Noam Chomsky, Roger Waters, and 100+ others say Canada does not deserve UN Security Council Seat

[Celerity]

“Despite its peaceful reputation, Canada is not acting as a benevolent player on the international stage,” warns open letter from activists, artists, and academics.

https://www.rawstory.com/2020/05/no-argue-noam-chomsky-roger-waters-monia-mazigh-and-100-others-canada-does-not-deserve-un-security-council-seat/

As Canada vies for a temporary seat on the United Nations Security Council an open letter published Tuesday argues the Ottawa government—despite a more rosy reputation compared to its powerful U.S. neighbor—should be seen for what it more accurately is: a powerful international force in its own right that continues to play a negative role on the world stage when it comes to militarism and endless war, human rights abuses, environmental degradation both at home and abroad, and its outsized role in exacerbating the climate crisis. “The international community should not reward bad behaviour,” the signatories argue in the letter and an adjoining online petition.

Link to tweet

The signers of the letter—who include Harsha Walia, Noam Chomsky, Rogers Waters, Bianca Mugyenyi, Kanahus Manuel, Richard Falk, and over one hundred others—highlight Canada’s woeful silence and disregard when it comes to the abuse of the Palestinian people and the Israeli government’s most recent effort to annex the Occupied Territories of the West Bank. As highlighted Tuesday by Michael Lynk, associate professor of law at Western University and special rapporteur for the United Nations Human Rights Council on the situation in the Palestinian territory, the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been noticeably absent even as countries like Ireland and Norway—which are also vying for the UNSC seat—have publicly spoken out against Israel’s efforts. Where is Canada on such an issue of grave international importance? “I argue that Canada is missing in action,” wrote Lynk. “No public statements against Israel’s annexation proposal have been issued. No planned accountability measures have been floated. No criticism, however mild, has been offered.”

The open letter, also backed by 20 organizations, makes a similar critique. “In the Middle East, Canada has sided with Israel on almost every issue of importance,” the letter states. “Since coming to power the Trudeau government has voted against more than fifty U.N. resolutions upholding Palestinian rights backed by the overwhelming majority of member states. The Canadian government has refused to abide by 2016 U.N. Security Council Resolution 2334, calling on member states to ‘distinguish, in their relevant dealings, between the territory of the State of Israel and the territories occupied in 1967.'” While Canada is competing against Norway and Ireland for the two-year temporary seat—and with a vote scheduled for June—Trudeau has argued the nation’s leadership will be vital in the years to come as the world continues to grapple with the Covid-19 fallout.

Link to tweet

But instead of upholding standards of international law and human rights, the letter contends that Ottawa and Trudeau have showed the opposite of leadership and accuses Canada of frequently echoing “Trump’s foreign policy” in the Western Hemisphere by backing “reactionary forces” in Latin America and defending Canadian mining companies despite allegations and evidence of fueling rights abuses and ecological damage in countries across the globe. For its disregard for the rights of First Nations and other Indigenous groups worldwide, the signers argue that Canada has failed to live up its promises both at home and abroad. With massive oil, gas, and mineral reserves—including the Alberta tar sands—those objecting to Canada’s seat say that refusing to “keep Canada’s dirty oil in the ground” while at the same time operating as one of the world’s largest per-capita emitters, should be disqualifying. “Despite its peaceful reputation, Canada is not acting as a benevolent player on the international stage,” the letter states.

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[madaboutharry]

1. Not looking to start a fight here,

but extremists and anti-Semites are not the best voices to raise objections to Canada’s aspirations at the U.N.

The signers to this letter are people I tuned out a long time ago.

[nycbos]

2. Exactly

[jberryhill]

3. Anybody should give a shit what Roger Waters thinks why?

The conceit of wealthy British people knows no bounds.

[boston bean]

4. What a bunch of bullshit. The article that is.

[muriel_volestrangler]

5. Since when was an excellent human rights record a qualification for the Security Council?

Canada's record is still better than the average SC member, and better than all 5 permanent members.