Buddhist Times News – As Sri Lanka researches ‘Ravan’s aviation routes’
Jul 28 2020
Buddhist Times News – As Sri Lanka researches ‘Ravan’s aviation routes’

It is believed that Ravan travelled widely in his Pushpak Viman, and the aviation routes could tell us more about Lanka’s geopolitical reach and influence.

रामायणम्, Rāmāyaṇam  is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India, the other being the Mahābhārata. Along with the Mahābhārata, it forms the Hindu Itihasa.

The epic, traditionally ascribed to the Maharishi Valmiki, narrates the life of Rama, the legendary prince of the Kosala Kingdom. It follows his fourteen-year exile to the forest by his father King Dasharatha, on request of his step-mother Kaikeyi, his travels across forests in India with his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana, the kidnapping of his wife by Ravana, the great king of Lanka, resulting in a war with him, and Ram’s eventual return to Ayodhya to be crowned king. This is the culmination point of the epic. It is the most sacred book, and is read by millions of people every year.

Sri Lanka tourism promotes an elaborate Ramayan trail stretching from Munneswaram to Trincomalee, Ella to Colombo. The nation’s first satellite launched last year is named ‘Ravana-1’.

Contrast this with India, where a masjid stood on Lord Ram’s birthplace for centuries and despite overwhelming evidence presented in court, ‘seculars’ stayed in denial. Any proposal to enhance the philosophical understanding of Ramayan, or studying Ram’s journey and alliances, or building tourism circuits based on the epic is mocked and met with disdain and protests.

While Sri Lanka unabashedly embraces its past, identity and legacy, Hindus in the homeland of their faith are repeatedly shamed and censored from honouring their defining epic because it would apparently be communal and upset minorities.

Indians are supposed to accept without compelling scientific proof the existence of Jesus or Mohammed, but a Ram or a Krishna cannot break the glass ceiling of mythology.

Even intellectual curiosity into Hindu epics is discouraged. In 2015, a paper presented on Ravan’s Pushpak Viman at the Indian Science Congress in Mumbai met with massive outrage. Five years later, a neighbouring government has proudly launched a full-scale study on the subject.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was incessantly mocked when in 2014 he said cosmetic surgery originated in India. Four years later, a Columbia University’s Inving Medical Centre study traced the roots of cosmetic and reconstructive procedures to ancient India more than 2,500 years ago.

“During the 6th Century BCE, an Indian physician named Sushruta €” widely regarded in India as the ‘father of surgery’ €” wrote one of the world’s earliest works on medicine and surgery,” the paper said. “The Sushruta Samhita documented the etiology of more than 1,100 diseases, the use of hundreds of medicinal plants, and instructions for performing scores of surgical procedures, including three types of skin grafts and reconstruction of the nose.”

The sheer genius of the British colonial project to ruin homegrown Indian knowledge and education and replace it with one that produces clerical, self-loathing brown sahibs is evident even today. Jawaharlal Nehru continued with this colonial system, outsourcing the massacre of history to Left intellectuals.

While Sri Lanka reconstructs its past by studying its tradition and trade routes mentioned in ancient texts like Ramayan and Valahassa Jataka, India is still to fix its education system, distortions of history, and broken pride in its glorious roots.

While India is in denial on Ram, Lanka proudly flaunts the extraordinary antagonist, Ravan, about whom writer Amish Tripathi says: “He is different from your ordinary villain. Just because he is so scholarly. He is a brilliant musician, a brilliant poet, a good dancer, he is exceptionally well read, he is a very good administrator. Which makes him a deep, complex man, and fascinating to write about. Even Ravan’s violence was scholarly.”

The name Ramayana means “Rama” + “Aayana”, where as Rama is name of Lord or God and Aayana means Path or Way. The literal meaning of the name is “the journey of Rāma” or “the career of Rāma” or in other words path or way taken or chosen by Rama during the human life cycle form at earth, during Treta Yuga (869000 years ago) in Jambudweep(Java Plum)/Aryavart/India.

Sri Lanka, wisely and justifiably, is delving into its rich trade, maritime traditions, and now even aerial routes to construct a robust national mythology. Vinod Moonesinghe, in his piece, outlines the scope of that knowledge from the story of Yakkhinis of Jataka Tales who captured and married shipwrecked merchants to Sinbad the Sailor to Tamil Nadu and Odisha connections to ship links with China and Vietnam.

These strengthen the story of Ravan’s regional influence. India, with a much richer maritime history and way bigger geopolitical influence in the Indian Ocean, don’t even give space to the likes of Rajendra Chola.

Sri Lanka has done what India should have long ago. An expansive study of Lord Ram’s travels and alliances is long overdue. But before that, we need to shed our apologist attitude towards our own past and roots.

According to Hindu tradition, Rama is an incarnation (Avatar) of god Vishnu. The main purpose of this incarnation is to demonstrate the righteous path (dharma) for all living creatures on earth.

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New report on the Persecution of Ahmadi Muslims
Jul 28 2020
New report on the Persecution of Ahmadi Muslims

The All Party Parliamentary Group for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community has launched a new report entitled: ‘Suffocation of the Faithful: Persecution of Ahmadi Muslims in Pakistan and the rise of International extremism’

It is the first of its kind to be written by the APPG in response to the worrying increase of persecution against Ahmadi Muslims and other religious communities in Pakistan.

A number of religious communities including Ahmadi Muslims, Hindus, Christian and Shias have long been victims of persecution in Pakistan due to its discriminatory laws. The laws have stifled freedom of religion, promoted state-sponsored persecution and acted as a catalyst for violent extremism in Pakistan.

As a result, religious communities are denied fundamental human rights to practice their faith and engage in society without fear of harassment, discrimination or violence.

The effects of such persecution are not limited to Pakistan alone, as anti-Ahmadi hate has also surfaced in the UK. The most extreme example of this was the brutal murder in Glasgow of Ahmadi shopkeeper Asad Shah in 2016, who was killed on grounds of faith.

There has also been a worrying development of hate preachers coming to the UK and the rise in hate speech on satellite television, the internet and social media that is feeding intolerance and extremism.

Read the report

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Italy's Book Sales Bounce Back
Jul 28 2020
Italy’s Book Sales Bounce Back

The recent return of book buyers to stores in Italy in the Italian book market has helped the overall market bounce back from showing a year-over-year revenue loss of 20% through April 18 to down 11% as of July 11, according to a study conducted by the research department of the Italian Publishers Association (AIE) based on data provided by Nielsen and IE – Informazioni Editoriali.

Overall market revenue was valued at approximately €533 million, representing a 11% drop compared to €600 million for the same period in 2019.

Perhaps even more heartening is the news that bookstore and online sales (excluding Amazon), which had fallen by 70% in weekly sales between March and April, have bounded back, showing as much as a 2.5% hike over 2019 for the week ending on July 19. Sales had shifted significantly over this period from bricks-and-mortar stores, which had been locked down, to online sales, but these too are returning to a more normal rate; typically, retailers account for some 70% of overall sales and in recent weeks have accounted for about 56% of overall sales, up from a low point of 52% earlier in the spring.

The AIE noted that the next several months will indicate whether or not the shift from retail stores to online purchases is a temporary phenomenon or has accelerated a shift that has already been underway for several years.

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Agricultural policies key to addressing drivers of migration, says BIC Brussels | BWNS
Jul 28 2020
Agricultural policies key to addressing drivers of migration, says BIC Brussels
BRUSSELS — In order to address the arrival of migrants and asylum seekers, countries often take measures, such as border control and migrant quotas, that tend to deal with immediate issues. In recent years, however, there has been growing recognition of the need for a long-term view that takes into account the underlying causes of migration.

The contribution of the Brussels Office of the Baha’i International Community (BIC) has included focus on the underlying drivers of migration and it has encouraged thinking in this regard. The Office has been creating discussion spaces, including with the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, to explore with policymakers and civil society organizations some of these drivers.

Rachel Bayani of the Brussels Office speaks about the relevance of certain spiritual concepts to these discussions. “The Baha’i principle of the oneness of humanity has profound implications for how people in one place consider the impact of their decisions and actions not only on their own surroundings but on the whole of humanity. A new approach to policy responses to migration and displacement should consider this principle, because the well-being of Europe cannot be advanced in isolation from that of the rest of the world.”

One of the drivers that the Office has drawn attention to has been the link between agricultural policies and the causes of migration in Africa. In the most recent gathering on this topic, the Brussels Office of the Baha’i International Community (BIC) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations co-hosted an online discussion last week, bringing together over 80 policymakers and other social actors from Africa and Europe.

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Some of the participants at an online discussion hosted by the Brussels Office of the Baha’i International Community (BIC) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, bringing together over 80 policymakers and other social actors from Africa and Europe to explore links between European agricultural policies and the adverse drivers of migration and in Africa.

“In recent years, there has been an acknowledgement that more attention needs to be given to factors compelling people to leave their country of origin,” says Ms. Bayani. “We wish to examine how different policy areas, including agriculture, trade, investment, and the environment impact the drivers of migration.”

“Tracing the positive and negative consequences of policies is difficult, but this should not prevent efforts to do so in order to develop long-term strategies with the well-being of all humanity in mind.”

Participants at the gathering traced the path that migrants often take from rural areas to cities, and from there to other countries and continents. Discussions cast a light on how economic and environmental crises, the loss of land by farmers, and other factors that drive people to leave rural areas in Africa have ripple effects across the continent and beyond.

“Where migration starts is where the people are in rural areas. If people are discontent in their rural areas, they are pushed to cities, and then further abroad,” said Geoffrey Wafula Kundu, Program Coordinator for Migration at the African Union Commission.

Jannes Maes, president of the Council of European Young Farmers, noted that positive cultural attitudes around farming, particularly among rural youth, are an important element in strengthening rural communities in any part of the world.

“Changing the mindset toward farming will require removing barriers,” says Mr. Maes. “The main barriers—in Europe but also those that we hear from our African colleagues—are access to land, to supply chains, and to investment, even if there is no ‘home-grown capital’ to build on. These have to be tackled by the whole of our societies.”

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Performing soil analysis at the Kimanya-Ngeyo Foundation for Science and Education, a Baha’i-inspired organization in Uganda.

Jocelyn Brown-Hall from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations says, “… we want to make sure that agriculture is part of the solution and is not overlooked when it comes to migration.”

Leonard Mizzi of the European Commission Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development observed that actions now being taken to effect a sustainable economic recovery from the coronavirus crisis provide an opportunity to create more resilient agricultural systems. “COVID has exposed fragilities around systems such as trade. What type of food systems will be more resilient to future shocks? … If we don’t have a systems approach that will really address these things, we cannot recover. Solutions from the top down will not work. We need a farmer- and human-rights-driven process.”

Kalenga Masaidio of the Kimanya-Ngeyo Foundation for Science and Education, a Baha’i-inspired organization in Uganda, explained the importance of allowing rural communities to participate in generating knowledge about agricultural systems.

“The main issue is empowering individuals and rural community members so that they can take ownership of their own social, economic, and intellectual development,” says Mr. Masaidio. “Rather than us thinking that solutions to these problems will always come from outside… development should start right from the rural communities.”

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Photograph taken before the current health crisis. Several Baha’i-inspired organizations in Africa have carried out initiatives enabling rural communities to participate in generating knowledge about agricultural systems. “When efforts to contribute to social progress draw on both science and insights from religion, opportunities and approaches emerge that would otherwise not be visible,” says Rachel Bayani.

Reflecting on these discussions, Mrs. Bayani, states: “The pandemic has so prominently highlighted flaws in the international order and how unity is needed to tackle any problem efficiently. Simply having a space where policymakers and social actors across continents can think together in light of a heightened understanding of our essential oneness is an important step in addressing an issue of international concern.

“When efforts to contribute to social progress draw on both science and insights from religion, opportunities and approaches emerge that would otherwise not be visible.”

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Spread of hepatitis B in children under five, lowest in decades: WHO
Jul 27 2020
Spread of hepatitis B in children under five, lowest in decades: WHO

The advance marks the achievement of a critical target in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):  to reduce the transmission of hepatitis B in children under age five to under one per cent by this year.

The news coincides with World Hepatitis Day, commemorated annually on 28 July to raise awareness of the disease, a viral infection of the liver that causes a range of health problems, including liver cancer.  The theme for 2020 – “Hepatitis-free future” – has a strong focus on preventing the disease which attacks the liver, one of the five main strains, among mothers and newborns.

“No infant should grow up only to die of hepatitis B because they were not vaccinated”, said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.  “Today’s milestone means that we have dramatically reduced the number of cases of liver damage and liver cancer in future generations.”

Preventing mother-to-child transmission essential

Preventing mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B is the most important strategy for controlling the disease and saving lives, Dr. Tedros said.

WHO is calling for united and intensified efforts to test pregnant women, provide antiviral prophylaxis to women who need it, and expand access to hepatitis B immunization and its all-important birth dose vaccine.

Globally, more than 250 million people live with chronic hepatitis B infection, according to WHO.  Infants are especially vulnerable – and 90 per cent of children infected with hepatitis B in their first year of life become chronic carriers.  Each year, the disease claims nearly 900,000 lives.

Greater access to vaccine ‘birth dose’ needed

Infants can be protected from hepatitis B through a safe and effective vaccine that provides over 95 per cent protection.

WHO recommends that all infants receive a first dose of the hepatitis B vaccine as soon as possible after birth – preferably within 24 hours – followed by at least two additional doses.  Three-dose coverage during childhood, reached 85 per cent worldwide in 2019, up from 30 per cent in 2000.

However, access to the first critical dose within 24 hours of birth remains uneven.  Global coverage is 43 per cent.  Coverage drops to 34 per cent in the eastern Mediterranean region and only 6 per cent in Africa.

“Expanding access to a timely birth dose of the hepatitis B vaccine is the cornerstone of efforts to prevent mother-to-children transmission,” said Meg Doherty, WHO Director of Global HIV, Hepatitis and STI Programmes.  In sub-Saharan Africa, where the birth dose of hepatitis B vaccine has not yet been introduced, “it is a priority to assure that protection as early as possible”.

COVID-19 hampering progress

A new modelling study by Imperial College London and WHO found that disruptions caused by COVID-19 to WHO’s hepatitis B vaccination programme, could have a serious impact on efforts to reach targets in the global strategy.

Under a worst-case scenario, the study projects that 5.3 million additional chronic infections could be seen in children born between 2020 and 2030, and one million additional hepatitis B-related deaths among those children later on. 

Hepatitis C, once deadly, now highly curable

Speaking at a press conference from Geneva, Dr. Tedros said 325 million people live with hepatitis B or C.  Each year, 1.3 million people lose their lives to these diseases.

The first-ever global hepatitis strategy, adopted by countries at the 2016 World Health Assembly, calls for an end to viral hepatitis by 2030, reducing new infections by 90 per cent and mortality by 65 per cent.

“Even talking about hepatitis elimination would have once seemed a fantasy”, Tedros said, “but new drugs have transformed hepatitis C from a life-long deadly disease into one in most cases can be cured in 12 weeks.” 

While medicines remain too expensive for patients in many countries, the UN health chief pointed to cases of “incredible” progress, notably in Egypt, where 60 million people have been tested for Hepatitis C and linked to treatment, free of charge.  There has also been progress in eliminating hepatitis B in Asia, where childhood immunization coverage is high, including the all-important birth dose. 

Asked about the average cost of a 12-week treatment for hepatitis C in high, middle and low-income countries, Dr. Doherty said the price has fallen from $3,000 to $60 today. 

The price is right

“In many ways, we now have prices that will allow us to end hepatitis C,” she said.  “This is essentially a cure.”  The goal now is to find “the missing millions” of people who have not yet been identified as infected – and to test and treat them so they no longer pass on the virus.

COVID-19 has only made this goal more daunting.  With supply chains and services disrupted, resources diverted, and the political focus shifted to containing the pandemic, there is a real risk of losing gains made.

“Like so many diseases, hepatitis is not just a health problem, it is an enormous social and economic burden”, Tedros stressed.

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World Council of Churches names 2022 date for 11th Assembly in Germany
Jul 27 2020
World Council of Churches names 2022 date for 11th Assembly in Germany
11th World Council of Churches Assembly poster.

The executive committee of the World Council of Churches has approved a new date for the WCC 11th Assembly, which will now be held in Karlsruhe, Germany, from August 31 to September 8, 2022.

Initially planned for 2021, the event was postponed by one year because of the gravity and uncertainties related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the WCC said.

“Inspired by the theme ‘Christ’s love moves the world to reconciliation and unity,’ our fellowship will come together as a whole in prayer and celebration in Karlsruhe,” said Rev. Ioan Sauca, interim WCC general secretary.

“Being the most diverse Christian gathering of its size in the world, the assembly will be a unique opportunity for the churches to deepen their commitment to visible unity and common witness,” Sauca said.

“We will draw renewed energy for the WCC’s work far beyond the event itself.”

Bishop Petra Bosse-Huber, from the Evangelical Church in Germany, said that the host churches welcomed the WCC’s acceptance of a renewed invitation to hold the 11th Assembly in Karlsruhe.

The assembly symbol was presented to the WCC executive committee on July 27.

The WCC said the design was inspired by the dynamic expressions and variety of the ecumenical movement in its search for Christian unity and promotion of justice and peace.

The symbol has a cross, a dove, and a circle alluding to the concept of reconciliation. It has crossed paths representing the various journeys, movement, freedom, and vibrancy of life that drive the WCC and its churches worldwide.

The WCC brings together churches, denominations, and church organizations in more than 110 countries and territories throughout the world, representing over 500 million Christians as it strives for gobal Christian unity.

It includes most of the world’s Orthodox churches and Anglican, Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist and Reformed churches, and many United and Independent churches.

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Book Trailer Launched for Massimo Introvigne’s Book on The Church of Almighty God
Jul 27 2020
Book Trailer Launched for Massimo Introvigne’s Book on The Church of Almighty God

Marco Respinti, Director of Bitter Winter reports that it has already introduced to its readers the new book by its editor-in-chief Massimo Introvigne, Inside The Church of Almighty God: The Most Persecuted Religious Movement in China, published in 2020 by Oxford University Press. In this video book trailer, its author Massimo Introvigne explains some key features of the book.

Joining the presentation are fellow scholars J. Gordon Melton (Baylor University, Waco, Texas), Holly Folk (Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington), and Bernadette Rigal-Cellard (University of Bordeaux, France) who discuss how this new study by Introvigne emphasizes little-known aspects of this persecuted Chinese Christian movement.

Many members of this movement have flown into Europe escaping alleging repression and government violence and are having problems to get the status of refugees granted and this is why Rosita Šoryté, president of the International Observatory of Religious Liberty of Refugees (ORLIR), comments on the book’s possible use on asylum cases.

Juan Sanchez Gil 1 Comments
Religious liberty put at risk by Hong Kong security law says Asian cardinal
Jul 26 2020
Religious liberty put at risk by Hong Kong security law says Asian cardinal
(Image by Studio Incendo via Wikimedia Commons)Hong Kong anti-extradition bill protest, August 18, 2019.

Myanmar’s Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, a regional Catholic Church One of Asia’s most prominent has criticized China’s new security law in Hong Kong saying it “destroys the city’s high degree of autonomy.”

Bo is the president of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences and called for all people in Asia to pray for Hong Kong and China “with great insistence.”

“I am concerned that the law poses a threat to basic freedoms and human rights in Hong Kong.

“This legislation potentially undermines freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, media freedom and academic freedom. Arguably, freedom of religion or belief is put at risk,” he said, the Catholic publication Crux reported July 2.

Conversely, the Anglican Archbishop of Hong Kong, Paul Kwong, has backed the new security law introduced by China.

He said that international criticism of the law, which gives the state wide-ranging powers to suppress opposition, is not an expression “of Christian charity but of anti-China sentiment.”

‘SERIOUS VIOLATION OF ACCORD’

The UK Government has described the new law as a “clear and serious violation” of the terms under which it handed Hong Kong back to China. It has offered three million Hong Kong residents a path to British citizenship.

Archbishop Kwong defended the law in a strongly worded letter to the Church Times newspaper.

He wrote that he welcomes the new national security law, “although it is one that I wish were not necessary” and insisted it will not threaten religious freedom.

For his part, Bo, in his July 1 statement said China’s action “brings a most significant change to Hong Kong’s constitution and is offensive to the spirit and letter of the 1997 handover agreement” with the United Kingdom.

The 1984 Joint Declaration signed by Britain and China on the handover of Hong Kong said that the city would have its own special status.

That accord preserved the freedoms Hong Kong had under British sovereignty after it was transferred to China, creating the “one country, two systems” policy.

The new security law came into effect on June 30 and outlaws secessionist, subversive and terrorist acts, as well as any collusion with foreign powers in interfering in the city’s affairs.

It allows suspects to be sent to stand trial in mainland China if Beijing deems that it has jurisdiction.

UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab says the Beijing-imposed legislation “is a clear and serious violation” of the 1984 agreement.

Cardinal Bo said that while a national security law “is not in itself wrong,” he said “such legislation should be balanced with protection of human rights, human dignity and basic freedoms.”

“Hong Kong is one of the jewels of Asia, a ‘Pearl of the Orient,’ a crossroads between East and West, a gateway to China, a regional hub for free trade and until now has enjoyed a healthy mixture of freedom and creativity,” the cardinal said.

“The imposition of the law by China’s National People’s Congress seriously weakens Hong Kong’s Legislative Council and Hong Kong’s autonomy. It radically changes Hong Kong’s identity,” he added.

Bo noted that that religious institutions on Mainland China are “suffering the most severe restrictions experienced since the Cultural Revolution.”

“Even if freedom of worship in Hong Kong is not directly or immediately affected, the new security law and its broad criminalization of ‘subversion,’ ‘secession’ and ‘colluding with foreign political forces’ could result, for example, in the monitoring of religious preaching,” the cardinal said.

It could result in the criminalization of candlelit prayer vigils, and the harassment of places of worship that offer sanctuary or sustenance to protesters.

ARCHBISHOP SUPPORTS NEW LAW

Anglican archbishop Kwong said that he supports the right to peaceful protest.

But in his letter he said months of “wider violence”, which Hong Kong’s legislature had failed to quell, had made the law “necessary for our wellbeing”.

The rioters had committed acts “which cannot be tolerated in any country”.

European Union Minister for Foreign Affairs Joseph Borrell said in a statement last week that the EU took stock of serious challenges to Hong Kong’s autonomy, stability and freedoms over the past year: “[W]e will not simply stand back and watch as China attempts to curtail these freedoms even more, with its imposition of the draconian national security law.”

“It is in the whole world’s interest that Hong Kong can thrive both as a part of China and as a vibrant and unique international business center and crossroad of cultures based on its high degree of autonomy as enshrined in the Basic Law.”

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Russian Alexander Dvorkin exposed as FoRB violator by USCIRF
Jul 26 2020
Russian Alexander Dvorkin exposed as FoRB violator by USCIRF

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released a report on July 17 shedding light on the plight of religious minorities in Russia. Entitled “The Anti-Cult Movement and Religious Regulation in Russia and the Former Soviet Union,” the report aims to “provide essential context and recommendations to enable advocates and policymakers to more effectively respond to FoRB [freedom of religion or belief] abuses in the region.”

USCIRF calls for the U.S. government to publicly censure Alexander Dvorkin for ongoing disinformation campaign against religious minorities

USCIRF calls for the U.S. government to publicly censure Alexander Dvorkin for ongoing disinformation campaign against religious minorities

Created by the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA), USCIRF is an independent, bipartisan federal government commission whose purpose is “to advance international freedom of religion or belief, by independently assessing and unflinchingly confronting threats to this fundamental right.”

In the report, policy analyst Jason Morton examines how certain Russian government officials claim discriminatory measures are intended to defend religious freedom and human rights, even while those very same measures violate the fundamental freedoms of certain groups.

Dr. Massimo Introvigne, Italian sociologist of religions and founder and managing director of the Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR), analyzed USCIRF’s report in his religious liberty magazine Bitter Winter.

Dr. Introvigne writes, “First, the report offers a detailed and accurate analysis of the activities of Alexander Dvorkin, a Russian activist who has led for almost thirty years campaigns against religious movements he has labeled as ‘cults.’ As the report documents, he has been instrumental in preparing the repression of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia, and has attacked many other religious minorities. The USCIRF asks the government of the United States to ‘publicly censure Alexander Dvorkin and [his organization], the Saint Irenaeus of Lyon Information-Consultation Center (SILIC), for their ongoing disinformation campaign against religious minorities.’”

“The anti-cult movement is fundamentally a propaganda outlet conducting a highly effective information war against religious minorities throughout Russia and many of the countries in which it retains influence”

Introvigne goes on: “the USCIRF document is an important indictment of the anti-cult ideology in general. Dvorkin, the report says, absorbed when he was in the United States, between 1977 and 1992, the ideas of an ‘anti-cult movement informed by pseudoscientific concepts like “brainwashing” and “mind control.”’ The anti-cult movement ‘described new religious movements as “fanatic” or “bizarre,” and portrayed individual members as helpless victims without their own free will or ability to save themselves. This rhetoric enabled groups to justify the forced removal of friends and relatives from the religions of their choice, and even advocated for “deprogramming.”’ As the USCIRF notes, while ‘claiming to be experts in academic fields like religious studies, psychology, and sociology, [Dvorkin and the anti-cultists] are rarely qualified in any of them and often rely on discredited theories and methodologies to promote their ideological agenda.’”

That ideological agenda now extends beyond Russia. As Morton, the report’s author, notes, “The Russian model has had a significant impact in other countries of the FSU, such as Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, where anti-cult ideas influence both religious regulation and policies related to anti-terrorism and the fight against ‘extremism.’ In that context, the anti-cult movement continues to conduct a highly effective disinformation campaign against religious minorities with devastating consequences for their human rights.”

Morton also points out that anti-religious jargon like “totalitarian sects,” a term allegedly coined by Dvorkin, “alongside other favorite terms like ‘destructive cult’ or the prefix ‘pseudo’ (as in pseudo-Christianity or pseudo-religion), reveals the anti-cult movement’s pretension to standing as the final arbiter of religious truth. For example, Dvorkin claimed in an interview that the Jehovah’s Witnesses ‘cannot really be called a religious sect’ but are really ‘a commercial cult organized like a pyramid scheme that exists off of the sale of its publications and multimedia productions.’ It is a short leap from assuming the ability to define religious truth to asserting a duty to intervene in cases of heresy.”

“The anti-cult movement is fundamentally a propaganda outlet conducting a highly effective information war against religious minorities throughout Russia and many of the countries in which it retains influence,” Morton writes in conclusion. “An effective response to the movement must also engage at the level of information, countering the perverse logic of anti-cult propaganda with hard facts about its lack of credibility and complicity in the suppression of religious freedom.”

The report’s recommendations are as follows:

“The U.S. government should:

  • “Publicly censure Alexander Dvorkin and the Saint Irenaeus of Leon Information-Consultation Center (SILIC)) for their ongoing disinformation campaign against religious minorities;
  • “Promote education about freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) in regional diplomacy and offer training and resources as a component of regional humanitarian assistance;
  • “Counter propaganda against new religious movements by the European Federation of Research and Information Centers on Sectarianism (FECRIS) at the annual OSCE Human Dimensions Conference with information about the ongoing involvement of individuals and entities within the anti-cult movement in the suppression of religious freedom; and
  • “Pressure the governments of Russia and Kazakhstan to remove prominent anti-cult figures from their expert councils and bar them from official positions of influence over religious regulation.”
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Hindu Forum Europe celebrated World Environment Day
Jul 26 2020
Hindu Forum Europe celebrated World Environment Day

The WorLd Environment Day Program was held on 9th June 12.00 pm onward EU TIME for three hours. There were 12 speakers from different countries. The inaugural address was given by Her Highness First Vice President of European Parliament Ms Mairaid McGuiness. She highlighted the Biodiversity strategy being followed by Europe to restore the Environmental Challenges. Her Grace Sister Jayanti talked on the Three Basic Principles of Non-Violence, Compassion & Respect which can bring inner peace. All the speakers highlighted how to safeguard our environment in different ways. This was broadcasted live on HFE Facebook, website and YouTube. 

I sincerely thank you all for being with Hindu Forum Europe and encouraging us to engage in Nature-friendly & social activities.

Dr. Lakshmi Vyas

PRESIDENT HINDU FORUM OF EUROPE

Visiting Professor, AUSN

IWCC and Women’s faith leader, Religion for Peace

SACRE member – Royal Borough of Greenwich, UK

Work with IARF, ECRL, HMB, HFB and UK Women Network

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Guterres gives hard hitting Mandela Day message: “Inequality defines our time”
Jul 25 2020
Guterres gives hard hitting Mandela Day message: “Inequality defines our time”

18 July 2020 UN NEWS – Human Rights

Inequality, an issue which “defines our time”, risks destroying the world’s economies and societies, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in a hard-hitting speech on Saturday.

Mr. Guterres was delivering the 2020 Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture, held online for the first time, in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The lecture series, held annually by the Nelson Mandela Foundation, on the birthday of the first democratically-elected President of South Africa, aims to encourage dialogue by inviting prominent personalities to discuss major international challenges.

The COVID-19 spotlight

Mr. Guterres began by noting that the COVID-19 pandemic has played an important role in highlighting growing inequalities, and exposing the myth that everyone is in the same boat, because “while we are all floating on the same sea, it’s clear that some are in superyachts, while others are clinging to the drifting debris.”

While we are all floating on the same sea, it’s clear that some are in superyachts while others are clinging to the drifting debris – António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations

Global risks ignored for decades – notably inadequate health systems, gaps in social protection, structural inequalities, environmental degradation, and the climate crisis – have been laid bare, he said. The vulnerable are suffering the most: those living in poverty, older people, and people with disabilities and pre-existing conditions.  

Mr. Guterres pointed out that inequality take many forms. Whilst income disparity is stark, with the 26 richest people in the world holding as much wealth as half the global population, it is also the case that life-chances depend on factors such as gender, family and ethnic background, race and whether or not a person has a disability.  

However, he noted that everyone suffers the consequences, because high levels of inequality are associated with “economic instability, corruption, financial crises, increased crime and poor physical and mental health.” 

The legacy of colonialism and patriarchy

UN Photo/Evan SchneiderProtests have been occurring daily in New York City against racism and police violence, following the death of George Floyd.

Colonialism, a historic aspect of inequality, was evoked by the Secretary-General. Today’s anti-racist movement, he said, points to this historic source of inequality: “The Global North, specifically my own continent of Europe, imposed colonial rule on much of the Global South for centuries, through violence and coercion.” 

This led to huge inequalities within and between countries, including the transatlantic slave trade and the apartheid regime in South Africa, argued Mr. Guterres, and left a legacy of economic and social injustice, hate crimes and xenophobia, the persistence of institutionalized racism, and white supremacy. 

Mr. Guterres also referred to patriarchy, another historic inequality which still resonates: women everywhere are worse off than men, and violence against women is, he said, at epidemic levels. 

The UN chief, who described himself as a proud feminist, said he was committed to gender equality, and has made gender parity a reality across senior UN posts. He also announced his appointment of South African international rugby captain, Siya Kolisa, as a global champion for the Spotlight Initiative, which aims to engage men in fighting violence against women and girls.

‘Everyone must pay their fair share’ of tax

Turning to contemporary inequality, Mr. Guterres said that the expansion of trade, and technological progress, have contributed to “an unprecedented shift in income distribution”. Low-skilled workers are bearing the brunt, he warned, and face an “onslaught” from new technologies, automation, the offshoring of manufacturing and the demise of labour organizations.  

Meanwhile, he continued, widespread tax concessions, tax avoidance and tax evasion, as well as low corporate tax rates, mean that there are reduced resources for social protection, education, and healthcare – services that play an important part in reducing inequality. 

Some countries have allowed the wealthy and well-connected to benefit from tax systems, but “everyone must pay their fair share”, said Mr. Guterres, and governments need to tackle the “vicious cycle” of corruption, which weakens social norms and the rule of law, and shift the tax burden from payrolls to carbon, which would help to address the climate crisis.  

A New Global Deal

UNICEF/UN0143514/Karel PrinslooA student learns with the help of a computer tablet provided by UNICEF at a school in Baigai, northern Cameroon, Tuesday 31 October 2017.

Although climate change is a global problem, the effects are felt most keenly by those countries which are least to blame. The issue is likely to become more pronounced in the coming years, and millions risk malnutrition, malaria and other diseases; forced migration, and extreme weather events.  

The only way towards a fair and sustainable future for all, he suggested, involves what he called a “New Social Contract”, which allows young people to live in dignity; women to have the same prospects and opportunities as men; and protects the vulnerable,  and a “New Global Deal”, which ensures that power, wealth and opportunities are shared more broadly and fairly at the international level.

As part of the New Social Contract, labour market policies would be based on constructive dialogue between employers and workers, and would ensure human rights and fundamental freedoms. 

The Secretary-General called for new social safety nets, including universal health coverage, the possibility of universal basic income, boosted investment in public services, and, to reverse long-standing inequalities, affirmative action programmes and other policies to address inequalities in gender, race or ethnicity. 

The UN chief explained that quality education for all, and the effective use of digital technology, will be crucial to achieving these aims. 
This would mean doubling education spending in low and middle-income countries by 2030 to $3 trillion a year: within a generation, all children in low- and middle-income countries could have access to quality education at all levels.  

Governments also need to transform the way children are taught, said Mr. Guterres, and invest in digital literacy and infrastructure, and help them to prepare for a rapidly changing workplace that is being upended by technology.

The Secretary-General outlined some of the ways that the UN is supporting these efforts, including The Roadmap for Digital Cooperation, launched at the United Nations in June, which promotes ways to connect four billion people to the Internet by 2030,  and “Giga”, an ambitious project to get every school in the world online.  

‘We stand together, or we fall apart’

The UN chief ended his major strategic vision statement, by invoking the importance of international cooperation and solidarity.
“We belong to each other”, he said. “We stand together, or we fall apart”.  

The world, he concluded, is at breaking point, and it is time for leaders to decide which path to follow. The choice presented by Mr. Guterres, is between “chaos, division and inequality”, or righting the wrongs of the past and moving forward together, for the good of all.

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Buddhist Times News – Who are the Uighur people and why do they face oppression by China?
Jul 25 2020
Buddhist Times News – Who are the Uighur people and why do they face oppression by China?

A Uighur woman with her children at the Unity New Village in western China’s Xinjiang region: APChina is facing mounting global criticism over its treatment of the Uighur population in Xinjiang province – with claims of forced labour camps and mass sterilisation.

Boris Johnson’s government has accused Beijing of “egregious” human rights abuses against the minority group, while Donald Trump’s administration has imposed sanctions on Chinese officials linked to alleged oppression.

So who are the Uighurs? And what sort of evidence lies behind these claims? The Independent took a closer look at a group largely forgotten by the world until recent weeks.

Who are the Uighur people?

The Uighur are an ethnic minority group of Muslims living in China’s north-west region of Xinjiang. There are an estimated 11 million Uighurs in the region – almost half of its total population.

Uighur Muslims have been there for hundreds of years and speak a language related to Turkish. It is believed their ancestors may have come from a previous homeland of the Turks in the northern part of central Asia.

Some Uighurs don’t accept that Xinjiang – officially an “autonomous region” – is part of China, citing evidence that their ancestors lived in the area before Chinese Han and Tang dynasties established their dominion in the area.

What sort of abuse is thought to be taking place?

There is credible evidence that up to one million Uighurs and other Muslim minorities are being held in “re-education” detention centres in Xinjiang, according to a report by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

Beijing has denied any mistreatment – claiming that these camps are “vocational training centres” which help stamp out extremism by Islamist separatists, as well as giving people new skills.

A man driving a vehicle in an Uighur neighbourhood in Aksu, Xinjiang province (AFP via Getty Images)However, a 2018 report by Amnesty International report found that arbitrary detention of Uighur Muslims across the province was widespread. The exile group World Uyghur Congress claims detainees are held without charge, and forced to undergo attempted indoctrination by shouting Chinese Communist Party slogans.

When recently confronted with disturbing video footage showing blindfolded men kneeling and waiting to be led onto trains in Xinjiang, China’s ambassador to the UK told the BBC the video could be “fake”. The video was authenticated by the Australian security services.

What’s behind the claims of ‘mass sterilisation’?

There is evidence Chinese government is taking draconian measures to slash birth rates among Uighurs as part of a sweeping campaign to curb its Muslim population.

A report released in June by China scholar Adrian Zenz claimed the Chinese authorities were forcing Uighur women to be sterilised or fitted with contraceptive devices across Xinjiang.

A recent Associated Press investigation discovered women in the province have faced fines and threats of detention for breaching limits on having babies. It also found the authorities force intrauterine devices (IUDs), sterilisation and even abortion on Uighur women.

Protesters attend a rally in Hong Kong to show support for the Uighur minority in China (AFP/Getty)What political action has been taken?

The US has imposed sanctions on Chinese officials, companies and institutions linked to China’s treatment of Uighurs in the Xinjiang region. On 20 July, the US Commerce Department added 11 Chinese companies to the US economic blacklist.

Earlier this week UK foreign secretary Dominic Raab accused Chinese officials of committing “gross, egregious” human rights abuses in Xinjiang – but the British government stopped short of introducing sanctions against officials accused of abuse against the Uighur.

France also condemned the treatment of the ethnic group. French finance minister Bruno Le Maire said it was “revolting and unacceptable” – and called for “international independent observers” to be allowed to inspect conditions in Xinjiang.

What about private companies using Uighur labour?

More than 180 human rights groups have urged brands from Adidas to Amazon to end sourcing of cotton and clothing from the Xinjiang region and cut ties with any suppliers in China that benefit from what they claim to be “forced labour”.

While most fashion brands do not source from factories in Xinjiang, many of their supply chains are likely to be tainted by cotton picked by Uighurs that is exported across China and used by other suppliers, a coalition of organisations said in a letter.

More than 80 per cent of China’s cotton comes from Xinjiang. “Brands and retailers recognise there is a massive problem in the region, and that their supply chains are exposed to a grave risk of forced labour,” said Scott Nova, head of the US-based Worker Rights Consortium (WRC).

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Protect people ‘fleeing war, violence’, UN refugee agency urges Poland 
Jul 24 2020
Protect people ‘fleeing war, violence’, UN refugee agency urges Poland 

Anne-Marie Deutschlander, the acting regional Director for Europe of the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), appealed to the Polish authorities to facilitate access to asylum procedures.

“People fleeing war, violence and persecution need protection”, she spelled out.

‘Dichotomy’ of obligations

This came one day after the European Court of Human Rights ruled that by denying access to asylum procedures, Poland violated several articles of the European Convention on Human Rights.

“Refusal to grant them entry at the border, without properly assessing their claims, is in dichotomy with the country’s obligations”, maintained the UN Official.

The deeply Catholic country has named security concerns for restricting entry to refugees.

News media cited a non-governmental organization in reporting that since 2016, the annual number of asylum applications has fallen from a 8,000 to 14,000 annually to 4,000 a year.

Managing borders

UNHCR has consistently reiterated the legitimate right of States to manage their borders. 

However, under international law, States are also obliged to protect those who seek asylum by permitting them access to territory and safe reception. 

This obligation is fulfilled by accepting an application for granting the refugee status from a foreigner, passing him or her across the border and providing a safe shelter for the time of examining his case, according to the UN refugee agency.

Applying for refugee status is a fundamental human right of those who flee their country for fear of persecution. 

It is guaranteed by the provisions of international law, including the Geneva Convention of 1951 to which Poland is a party.

UNHCR reminded that safe border management and providing safe haven for refugees are not mutually exclusive and that the agency remains ready to assist any Government in effectively combining the two.

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Dramatic Arctic fires and sea ice melt, show need for urgent climate action
Jul 24 2020
Dramatic Arctic fires and sea ice melt, show need for urgent climate action

According to the UN agency, temperatures in Siberia have been more than 5C above average from January to June, and in June up to 10C above average.

“Some parts of Siberia this week have again topped 30 degrees Celsius – so it’s been warmer in Siberia than…many parts of Florida”, said WMO spokesperson Clare Nullis at a press conference in Geneva.

“We’ve had exceptional and prolonged heat for months now and this has fuelled devastating Arctic fires; and at the same time we’re seeing rapidly decreasing sea coverage along the Arctic coast”, she continued, noting that their estimated total carbon emissions since January are the highest in 18 years, when the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service of wildfires began.

The development follows an astonishing reading of 38°C in the Russian town of Verkhoyansk on 20 June.

This has been confirmed by the Russian Federal Service for Hydrometeorological and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet); WMO is in the process of establishing a committee to assess that decision.

Jet stream swing

The cause of the prolonged furnace-like conditions, is the “blocking” action of a vast weather front over the Arctic, along with a “persistent northward swing of the jet stream” which has been sending warm air into the region, journalists heard.

“The Arctic is heating more than twice as fast as the global average, impacting local populations and ecosystems and with global repercussions”, Ms. Nullis said, adding that such extreme heat would have been almost impossible without the influence of human-induced climate change.

Worrying footage of the forest fires close to the ocean have underscored the need for urgent climate action by nations and greater commitment to achieving the pledges made in the Paris Climate Agreement, the WMO spokesperson insisted, including efforts to limit global warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.


Fire starter

Data from Wednesday showed 188 probable points of fire in Siberia, according to Roshydromet, with blazes particularly intense in Russia’s Sakha Republic and Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, in the far northeast of Siberia.

Both areas have experienced much warmer conditions than usual in past months. Russian authorities have also declared that there is an extreme fire hazard throughout the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug – Yugra which is in western Siberia, WMO reported.

Wildfire smoke contains pollutants including carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, volatile organic compounds and solid aerosol particles, the UN agency said in a statement, which noted that Arctic wildfires emitted the equivalent of 56 megatonnes of carbon dioxide in June, compared to 53 megatonnes in June 2019.

“We’re seeing, you know, dramatic satellite images, which show the extent of the burns surface; the fire front of the northern-most currently active Arctic wildfire is less than eight kilometres from the Arctic ocean – this should not be happening,” Ms. Nullis said.

Polar bear extinction accelerating

Land surface temperatures in Siberia in June 2020 were hotter than average for the same period from 2003-2018. , by NASA Earth Observatory

Highlighting new climate research published in the journal Nature Climate Change pointing to irreversible threats to the Arctic ecosystem, the WMO spokesperson said that “polar bears – which as we all know is a symbol of climate change – could be nearly extinct by the end of the century”, if sea ice continues to shrink at current rates.

Accelerating ice retreat along the Arctic Russian coast in the spring, has accelerated since late June, leading to very low sea ice extent in the Laptev and Barents Seas, WMO also warned.

“The Northern Sea route appears to be nearly open”. it added.

Changes to weather at the poles will likely affect other more distant and populated places too, Ms. Nullis cautioned, thanks to a phenomenon known as “teleconnections”.

Arctic spillover

These are observed in weather events including El Nino, where cold and dry air reaches places that are more used to seeing warmer, wetter conditions.

“In general, the Arctic is heating more than twice the global average”, Ms. Nullis said. “It’s having a big impact on local populations and ecosystems, but we always say that what happens in the Arctic doesn’t stay in the Arctic, it does affect our weather in different parts of the world where hundreds of millions of people live.”

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UN appoints new ECOSOC President
Jul 24 2020
UN appoints new ECOSOC President

.@UNECOSOC has a new President: It is H.E. Mr. Munir Akram, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the @UN@PakistanPR_UN#UN75#GlobalGoals#SDGs#2030Agenda

23 July 2020UN Affairs

Now is the time to implement policies and commitments to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and implement the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, the new President of one of the UN’s main bodies said on Thursday.

Ambassador Munir Akram of Pakistan outlined his priorities for the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) as the UN marks its 75th anniversary amid the global economic and health crisis.

Challenging times

“The ECOSOC’s central mandate is to promote ‘better standards of life in larger freedoms’ through international economic cooperation. Never before has the fulfillment of this mandate been more challenging, or more imperative, as it is today,” he told a virtual ceremony.

Mr. Akram said the pandemic and associated global recession will make it difficult to realize the SDGs. The 17 goals provide a roadmap to a better future for all, by 2030.

Meanwhile, global warming is accelerating. He warned that unless countries meet agreed targets on climate change, the planet could become uninhabitable for all living things.

Simultaneous response needed

“The broad policy decisions to address each of these three simultaneous challenges have been taken. Commitments have been made. What is needed now is implementation”, said Mr. Akram.

“This should be the focus of our deliberations. And, since we need to respond simultaneously, there must be synergy between our responses to the health, development and climate challenges.”

Address rising inequality

The new ECOSOC President also wants countries to address rising inequality, both within and between nations.

“The legacy of colonialism, racism and foreign occupation is a major systemic cause of inequality”, he said.

“I will propose to the Council that we convene a special meeting in 2021 – the 20th Anniversary of the Durban Conference against Racism – to address the root causes of global inequality. Similarly, the 10th ECOSOC Youth Forum should be dedicated to promoting a vision of a more equal, peaceful, united and dynamic world order.”

Support developing nations

Mr. Akram also proposed that the Council should promote action on financing for COVID-19, the SDGs and climate action goals.

However, if the world is to “build back better” after the pandemic, he underlined the need for developing countries to have greater access to renewable energy and other sustainable infrastructure, as well as advanced technologies.

“The ECOSOC should help to build a coordinated approach to ensure the required capital flows to developing countries to recover from the current recession and revive the prospects of achieving the SDGs”, he said.

“In preparation for the annual Forum on Financing for Development next April, I intend to convene a few informal meetings and consultations to advance these objectives.”

New ECOSOC Bureau

This is the second time Mr. Akram has assumed the ECOSOC Presidency, having taken the helm in 2005.

Three Vice-Presidents have also been elected to serve alongside him on the ECOSOC Bureau, which proposes the Council’s agenda and devises a programme of work, among other duties.

They are Ambassador Collen Vixen Kelapile of Botswana, Ambassador Pascale Baeriswyl of Switzerland, and Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya of Ukraine.

Coronavirus Portal & News Updates

Readers can find information and guidance on the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) from the UN, World Health Organization and UN agencies here. For daily news updates from UN News, click here.

‘Be ready to embrace change!’

Mr. Akram praised his predecessor, Mona Juul of Norway, for her leadership of the Council during what he described as “these extraordinary times”.

Ms. Juul in turn offered a few words of advice, having steered the Council through the initial phases of the pandemic, and at a time of global upheaval against racial injustice, the climate crisis and rising inequalities.

“Be ready to embrace change!”, she told Mr. Akram and the new Bureau. “Let us change for the better and make our recovery based upon values, not value. On compassion, courage, and cooperation.”

Although the pandemic is changing the world, Ms. Juul stressed it has not changed global commitment to realizing a better future for all.

She said now is the time to “fix the world’s fragilities”, from access to universal health coverage and quality education, to reversing environmental degradation, and power imbalances that disproportionally affect women and girls.

“To recover better, we must build forward. To a greener, fairer, more inclusive and more resilient tomorrow,” she said. “If we do not change now, then when?”

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EU long-term budget deal must be improved for Parliament to accept it | News | European Parliament
Jul 23 2020
EU long-term budget deal must be improved for Parliament to accept it | News | European Parliament

In a resolution on the conclusions of the extraordinary European Council meeting of 17-21 July 2020, adopted by 465 votes against 150, with 67 abstentions, MEPs pay tribute to the victims of the coronavirus and to all the workers who have been fighting the pandemic. They underline that “people in the EU have a collective duty of solidarity.”


Positive step for recovery, inadequate in the long term

In the text, which serves as a mandate for the upcoming negotiations on the future EU financing and recovery, Parliament welcomes EU leaders’ acceptance of the recovery fund as proposed by Parliament in May, calling it a “historic move for the EU”. MEPs deplore however the “massive cuts to the grant components” and call for full democratic involvement of Parliament in the recovery instrument which “does not give a formal role to elected Members of the European Parliament”.

As for the long-term EU budget, they disapprove of the cuts made to future-oriented programmes and consider that they will “undermine the foundations of a sustainable and resilient recovery.” Flagship EU programmes for climate protection, digital transition, health, youth, culture, research or border management “are at risk of an immediate drop in funding from 2020 to 2021″, and that as of 2024, the “EU budget as a whole will be below 2020 levels, jeopardising the EU’s commitments and priorities.”


Parliament cannot accept a bad agreement

Parliament thus does not accept the European Council’s political agreement on the 2021-2027 MFF as it stands and “will not rubber-stamp a fait accompli”. MEPs are “prepared to withhold their consent” for the long-term EU budget, the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) until a satisfactory agreement is reached in the upcoming negotiations between Parliament and the Council, preferably by the end of October at the latest for a smooth start of the EU programmes from 2021.

In the case however that a new MFF would not be adopted on time, MEPs recall that Article 312(4) of the TFEU provides for the temporary extension of the ceiling of the last year of the present MFF (2020), and that this would be fully compatible with the recovery plan and the adoption of the new MFF programmes.


Rule of Law

Parliament “strongly regrets” that the European Council significantly weakened the efforts of the Commission and Parliament to uphold the rule of law, fundamental rights and democracy in the framework of the MFF and the recovery plan, recalling that the Rule of Law Regulation will be co-decided by Parliament.


New sources of EU revenue and repayment of EU-debt

MEPs reiterate that Parliament will not give its consent for the MFF without an agreement on the reform of the EU’s own resources system, including the introduction of a basket of new own resources by the end of the 2021-2027 MFF which is necessary to cover at least the costs related to the recovery plan.

They believe that the EU Heads of State and Government have failed to tackle the issue of the recovery instrument repayment plan and recall that without further cuts to key programmes or increasing the Member States’ contributions to the EU budget, new own resources is the only acceptable option to Parliament.


Mid-term revision indispensable

Parliament demands that a legally binding MFF mid-term revision enters into force by the end of 2024 at the latest and stresses that this revision must include the ceilings for the 2025-2027 period, the introduction of additional own resources and the implementation of the climate and biodiversity targets.

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EPP Group conditions for EU budget green light
Jul 23 2020
EPP Group conditions for EU budget green light

by the EPP

Following the agreement in the Council on the EU’s long-term budget and the Recovery Fund, the European Parliament will vote its political response tomorrow, 23 July, in the plenary session.

Five political groups in the European Parliament, EPP, S&D, Renew, Greens and GUE-NGL, agreed on a common response to the Council’s deal. The EPP Group Vice-Chair Siegfried Muresan, responsible for budgetary issues said ahead of the plenary vote:  

“I take note of the agreement reached in the Council on the EU’s budget and the recovery fund however, the ball is in the European Parliament’s court now. Simply put, we does accept the EU budget proposal in its current form. The 27 national leaders secured their national interest, now it’s up to the EP to secure the interest of Europe as a whole.

Five political groups in the EP hold a broad majority to enter the negotiations with the Council in order to deliver an EU budget that serves our citizens.

Five key points are difficult to accept for the EPP Group.

Firstly, the EPP Group does not accept the EU budget as it stands. We demand increases, especially in the areas that have suffered the biggest cuts, like Erasmus, Horizon, Just Transition Fund, Defence Fund or the Healthcare. Secondly, it is unacceptable that the rule of law clause has been considerably weakened. It is a priority that this mechanism is strengthened and allowed to be activated by “reversed qualified majority”. Thirdly, more commitment is needed to put in place new own resources as soon as possible in order to pay for the interest rates and start the repayment of NGEU. Fourthly, the EP must be involved in the decision on the recovery facility through delegated acts. And finally, should there be no agreement between the Council and the EP by the end of October, a ‘Plan B’ budget must be available to ensure continuity of the current programmes.

One thing is clear, the European Parliament will have the last word on the EU budget and there will be no agreement in the EP without negotiation and improvements.”

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MEPs debate recovery fund, condemn major cuts to long-term EU budget | News | European Parliament
Jul 23 2020
MEPs debate recovery fund, condemn major cuts to long-term EU budget | News | European Parliament

In the debate with Council and Commission Presidents Charles Michel and Ursula von der Leyen, the deal reached at the recent European Council meeting on the recovery fund was qualified as “historic” by many MEPs as for the first time, member states have agreed to issue €750 billion of joint debt. With cuts made to the long-term budget (multiannual financial framework, MFF) however, most were “not happy”.

“We are not ready to swallow the MFF pill”, said Manfred Weber (EPP). Also, S&D leader Iratxe García would not accept the cuts, “not at a time when we need to strengthen our strategic autonomy and reduce disparities between Member states”.

Many highlighted that the question of reimbursing the debt was not resolved. MEPs insisted that the burden must not fall on the citizens, and that a robust system of new own resources including a digital tax or levies on carbon for the repayment must be guaranteed, with a binding calendar. Furthermore, many underlined that “the EU is not a cash machine for national budgets”, deploring that “frugal” countries do not want to pay the price for benefiting from the single market, and insisting that no funds should go to “pseudo-democratic” governments which do not respect the rule of law and EU values.

Others were more sceptical about new own resources generating enough to repay all the debt and warned that the crisis should not be used as a pretext for further EU integration. Most however stressed that Parliament is ready for swift negotiations to make the necessary improvements to the Council’s common position.

MEPs now vote on a resolution to wind up the debate, which will serve as a mandate for the upcoming negotiations with the German Presidency of the Council of the EU. The result of the final vote will be announced in plenary today at 17.30.


Click on links to view individual statements

Charles Michel, President of the European Council

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission

Manfred Weber (EPP, DE), Iratxe García Pérez (S&D, ES), Dacian Cioloș (RE, RO), Nicolas Bay (ID, FR), Philippe Lamberts (Greens/EFA, BE)

Robert Zīle (ECR, LV), Martin Schirdewan (GUE/NGL, DE)

Closing remarks by Charles Michel, President of the European Council

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‘Temporary Basic Income’ could slow COVID surge, provide lifeline for world’s poorest
Jul 23 2020
‘Temporary Basic Income’ could slow COVID surge, provide lifeline for world’s poorest

Temporary Basic Income: Protecting Poor and Vulnerable People in Developing Countries, estimates that it would cost governments upwards of $199 billion per month, to provide what UNDP describes as “a time-bound, guaranteed basic income, to the 2.7 billion people living below or just above the poverty line in 132 developing countries.”

The agency describes it as a “feasible” measure, that is urgently needed, with the pandemic continuing to infect more than 1.5 million per week, particularly in developing countries, where seven out of ten workers make a living through informal markets, and cannot earn money if they are stuck at home.

“Many of the huge numbers of people not covered by social insurance programmes are informal workers, low-waged, women and young people, refugees and migrants, and people with disabilities – and they are the ones hardest hit by this crisis”, said UNDP in a press release issued along with the report.

Unprecedented times call for unprecedented social and economic measures…This might have seemed impossible just a few months ago – UNDP chief, Achim Steiner

UNDP has carried out assessments on the socio-economic effects of COVID-19 in more than 60 countries since the pandemic began, with data confirming that workers who lack benefits, have no choice but to venture outdoors, putting themselves and their families at risk.

Providing essentials

A Temporary Basic Income would give them the means to buy food and pay for health and education expenses, said UNDP.

It is also a realistic fiscal move: a six-month Temporary Basic Income, for example, would require just 12 percent of the total financial response to COVID-19 expected in 2020, said UNDP, which is the equivalent of just one-third of what developing countries owe, in external debt payments through 2020.

‘Unprecedented times’

“Unprecedented times call for unprecedented social and economic measures. Introducing a Temporary Basic Income for the world’s poorest people has emerged as one option. This might have seemed impossible just a few months ago”, said UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner.

“Bailouts and recovery plans cannot only focus on big markets and big business. A Temporary Basic Income might enable governments to give people in lockdown a financial lifeline, inject cash back into local economies to help keep small businesses afloat, and slow the devastating spread of COVID-19”, he said.

No ‘silver bullet’

UNDP said that a Temporary Basic Income should not, however, be viewed as a “silver bullet solution”. Protecting jobs, expanding support to micro, small and medium enterprises, and using digital solutions to identify and access people who are excluded, are all measures that countries can take.

The agency suggests that some countries could pay for the radical measure by repurposing funds they would have used to service their national debt. Developing and emerging economies will spend $3.1 trillion in debt repayment this year, according to official data.

Debt standstill

A comprehensive debt standstill for all developing countries, as called for by the UN Secretary-General António Guterres, would allow countries to temporarily repurpose these funds into emergency measures.

Several countries have already begun to embrace the concept. The West African State of Togo has distributed over $19.5 million in monthly financial aid to over 12 percent of the population through its cash transfer programme, mostly to women who work in the informal sector.

Spain recently approved a monthly budget of €250 million to top up the incomes of 850,000 vulnerable families and 2.3 million individuals, up to a minimum threshold.

UNDP is leading the UN’s socio-economic response to COVID-19 recovery and implementing recovery strategies in countries across the world.

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