Day: August 19, 2022

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is in urgent need of reform in order to safeguard international security and peace, provide solutions to global conflicts and save lives, a panel of academics and scholars said in discussions held Thursday.

Organized by Türkiye’s Communications Directorate and titled “United Nations Security Council Reform: A New Approach to Reconstructing the International Order,” the conference heard speeches from a variety of senior scholars and academics well-versed in international relations who all see the need for the reform of global governance.

“We have seen time and again that the UN, in its current form, adds deadlock to global issues rather than solutions. We have seen how the processes can be blocked when one of the warring parties to the crisis is a permanent member of the UN. The UN, with this structure, is not on the side of the weak, the victim, or the righteous but rather on the side of its five powerful permanent members. With its current structure, the UN is unable to speak out against the oppressor. The main reason for this is the problems in the institutional structure of the organization. It is a fact that Asian, Latin American and African countries are flagrantly excluded from representation in the UN Security Council,” said Communications Director Fahrettin Altun.

“Our proposal for a solution, on the other hand, is to adopt the perspective expressed in the phrase ‘The world is bigger than five,’ which focuses on restructuring the UN Security Council. Peace and stability require a fairer, more resilient global UN system that reflects justice, multiculturalism and mutual respect,” he added.

The contributors to the event included Professor Cagri Erhan, the rector of Altinbas University, Professor Nursin Atesoglu Guney, a faculty member of Istanbul Nisantasi University, Oliver McTernan of the think tank Forward Thinking and Paul E. M. Reynolds, an author, analyst and former lecturer. Erhan and Guney are both members of Türkiye’s Presidential Security and Foreign Policy Council.

The initiative to reform the UNSC as well as the wider UN organization began 10 years ago when the Turkish government expressed concerns over the lack of fairness and equality in the Security Council and especially surrounding the special status of its five permanent members (P5) – the United States, the UK, Russia, China and France – who have the power of veto when it comes to votes in the UNSC and the discussions to be held in the General Assembly.

Although other nations within the UN can be nominated as non-permanent members of the UNSC, as Türkiye did four times between 1951 and 2010, they have limited power and influence in affecting real change, as all outcomes are decided by the P5, and as such, an atmosphere of deadlock has existed within the UNSC which has largely prevented the resolution of global conflicts and crises since its founding in 1945.

The panelists oftentimes quoted a famous saying on the issue by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who said “The world is bigger than five” — a reference to the five permanent members of the UNSC. As such, they called for a major rethink of how to conduct global governance through the UN and an alternative approach that would safeguard the interests of the international community, not individual states.

“Any institution is as good or as bad, effective or ineffective as the people who serve it. But I think it’s equally true to say that structures and rules of an institution can become self-defeating in achieving its goals and aims. And this I certainly believe to be true with regard to the United Nations,” McTernan said.

“When the UN was founded, it was based on a wonderful aspirational idea and vision and that grew out of the awareness of the horrors and the depravity that humanity was capable of inflicting on one another. Now the question we face today is has the UN succeeded in realizing this vision? The answer depends very much on what part of the world you have seen this vision delivered. If you live in Europe, then yes. But that certainly isn’t true in many other parts of the world,” he added.

Practical steps to reform UN

In light of these perceived inequalities and deadlock, it has been argued that the UNSC exists to safeguard not the interests of the international community and global security but the interests of powerful individual states who maintain sway and influence due to their highly advanced economies and their possession of nuclear arsenals.

The hypocrisy and double standards of the UN were also raised, with many comparing the hyped up international reaction to Russia’s attack on Ukraine to the silence over and neglect of other non-European conflicts and atrocities such as the indiscriminate attacks by Israeli forces on the occupied Gaza Strip. The panelists put this down to the imbalance of power in the UNSC.

Türkiye has been at the forefront in calling for such changes. These include introducing term limits to the membership of the P5 in the UNSC, as experienced by non-permanent members, and removing the power of the veto which has prevented the UN from carrying out much needed assistance throughout the world.

The initiative will be broadcast to audiences across the world with similar events being held in France, the US, Japan and South Korea. Its aim is to raise awareness and to foster an atmosphere of critical thinking and solution-driven ideas that would help reform the UN in a realistic and practical way.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Adana Demirspor on Thursday announced the signing of Russian striker Artem Dzyuba.

The 33-year-old, who joins from Zenit Saint Petersburg, has been handed a one-year deal with the option to extend for another year, the Turkish club said in a statement.

Dzyuba won four consecutive Russian Premier League titles with Zenit from 2019 to 2022. His previous clubs include Spartak Moscow and Rostov.

He has scored 30 goals in more than 50 games for the Russian national team, making him the country’s joint-highest goal scorer.

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Source: Anadolu Agency

Anadolu Agency is here with a rundown of the latest developments around the world.

Russia said it hopes representatives of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will soon be able to visit Zaporizhzhia to defuse the crisis at the nuclear power plant.

Russia must immediately withdraw its troops from Zaporizhzhia and end all attacks and provocations, said Ukraine’s president.

Any potential damage to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant is suicide, and it must not be used as part of any military operation, the UN secretary general said.

We don’t want a new Chernobyl, said Türkiye’s president on the nuclear plant crisis in Ukraine, adding that Türkiye is temporarily hosting nearly 325,000 Ukrainians.

For peace talks to begin, Russia must first leave occupied Ukrainian territories, Ukraine’s president said after talks with his Turkish counterpart and the UN secretary general in Lviv.

There will be no solution to the global food crisis without ensuring global access to Ukraine’s food products and Russian food and fertilizers, the UN chief said after a trilateral meeting in Lviv.

Polish President Andrzej Duda congratulated Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on his “constructive role and efforts” in resolving the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

Türkiye and Ukraine signed a memorandum on the reconstruction of Ukrainian infrastructure damaged due to the ongoing war with Russia.

More than 622,000 tons of grain were shipped from Ukrainian ports since Aug. 1 as part of a recent grain export deal signed between Türkiye, the UN, Russia and Ukraine.

A fresh Russian attack on Ukraine’s northern city of Kharkiv killed at least seven civilians, said local authorities.

The death toll from Wednesday’s explosion in Kabul rose to 21, said an Afghan official.

The Israeli army stormed and ordered the closure of seven Palestinian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the occupied West Bank cities of Ramallah and Al-Bireh, witnesses said.

The US expressed concern over Israel’s closure of several Palestinian non-governmental organizations in the occupied West Bank.

Brussels sees its influence slipping away in Latin America and is preparing to ramp up diplomacy and economic relations in 2023, according to EU documents revealed by the Spanish daily El Pais.

A federal judge in the US state of Florida ordered the Justice Department to unseal parts of the warrant affidavit used to carry out the FBI search on former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.

The US said it has agreed to launch formal negotiations on a bilateral trade framework with Taiwan early in the fall amid already high tensions with China over the status of the island nation.

China opposed the US-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade amid high tensions over the status of the island nation.

The UN warned of increasing violence at the al-Hol refugee camp in eastern Syria, home to families of suspected Daesh/ISIS terror group members.

Pope Francis said there is not enough evidence to launch an investigation into Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet for allegations of sexual assault, said a Vatican spokesman.

Hadi Matar, the man accused of stabbing author Salman Rushdie in the US state of New York, pleaded not guilty to multiple offenses.

UK’s rail network is once again in complete chaos due to fresh strikes that began on Thursday, with union bosses warning the dispute could continue “indefinitely” unless their demands are met.

Allen Weisselberg, one of Donald Trump’s top executives, accepted a plea deal and pleaded guilty to 15 felonies regarding a scheme to avoid paying taxes on lavish perks as Chief Financial Officer of the Trump Organization.

Homes and forests are being set ablaze in the Azerbaijani border region of Lachin by illegally settled Armenians as they leave the region, recently captured footage showed.

The leaders of Kosovo and Serbia were unable to find a compromise on a license plate dispute, said EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.

US Senator Chris Coons met separately with Kenya’s President-elect William Ruto, veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga and outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta amid uncertainty over recent election results.

Around 274 million people across the world will need humanitarian aid and protection this year, the UN said on the eve of World Humanitarian Day.

Eurozone annual inflation hit a new record high of 8.9% in July, up from 8.6% in June, according to official figures.

Leaked videos sparked controversy after they showed Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin dancing and singing with friends, and others in the crowd shouting “cocaine.”

A number of Jordanian journalists held a vigil in commemoration of the 100th day since Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was shot dead by an Israeli sniper in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Estonia’s visa ban on Russian tourists entered into force.

The death toll in Algeria’s forest fires rose to 31, in addition to 160 injuries, the Algerian civil protection authority said.

At least six people died and 20 others were injured after sudden thunderstorms and torrential rains on the French island of Corsica, the interior minister said.

Türkiye has detected another illegal pushback of irregular migrants by Greek authorities, the Turkish National Defense Ministry said.

America’s leading health agency announced that it is planning a complete overhaul of its structure and operations due to major mistakes in handling the COVID-19 pandemic response.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Israel’s raids of Palestinian not-for-profit organizations Thursday which the Israeli state has designated “terrorist organizations” caused a diplomatic backlash and drew criticism from the UN and European Union as well as the US.

“Despite offers to review the accusations to determine if funds have been diverted, Israeli authorities have not given any compelling evidence to UN agencies nor NGO partners working in the OPT to support these designations,” the UN said, referring to the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

It added that the “the breadth of the Israeli 2016 Anti-Terrorism legislation and its impact on the presumption of innocence present serious concerns under international law.”

At the time of the Israeli designations of the NGOs as terrorist entities, UN human rights experts found it “disturbing.”

“Israel’s disturbing designation of these organizations as ‘terrorist organizations’ has not been accompanied by any public concrete and credible evidence,” said a statement attributed to human rights experts under the auspices of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The Office of the European Union Representative to Palestine announced that the allegations that Palestinian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that Israel sealed misused the funds of the union are unproven and that they will continue to support Palestinian NGOs.

Several human rights organizations including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have also condemned Israel’s raids.

The Israeli army stormed and ordered the closure of seven Palestinian NGOs in the West Bank cities of Ramallah and Al-Bireh, witnesses said.

The EU last week decided to unfreeze funds allocated to six of the Palestinian NGOs, but despite the vote, the European Commission did not announce that the funds would be unfrozen.

US State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters Thursday that Washington was “concerned” about the closures and had “conveyed the message that there must be a very high bar to take action against civil society organizations.”

The NGOs that were raided were the Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, Al-Haq Center, Bisan Center for Research and Development, the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees, the Union of Health Work Committees, the Union of Agricultural Work Committees, and Defense for Children International – Palestine.

Last year, Israeli authorities decided to close six of these NGOs, claiming that they were “terrorist organizations.”

An Anadolu Agency correspondent reported that the Union of Health Work Committees was not on the Israeli list issued last year.

Witnesses told Anadolu Agency that during the raids, the Israeli forces confiscated files and computers and destroyed their contents.

Clashes also erupted between dozens of Palestinians and the Israeli army during the raids, with the latter using live and rubber-coated metal bullets and tear gas canisters.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said in a statement that its crews dealt with one injury from live ammunition and treated 33 others who were affected by tear gas.

On Oct. 19, 2021, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz issued an order to close six NGOs on the grounds that they are “terrorist organizations” and are affiliated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

Source: Anadolu Agency

ANKARA North Korea rejected the South Korean President’s economic incentive offer on Friday, calling it the “height of absurdity,” according to state-run media.

Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, said in a statement that South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol’s “bold plan” is the “height of absurdity” as it is impracticable to create mulberry fields in the dark blue ocean.

“All (of) the predecessors in the South, and even their master, the U.S. failed to make the North abandon nukes,” she said in the statement published by the Korean Central News Agency.

“All cannot be bartered. To think that the plan to barter ‘economic cooperation’ for our honor, nukes, is the great dream, hope, and plan of Yoon, we came to realize that he is really simple and still childish,” she said, adding that no one is bartering its destiny for corn cake.

On Monday, President Yoon offered economic incentives to North Korea in return for denuclearization, saying Pyongyang’s denuclearization is “essential” for peace in the region.

On Tuesday, Seoul urged Pyongyang to respond to his offer.

Instead of responding to the offer, North Korea test-fired two cruise missiles toward the Yellow Sea the next day.

Yo Jong also confirmed the Wednesday missile tests, stating that they were conducted on the Kumsong Bridge in Anju City, South Phyongan Province, not the Onchon area.

She said the South Korean president has no right to talk about the economy and welfare of other countries. “A knave who talks about the bold plan today and stages anti-North war exercises tomorrow is none other than mastermind Yoon Suk Yeol,” she alleged.

She was referring to the South Korea and US troops’ annual joint military exercises, which will begin on Monday.

She also warned South Korea to stay away from any confrontation with Pyongyang, adding that “Yoon should not forget our advice even a moment that it would be good never to stand face to face with us.”

Source: Anadolu Agency

Hande Baladin is now a video game character after Red Bull released “Spike Like Hande” on Thursday which features the Turkish national volleyball star.

Baladin, 24, who plays for Eczacibasi Dynavit, showcases her skills in the game with agility, strength, bump, pass and spike stages on a field set on Sile beach in Istanbul.

Scores are recorded for spikes, serves and bump stages.

The three highest scores on a weekly leaderboard will win gifts from the Red Bull Shop.

The player with the highest score at the end of seven weeks will meet Baladin and have an opportunity to view a match with her in a private area.

“I am very happy that we have realized such a project with such a team,” said Baladin, who is the first Turkish volleyball player to be featured as a video game character. “I was very excited when I saw the game for the first time.”

“I thank the Red Bull family for making me experience this first,” she said. “The game was also very good. I hope everyone likes it very much. I recommend everyone to play the game.”

*Writing by Selcuk Bugra Gokalp

Source: Anadolu Agency

As pointed out by the ‘Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction’ published in 2022 under the auspices of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, the effects of climate change and its repercussions coupled with the global impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have significantly impacted the realities on the ground. There is no doubt that we live in turbulent times. According to data presented by the Institute for Economics and Peace, there has been a ten-fold increase in the amount of global natural disasters in the last century. 2022 has been no different. From the Wolf Volcano eruption in Ecuador in January to the disastrous effects of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcanic eruption in Tonga within the same month, from the effects of Tropical Storm Ana in Mozambique to the flooding in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the wildfires in Afghanistan in June, to the recent floods in India and Russia are all clear indicators that no matter where we are located in the world, we are not immune to such disasters. In addition to natural disasters, humanity as a whole is also facing numerous man-made disasters with ongoing conflicts in the Ukraine, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Yemen, and Syria to name a few. The culmination of these events has led experts to estimate that 274 million people will be in need of humanitarian assistance throughout 2022. [1]

Whether it be global hunger, poverty, climate change, climate-induced disasters, or the crippling effects of a global pandemic, as humanitarians, we are on the frontlines each and every day, using all available means at our disposal to ease the suffering of those in need while focusing on new and innovative ways to adapt and implement approaches in order to revitalize and strengthen our collective response. On the occasion of World Humanitarian Day, I am honored to commend the sacrifice and dedication of humanitarian aid workers worldwide and applaud them for their courage under oftentimes the most challenging of circumstances. According to the Aid Worker Security Report as published by Humanitarian Outcomes in July of this year, in 2021, 460 aid workers were attacked while performing their duties. Of those aid workers targeted, 140 have lost their lives. Operating in conflict zones has become more challenging than ever before. As the recent developments in Ukraine, Yemen, Syria, and other conflict zones have demonstrated, as fighting increasingly takes place in urban settings with high densities of population, there is also an increase in the targeting of civilians, health workers, and humanitarian aid personnel. The targeting of humanitarian aid personnel is also a threat to the rights of affected individuals in receiving the lifesaving humanitarian assistance they are in urgent need of. As humanitarians, we need to raise awareness regarding the obligations of all parties to abide by International Humanitarian Law. We are Not a Target.

In addition to the direct effects of conflicts on defenseless civilians and humanitarian personnel, there are also indirect effects that are further contributors to world hunger, poverty, and global food insecurity. The instability in traditional agricultural production zones such as Syria and Ukraine has not only been catastrophic for the respective economies of those countries but has also had far-reaching and destructive effects on global food security. When looking at the effects of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine which is one of the world’s leading wheat producers, there has been a more than 80 % decrease in the country’s grain exports since the onset of the conflict, from 6 million tons of grain per month before the conflict, to levels of around a million tons per month currently.[2] This in return has had adverse effects on food prices on a global scale, further contributing to food insecurity. In order to mitigate these effects, there have recently been very productive rounds of humanitarian diplomacy with Türkiye acting as an honest broker between Ukraine and Russia as well as coordinating its diplomatic efforts successfully with the United Nations. As a result of these efforts, a deal was reached to reopen relevant Ukrainian ports to allow the export of Ukrainian grain. This endeavor once again underlines the importance of humanitarian diplomacy in resolving political differences with the end goal of alleviating human suffering.

The necessity for the humanitarian community to equip themselves with new tools and mechanisms to respond to such crises has become more urgent in this decade. In the face of changing dynamics in the humanitarian domain, the Turkish Red Crescent has incorporated new coping strategies to enhance sustainable approaches to aid delivery. To achieve integrated aid operations, our programs and activities are structured on three pillars: social, environmental, and economic sustainability. Indeed, current phenomena have resulted in these domains of action being more interlinked than ever. Considering today’s multi-layered and intertwined contexts in humanitarian settings, there needs to be a holistic approach to instrumentalizing innovative and field-informed solutions.

There needs to be a focus on giving the beneficiaries a platform to help us define and address the root causes of the difficulties and challenges they experience on a daily basis. Such an approach will thus enable us to enhance social cohesion and achieve sustainability in the solutions that are generated. Once beneficiaries are able to have an effective input towards the use of the resources we have at our disposal, a more coherent and informed discourse will emerge, which will then result in a better grasp of the context by all humanitarian actors.

As the Turkish Red Crescent (TRC) we have been focusing on systematizing a community-oriented approach as an enabler to a bottom-up modality. One such example of an innovative approach to enhancing social cohesion has been put to use in our Community Center modality. Since their foundation, our Community Centers have been striving to achieve sustainable contributions towards community resilience through the provision of an array of services aimed at bolstering the socio-economic and psychological well-being both at a community as well as at an individual level. Within this modality, we have been able to successfully establish the Community Center Advisory Boards and Committees. Advisory Committees act as a bridge between the TRC and the community in order to address the current and changing needs on key themes such as healthy living, the environment, climate change, and battling the effects of poverty. The Advisory Boards composed of members of the community are thus able to get together and have direct decision-making influence on determining strategic decisions that will increase the well-being of their own communities.

By recognizing the complex interpretations and conceptualizations of the humanitarian issues through local and institutional agents; a conceptual transition is achieved which enables in setting of the localization agenda as the core principle. As a result, meaningful outputs are obtained by enabling local actors to advocate their community’s needs and generate locally informed discourses.

Innovative approaches have enabled the TRC to pursue financial sustainability as a core principle and supporting pillar of its services. This is especially the case in cash-based assistance programs across Türkiye which enable service providers to almost 2 million beneficiaries. Cash assistance is a means for beneficiaries to have freedom of choice and help them live in dignity. It paves the way for beneficiaries to be conscious of their purchases and allows them to better manage their personal finances. TRC passionately works toward awakening this financial consciousness in beneficiaries. Therefore, it is extremely crucial to have an innovative twist to the traditional financial models which have generated immense know-how over the course of years. We value this experience and take many initiatives to make the know-how exchange possible with other National Societies.

The objective of sustainability is not limited to the sphere of community resilience and cash-based programs. It is a principle that guides us humanitarians in all services that we deliver to communities in need. It is an end goal that is of equal importance in combatting the disastrous effects of climate change. Reducing the environmental footprint of humanitarian assistance should continue to serve as the main pillar of our activities as the humanitarian community. Incorporating environmentally responsible steps into humanitarian operations and programs is the key to the overall accountability of a humanitarian agency. The future of humanitarian assistance infrastructure investment needs to be undertaken through a ‘green model’, ranging from environmentally friendly architectural designs to materials that have no adverse effects on their habitat.

World humanitarian day is an important occasion for us to refresh our innovative ideas, increase our solidarity and raise awareness regarding issues and challenges affecting us all. But it should not be the only time of year when these ideas are brought to the forefront. Whether it be the need to advocate for the effective implementation of international humanitarian law, or the need to undertake humanitarian diplomacy to overcome impasses that have direct consequences for humanity, we need to be engaged in such discourse all year round. The innovative and sustainable solutions we seek are all around us, all we need to do is focus on localizing decision-making mechanisms and ensure that they are taken into the highest consideration by local and state actors alike.

[1] United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. (2022) Global Humanitarian Overview 2022. UNOCHA. https://gho.unocha.org/

[2] John Reidy. (06.06.2022). Ukraine grain exports reach 47.2 million tonnes so far for 2021-22. World-Grain.com.

*Opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Anadolu Agency.

Source: Anadolu Agency