Ex-UN Independent Expert Alfred De Zayas SLAMS US, NATO Regime Change Wars and Use of Sanction

On this episode, we speak to Prof. Alfred De Zayas, a former UN Independent Expert and author of ‘Building a Just World Order’. He discusses the distrust from some of the global public of the United Nations, Britain’s ignoring of UN Rapporteur Nils Melzer’s report that Julian Assange is being tortured and his call for him to be freed, his work in Venezuela investigating human rights abuses and how the Venezuelan government cooperated with his requests, the US and NATO allies use of ‘humanitarian interventions’ to pursue regime change in countries like Libya and the use of unilateral sanctions which have a devastating humanitarian impact, the public being lied to by mainstream media outlets and much more.
Source: Going Underground on RT

Ex-UN Expert: Biden’s ‘Summit for Democracy’ is Sheer Hypocrisy Amid US Effort to Persecute Assange (Sputnik News):

Ekaterina Blinova

On Human Rights Day, a British court ruled to that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange can be extradited to the US where he might face a decades-long prison term. The ruling indicates that the US and UK are just paying lip service to human rights and democratic principles, says retired UN Independent Expert Alfred-Maurice de Zayas.

US President Joe Biden on 9-10 December held the first virtual « Summit for Democracy » which brought together over 100 nations. While Biden was weighing down on the necessity of protecting basic human rights and freedoms, on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean the UK green-lighted WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange extradition to the US. If extradited, Assange will face espionage charges that could put him in jail for decades for exposing bombshell documents detailing the US military misconduct and apparent war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan.

‘Persecution of Journalists is Incompatible With Democratic Governance’

« The so-called summit for democracy is a painful exercise in hypocrisy, » says retired UN Independent Expert on the Promotion of a Democratic and Equitable International Order Alfred-Maurice de Zayas. « The persecution of journalists is totally incompatible with democratic governance. Many do recognise Assange as an emblematic human rights defender who deserves international solidarity, indeed he deserves the Nobel Prize for Peace because by revealing war crimes and crimes against humanity, Assange has revealed the barbarism of war and aggression. »

De Zayas has criticised the countries involved in the summit for attending and not speaking out in Assange’s defence. According to the retired UN expert, Western democracies’ silence about the persecution of the WikiLeaks founder « completely delegitimises » them.

« Assange did what every journalist does – inform people, publish information that we have a right to know, » de Zayas highlights. « As an American, I am embarrassed that it is my country that is putting up this extravaganza. As a practising Christian, I wish that the United States I wish that the United States would start by repairing US democracy rather than dictating to others what to do. We should first sweep at our own doorstep. »

Assange’s Extradition to US Spells Danger to Journalistic Profession

De Zayas argues that the UK court’s decision to allow Assange’s extradition to the US contradicts « fundamental principles of non-refoulment and contravenes the Geneva Convention, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the Convention Against Torture and the European Convention on Human Rights. »

« The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has held on repeated occasions that Assange’s detention is arbitrary and contrary to article 9 ICCPR, » the former UN expert emphasises. « The UN rapporteur on torture, Professor Nils Melzer, determined that Assange’s treatment amounted to physical and psychological torture under article 7 ICCPR, that he has been held under conditions that violate article 10 ICCPR, and that he must be released and granted compensation for the indignities he has endured. »

In his book Der Fall Julian Assange (Piper, Munich), Melzer details the corruption of the rule of law in the US, UK, Sweden and Ecuador exposing multiple violations of the ICCPR by the aforementioned states. « Moreover, the collusion among countries that are all States parties to the ICCPR is hard to swallow, because all of these countries pay lip service to human rights, » the ex-UN expert notes.

However, it’s not only Julian Assange whose rights have been violated, according to de Zayas: « It is the right of all of us to know what crimes have been committed, our right to demand accountability from our democratically elected leaders. » De Zayas warns that « the journalistic profession is under frontal attack. » No journalist can now feel safe after the US was given the green light to extradite an Australian citizen by the British court, therefore creating a dangerous legal precedent. Australian MPs have recently demanded Prime Minister Scott Morrison intervene in the case of Assange, according to The Guardian.

« An Australian citizen is being prosecuted for publishing details of war crimes, yet our government sits on its hands and does nothing, » Adam Bandt, the Australian Greens leader, told Guardian Australia.

For his part, independent MP Andrew Wilkie called upon the Australian premier to “end this lunacy” and demand Washington and London release Assange. De Zayas notes that many non-governmental organisations have also joined their voices to demand Assange’s release.

US Will Silence Assange One Way or the Other

Meanwhile, Assange’s fiancée Stella Moris said that the WikiLeaks founder intended to appeal the latest court’s ruling. De Zayas explains that the lower British court’s ruling had copped out by deciding that Assange should not be extradited only on grounds of his ill health and mental condition. However, the 10 December « disgraceful ruling » pretends that, after all, Assange’s health « is not all that bad, » the ex-UN expert notes, adding that « what still remains to be decided on appeal is whether it is at all possible to extradite a person who faces continued persecution and mental torture from the US. »

He does not believe, however, that Assange will be extradited: « The European Court of Human Rights will not permit it – and the outcry of Amnesty International, HRW and other powerful NGOs would be troublesome, » de Zayas underscores. « Many UN Rapporteurs would make loud noises. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the High Commissioner for Human Rights would speak out. »

At the same time, de Zayas expects yet another travesty on the part of Western authorities: they may try to keep Assange “bottled up” in Belmarsh as long as possible. And this is fraught with serious risks for the WikiLeaks founder given his poor health, according to the former UN expert.

« The team of medical doctors and psychiatrists who accompanied Professor Nils Melzer during his visits to Assange stated clearly that his life is in acute danger, » he says. « This entails multiple violations of the Convention against Torture – but the corporate media does not tell us that. »

It appears that the US establishment wants to punish Julian Assange so severely that no future whistleblower will ever dare do what Assange did, de Zayas notes, stressing that this directly contradicts all democratic values.

According to de Zayas, notwithstanding all the propaganda about the US as a “democratic” country, history demonstrates a consistent pattern of cruelty toward the Native Americans, toward the Afro-Americans, toward Latin American immigrants, and those who dare to speak the truth. At the same time, rich and powerful are enjoying total impunity for committing what could be qualified by the International Criminal Court (ICC) as crimes of aggression, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, the former UN official concludes.

Sputnik News: https://sputniknews.com/20211211/ex-un-expert-bidens-summit-for-democracy-is-sheer-hypocrisy-amid-us-effort-to-persecute-assange-1091443360.html

Biden’s Democracy Summit lacks one very crucial thing:

By Professor Dr. Alfred de Zayas, Geneva School of Diplomacy. Former UN Independent Expert on International Order (2012-18) This week’s virtual Summit for Democracy, which will be hosted by US President Joe Biden, is likely to become yet another public relations stunt, with the accompanying fanfare of self-righteous zealotry and imperial narcissism.  One may ask whether this ‘summit,’ scheduled for December 9 and 10, is necessary and timely, and whether it will have added value. Observers have expressed cautious skepticism, precisely because this gathering takes a binary approach and starts by dividing the world into “us” and “them,” excluding billions of human beings and assuming that the ‘good guys’ can now show the ‘bad guys’ what democracy is all about.  As UN Independent Expert on International Order (2012-18), I frequently explored facets of domestic and international democracy, as well as the various models of direct, semi-direct, participatory and representative democracy. I noted that representative or deliberative democracy is experiencing a crisis of legitimacy, because there is a growing disconnect between representatives and the electorate. There is a risk that democracy itself may become collateral damage of the credibility crisis resulting from the phenomenon of fake news, fake history, fake law and fake diplomacy. I insisted on the need to return to the true meaning of democracy as rule of, by, and for the people, i.e. people-power in practice.

It is opportune to recall the Outcome Document of the truly inclusive World Summit of 2005, held to commemorate 60 years since the entry into force of the UN Charter on 24 October 1945. In the spirit of the Charter, which is akin to a world constitution, the General Assembly unanimously adopted Resolution 60/1 reaffirming “that democracy is a universal value based on the freely expressed will of people to determine their own political, economic, social and cultural systems and their full participation in all aspects of their lives.”  In other words, democracy is another term for the right of self-determination of all peoples, as stipulated in article 1 common to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The General Assembly went on to reaffirm that “while democracies share common features, there is no single model of democracy, that it does not belong to any country or region.” There is no patent on democracy, no “one size fits all.” In light of the above, one may ask whether the premise of the “Summit for Democracy” is in tune with the “necessity of due respect for sovereignty.”  With regard to international democracy, in my 14 reports to the Human Rights Council and General Assembly and in my book Building a Just World Order (Clarity Press, 2021), I urged concrete reforms to the functioning of the UN, including reforms of the Security Council and the exercise of the veto power. More importantly, I insisted on the necessity of ensuring equitable participation of all states in the noble tasks of the UN and its associated agencies, including the World Health Organization, ILO, UNESCO, WTO, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Furthermore I endorsed the idea of establishing a World Parliamentary Assembly with consultative status, a proposal enthusiastically supported by the late Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, who stated: “The establishment of a Parliamentary Assembly at the United Nations has become an indispensable step.

Let us be optimistic and hope that President Biden’s 2021 summit will give room to the spirit of international solidarity and provide an opportunity to revisit the functioning of democracy in many participating countries including the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Australia, Japan, with a view to making concrete improvements. Indeed, a measure of self-criticism would be very welcome for all concerned.  For instance, Biden’s summit could address the following pressing concerns: How to bridge the disconnect between nominally “democratic” governments and their electorates How to give the electorate genuine policy choices and not just the opportunity of voting for candidate A or candidate B, when both essentially agree on issues that urgently require change How to ensure that the public has access to all information and pluralistic views, so as to enable them to make their own choices How to phase-out media conglomerates that censor and disseminate fake news in order to “manufacture consent,” as Noam Chomsky called it? Anti-monopoly and anti-trust legislation may prove useful in this context. How to make transparency and accountability by governments more than just a slogan How to render periodic elections more than just pro forma rituals How to protect the rights of journalists and whistleblowers like Julian Assange How to give more visibility to “unsung victims,” including the largely disenfranchised indigenous peoples of North and South America, the Crees, Sioux, Navajo, and Mapuche.

Two issues are of particular relevance to the proper functioning of American democracy, one being the undemocratic nature of the “electoral college” and another the endemic practice of gerrymandering. Surely these two problems should be tackled – better sooner than later.  If the Biden Summit conscientiously explores these issues, maybe there will be “added value” to the exercise. And perhaps the gathering will embrace and act upon the conclusion of the 2005 World Summit that “democracy, development and respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms are interdependent and mutually reinforcing.”  Biden should strive for detente as the best environment for domestic  and international democracy.  He should stop provoking the world by imposing sanctions right and left and boycotting the Beijing Olympics.  Let us wish the Biden summit success, that it may rise above platitudes and accept the simple fact that democracy is much more than periodic elections, that it means informing the people on all issues and proactively consulting them, so that they can genuinely participate in the conduct of public affairs. The peoples of all countries – invitees and non-invitees – share the same aspiration to enjoy peace and prosperity in freedom.  In this spirit, states should renew their commitment to support democracy by strengthening countries’ capacities to implement the principles and practices of democracy and resolve to strengthen the capacity of the UN to assist Member States upon their request.

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.

Source: https://www.rt.com/op-ed/542368-biden-virtual-democracy-summit/

GIPRI im Gespräch mit Wolfgang Effenberger :

GIPRI im Gespräch mit Wolfgang Effenberger
Wolfgang Effenberger, ehemaliger Offizier in der Bundeswehr, pensionierter Lehrer, Politologe und Sachbuchautor, spricht über sein « Schwarzbuch EU & NATO – Warum die Welt keinen Frieden findet », das 2020 im Zeitgeist-Verlag erschien. Im Gespräch mit GIPRI gibt Effenberger einen Einblick in die Bedrohung des Weltfriedens durch die NATO und ihr siamesischer Zwilling, die Europäische Union. Interview von Natalie Benelli (27/10/2021).

Le GIPRI en conversation avec Wolfgang Effenberger
Wolfgang Effenberger, ancien officier des forces armées allemandes, enseignant retraité, politologue et auteur, parle de son livre « Schwarzbuch EU & NATO – Warum die Welt keinen Frieden findet » (Livre noir UE & OTAN – Pourquoi le monde ne peut pas trouver la paix), publié par Zeitgeist-Verlag en 2020. Dans une conversation avec le GIPRI, M. Effenberger donne un aperçu de la menace pour la paix mondiale que représentent l’OTAN et son jumeau siamois, l’Union européenne. Entretien par Natalie Benelli (27/10/2021).

GIPRI in conversation with Wolfgang Effenberger
Wolfgang Effenberger, former officer in the German Armed Forces, retired teacher, political scientist and author of many books, talks about his book « Schwarzbuch EU & NATO – Warum die Welt keinen Frieden findet » (Black Book EU & NATO – Why the World Cannot Find Peace), published by Zeitgeist-Verlag in 2020. Effenberger provides insight into the threat to world peace posed by NATO and its Siamese twin, the European Union. Interview by Natalie Benelli (27/10/2021).

Dr. Alfred de Zayas: « Les mesures coercitives unilatérales sont illégales et contre-productives » (articles en français, anglais et allemand – Point de Vue Suisse / Schweizer Standpunkt):

Cet article est disponible en plusieurs langues (veuillez cliquer sur le titre de l’article):

FR: Les mesures coercitives unilatérales sont illégales et contre-productives
EN: Unilateral coercive measures are illegal and counter-productive
DE: Einseitige Zwangsmassnahmen sind rechtswidrig und kontraproduktiv