China’s recent failure to shield Pakistan from censorship by an international anti-terrorism funding and anti-money laundering body suggests that the People’s Republic is struggling to balance its contradictory interests in South Asia and may be trying to evade the potential cost of its long-standing support for Pakistani-backed, anti-Indian militants.

China’s balancing act became evident when it this month decided not to prevent the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a 37-member, inter-governmental agency, from putting Pakistan on a watchlist. FATF gave Pakistan three months to clean up its act in a bid to avoid being blacklisted for alleged lax controls on funding of militants.

The grey listing of Pakistan was tabled by Britain, France and the United States. The Trump administration has in recent months stepped up its criticism of alleged Pakistani support of militants and slashed military assistance to the country.

The FATF action could negatively affect the Pakistan economy. Pakistan risks downgrading by multilateral lenders such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) as well as by international credit rating agencies Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch.

Politically and economically heavily invested in Pakistan, China’s statements and actions in recent days have highlighted the squeeze the People’s Republic finds itself in. A Chinese official, quoted by Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper, said China had not shielded Pakistan in FATF because it did not want to “lose face by supporting a move that’s doomed to fail.”

Yet, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson days later noted that “in recent years, Pakistan has made important progress in actively strengthening financial regulations to combat terror financing… China highly recognises that and hopes all relevant parties of the international community could arrive at an objective and fair conclusion on that,” the spokesperson, Lu Kang, said.

The Chinese attitude in FATF constituted the second time in the last six months that Beijing criticized Pakistani policy towards militants. Leader of China, Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa grouped in BRICS, identified at a summit in China last September Pakistan-backed militants for the first time as a regional security threat.

China, which is investing more than $50 billion in the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a key node in its Belt and Road initiative that is designed to link the Eurasian landmass to the People’s Republic through infrastructure, has grown increasingly concerned about political violence in Pakistan. One focal point of Chinese concern is the province of Balochistan, home to CPEC’s crown jewel, the deep-sea port of Gwadar.

Balochistan has witnessed repeated attacks on Chinese targets by Baloch nationalists and Islamic militants. A Bloomberg reporter, recently granted rare access to Gwadar, described a “climate of fear” in a city patrolled by hundreds http://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/2134832/heavy-security-and-climate-fear-surround-chinas-flagship-port-pakistan of Pakistani troop whose foreign presence is almost exclusively Chinese.

The Chinese embassy in Islamabad warned its nationals in Pakistan in December against imminent attacks on Chinese targets. Since then, a Chinese engineer has gone missing near Islamabad in an incident that has since been declared a kidnapping while another Chinese national was gunned down in the port city of Karachi.

Pakistan has in recent months, in response to US pressure and in a bid to pre-empt FATF censorship, said it was cracking down on charities associated with Jamaat ud-Dawa (JuD), believed to be a front for Lashkar-e-Taiba, an anti-Indian group designated by the United Nations and the United States, as well as JuD’s leader, Hafez Saeed. Mr. Saeed has been accused of responsibility for the 2008 attacks in Mumbai that killed more than 170 people.

The sincerity of Pakistan’s response was called into a question last week when the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which is headed by the political party of cricket-player-turned politician Imran Khan, who is widely believed to have close ties to the military, gave $2.5 million to Darul Aloom Haqqania, a militant religious seminary.

Dubbed a “jihad university,” Darul Aloom Haqqania, headed by Sami ul-Haq, a hard-line Islamist politician known as the father of the Taliban, counts among its alumni, Mullah Omar, the deceased leader of the Taliban, Jalaluddin Haqqani, the head of the Haqqani Network. Asim Umar, leader of Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent, and Mullah Akhtar Mansoor, Mullah Omar’s successor who was killed in a 2016 US drone strike.

Pakistani law enforcement officials told a court in Rawalpindi this week that students at the seminary had been involved in the 2007 killing of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.The madrassah has denied any association with Ms. Bhutto’s assassination.

China’s refusal to back Pakistan in FATF constitutes recognition that the People’s Republic is walking a fine line as US pressure focuses on persuading Pakistan to crackdown on JuD, the Taliban and the Haqqani network.

China shielded Mr. Saeed, who has a $10 million US Justice Department bounty on his head, from sanctioning by the United Nations Security Council prior to the Mumbai attacks.

The People’s Republic has since repeatedly vetoed designation by the Council of Masoud Azhar, a fighter in the anti-Soviet jihad in Afghanistan in the 1980s and an Islamic scholar who is believed to have been responsible for an attack in 2016 on India’s Pathankot Air Force Station.

The militants, dressed in Indian military uniforms fought a 14-hour battle against Indian security forces that only ended when the last attacker was killed. Mr. Azhar was briefly detained after the attack and has since gone underground.

Men like Messrs. Saeed and Azhar serve China’s interest of keeping India off balance as well as the People’s Republic’s relations with the powerful Pakistani military, which it views as a more reliable partner than Pakistan’s unruly and rambunctious politicians.

The policy has, however, taken its toll and threatens to be increasingly risky. Despite a relative improvement, Pakistan has in recent years been wracked by political violence, some of which targeted China and its vast interests in the country. The country is also witnessing a wave of Sunni Muslim ultra-conservatism that breeds intolerance and, potentially, extremism.

Add the fact that China, increasingly concerned about the possibility of attacks in its north-western province of Xinjiang by Uyghur Islamic State fighters returning from Syria and Iraq to either the province itself or neighbouring Afghanistan and Tajikistan, risks being called out for a less than stellar attitude towards political violence.

Taken together, China’s contradictory Pakistan-related policy moves suggest that it may be graduating to a point at which it decides that it no longer can afford to play both ends against the middle. That would likely lead to China and the United States towing one line in Pakistan.

A new explanation for the Moon’s origin has it forming inside the Earth when our planet was a seething, spinning cloud of vaporized rock, called a synestia. The new model led by researchers at the University of California, Davis and Harvard University resolves several problems in lunar formation and is published Feb. 28 in the Journal of Geophysical Research – Planets.

“The new work explains features of the Moon that are hard to resolve with current ideas,” said Sarah Stewart, professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at UC Davis. “The Moon is chemically almost the same as the Earth, but with some differences,” she said. “This is the first model that can match the pattern of the Moon’s composition.”

Current models of lunar formation suggest that the Moon formed as a result of a glancing blow between the early Earth and a Mars-size body, commonly called Theia. According to the model, the collision between Earth and Theia threw molten rock and metal into orbit that collided together to make the Moon.

The new theory relies instead on a synestia, a new type of planetary object proposed by Stewart and Simon Lock, graduate student at Harvard and visiting student at UC Davis, in 2017. A synestia forms when a collision between planet-sized objects results in a rapidly spinning mass of molten and vaporized rock with part of the body in orbit around itself. The whole object puffs out into a giant donut of vaporized rock.

Synestias likely don’t last long – perhaps only hundreds of years. They shrink rapidly as they radiate heat, causing rock vapor to condense into liquid, finally collapsing into a molten planet.

“Our model starts with a collision that forms a synestia,” Lock said. “The Moon forms inside the vaporized Earth at temperatures of four to six thousand degrees Fahrenheit and pressures of tens of atmospheres.”

An advantage of the new model, Lock said, is that there are multiple ways to form a suitable synestia – it doesn’t have to rely on a collision with the right sized object happening in exactly the right way.

Once the Earth-synestia formed, chunks of molten rock injected into orbit during the impact formed the seed for the Moon. Vaporized silicate rock condensed at the surface of the synestia and rained onto the proto-Moon, while the Earth-synestia itself gradually shrank. Eventually, the Moon would have emerged from the clouds of the synestia trailing its own atmosphere of rock vapor. The Moon inherited its composition from the Earth, but because it formed at high temperatures it lost the easily vaporized elements, explaining the Moon’s distinct composition.

With reported demonic possessions on the rise in Italy, the Vatican is hosting a weeklong training to better prepare exorcists for ministry. Catholic leaders have said that the country needs more exorcists, and better training.

“Today we are at a stage crucial in history: many Christians no longer believe in [the devil’s] existence, few exorcists are appointed and there are no more young priests willing to learn,” said one of the event’s speakers, exorcist Father Cesare Truqui, according to Vatican News.

An exorcism course will be held at the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum in Rome from April 16-21. The training will focus on exorcism and the prayer of liberation, a prayer commonly used for deliverance from possession.

The event “is to offer a rich reflection and articulated on a topic that is sometimes unspoken and controversial,” Father Benigno Palilla, an exorcist from Sicily, told Vatican Radio on February 22.

Palilla told Vatican Radio that there are 500,000 alleged cases of demonic possession or activity in Italy annually.

He said demonic possession claims have tripled in recent years and attributed the rise in demonic activity to an increased use of fortune tellers and tarot cards.

He also said that many alleged possessions are actually psychological issues, highlighting the need for well-trained and discerning exorcists.

Palilla said those facing the demonic are in need of the prayers of all Catholics.

“The demoniacs are the existential peripheries to which Pope Francis drives us. They are people who suffer a lot and, unfortunately, are not included in the registry of the Church,” he said.

Father Palilla said there is a lack of formation in the church to prepare priests in this essential ministry.

“We priests, very often, do not know how to deal with the concrete cases presented to us: in the preparation for the priesthood, we do not talk about these things. And, consequently, a true evangelization is lacking.”

This has to be overcome by more than just an increase in available priests appointed by the bishops, he said, but must have an increase in exorcism apprentice programs.

“A self-taught exorcist certainly makes errors. I will say more: it would also take a period of apprenticeship, as happens for many professionals.”

By Umar Manzoor Shah

The coalition government of conflict-torn Jammu and Kashmir, India’s only Muslim-majority state, is facing a new threat to its unity as demands by pro-Hindu parties to deport Rohingya refugees continue to gain steam.

The pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), one of India’s two biggest parties, wants the Rohingya Muslims sent back to Myanmar despite tens if not hundreds of thousands having fled the country claiming religious persecution.

This has created a rift with the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), the BJP’s smaller coalition partner in this expansive northern state that borders Pakistan.

The PDP has refuted claims by the BJP that the Rohingya are a threat to national security who could be used by Muslim militants to attack India, as the issue continues to divide Hindus and Muslims in the region.

“The BJP should not communalize the settlement of the Rohingya Muslims in the state,” PDP spokesperson Rafi Ahmad Mir said in a statement that was openly critical of the coalition partner.

Mir told ucanews.com on Feb. 26 that the Rohingya in India are not illegal immigrants but are properly registered refugees according to the terms laid out by the United Nations.

He said they should be “protected by the international law of which India, too, is a signatory.”

Hindu groups have accused the Rohingya of shielding and supporting Islamic militants who they claim are fighting the Indian army to free the region from New Delhi’s control in a bid to create an independent Islamic state.

Mir dismissed the accusations, none of which have been proved, as bizarre figments of a collective imagination.

“The Rohingya are living in squalid, tragic conditions. Do you think they are capable of attacking an army?” he asked.

“These are communal and political statements and they are completely groundless.”

The state serves as home to 1,219 Rohingya families making up a total of 5,107 people, according to official records. Most live in makeshift shanties on roadsides and work as daily laborers or collecting scrap.

Harsh Dev Singh, a senior leader of the pro-Hindu Panthers Party, sees the Rohingya refugee issue as a “ticking time bomb” that needs to be defused without delay.

He has launched a campaign to stop the Rohingya settling in the state out of concern they enjoy the patronage of Pakistan-based terror groups like Lashkar-e-Toiba and Hizb-ul-Mujahideen.

“We will intensify our protests unless the Rohingya are deported from the state soon,” Singh told ucanews.com

“They are destroying the state and we won’t stand by silently and watch.”

Mir said the campaign against the Rohingya is based largely on religious differences.

“The Rohingya are Muslims. The politicians want to communalize the situation to eke out political gains,” he said.

“But they are also human beings and have certain rights. The hate campaign against them must stop without further delay,” he added.

Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya have fled their native Rakhine State following violence and discriminatory treatment in Buddhist-majority Myanmar.

The Myanmar government considers them migrants from Bangladesh, where they also face discrimination.

PDP President Mehbooba Mufti, who also serves as chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, told legislators last year there are no confirmed cases of the Rohingya being tied to incidents related to militants.

Cephalopods — which include octopuses, squid, and cuttlefish — are masters of disguise. They can camouflage to precisely match their surroundings in a matter of seconds, and no scientist has quite been able to replicate the spectacle. But new research by Leila Deravi, assistant professor of chemistry and chemical biology at Northeastern, brings us a step closer.

The chromatophore organs, which appear as hundreds of multi-colored freckles on the surface of a cephalopod’s body, contribute to fast changes in skin color. In a paper published last week in Advanced Optical Materials, Deravi’s group describes its work in isolating the pigment granules within these organs to better understand their role in color change. The researchers discovered these granules have remarkable optical qualities and used them to make thin films and fibers that could be incorporated into textiles, flexible displays, and future color-changing devices. Deravi’s lab collaborated with the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development, and Engineering Center for the study.

Chromatophores come in shades of red, yellow, brown, and orange. They are similar to the freckles on human skin that appear over time. But in cephalopods, these freckles open and close within a fraction of a second to give rise to a continuously reconfiguring skin color. Underneath the chromatophores is a layer of iridophores that act as a mirror. Together, these organs reflect all colors of visible light.

By removing individual pigment particles from the squid, Deravi was able to explore the breadth of their capabilities as static materials. One particle is only 500 nanometers in size, which is 150 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair. Deravi’s team layered and reorganized the particles and found they could produce an expansive color pallet.

“We’re showing these pigments are a powerful tool that can produce ultra-thin films that are really rich in colors,” Deravi said.

Her team also discovered the pigments can scatter both visible and infrared light. This enhances brightness and light absorption and affects how a final color is perceived. And when Deravi engineered a system that included a mirror — mimicking the layout of organs that squids have naturally–she was able to further enhance the perceived color through scattering light through and off the granules. This process could potentially be replicated on functional materials like solar cells to increase the absorption of sunlight, Deravi said.

“From a scientific and technical engineering perspective, understanding how light scattering affects color is very important, and this is an exciting new development in the field of optics in biology,” said Richard Osgood, a collaborator from the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development, and Engineering Center. “This is an unusual harnessing of optics and physics knowledge in scattering to understand biological systems.”

The researchers made spools of fibers from the squids’ pigment particles and are now exploring uses for the material. The fibers are so visually interesting that it’s not difficult to imagine weaving them into fabric for clothing or other art forms. But perhaps the most exciting possible application is wearable, flexible screens and textiles that are capable of adaptive coloration. Osgood said the research could allow the Army to create new capabilities for soldiers.

“For more than a decade, scientists and engineers have been trying to replicate this process and build these devices that can color match, color change, and camouflage just like the cephalopods, but many of them come nowhere near the speed or dynamic range of color that the animals can display,” Deravi said. “Cephalopods have evolved to incorporate these specific pigment granules for a reason, and we’re starting to piece together what that reason is.”

The United States could reliably meet about 80 percent of its electricity demand with solar and wind power generation, according to scientists at the University of California, Irvine; the California Institute of Technology; and the Carnegie Institution for Science.

However, meeting 100 percent of electricity demand with only solar and wind energy would require storing several weeks’ worth of electricity to compensate for the natural variability of these two resources, the researchers said.

“The sun sets, and the wind doesn’t always blow,” noted Steven Davis, UCI associate professor of Earth system science and co-author of a renewable energy study published today in the journal Energy & Environmental Science. “If we want a reliable power system based on these resources, how do we deal with their daily and seasonal changes?”

The team analyzed 36 years of hourly U.S. weather data (1980 to 2015) to understand the fundamental geophysical barriers to supplying electricity with only solar and wind energy.

“We looked at the variability of solar and wind energy over both time and space and compared that to U.S. electricity demand,” Davis said. “What we found is that we could reliably get around 80 percent of our electricity from these sources by building either a continental-scale transmission network or facilities that could store 12 hours’ worth of the nation’s electricity demand.”

The researchers said that such expansion of transmission or storage capabilities would mean very substantial – but not inconceivable – investments. They estimated that the cost of the new transmission lines required, for example, could be hundreds of billions of dollars. In comparison, storing that much electricity with today’s cheapest batteries would likely cost more than a trillion dollars, although prices are falling.

Other forms of energy stockpiling, such as pumping water uphill to later flow back down through hydropower generators, are attractive but limited in scope. The U.S. has a lot of water in the East but not much elevation, with the opposite arrangement in the West.

Fossil fuel-based electricity production is responsible for about 38 percent of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions – CO2 pollution being the major cause of global climate change. Davis said he is heartened by the progress that has been made and the prospects for the future.

“The fact that we could get 80 percent of our power from wind and solar alone is really encouraging,” he said. “Five years ago, many people doubted that these resources could account for more than 20 or 30 percent.”

But beyond the 80 percent mark, the amount of energy storage required to overcome seasonal and weather variabilities increases rapidly. “Our work indicates that low-carbon-emission power sources will be needed to complement what we can harvest from the wind and sun until storage and transmission capabilities are up to the job,” said co-author Ken Caldeira of the Carnegie Institution for Science. “Options could include nuclear and hydroelectric power generation, as well as managing demand.”

Researchers find that a substance indicating oxidative damage increases in urine as people get older. The study, today in open-access journal in Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, also describes a way to easily measure levels of this marker in human urine samples. The new marker potentially provides a method to measure how much our body has aged — our biological rather than chronological age. This could help predict our risk of developing age-related disease, and even our risk of death.

While everyone born in the same year has the same chronological age, the bodies of different people age at different rates. This means that, although the risk of many diseases increases with age, the link between our age in years and our health and lifespan is relatively loose. Many people enjoy long lives, relatively free of disease, while others suffer chronic illness and premature death.

So, if our age in years isn’t the most reliable indicator of aging in our bodies, what is?

Some researchers consider normal aging to be a disease, where our cells accumulate damage over time. The rate of this cellular damage can vary from person to person, and may be dictated by genetics, lifestyle and the environment we live in. This cellular damage may be a more accurate indication of our biological age than the number of years since we were born.

Finding a way to measure biological age could help to predict the risk of developing age-related disease and even death. We also need to be able to measure biological age to know whether treatments to slow aging – which may be possible in the future — are effective.

One mechanism thought to underlie biological aging involves a molecule vital to our survival – oxygen – in what is called the free radical theory of aging.

“Oxygen by-products produced during normal metabolism can cause oxidative damage to biomolecules in cells, such as DNA and RNA,” explained Jian-Ping Cai, a researcher involved in the study. “As we age, we suffer increasing oxidative damage, and so the levels of oxidative markers increase in our body.”

One such marker, with the catchy name of 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanosine — or 8-oxoGsn for short — results from oxidation of a crucial molecule in our cells called RNA. In previous studies in animals, Cai and colleagues found that 8-oxoGsn levels increase in urine with age.

To see if this is true for humans as well, the researchers measured 8-oxoGsn in urine samples from 1,228 Chinese residents aged 2-90 years old, using a rapid analysis technique called ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography.

“We found an age-dependent increase in urinary 8-oxoGsn in participants 21 years old and older,” said Cai. “Therefore, urinary 8-oxoGsn is promising as a new marker of aging.”

Interestingly, levels of 8-oxoGsn were roughly the same between men and women, except in post-menopausal women, who showed higher levels. This may have been caused by the decrease in estrogen levels that happens during menopause, as estrogen is known to have anti-oxidant effects.

The team’s rapid analysis technique could be useful for large-scale aging studies, as it can process urine samples from up to 10 participants per hour.

“Urinary 8-oxoGsn may reflect the real condition of our bodies better than our chronological age, and may help us to predict the risk of age-related diseases,” concluded Cai.

Ever wonder how the television, radio and newspaper people select whom they are going to interview or get quotes from when they are reporting the news or producing a feature? I do. What I’ve learned is that they go to guests that are connected with the established powers—such as think tanks in Washington, D.C. that work on “the military industrial complex” policy (to borrow President Eisenhower’s words) and somehow lean toward more war mongering (e.g. NPR and the U.S.-Iran relationship) or backing more weapon systems (such as a new nuclear bomb arsenal and more F-35s and air craft carriers).

You won’t be hearing from MIT Professor Emeritus Ted Postol on the chronic failures of the anti-ballistic missile program (spending $13 billion this coming year).

Whether it is NPR, PBS, the network news programs, the Sunday news interview shows and too often the New York Times, Washington Post, Associated Press and the Wall Street Journal their interviewees are the defenders of the status quo or those with corporatists’ viewpoints.

These news outlets seem oblivious to the blatant economic conflicts of interest inherent in groups such as the Heritage Foundation, the American Enterprise Institute and professors who moonlight with corporations. These interviewees have economic and ideological axes to grind that are not disclosed to the general viewers, listeners and readers, when they are merely described as “experts.”

There are real experts and specialists, with no axe to grind, who are so ignored by the media that they have almost become nonpersons, despite their past proven records of achievements for the public interest, and for the people’s well-being.

Here are some examples of experienced people whose veracity and honesty you can take to the press and media outlets:

1. David Freeman, probably the most knowledgeable, experienced authority on energy in the United States. A lawyer and engineer, he was an advisor to Presidents, Governors, ran four major utilities, including the giant Tennessee Valley Authority. He was also the author of key studies on energy policies starting in the nineteen seventies and presently is negotiating the shutdown of California’s last atomic energy plant with its owner, Pacific Gas and Electric Corporation.
2. Nicholas Johnson, former FCC Commissioner, author of many books and timely commentaries on communications subjects (e.g. “How to Talk Back to Your TV Set”) and has been teaching at the University of Iowa Law School.
3. Karen Ferguson, head of Pension Rights Center since the mid-seventies, has been involved in Congressional policies, judicial decisions, organizing retirees to assert their rights and generally watchdogging the increasing pension crisis in our country.
4. Jamie Love, the expert on drug patent abuses, drug industry pricing power, international efforts to counteract these “pay or die” policies. He has been a major figure in bringing down the price of AIDS drugs for developing countries.
5. Rena Steinzor, law professor, author of books such as Why Not Jail?, organizer of the Center for Progressive Reform and corporate crime specialist.
6. Janine Jackson, long-time media critic documenting weekly noteworthy bias, censorship and commercial distortion of the news.
7. Danielle Brian, director of the Project on Government Oversight has had much to say accurately about the massive military budget, redundant weapon systems and their waste, fraud and abuse over three decades.
8. Jesselyn Radack, former Justice Department lawyer, represents whistleblowers on national security wrongdoing and is an acknowledged legal expert on free speech in these sensitive areas.
9. Greg LeRoy, directs Good Jobs First and knows a great deal about corporate welfare, giveaways to sports stadiums, Amazon and the whole ‘business development’ subsidies at the local and state level in the U.S. He is the author, among other publications, of The Great American Jobs Scam: Corporate Tax Dodging and the Myth of Job Creation.
10. Mark Green, one of the nation’s experts on campaign finance rackets and reform, author of over twenty books, including Losing Our Democracy, and experienced as a candidate in New York State elections.
11. Ralf Hotchkiss, former MacArthur Genius awardee, inventor and founder of Whirlwind Wheelchair and a successful advocate for people with disabilities having mobility without having to pay monopoly prices for shoddy wheelchairs in the U.S. and developing countries.
12. Lois Gibbs, coming out of the Love Canal tragedies in Niagara Falls, NY, she organized arguably the leading grass roots movements against poisoning of neighborhoods around the country. She is an accomplished author, a speaker and is the director of the Center for Health, Environment and Justice, which works with hundreds of local citizen fighters for health and safety.

Some of the above were featured in the mass media years ago; others have been relegated to the shadows of our public news and features for almost their entire careers. The slanted selections by media gatekeepers are getting worse. Increasingly, TV and radio anchors interview their own reporters, not experts like Robert McIntyre, lawyer and founder of the highly regarded Citizens for Tax Justice. Too often the Sunday network TV political shows tap into the same stable of Washington pundits and commentators.

Readers and viewers can make their own lists of media-excluded, knowledgeable persons, be they at the local, state or national levels. On our public airwaves, after the FCC repealed the “Fairness Doctrine” in 1987, bloviators such as Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Mark Levin, completely dominate our airtime with their corporatist and hate-filled soliloquies. These “champions” of the free market have no problem using the public airwaves free of charge. As owners of the public airwaves and buyers of print journalism, let’s demand higher standards for experts in journalism. Let’s demand that the media seek out people who know their facts and work in the people’s interest and give them airtime.

By Ayjaz Wani*

A story published in the Financial Times on 19 February revealed China’s strategy of adopting Pakistan’s state policy of wooing “good” terrorists for its intended self-gains. The story exposed China’s clandestine talks with Baloch militants for “more than five years to protect the $60 billion worth of infrastructure projects it is financing as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)” and have made “a lot of progress by not making a forceful push.”

Covert romancing with terrorists is not new to China, especially in the Af-Pak region. China’s appeasement policy towards terrorists has a long history, starting with the “Baren incident” in the restive Xinjiang province that took place between Uyghur militants and Chinese government forces in April 1990. The Baren incident was the outcome of militants who participated in proxy war for Afghanistan against Soviets and Islamists trained in the Af-Pak region.

According to Chinese officials, Uyghur militants used automated weapons against Chinese security forces throughout the Baren town. The uprising lasted for several weeks in which 23 were killed and 232 got injured. But, according to other sources and indigenous population whom the author met in 2013 as part of his PhD research, more than 1,600 people were killed in the incident. After the incident, China tackled the Xinjiang problem with an iron fist, arrested more than 10,000 Uyghurs, put a control on religious activities and started “ethnic cleansing” through mass migration of Hans from other parts of China. China’s internal actions to curb the uprising in Xinjiang created global uproar for mass human rights violations. Externally, besides strategic reasons, China also started its romanticism with terrorists in Afghanistan and Pakistan to make Xinjiang secure from centrifugal tendencies and terrorist activities.

The romance started in the late 1990s, when China held talks with Taliban for the shutdown of Uyghur training camps in Afghanistan. The Taliban representatives gave assurances from time to time. However, the year 1997 once again saw the reinforcement of ethnic separatism and “Islamic fundamentalism” in Xinjiang. In February 1997, Kulja in northwest Xinjiang became the centre of violence between Uyghur militants and Chinese forces, in which, according to official Chinese account, more than 120 people died and thousands got injured. Uyghur sources, on the other hand, claim that this wave of violence resulted in the killing of more than 400 natives. Internally, once again, China gave immense powers to security forces and started its “strike hard campaign” to curb terrorism, separatism and extremism in the province. Chinese authorities in Xinjiang arrested 2,773 terror suspects and seized 6,000 pounds of explosives and 31,000 rounds of ammunition.

After 1997, China adopted an external policy to reinforce and help authoritative regimes of Central Asia for curbing all Uyghur activities in their countries and also started a fresh round of high-level talks with the Taliban. In November 2000, Chinese ambassador to Pakistan held talks with Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omer. This was the first time when a senior diplomat of any non-Muslim country had a meeting Mullah Omer. Mullah Omer promised that Taliban will not allow Uyghurs to launch attacks in Xinjiang against the interests of China, with the condition that they will continue to remain in the Talibani ranks.

After 9/11 attacks, the United States dethroned Taliban from Afghanistan. The Chinese state maintained their relations with Quetta Shura, the Taliban leadership council based across the border in Pakistan for security and peace in their sensitive and strategic Muslim-dominated region of Xinjiang. There are reports that China openly provided arms and ammunition to the Taliban as the US military presence in Afghanistan made it feel encircled by the Americans to an extent even greater than was the case before the Afghan war.

In December 2017, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi pitched for talks between the Afghan government and Taliban at a trilateral meeting between foreign ministers from Pakistan, Afghanistan and China in Beijing, which is against the Indo-US interests and also against the stated position of the Afghan government on this issue. Therefore, it is easy to also see the real intention behind the Chinese strategy of inviting Afghanistan to become part of the CPEC.

Towards the terror groups in Pakistan, China used same strategy as in Afghanistan, but the reasons are much broader, more strategic and motivated by strong economic and political undercurrents. China was the only country among the 15-member United Nations Security Council (UNSC) that blocked India’s bid to designate Masood Azar, the chief of Jaish-e-Mohammad, as a global terrorist in November 2017. China has kept its “technical hold” on the ban of Masood Azhar even after President Xi Jinping started his second term in office. The factors that shaped the policy of China to romance terrorists in Pakistan, which is further reinforced by its repeated technical hold on Masood Azar, are intended to create a trust-worthy impression of China among terror outfits in Pakistan. But here, the factors are much more complicated than in Afghanistan.

The first reason is to secure the $60 billion worth of Chinese investment and its human resources working on the multitude of CPEC projects, as a sizeable part of the CPEC runs through the disputed area of Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK). The CPEC is exposed to direct threats from the terror groups which have found safe haven in the illegally occupied areas as also from Indian security forces in case of any escalation of conflict between India and Pakistan.

The number of Chinese living in Pakistan in 2017 has reached 30,000 to 40,000 against 10,000 in 2009. More than 15,000 to 20,000 Chinese are directly working on CPEC projects. Though Pakistan has promised to provide security to CPEC projects and the Chinese workers, the decrease in the number of attacks and killings of Chinese workers is actually thanks to the Chinese outreach to terror groups and political support extended to Masood Azhar at the global level. How else, is it possible that in 2017 only two Chinese workers were killed in the terror sanctuaries of Pakistan in Quetta? These killing were not done by any of the terror organisations in the Af-Pak region with whom China had political understanding, but by the terrorists of the Islamic State (IS). Such is the confidence of the Chinese following its romance with the terrorists, that the Chinese ambassador to Islamabad was quoted by the Dawn News that “terrorists are no longer a threat to the economic corridor”.

As China suspects India as an ally in the US efforts to contain China in the Asian and the global theatre, especially after MOU of Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) between the US and India on 29 August 2016, they have found appeasement of the terror networks as a good countermeasure against India.

The other reason to appease the terror groups in Pakistan is to stop the secessionist and centrifugal tendencies in restive Xinjiang, as more and more Uyghurs and Pakistanis travel across the Karakorum highway for trade and other activities. Uyghur militants in the past were trained and radicalised in Pakistan by its home-grown terror groups. Tacit support to terror organisations in the international arena has helped China to stop the radicalisation of Uyghurs in Xinjiang by Pakistani terrorists.

For global peace and prosperity, China should keep its promise on terrorism. It is a member of all the international and regional forums and has criticised terrorism, extremism and separatism as the three evils. As a member of BRICS and the founder-nation of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), China should live up to the pledge of these forums to fight terrorism. The SCO’s first charter signed in Shanghai Convention was on “combating terrorism, separatism and extremism”. The same was highlighted in BRICS summit at Xiamen, China, where the summit declaration asserted that those responsible for committing, organising or supporting terror acts must be held accountable. This summit declaration had named almost all the global terror organisations.

However, question remains when will China stop its tango with terrorists. China walking the talk on its anti-terror commitments is an absolute must for global and regional peace and also a pre-condition for betterment of India-China relations.

*Ayjaz Wani is Research Fellow at ORF Mumbai

For legitimacy in an interconnected world, UN reforms must consider “just power” and the strategic relevance of justice and dignity.

By Nayef Al-Rodhan*

The UN secretary-general began his mandate in January 2017, renewing hope about the organization’s reform. Repeated failings of the UN Security Council during various conflicts like the Palestinian issue or the Syrian conflict are sharp reminders that the United Nations simply is not delivering on its aims of global peace.

Reforms must consider justice and dignity, both of which have strategic relevance for powerbrokers with the all-encompassing connectivity of the contemporary world alongside heightened attention to values, reputation and credibility in terms of legitimacy and regard for human rights.

The merits of the UN in global governance should not be understated. A wide range of contemporary challenges – from climate change to terrorism – cannot be adequately addressed unilaterally or even multilaterally. Facing these challenges requires a level of cooperation only achievable under the auspices of institutions with global reach. Yet scope alone is not sufficient – the nature of the power exercised in such institutions significantly determines the likelihood of their success.

Only the use of just power, and the legitimacy it confers upon institutions, is sustainable in the long-term. Just power integrates justice in the exercise of power – and must be defined according to ethical benchmarks that underscore international law. Obstacles that prevent the United Nations from assuming its rightful role as the arbiter and executor of just power are not insurmountable. A reformed UN may yet become an important contributor to sustainable history.

International relations discourse continues to be framed largely within the parameters of Realism. Thucydides summarized this theory in his account of the Athenian generals who said:  The strong do as they like, and the weak endure what they must. The historical mode of foreign affairs has largely involved an over-reliance upon hard power and mobilization of military forces. Yet all strategic goals cannot be achieved via force, and diplomacy and attraction can be more persuasive. Theorists began emphasizing a role for soft power and later “smart power,” intended to balance effective applications of hard and soft power on appropriate occasions, based on “contextual intelligence.” Though not accidental, the near complete absence of any reference to justice in these accounts of power is striking.

My invocation of just power goes beyond smart power to include considerations of fairness and regard for international law and norms, including those concerned with human rights. Power that manifests itself in dominating ways and fails to respect the dignity of individuals is inherently unstable. Compromise of essential human needs threaten community, social and political systems. Regimes that repeatedly assault the dignity of their constituents or perpetuate forms of injustice are bound to crumble, irrespective of the strength and reach of their military and security apparatuses.  Ultimately, the costs of not exercising power alongside justice and inclusiveness lead to social turmoil, political instability and potentially revolutions.

Displays of military might, including military undertakings with names like “Operation Shock and Awe,” do succeed in shocking people mainly through the temerity of their unilateral character, while notably damaging the legitimacy of the actors involved.

The application of just power imposes critical parameters upon the use of force, ruling out the possibility of justification when there is a lack of regard for individuals and their dignity. Pragmatically speaking, just power also emphasizes the attractiveness of nations and regimes that adhere to high standards of justice and a willingness to abide by the same set of standards that apply to all other parties.

The United Nations draws frequent criticism regarding its unbalanced focus on the interests of great powers. In its more cynical form, this perspective paints the UN as an organization created by great powers for great powers, in line with the Realist conclusion that WWII victors would not do anything to undermine their own advancement. Scholarly works demonstrate the early UN’s historically entrenched biases and comfortable coexistence with the continued colonialism of its founding members and authors of the UN Charter. Staunch advocate of the UN Thomas Weiss sees it as maintaining attachment to a largely obsolete Westphalian conception of sovereignty. Still, evidence suggests that the UN is in transition and optimism regarding further reforms is justified.

Two recent UN events indicate the magnitude of change underway. The 2006 resolution enshrining the Responsibility to Protect, R2P, attenuated claims to absolute state sovereignty while shifting emphasis from the concerns of states to those of victims and drew consensus of all member states. While more recent developments, especially the 2011 Security-Council-mandated intervention in Libya under the auspices of R2P, distorted the 2006 resolution’s spirit they do not preclude the UN’s great potential.

Another UN accomplishment was the 2002 establishment of the International Criminal Court despite strong resistance from all permanent members of the Security Council. The UN achieved legitimacy in terms of support garnered through consultative procedures – the overwhelming democratic consensus in the General Assembly was required to sidestep Security Council reservations – and its aim to uphold justice. The ICC signals heightened global interest in just power though it remains vulnerable to commandeering by those in positions of power and criticisms of a disproportionate focus on less powerful states, as highlighted by African Union calls for a collective African withdrawal from the ICC.

To realize its potential as a mechanism of just power, the UN must become more democratic and develop ways to minimize the structural power asymmetry enshrined in the Security Council. Structural reform of the Security Council is unlikely in the near future, given the enduring opposition of three of five permanent members. Still, concerted efforts should follow up on proposals to encourage permanent members to waive their veto rights in the case of mass atrocities – a need made all the more apparent by the civil war in Syria, which the UK permanent representative called a “stain on the conscience of the Security Council.”

The United Nations is one of the pivotal organizations contributing to global governance. In order to further the objective of good global governance, the work of the UN must be guided by the minimum criteria for sustainable global governance, which apply to all international organizations: 1.effective multilateralism, 2.effective multilateral institutions, 3.representative multilateral decision-making structures, 4.dialogue, 5.accountability, 6.transparency, 7. burden-sharing and 8. stronger partnerships between multilateral organizations and civil society actors.

Secretary-General Guterres is correct to state that “all that we strive for as a human family – dignity and hope, progress and prosperity – depends on peace,” but as I have argued elsewhere, a greater emphasis on dignity at the heart of good governance – an intrinsic result of the implementation of just power – is equally a fundamental imperative for resolving and preventing conflict.

*Professor Nayef Al-Rodhan and is an Honorary Fellow at St Antony’s College, University of Oxford, and Senior Fellow and Head of the Geopolitics and Global Futures Programme at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy. He is the author of Neo-statecraft and Meta-geopolitics. Reconciliation of Power, Interests and Justice in the 21^st Century (Zurich & Berlin: LIT, 2009). He can be reached on Twitter at @SustainHistory

By Benjamin Katzeff Silberstein*

(FPRI) — The recently finished 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea took place amidst some of the highest tensions in years around North Korea’s nuclear program. It comes as no surprise that the games would be—and were—about far more than sports, particularly after North Korea’s participation went from lofty goal to reality. The two Korea’s may have marched in under a unified flag at the opening ceremony, but with the Olympics finally over, it’s important to bear in mind that whatever progress the games may have spurred, the real test begins now: will the contacts that the games facilitated actually lead anywhere?

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) between Iran and the US has materialized, despite all the odds.

Since January 2016, the IAEA has been monitoring and verifying the nuclear related commitments made by Iran under the agreement. The IAEA believes that the JCPOA is a significant tool for verification and has issued a statement that the nuclear-related commitments made by Iran under the JCPOA are being implemented satisfactorily. Similarly, during the course of demonstrating Iran’s abidance of the JCPOA, all aspects of Iran’s nuclear program, the enriched uranium reserves, heavy water factory, and deviation from the agreement, have been reviewed and found to be in compliance with the agreement.

Alaeddin Boroujerdi, Chairman of Iran’s Parliament National Security and Foreign Policy Commission made public the recent proclamation by the DG of IAEA, “despite the US comments against Iran and repetitive violations of the nuclear agreement by Americans which seriously damaged US international reputation as a signatory state of the agreement, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Yukiya Amano approved Iran’s compliance with the agreement for the tenth time.”

His remarks came after the IAEA once again confirmed that Iran is fulfilling its commitments under the 2015 multilateral nuclear agreement. The UN nuclear watchdog said that it continued to verify and monitor the implementation by Iran of its nuclear related commitments under the 2015 deal between Iran and six world powers.

The new quarterly report analyzing Iran’s commitments under the nuclear agreement wa released recently. This testimony is to be examined during the upcoming meeting of IAEA Board of Governors from March 5-9, 2018. On January 12, the IAEA report came around the same time when the US President Donald Trump gave a four-month notice to Congress and the Europeans to overhaul the nuclear agreement or he would unilaterally withdraw the US from it. The next deadline from Trump on this matter is May 12, 2018. Earlier the deadline was December 12, 2017 under the US law, which he issued to Congress for taking swift action. Trump has declared that the agreement does not serve US national security interests and he already has propelled it to Congress so the lawmakers could “fix” sections that he considers not advantageous to the United States.

Under the nuclear agreement that went into force in January 2016, endorsed by the United National Security Council, Iran is obliged to put limits on its nuclear activities in exchange for termination of economic and financial sanctions. In this regard the recent report reads that Iran’s enriched uranium reserves stood at 109.5 kilograms until February 12. It said Iran did not exceed its 300 kilogram cap on enriched uranium during its reporting period. Likewise, it identifies that Iran has continued to inform the IAEA of reserves of heavy water and allowed it to monitor the reserves on regular basis.

Contrarily, despite the IAEA’s confidence and optimism with reference to the deal, there are analysts who have reservations. For instance, Mark Dubowitz, Head of Foundation for Defence of Democracies and a strong critic of the agreement, said the basic flaw is that the accord does not guarantee that Iran will not eventually be capable of developing nuclear weapons. “The problem with the nuclear deal is not whether Iran is complying or cheating.” It is the dangerous reality that the very structure of the deal gives Iran patient pathways to nuclear weapons and (intercontinental ballistic missiles) simply by following the deal and waiting patiently for key restrictions to sunset.”

On the other hand, geo-strategic security architecture of the Middle Eastern region is in a transitional phase. Iran considers it a legitimate right to go nuclear, claiming Israel’s nuke as a major threat to its security. This obstructs the idea of nuclear weapons free zone in the Middle East.

Hitherto, Iran continues to be in the center of the storm for its proliferation related activities. If Iran legitimately feels it is getting nothing positive out of the NPT and in addition, the US is actually misusing the NPT against it, this may increase calls among Iranian polity for NPT withdrawal.

It must be noted here that according to Article X, each party has the right to withdraw from the Treaty. Although it is unlikely that Iran would actually leave the NPT, especially after JCPOA, yet, if it does, it may not go alone, taking many sympathetic nations with it.

Previously, the 120 nations of the Non-Aligned Movement — the real “world community” — actually agreed with Iran in its dispute with the IAEA and the US. Therefore, the JCPOA could be taken and is proving to be a good initiative to accommodate a country like Iran into the mainstream non-proliferation regime. Rationally, a similar kind of arrangement could also be made with the North Korea to contain its disturbing nuclear ambitions.

Three members of the Expedition 54 crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS), including NASA astronauts Mark Vande Hei and Joe Acaba, returned to Earth on Tuesday after months of performing research and spacewalks in low-Earth orbit.

Vande Hei, Acaba and cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin of the Russian space agency Roscosmos landed at 9:31 p.m. EST (8:31 a.m. Feb. 28 in Kazakhstan) southeast of the remote town of Dzhezkazgan in Kazakhstan.

Their time on station marked the beginning of the first long-term increase in crew size on the U.S. segment, enabling NASA to double the time dedicated to research and achieve a record-setting week of research that surpassed 100 hours. Highlights from this research include investigations into the manufacturing of fiber optic filaments in microgravity, improving the accuracy of an implantable glucoses biosensor, and measuring the Sun’s energy input to Earth.

The crew also welcomed four cargo spacecraft delivering several tons of supplies and research experiments. Orbital ATK’s Cygnus spacecraft arrived at the station in November on the company’s eighth commercial resupply mission, followed in December by SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft on the company’s thirteenth resupply mission. Two Russian ISS Progress cargo craft arrived at the station in October and February.

Vande Hei logged 168 days in space on this, his first, mission. He ventured outside the space station on four spacewalks to perform work that included replacing and lubricating the Latching End Effectors on both ends of the Canadarm2. Acaba completed one spacewalk to lubricate an end effector and install new cameras on the station’s arm and truss. He now has accrued 306 days in space on three flights. Acaba and Vande Hei also participated in dozens of educational events while in space as part of NASA’s Year of Education on Station.

Misurkin conducted one record-setting spacewalk with fellow cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov to replace an electronics box for a high-gain communications antenna on the Zvezda service module in February. The spacewalk timed out at 8 hours and 13 minutes, the longest in Russian space program history. Misurkin now has spent 334 days in space on two flights.

Now operating the station are Expedition 55 crew members Commander Anton Shkaplerov of Roscosmos and Flight Engineers Scott Tingle of NASA and Norishige Kanai of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. Astronauts Ricky Arnold and Drew Feustel of NASA, and Oleg Artemyev of Roscosmos are scheduled to launch March 21 and arrive at the space station two days later, returning the crew size to six.

With its current seat on the Human Rights Council (2018-20), Spain should strive to continue and revitalise its foreign policy in respect to reinforcing both the UN and multilateralism.

By Jessica Almqvist*

Spain’s political engagement with the UN is based upon resources, expertise and strategic interests. This paper discusses the stability and degree of commitment of Spain’s engagement, despite internal political changes and the challenges it has faced. Following the economic crisis, which led to a drop in its financial contributions, Spain’s commitment to the organisation is regaining force and intensifying as a result of its membership of the Security Council (2015-16). With its current seat on the Human Rights Council (2018-20), and given its recent work on the Security Council, Spain is particularly well placed to promote an international human rights agenda and a programme of action aimed at rebuilding collective security. This strategy renews Spain’s key priorities at the UN and reinforces its basic commitment to the pursuit of global values through the strong support of multilateral frameworks and initiatives.

Analysis

Introduction

The UN provides a unique institutional vehicle for the progressive development of global law and policy aimed at furthering fundamental interests of humanity. Its role in detecting and countering threats against such interests has become significant. Today, the UN’s agenda focuses on ways to counter climate change, extreme poverty, armed conflict involving serious crime on a massive scale, international terrorism and the spread of infectious or epidemic diseases. The UN is also a popular forum for voicing, defending and promoting the strategic interests of both powerful and weak states. States might use the General Assembly’s sessions to condemn the threats posed to their national security and public order by, for instance, other states or a phenomenon such as climate change. However, it might also be in a state’s strategic interest to promote the basic interests of humanity in the UN context to strengthen its image, reputation and standing in the international community. The latter approach can translate into a country providing resources far beyond what it is required as a matter of international and regional obligations, and also into efforts to ensure it places a larger number of its representatives or nationals in significant positions within the organisation. Several EU members, including Spain and Portugal, are in this category. The effective pursuit of global values is greatly aided when states that are strongly committed to the UN join forces in seeking to forge common views on major priorities and on improving the organisation’s efficiency.

Spain’s political engagement with the UN

Since Spain became a UN member in the mid-1950s it has shown an ever-increasing commitment to it and a readiness to support its core activities. At present it takes part in virtually all UN organs and bodies and is one of the organisation’s top-10 providers of financial contributions. It is currently the world’s sixth-largest contributor to the UN system (considering both assessed and voluntary contributions) and the ninth-largest contributor to the UN’s regular budget. It is also among the top-10 donor states to UN peacekeeping operations and is part of the so-called Geneva Group, made up of 18 ‘like-minded’ members on administrative and financial matters.

Spain’s affirmative foreign policy as regards the UN –particularly in the fields of human rights, collective security and development– has been fairly stable despite internal political change. Notably, Spain’s key priorities in the UN have not changed dramatically since the Socialist Party (PSOE) lost the general elections to the Popular Party (PP) in 2011 and which has been in power since then. The UN Alliance of Civilisations, a joint initiative between Spain and Turkey, and approved by the UN General Assembly in June 2005, is an eloquent example.¹ Of equal significance in this regard is the Spanish initiative to create the Sustainable Development Goals Fund in 2014 and to provide it with an initial donation of US$45 million. The Fund promotes sustainable development by taking into account experience, knowledge and the lessons learnt from the former MDG Achievement Fund that was the result of an agreement between the Spanish government and the UN in 2007. ² A further instance is the stability of Spain’s commitment to promoting gender equality and women’s rights. The UN Women’s Fund for Gender Equality was created in 2009 thanks to a significant contribution of US$65 million from the Spanish Government and Spain continues to be one of its 25 principal sponsors. Also important is the abolition of the death penalty, with a call to abolish it being part of the 2017 Spanish campaign for membership in the Human Rights Council (HRC). Two years earlier, the International Commission against the Death Penalty, created in 2010 on the initiative of the Spanish government, established its Secretariat in Madrid.

Spain’s membership of the EU reinforces the strength of its commitment to the UN and its activities. According to the EU Treaty, the Union ‘shall promote multilateral solutions to common problems, in particular in the framework of the United Nations’ (art. 21). The reinforcement of the UN framework is thus a central aspect of the Global Strategy for the EU’s Foreign and Security Policy that was approved in June 2016. As proclaimed in the Strategy, the EU will promote a ‘rules-based global order with multilateralism at its key principle and the United Nations at its core’. However, Spain’s active involvement in UN affairs is not merely the result of meeting the basic expectations of bringing its foreign policy into line with EU law and policy. Arguably, however, its recent efforts to gain membership in major UN bodies shows a degree of engagement that goes beyond its EU obligations³ and gives rise to special opportunities for an active participation and for taking initiatives in the fields of global law and policy, including implementation measures, through its political engagement with the UN.

Promoting human rights while tackling challenges at home

The international promotion of human rights around the world is an essential component of Spanish foreign policy. Spain’s role in this regard became reinforced with its candidacy to the HRC and prompted it to stake out its priorities with respect to international human rights. In the debate among HRC candidates in September last year, the Ambassador of the Spanish Permanent Mission to the UN stressed the need to enhance measures in the fight against racism and all types of intolerance and in promoting gender equality and the rights of disabled persons. Also highlighted was the importance of reinforcing UN measures against human trafficking, not least in conflict situation. Other major Spanish priorities in the field of human rights include combating the death penalty⁴ and promoting business and human rights, the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation and the protection of human-rights activists.

Spain has been elected a member of the HRC at a time when it is recovering from a crisis that prompted a drop in its financial support for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). Since the Office’s ordinary budget only covers around 40% of its costs, voluntary financial contributions are essential. As shown in Figure 1, in 2008 and 2009 the Spanish government made large-scale donations. However, the crisis led financial contributions to fall dramatically. The worst year was 2014 but since then contributions have recovered somewhat. Notably, in 2016 and 2017 the Spanish government authorised donations of around €1 million, although it is still far from matching the sums donated before the crisis.

Spain is also taking up a seat at the HRC at a time when it is seeking to tackle human-rights concerns at home. Any state’s commitment to the promotion of international human rights should be backed up by efforts to protect the rights of its own citizens as well as of others who are directly affected by its measures. Spain has ratified virtually all the major human-rights treaties and optional protocols, allowing individual complaints of alleged human-rights violations. The sole exception is the UN International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families (2003). The voluntary submission to treaty-based procedures shows the extent of Spain’s commitment to human rights, as does its standing invitation to special procedures in 2001, accepting visits of special rapporteurs on a regular basis. Its human-rights record has also been submitted to Universal Periodic Review in 2010 and 2015, respectively.

The significant impact of the country’s austerity measures on the protection of the economic and social rights of the Spanish population, including child poverty, was noted in the report of the Working Group on Universal Periodic Review issued in 2015 (A/HRC/29/8, par. 18). Even if Spain is not alone among UN members in experiencing a crisis, as indicated by the report and maintained by the Spanish delegation, any measure to counter a crisis must be proportionate, provisional and necessary, and not be regressive or discriminatory (par. 8). A second topic highlighted in the report relates to the major migratory pressure experienced in Spain’s North-African enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla. Attempts to enter Spain illegally continue and, according to the Spanish government, pose a challenge to internal security and public order. Efforts are being made to respond to this challenge through new asylum procedures and the creation of reception centres, but current national deportation practices and integration policies are in need of improvement (pars. 57 and 131). A third topic of concern, discussed in the same report (par. 131), is the challenge of gender-based violence. There is a need to continue working on the effective compliance of the Spanish state with the due diligence obligation to prevent this form of violence as well as with the obligation to provide access to justice for the victims.⁵ The Pact against Gender Violence that was finally approved at the end of December 2017 is a significant chievement in this regard as is the decision to allocate €1.000 million over the next five years to put an end to gender-based violence (see here).

More recently, the Spanish reaction to the calling in Catalonia of an illegal referendum on 1 October 2017, followed by a ‘symbolic’ declaration of independence on 27 October, became the object of UN scrutiny. Not only did it prompt a serious comment by the High Commissioner for Human Rights, but it was furthermore criticised by the UN’s Independent Expert on the Promotion of a Democratic and Equitable International Order for using force against political dissent and for suspending Catalonian political autonomy instead of encouraging political dialogue. The criticism was co-signed by the UN’s Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association. However, insofar as international law reaffirms a state’s right to territorial integrity and sovereignty, there was no legal foundation for the regional parliament to organise a referendum on self-determination. Since the outcome of the Catalan regional elections last 21 December has not affected the current stalemate, a change of political strategy on both sides seems warranted.

No state has a perfect human-rights record. The challenges faced at home can reinforce the quality of its engagement with human-rights promotion in the UN context. While essential, the unilateral promotion of human rights is not only about providing financial resources but also about the active participation in the progressive development of global law and policy, including the design of measures for their effective implementation. For this, considerable expertise on the topics of major concern is needed. In this context, HRC members are critical sources of information, experience and lessons learned, including best practices, and can aid in the improvement of human rights at the global level.

Defending human rights at a time of collective insecurity

As a newly elected member of the HRC, and considering the focus of its work at the Security Council, Spain seems particularly well placed to focus its efforts over the next three years to promote human-rights issues of special relevance to the field of collective security. Thus, it should make use of its recent work in promoting human-rights concerns at times of armed conflict, including the suffering of women and children, human trafficking and the lack of safe water and sanitation, through direct interaction and dialogue with the Security Council’s permanent members. The time has come to conjure up a more robust defence of these and related human-rights issues and to work towards building a more prominent role for the HRC in responding to them effectively.

During its Security Council mandate, Spain took a special interest in promoting gender equality in the collective security sector. Of particular importance was its active participation in the review of the peace operations conducted in 2015 and in which it focused on the need to strengthen the role and leadership of women. With this aim in mind, it took part in the High-Level Leaders’ Summit on Peacekeeping Operations in September 2015 and co-led an initiative with the UK to carry out a high-level review of resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (WPS), leading to the adoption of resolution 2242, which develops the revised agenda on women, peace and security. As a follow-up, an Informal Working Group of Experts on WPS was set up, co-presided by Spain and the UK. In 2017 it organised the first meeting of the Network of Contact Points between Women, Peace and Security, attracting the participation of 60 states in Alicante (see here). As it begins its work on the HRC, Spain is committed to promoting gender equality in all sectors and should therefore continue its valuable work on women, peace and security, and its role and leadership in peacekeeping and peace-building processes.

A second international concern for both human dignity and collective security, which is in need of continued attention, is human trafficking. The Spanish engagement with this issue at the HRC and its attempts to counter it will build on the achievements of the Spanish-led process with Guatemala for the adoption on 8 September 2017 of a General Assembly resolution on the strengthening and the promotion of effective measures and international cooperation of organ donation and transplants to prevent and combat trafficking of persons to extract organs and the trafficking of organs. The resolution followed up Security-Council resolution 2331, approved in December 2016 while Spain held the Security-Council Presidency. The HRC has a critical role in adopting further measures, similar to the initiative of the OHCHR and the International Civil Aviation Organisation, to develop a set of guidelines to train cabin crew members on how to identify and report suspected cases of human trafficking.

A third issue of direct relevance for both human dignity and collective security is how to improve the protection of civilians in armed conflict, not least the most vulnerable groups such as women and children, but also doctors, human-rights activists and journalists. In the face of a growing number of attacks against hospitals and doctors in conflict zones, in May 2016 the Security Council decided to strengthen the protection of medical assistance in armed conflicts (res. 2286), an initiative promoted by Spain. In this regard, Spain can continue to co-lead proposals on how to better protect the human rights of civilians in armed conflicts. A concerted effort to protect these groups continues to be urgent considering the situation in Syria, Iraq and Libya.

The promotion of gender equality, the fight against human trafficking and the protection of civilians in armed conflicts are essential human-rights issues for Spain’s foreign policy. Other human-rights issues linked to collective security that have not been underlined as much in the Spanish candidacy to the HRC but which are in line with its strategic interests and expertise are the human-rights impact of measures to counter collective security threats, including international terrorism and weapons of mass destruction, especially in the form of coercive or forcible measures such as military action and economic sanctions.

Spain’s expertise in the field of human rights and terrorism is well established. As a Security Council member, it took a special interest in promoting the rights of the victims of terrorism and the responsibility of states in relation to foreign terrorist fighters. From a human-rights perspective, a deeply pressing issue is the legitimation of the use of military force against international terrorist groups. Spain participated and voted in favour of resolution 2249, which was adopted unanimously in December 2015. Although the full ramifications of the resolution remain to be seen, the Security Council’s decision to urge states to take all necessary measures, including military action, to combat Daesh and other related terrorist groups in Iraq and Syria is unprecedented. As a result, the Security Council legitimised militarising the fight against international terrorism without demanding that international authorisation, guidance or control of the use of force. Though reaffirming the respect owed to international human rights and humanitarian law when taking military action against targets in these countries, the Security Council showed no interest in assuming responsibility for how this type of action was to be carried out.

A second and related topic that matches Spain’s priorities and expertise is the human-rights impact of sanctions and other coercive measures against security threats. As is well documented, sanctions can be detrimental not only to the protection of the human rights of targeted persons but also to civilian populations at large. A significant part of Spain’s responsibilities as a Council member centred on economic sanctions. When presiding the Committee on the elimination of weapons of mass destruction, Spain sought a more effective implementation of resolution 1540 by promoting its universal application and incorporating critical elements of the Global Review process of the resolution that culminated in the approval of resolution 2325 in December 2016 (see here). The previous year it also presided the 1737 Committee on sanctions against Iran. During the period, the Security Council adopted resolution 2231 endorsing the nuclear agreement with Iran and stipulating the lifting of sanctions following verification by the IAEA of the country’s commitment to transparency and the civil character of its nuclear programme. When the sanctions regime terminated in January 2016 (S/2016/57), Spain was appointed Facilitator for Iran’s implementation and compliance. Notwithstanding the growing popularity of economic sanctions and unilateral coercive measures in recent years, there are still doubts about their effectiveness and on how to counter their detrimental impact on human rights. In this respect, Spain could lead the promotion of a comprehensive review of these kinds of measures.

Rebuilding collective security through human rights

Making the role of human rights in rebuilding collective security the flagship of Spanish political engagement with the UN brings under the spotlight the growing dissatisfaction with the UN’s institutional architecture for peace and security. Any review must take the human rights dimension of collective security seriously without glossing over the division of labour between the HRC and the Security Council but also the subordinate position of the HRC within the UN’s institutional structure. Unlike the Security Council, the HRC is not recognised as a principal body of the organisation, its resources are scarce and it has no power to adopt legally-binding decisions with universal force for all UN members. To this should be added that the HRC has no mandate to order or authorise enforcement in response to massive human-rights violations but must rely on the Security Council to shoulder the responsibility without any guidance or control on how its actions are carried out or on their effects on human rights.

In Spain’s candidacy to the HRC, it stressed its support for the effective functioning of this organ through its engagement in interactive dialogue and debates, its submissions to the Universal Periodical Review (UPR) Mechanism and its ratification of optional protocols allowing individual petitions against Spain to be examined by international human-rights expert committees. It also stressed its openness to the monitoring of its human-rights policies by independent experts and special procedures. While this is an importantant disposition for an HRC member, more could be done to strengthen the effective functioning of the HRC at a time when it is being criticised for suffering from exactly the same problem as its predecessor: politicisation. However, reforming the HRC was not a key topic on the new reform agenda set out in June 2017 by the newly-elected UN Secretary General, António Guterres, who stressed the importance of building up a transparent, effective and responsible organisation. As indicated in the Joint Statement for Improving UNHRC Membership –delivered last June by the Netherlands on behalf of 47 countries–, members, candidates and the electorate have a crucial role in aiding the Council to regain a measure of legitimacy. In relation to this, it was unfortunate that Spain won its seat at the Council without competition when France withdrew its candidacy in support of Spain. More generally, the election of members with poor human-rights records, who want to be part of the Council only to shield themselves from criticism, presents a basic challenge to Spain and other countries that are genuinely committed to human rights. This creates special responsibilities for all Council members to ensure that UPR reviews are conducted on the basis of objective and reliable information as well as in due regard of an equal treatment of all states.

Conclusions

The impact of the 2008 crisis has not significantly changed the depth of Spain’s commitment to the pursuit of global values through multilateral institutional frameworks and, in particular, UN bodies. Spain continues to demonstrate its ambition to play an active role in UN activities, geared towards the realisation of these values; additionally, through its successful candidacies for membership in major UN bodies, it has generated special opportunities for a more prominent role in strengthening these values. Over the next three years it should make the best of its seat at the HRC to further strengthen the criticism, based on the universal protection of international human rights, of how challenges are faced at the national level. Considering its recent membership of the Security Council, and taking into account the centrality of the collective security agenda in the UN context, Spain should centre its efforts on the promotion of the full integration of international human-rights obligations into this agenda. It should also continue to promote joint efforts with states that are equally committed to the UN and with whom it shares ambitions and priorities, such as the EU’s other member states. Such a strategy will ensure both the continuity and the revitalisation of Spanish foreign policy in respect to reinforcing both the UN and multilateralism.

About the author:
*Jessica Almqvist, Senior Research Fellow, Elcano Royal Institute | @Jessica66101611

Source:
This article was published by Elcano Royal Institute

Notes:
¹ Jorge Sampaio, President of Portugal between 1996 and 2006, was elected High Representative for the UN Alliance of Civilisations in April 2007, being succedded in March 2013 by Nasser Abdulaziz al-Nasser, a Qatari diplomat at the UN.

By Ryan McMaken*

In the wake of the Florida school shooting earlier this month, Broward County police deputies are being accused of hiding outside the school while students were being murdered inside.

Moreover, both the Sheriff’s department and the FBI are being accused of failing to follow up on clear and repeated threats made by the school shooter against others. The FBI already admits it failed to follow its own protocol when it failed to pass on key information to the Miami field office.

The details in this specific case have yet to be analyzed and investigated. But, even if it is shown that both the Sheriff’s Office and the FBI were incompetent or indifferent in taking action against the perpetrator, it will still remain exceedingly unlikely that any specific government agents or agencies will be held accountable in any meaningful way. If there are legal settlements, the taxpayers will be on the hook for it, not the people responsible.

Moreover, if history is any guide, both agencies will use any demonstrated incompetence to argue for larger budgets and more privileges for their agencies.

Police Are Not Here to Protect You

Further complicating the situation is the fact that the US Supreme Court has made it clear that law enforcement agencies are not required to provide protection to the citizens who are forced to pay the police for their “services.”

In the cases DeShaney vs. Winnebago and Town of Castle Rock vs. Gonzales, the supreme court has ruled that police agencies are not obligated to provide protection of citizens. In other words, police are well within their rights to pick and choose when to intervene to protect the lives and property of others — even when a threat is apparent.

In both of these court cases, clear and repeated threats were made against the safety of children — but government agencies chose to take no action.

A consideration of these facts does not necessarily lead us to the conclusion that law enforcement agencies are somehow on the hook for every violent act committed by private citizens.

This reality does belie the often-made claim, however, that police agencies deserve the tax money and obedience of local citizens because the agencies “keep us safe.”

Nevertheless, we are told there is an agreement here — a “social contract” — between government agencies and the taxpayers and citizens.

And, by the very nature of being a contract, we are meant to believe this is a two-way street. The taxpayers are required to submit to a government monopoly on force, and to pay these agencies taxes. In return, these government agents will provide services. In the case of police agencies, these services are summed up by the phrase “to protect and serve” — a motto that has in recent decades been adopted by numerous police agencies.

But what happens when those police agencies don’t protect and serve? That is, what happens when one party in this alleged social contract doesn’t keep up its end of the bargain.

The answer is: very little.

The taxpayers will still have to pay their taxes and submit to police agencies as lawful authority. If the agencies or individual agents are forced to pay as a result of lawsuits, it’s the taxpayers who will pay for that too.

Oh sure, the senior leadership positions may change, but the enormous agency budgets will remain, the government agents themselves will continue to collect generous salaries and pensions, and no government will surrender its monopoly on the use of force.

A Long History of Lackluster Action

Now, if it is found to be true that the Broward County deputies protected themselves while people nearby were being killed — it certainly wouldn’t be the first time.

At the Columbine massacre in 1999, the shooters roamed the school for nearly 50 minutes. Police waited outside for a SWAT team to arrive, in order to minimize the risk to police. With the Jefferson County Sheriff’s office at Columbine “to serve and protect” was nothing more than a public relations gimmick.

Since then, at least in theory, the strategy has changed.

This is in part why the alleged hesitation on the part of the Broward County deputies is so troubling to observers. Police are no longer supposed to wait around for assistance. They’re supposed to engage the shooters immediately.

It is unclear if this strategy is being applied anywhere other than schools.

After all, as the Las Vegas shooting unfolded, police waited 75 minutes to confront the gunman — again, in order to minimize the threat to police. As far as the police knew however, during this period the gunman was still alive and had the ability to resume shooting into the city below.

Nor is this lack of alacrity displayed only during shootings.

As was reported during the Ferguson, Missouri Riots in 2014, private property owners could only rely on private security and the volunteer “Oath Keepers.” The police, meanwhile, were concentrating on protecting government building, while leaving the private sector mostly on its own.

Moreover, when it became clear that the Oath Keepers were stepping in to fill the gaps left by police, the police took time out from their busy schedules to threaten the volunteers with arrest. 

And then, of course, there is the example of the FBI’s being asleep at the switch in the lead up to the 9/11 attacks in 2001. After being paid countless billions, year after year, to provide “protection” the FBI’s greatest failure resulted not in any meaningful accountability – but in a budget increase for the agency.

Through it all, though, we’re repeatedly told that government police agencies provide safety in exchange for all that generous tax revenue these agencies receive.

And “generous” is the right word.

Scot Peterson, the deputy who retired after being shown to wait outside during the school attack, was collecting more than $101,000 per year as a deputy. That’s double the median income of $50,446 in Broward County. Now, having retired, he will collect a generous pension — possibly for many decades.

Police personnel like to portray themselves as beleaguered members of the working class, but in reality, they ware well paid government employees, compensated for work that is less dangerous than the work done by janitors, roofers, and truckers.

The pension benefits are especially generous, which is why, according to an analysis by Rich Karlgaard at Forbes, police officers are among “America’s fastest-growing class of millionaires.” Karlgaard notes that these government employees, including “police officers, firefighters, teachers and federal bureaucrats … will be paid something near their full salaries every year–until death–after retiring in their mid-50s. That is equivalent to a retirement sum worth millions of dollars.”

Year after year, taxpayers are expected to supply government agents and government workers with this generous compensation, while all the time also thanking them for their “service.”

As the experience of multiple cases of public shootings and unrest suggest however, it’s unclear what exactly these services are, and whether or not the taxpayer has any recourse when the government fails to provide them.

A “Contract” That Isn’t

After all, if the federal courts have made it clear that government police agencies are under no obligation to provide services, it’s simply not proper to portray the government as an entity that provides services in return for tax revenues.

But note the lack of symmetry in any assumed contract at work here.

The obligations for the taxpayers are extremely specific. Each taxpayer is on the hook to pay very specific amounts laid out in tax law. Penalties are imposed when the taxpayer doesn’t keep up his end of the so-called bargain.

The other side of the equation, however, is extremely vague. The services expected from law enforcement are subject to the discretion of government agents who decide what laws are enforced, and where, and when. The sheer volume of laws on the books allow police to pick and choose, since, of course, the expenditures of police resources must be prioritized according to the wants of some person or group of people. Those who set the priorities, however, are not the taxpayers.

Ultimately, police agencies may expend months of effort and immense amounts of money to catch petty drug offenders while violent crisis situations receive less attention. Should the taxpayers feel they’re not getting their money’s worth, there’s little they can do about it. They certainly can’t void this “social contract” we hear so much about. The obligations on the taxpayers are assumed to exist in perpetuity. The other side of the contract? Well, that’s for the courts to decide. And, not surprisingly, they have ruled in the government’s favor.

About the author:
*Ryan McMaken (@ryanmcmaken) is the editor of Mises Wire and The Austrian. Send him your article submissions, but read article guidelines first. Ryan has degrees in economics and political science from the University of Colorado, and was the economist for the Colorado Division of Housing from 2009 to 2014. He is the author of Commie Cowboys: The Bourgeoisie and the Nation-State in the Western Genre.

Source:
This article was published by MISES Institute.

CPEC is a great opportunity to enhance Pakistan’s economy. The new commercial and economic businesses nevertheless encompass certain security issues pertaining to the development and implementation of the new projects under the Long-Term Projects (LTP – 2018 to 2030).

These challenges and threats are internal as well as external. As far as the internal security issues are concerned, Pakistan is facing the brunt of the extremism and terrorism. Baluchistan is considered as the most sensitive province in this regard. It is the largest province of Pakistan according to its area and the smallest in terms of population.

When measured against socio economic standings of other provinces, Balochistan is the least developed. Its society is still plagued with tribal structures. Although the province is rich in resources, but insufficiency of capital and absence of skilled population is hindrance in utilizing those resources to the maximum.

CPEC is an opportunity for improving the economic and security situation of Balochistan province. It not only connects China’s north-western region of Xinjiang to Gwadar port but will bring trade through Europe, Africa, Oceania, and the Middle East.

Baluchistan’s political stability and security is pivotal to the success of Gwadar port and infrastructural projects of CPEC. The inhabitant Baloch tribes consider CPEC injustice to the people of Baluchistan and deprivation to the local Baloch. However, in order to overcome any kind of unpleasant activities Pakistan government has established a separate Security division of 2,000-strong force, devoted to protect national and Chinese interests in Pakistan.

There are also news reports prevailing in the international media that “China is holding secret talks with the Baloch tribes for the security of CPEC related infrastructural projects”. The officials from Pakistan acknowledge such efforts on part of China. Being a large province of Pakistan, it is important to resolve the grievances of Baloch. The international media is portraying this news as if China is doing something wrong but settlement of interprovincial disputes is very much important for CPEC.

The prosperity of Baloch people lies in the peace of Balochistan and the economic corridor is very unlikely to be successful unless there is peace in Gwadar. But there are some anti-nationalistic elements that want the underdeveloped provinces of Pakistan to remain in darkness. In such circumstances it’s important to resolve the conflict, and mitigate it rather than escalating. There is a need for the proper mechanism of conflict management while minimizing the negative outcomes and maximizing the positive ones.

According to Thomas Kilmann the five steps of conflict management includes accommodating, avoiding, collaborating, compromising and competing. These strategies are applicable depending upon the nature of the conflict. Considering the CPEC and the provincial grievances, all these strategies are not applicable. However accommodating the conflict is possible with collaboration. The CPEC-LTP envisages broad parameters for the development of Provinces in order to accommodate the conflict. The LTP emphasizes that the province’s priorities would be honored at first. Special economic zones have been prioritized in all the provinces of Pakistan with industrial Parks, energy security, and infrastructural developments.

The CPEC conflict accommodation essentially entails offering the Bloch what they want. The use of accommodation often occurs when one of the parties wishes to keep the peace. Therefore, negotiations between Baloch tribes and the Chinese official will be good for the implementation of the CPEC Projects. After accommodation of the conflict, next step is collaboration. Collaboration with Baloch tribes and Chinese investors will bring ideas of mutual interests to find a creative solution acceptable to everyone.

In an interview with the BBC Urdu on 2nd February, 2018, Chinese ambassador to Pakistan Mr. Yao Jing said that “militants in Balochistan were no longer a threat to the economic corridor”. While the tribes’ statement reveals that they will not oppose the CPEC projects as long as their financial benefits will be taken into account. A provincial tribal leader stated ““Today, young men are not getting attracted to join the insurgents and many people see prosperity as a result of the CPEC”. This shows if there are discussions between the two parties then they are beneficial for the CPEC security. And if the above strategies of conflict management will be adapted then the challenges to the CPEC will be overcome sufficiently.

*Qura tul ain Hafeez has done M Phil in international relations from Quaid-I Azam University Islamabad. She is currently working as a Research Associate at Strategic Vision Institute Islamabad. She can be reached at Quraathashmi@gmail.com

Pakistan is surviving tough times, for it goes up against synchronous bellicosity from India and the US.

The Trump administration has chosen to press Pakistan with its ‘do more’ mantra to eliminate the alleged ‘safe havens’ for the ‘agents of chaos’ in Pakistan. Whilst puffed up by the US support of its aspirations to be a regional hegemon, taking advantage of the strained Pak-US ties and unable to suppress the recent popular and local revolt in the Indian occupied Kashmir, India has also deepened its political and military weight on Pakistan.

Given these circumstances, Pakistan indeed at the moment is devoid of a foreign policy to face the twin external challenge.

The most ideal approach to maintain a strategic distance in this regard from a showdown with the US is for Pakistan to influence the Afghan Taliban to join the peace talks.

Notwithstanding Trump’s avowals, US authorities purportedly have guaranteed that they want peace and for that matter talks with the Taliban. Undoubtedly, by partaking in such talks, the Taliban could secure a political status that would be legitimate, i.e. not as an insurgent but a negotiating partner. Additionally such talks could be sought after in different directions and for that matter other regional and trans-regional powers be incorporated into the ‘process’.

Likewise, an aggressive Pakistan centric Indian doctrine under a ‘belligerent regime’ prompting possible strategic miscalculation will genuinely affect the strategic stability in the South Asian region.

However, the only thing containing them to a halt is Pakistan’s credible nuclear deterrence. Thenceforth, they are continuously targeting Pakistan through sub conventional means, chiefly by sponsoring terrorism at the state level.

Pakistan at this point in time should seek for viable concerted campaigns in the UN Security Council, the General Assembly and likewise at all the other forums to denounce Indian belligerence and its brutal repression of the innocent Kashmiris. Thousands of Kashmiris have been reported to be killed by Indian security forces in custody, extrajudicial executions and enforced disappearances and these human right violations are said to be carried out by Indian security forces under total impunity. Sadly, the height of incongruity is that all those aforementioned forums and the international civil society have turned deaf and blind over the issue; resultantly, Pakistan despite its spirited efforts remained at the defensive.

The relations between Pakistan and the US have been uneasy since Trump avowed its new Afghan strategy last year in August. Now the Trump administration is again changing the gears in Afghanistan.

Additionally, it is now much more obvious that the robust Indian role as desired by Trump will only serve the US policy objectives in the region.
Moreover, in words of Plato ‘I am trying to think, don’t confuse me with facts’.

To conclude, Pakistan should clearly pass on to India that any military adventure will result in a misadventure with disastrous outcomes.

Pakistan ought to likewise prompt the Security Council and every single significant ‘Power’ of the dangers innate to the permanent Indian ceasefire violations and the threats. It could also propose the improved presence of UN Observers on the two sides of the LoC. Lastly, in particular the US should also be cautioned against encouraging Delhi’s bellicosity against Islamabad.

*Ubaid Ahmed, currently working as Research Associate Strategic Vision Institute (SVI). He can be reached at ubaid@thesvi.org

In the contemporary security environment one of the predominant challenges to the world peace and security is the spread of nuclear weapons. The Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT), since its inception, is considered as universal arms control agreement, which has been adhered to by all states except India, North Korea, Pakistan, Israel and North Sudan.

Nuclear non-proliferation regime today faces various threats from the rising security dilemmas in the global arena. Thus in the light of such challenges, international norms have been established to fight the rising threats. NPT being the penumbra of the NPR has enrooted itself in the in international law and is working towards gaining universality.

Numerous obstacles have been faced by the treaty along its course of existence despite which it has managed to strengthen the international security environment bring a global order. The validity of nuclear non-proliferation treaty is being challenged by continued defiance of the states; due to the states own national interests in anarchical international security environment. Additionally, discriminatory approach by major powers in the implementation of the standards of the Non-Proliferation Regime i.e. as Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Nuclear Supplier Group and Wassaner Arrangements (WA) are employed as an instrument to fulfill the strategic objectives of great-power.

The proliferation record in the last few decades has raised questions about the sincerity behind its creation and subsequent application. Such as, since the first nuclear explosion, eight states have detonated the nuclear bomb. This factor shows that nuclear proliferation mechanisms are relatively inadequate to handle prevailing challenges as the suspected cases of nuclear proliferation.

The present scenario regarding the effectiveness of the non-proliferation treaty and its validity today is yet another issue which is being debated on. Whether it should be altered or continue to be as it is? It came into force in 1970 and the world is a more complex place with even more impeding issues than before. In order to enhance its influence and bring under its umbrella those countries that have refused to sign it or have gone against it as NPT has to be amended to some extent in order to fully address their security dilemmas.

Apart from that the discriminatory nature of the treaty by dividing the sates into NWS and NNWS stirs up question like why are other states being deprived of the right to protect themselves for the same reasons that the NWS were doing so. The credibility of the NNWS was being doubted by the very same states who themselves were guilty of lapses in their own security systems as well as nuclear arms buildup; US and USSR Cold War incidents like Cuban missile crisis. Who was to say that history would not repeat itself? If the international security had been endangered once it could be brought to that point again.

In South Asia, Pakistan and India are facing international pressure to join the NPT. Nuclear weapon capabilities and developments are the matter of global concern due to their catastrophic implications.

Primarily, technical assistance of the US to India and Indo-US nuclear deal are considered a violation of article I and II of the NPT. Because acceptance of the obligation set a legal limit on future nuclear weapon cooperation with the US and Non-NPT state as it undermines the vital purpose of NPT to prevent the nuclear proliferation.

Furthermore, India-specific exemption to NSG guidelines and its potential inclusion in Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), and membership of Missile Technology Control Regime is disturbing the regional nuclear deterrence equilibrium. As well as forcing Pakistan to indulge in a nuclear arms and missile race to ensure credible deterrence, it is posing serious challenges to the non-proliferation regime. Similarly, country-specific safeguards demonstrate a discriminatory institutional mechanism of the non-proliferation regime and undermine the non-proliferation objectives. Additionally, the Indo-US nuclear deal may encourage the NPT signatory to defy the treaty under the Article X of the NPT, in order topursue their national interests.

Thus in the light of the trends and challenges faced by the non-proliferation regime it cannot be concluded whether NPR is a failed regime or not. But the future of NPT is dependent on the series of events such as US-North Korea negotiations, India’s membership to theNSG, the Indo-US deal and US-Iran deal. Due to these challenges, NPT and Non-Proliferation regimes are extensively seen in distress and Pakistan has repeatedly refused to sign the treaty. The prevailing security landscape and National Security issues demand a non-discriminatory, viable and effective mechanism to resolve the challenges to nuclear non-proliferation efforts.

*Asma Khalid, is currently working as Research Associate at Strategic Vision Institute and can be reached at asmaakhalid_90@hotmail.com

Renowned astrologer P.P. Globa writes: “Nowhere, in any other teachings the problem of good and evil is not worked out so deeply, thoroughly and consistently as in Zoroastrianism. This question is central to any Zoroastrian “.

As we know, the initial idea of ​​creating peace and integrity in all myths, religion and philosophy was founded on the principles of good and evil. But these concepts are often addressed from different perspectives, separation of relations between them. Together with the opinion stating that these concepts of equal, and the triumph of evil in the material world is indispensable, there is an idea, observes them in the minds of anyone.

A human consciousness varies according to its height, that is, with the passage of time. In each of these representations are observed, on the one hand, the distortion of the concepts that lead to the search for the source of evil in God’s craft, on the other – the blur of their faces, do not allow to identify clearly their essence. In any case, all these statements are not only confusing the issue but also far from justice.

Therefore, in our opinion, should be seriously studied P. P. Globa that the problem of good and evil, the ratio achieved in Zoroastrianism was “deeply, thoroughly and consistently”. The cause of misunderstandings and obvious errors is not the original understanding of the principles of good and evil in the teachings of Zoroastrianism was subject to review, and later change the text, the misinterpretation of their rise to the so-called postulate of dualism in religion, which was the reason for taking it, as a pagan religion.

But a different view of N.B. Mechkovskaya, who writes that a “Zoroaster preached human moral freedom and is a responsibility of his choice in total opposition to the world forces of Good and Evil. This “higher teaching” (the words of Academician V.V Bartold of Zoroastrianism) had an impact on a number of Middle Eastern religious traditions (especially in the dissemination of ideas of monotheism – loyalty and service to the only God of Good, and the eschatological representations). The proximity of the Zoroastrian religion to monotheism is so great that A.V. Men ready to “recognize Zarathustra brother and associate of the prophets of Israel, pagan forerunner of Christ on Iranian soil” .

In principle, there may be different interpretations of the understanding of good and evil. But they must be based on a clear identification of objectives and aspects of (spiritual or material) consideration of the philosophical categories in the same relation of opposites and their distinguishing features.

In all the myths were the dual pair started (the good-evil, order, chaos, the god-devil) death is one of the components of the pair (life-death). In addition, the existing myths active element performed during “The idea of ​​time can be reduced to the idea of ​​death (or the end), understood in two different aspects, the negative and positive – namely, the impossibility of knowledge of the subject of the (own) death and the possibility of knowledge of the death from the point of view and in terms of the immortal (for example, the Samosty, the Atman).

Only at this point in time it may be introduced into the plot as the knowledge of something, “available” in the story, not only after the death of the actor, or after the end of this (and any other) plot “.

No less remarkable is the observation and other myths that tend to characterize the current, active time, as the carrier of a negative character compared to his opposition to eternity, the absolute beginning, which has a positive connotation. In the context marked by the very concept of truth is a different character, both for time and for eternity. On the other hand, in the phenomenal world time (the gods, humans, animals, luminary, etc.), subservient restriction (death), there is one. Therefore, it cannot be absolute and, being in the process of becoming permanent, cannot be true. Actually take that substance, which does not disappear, not a subject that changes. And it can be considered that who knows the truth.

Here we should mention a very remarkable reasoning of French scholar Henry Corbin of the “History of Islamic Philosophy”: “There is no doubt that in this case we are dealing with events, which take place in eternity. But why then are we referred to a specific event? Does not seem absurd to talk about the words or actions of Abraham and Moses before Abraham or Moses were given to earthly existence? This writes Semnani, insisting (here it is based on the verse of the Qur’an 41.53) at the technical differences between the zaman anfosi, quantitative time, the objective world, homogeneous and flowing in the external history, and Zaman anfosi, high-quality internal time of the soul. Before and after these two times had different meanings. There are very real events that had no place in empirical history.

Sayyid Ahmad Alavi also notes while faced with the problem that in the perception of the eternal structures of a sequence of forms inferior to them simultaneously. Time becomes space. These thinkers considered preferred form in space, rather than” in time.

But in this case begs the question: what is the basis of representations about the appearance of death in the world? The answer is determined by one of the objects of a mythological narrative chain: the knowing subject, the object of knowledge and the process of cognition. That is the subject of cognition, in our view, depending on the level and degree of knowledge of the object adjusts its process and perceives death by knowing the truth as no loss of immortality, and its acquisition. Only the knowledge of knowledge makes it possible to joyful acceptance of death of the subject of cognition, returning it to its source, to the resurrection of new life (reincarnation).

Among the myths and legends of the dualistic cycle, as the majority of scientists, a special place is occupied by the doctrine of the original confrontation between good and evil, spirit and matter, of life and death, allegedly dating back to ancient Iranian cosmogonic story about the opposition of the god Ahura Mazda and the evil spirit Anghri Main. One of today’s researchers in the field of comparative religion and religions Joseph Campbell said: “At the beginning of the first millennium BC, the religious ideas of Persia were converted by prophet Zarathushtra (Zoroaster), due to which there was a strict dualism of the principles of good and evil, light and darkness, angels and demons. This fracture is deeply affected not only in the Persians themselves, but also on the beliefs of the Jews, and later (centuries later) – and Christianity. It represents a significant departure from the usual mythological interpretation of good and evil as a result, caused the only source of existence that transcends and embraces all the opposition “.

On the influence of Zoroastrianism on all other religions and states the famous English Iranist Mary Boyce, “gradually … a lot of the basic beliefs of Zoroaster spread across countries – from Egypt to the Black Sea.”

It was the idea that there is a supreme God who is the Creator, and the forces of evil, resist and are beyond him. The Creator created this world for a purpose, and the present state of the world it has an end, which will be proclaimed the advent Saoshyanta (Savior). Meanwhile, heaven and hell exist, and every soul be subject to judgment after death. At the end of time there will be a resurrection of the dead and the Last Judgment will be a complete destruction of all sinners. Then establish on earth the kingdom of God, and the righteous will enter into this kingdom, as in the garden (called the Persian word Paradise), and will enjoy eternal happiness in the presence of God, remaining immortal in body and soul.

These ideas were assimilated by various Jewish sects in the period after the Babylonian captivity, because the Jews were one of the nations that were most susceptible to the influence of Zoroastrianism “. The term “Paradise” (AVEST. P A R I D A I Z A), meaning literally from Avestan ‘fenced off’. The meaning of the word reveals its sacredness and, therefore, its inner, spiritual aspect, close to people far from their living solely earthly desires and animal passions.

*Professor Rafig Novruzov, Doctor of Philological Sciences, Vice Chancellor for Scientific Affairs, Baku Slavic University

Persistent voices are being raised to revive a historic public library
cum hall at the heart of Guwahati city and popular demands are floated
for using the space for occasional and selected public gatherings. The
library, surrounded by Cotton University, Handique Girls’ College,
Gauhati High Court, State Museum, Ravindra Bhawan etc, carries the
memory of many great personalities of yesteryear.

Named after a great Assamese patriot, socio-political leader and
writer, the library cum hall is a century old structure. Erected on
the western bank of pre-historic picturesque tank (Dighalipukhuri) in
1910, the library was initially known as Lord Curzon Hall. Later it
was dedicated to the memory of Karmavir Nabin Chandra Bardoloi in 1953 with the goodwill of the then Assam chief minister Bishnu Ram Medhi.

Initially a big Assam type house was built at Panbazar locality in
1900 to welcome the then India’s Viceroy Lord Curzon, who visited
Assam in 1903. By now the momentous Cotton College emerged in the same locality. Great personalities like Manik Chandra Barooah, Rai Bahadur Bhuban Ram Das, Jagannath Baruah (BA Jagannath), Satyanath Bora with few others established the Curzon Hall with generous public donations.

The then chief commissioner Henry Cotton and commissioner Lt Col
Gordon also supported the initiative and the hall cum library was
constructed within a year. By 1912, the Curzon Hall was shifted to the
present location and the old building was allowed to house the Cotton
College library, which is still being used by the students of the
prestigious institution.

The Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) took the responsibility to
restore the hall in 1969. But the corporation started using the hall
as one of their branch offices in 1975 and like many government
buildings across the country, the significant structure ended up
facing the carelessness and apathy of the authority. Today the
voluminous campus has virtually turned into a GMC dumping ground.

Lately the GMC as well as Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), Assam Tourism Development Corporation (ATDC) and Cotton College (now a University) authorities had separately proposed the government to shift the library from its present location and hand over the plot to them, as everyone has plans to develop the space according to their growing needs.

However, various civil society groups including Assam Association of
Architects, State unit of Indian Institute of Architects, Assam
Library Association etc vehemently opposed the move to dismantle the
building. They are unanimous in their views that the building witnessed many historic events in the last century and it was graced by most of the Assamese stalwarts including many national heroes in that period paving the way for raising demands to declare it as a heritage building.

“As a witness of many historic events, the hall now stands as a symbol
of pride and tradition of Guwahati. Most important meetings of the
town used to be held here till the Sixties,” said Dipankar Banerjee, a
prominent history scholar, adding that Nobel laureate Rabindranath
Tagore, Acharya PC Roy, Educationist Ashutosh Mukherjee, Netaji
Subhash Chandra Bose, Loknayak Joyprakash Narayan with many others
delivered lectures at the hall in different occasions.

The first public library of northeast India also housed Assam State
Library in 1953, which was later shifted to the southern bank of Dighalipukhuri in 1960. The hall also played an important role in India’s freedom struggle led by Mahatma Gandhi, where Karmavir Bardoloi appealed to the students of Cotton College to join the movement. His call was accorded with overwhelm responses from the student community.

By then Karmavir (1875–1936) emerged as a prominent Congress leader
from Assam involved in Gandhiji’s non-cooperation movement (1920-1922). He was honoured with a commemorative postage stamp by
the Union government during his birth centenary year.

An arts graduate from Presidency College and law graduate from Ripon
College under Calcutta University, Bardoloi was elected to the Legislative Assembly in 1934 and even put the responsibility as a spokesperson for the opposition. A visionary leader Bardoloi was also instrumental in establishing two important institutions namely Earle Law College and Cotton College in Guwahati.

A recent meeting of All India Patriotic Forum resolved to demand an
immediate revival of the library cum study hall for common people in general and booklovers in particular. Organized on the occasion of Karmavir’s 82nd death anniversary on 15 February 2018 at Guwahati
Press Club, the meeting also insisted on installing a life size statue of the great patriot in an appropriate location.

While, senior journalist DN Chakravarty described Bardoloi as one of
the most outstanding national leaders of the pre-Independence era,
Padmashri Ajay Dutta paid homage to the great soul. AIPF Assam unit
president Rupam Barua, academician Dr Jagadindra Raychoudhury, social worker Jaharal Saha, singers Kishor Giri, Anindita Choudhry and Ruma Barua with many others also remembered Bardoloi’s patriotic zeal all along his life.

The Patriotic Peoples’ Front Assam, while supporting the growing public responses, came out with a statement to denounce any move to shift the public library from its present location. Endorsed by Jahnabi Goswami, Ujjal Saikia, Rubee Das, Dhiraj Goswami, Kumud Das, Indranil Kalita, Suryaman Chetri, Alok Das, Kumarjit Sarma, Arup Koch, Protim Sarma, Sanjeeb Kalita, Bikash Halder etc, the statement concluded with the argument that the revived library should be always open for common readers.