#global peace institute

[unpublicserviceday]

Leveraging Digital Technologies for SDG Action: A UN DESA Global Policy Dialogue.

To support the United Nations in its efforts to achieve the SDGs amid interconnected crises, UN DESA will host a Global Policy Dialogue on 7 November, on "Leveraging Digital Technologies for SDG Action." The dialogue will be divided into two panels that will draw on the key findings and recommendations of the UN E-Government Survey 2024 and to ensure transformations at the necessary scale and speed.

Despite intersecting and compounding global crises in recent years, nations and regions worldwide have accelerated their commitment to digital government strategies, according to the 2024 edition of the United Nations E-Government Survey – Accelerating Digital Transformation for Sustainable Development, launched by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA). The Survey shows that significant strides have been made to digital governance, boosted by investments in resilient infrastructure and cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence, cloud computing and broadband. Yet, while digital transformation has sparked innovation and growth, particularly in the private sector, many countries still face hurdles in fully leveraging these advancements to enhance public services and participation, key components for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

This dialogue is made possible by the UN Peace and Development Trust Fund.

Watch Leveraging Digital Technologies for SDG Action: A UN DESA Global Policy Dialogue!

[womenindiplomacyday]

24th anniversary of the UN Security Resolution 1325.

Effective civil society advocacy that informs the UN and Member States' policymaking and policy implementation on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) greatly benefits from research on factors shaping the effectiveness of women's peacebuilding, conflict prevention and conflict resolution efforts.

To address this need, the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders (GNWP) and the New York University Center for Global Affairs (NYU CGA) have collaborated through student practicums to conduct research relevant to GNWP's advocacy and activism that began five years ago. The GNWP-NYU CGA collaboration provides GNWP with data and analysis relevant to its ongoing efforts to identify best practices and enhance the strategic capabilities of women peace activists, including through the humanitarian, development and peace nexus. It also provides students with invaluable experience in problem-solving and real-world political and strategic challenges women peacebuilders face.

Event hosted by the Permanent Mission of Austria and the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders

Concept Note

Watch the Informing the UN and Member State Policymaking on Women and Peacebuilding: Academe-Civil Society Research Collaboration!

Panel discussion on the occasion of the 24th anniversary of the UN Security Resolution 1325

[terrorismvictimsday]

Terrorism and the organized crime in Sahel.

Terrorist groups and organised crime organisations usually interact in three ways: they can coexist, cooperate, or converge into a single group. Terrorist groups are more likely to engage directly in criminal activity than cooperate with organised crime. There is a clear correlation between the impact of terrorism and the level of organised criminal activity. This correlation is particularly strong in certain areas, like the Sahel region of sub-Saharan Africa. The nexus between organised crime and terrorism in the Sahel is characterised by activities such as cattle and livestock rustling, artisanal gold mining, drug trafficking, kidnapping, and ransom demands. Terrorist groups integrate organised criminal operations by co-opting illicit economies, taxing both criminal and unregulated legal enterprises, and providing security for criminal groups and the transportation of illicit goods. Areas with contested territorial control typically experience higher levels of violence, including terror attacks. Terrorist organisations like JNIM in the Sahel often increase violent attacks, kidnappings, and ransom activities during phases of territorial expansion or competition. Once they establish control, these activities usually decrease. For example, in Mali, cattle rustling has significantly increased due to escalating conflict and a campaign by IS-Sahel in late 2022 to expand their territory. In Burkina Faso, gold mining has been a major factor in JNIM’s expansion as they seek to extend influence into gold mining regions. Kidnapping has surged in the Sahel, with incidents increasing from 78 in 2017 to over 1,000 in 2023.

[kesarijournal]

The ICC's Warrant for Putin: An Analysis of International Law and Politics

Casus Belli In an unprecedented move, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 17, 2023, accusing him of war crimes related to the situation in Ukraine[^1^]. This decision has sparked a heated debate about the principles of international law and the role of the ICC in maintaining global peace.The ICC’s decision has been met…

[greenthestral]

Achieving Global Peace and Justice: The Crucial Role of Goal 16 and Strong Institutions

In an ever-changing and interconnected world, achieving peace and justice is of paramount importance for the well-being and progress of societies. Sustainable Development Goal 16 (SDG 16), aptly named "Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions," recognizes the significance of establishing robust governance structures, promoting peaceful and inclusive societies, and ensuring access to justice for all. This article delves into the essence of Goal 16 and highlights its vital role in fostering peace, justice, and strong institutions worldwide.

Understanding SDG 16 and Its Significance

SDG 16, part of the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, holds significant importance in addressing some of the most pressing global challenges. It acknowledges the inseparable connection between peace, justice, and strong institutions as crucial foundations for sustainable development and the well-being of societies worldwide. By setting this goal, the United Nations aims to provide a comprehensive framework that guides countries in their efforts to create peaceful, just, and inclusive societies.

At its core, SDG 16 recognizes that without peace and stability, sustainable development becomes unattainable. Armed conflicts, political instability, and social unrest not only lead to immense human suffering but also impede progress in various areas such as education, health, and economic growth. By prioritizing peace, the goal acknowledges the urgent need to address the root causes of violence, prevent conflicts, and build societies that can thrive in an atmosphere of tranquility.

In addition to peace, justice is an essential pillar of SDG 16. It emphasizes the importance of establishing fair and effective legal systems that ensure equal access to justice for all individuals, regardless of their socio-economic background. Access to justice is not limited to formal legal processes but extends to broader aspects, such as addressing grievances, resolving disputes, and promoting human rights. By ensuring access to justice, societies can guarantee the protection of fundamental rights, reduce inequalities, and foster social cohesion.

Strong institutions form another critical aspect of SDG 16. These institutions encompass a wide range of entities, including governments, public administrations, judicial systems, and law enforcement agencies. They play a pivotal role in upholding the rule of law, promoting good governance, and ensuring accountability at all levels. Strong institutions provide a stable framework that enables countries to effectively respond to the needs of their citizens, protect human rights, combat corruption, and provide essential services. By strengthening institutions, countries can establish an environment conducive to sustainable development and the realization of the other Sustainable Development Goals.

SDG 16 outlines specific targets and indicators to guide countries in their efforts to achieve peace, justice, and strong institutions. These targets include reducing all forms of violence and related death rates, ending abuse, exploitation, trafficking, and all forms of violence against children, promoting the rule of law at the national and international levels, and significantly reducing corruption and bribery. Additionally, the goal aims to ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory, and representative decision-making processes, strengthen the capacity of institutions at all levels, and ensure public access to information and fundamental freedoms.

To achieve these targets, countries need to develop comprehensive strategies, policies, and action plans tailored to their specific contexts. This requires multi-sectoral collaboration involving government entities, civil society organizations, the private sector, and citizens themselves. It is crucial to address the underlying factors that contribute to violence, inequality, and weak institutions, such as poverty, lack of education, discrimination, and social exclusion. By adopting a holistic approach and integrating the principles of SDG 16 into their national agendas, countries can make significant strides towards building peaceful and just societies.

Moreover, achieving SDG 16 requires international cooperation and partnerships. Many of the challenges related to peace, justice, and strong institutions transcend national boundaries, necessitating collective action. Countries can collaborate on sharing best practices, exchanging knowledge and expertise, and providing financial and technical assistance to support capacity building efforts in developing nations. By working together, the international community can promote peacebuilding, conflict prevention, and the strengthening of legal systems globally.

SDG 16 plays a pivotal role in the global pursuit of sustainable development. By recognizing the interconnectedness of peace, justice, and strong institutions, this goal provides a comprehensive framework for countries to eradicate violence, reduce corruption, promote good governance, and ensure equal access to justice. The successful achievement of SDG 16 not only contributes to the well-being of individuals and societies but also creates an environment conducive to the realization of all the other Sustainable Development Goals. Through collective action and commitment, countries can build a world where peace, justice, and strong institutions prevail.

The Link between Peace, Justice, and Sustainable Development

Peace and justice are intricately interconnected with sustainable development. Without peace, societies face constant conflicts, hindered progress, and widespread poverty. Similarly, without justice, marginalized communities struggle to access essential services, experience discrimination, and live in perpetual insecurity. Achieving sustainable development requires addressing the root causes of violence, establishing just systems, and providing equal opportunities for all individuals, regardless of their background.

Building Strong Institutions for Effective Governance

Strong institutions are the backbone of a functioning society. They uphold the rule of law, protect human rights, and ensure accountability. Such institutions foster trust between citizens and governments, creating an environment conducive to economic growth and social stability. Through effective governance structures, governments can address societal grievances, reduce corruption, and promote transparency, ultimately leading to stronger and more inclusive societies.

Advancing Peaceful and Inclusive Societies

Peaceful and inclusive societies are vital for achieving SDG 16. By promoting social cohesion, dialogue, and inclusivity, countries can reduce violence, prevent conflicts, and create a harmonious environment where all individuals can thrive. Investing in education, empowering marginalized communities, and fostering intercultural understanding are key components in building societies that value diversity and promote peaceful coexistence.

Reducing Violence and Crime Rates

SDG 16 emphasizes the need to reduce all forms of violence and crime. Violence, whether it is domestic, interpersonal, or related to armed conflicts, hampers development efforts and negatively impacts individuals, families, and communities. Through the implementation of effective policies, investments in crime prevention, and promoting conflict resolution mechanisms, countries can create safer environments that enable their citizens to lead fulfilling lives.

Tackling Corruption and Promoting Transparency

Corruption undermines trust in institutions, distorts the allocation of resources, and exacerbates inequality. SDG 16 highlights the importance of combating corruption at all levels and promoting transparency in governance. By establishing robust anti-corruption measures, implementing accountable practices, and encouraging citizen participation, countries can foster an environment of integrity, thus bolstering public trust and promoting sustainable development.

Ensuring Access to Justice for All

Equal access to justice is a fundamental human right and a cornerstone of SDG 16. Many individuals, particularly vulnerable populations, face barriers when seeking justice, including financial constraints, discrimination, and inadequate legal systems. By strengthening legal institutions, providing legal aid, and promoting fair and efficient judicial processes, countries can ensure that justice is accessible to all, regardless of their socioeconomic status.

Promoting International Cooperation and Partnerships

Achieving SDG 16 requires global collaboration and partnerships. Addressing transnational crime, promoting the rule of law, and strengthening institutions at the international level are essential components of Goal 16. By fostering cooperation among countries, sharing best practices, and providing financial and technical assistance to developing nations, the international community can work collectively towards peace, justice, and strong institutions worldwide.

Conclusion

Goal 16, "Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions," recognizes the indispensable role of peace, justice, and effective governance in achieving sustainable development. By promoting peaceful and inclusive societies, reducing violence and crime, tackling corruption, ensuring access to justice, and fostering international cooperation, countries can create a world where all individuals can live in dignity, security, and prosperity. To create a better future for all, it is crucial that governments, organizations, and individuals join forces to support and implement the targets of SDG 16, working towards a more peaceful and just world.

[whatisonthemoon]

Howard Wiarda on the Moonie-Organized “Global Economic Action Institute” (GEAI)

Howard J. Wiarda was an academic, associated with both Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)

In the mid-1980s, I contracted with the Global Economic Action Institute (GEAI) to edit a book on development successes and democracy in the Third World. The main case studies were Costa Rica, Hungary, Ivory Coast, and Malaysia, so the project required me to acquire expertise on three countries that I didn't know well (Hungary, Ivory Coast, and Malaysia; Costa Rica I already knew well) — countries whose development I have followed closely over the years. I was not a completely independent actor in doing this small book: GEAI had given me a partially completed manuscript drafted by some of its own personnel and advisers that had a strongly pro-democracy, pro-free market slant. The draft was way too strident and conservative for me, but I could certainly support a moderate democracy/free market position. My assignment from GEAI was to take this draft, rewrite it, and convert it into prose that academics, think tankers, and policy experts could support. A handsome honorarium was involved.

So, I took the draft, started from word one to rewrite, toned down the more ideological language of the original manuscript, and introduced a tone into the report that was social-scientific and academic. The report forced me to do considerable new research; it also got me thinking seriously not just about analyzing development in the Third World but, for the first time in a policy sense, how to achieve development. Some twenty years later, I would return to these themes in my own, single-authored book on the developing nations where the main subject was what works in development and what doesn't.

I was about halfway through the project before I came to realize that GEAI was a front for the Rev. Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church. This was a "Moonie" project, and I was working for the "Moonie Church." I hadn't realized this before since all the officials I'd dealt with at GEAI, as well as the individuals who'd done the first draft, were all Americans. What to do? Rev. Moon, he of the karate chop delivery, the mass marriages (in the thousands in a football stadium) of his followers, and some truly bizarre religious and political beliefs, was not my favorite fellow. I didn't want to sell out my academic reputation; on the other hand, the money was good, and I had been assured of complete academic freedom. So, I finished the project. It turned out to be a respectable monograph and was published by GEAI, even though, fearing for my reputation from being associated with the Moonies, I asked that my name not be listed as the author on the front cover.

In the course of doing this project, I got invited to several Moonie events in the Washington area. One was a large, annual Moonie reception for all its friends and hangers-on at the luxurious Marriott Hotel in downtown Washington. Iêda and I were amazed to find over 2,000 people present, the cream of Washington society and politics. We were also invited to other Washington Institute (another front for the Unification Church) sponsored seminars and policy forums; there I was surprised to find such luminaries as intellectual Richard Rubenstein, former Kissinger aide Hal Sonnenfeldt, philosopher and editor Morton Kaplan, and political boy wonder, then head of the Republican Young Americans for Freedom, Ralph Reed. All of these were friends or acquaintances of mine from Washington policy circles; I was as surprised to find them at a Moonie event as they were to find me. Rev. Moon had certainly bought himself access and influence in Washington; I assumed that, like me, they were all on the Unification Church payroll.

Related

Fishing for Respectability - on the Unification Church’s “Global Economic Action Institute”

C-Span videos of Global Economic Action Institute conferences and panels - one of these videos ("Foreign Trade and Domestic Subsidy Policy") features Most Durst

Moon on why he founded the Global Economic Action Institute:

I founded the Global Economic Action Institute to help distribute and re-invest inactive, or "sleeping" money to make it work for the world. A world-level bank is necessary to go beyond the boundaries of any one nation. This bank will not lend to individuals, but only to nations. The world is coming into unity, which means that independent governments will merge into one to be more operable on a global scale. Only global thinking and institutions can solve the world's economic problems.

The Imperial Ghost in the Neoliberal Machine (Figuring the CIA)

Emperor of the Universe video.                                       

[brexiiton]

Wave of Terror Hits Pakistan's Balochistan; 21 Lives Lost in 13 Attacks This April: Report

Balochistan has in the month of April this year witnessed as many as 13 armed attacks wherein 21 people lost the battle of their lives, as per a report.

PAKISTAN NEWS, DIGITAL DESK 6 MAY 2023

According to a report compiled by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) on terrorist attacks in Pakistan during April 2023, Balochistan experienced 13 armed attacks resulting in the loss of 21 lives.

As per the report, out of the 21 individuals who lost their lives in the armed attacks in Balochistan, 11 were members of the security personnel, and 9 were innocent civilians. Additionally, the report states the 23 individuals sustained critical injuries, comprising of 21 civilians and 2 security personnel.

"This figure reiterates that security forces, including Pakistan Army, and Police are loyal to the Baloch land as they become the iron shield against the terrorists who try to sabotage Balochistan's peace and stability," the report further read.

"In doing so, they usually lose the thread of their lives, leaving their families in grief however, they don't let the fear of death consume their minds. These Sher-Dil soldiers never forget their oath, which tells them to fight unjust and brutal forces, & lay down their lives if their beloved homeland is ever in danger," it added.

Record increase in deaths due to terrorism in Pakistan: Report

Daily K2, a Pakistan vernacular media outlet, has reported that a recent study by the Centre for Research and Security Studies suggests that incidents of terrorism in Pakistan are on the rise. The report states that in the first quarter of 2023, there has been a significant increase in the number of deaths attributed to terrorism.

Between January and March 2023, a total of 854 individuals were either killed or injured in terrorist incidents and anti-terror operations in Pakistan. Of this number, 358 people lost their lives, while 496 sustained injuries. It is noteworthy that this figure is approximately half of the total deaths caused by terrorism in Pakistan in the entire year of 2022.

The province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa reported the highest number of deaths with a total of 68 individuals losing their lives due to terrorism or anti-terror operations during the period.

The Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP) based in Sydney, Australia, released its Global Terrorism Index (GTI) - 2023 report, which identified Afghanistan and Pakistan as two of the ten countries most impacted by terrorism in 2022. The report highlights that in Pakistan, the number of deaths due to terrorism rose significantly to 643, representing a 120% increase from the previous year.

This rise is primarily attributed to the increased attacks by the ethno-nationalist group, the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA).

According to the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) - 2023 report by the Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP), deaths caused by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) doubled, and the Islamic State-Khorasan (ISK) increased sevenfold in Pakistan. The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) was responsible for around one-third of the total deaths caused by terrorism in Pakistan during the period.

[edenfenixblogs]

2 am rant cuz I can’t sleep:

I’ve stated repeatedly that I’m pro-Palestine and pro-peace, so I obviously want a two sided, negotiated ceasefire and permanent peace for all. I’ve repeatedly stated that I do not condone the degree of heavy bombing taking place in Gaza.

But it’s currently 2:15 in the morning and I am haunted. I’m haunted by the fact that the world saw the brutal attack on Jews and celebrated. I’m haunted by the number of high l-profile celebrities who felt moved to speak out for Palestine — wearing flags and pins and signing demands for Israel to stop bombing, but who said nothing about the dead and tortured and kidnapped Jews.

Yes, what is happening in Palestine is and continues to be a tragedy.

But apparently what happened and is happening to Jews worldwide and Israelis of all religions simply isn’t. At least not enough of one. Not enough of one to move these high-profile folks to speak out for us. Not enough of a tragedy to say the names of the hostages, including one forced to give birth while kidnapped by terrorists. Not enough of a tragedy to condemn the violence happening against Jews. Not enough to speak out on behalf of a 20-year-old singer made to fear for her life because she dared to be from Israel and sing about her own trauma instead of, idk, bursting into flame or shutting up or whatever the mob wanted her to do.

No. What happens to us isn’t a tragedy. It’s a nuisance. It’s a nuisance to have to care about Jews. It gets in the way of everyone else feeling good about their “radical activism” and self-aggrandizing bravery. People of all levels and types of fame. All of whom say they only want peace and an end to pain. Yet when they mention pain, it’s always and only the Palestinian flag. When they want a ceasefire, it’s always an only in reference to Palestine. But they wouldn’t be caught dead asking for an end to Hamas or Hezbollah bombs or even acknowledging that they exist. All calls for peace involve asking Israel to lay down arms but no call for anyone attack Israel, Israelis, or Jews worldwide to do the same.

From large creators to small creators to people in day to day life, non-Jews around the world have made clear that it would be more convenient for them if we Jews just died. If we stopped ever defending ourselves or speaking up or being sad in public.

The vast majority of people speaking out would or will view this post as a justification of violence. But it’s not. It’s a condemnation of complicity from people who claim to care about peace. It is a condemnation of those who claim to be against antisemitism yet refuse to listen when Jews point out how they are contributing to and spreading more antisemitism. People and institutions worldwide have failed Jews everywhere.

Cats Blanchett

Mark Ruffalo

Billie Eilish

Viola Davis

Lena Heady

Susan Sarandon

Ava DuVernay

Hozier

Sara Ramirez

Annie Lennox

Cynthia Nixon

Angelina Jolie

Multiple UN groups and resolutions

College students and professors across the world

Friends I’ve had for 8 years who don’t even respond to messages that I have moved out of state or even spoken to me in at least five months

So many people who are so eager to read every bit of pro-Palestine news that exists and condemn every action from Israel.

And yet…

Before the bombings. Before the reprisals. Before all the violence from Israel: where were they? All these people who so desperately beg for peace (as defined by the end of Israeli aggression only): where were they when it was just dead Jews? Where were the Instagram posts and educational content and in depth analyses of Israeli trauma and history? Where were the condemnations of Hamas? Where were those who are moved to speak for anyone and everyone but Jews?

Are we really supposed to believe any of you actually want peace? When you chant for the globalization of terror tactics that traumatized a generation of Israeli Jews? When you fail to acknowledge Jewish history in any way except to minimize it?

Before the bombing campaign, where were the red carpet statement pins and gowns featuring Jewish stars?

How are we Jews anywhere in the world literally ever supposed to believe that you’re not actively cheering for our deaths? Maybe not in front of our faces, but certainly behind our backs. We know. We know you’re afraid to be less than tactful in front of us, but that you describe our rapes and murders and social exclusion and kidnappings as “unfortunate but necessary.”

I’m reminded of when Israel was first created. At a time where every Jew on earth was traumatized directly because the Holocaust firsthand, Britain left the territory of mandatory Palestine and the UN allowed for the creation of a Jewish state. And then proceeded to heckle the traumatized survivors for handling its creation poorly. The Nakba is a tragedy and an outrage and I’ll never deny that.

But…y’all are no different from the people who stood on the sidelines as Israel was first created. Why was it up to an actively traumatized people who had very recently (and after a continuous 2,000 year period of expulsions and pogroms and murders) been slaughtered on an industrial scale to somehow create a perfect and stable government in a land where people despised them?

The world needs to own up to the fact that everything that ever went wrong in Israel’s creation is a direct result of the continuous and still ongoing contempt for Jews by all the other countries that could have stepped in to help and provide Jews with a guarantee of safety at any time in the last 2,000 years in general but also since 1934 specifically. And you didn’t. Your great grandparents and grandparents and parents all didn’t do jack shit. And you are following in their footsteps. You are all doing just as they did: standing on the sidelines and heckling the Jews you don’t like for fighting back too aggressively.

But what exactly have you or anyone else done to help Jews in your communities or in Israel to not feel like caged animals forced to fight for survival? Like wild beasts you let loose for slaughter in a coliseum for your own enjoyment? At what point have you worked to provide Jews with other options? How have you made the Jews in your life feel safe or seen during this time? How have you started to deconstruct the harmful anti-Jewish bias you inherited from the people you love?

Is it ok that Netanyahu and the Likud government is bombing Palestine to the extent it is currently doing? Of course not. And I’ll never say otherwise.

But aside from yelling “hey stop it!” at Israel or “you’re complicit!” at Jews who fail to join your chanting, what exactly have you done at any point since this started to make the world safer for any of us?

Because from what I can see, the vast majority of you have done nothing. And every Jew I’ve spoken to in the last half a year has seen the exact same nothing.

Too many of you are too concerned with being on the right side of history. Most of you aren’t famous actors or musicians or whatever. Most of you are just people. History won’t remember you individually. Who knows what history will say about the movements of which you were a part? My guess is that you’ll be called passionate and outraged and sympathetic, but ultimately disorganized and misguided.

But you know who will remember you? Every Jew you’ve encountered since 10/7. We will remember each individual we saw who celebrated our death or ghosted us or made us feel unwelcome in our own lives.

We will remember you forever. And not fondly.

[fairuzfan]

Joint statement by Wikimedia organizations and individuals regarding the ongoing situation in Palestine, 7 April 2024

We, the undersigned Wikimedia groups and individuals, express deep concern over the ongoing Israel-created humanitarian crisis facing the Palestinian population, particularly the widespread loss of life, infrastructure devastation, and severe food shortages in the Gaza Strip. We express profound concern for the safety and well-being of Wikimedia and allied movement activists within the besieged Palestinian territory. Ensuring the safety and well-being of individuals behind the realm of free knowledge is paramount; knowledge cannot truly be free if it comes at the expense of human safety and security.

In the words of the late Reverend Desmond Tutu, "If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor." In alignment with our commitment to uphold human dignity and justice, we firmly advocate for peace and equitable resolution.

In a demonstration of solidarity, some of the undersigned groups have adopted the colors of the Palestinian flag within the respective logos, following the initiative of the Arabic Wikipedia community to symbolize support following the December 2023 day of action.

We urge all Wikimedia groups, affiliates, allies, and volunteers to unite in solidarity with humanity and demand an immediate and lasting ceasefire to halt the tragic loss of life and destruction of Palestinian cultural heritage. Furthermore, we call upon the Wikimedia Foundation to take proactive measures to ensure the safety of volunteers, communities, partners and knowledge and memory institutions from Palestine contributing to the dissemination of knowledge.

We urgently request the Wikimedia Foundation to prioritize the unbiased dissemination of information and the accurate and timely documentation of the ongoing human-made humanitarian disaster and the erasure of cultural heritage. Additionally, we take this opportunity to underscore the importance of global support for enhancing Palestinian content across all Wikipedia projects.

[reasonsforhope]

Note: I super don't like the framing of this headline. "Here's why it matters" idk it's almost like there's an entire country's worth of people who get to keep their democracy! Clearly! But there are few good articles on this in English, so we're going with this one anyway.

--

2024 is the biggest global election year in history and the future of democracy is on every ballot. But amid an international backsliding in democratic norms, including in countries with a longer history of democracy like India, Senegal’s election last week was a major win for democracy. It’s also an indication that a new political class is coming of age in Africa, exemplified by Senegal’s new 44-year-old president, Bassirou Diomaye Faye.

The West African nation managed to pull off a free and fair election on March 24 despite significant obstacles, including efforts by former President Macky Sall to delay the elections and imprison or disqualify opposition candidates. Add those challenges to the fact that many neighboring countries in West Africa — most prominently Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, but other nations across the region too — have been repeatedly undermined by military coups since 2020.

Sall had been in power since 2012, serving two terms. He declined to seek a third term following years of speculation that he would do so despite a constitutional two-term limit. But he attempted to extend his term, announcing in February that elections (originally to be held that month) would be pushed off until the end of the year in defiance of the electoral schedule.

Sall’s allies in the National Assembly approved the measure, but only after security forces removed opposition politicians, who vociferously protested the delay. Senegalese society came out in droves to protest Sall’s attempted self-coup, and the Constitutional Council ruled in late February that Sall’s attempt to stay in power could not stand.

That itself was a win for democracy. Still, opposition candidates, including Faye, though legally able to run, remained imprisoned until just days before the election — while others were barred from running at all. The future of Senegal’s democracy seemed uncertain at best.

Cut to Tuesday [April 2, 2024], when Sall stepped down and handed power to Faye, a former tax examiner who won on a campaign of combating corruption, as well as greater sovereignty and economic opportunity for the Senegalese. And it was young voters who carried Faye to victory...

“This election showed the resilience of the democracy in Senegal that resisted the shock of an unexpected postponement,” Adele Ravidà, Senegal country director at the lnternational Foundation for Electoral Systems, told Vox via email. “... after a couple of years of unprecedented episodes of violence [the Senegalese people] turned the page smoothly, allowing a peaceful transfer of power.”

And though Faye’s aims won’t be easy to achieve, his win can tell us not only about how Senegal managed to establish its young democracy, but also about the positive trend of democratic entrenchment and international cooperation in African nations, and the power of young Africans...

Senegal and Democracy in Africa

Since it gained independence from France in 1960, Senegal has never had a coup — military or civilian. Increasingly strong and competitive democracy has been the norm for Senegal, and the country’s civil society went out in great force over the past three years of Sall’s term to enforce those norms.

“I think that it is really the victory of the democratic institutions — the government, but also civil society organization,” Sany said. “They were mobilized, from the unions, teacher unions, workers, NGOs. The civil society in Senegal is one of the most experienced, well-organized democratic institutions on the continent.” Senegalese civil society also pushed back against former President Abdoulaye Wade’s attempt to cling to power back in 2012, and the Senegalese people voted him out...

Faye will still have his work cut out for him accomplishing the goals he campaigned on, including economic prosperity, transparency, food security, increased sovereignty, and the strengthening of democratic institutions. This will be important, especially for Senegal’s young people, who are at the forefront of another major trend.

Young Africans will play an increasingly key role in the coming decades, both on the continent and on the global stage; Africa’s youth population (people aged 15 to 24) will make up approximately 35 percent of the world’s youth population by 2050, and Africa’s population is expected to grow from 1.5 billion to 2.5 billion during that time. In Senegal, people aged 10 to 24 make up 32 percent of the population, according to the UN.

“These young people have connected to the rest of the world,” Sany said. “They see what’s happening. They are interested. They are smart. They are more educated.” And they have high expectations not only for their economic future but also for their civil rights and autonomy.

The reality of government is always different from the promise of campaigning, but Faye’s election is part of a promising trend of democratic entrenchment in Africa, exemplified by successful transitions of power in Nigeria, Liberia, and Sierra Leone over the past year. To be sure, those elections were not without challenges, but on the whole, they provide an important counterweight to democratic backsliding.

Senegalese people, especially the younger generation, have high expectations for what democracy can and should deliver for them. It’s up to Faye and his government to follow."

-via Vox, April 4, 2024

[weemietime]

Let's not devolve into right-wing extremism whilst advocating for basic human rights over here. I see a lot of Jews who are angry at the double standards levied at them from organizations like the United Nations. The UN has a big corruption problem, we all know this.

But we cannot let the perfect get in the way of the good, either. Refusing to have a global international organization like the United Nations as a whole is anti-democratic and illiberal. Whether you advocate for the UN to be replaced by a less corrupted international system or whether you advocate for the UN itself to evolve into this system: we want international cooperation. We want international law.

How the UN is doing things is very flawed, I agree. It accuses Israel of being uniquely and specially evil whilst giving Maduro and Jinping a seat at the table. Nevertheless, we want Palestine to focus on genuine state-building. If they did that, they would improve the lives of their citizens who would be less influenced by radical ideology. If they did that they would have robust social programs aimed at educating their populace and integrating with their neighbors as opposed to fighting them all.

Palestinians having a country of their own is a good thing. Gaza being a country is a good thing. Palestinians being prosperous and peaceful is a good thing. Dissolving the West Bank settlements is understandably a complicated issue, because these settlements do provide insulation in the form of security against terrorism.

But they're illegal for a good reason, because there is an extremely unequal systemic institutional governance there and because the settlers are emboldened by extremists in the government to perpetuate violence, theft and dehumanization. It's obviously strange to see an anarchist advocating for these systems, but I understand the world we live in. I don't claim to be a real, true-blue anarchist. I believe in mutual aid, cooperation, voluntary immigration, and close-knit communities.

I don't believe in policing as it is now. It is possible for us to have loosely-networked communities of people who are provided resources and protection by elected leadership, who still maintain their individual autonomy.

It's not black and white, it's never been black and white. International organization is important, it's how we progress socially and technologically. Land, citizenship is different than a state apparatus, but we can't ignore that right now, state-building and government is a part of international organization.

[weshallflyaway]

Don’t underestimate how important South Africa’s case against Israel in the International Court of Justice is.

They are outlining a case related to ongoing violence, oppression, apartheid and ethnic cleansing going back to the Nakba in 1948. They are bringing to the world’s attention in a way that can’t be ignored, in clear legal and conventional terms exactly in which ways Israel has continuously and deliberately harmed Palestinians since that time.

While the ICJ may not be able to stop the violence, a legal ruling of genocide has far reaching effects - not least of which is on the PR machinery that has been used to justify these atrocities. If ICJ rules in favour of South Africa, then not only is Israel guilty of genocidal intent, their main ally the US is guilty (if not legally then morally) or enabling and supporting a genocide.

In years to come it will be remembered that the western powers that set up these institutions to prevent further atrocities after World War II remained silent in cowardice rather than support justice. It will be remembered that it was the global south who stood up and fought to stop a genocide.

It will show, once and for all, that the balance of power rests in the wrong hand and that the US’s claims of guarding the global peace has never been anything more than their desire to safeguard their own strategic interests.

[terrorismvictimsday]

Properties of Terrorism.

Terrorism kills far fewer people than other forms of violence. Armed conflict kills nine times as many people as terrorism, and homicide kills over 45 times as many people. Terrorism is a unique threat not because it kills the most people, but because it has the greatest potential psychological and social impact. For example, after the October 7th attacks in Israel, support for the peace process and two-state solution collapsed, and rates of worry, sadness, and stress all more than doubled. The impact of large scale terrorist attacks is compounded when they are unexpected. The attack in Israel was a considerable statistical outlier, with no previous attack in the country claiming more than 50 lives. Deaths from terrorism are not evenly distributed across attacks. Eighty per cent of deaths from terrorism occurred from the top 18 per cent of attacks. Deaths from terrorism at the group level are even more unevenly distributed. Just 11 terrorist groups were responsible for 80 per cent of all deaths from terrorism since 2007. Most terrorist groups do not last very long. Of the 139 groups that were active in 2007, just 25 were still active in 2023. Over 44 per cent of groups last two years or less. Terrorist groups that disband are not being replaced with new groups at the same rate. The total number of active terrorist groups has fallen 51 per cent since 2007. This fall was almost identical for political, religious, and nationalist terrorist groups. Terrorism is correlated with measures of both negative peace, such as the Global Peace Index, and Positive Peace. All three GPI domains and seven of the eight PPI pillars correlate with the Global Terrorism Index. The drivers of terrorism vary in strength between highly economically developed and developing countries. In the OECD, internal conflict is only weakly linked to terrorism, whilst outside of the OECD it is the strongest predictor. For Positive Peace, Acceptance of the Rights of Others had the strongest correlation for both OECD and non-OECD countries.

[kdrtsz]

Travel the World of Imagination: Journeys Beyond Border

Kieth Denmark M. Retes | BSIT1A OVERVIEW:

Switzerland originates from the Old Swiss Confederacy established in the Late Middle Ages, following a series of military successes against Austria and Burgundy; the Federal Charter of 1291 is considered the country's founding document. Swiss independence from the Holy Roman Empire was formally recognized in the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. Switzerland has maintained a policy of armed neutrality since the 16th century and has not fought an international war since 1815. It joined the United Nations only in 2002 but pursues an active foreign policy that includes frequent involvement in peace building.

Switzerland is the birthplace of the Red Cross and hosts the headquarters or offices of most major international institutions including the WTO, the WHO, the ILO, FIFA, the WEF, and the UN. It is a founding member of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), but not part of the European Union (EU), the European Economic Area, or the eurozone; however, it participates in the European single market and the Schengen Area. Switzerland is a federal republic composed of 26 cantons, with federal authorities based in Bern. references: Switzerland - Wikipedia

Switzerland, a small yet influential country nestled in the heart of Europe, stands out in many ways. From its awe-inspiring landscapes to its unique political system, Switzerland offers a blend of natural beauty, cultural diversity, and global diplomacy that few other nations can match. Its distinct character is a product of centuries of neutrality, innovation, and a deep respect for its heritage, all of which contribute to the nation’s unparalleled reputation on the world stage.

One of the first things that captivates visitors to Switzerland is its breathtaking scenery. The country is dominated by the majestic Alps, with towering snow-capped peaks that attract adventurers and nature lovers from around the globe. Whether it’s skiing in world-class resorts like Zermatt and St. Moritz or hiking through verdant valleys and along crystal-clear lakes, Switzerland offers outdoor experiences that are hard to rival. Beyond the Alps, the country is dotted with picturesque towns, lush meadows, and sparkling lakes, such as Lake Geneva and Lake Lucerne, each offering their own unique charm. The country's commitment to environmental preservation further enhances the beauty of these landscapes, ensuring that they remain pristine for future generations.

Swiss culture is characterized by diversity, which is reflected in diverse traditional customs. A region may be in some ways culturally connected to the neighbouring country that shares its language, all rooted in western European culture. The linguistically isolated Romansh culture in Graubünden in eastern Switzerland constitutes an exception. It survives only in the upper valleys of the Rhine and the Inn and strives to maintain its rare linguistic tradition.

Switzerland is home to notable contributors to literature, art, architecture, music and sciences. In addition, the country attracted creatives during times of unrest or war. Some 1000 museums are found in the country.

Among the most important cultural performances held annually are the Paléo Festival, Lucerne Festival, the Montreux Jazz Festival, the Locarno International Film Festival and Art Basel.

Alpine symbolism played an essential role in shaping Swiss history and the Swiss national identity. Many alpine areas and ski resorts attract visitors for winter sports as well as hiking and mountain biking in summer. The quieter seasons are spring and autumn. A traditional pastoral culture predominates in many areas, and small farms are omnipresent in rural areas. Folk art is nurtured in organisations across the country. Switzerland most directly in appears in music, dance, poetry, wood carving, and embroidery. The alphorn, a trumpet-like musical instrument made of wood has joined yodeling and the accordion as epitomes of traditional Swiss music.

references: Switzerland - Wikipedia

[opencommunion]

The producer, artistic director, and an educator at The Freedom Theatre in Jenin were kidnapped alongside over 100 other Palestinians today (13 Dec 23). The Freedom Theatre is a hub of cultural resistance and artistic community in the occupied West Bank.

Join me in calling on theatre institutions to demand the immediate release of these kidnapped artists. Here's the email I'm sending; feel free to copy but please adjust the phrasing to avoid spam filters: "Today in Jenin refugee camp, The Freedom Theatre's artistic director Ahmed Tobasi, producer Mustafa Sheta, and acting teacher Jamal Abu Joas were taken hostage by the Israeli army alongside over one hundred other Palestinian civilians. This follows the murder of three Freedom Theatre artists in the last few weeks: Yamen Jarrar (17), Jehad Naghniyeh (26), and Mohammed Matahen (30). The global theatre community must stand up in support of artists persecuted by the occupation regime. There is extensive documentation of torture in Israeli occupation detention centers. I urge [name of organization] to issue a public statement demanding the immediate release of these hostages. Here's a recent article about The Freedom Theatre's work with traumatized children: [AJ link above]" I'm also adding a brief statement from my perspective as a theatre artist, expressing my disappointment in my local and national theatre scene for its silence. If you're a theatre artist or theatre-goer I encourage you to do the same! The international and US institutions I'm emailing: International Society for the Performing Arts - dbaile@ispa.org, mdriscoll@ispa.org, rjohnson@ispa.org, zcheng@ispa.org International Theatre Institute - info@iti-worldwide.org, hessa@cpo.fujairah.ae International Amateur Theatre Association - secretariat@aitaiata.net Theatre Without Borders - info@theatrewithoutborders.com ASSITEJ - president@assitej-international.org, sg@assitej-international.org, chris@assitej-international.org International Federation for Theatre Research - marcus.tan@nie.edu.sg IDEA- info@idea-austria.org International Schools Theatre Association - office@ista.co.uk, tom@ista.co.uk, helen@ista.co.uk, keriann@ista.co.uk Theatre for Young Audiences USA - info@tyausa.org, sbfala@gmail.com, saramorgulis@gmail.com American Association of Community Theatre - quiana@aact.org, david@aact.org, dvancleave@aact.org American Theatre Wing - mailbox@americantheatrewing.org, rachel@americantheatrewing.org American Theatre Magazine - rwkendt@tcg.org, ksmith@tcg.org, apierson@tcg.org, jpierce@tcg.org American Alliance for Theatre and Education - heidischo@gmail.com American Society for Theatre Research - president@astr.org, info@astr.org Theater of War - marjolaine@theaterofwar.com, bryan@theaterofwar.com Actors' Equity - jrice@actorsequity.org, kshindle@actorsequity.org, wcarter@actorsequity.org, abundonis@actorsequity.org The Broadway League - league@broadway.org PEN America - info@pen.org, education@pen.org Please also email organizations where you live, and any personal contacts in the performing arts. You can also tag organizations in the comments of The Freedom Theatre's posts on ig @.thefreedomtheatre

[whatisonthemoon]

Fishing for Respectability - on the Unification Church’s “Global Economic Action Institute”

Washington City Paper Vol. 13 No. 22 | June 11-17, 1993 Fishing for Respectability by Alan Green and Larry Zilliox Jr.

The Rev. Sun Myung Moon has dominion over three separate worlds - the religious, the nonprofit, and the entrepreneurial. But in the Unification Church, worlds collide.

▲Sun Myung Moon and Rev. Yang Hur

Yamano Hana APPEARS to be no different than any other Japanese restaurant in Northern Virginia. It's in a nondescript strip mall on Leesburg Pike, halfway between Seven Corners and Baileys Crossroads. It has a sushi bar, a cocktail lounge, and a favorable mention from Washingtonian displayed out front. You can get salmon teriyaki there for $7.20, and among the chef-created specials is a crab stick and fried flower dish called the Full Moon. Lunch is served beginning at 11:30 a.m. Reservations are not required.

But if Yamano Hana is indistinguishable from other area Japanese eateries, one thing sets it apart: This restaurant is at the tail end of a vast, vertically integrated fishing operation whose components are all tied to the Rev. Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church. Identifying the players in this network is like trying to navigate without a compass - and that's obviously the way Moon's followers want it because they've taken great pains to obfuscate their ties to one another and, most important, to the church itself.

Dig deep enough, however, and this elaborate connect-the-dot game yields a picture with at least a few clear edges.

Annual reports and other corporate records show, for example, that Yamano Hana is owned by Hana Enterprises, a Maryland company whose officers and directors have all been affiliated with other commercial enterprises run by Unification Church members. As recently as 1990, Hana Enterprises' corporate secretary was a director of New Wave Seafood, a Beltsville wholesaler that supplies Yamano Hana with its fish. New Wave's treasurer was at one time an officer of U.S. Marine Corp., a commercial fishing company whose catch ends up at church-affiliated wholesalers. Among U.S. Marine's wholly owned subsidiaries is Master Marine, which builds the boats used by the church-aligned fishing fleets. U.S. Marine is, in turn, under the corporate auspices of One Up Enterprises, a Virginia-based holding company whose president, R. Michael Runyon, is a longtime Moon confidant and an officer of other businesses controlled by Moon's followers. Virginia state corporate records also show that Runyon's wife, another Unification Church member, is a director of Hana Enterprises.

Keep following the serpentine paper trail, and you learn that the Washington-area seafood operations are just one part of an umbrella organization that includes some 65 Japanese restaurants across the nation - including Niwano Hana, on Rockville Pike - and at least a dozen seafood wholesalers in such cities as Philadelphia, Seattle, Los Angeles, and Bayou LaBatre, Ala.

There's even the tax-exempt Ocean Church, supposedly created to give young Unification Church members the experience of spending time at sea. Not surprisingly, Ocean Church branches are based at commercial fishing businesses run by Unification Church members. One Ocean Church branch even lists its address as a Gloucester, Mass., restaurant whose owners are part of Moon's octopan fishing enterprise.

These operations - and other marine-related ventures - are collectively referred to within the Unification Church movement as the "Happy Group," which derives its name from Moon's large Japanese trading company, Happy World Inc. Not officially part of this conglomerate - but nonetheless part of Moon's business network - is the Happy Mind Shop at Home Service, a catalog company in the 3500 block of V Street NE that sells everything from hardware and over-the-counter drugs to produce and, not surprisingly, fresh seafood.

This agglomeration of interlocking enterprises is just one component of a gargantuan corporate empire that includes hundreds of businesses and organizations around the globe. Moon may be well known for having founded the Washington Times and Insight magazine, which have bled his bank accounts of perhaps a billion dollars over the last decade, but these publications are just two pieces of an expanding international media conglomerate that includes foreign and domestic newspapers and newsletters, book publishers, video production companies, and a major interest in an American cable network.

Moon and his associates own travel agencies and health food stores, real estate agencies and office cleaning services, an equestrian center, and a company that bottles ginseng soda. In addition, Moon has financed the creation of dozens of religious and political organizations, including two benign-sounding groups headquartered here: the American Conference on Religious Movements and the American Freedom Coalition.

In Moon's world, however, nothing is benign, nothing is as it appears. Privacy may be universally valued, but Moon and his followers are so intent on keeping their affairs shrouded that even something as commonplace as selling fish becomes mired in a clandestine web.

Trying to trace this corporate lineage is an extraordinary challenge. Interlocking structures make ownership and control of businesses run by church members nearly impossible to figure out. Those who work for these operations will say little, if anything, about them. And the landscape is further blurred by an entanglement of nonprofit organizations, whose finances are subject to less governmental scrutiny than their for-profit counterparts, and whose affairs are therefore even harder to decipher.

The affairs of the Global Economic Action Institute (GEAI) provide a telling illustration of this.

GEAI is a 10-year-old nonprofit organization whose creation was inspired by Moon, supposedly to foster cooperation among nations in their efforts to achieve a stable international economic order. Over the years, GEAI has attracted an impressive collection of politicians, economists, and business leaders. It has published position papers and hosted international conferences, with support from the likes of the United States Information Agency and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. It has received virtually no media recognition - and in fact has never sought any - but from all appearances, it has helped promote the sort of dialogue that might ease the world's economic problems. Finally, GEAI has received financial support from a wide array of corporations, foundations, and other institutions - the Unification Church among them. But it has always been widely believed that the church's contributions were not particularly significant, its influence on the organization tenuous, at best.

In truth, documents obtained by Washington City Paper show that GEAI has been used by Moon and his associates to facilitate contact with high-level executives around the world and advance the church's political and business agendas. GEAI's key staffers - all Unification Church members - have used the organization's resources to run their own for-profit corporations. Documents also reveal how GEAI's employees tried to recruit more than 100 of the nation's wealthiest individuals - including some well-known Washingtonians - into supporting an operation that appears to exist primarily to further Moon's goals, rather than the noble policy objectives outlined in the organization's charter.

But GEAI and the guileful manner in which the fishing operation is managed are not aberrations within the Unification movement. Relationships seem to be purposefully obscured.

The convoluted ownership of U.S. Marine Corp. is typical. According to a Dun & Bradstreet commercial credit report, 83 percent of the fishing operation's voting stock is controlled by the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity (HSA) - the nonprofit, religious component of Moon's empire usually referred to as the Unification Church. That part of the ownership picture is simple and straightforward.

But the remainder of U.S. Marine's stock is controlled by One Up Enterprises, the Virginia-based corporation that controls Moon's fishing businesses. One Up is in turn a subsidiary of a for-profit, Virginia-based holding company called Unification Church International (UCI), which operates a slew of firms whose owners are also followers of Moon.

UCI is so closely affiliated with Moon that the organization's amended articles of incorporation list as its operational purpose "To serve as an international organization assisting, advising, coordinating and guiding the activities of Unification Churches organized and operated throughout the world." What's more, UCI shares corporate offices with News World Communications Inc., the Moon-controlled company that owns both the Washington Times and the McLean home that Moon occupies when in Washington.

Despite this, HSA spokesman Peter Ross insists that the church is entirely separate from UCI, GEAI, and other ventures Moon has inspired or helped fund. "Rev. Moon is the leader of a religious movement," says Ross. "But he's free to engage in all sorts of activities. He's a patron of the media. He's an industrialist. That's all true, but that shouldn't mean the Unification Church is involved."

Ross' statements notwithstanding, additional documents obtained by City Paper tell an entirely different story. These documents, which chronicle GEAI's activities for 1990 and part of 1991, show that church money was sometimes keeping GEAI afloat. They show that GEAI's staff members sought to control the organization. They show that these same staff members aimed to convince GEAI's leadership to accept Moon's vision for the organization. Finally, the documents reveal that the church was so concerned about GEAI, members were actually instructed to pray for its success.

Since his release from prison eight years ago, Moon has been a shadow of his previously public self. But if he's kept a low profile, the founder of the Unification Church has only stepped up his campaign to expand his worldwide influence.

From all indications, his efforts have been successful, although the self-proclaimed messiah is now facing trouble anew.

On June 1, 1976, the Unification Church took over Yankee Stadium for its so-called Bicentennial God Bless America Festival, the highlight of which was supposed to be an address by the Rev. Moon. At the time, Moon was endlessly portrayed in the media as a cultist who enslaved young people and used their free labor as a means to amass a fortune for his church.

The Yankee Stadium speech, delivered in Korean and translated by longtime Moon confidant.

The Yankee Stadium speech, delivered in Korean and translated by longtime Moon confidant Bo Hi Pak, did little to quell the anxieties of nonbelievers. A wildly gesticulating Moon laid down his own version of divine law: America had been invaded by Satan, and God had dispatched Moon here to set things right. Moon's disciples were clearly enraptured by this homily, but spectators by the thousands stampeded for the exits. There was pandemonium, as the inclined rampways behind the stands swelled with a descending tide. Halfway through the speech, the stadium had the look of a visiting-team blowout in the bottom of the ninth: Down the lines and in the upper decks, only the die-hards and dreamers remained in their seats.

It would be another 17 years before Moon would venture on another national speaking tour, his 12-city roadshow having rolled through Washington on May 15. In the interim, he increasingly de-emphasized his religious pursuits, instead focusing his attention on politics and profit-making ventures. During this time, church real estate holdings increased. Moon's tangled web of businesses, once located primarily in Korea, Japan, and the United States, took root throughout Europe and eventually began creeping into Africa, South America, and even the Cayman Islands.

For his troubles, in '78 Moon faced a civil lawsuit brought by the U.S. government, but he escaped unscathed. His luck ran out in May 1982 when a New York jury found him guilty of four counts of conspiracy, including conspiracy to obstruct justice and conspiracy to file false income tax returns. The felony offenses brought a sentence of 18 months in federal prison, and on July 20, 1984, Moon began serving what would ultimately be a 13-month term.

Since his release, Moon has rarely been seen in public. But behind the scenes, he's been all business. In fact, the aging industrialist has not only increased the pace of acquisitions by his front organizations, but he's tried to establish a business/religious/political foothold in Russia and China. He's even negotiated deals with the governments of Vietnam and North Korea.

These days, the 73-year-old Moon has lost any charisma he may once have had. His recent Washington speech, at the Omni Shoreham Hotel, was a rambling, 75-minute patois that lacked the histrionics of years past. Moon delivered the address in halting, at times incomprehensible, English, repeatedly stumbling over words and stopping in mid-phrase, as if he were reading a phoneticized version of a text whose meaning he couldn't fathom. Occasionally, Moon almost seemed unaware that he was addressing an overflow crowd of nearly 3,000: Early in the speech, for example, he paused a full 10 seconds, and when he resumed, a mint in his mouth clacked against his teeth. The sound reverberated over the room's speakers, but Moon seemed either unaware or unconcerned. Instead, he just kept reading, poking at his eyeglasses every so often.

The speech itself, called "True Parents and the Completed Testament Age," amplified some of the same peculiar themes introduced in Moon's Yankee Stadium address - in particular, that America's role as a world leader hinges on its spiritual well-being, and God has dispatched Moon here to ensure that the country does not go off course.

"In these chaotic times," he told a rapt audience, which interrupted him with applause 25 times, "humankind is longing for a true direction and purpose, yet America and the churches have no confident answer. God has granted me an understanding of the forces involved in his providential history. Thus, I know the direction that humankind must go, and I, with the help of God, will lead the world there."

This time around, no one was fleeing for the auditorium doors. The room had been filled with invited guests instructed to RSVP. Business attire was required for admission. The audience was read letters of welcome from Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly and Sen. John Warner (R-Va.); a proclamation from Maryland Gov. William Donald Schaefer declaring May 15 "Family Day" in honor of the event was also broadcast to the crowd.

Moon slowly made his way through the lecture, as onlookers unable to comprehend his broken English followed along with a printed text. As the speech progressed, it became more muddled and self-aggrandizing. Moon chastised Korean religious leaders for failing to believe that he was the Second Coming of Christ. He blamed the Cold War on the failure of the United States and worldwide Christianity to unite with him after World War II. And the self-proclaimed messiah railed against the media and other detractors.

"Can anyone disagree when I say that Reverend Moon is among the most persecuted religious leaders in the world?" he asked.

Not far away, a process server lay in wait, hoping to heap yet more bedevilment on Moon. A day earlier, a suit had been filed in a California federal court alleging that Moon and his associates had concocted an unlawful scheme to gain control of cable television's Nostalgia Network. In essence, the suit alleges that Unification Church International, One Up Enterprises, and other related businesses are all secretly structured to achieve Moon's objectives.

These charges are similar to others that have been leveled against Moon, and in each instance, the church has dismissed them as further examples of the religious persecution that Moon must endure. But the affairs of the Global Economic Action Institute may suggest otherwise.

The Global Economic Action Institute was founded in the summer of 1983, ostensibly to help promote policies that would foster world economic stability. The organization was incorporated in Washington on Dec. 1 of that year, with former U.S. Treasury Secretary Robert Anderson among its board members. A few months later, the IRS granted GEAI nonprofit status—important for the organization because would-be contributors could be promised that their gifts would be tax-deductible.

Much of GEAI's initial funding came from HSA, the religious component of Moon's operation, although in recent years dozens of foundations and corporations have signed on as benefactors. GEAI's membership roster includes individuals in some 75 countries, among them former heads of state, members of national cabinets, academics, and business leaders. Only one person on GEAI's original board of directors—Mose Durst—was affiliated with the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity, thereby creating the appearance of autonomy from Moon. Former Sen. Eugene McCarthy was even enlisted as GEAI's chairman emeritus.

GEAI's headquarters are in New York, and until last year, the group maintained a Washington office. Copies of tax returns provided by the IRS show that GEAI's 1990 budget was nearly $1 million, about 59 percent of which was spent on producing a series of national and international conferences.

These same 1990 tax returns show that GEAI's three highest-paid employees - all Unification Church members - were Garry Barker, Jeremiah Schnee, and Laurence Baer. Together, this trio ran GEAI's affairs.

But that's not all they ran.

The Unification movement typically portrays its involvement with nonprofit organizations under its control as that of a beneficent donor supporting worthy causes. Unification movement members insist that the church exerts no influence over groups such as GEAI - that Moon has no personal involvement in the direction of their operations, for example.

But documents reveal that the Unification Church was attempting to use GEAI to advance Moon's vast business empire. Other documents show that Barker, Schnee, and Baer conducted for-profit consulting work out of GEAI's Washington offices; in effect, the three men attempted to create business partnerships among GEAI contributors, for which they would receive finder's fees or commissions. The evidence also suggested that GEAI was not reimbursed by these for-profit companies for the use of its resources, as IRS regulations require.

Answers about GEAI's affairs were not forthcoming. Schnee, who apparently now runs the organization with one assistant, did not return phone calls. Durst, former president of the nonprofit Unification Church of America, who two years ago severed his affiliation with GEAI, willingly volunteered information about Moon's original vision for the organization but would say little else. Durst did insist that Barker, Schnee, and Baer never ran businesses out of GEAI's offices. He also maintained that he didn't own the building from which GEAI conducted its activities, then admitted that he "might have."

In fact, District of Columbia property records show that Durst was a longtime owner of the townhouse at 821 Massachusetts Ave NE that once served as GEAI's Washington address. Records from D.C.'s Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs and elsewhere also show that at least three for-profit corporations were conducting business from the Massachusetts Avenue address: RFR International, whose president was Jeremiah Schnee; Barker International Associates, headed by Garry Barker; and L.H. Baer International, run by Laurence Baer.

Although Barker, Schnee, and Baer were listed on GEAI's tax returns as full-time employees of the nonprofit organization - their annual salaries ranging from $36,049 for Baer to $57,251 for Barker - they were simultaneously conducting the business of their own companies. Internal memoranda obtained by City Paper show that the three men were trying to consummate more than 30 high-stakes business deals around the globe - from the sale of rare paintings to funding a Broadway musical to the sale of Nigerian light crude oil. In a number of instances, their would-be partners in these deals were the same people they had recruited - or were trying to recruit - for GEAI membership.

On Feb. 1, 1991, for example, Barker's daily agenda lists both GEAI activities and various for-profit undertakings, including a local real estate development project called Stafford Place that the GEAI staff had been trying to fund for at least eight months. The previous July, an internal memo describing the trio's ongoing business opportunities included an entry about Stafford Place and referred to a New York meeting with officials of some of Japan's leading banks. Among the banks represented that day was Fuji Bank and Trust, one of GEAI's corporate contributors.

A GEAI document detailing possible meetings in Washington on Aug. 1, 1990, once again lists both nonprofit and for-profit activities on the day's agenda. Among those whom GEAI staff members hoped to meet with that day was Richard Allen, national security adviser in the Reagan White House and now chairman of Federal Capital Bank, formerly Credit International Bank.

Allen was being actively targeted for a leadership role with GEAI, and the memorandum outlining the Aug. 1 meeting makes reference to discussing such a position with him. In addition, the memo says: "Explore likelihood of possible business ventures with Credit Int'l Bank customers."

The July '90 internal memorandum listing current business opportunities reveals that Barker, Schnee, and Baer hoped to include Allen in at least seven of their projects around the world. These included an overseas office/hotel complex, a European golf course, and a state-of-the-art jet-maintenance facility - a multimillion-dollar project that promised a 100 percent return on investment.

Other business projects that RFR, Barker International, and L.H. Baer were trying to develop from the GEAI offices included a Caribbean resort development, and the business opportunities memo notes that Abe Hoppenstein, a member of GEAI's international steering committee who worked for a New York investment banking firm, might be of help. Still, another project that GEAI's triumvirate hoped to involve Hoppenstein with was a Northeastern gold and ski resort. According to the memo, the investment banking firm was willing to give RFR a one percent commission. "Daiwabo director is interested and might want to visit," the memo added.

Sure enough, the Japanese textile firm Daiwabo was also a corporate contributor to the nonprofit organization, and GEAI's staff intended to take full advantage of their contacts. According to the July 18 summary of potential business opportunities, the Daiwabo connection was particularly promising: "Chairman Satoru Arinobe visited the U.S. in April. Likes [Jeremiah Schnee]. We get a 3% commission on the monthly volume of sales of the company's textiles. Possible Central American/Caribbean contacts. Possible buyers are Danskin, Fortunoff, Members Only, J.C. Penney, Phillips-Van Heusen, John Weitz Co., Donna Carron [sic]. Private arrangement where he helps us with Japanese companies and split commission 80/20 between RFR and Daiwabo."

Fortunoff's inclusion on the list of potential buyers was not just happenstance. Documents show that Elliot Mayrock, a principal of the Long Island-based M. Fortunoff of Westbury Corp., which manufactures such things as draperies and garden furniture, had pledged money for GEAI's upcoming conference in China.

This is the way Barker, Schnee, and Baer went about their business: Those who pledged money for GEAI programs were then targeted as potential business partners. According to a May 5, 1990, document detailing the fundraising efforts for "Campaign 21" - an effort by the staff to quickly raise $21 million - Mayrock had pledged $80,000 for a conference in China, $30,000 of which had been received. The memo notes that Mayrock had agreed to join GEAI's international advisory council as chairman of Fortunoff, and he referred his cousin, Josh Green, to Schnee.

Schnee was obviously glad to have such a referral. A document created by him and his two cohorts called "Individuals to Include in Various Business Deals" features this entry: "Children's Video/Animation. Josh Green. Connect him to animators in communist countries. RFR gets 50% of the difference in cost between U.S. animation costs and local costs."

John Haley, chairman of the board of Pace University, was another contact who Barker, Schnee, and Baer found valuable. A July 1990 confidential memo from GEAI President Lev Dobriansky to the organization's officers noted, among other things, that Haley had joined GEAI's international steering committee.

Other documents show that by the time Haley had been awarded his place on that committee, GEAI's staff had already tagged him as a possible participant in two business deals, including one involving a Midwestern chemical manufacturer. The chemical company's president was not only working with Schnee, Barker, and Baer on various for-profit schemes, including a Moscow office/hotel complex, but the three had also enlisted this corporate executive's counsel for GEAI's chairman search committee - even though he wasn't even a member of the organization.

There was a good reason why this person's counsel was being sought: Edward Kime, another member of GEAI's international steering committee, confided that the would-be business partner had "definitely decided" to give money for the organization's upcoming conference in Moscow. The May 18 documents detailing GEAI's fundraising efforts notes about this person: "Ed Kime says, 'The more active, the more $$.'"

And was he ever kept active. The July memo from Dobriansky to GEAI's officers reported that a delegation had recently returned from Moscow in preparation for the organization's upcoming conference there. Among the "prominent Americans" joining the GEAI group were this same chemical company president and J.B. Fuqua.

Fuqua is the chairman of the Atlanta-based sporting goods and garden products manufacturer Fuqua Industries. According to the May 18 fundraising memo, Fuqua was "very interested" in the U.S.S.R. and was looking for joint ventures there. The memo also states that the GEAI staff offered Fuqua the opportunity to be the international chairman of the organization's Moscow conference - for the sum of $75,000. According to this same memo, Fuqua's response when presented the deal was: "I'm listening."

And so it went. The men who piloted GEAI activity recruited high-level business leaders from around the world to make tax-deductible contributions to the organization. The next step was to get these donors to participate in GEAI's policy seminars. Finally, Barker, Schnee, and Baer tried to marry these same people in business deals, for which the trio was promised hefty commissions or finders' fees.

Such dealing raises questions about compliance with IRS regulations. IRS spokesman Domenic LaPonzina would not comment specifically on the activities of GEAI or its three employees, but he would say that, in general, the government requires that there be an "arm's length relationship" between nonprofit and for-profit activities and that individuals not receive "personal inurement" from their affiliation with a nonprofit organization. "Generally, if someone is benefiting personally from the equipment, facilities, or resources of a nonprofit, that's prohibited," said LaPonzina.

The law also says that a nonprofit organization may permit its employees to use the group's facilities for personal profit-making activities but only if those employees pay a fair market rental rate. If the organization doesn't comply, it can lose its nonprofit status - meaning, of course, it can kiss those tax-deductible contributions goodbye. In addition, there may be tax consequences for anyone who used those facilities and didn't pay for them.

There's little dispute that Barker, Schnee, and Baer ran their for-profit businesses from GEAI's offices. The address and fax number on both Schnee's RFR business card and Baer International's letterhead matched those on GEAI's stationery. Facsimile transmissions sent by the three are identified on the top as having been sent from GEAI's machine.

But if the three men were using GEAI's facilities to run their own for-profit businesses, there's no evidence to suggest that the organization required them to pay for these services. Neither is there evidence that the men voluntarily reimbursed the organization. Attempts to reach the three men for comment were unsuccessful.

An internal GEAI document detailing the group's finances for '90 and the outlook for '91 lists outside income from various sources, including corporate membership payments and rental income from a company called MVA. Nowhere in these documents are RFR, Barker International Associates, or L.H. Baer International listed as having made any payments to GEAI in '90, nor is there anything to indicate that GEAI anticipated income from the three firms in '91.

Related links and notes below

Chicago Tribune: Unification Church Invests Heavily Uruguay (December 1994)

Emperor of the Universe video ‘Privatizing’ covert action: the case of the UC / FFWPU

The Imperial Ghost in the Neoliberal Machine (Figuring the CIA)

C-Span videos of Global Economic Action Institute conferences and panels - one of these videos ("Foreign Trade and Domestic Subsidy Policy") features Most Durst

Moon on why he founded the Global Economic Action Institute:

I founded the Global Economic Action Institute to help distribute and re-invest inactive, or "sleeping" money to make it work for the world. A world-level bank is necessary to go beyond the boundaries of any one nation. This bank will not lend to individuals, but only to nations. The world is coming into unity, which means that independent governments will merge into one to be more operable on a global scale. Only global thinking and institutions can solve the world's economic problems.