Table of Contents

Free Trade or Just Green Trade? … 6


Free Trade agreements often enable companies to protect their investments from state regulation. They can sue the government if it tries to ban their threat to the environment, notes John Feffer. But civil society organizations want a legally binding treaty to make business responsible for human rights violations and environmental crimes.

Human Rights, Water Insecurity on Six Nations … 8


Amber Johnson and Sue Dick observe that many Indigenous Reserves in Canada have inadequate access to clean water. Even the Six Nations of Grand River, a reserve only 31 km from Hamilton, Ontario, lacks connection to drinkable water. Why so, when other rural communities the same distance from major centres have clean water?

Fix the World … 11


Global governance was already in a mess and Russia’s attack on Ukraine makes its improvement essential. Metta Spencer thinks that the worst defects can be fixed by only six changes to the UN: a World Citizens Assembly; a Stakeholders Council for civil society and corporations; a Futures Lab; Enforcement of international law against aggression; an Emergency Peace and Rescue Force; and clarification of international laws on separatism and self-determination.

Realizing the Human Right to Peace … 18


James C. Simeon notes that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights names security of person as a right, and the UN“s Responsibility to Protect doctrine establishes the obligation of all States to protect their populations from war. Sadly, we are far from achieving this security, so there are now millions of refugees in flight.

C-20’s Motherly Saint and Global Civil Society … 22


Amma (meaning Mother) is a Hindu spiritual leader who provides humanitarian support, including by building the largest hospital in Asia. Now she has been appointed to chair the C-20 for 2023, since it is India’s turn to lead that group. The C-20 is the Civil Society body of the G-20 – the 20 countries that control 85% of the world’s economy. Jill Carr-Harris asks whether a simple but saintly woman representing one ancient culture can lead such an inclusive global organization.

Iran in Ukraine: “Look to the East” Policy or Trapped in a Moral and Political Predicament? … 24


Mojtaba Mahdavi notes that Iran’s official foreign policy was, until recently, to join “neither the East nor the West.” But in 2005 hardliner President Mahmood Ahmadinejad declared that Iran would henceforth “Look to the East.” Since Trump withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal, that country’s relationship with Russia has strengthened. Tehran treats the attack on Ukraine as a legitimate response to Moscow’s security concerns and will build a factory in Russia to produce thousands of drones. This policy may prove self-destructive in the end.

Just a Lump of Coal? … 27


The war in Ukraine and the end of gas and oil imports from Russia have led Germany to reactivate coal power plants that had been shut down, reports Michaela Ehring. But Europeans are not alone in such destructive practices. Canada still has 19 operating coal mines, and their environmental and climate effects are deplorable.

War Criminals & Military Aggressors Who Occupy Seats inthe Security Council … 28


On April 1 Russia will begin its month-long rotating presidency of the UN Security Council, writes Thalif Deen. It is ridiculous for a country to occupy such a role while its president could be arrested for war crimes. Still, this situation is not unique; recall the case of Slobodan Milosevic. Indeed, all the permanent members of the Council might have lost their presidencies too.

DEPARTMENTS
Newsworthy ……… 2
Editorial ……… 4
Letters ……… 5
Reviews ……… 32
Forum Directory ……… 35
Current Controversies ……… 38

Cover of Apr-Jun 2023 issue

Peace Magazine

Peace Magazine , page . Some rights reserved.

Search for other articles by kgsimons here

Peace Magazine homepage

Peace Magazine TableofContents: Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Sorry, this article is not yet available online.

We normally post just a few articles from each issue at the time of publication. The full archives for this issue will be added to the website at the end of the calendar year.

Peace Magazine

Peace Magazine , page . Some rights reserved.

Search for other articles by kgsimons here

Peace Magazine homepage

Peace Magazine TableofContents: Table of Contents

Table of Contents


Newsworthy

The Crime of Starvation in Gaza


Hilal Elver has been the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food and now serves on the U.N.’s High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition. She wrote this article in February, calling Israel’s actions clearly and squarely a “crime of starvation” – and since then the crisis has not improved, but even worsened.

Surprising Partners and Enemies in the South Caucasus.


Why on earth is Israel selling arms to Azerbaijan? Alan Whitehorn explains that there’s a history of old rivalries in the region and the Middle East.

Reading Russian Minds


Andre Kamenshikov and Borys Wrzesnewskyj discuss Ukrainians’ curiosity about current Russian opinions and strange tendency to fall off hotel balconies.

Africa Corps Increases Russian Grip on Sahel Region


Killing Prigozhin also ended the Wagner Group everywhere, but now meet the new “Africa Corps,” which is run by the regular Russian Defence Department, according to John Bacher. This helps their economy survive international sanctions.

Gwynne Dyer on Geoengineering


Dyer tells Metta about engineers he knows who are inventing ways to shade the planet and remove legacy carbon from the air while we cut back on new emissions.

Opposition to the Extreme Right in Germany


There’s a German extremist group that favors deporting immigrants to Africa. But there’s a counter movement too – and by February some three million protesters had turned out, reports Klaus Moegling

Kurti And Vucic: The Odd Couple Who Made Oddity A Science


In Serbia, President Vucic still will not recognize Kosovo as an independent state, notes Alon Ben-Meir, whereas that status is sacrosanct for Kosovo’s prime minister, Albin Kurti.

AI and War


Maybe peace treaties and alliances are no longer a way to advance ‘perpetual peace’, note Karl Hans Bläsius and Klaus Moegling. AI software development goes on in secret and beyond human control.

The World Social Forum in Nepal


This, the16th World Social Forum, met for five days in Kathmandu in February. Asians were especially eumerous, Jill Carr-Harris reports, and there was much talk of making borders more permeable

Upholding the Human Right to Peace


Because of the veto power, the UN can’t enforce laws against the crime of aggression, but James C. Simeon thinks a Special Tribunal may prosecute Putin.

Governing by Juries


The Athenians selected committees of ordinary citizens by lottery to deliberate together and govern. Today Peter MacLeod organizes citizens’ assemblies for that.

Become a Climate Influencer


Metta Spencer urges you to take her free Udemy course on shaping public opinion. Take her quiz to see how uch you already know about soil amendments and carbon sequestration.

Johan Galtung Obituary


One of Galtung’s numerous co-authors, Joanna Santa Barbara, calls him the ‘father of peace studies.’ He wrote 170 books and was humorous and stunningly multi-lingual

Stephen Salter Obituary


You’ll be hearing a lot about ‘marine cloud brightening,’ so remember the great engineer, Stephen Salter, who spent his last two decades working on it.


Cover of Apr-Jun 2024 issue


Click here to download the PDF version of Peace Magazine Spring 2024

Peace Magazine

Peace Magazine , page . Some rights reserved.

Search for other articles by kgsimons here

Peace Magazine homepage