intersociety
*–Intersociety Urges UN & 20 Foreign Missions In
Nigeria
(Chima Ubani Center, Onitsha Nigeria:
24th October 2018)–The gateway to
world peace and security remains comprehensive reforms in the
United Nations and facilitation of permanent peace in the
decades-long Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. The alternative to these
is disbandment of the United Nations and its immediate replacement
with a new world body founded on a new world order devoid of
deepened signs and conducts of divided society including nuclear
and small arms holocaust or threats of
same, Intersociety said today in
Onitsha, Nigeria in a statement summing up its special letters to
the UN dated 9th October 2018 and the 20 selected
foreign missions in Nigeria including Nigeria’s Minister
of Foreign Affairs, dated 23rd October 2018.Recall
that Intersociety had on
9th October 2018 sent a research
letter to (1) H.E.,
Maria Fernanda Espinosa (Ecuador), President of the UN General
Assembly, (2) H.E., Antonio Manuel de Oliveira Guterres (Portugal),
Secretary Gen of the United Nations, (3) H.E.,
Ambassador Nikki R. Haley, the outgoing US Ambassador to UN and
immediate past President of the UN Security Council for month of
September and (4) H.E., Ambassador Sacha Sergio
LIorentry (Bolivia), the incumbent President of the UN Security
Council for month of October 2018. The letter,
titled: An Agenda for Permanent Peace in the
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict & a Call for Reforms at
UN was physically and successfully delivered to
the four top UN diplomats through our local contacts in New
York.
Intersociety also wrote a
five-page introductory letter, dated
23rd October 2018 to 18 selected foreign missions
and two international Arab and Muslim organizations as well as the
Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs; totaling twenty-one (21).
They include the Ambassadors of Israel, Palestine, Algeria, Saudi
Arabia, Turkey, Iran, Lebanon, Egypt, Germany, USA, France, Russia
and China to Nigeria as well as the High Commissioners of Britain,
Australia and Canada to Nigeria.
Others are the Head of EU Mission to Nigeria and ECOWAS, the
Apostolic Nuncio (Vatican Ambassador to Nigeria) and Secretaries
Gen of the League of Arab States (Arab League) and the Organization
of the Islamic Cooperation (formerly Organization of the Islamic
Conference). The letter was also sent to the Nigerian Minister of
Foreign Affairs, Mr. Godfrey Onyema.
The letter, titled: Presentation of Our
Historic Agenda for Permanent Resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian
Conflict & Comprehensive Reforms of the United
Nations, has been physically and successfully
delivered to 19 of its recipients while the remaining two are
already sent to Cairo, Egypt and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia headquarters
of the Arab League and the OIC and was copied
to Amnesty Int’l, UK, Human Rights Watch, USA, Int’l
Peace Institute, USA, the Norwegian Peace Institute, Norway,
Attorney Bruce Fein, Former Assistant Attorney Gen of USA,
Washington DC, USA and Prof Justin Akujieze, President of the Ekwe
Nche Research Institute/Organization, Chicago,
USA.
We had in our letter to UN strongly urged the world body to wake
up from its present slumber and rise to the occasion by truly
ensuring world peace and security including protection and
advancement of democracy and human rights all over the world. We
further urged the UN to ensure that the annual General
Assembly session of the UN such as the just ended 2018 session is
not permanently turned into a talk show or assemblage
of the good, the bad and the ugly of the global
community or annual gathering for legitimization and
escalation of the global tragedies.
The decades-long Israeli-Palestinian Conflict was identified as
the greatest threat to global peace and security since the end of
the cold war in 1991 and the world oldest conflict, dating back to
1948. The devastating conflict has been responsible for endless
armed conflicts such as insurgencies and terrorisms as well as arms
race including proliferation of small arms and light weapons and
“nuclearization” of the Middle East (i.e. large scale production
and possession of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons or
threats of possessing them).
The Conflict has further caused havocs, deaths, depopulation,
forceful migration, rape and other sexual violence, hunger,
diseases, starvation, injuries, fears and under-development as well
as generation of intractable religious tensions in the Region. It
has as well led to age-long leadership logjam and display of
negative or illegitimate power play at the
UN. Intersociety had in its letter
reminded the world body that it is globally measured negatively on
account of its inability to resolve the age-long Conflict once and
for all.
Our letter to UN was strengthened by deep concerns and fears
raised by the Secretary Gen of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres
in his opening address on 25th September 2018
marking the beginning of the weeklong 73rd UN
General Assembly. The United Nations Secretary-Gen had fearfully
stated and warned that the world is “suffering from a bad case of
trust deficit disorder” and that “people are feeling
troubled and insecure with trust at a breaking point – breaking
point or shambled trust in national institutions, among states and
in the rules-based world order,”.
Mr. Antonio Guterres also observed that “within countries,
people are losing faith in political establishments, polarization
is on the rise and populism is on the march” and that “among
countries, cooperation is less certain and more difficulties and
divisions in our Security Council are stark.” According
to him, too, “today, world order is increasingly chaotic, power
relations are less clear, universal values are being eroded,
democratic principles are under siege and the rule of law is being
undermined (around the world with reckless abandon).” Our letter to
UN can be read in full here: http://intersociety-ng.org/phocadownload/2018/an%20agender%20for%20permanent%20peace%20in%20israeli%20palestiniaan%20conflict%20and%20a%20call%20for%20reforms%20at%20un.pdf[1]
Further, our letter to the 20 foreign missions and organizations
in Nigeria including the Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs was
in strong recognition of the strategic importance of the named
countries and organizations in the comprehensive reformation of UN
and permanent resolution of the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian
Conflict being recommended. The named countries and organizations
are specifically noted for their protagonist or antagonistic roles
in the past decades in regional or global peace and security as
well as healthy and unhealthy religious, social, political,
economic, cultural and diplomatic policies and conducts around the
world.
Just as the attention of the four principal UN bodies was drawn
to the need to tackle with uttermost immediacy and effectiveness
the two key demands contained in our research
letter to the UN (UN reforms and permanent peace for
Israelis and Palestinians), the attention of the 20 selected
foreign missions and organizations including the Nigerian Minister
of Foreign Affairs was also drawn and urged to carefully and
critically study the research letter and send
same to their home countries for further concrete actions. The
letter to the named 20 foreign missions and organizations can be
read in full here: http://intersociety-ng.org/phocadownload/2018/setting%20agenda%20for%20comprehensive%20middle%20east%20peace%20and%20un%20reform.pdf[2]
For purpose of putting the records straight, below are
the research findings that formed the background
of our far-reaching recommendations to the UN for permanent
resolution of the decades-long Israeli-Arab Conflict. The
recommendations are also
called: two-lands-in-one-state (sovereignty)
solution; a proposed arrangement involving our
demand for free-will donation of lands by Canada to Israel and
Algeria to Palestine for purpose of founding “New Israel” and “New
Palestine”. This is also called:
“Land-Donation-For-Peace Deal”.
For instance, Canada is a very stable Christian country with
second largest landmass in the world after Russia, measuring 9.98m
square kilometers; with less than 37m population and it is capable
of donating as much as 500,000 square kilometers of landmass to the
State of Israel for peace.
Algeria, on the other hand, is a friendlier Muslim country to
Palestine, dating back to 1950s and second Muslim country in the
world with largest landmass, after Kazakhstan; measuring 2.38m
square kilometers with population of less than 42.5m and it is
capable of donating as much as 300,000 square kilometers of
landmass to Palestine for peace.
Our Research Findings:
(1) Claims over lands and roots of origin and resultant
religious divisions and bickering are the central cause of the
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.
(2) There shall be retention by Israel and Palestine of
their present lands with concessions by Israel allowing for
boundary adjustment to cede part of East Jerusalem to Palestinians
to add to their Gaza and West Bank landmass; measuring only 6,220
square kilometers as against Israel’s total landmass of 20, 770
square kilometers (size of Denmark or slightly lower than size of
the US State of New Jersey).
(3) Israelis have homeland population of 8.9m-9m and 7m
others living outside the country mostly in US and Europe; totaling
over 15m excluding “assimilated” and “lost tribes of
Israel”.
(4) Palestinians have 5.8m citizens living in Israeli
occupied territories, West Bank and Gaza and out of this number,
1.9m live in Gaza with small landmass of 365 square kilometers or
5000 people per square kilometer; making it the third
most densely populated city in the world.
(5) Global Palestinian population are put at 12.7m-13m with
over 6m living in Arab countries and 700,000 others scattered in
other countries including Europe and Americas.
(6) Totality of these clearly indicates acute shortage of
land and space for the citizens of the two ancient
tribes.
(7) Kazakhstan was found to be the Muslim country with
largest landmass in the world measuring 2.73million square
kilometers (more than three times Nigeria’s 923,000 square
kilometers quartering its human population of over 180m).
(8) But the Kazakhstan’s odd side is its over
26percent Christian population and 70% Muslim population, as
against Algeria’s 2.38m square kilometers of landmass (more than
two-and-half size of Nigerian landmass) and 99% Muslim population.
Algeria is home to only 100,000 Christians.
(9) With this, the Islamic Republic of Algeria is favorably
disposed to be approached for land donation to the Palestinian
People. This is in addition to age-long cultural, political,
economic and religious affinities between Algeria and Palestine
dating back to 1950s.
(10) Algerian population of 42.1m (2018 UN estimates) and
its growth rate was not found to be threatened even in the next
10,000 years; in case it is persuaded to donate a land to
Palestine, as it can harmlessly donate as much as 300,000 square
kilometers of landmass to Palestinians in our
“land-donation-for-peace” recommendation and appeal.
(11) Canada, on the other hand, is the most favorable
and friendly to be approached for land donation to the State of
Israel. It can harmlessly donate as much as 500,000 square
kilometers of landmass to the State of Israel.
(12) We say this because Canada is the second Christian or
non Muslim country with largest landmass in the world, after
Republic of Russia. While Russia has a total landmass of
17.1million square kilometers (roughly twenty times more than the
size of Nigeria’s 923,000) with human population of 144.3m (World
Bank estimates 2016), Canada has total landmass of 9.98m square
kilometers with human population size of only 36.95m
(2018).
(13) Area distance between Canada and Israel is measured at
8,850 kilometers or 4,776 nautical miles; meaning 9.8hrs flight
from Tel Aviv to Ottawa or Montreal or Toronto (space
distance).
(14) Area distance between Palestine (Gaza Strip) and
Algeria (Algiers) is 2,923 kilometers or 36.7hrs by road on 80km
per hour and 4.9hrs by air.
(15) While Canada as a Christian country shares a lot in
common with Jewish State of Israel, Islamic Palestine also shares a
lot in common with the Islamic Republic of Algeria.
(16) Possibility of future conflicts along social, economic
and religious lines between Algeria and Palestine; and between
Canada and Israel was found to be very minimal, if not totally
absent.
(17)Unfavorable natural climatic or terrestrial conditions
such as cold or desert was also not considered a threat as they can
be constructively and developmentally managed and transformed with
examples being transformation of desert-infested Islamic Republics
of UAE, Oman, Quarter, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait (members of the Gulf
Cooperation Council) as well as the Muammar Al-Gathafi’s “desert
sea” or “8th wonder of the world”, etc.
Comprehensive Reforms in the United
Nations:
Recommendations:
(1) Neutralization
of the Veto Power wielded by five Permanent Members of the UNSC
especially whereby one permanent member uses same to hold the
entire world to ransom on account of negative exercise of same. A
clear case in point is in Syria where such has cost the death of
over 300,000 defenseless citizens and total ruination of the
country on account of negative power display or exercise or fear of
exercise of veto power by a permanent UNSC member.
(2) If Veto Power must be retained at
UNSC, then single veto power must be eliminated and replaced with
collective veto power of the five permanent members; to be
exercised collectively alongside majority votes from the entire
members of the UNSC. Example is whereby a majority votes can
temporarily be put on hold by the collective veto powers of the
five permanent members of the UNSC so as to iron out issues
warranting such collective exercise of veto powers before
rescinding same.
(3) Alternatively, Veto Power principle
should totally be eliminated at UNSC and replaced with
“four-fifths” or “two-thirds” majority votes of the UNSC members as
case may be.
(4) Membership of UNSC should be
expanded, strengthened and attached with universal limited
government or democracy benchmarks including member-state’s full
compliance with respect for human rights, observance of rule of
law, periodic democratic elections including political inclusion
and limited tenure of office (i.e. maximum office term of eight or
ten years); attainment of economic advancement, regular redemption
of contributions to UN and its peace building operations and
honoring of international laws obligations.
(5) Any member-state of UN undergoing
internal armed conflict should not be made a member of the UNSC so
as to allow for impartial assessment and intervention by the UN’s
Peace Support Operations or Peace Building in such member-state
internal conflict.
(6) Membership of UN General Assembly
should also be strengthened and attached with limited government or
democratic universal benchmarks including a member-state’s full
compliance with respect for human rights, observance of rule of
law, periodic democratic elections including political inclusion
and limited tenure of office (i.e. maximum office term of eight or
ten years); regular redemption of contributions to UN and its peace
building operations and honoring of international laws
obligations.
(7) All dictators and tyrants that have
overstayed the universally legitimized office tenures should be
banned from attending the UN General Assembly sessions and
addressing same; likewise those with large scale rights abuses and
other anti democratic policies and conducts hanging around their
necks.
(8) All UN member-states must be made to
adhere strictly to the body’s founding principles of democratic
freedoms, human rights, peace and security.
(9) UN should expand, strengthen and
protect the membership and works of its bodies and affiliated
others such as the World Food Program, UNDP, UNESCO, the Int’l
Atomic, Denuclearization and Disarmament Agencies, World Health
Organization, UNHCR, UN Human Rights Council and ICC, etc.
(10)The sovereign fate of the 64 Non-Self Governing Territories
of UN (NSGTs) which has been hanging since
1946 or in the past 73years should be determined by allowing and
aiding them to decide through referenda or plebiscites to either
become independent states or be merged with their sovereign
superintendents or independent states administering their
affairs.
(11)In a like manner, the fate of others agitating for separate
homelands or independence statehood especially those using
nonviolence; but steadily passing through excruciating persecution
and other forms of regime atrocity crimes (i.e. People of old
Eastern Nigeria) in the hands of their existing host governments
should also be looked into, protected and guided to the point of
peaceful resolution to live apart peacefully with their
superintendent sovereign territories or live in peace with same as
one united sovereign territory.
(12)Instruments of international justice, democracy and human
rights including peace building involving peace support and anti
terrorism operations, ICC and regional criminal courts; democratic
and periodic elections and political inclusions should be expanded
and strengthened by UN around the world.
Signed:
For: Int’l Society for Civil Liberties & the Rule of
Law
References
- ^
http://intersociety-ng.org/phocadownload/2018/an%20agender%20for%20permanent%20peace%20in%20israeli%20palestiniaan%20conflict%20and%20a%20call%20for%20reforms%20at%20un.pdf
(intersociety-ng.org) - ^
http://intersociety-ng.org/phocadownload/2018/setting%20agenda%20for%20comprehensive%20middle%20east%20peace%20and%20un%20reform.pdf
(intersociety-ng.org)