Israeli law to the OPT, not changing their legal status. In fact,
under domestic Israeli law, it’s nothing else but an Israeli settlement expansion,
thus denying civil and political rights to Palestinians, their freedom of
movement, of speech, of association, equality and non-discrimination rules.}

^{As well known, the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict is one of the world long lasting struggle between
two self-determination movements: the Jewish Zionist and the Palestinian
nationalism, claiming the same territories, and during this atavic conflict
Israel has been accused of Apartheid against non-Israeli people, as in South
Africa. On both sides, have been recorded unlawful killings, that are crime of
war, arbitrary detentions, many forms of discrimination, human trafficking, denial
of humanitarian access, abuses and maiming of women and children, used as human
shields and forced to be involved in military actions in an overall framework
of clashes, incitation campaigns and retaliations.}

^{According to many Ngos, In his annual report on children and armed
conflict, the UN Secretary General Guterres reported in June 2020 the omission
from the “list of shame” of States
perpetrating these crimes the Saudi-led coalition, Yemen, Myanmar and also
Israel, despite these kind of abuses have been well-documented by UN and many human
rights associations and organizations all over the world are asking this list will
be evidence-based, avoiding to coddle powerful countries.}

^{The uprising of the turmoils in
these strips of land are likely to escalate to a planetary level. In front of what has been described by A.I. as
an incoming “law of the jungle” following last elections, it’s currently urging
international community to strengthen the implementation of international law remarking
that any annexation of the occupied West Bank is nul and void. It’s also
claiming an halt of the construction of Israeli illegal settlements and
infrastructures in the OPT and all trades with them, decryingamong other
violations against Palestianian rights, the right of return of the refugees, supporting
ICC investigations and calling on governments to provide political and tangible
contributions and proofs to the Court on the ongoing situation.}

^{According to art.47 of the 4th Geneva
Convention, protected people in occupied territories shall not be deprived of
their rights as the result of an occupation, neither by any agreement concluded
between the authorities of the occupied territories and the occupying powers,
nor by any force agglomeration of whole or part of the territories. Moreover,
it’s not clear what will be ruled out about citizenships and residency under
this incorporation of lands. Israeli PM Netanyahu affirmed that Palestinian
residents in the areas wouldn’t get Israeli citizenship also after annexation.}

^{Getting advantage of the illegal
block in Gaza and fragmentation among the OPT population, annexation would
result in a mass-expropriation of lands and home demolition, thus violating also
the adequate housing right (in 2019 Israel demolished 617 Palestinian
structures and evicted 899 people in the West Bank). The law of occupation
prohibits demolitions if not necessary for military operations. Punishing
demolitions are collective punishments, thus forbidden by international law as
well as the transfer of prisoners in the occupying country, being in Israel occurring
administrative detentions, with no fair process, of about 4600 people.}

^{The PA, governing body of
autonomous Palestinians regions, and the paramilitary PLO called international
community to impose sanctions against Israel and started boycotts and disinvestment,
declaring to consider this expansion as a “declaration of war” and that Israeli
will endure their resistance in any forms .}

^{On the wave of the USA proposed
“Deal of the Century”, an “International Conference on the Question of
Palestine” was held last February in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, gathering practitioners,
academics and civil society, in order to thwart the phenomenon of unilateral
actions and to implement the substantive exercise of inalienable rights in
Palestine. In this occasion ASEAN Member States were urged to continue their
operations in the pursuit of the justice and peace and was rebutted the uselessness
of a new plan and the necessity of giving effectiveness to agreements and UN
resolutions already existing, on the basis of the “two-State formula”.}

^{More precisely, the 28 Jan, Trump
administration held a press conference in the White House, announcing the “Peace
to prosperity: a vision to improve the lives of the Palestinian and Israeli
people” plan, that was welcomed by the new Israeli coalition government. It
proposed the incorporation of the existing Israeli settlements in West Bank;
Jerusalem as undivided Israeli capital; a territory for the future Palestine,
including parts of West Bank, Gaza strip and some Jerusalem surrounding;
linking means of transport with Palestinian territories, by building new roads,
bridges and tunnels; freezing for 4 years Israeli settlement constructions; US
embassy in Palestine; investment of $ 50 billion to build a new Palestinian State.}

^{In Europe, France and UK, but
also Arab countries, such as Gulf Arab States, have highlighted and recognized
that, although their Israeli backing, this plan is objectively occurring in straight
violation of international law, thus execrable and severely affecting and
damaging Palestinians human rights, not even ensuring the international minimum
standards and the right of repatriation.}

^{The PA and the League of Arab
States, among others, rejected the plan and under the mounting pressure of
Tunisia and Indonesia, USA proposed many amendments. It’s crystal clear that latest protests against the announced plan and the lockdown
security measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19, have dragged Palestinians
in a hell of oppression and restrictions that considerably limit the freedom of
civilians that are currently exacerbating further clashes and opposing counter-attacks,
trespassing the ban of gathering due to the pandemic and the quarantine
imposition, being their lives at risk in any case.}

^{The outbreak of Coronavirus in
2019 has opened new dialogues and collaboration purposes between Palestinians
and Israelian in the attempt to ease the peaceful process in the Middle Est, being
the watchword a strong cooperation on the ground, both locally and
internationally. Nicholay Mlandenov, the Bulgarian Special Coordinator for the
Middle East Process in the UN Security Council, underlined the “inspiring
example” of cooperation in these lands, before the elections, in the fight for
the marginalization of Covid-19 and seized the moment to impact communities in
order to make further steps toward peace and to reject unilateral decisions. In
this perspective, UN has delivered over $ 1 mln of aid items, such as
protective equipment and test kits, for Palestinians hospitals and clinics, due
to their insufficient funds. Special Coordinator added that UN will do his
utmost for the well-being and safety of Palestinians and Israelis, ensuring
that no less than $137 million would be transferred to the region in the coming
four months. UN acts in this direction especially through the Middle East
Quartet, composed of Russian Federation, USA, EU, UN, that see cooperating the
world’s existent superpower countries and institutions involved in the
pacification of these areas, their agencies (i.e. UNRWA and OCHA) and WHO. The
1 July hundreds of Palestinians gathered in Gaza and West Bank against the
annexation. The following day, Pope Francis summoned the US and Israeli
ambassadors for preventing an escalation of violence, reckoning that the state
of Palestine and that of Israel have the same right “to exist and live in
security, within international recognized borders”, discouraging unilateral
actions.}

^{The Pope and UN are, in fact, in
search of an establishment that seems will never happen, trying to demonize the
upcoming of a new world conflict, triggering an international alarm to stop
this crusade and massacre of civilians. The Holy See recognized the State of
Palestine in 2013, soon after followed the recognition by the UN with the
status of non-Member State Observer... Last March also the Muslim World League urged the moral duty
of an interfaith partnership to overcome the crisis.}

^{In order to limit the spread of
the virus, Israeli government has approved a legislation for a partial lockdown
and has increased restrictions of movement for people and trade, exception done
for health and humanitarian workers in Gaza strip. It has imposed a curfew in
the West Bank and also tactically allowed counter-terrorism surveillance to
track infections. On the other hand, in Palestine an internal cooperation has
been tightened between Hamas and Fatah.}

^{Israel was one of the first countries
to close its borders and imposed restrictions when the global pandemic first outburst
by adopting measures such as the suspension of public prayers. The PA followed
its example but the mosques are still opened.}

^{The Israeli Minister of Defense and
the alternate PM Gantz has announced that it would be desirable that the
propagandized annexation would take place after the proclaimed state of
emergency due to the coronavirus. In fact, the Palestinian Ministry of Health,
last week, said that 2636 people have tested positive for Covid-19 compared
with 1256 recorded a week ago, expressing the fear of a “second wave” of
infections, after the lockdown lifting measures of last May.}

^{What furthermore is inflaming the
crisis is the Palestinian economic dependence on Israel, especially for the
150.000 Palestinians working in Israel (5000 in Gaza) with official permit and
about 60.000 work illegally in Gaza strip and West Bank. Their average daily
income is 250 Israeli shekels (about $70 per day), so the adopted restrictions
mean depriving hundreds of millions of dollars addressed to the Palestinian
market and a decline of their purchasing power, due to the lack of liquidity, halving
Palestinians civil servants wages. Moreover, the health measures imposed at
Israeli airports, crossings and ports have impeded the arrival of imported
products from Palestine, whose exportations have been banned. To get things
worse OPEC continues to cut oil exports, raising the prices. The WB reported in
April that, if Coronavirus crisis and relating economic aftermath wouldn’t have
a countertrend, Palestinian economy will shrink by 7%, causing an unprecedented
collapse. Palestinian Financial Minister
has already asked Israel a loan of 500 million Israeli shekels ($141 millions)
per month until the end of the pandemic but it’s unlikely it could get it.}

^{So, in conclusion, the economic
downturn, the spread of Covid-19 and the paralysis caused by the stark
contraposition between both nationalisms, claiming the same lands by reason of
their religious auspices, perspectives and aspirations funded on their believes, have shed light to the weakness of the
international efforts in the Middle East, and in particular in Israel and Palestine,
putting them in the hands of Trump’s American hegemonic policy of “America
first” mainly driven, not only by ideological, but also anti-terrorist aims. Although
resounding speeches, has been revealed a consistent lack of democracy and effective
protectionism of liberal values, especially on hand, from USA, and through
continuous terrorist attacks from Palestinian organizations conducting
terroristic activities, such as i.e. Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, al-Aqsa
Martyr Brigade and LFP, on the other, bearing in mind that “terrorism” has been
defined in 1994 by the UN as “criminal
acts intended or calculating to provoke a state of terror in general public, a
group of persons or particular persons for political purposes are in any
circumstances unjustifiable, whatever the considerations of political,
philosophical, ideological, racial, ethnic, religious or any other nature that
may be invoked to justify them”, it’s
clear that on both sides the destiny of innocent civilians, that are daily
struggling simply for their livelihood is again put at risk. Economically screwed
up and politically undermined, many Palestinians are actually living in danger
and violence, are often forced, with no escape, to be enrolled in military
corps, terroristic or legally recognized, in order to avoid indigence, in a
quest for revenge and social redemption.}

^{Once again, in the slowness and inadequacy of the
political summits in the control rooms of power to find out equitable solutions,
clumsy changing strategies in the international arena, long distant from the
alarming and dramatic reality, this is one of the saddest quarrels in which are
one more time helpless and martyred civilians that keep on paying the highest
penalty for superpowers damages, their unready answer and adequate proposals in
a framework in which are the extremist position to do the big part and is left
less and less space for moderate forces to negotiate peaceful and long-lasting
solutions.}

Bolsonaro in the Russian Roulette: his strenuous and hazardous efforts to overcome environmental and climate change emergency

2021-10-21T12:02:00.002-07:00

What have been done to our 1^st “Planet Green Lung” and how the countries all around the world are managing to meet the international standards and to marginalize the misfits of Bolsonaro infringements of human rights, among which it should be obviously cited environmental crimes and disregarding in the compliance with international standards and agreements undertaken during fora and MoUs?

The Amazon region is the largest and probably the oldest tropical rainforest in the world[1], covering an area of 6.000.000 km2, comprising the most heterogeneous existing biodiversity in the globe. Amazon Tropical rainforest belongs to nine nations and its 60% is in Brazil. “The Central Amazon Conservation Complex” is inscribed in the World Heritage List and protected under the 1972 “Convention of concerning the protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage”.

The ongoing deforestation, a clearance or clear-cutting of wide portions of vegetation in order to convert them to different uses, one of the main key points of this discussion, is more alarming in the Amazon, inflamed by wild fires, provoked not only by global warming, but also by the unpunished illegal activities that put in danger the health conditions of thousands of people. It’s been lamented by many NGOs that, since Bolsonaro took office in 2019, the environmental law’s enforcement has been negligible as, already during his 1^st year of government, this phenomenon increased by 85%.

According to Amazon Watch, man-made deforestation is mainly due to small scale subsistence agriculture and croplands (according to FAO, the 70% of the formerly forested lands in the Amazon is used for livestock pasture), razing a huge amount of acres, using pesticides and chemical agents, cattle-grazing, extracting fossil fuel, mining, building large-scale hydroelectric dams and highways, making things worse and riding roughshod over Indigenous people's rights, whose loggings and territories have been brushed away, for real estate speculation. Furthermore, other than for these reasons, international trade for fuel and agricultural goods are pushing Brazil to a complete erasement. AW is proposing a development of green economy and autonomous solar systems energy. The rich variety of plants and animal species, playing an important role in maintaining biodiversity and the preservation of biomes, sequestering and storing carbon, controlling pollution are essential not only for human life of many Amerindians[2], or ”Indigenous people of America”, that inhabit these forests as hunter-gatherers or farmers, but for all the planet. Many kinds of quarries of precious metals (gold, silver, cotton) and fossil fuels (oil and natural gas) can be found underneath these rainforests but ravishing human exploitment, mining and drilling activities requiring a large amount of land, contributes to increase it, not even adding the damages caused by the climate change. To complete this overall description of the current facts, Amazon deforestation has been accelerated, as it was not enough, by Covid-19 pandemic. Brazil ranks the 3^rd place in the world for Coronavirus cases, soon after USA and India, counting over 18 million confirmed infected people and reaching the 2^nd death toll number involving 510000 persons. Economists expect a stagnation of the ongoing recession in 2020-21, causing in 2^nd quarter of 2020 a further shrinking of GDP by 4.1 %, the worst level since 1990. Jair Bolsonaro has been accused to downplay Covid-19, to have tried to sabotage the necessary public health measures and hiding the number of vaccinated people. His administration has weakened environmental law enforcement, giving a green light to criminal networks operating in the Amazon and has used intimidation and violence against forest defenders, also perpetrating other human rights infringements, such as erecting new barriers to accessing legal abortion, leaving unsolved the rampant problem of police killings, that continue unabated, and of the severely overcrowded prisons where detainees are often subjects to tortures, extortion and recruitment by gangs[3].

Many Ngos, first of all Hrw and Amazon Watch, underlined that often fires are not provoked by drought and adverse climate conditions but by criminals and that violence and the illegal unpunished deforestation business, worthing several millions of $. Mafia militias, living in remote areas, seemed to be very hard to be sift by the “Guardians of the Forests”, Indigenous communities trying to contrast these crimes and invasions, being not possible for them waiting for the intervention of authorities that are not investigating and prosecuting these culprits. Ibama (Instituto Brazilero do meio Ambiente and dos Recursos Naturals Renouàvers) keeps on indiscriminately imposing fines; Bolsonaro dismissed many environmental head agencies and argued that Ngos are just trying to draw the attention of the international community and put discredit on his government. MAPA, the Ministry of Agriculture, declared that Brazilian livestock and supply has been deadly targeted by Ngos and put in a shivery and unsteadily thrilling position Bolsonaro in the relationships of his country within the multilateral and bilateral agreements. For him it’s a real Russian Roulette.

Going to investigate the UN and EU sets of rules on climate change, we especially remember the 8-13-15 UNSDGs[4] that come to fit and enhance the principles of a wide range of agreements: first of all the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, UNFCCC, entered into force the 21^st of March 1994, has a near-universal membership and aims to prevent dangerous man-made interference with the global climate system. On this occasions first steps were made, borrowing a very important line from one of the most successful multilateral environmental treaties in history, the 1987 Montreal Protocol, in which Member States engaged themselves to act in the interests of human safety even in the face of scientific uncertainty. At the time, in fact, there was less scientific evidence than today. The goals of the Convention is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations "at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic (human induced) interference with the climate system" within a time-frame sufficient to allow ecosystems to adapt naturally to climate change, and to enable a sustainable economic development, allowing a system of grants and loans. managed by the “Global Environment Facility” , from Industrialized countries to less-advanced nations and sharing technology. After that, Paris Agreement, at the COP21 in Paris on 12 December 2015 and opened to signature to all 196 UNFCCC parties in NY since the 22 April 2016, after the so-called “double threshold”, and finally entered into force the 4^th of November 2016 reaching the ratification of the minimum quorum of 55 countries accounting for at least 55% of global emissions, among which Brazil. It is the first ever legally binding international agreement undertaken to handle the negative impacts of climate change. The USA withdrew from this agreement in 2020, but rejoined in 2021. The Paris Agreement continues to be a beacon collectively guiding nations and all parts of society forward. It’s not just a framework but a set of rules. It sets forth a lowering of global warming level under 2° C (3.6° F), preferably about 1,5° C and, in order to achieve it, urged the implementation of economic and social transformations, based on the most innovative scientific and technological tools provided. The Paris Agreement works on a five years cycle of climate actions and by 2020 each country has to submit a plan based on compulsory CNC (Nationally Determined Contributions) to reduce GHG emissions, to build resilience for the impact of rising temperatures, through long term development strategies, that are fundamental for setting out the priorities to be pursued contemporarily providing a general vision and direction for future development. The Agreement authorizes financial assistance to the most vulnerable countries in order to mitigate the crisis and to facilitate adaptation, the enhancement of technological development, the empowerment of the developing countries capacity-building, by the use of transparent procedures and information. These dangerous emissions should be reduced to a net zero by the 2^nd half of the 21^st century. No strict targets are imposed on the parties, but it’s expected they’ll go beyond these. After this agreement, many low carbon solutions and new types of markets have been sparked and more and more countries are setting out carbon neutrality targets, curtailing global emissions of 25%, especially in power and transport sectors, and by 2030 zero carbon solutions could represent over 70% of global emissions. The Green Climate Fund (GCF) – a critical element of the historic Paris Agreement - is the world’s largest climate fund, mandated to support developing countries raise and realize their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) ambitions. The GCF has so far contributed with about 200 mln $ to Brazil in total. It provides grant funding directly to the poorest and most vulnerable countries. Use grant funding to leverage private investment by combining grants with loans and equities from public and private sources, including bilateral and multilateral development banks.

Followed Kyoto Protocol, adopted in 1997, entered into force in 2005, fixed two commitments periods (a cut of GHG emissions in the atmosphere of 5% from 2008 to 2012, and of 18% from 2013 to 2020) meant to extend the 1992 UNFCCC that gathered consensus parties on tackling measures against global warming and human-made CO2 emissions. This Protocol promotes an offset of the carbon emissions, by the use of a regenerative agriculture, that’s turning many lands in grass fields. Tropics, in fact, are sponsored to remain the main “carbon sink” and oxygen producer of the planet, although the ongoing environmental devastations, and to keep on remaining an important réservoir for the absorption of carbon chemical compound trough vegetations and oceans, acting as the most important CO2 binder.

The Doha Amendment to Kyoto Protocol, entered into force in Dec 2020, intended to reduce GHGE to “a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system” for the second round period. In details, were targeted 6 kinds of GHGE, among which the most dangerous are carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide (N20), hydro fluorocarbons (HFCs) and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6). These goals has been mainly fixed for the developed countries, greatly responsible for that, and for the developing ones, taking into account their different capabilities to handle this degeneration. The Copenhagen Accord, instead, drafted in 2019 by the USA, on the one hand, the United States and on the other, in a united position as the BASIC countries (China, India, South Africa, and Brazil), relating to the same topics, is not legally binding and does not commit countries to agree to a binding successor to the Kyoto Protocol, whose round ended in 2012.

Shifting towards EU panorama, it must be noted that it’s the 2^nd most important actor in the struggle against the damages of the global changes aiming to become the 1^st climate-neutral continent by 2050, enacting internal initiatives and interacting with international partners for triggering adaptations to climate change and enhancing adaptation, intended as staggering scale up of the international finance a tougher engagement of local communities and a better coordination at international level.

The EU Green Deal, Dec 2019, encompasses measures such as cutting carbon emissions in the biosphere, investing on research and innovation, preserving natural environmental heritage. It mainly consist of a “European Climate Law“, pursuing 2050 climate-neutrality target into EU law, a “European Climate Target Pact” for societal mobilitization and sensitization on the issue, a “2030 Climate Change Plan” to reduce net GHG emissions by 55% by 2030 below 1990 level, instead of the previous target of 40%, a “European Strategy on Climate Adaptation” for resilience by 2050 to propel an abrupt friction against the unavoidable impacts of climate changes.

On 14 July 2021, the EC proposed a series of acts, the so-called “Fit for 55” proposals, setting out how it intends to achieve this neutrality:, that’s by a net reduction target of 55% of these emissions, below 1990 levels, as set out by “2030 Climate Target Plan” and “European Climate Law”. Transmitted for approval under the ordinary legislative procedures, they are focused on the implementation of the EU Emissions Trading System (EU-ETS), on strengthening the Market Stability Reserve .

“European Climate Law” objectives set long-term directions for a 2050 climate neutrality, creating a monitoring system on the progress made by the countries to be reported every 5 years, providing profitability for investors, ensuring this transition will be irreversible. By virtue of this law, the European Commission proposes the target of “net zero GHG emissions by 2050” to be reached in fairness and solidarity among MS. After being submitted for approval under the ordinary legislation procedure, this provisional agreement has been approved in April 2021, waiting for the compulsory procedural time for publication on OJEU. This has become the warhorse of Von der Leyen politics on climate change. The Commissions seems now more concerned about the future of the forests and admits that its target from 2008 are unlikely to be met.

Other these multilateral engagements, must be borne in mind more specific bilateral agreements with the LAC region. Biannual meetings for the “EU-CELAC action plan” keeps on taking place to yield dialogue on climate finance and to stimulate integration. Brazil and EU jointly work on fighting GHG emissions, deforestation and forest degradation, by enhancing researches, investments and diplomatic negotiations, and set a thematic programme, enacted from 2014 to 2020.

About International Climate Finance, in support to the European Green Deal, to achieve a sustainable environmental, societal and governance (ESG) finance, the EU addressed about the 20% of the EU budget on climate action in 2020, roughly € 180 billion, whose € 317.5 million in the first phase (2007-2014) to € 420 million in the second phase (2014-2020), through the Global Climate Change Alliance Plus (GCCA+), a European Union flagship initiative helping the world's most vulnerable countries, trying to preserve biodiversity, to prevent pollution and to stimulate a circular economy, also in order to support a sustainable recovery from the impact of Covid-19 emergency. The Commission presented on 14 July 2020, the “European Green Deal Investment Plan”, which mobilises € 41 trillion of sustainable investments over the next decade. It’s presented on 17 Sept 2020 its 2030 Climate Target Plan. The EU needs to invest approximately € 350 billion more every year during the 2021-2030 decade, even if the scale of investment challenge is beyond the capacity of the public sector alone and must be intersected by private stakeholders.

About the legal panorama enframing Brazilian main ties in the international relations, we must first of all remember that it’s a Member of the UN since 2007, of UNHCR since 2019, other than of OCHA, OAS, the Interamerican Human Right System and Mercosur, a regional integration process, established by Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay, and in 2021, by the backing of USA it will become an OECD Member. Remarkably important for Brazil is the Mercosur- EU Free Trade Agreement, that has been denounced by environmental activists and Indigenous rights campaigners to have had the main liability on the ongoing deforestation practises because of the beef market putting at stake the international goals set for combating climate change. The core EU legislation is focused on a transparency and accountability system in the global stocktaking, on the minimization and address of losses and damages associated with the adverse effects of climate change, the awareness of need of a better cooperation and understanding, a more effective action and support for emergency preparedness and risk insurance.

Evidently, Bolsonaro federal government is going through a down-shifting trend about his credibility and compliance with international commitments, although his tackled efforts. In 2017 the Brazilian Cooperation Agency, under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, started to coordinate international humanitarian efforts to face the main environmental and anthropogenic disaster management and post-disaster reconstruction, public calamity and armed conflicts, handing out, i.e., basic goods and services, but these efforts seemed to be long distant to fix and provide a full and definitive solution to the problem.

Could Amazon Brazilian governments lead to a real change and getting Bolsonaro out of the blue, reversing the sort of the country? According to Hrw, the governors of Amazonian States should, first of all, prove a real progress in protecting rights and addressing the escalating destruction of the Amazon tropical rainforests while sabotages against the enforcement of environmental law keep on occurring. Furthermore, has been denounced that should be disclosed complete and transparent information on what’s happening, should be impeded fraudulent land claims encroaching on Indigenous lands rights, as criminal mafia is not stopping to drive deforestation and to raze lands. This Ngo has urged foreign countries, especially USA, to help Brazil to come out of the crisis. USA, Norway, UK replied by forming an Accelerating Forest Finance (Leaf) Coalition, pledging several million dollars to Brazilians under the condition to demonstrate their cut of emissions. The 15 April 2021, US Senators made clear in a letter to the President Joe Biden that any such assistance should be conditioned on Brazilian authorities that have to make significant and sustained progress on reducing deforestation and to end impunity for environmental crimes, intimidation and violence against forest defenders. US Special Envoy for Climate Change, John Kerry, and US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, have echoed calls for results.

The “Amazon Governors Consortium” is trying to support environmental preservation and a sustainable development, by a monitoring system that has recorded that more than 11000 square kms of rainforest were lost in the last two years, nearly triple the maximum target Brazil’s committed to reach by 2020 and, from Jan to May 2021, roughly 2550 square kms were destroyed, 25% more than last year.

Bolsonaro is defending his position also against the attacks of French government about a report lamenting its concern about the capacity of the Brazilian government to conceal some agricultural activities, such as beef production, and destruction of forest lands. He promptly rebutted that is able to increase its beef, soy, and corn production reducing at the same time deforestation, taking advantage of the technological innovation provided by the international community. Behind the scenes, he keeps on mildening the environmental crimes connected with this phenomenon, furthermore holds that present Forest Code establishes general rules on the protection of native vegetation and allows, i.e., landowners in the Amazon to set aside 80% of their properties for environmental conservation, even without any compensation and incentive coming from government, but Ngos are proving his poor internal measures and volatile interest to contrast these crimes against humanity and his substantial lack of compliance with international commitments. Obviously, the purpose of Bolsonaro is to impede the block of the sustainable trade flow with the rest of the world, fearing to further sharpening the ongoing recession. He believes that, in addition to the aids internationally provided, taking initiatives such as emboldening ecoturism, as indirect measure, could be a great incentive for the preservation of their environmental heritage, promoting the uniqueness of Amazonian uncontaminated landscapes and species of flora and fauna and involving different activities, such jungle tours, sightseeing wilderness, native villages and exotic animals, it could drive positive economic changes.

For what concerns USA- Brazil relationships, we remember that the Stars and Stripes giant is the 2^nd largest trading partner of Brazil and the most important destination for its export. During the 18 February 2021 Kerry- Bolsonaro talks, he formally confirmed his zero-tolerance policy against environmental crimes and, in those of 5 March 2021 between the USA Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and the Minister Ernesto Arujo was renewed their good will to cooperate.

In conclusion, by virtue of all these considerations and going beyond, it can be deduced that more than any kind of ongoing conflicts and violence that are currently destroying the planet Earth, sliding down the overall situation of human rights abuses, exacerbating the precariousness of the economic ups and downs and deep sinking of developing countries, the onset of always new pandemic variants, the real emergency comes out to be the outright survival of our entire ecosystem, dangerously put at risk, that let’s fear the worst. Undermining the Green Lungs of our planet and making in suffering all living species in the Earth, altering and depauperating the biosphere and entire ecosystem suggest real worries about our destiny and can’t leave us indifferent: we keeps on inhaling toxicity and other kind of poisoning chemical substances, gunpowders, ashes from bruising fires and razed lands, other than keeps on adding crimes to crimes, exploitments, devastations, making all of us dirty and deadly suffocated in a desolate scattered trap!

The Thurnberg stinging accusation “How dare you!” has not been left out by the greatest international institutions and all we can hope is the “net zero emission of GHG by 2050 pursued by Von der Layer will turn into reality, but time is like a chain we can’t escape from: as an hourglass, any sand grain flowing away from one ampoule gets unavoidably into the other and let’s wondering about what will occur at the end of these games! It’s very short, tightening and thrilling our certainties, and, being the situation degenerating and worrying from second to second and many measures and intermediate steps still to be implemented, we should mainly rely on the societal solidarity, efforts and activisms, and let that the real driving engine of the change will start from the people, by facilitating an encounter between a top-down and a bottom-up strategy.

Bibliography and internet resources:

http://sdgs.un.org/goals :

UNFCCC

The Paris Agreement | United Nations

https://unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol

https://unfccc.int/process/the-kyoto-protocol/the-doha-amendment

https://www.climate-change-guide.com/copenhagen-accord.html

Human Rights Bodies - United Nations Digital Library System

http://legal.un.org/avl/studymaterials/handbook/english/book_1.pdf

https://www.greenclimate.fund

https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal

The 'Fit for 55' climate proposals explained | Centre for European Reform (cer.eu)

https://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/eu-climate-action/law
https://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/in-focus/eu-mercosur-association-agreement

Homepage — Inglês (www.gov.br)

Everything you need to know about human rights in Brazil | Amnesty International Amnesty International

Brazil | Country Page | World | Human Rights Watch (hrw.org)

[1] Tropical rainforests climate is characterized by the lack of a dry season (the monthly average precipitation is of at least 60 minutes) and are characterized by warm temperatures and high annual rainfalls. They can be classified in moist, montane and flooded rainforests. They cover about 31 % of the planet surface Between 15 mln to 18 mln hectares of them, an area of the size of Belgium, are destroyed every year, on average 2400 trees are cut down each minute. Rainforest covers the largest part of the Amazon region, most of the Guianas, southern and eastern Venezuela, the Atlantic slopes of the Brazilian Highlands, and the Pacific coast of Colombia and northern Ecuador.

[2] In the Amazon basin, Amerindians include Pigmies, Huaorani, Yanomamo, and Kayapo. Their cultivating system is based on swidden cultivation (also called slash-and-burn or shifting cultivation ), providing food and spices, such as coffee, chocolate, banana, mango, papaya, macadamia, avocado, sugarcane.

[3] To be remembered violence and threats in Tpajòs Basin and Yanonami Indigenous lands.

[4] http://sdgs.un.org/goals : 8) promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economy growth; 9) sustainable industrialization and foster innovation; 10) reducing inequality within and among countries; 12) sustainable consumption and production patterns; 13) take urgent action to combat climate change and its impact; 15) protect, promote and restore a sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainable management of forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation and biodiversity loss. (15.1) ensure conservation, restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services, in part forests, wetlands, mountains and drylands, in line with the obligations under international agreements; (15.3) by 2030, ensuring the conservation of mountain ecosystems, including biodiversity in order to enhance their capacity to provide benefits that are essential for sustainable development, take action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats, halt the loss of biodiversity, protect and prevent the extinction of threatened species, coordination with local and national planning

The outcry screams of Syria, plunging in a débâcle

2021-10-21T12:00:00.004-07:00

Still up to the ongoing days, seems to be more and more urgent the demand of an international humanitarian effort in Syria. “Venus screams” from the depths of her womb, yelling a sharp appeal for peace as to cause the same troubling implosion they’re facing if no solution will be found, and, in the name of suffering women, their children, their families, long for healing the daunted wounded face of the most vulnerable people overcrowding this developing country, spoiled out and crashed by 10 years of war, a down-turning deterioration of injustices, government corruption and political mismanagement to which has been added never-ending terrorist attacks and the consequent outraging escalation of violence, the spread of the Coronavirus, the mountain toll of overlapping sanctions, mainly set forth by UK, USA and EU, that, all together, have contributed to deteriorate the Syrian spiral of the economical crisis and financial bankruptcy.

The combined support of Russia and Iran, other actors involved in this dramatic scenery, of the Ba’athist government, effectively control of the largest part of the territories, divided in 14 directorates and 61 divisions, has greatly curtailed the likelihood of a political transition. The real thrilling international threat is represented by a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and Hezbollah attacks, (whose name means “Party of God”) supported by a military group. Since 2012, this armed fringe started to support Syrian government in its war against the internal opposition, which they describe as a Zionist plot aiming to destroy its tie with al-Assad in an anti-Israeli alliance. In fact, Syria is interested in regaining its Golan Heights, from which they were dispossessed since the Six-Day war in 1967.

The geographical dislocation of ethnic communities in its territory is significant to understand the main internal divisions between the different minorities and, above all, the moderate and extremist ideologies. The most battered zones are the directorates of Idlib and that Aleppo, on the northwest side, and the “The Autonomous Administration of North East Syria” that profoundly differ from the rest of the country, where al-Assad keeps on undisputedly exerting its power. Idlib is hotly revendicated by Erdogan, as, losing this directorate would mean to be defeated in its fight against PKK and its overall control on Syria North West was founded on the “Syrian Salvation Government”[1]. The other screwed directorate is Aleppo, whose capital, bearing the same name, is the second-largest city in the country. The Battle of Aleppo was the greatest military confrontation between the oppositions forces, Hezbollah, Shia militias, Russia, supporting Kurdish, and central Syrian government. In this bloody fight started in 2012, outflowing in the broader Syrian Civil War, lasted until 2017, when “The Interim Syrian Government”, the second internal opposition government, took over the directorate, fixing its headquarters in Azaz. The large-scale disruptive escalation of clashes, marked by the inability of the international community to provide an escaping solution from this status quo, and its importance led combatants to christen it as "mother of battles” or "Syria's Stalingrad".[2]

On the other side, “The Autonomous administration of North East Syria”, also called Rojava, inhabited by Kurds, is a region just recognized de facto, representing about 9 – 10% of the total population, and the largest present ethnic minority, counting 1,9 mln people. This is one of the four parts of the “Greater Kurdistan” and, in their lands, Kurdish human rights are significantly undermined[3].

Hezbollah’s deployed their militias in both Syria and Iraq to fight or train local forces against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), otherwise called Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), opposed to the SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces), supported by UK and USA. Hezbollah political program is social protectionist, focused on securing basic services, such as building schools, equitable working conditions and other welfare measures. That’s why it’s debated its belonging to the so-called “terroristic organizations”, although since 2005 their activities have been officially condemned by EU, UN, and other countries, such as Canada, USA, UK and Netherland, pointing out them as “terroristic” ones, especially referring to the those perpetrated against Israel, in response to its claims to stretch out its dominance in the region, for committing human rights abuses, genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, genocide and ethnic cleansing. In order to contrast this phenomenon, the UN implemented a Global Counter Terrorism Strategy (GCTS)[4], a unique global instrument adopted in 2006 for the improvement of the national, regional and international efforts, finding a commune approach among Member States aiming at taking practical steps for the enactment of a wide array of measures, ranging from strengthening State capacity to a better coordination within UN System and ensuring the preventive measures enactments and implementation of human rights.

Nowadays the Syrian Arab Republic is internationally targeted for having triggered chemical attacks, always denied, on Syrian civilians, as reported since 2012 by many Int Org, such as the UN, the OPCW, HRW, and other Ngos, npos and media services, and internally corroborated by cited national opposition governments[5].

Sheding light on the internal politics of the Syrian Arab Republic, the current Ba’athist President Bashar al- Assad, in power since July 2000, chief of military forces, proclaimed its Constitution in 2012, that formalized a semi-presidential form of government, in which the President is the Head of State and the PM the head of cabinet. In all country is applied the Sharia law, comprehensive of Quran, Sunnah, Qiyas (analogical reasons) and IJMA (juridical consensus). After the parliamentary elections held in 2016, the results still confirming him as President, resulted highly delusional for USA, UK and Germany and analysts keep on raising concerns about the decay of the regime. If it will truly fall down, the economical and political conditions of the country could throw the population into the chaos, more than realizing the so much coveted improvements claimed by humanitarian organizations and put at stake by USA, Russia, UN and EU.

The progressively changing approaches occurred during the different USA administrations show that after Obama relative disinterest in Syrian Affairs, except done for his engagement against ISIS crimes, the 2019 “Caesar Syrian Civilian Protection Act” imposed by Trump, come into force in June 2020 and that would “sunset” in Dec 2024, encompasses a set of sanctions against Syrian government in condemnation of the “war crimes” perpetrated against civilians, undermining and targeting infrastructures, military maintenances, and energy production (fuel shortages, especially from Gulf States) other than providing financial assistance in order to indirectly weaken Iranian and Russian influence in the country. Trump “maximum pressure” strategy let Syria sink in murky waters but has not been translated into a real progress on the political track, being ongoing diplomatic efforts still stagnant. Nowadays Biden administration, begun in Jan 2021, seems to be much more moderated but a new envoy to the country has not been appointed and the act has neither been amended nor repealed. Like before, Syrian affairs are looked through the lens of Iran and are considered more dangerous the situations occurring in Iraq and Yemen. In an overall conclusion of this excursus, a bilateral negotiation between US and Russia, under the aegis of UN, seemed to be the only solution to solve at least the matter of the humanitarian aids entry points at Syrian borders. Negotiations finally undertaken.

Referring to Syrian Arab Republic foreign policy, there has been virulent tensions with Turkey, Lebanon, Israel and Iraq, all middle weight powers led by authoritarian regimes. Among its allied, instead, it can counts on Iran and the “Arab States of the Persian Gulf”, from which it gets significant financial contributions, as a result to its participation to the Persian Gulf War. In this context, especially after the implementation of international sanctions, Russia keeps on extending its influence and military role to the country but the conflict is still evolving and its support is far from be determinant not only for lack of sufficient financial resources but also because of its ties with UN and other Int Orgs. Anyhow, it strives to balance Syrian and regional interlocutors and to find revenues sources to offset the costs of its military intervention.

On one hand, Russia prefers a more direct protection of al-Assad regime that has won the war and now intends to stabilize the country; on the other one, Assad is not inclined to seek any peace deal fearing the undermining of the State sovereignty under international pressure. After ten years of civil war, Assad regime has been undoubtedly weakened and he’s preparing for next elections. Its fading influence, in fact, could leave free way to a Russian undesired disproportioned interference.

In 2020 Russia imposed the shutdown of three of the four entry points used as gateways for the providing nutritional and sanitary aids, menacing to oppose its veto power within the UNSC. Finally, on Friday 10 July 2021 has been issued the res. 2585, allowing UN to enter the crossing point of Bab Al-Hawa for one more year, in help of millions of civilians living in dreadful conditions[6]. The day after, EU High Representative Joseph Borrell welcomed this resolution, supporting the depoliticization of the delivery of humanitarian aids and refugees relief, often obliged to live in camps or prisons abroad.

One of the main innovative measures adopted by UN in relation to the protection of Refugees, Stateless and IDPS, has been the “Global Compact on Refugees”[7], proclaimed in Dec 2018, providing a blueprint in the pursuit of a more solidary, predictable, shared and equitable responsibility among governments, Int Orgs, and the several stakeholders involved in the meetings and consultations on the matter, to ensure that host communities get the support they need and are implemented all their rights. Currently, the vast majority of Syrian refugees living in the countryside with no or scarce resources in the neighbouring countries - 1 of 20 refugees are accomodated in makeshift camps and prisons - have seen worsening their conditions because of the pandemic. UNHCR is currently providing humanitarian aids for essential needs and services, as primary health care and hospital treatments, livelihood support, protection against the most common risks, improving cooperation with national and local activities, and co-leads the “Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan” (3RP).

Although that, even after the UNSCR of the 10^th of July, diplomatic efforts are still facing a general standstill but it’s not paralysed yet, as demonstrated by final Russia support within the UNSC for the opening of the last left entry point for the delivery of humanitarian aids stock, to which it was previously reluctant. Other ongoing international agreements are more focused on Damascus as a distribution point of investments, financial transactions, medical and food replenishment.

In the recent past, other important UN resolutions on the protection of women and children involved in armed conflicts are the UNSCR 42396/2017, preventing counterfeiting, forgery or fraudulent use of IDPs, and UNSCR 2427/2018 about children and armed conflict, stressing the importance of the peace-keeping operations and the obligations of MS to comply with the UN Convention on the rights of the Child. On this topic, can’t be forgotten, the “Paris Principles”, declaring that children involved in criminal activities must primarily be considered as victims, not only perpetrators, and that the best interest of the child must be guaranteed in any case. They have the right of a restorative justice and rehabilitation[8].

Recently, in occasion of the Brussel IV Conference, co-chaired by EU-UN, held in June 2020, these two main Int Orgs started a joint action for long-standing financial investments in Syria and to get the region out of stagnation: it was announced the total grant amount sum of $ 2.2 bln for 2021 for this country and beyond $ 6,1 bln in loans. From June 2020 to Jan 2021 donors reported that grant contributions for 2020 reached $ 7.6 bln, exceeding 54% the original conference pledge and in 2021 25% more, going beyond $ 2.5 bln existing pledge. The three largest recorded donors has been Germany, USA and EU, accounting for 70% of the total contributions within the region, Syria being the main receiver. EU has never imposed a blanket ban on trade with this country: it’s still allowed a dual use of products in order to facilitate international peace and security process and prevent the proliferation of WMD. The main obstacles to be overcome, in facts, are embedded in the financial system and are structural in nature, Syria still being today a “red flag” for banks and other financial institutions.

By virtue of that, it’s unthinkable that the emergency could be solved just by donations of alms, without planning a new long-term strategic international approach and internal reforms more favourable to the defense of democratic rights and freedoms, in order to accelerate integration, to boost tolerance, to fight extremist violence and to make the nation self-starter and resilient.

About the direct and indirect impact of the unilateral measures, it must be specified that the first ones reached a pinnacle with the “Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act”. They directly targeted U.S.-Syria transactions and those with U.S.-made components or in U.S. $ (“primary measures”). The Caesar Act imposes then “secondary” measures targeting any Syrian transactions with foreign, third-party countries, institutions, companies or individuals. These last overtake any other unilateral measures imposed by EU or other countries and impede any chance of alleviation. Unilateral measures led to a sharp decline of all Syrian private sector exports, still being the import of oil and its derivatives about the 40% of the total, increasing Syria subordination to Iranian influence[9].

As indirect impact of unilateral measures, SYP exchange rate became strongly dependent on the flow of foreign aids, from Lebanese economy, and from the combatants financing. The complexities of the procedures implementing them are another reason for the significant transaction costs of derisking[10] and overcompliance imposed by foreign banks and companies that caused major difficulties in provisioning non designated products. No effective solutions have been put in place to deal with the consequences of these last practices for humanitarian goods, even in relation to UN agencies and Ngos[11].

These measures has caused during the ten years of war have caused an overall plummeting of 25.5% of GDP, an increase of the prices and raise of inflation.

Whilst EU, UK and U.S. sanctions regimes specifically envisage the possibility of licenses to allow otherwise sanctioned activities in the context of humanitarian work, these licenses are often reported as complicated and time consuming. The combined effect of the conflict, compliance concerns and the presence of financial sanctions has unintentionally eroded the ability for humanitarian actors to facilitate international payments addressed to Syria. These procedures and practices have hindered production, transportation and value chains, introducing high transaction costs and significantly reducing population resilience with a noteworthy impact plunging Syria’s into a vicious cycle, shackling it to foreign funds in order to get relief. The Syrian response often leans towards a voluntary boycott because, even where goods and financial transactions may be possible, the legal costs for undertaking due diligence and acquiring a license may be higher than the value of goods and services.

The UN 2019 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) has set out the framework within which it’s trying to respond to the large-scale humanitarian assistance emergency, on the basis of prioritized goals by sectors. The HRP, based on deep assessments and analysis, has presented urgent funding requirements to address these aids. It is anchored to three strategic objectives: saving lives and alleviating suffering, enhancing protection and increasing resilience[12].

In the hope to reach specifically targeted agreements, several initiatives have been proposed, by the implementation of exceptions to sanctions, throughout gradual steps of changes in diplomatic and economic relations other than for financial aids: USA and EU has proposed a phase 1 (diplomatic incentives for the re-establishment of diplomatic relations, participation in international forums, cultural exchange program and g a “white list” to channel financial transactions for trade not subject to sanctions); a phase 2 for an official reconstruction assistance, (expanding existing funding, rebuilding infrastructures) and a phase 3 (lifting EU and USA sanctions). It has been argued that, across all the 3 phases, the potential of snapback aftermaths, as the removal of the incentives, are inducted Syria to be hesitant to accept them and pushed it to ask for new and different agreements, before implementing internal reforms.

In conclusion, the main superpowers and Int Orgs are following an obstructed pathway of grants with conditions, not only for the delivery of humanitarian aids but also for many other political and economical aspects, diplomatic entrenchments, disproportionate restrictions in the name of Hezbollah terrorism and Syrian central government stance, responding attacks against attacks, jeopardizing alliances with Russia. The main UN objectives, as ensuring safe conditions for displaced in Syria and those obliged to flee abroad, are not at all easy to be achieved. Refugees and IDPs have also been at heightened risk of SGBV during the pandemic, many have been forced into survival sex or child marriages, and family tensions have seen a spike increasE of these phenomena. In this aberrant situation, UNHCR offices are receiving 10 times more the usual number of calls for protection. Since Jan 2020, UNFPA has distributed personal protective equipment to protect health workers, essential hygiene and sanitary supplies, funds for women’s leadership, economic empowerment, gender-based violence programs and essential life-saving sexual and reproductive health services for nearly one million people in need Syria.

The global Usa and the international community strategy led, in a way or another, to confine Syria, following the motto “Assad must go”, in order to induce it in a political transition under a severe international pressure, as the weaker Syria is, the more dependent it will become, but just sanctions would never help to transform the country in a modern economy and to rebuild the middle class. Now that both armed Assad oppositions and central government itself are on the verge of collapse, many European and regional states have reopened their embassies in Damascus. Nevertheless the conflict is not over, the presence of Turkish and US coalition forces in northern and eastern Syria continue to deny the government a complete military victory. In the meanwhile, Israel keeps on carrying out airstrikes against Iranian and Lebanese Hezbollah inside Syria. In this framework the several NGOs operating on the field, whose members often bravely don’t hesitate to put at risk their lives and to help the population to get out of limbo, run into huge hurdles in their attempts to implement their projects.

Thus, properly said diplomatic, intended as equal solutions in a perfect balance of interests of all the involved parties, are far from taking place. The implemented strategies adopted up to now are essentially made of sanctions aiming at producing a “chilling effect”, that subordinate the destiny of the country to hardly welcomed limitations and snapbacks, clearly insufficient to rebuild its capacities, leaving the whole country-system trapped in a network of rapidly changing alliances and essentially deepening its isolation. Finally, it can said for sure that the “hard line” could never be a good rescue gateway, especially if imposed to push government to get unshared solutions by reason of force majeure and more ad hoc solutions must be experimented to get out of this stalemate.

Internet Sources:

https://www.ispionline.it/en/pubblicazione/dilemmas-debate-syria-sanctions-29626

https://www.syriahr.com/en/168805/

UNHCR - Syria emergency

https://undocs.org/en/A/RES/73/167

https://undocs.org/en/A/RES/68/200

https://www.right-docs.org

Op-ed: Put women at the centre of Syria crisis response | UN Women – Headquarters

Bibliography:

“A path to conflict transformation in Syria – a framework for a phased approach”, Carter Center, Jan 2021

“US and EU sanctions on Syria”, Carter Center, Sept 2020

“Supporting Syria and the region: Post Brussels Conference financial tracking”, Report 11, March 2021 http://eeas.europa.eu

“Navigating humanitarian exceptions to sanctions against Syria challenges and recommendations”, Carter Center Report, 2020

Daher, Moret, “Invisible sanctions: how over-compliance limits humanitarian work on Syria challenges of fund transfer for Non-Profit Organizations working on Syria”, Impact, 2020

[1] Idlib is a directorate situated at the Turkish border, composed of a Jihadist population, sided with Turkish and USA, that financially support it. Since 2011 uprisings, it has been the focus of civilian violent turmoils evolved into an outright armed conflict opposed to the central government, for the conquest of the whole directorate, even after the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan closing of the controversy by the imposition of the ceasefire. In facts, soon, in 2015, followed the second Idlib Battle, set off by the al-Nusra Front and al-Sham, that in 2017 finally re-captured the capital of the district.

[2] The UN special envoy to Syria proposed to end of the war by granting autonomy to East Aleppo. The proposal was rejected by the Syrian government, hundreds of thousands of residents were displaced and the efforts made to provide aids to civilians and facilitate their evacuation were routinely disrupted by continued troubles and mistrust. Aleppo was condemned by UN for committing war crimes, including the use of chemical weapons along with Syrian government forces, the use of barrel bombs by the Syrian Air Force, the dropping of cluster munitions on populated areas by Russian and Syrian armies, summary indiscriminate executions of civilians and capture of soldiers by both sides. In 2016, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights pointed out this horrific events as "crimes of historic proportions", as it caused more than 31,000 people dead and destroyed the Old City of Aleppo, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

[3] Kurdish are persecuted and mistreated, no political parties are allowed for them, the use of their language is banned, it’s denied the right of name’s registration and Syrian nationality, their business is prohibited if they lack an Arabic name, their own public schools and educational materials are prohibited. After Rojava Revolution, central government is no longer in the position to enforce laws infringing international human rights and leaving Syrian civilians Stateless but these breaches are still occurring in practice.

[4] A/RES/60/288

[5] The attacks occurred in different areas of Syria, including Khan al-Assal, Jobar, Saraqib, Ashrafiyat Sahnaya, Kafr Zita, Talmenes, Sarmin and Douma. According with them, the deadliest attacks occurred in August 2013 (sarin attack in Ghouta, where were killed about 1800 people) and in April 2017 (sarin attack in Khan Shaykhun where were killed about 90 people). The most common ones used agents as chlorine, sarin and sulphur. Almost half of these, between 2014 and 2018, were perpetrated by aircraft and less than a quarter from the ground, other than odd unclear methods. According to a 2019 Berlin research study made by Global Public Policy Institute, chlorine was used in 91.5% of chemical attacks since 2012, when Obama said Syria has crossed the “red line”, so that, induced by Russia mediation, it had to start diplomatic talks with the USA. So, these took place but remained just speeches for the threat of a USA retaliation, and as many reliable media confirmed, it’s impossible to quantify the exact amount of chemical agents stored in Syrian arsenals. Also, the International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, set up by the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2011, found that human rights violations occurred during the Syrian civil war, also by the use of chemical agents, such as sarin.

[6] According to HRW, 13,4 mln people are in need of humanitarian assistance, 6,7 mln IDPs, 5 mln refugees and asylum seekers, whose 4,8 live in host countries just this year, the highest numbers since the beginning of the war.

[7] The GCR has four parts: an introduction setting out the background, guiding principles, and objectives of the global compact; the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF), as agreed to by Member States in Annex I of the New York Declaration; a Programme of Action setting out concrete measures to help meeting the objectives of the compact, including: arrangements to share burdens and responsibilities through a Global Refugee Forum (held every four years), national and regional arrangements for specific situations, and tools for funding, partnerships, and data gathering and sharing; areas in need of support, from reception and admission, to meeting needs and supporting communities, to solutions; arrangements for follow-ups, reviews and meetings.

[8] Paris Principles definition of “child associated with an armed force or armed group”: “any person below 18 years of age who is or who has been recruited or used by an armed force or armed group in any capacity, including but not limited to children, boys and girls, used as fighters, cooks, porters, messengers, spies or for sexual purposes. It does not only refer to a child who is taking or has taken a direct part in hostilities”; Paris Principles definition of “child reintegration”: “the process through which children transition into civil society and enter meaningful roles and identities as civilians who are accepted by their families and communities in a context of local and national reconciliation. Sustainable reintegration is achieved when the political, legal, economic and social conditions needed for children to maintain life, livelihood and dignity have been secured. This process aims to ensure that children can access their rights, including formal and non-formal education, family unity, dignified livelihoods and safety from harm”.

[9] The lack of fuel had a significant negative impact on electricity production, transportation, heating, agricultural irrigation. More importantly, these imports pass through border crosspoints controlled by armed opposition groups (AOG), including jihadist and terrorist organizations according to UNSC resolutions on one side and pro-government of Syria (GoS) militias on the other.

[10] As “derisking” is intended ”the practice of financial institutions putting an end to relationships with clients considered to be at high risk, notably because the perceived risks of money laundering, terrorist financing or being a designated entity or an individual on an international sanctions list, while offering limited return in term of profitability”, see “Invisible Sanctions: How Over-compliance Limits Humanitarian Work on Syria Challenges of Fund Transfer for Non-Profit Organizations Working on Syria,” Impact, 2000.

[11] According to the Res. 68/200 of Dec 2013, on “Unilateral economic measures as a means of political and economic coercion against developing countries” it’s urged “the international community to adopt urgent and effective measures to eliminate the use of unilateral economic coercion against developing countries that are not authorized by relevant organs of the UN or are inconsistent with the principles of international law as set forth in the UN Charter and that contravene the basic principles of the multilateral trading system,” condemning and rejecting them; furthermore, res. 73/167 of Dec 2018 added strong objections “to the extraterritorial nature of those measures which threaten the sovereignty of States, and in this context calls upon all Member States neither to recognize those measures nor to apply them, as well as to take administrative or legislative measures, as appropriate, to counteract the extraterritorial applications or effects of unilateral coercive measures”.

[12] The UN does not currently impose sanctions directly targeting Syria as a country or directly targeting the Syrian government. However, there are just few provisions impacting Syria: “Prohibition on trade in antiquities”- (UNSCR) 2199 (2015) that prohibited any trade in antiquities removed from Syria since March 15, 2011; UNSCR 2199 was intended to preserve Syria’s cultural heritage following widespread reports of looting by the Islamic State group and criminal gangs; sanctions on the Islamic State group; UNSCR 2253 (2015) that imposes “sanctions on IS and Al-Qaeda”, including both IS as an organization and individual named IS members, and prohibits their trade and commerce. These U.N. sanctions will remain in force until the UNSC adopts new resolutions amending or repealing the existing provisions.

The atrocious betrayal of Armenian ambitions in Nagorno –Karabakh - the “painful deal” among democracy, self-determination and territorial integrity

2021-10-21T11:58:00.007-07:00

The long-standing dispute ravaging Nagorno –Karabakh enclave, elapsing about four decades, since ‘80s up to nowadays, is politically conceived as a regional conflict potentially detrimental on a planetary scale because of the possible aftermaths that could involve a stronger repressive intervention of the allied powers and that has shaken and worried the international community.

Giving a kick start to the analyses of the events, we couldn’t consider the partnership tying Russian and Armenian Republic, one of the satellite States born from the ruins of the SSRU. Armenia has been, in fact, disappointed in its ambitions in occasion of the last reached “painful agreement”. In the international legal order, it seemed to have been mainly awaken the interest on the diatribe opposing Azerbaijan, a state with a Muslim majority, part of SSRU until 1991, the so-called Soviet Azerbijian, to Nagorno –Karabakh Autonomous Oblast’ (NKAO), as, since Feb 2017 referendum, what has been called as “Republic of ArtSakh”[1], with a new constitution based on a presidential government, aiming to targeted territorial claims in comparison with the past, pursuing independent and secessionist goals, even from Armenia itself, has shown to effectively lack the pre-requisites envisaged by the “Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States”, signed in Uruguay on Dec 26, 1933. This focal convention concerning Statehood was generally accepted as international customary law. In facts, not only NKAO hasn’t been enshrined in the list of the so-called, properly said, States but it hasn’t been even recognized neither by the international community, nor by Armenia itself.

The point is that, although Armenians represent the absolute majority in Nagorno–Karabakh, the principle of territorial integrity prevails on that of self-determination, in favour of the doctrine of the uti possidetis and the principle of inviolability of the borders, in the hope to leave unchanged the situation created after the SSRU dissolution, beyond the identity belongings, and the traditional, cultural and social ones.

That of the Armenian population is, thus, a claim of the ius cogens right of self-determination of people, as such not derogable by any contrary agreement. This principle, even if proclaimed in 1945 by the UN Charter, had a slight effectiveness. By virtue of UN Charter[2] clarifies that among the purposes of the UN there’s that “to develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples”. Principle further reaffirmed by the art. 55, at the beginning of the Chapter IX “International, Economic and Social Cooperation” and by the art. 76 that underlines how it must be taken in due account the “freely expressed wished of the people concerned” in the territories that undergo the trusteeship administration[3].

Since 1960s the General Assembly has started a real change, by the res. 1514 , “Declaration on the granting of independence to colonial countries and people”[4].

The ICJ will give, then, full execution to the principle, in a series of sentences to try a reconciliation in situations of conflict. Since then, it’s recognized to the people undergoing a foreigner domination the expectation to become a State, or to associate or integrate itself to another independent State, by choosing its own political regime. The relevance of this principle is even more understood if it’s considered that the international subjectivity, as capacity to be the addresser of rights and obligations, is not recognized directly to the people but to the State, that exerts an effective control on a given territory and upon the individuals present on the same.

The self-determination, instead, face the limit of territorial integrity, proclaimed by the art. 2, par. 4 of the Charter, according which the State Members are forbidden to use force. In the diatribe between the two nations, it can’t be forgotten that, even if inhabited by a community of Armenian ethnicity, the Nagorno Karabakh doesn’t intend to be part of the Armenian State. After a regular referendum, held on Dec 1991, it declares its own independence from the SSRU and the 6 Jan 1992 proclaimed the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh, internationally not recognized, even if the recognition is not per se a constitutive element of juridical personality but has just a political value, testifying the will of the States to undertake international relations with it. About this topic, the Security Council proclaimed a series of resolutions in 1993 (822, 853, 874 and 884), in which Nagorno Karabakh has been qualified as a contested territory, surrounded by seven Azeri districts. Thus, departing from this UN organ, it’s been considered as an outright military occupation by the Armenian State. The proposed solution. since then. has been the restitution of at least five of the seven districts connecting Karabakh and Armenia and ensuring the territorial continuity.

In this oblast’, where over the years have occurred Armenian ethnic cleansings, polgroms, persecutions and gross violations of human rights, last 10 November 2020 agreement kept on leaving the population unsatisfied. In order to establish order in the South Caucasus region, after three ceasefires, a failed agreement on humanitarian purposes and several rounds of negotiations, that never resulted in a treaty peace, the matter seems up to now to have been officially temporarily closed in the palaces of power. On this occasion Armenia and Azerbaijian finally agreed to halt the hostilities and, according with the joint declaration of France, Russia and USA that spearheads the OSCE Minsk Group, all foreign mercenaries should flee the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia would have to return the occupied seven districts to Azerbaijian. These countries pledged themselves to take any necessary measures to refrain a new escalation of the conflict and to comply with international humanitarian law, providing the necessary aids.

The deal authorized the deployment of 2000 Russians for peace-keeping operations for a period of 5 years and nowadays the Minsk Group is grappling with the preparation of a monitoring centre, composed of Russians and Turkishs, in order to test the civilian observance of the ceasefire. The agreement set out a reopening of the transport links among Armenia, Azerbaijan and NKAO in more protected areas. Besides territories, Azerbaijan declared its intention to hold a referendum on this issue. From this agreement, the uncontested winners resulted to be Azerbaijan and, secondly, its allied Turkey. In the international panorama, Iran welcomed this solution, not considering it so terrible, and, after having threatened a military intervention in the enclave to restore the altered order, it declared to be satisfied by the reached compromise that didn’t consecrate Turkey as the undisputed winner, as demonstrated by the decision of rolling out Russian peacekeeping forces. It also approved the marginalization of the phenomenon of IDPs and the restitution of the districts to Azerbaijian, stressing the importance of the compliance with the ‘90s UN resolutions, focused on the respect of the minority rights, and finally hoping for a rapid dismantling of Syrians along its borders. Although that, the ceasefire has already been broken by civil society, as Armenian fierce street demonstrations, led by part of the armed forces and of the public opinion that keep on rejecting the new tricky imposed dispositions, have re-started, asking for the resignation of PM and claiming early elections. Nagorno - Karabakh authorities affirmed to have been obliged to reach this agreement as, if the fighting would have been continued, they would have lost the whole Artsakh Republic in few days, causing an upper increasing number of victims.

The Armenians rebellion flared up, assaulting the Head of State building, blaming him to be a “traitor”. He officially retorts, instead, that the signature of this “painful deal” was necessary in order to avoid a conflict on a larger scale, mainly because of the Baku “iron fist” policy. It was nothing but the consequence of a deep analysis, conducted under the advice of experts, of the legal and political implications of the different possible solutions. In facts, Armenians reluctantly has had to sacrifice their historical vindications, cultural believes and identity claims at the mercy of the involved superpowers major interests.

In the interpretations and regulations of international law, there hasn’t been a novelty in the international legal order and hasn’t been written a new page in the history of human rights protection, although the worries expressed about the identity and sense of belonging of Armenians to Nagorno Karabakh, upon which has been decided a cruel and unfair fate, still remaining considered as a minority.

In addition to that, also Azerbaijian infringed the truce, lamenting that the progressive withdrawal of the Armenian forces has stopped and has even been triggered sabotage operations against civilians. Reasons why Azerbaijian security forces have felt to be authorized to undertake what they have considered anti-terroristic attacks.

During the negotiations was shown off a weary, too soft and less involved reaction of the States in solving the peaceful process on the direction of the protection of the violence suffered by these minority groups. Russians preferred to not exacerbate the real terms of the war, and although ideologically supporting the ex-Sovietic Republic, other than deploying a consistent amount of peacekeeping forces, preferred to remain politically neutral, aware that this choice would have overturned the destiny of its historical allied. They finally concluded not to have any strong economical motivations preventing them from choosing this diplomatic strategy, deciding, otherwise, to keep its geopolitical predominance in the area with the minor investment of resources without putting in jeopardy their relations with Turkey. After that, Armenia hasn’t wanted to cause a total war that would have cost a lot in terms of human and economical resources, and the USA, distracted by presidential elections, had no intention to intervene directly and preferred limiting its role as a Minsk Group member, until the situation wouldn’t have been degenerated.

The brokered solution didn’t answer to the consistent claims of human rights supporters, that repeatedly expressed their concern about the occurring war crimes and crimes against humanity. In facts, as neither Armenia, nor Azerbaijian are parties to the Statute of ICJ, they would be likely to go unpunished. Amnesty International, in particular, has denounced that the both armed forces committed extra-judicial executions, beheadings, mistreatments against prisoners and desecrations of bodies, pushing it to start impartial investigations about these responsibilities.

Today, in this region, by now become a hotbed of terroristic infiltrations and basis of Islamic terroristic groups that keep on reaping an increasing number of human rights violations, the main worry concerns humanitarian aids and the severe climate conditions characterized by chilling temperatures under the zero, facilitating the rapid finding of dead bodies, scattered in the battle grounds, full of anti-personnel mines, the return of IDPs and of the refugees in the land of origin under the control of the UNHCR, ensuring the supplies due to the Covid-19 emergency and the treatment of the prisoners of war, the hostages and detainees other than ensuring a social and psychological support to the civilians victims of abuses, that still suffer the worst consequences of these crimes occurring in the intentional abstention from straight stances by the intervened powers interested in the conflict and by a lasseiz faire of the international institutions, more engaged in providing help to civilians, following the before mentioned jurisprudential decisions inherent to the norms of jus cogens and the deployment of peacekeeping forces by Russia, in the hopes that the attempts done up to now could represent, even in the lack of tough decisions a deceleration in the perpetration of these crimes and terroristic attacks, a valid deterrent for this critical conflict. In case of degeneration, failure or further sabotage of the proposed solutions, this enclave is susceptible to become an outright tumour tissue for the equilibrium of the whole regional system in the Asian South- East. This so-called frozen conflict, that’s a “low intensity” conflict”, that alternates phases of tension to other of quietness, skirmishes to outright guerrillas, has left the matter neglected for long and instances disregarded by the international community. Nevertheless this quarrel “by fits and starts” keep on cyclingly re-emerge and has demonstrated to have too much profound roots to be easily eradicated. In the last months continue the political declarations and the summits to guarantee the civil protection of humanitarian damages deriving from the use of explosive weapons excogitated for open battle grounds ( artillery, rockets and grenades, cluster munitions) used against civilians in populated areas.

The history is studded with examples of States with claims upon territories by private groups advocating the right of self-determination. Generally speaking, besides the rare event of an originary territorial sovereignty on terrae nullius, today a new State acquires a territory ceded by another State or, totally or partially, subtracted, to its dominion, in the general denial of the territorial acquisition by the use of force. According to the Directorate General for External Policies of European Parliement[5], all analogue situations taking place in the Post-Soviet region are described as “frozen conflicts” or “black holes”, to designate all those territories upon which no State exercises its own jurisdiction. The pacific SSRU process of disgregation started in 1990, in fact, recalled unsolved national matters and inter-ethnic conflicts that the Soviet Federation kept dormant. Nagorno – Karabakh, composed of an Armenian majority, was an autonomous oblast’ in Azerbaijian. After this disgregation, pro-independency movements gave origin to the phenomena of secession and led NKAO to a sort of independence, although followed a particularly violent armed conflict, causing many IDPs. The actual situation of the four secessionist instances of Transintria, Nagorno –Karabakh, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, sometimes called “almost States” differ from each other for the degree of infrastructure and NKAO stands out for the lack of road links and for being surrounded by mountains. Each of them has its own juridical system and an apparatus of government that could be redirected to those of the States but, as a matter of facts, they have not created juridical novelties.

Today, Nagorno - Karabakh is part of the “Community for Democracy and Rights of Nations”, commonly known as the "Commonwealth of Unrecognized States". The situation of these “almost States” pushes us to reflect on the role of recognition by the States of the international community in the process of creation of a new State subject. As said, the main essential and objective criteria for the definition of State are the effective exercise of sovereignty on a distinct territory and the independent exercise of the power by its new government. About the first requisite, the PCIJ revealed that it is made up of the intention and willingness of States to act as a Sovereign and the existence continuous manifestation of this authority in the legal, executive and judiciary field, that must be taken in different consideration from those the State exercise by military occupation of territories or administrations characterized by peacekeeping operations in zones placed outside its borders. The ICJ, in the solution of territorial disputes, often base its judgement on the verification of the existence of a juridical title that determines the right of the contenders to govern. This juridical title becomes the foundation of the exercise of sovereignty and prevails on the effectiveness of government, not reckoned to be sufficient. These titles consist of the international treaties on territorial controversies or between previous States, first of all the treaties about borders, and the rights coming from the succession of States and from the customary principle of uti possidetis. This last principle, applied to the States born from the decolonization process, has been extended to other historical events, such as the dissolution of SSRU, and is now generally accepted.

The doctrine of “divided States”, as have been classified historical situations, such as the division of Germany, of Vietnam, of the Korea and of the China, to which are referred two symmetrical, divided and expressly recognized State subjects, can be hardly applied to the Post-Sovietic entities.

In the international practice as international bodies, both on a universal and regional level, they put at stake the requisite of the presence of a juridical title for the exercise of a territorial sovereignty, as demonstrated by the Security Council in 2014 about Iraq and the ECHR Court[6] concerning the Moldavia responsibility on territoriality and extraterritoriality and Russian intervention[7]. The Court reaffirmed in this last occasion to be responsible of the implementation of the ECHR principles even when a situation of fact, as the presence of a separatist movement, makes impossible for the State the exercise of its sovereignty on its territory and, about the extra-territorial jurisdiction, the Court reckoned that the State is responsible even when it exerts an effective control on an area outside it or can influence the local administration. None of these four Post-Sovietic entities can boast of the possess of a legitimate title and uphold the acquiescence or tacit agreement of the previous State, given the armed conflict that has characterized the separation process. They don’t even possess the second requisite of the independence.

International law for the protection of the territorial integrity keeps on being consistent with the relationships between States. The prohibition of secession and the right of territorial integrity is something concerning the pre-existent State and the third aggressor, not the secessionist movements, exception done for the case of external self-determination. The ICJ upheld to not be in the position to pronounce itself, even on the matter of “remedial secession”, when the right of self-determination is recognized to a population that suffers gross violations of human rights.

Particularly significant is to note how the external right of self-determination is guaranteed by the international law to a population but not to a minority. The existence of a new subject of international law is strictly connected to the exercise of the sovereignty on a territory and on the population placed in it. The requisites that testify the international subjectivity confirm to be factual in nature, related to the concrete capacity of the new entity to exercise its government. Synthesizing, generally speaking, international law protect the right of self-determination as a juridical title for the exercise of sovereignty only when the population is subjected to a colonial domination or to a foreigner occupation. So, the norm of self-determination completes that of territorial integrity of the States: the inexistence of a norm of international law for the protection of the right of a minority to separate itself from the State to which it belongs and to form a new State determines the baselessness of the rights of these entities to separate themselves from the States to which they belong. The historical facts so far occurred haven’t contributed to the creation of a customary law in favour of a secessionist self-determination. So, when the referendum doesn’t answer to the laws of legitimate State or is not the result of an agreement between the interested subjects, neither the State from which occurs the separation, nor the other States are obliged to respect it[8].

Another doctrinal feature, the so-called “premature recognition”, or recognition in fieri, underlines, nevertheless, a greater potential for the birth of a new State or at least it’s difficult to demonstrate that it doesn’t exist or couldn’t affirm it if the hypothesis will require it. OSCE and EU have stressed the importance to intervene especially in Nagorno – Karabakh, that, in comparison with other cases, is particularly internationally isolated. Furthermore, the belonging of an entity to an int org, even with a status of observer, doesn’t represent a collective recognition by their Member States.

The juridical condition of Nagorno –Karabakh demonstrates as, in the lack of consent of the involved State of the collective recognition, in our globalized society, can be outlined situations that survive to the military power of the State that supports or incites to secession, even if the new subjects could always go further the stage of “entity of fact” and be realistically considered as parts of the international community. In South Caucasus has not been possible finding a negotiable solution, by confirming the conclusions of the Supreme Court of Canada in its 1988 sentence about the secession of Quebec[9].

Under international law, these four Post- Sovietic realities must be read as an attempt to discard the customary principle of territorial integrity of the States, that contributes still today to reinforce the fragile equilibrium of the international community. Whatsoever intent to infringe or undermine it, it’s openly contrary or incompatible with the UN Charter. The inexistence of a right of a secessionist self-determination determines, in fact, the crystallization of the controversy with the previous State.

The political, economic, and juridical ties with third States that has facilitated the secession forbid the new subject to overcome the phase of a just formal independence: the recognition of a single country and of few allied states often transform the new subject in a ghost government and doesn’t favour the creation of a new sovereignty[10].

Furthermore, the debated elections in NKAO push us to consider that it’s always been upheld that the presence of democratic institutions within the new State entity was not relevant to the recognition. The USA and EU practice of recognition of States born from the dissolution of Yugoslavia and SSRU in the 1990s subordinated this element to an effective practice and process of democratization, not yet a created condition for the right of the new State to be recognized. The evaluation of the stage of democratization of the new subject keeps on being centred on political matters, as so far demonstrated, and even when a State will begin this serious kind of process, it wouldn’t automatically acquire the right of recognition and not even this kind of obligation by third States.

The not recognised Artsakh Republic is, even up to now, between the devil and deep blue sea: the Armenian domination, on one side, and terroristic attacks perpetrated by Azeri Muslims, on the other, under the warhorse of the right of territorial integrity.

What kind of future can be preconized for this enclave? Should it always refer to the support of other States or could minorities, small groups and entities be masters of their own? The same political leaders, by the “painful deal”, have to resign to a compromise solution, sacrificing and denying the internal claims of the population, evidencing a representational gap. None has had the lion’s share in the conflict, and has not be found a solution for urgent issues such as the spreading of terroristic activities and the alarming data about the famine, starvation, poverty in the Republic. In fact, by undertaking these positions, the international community insofar hasn’t contributed to solve the nitty-gritty roots of the problems. None has come out of the process completely satisfied and nothing has been done to make the world a better place to live in.

What kind of progress is facing values such as democracy and free determination in our days especially in this land? Could be said that in Nagorno- Karabakh could be implemented a sharing of these values on an equitable basis, between it and the States involved in the conflict? As said before, the community belonging to this enclave, is considered as a minority and, as such, we should have a look on the most important UN Declaration on this issue, that’s the UN Declaration on the rights of Persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, adopted by the GA in 1992 . Moreover, the art. 27 of the ICCPR states that “In those States in which ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities exist, persons belonging to such minorities shall not be denied the right, in community with the other members of their group, to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practise their own religion, or to use their own language”, a principle that is compassed within the broader one envisaged by the art.1 , s.1. of the ICCPR, according with “All peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development”. These formulations are valid, first of all, for the UN states Parties but they’ve become basic principles for all in the international community.

In order to conclude, quoting John F. Kennedy, “those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution possible” and that’s the case. In the pursuit of a dream of equality and democracy, in the same way and words of Martin Luther King[11] in 1963, calling for all unalienable civil, political and economic rights and an end to racism, you can win or sometimes lose, triggering off a fight for their realization, starting revolutions and wars, getting to terror, putting same values at risk and turning their nature in nightmare and destruction under the skin of the weakest, for high ideals’ sake.

Endnotes:

Contino Silvia, Alcune considerazioni sul processo di formazione di nuovi Stati nell’area Post Sovietica, Federalismi – Rivista di diritto pubblico italiano, comparato, europeo, febbraio 2020

G. Guarino, Autodeterminazione dei popoli e diritto internazionale, Napoli, 1984

M. Di Stefano, Il principio di autodeterminazione dei popoli alla prova del nuovo millennio, Padova, 2014

N. Ronzitti, Il conflitto del Nagorno-Karabakh e il diritto internazionale, Torino, 2014

Focarelli, C., Diritto Internazionale, V edition, Padova, 2019

[1] http://www.balcanicaucaso.org

[2] https://legal.un.org

[3] This last principle was a mere formality, considered the existence of colonies and regimes of racial segregation.

[4] A/RES/15/1514 - Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries - UN Documents: Gathering a body of global agreements (un-documents.net)

[5] Directorate-general for external policies, policy department, The Frozen conflicts of the EU’s Eastern Neighbourhood and their impact on the respect of human rights, European Parliement, 2016

[6] About ECHR sentences, see https://hudoc.echr.coe.int

[7] See, ECHR Court, 23 feb 2016, Mozer c. Moldavia and Russia, no. 11138/10

[8] See opinion no. 762/2014 of the Venice Commission, consulting body of Council of Europe.

[9] Supreme Court of Canada, Reference Re Secession of Quebec (Aug 20, 1998),in Int. Leg. Materials, 1998.

[10] M. Sterio, On the right of external self-determination: “selfistans”, secession and the great powers rule, in Minnesota Journal of International Law, 2010

[11] Some 100 years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation freeing the slaves, Martin Luther King climbed the marble steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. to describe his vision of America: “I still have a dream”, he said, “ a dream deeply rooted in the American dream – one day this nation will rise up and live up to its creed…we hold these truths to be self evident: that all men are created equal”, M.L. King, Aug 28, 1963, Washington, D.C., USA.