UN General Assembly Day 4: Talk of peace, climate and aid

Deutsche Welle

23 Sep 2023, 12:00

Day 4 of the United Nations General Assembly saw speeches by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, Pakistan's caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar ul Haq Kakar, and the leaders of several island nations.

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Work on the sidelines was carried out on the deteriorating security situation in Haiti as well as the human rights situation in Belarus.

'On the cusp of an historic peace' — Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday told the United Nations General Assembly, "There's no question the Abraham Accords heralded the dawn of a new age of peace," continuing, "But I believe that we are at the cusp of an even more dramatic breakthrough: an historic peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia."

Netanyahu said he believes, "making peace with more Arab states would actually increase the prospects of making peace between Israel and the Palestinians." Still, the Israeli leader said Palestinians should not be allowed to exercise "a veto over the process" of signing peace deals with Arab nations.

Though Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has confirmed the progress Netanyahu boasted of, he said any final agreement on the status of relations between the kingdom and the Jewish state would be contingent upon Israel's relations with the Palestinians.

After his speech, Netanyahu's office was forced to walk back what it said was a misstatement by the prime minister when he said, "Iran must face a credible nuclear threat" to keep it from attaining a nuclear weapon. Netanyahu's office said his written remarks called for a "credible military threat" and that he had simply misspoken.

Island leaders: 'Beginning to question this annual parade of flowery speeches'

Leaders from some of the smallest nations on the planet — islands facing rising sea levels — say that inaction by the world's large industrial and developing nations are a direct threat to their very existence and implored nations represented at the General Assembly to finally act.

"There are many amongst us, the small and marginalized islands of our globe, surrounded by rising seas and scorched by rising temperatures, who are beginning to question this annual parade of flowery speeches and public pretense of brotherhood, otherwise known as the UN annual General Assembly," Saint Lucia Prime Minister Philip Pierre told those gathered Friday.

Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, speaking Friday, said, "The problem is that those whose actions we most need may be so confident in their survival that they do not act early enough for us."

That complacency was a common thread earlier in the session as well, with Micronesia's President Wesley Simina saying: "Unfortunately, the international community has not done nearly enough to get us on track to limiting the global average temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius."

Earlier, Marshall Islands President David Kabua called for the establishment of an international financing tool to assist small island and low-lying atoll nations confronted with the effects of natural disaster.

Kabua said countries must recognize the world is failing to deliver on the Paris Agreement and determine a roadmap for course correction — including ending fossil fuel dependence. "These challenges might be inconvenient for large economies — but I can assure you, the climate's impact is already at our door."

US President Joe Biden intends to lend island leaders an ear when he convenes the second Pacific Islands Forum at the White House Monday. In a setting designed to showcase US engagement in the region in the face of a forward-leaning Chinese quest for influence, is set to be near the top of the agenda.

Pakistani caretaker PM pleads for release of long-overdue flood aid

Anwaar ul Haq Kakar, Pakistan's caretaker prime minister, told the UN General Assembly his country desperately needed to receive aid promised for rebuilding after it was devastated by massive floods last year that were found to have been aggravated by the global climate crisis.

More than 33 million people were impacted by the catastrophe, with more than 1,700 killed.

Kakar also implored wealthy nations to honor their promise to provide $100 billion in annual climate funding for less-developed nations.

Kakar said Pakistan was pitching specific projects from the country's $13 billion (€12.2 billion) resiliency and recovery plan to donors. "I hope our development partners will accord priority to the allocation of funds," he said.

Pakistan sorely needs the funds, yet donors are concerned about the fiscal health of the Islamic nation. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), for instance, delayed a bailout earlier this year, citing lack of fiscal reform.

Still, Pakistan says it has failed to receive the $10 billion it was promised by various donors, including the Islamic Development Bank, The World Bank, Saudi Arabia, the EU and China, after last year's flooding.

Kakar also pledged that Pakistan wants peace with it's neighbors before saying, "Kashmir is the key to peace between Pakistan and India." He urged the UN Security Council to honor its 1948 resolution calling for a plebiscite to determine the future of the region.

The two nuclear-armed neighbors dispute control of the region and have fought two full-blown wars and numerous regular skirmishes over it.

Calls for a UN-backed security mission to Haiti

The US has said that up to 12 countries back a multinational security mission in Haiti, to help the Caribbean country fight gang violence.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told a meeting in New York to address the security situation in the country that the mission could deploy "within months."

Blinken said the Biden administration would work with the US Congress to provide $100 million (approximately €93.7 million) to back such a mission with logistical and financial assistance. He nevertheless stopped short of promising troops.

"Ten to 12 [countries] came with concrete offers to this mission," State Department number two Victoria Nuland said after a ministerial meeting on Haiti on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

Kenya has offered to lead the force with a contribution of 1,000 security personnel and Jamaica, the Bahamas and Antigua have made known their willingness to participate.

Addressing the UN General Assembly on Thursday, Kenyan President William Ruto said: "We must not leave Haiti behind."

Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry addressed the General Assembly on Friday, calling for urgent help at what he described as a "critical point," saying that "criminals feel that they are all powerful."

"I am asking for help to allow Haitians to stay in their homes," he said, again requesting "help to bolster the national police of Haiti so that it can truly respond to the challenges it faces" and for Security Council authorization for that help.

Many countries have been cautious regarding their support for Henry's unelected administration, with the country left without any elected representatives since January. The prime minister argues that fair elections cannot be held amid the current insecurity.

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Hong Kong's lost freedom shows Xi Jinping's priorities: Analysis

Causeway Bay Books incident was a harbinger of regime's security-first principle. Katsuji Nakazawa is a Tokyo-based senior staff and editorial writer at Nikkei. He spent seven years in China as a correspondent and later as China bureau chief. He was the 2014 recipient of the Vaughn-Ueda International Journalist prize. Is China heading toward a more open economy? Or does it want to prioritize national security? This is probably the most difficult conundrum global investors face when considering today's China. While the communist regime advocates a "high-standard opening-up" of the economy to achieve a 5% growth target, it is also pushing to realize Chinese-style national security, saying that "political security" and "regime security" take precedence over other policies, including economic ones. The fact that President Xi Jinping's two close aides are in charge of the economy and security -- two contradictory initiatives -- further confuses the matter. Premier Li Qiang has the economic portfolio while Cai Qi is the security czar. If there is a clue to understanding the mixed messages, it lies in Hong Kong, in the changes the metropolis has gone through during the past decade under Xi, an expert on the policies and history of the city says. Hong Kong prospered thanks to its atmosphere of freedom and "common law" system that functioned under China's "one country, two systems" formula. The city has brought huge wealth to mainland China too. Its freedoms, however, are disappearing. In 2019, before COVID-19 began to spread, about 1 million people took to the streets of Hong Kong for an unprecedented demonstration against the local government's extradition bill. The following year, the Xi administration swiftly enacted and enforced the Hong Kong national security law. Expanding on that Beijing-imposed law, Hong Kong authorities last month put the administrative region's own national security law, known as Article 23, into force mere days after the city's lawmakers passed it. The controversial law promises to crack down on espionage, the theft of state secrets, treason, sedition and foreign forces' interference in national security. At issue is that these transgressions can be broadly defined. Compared with the massive demonstration in 2019, the enforcement of Article 23 last month received less international media coverage. It is a law that Hong Kong citizens have been strongly opposing for decades. In 2003, about 500,000 people gathered to demonstrate against attempts to pass the law. The enforcement of Article 23 was the final nail in the coffin of media freedom in Hong Kong. U.S.-funded Radio Free Asia has already announced the closure of its Hong Kong bureau due to safety concerns under the new law. What should be recalled here is an incident that took place in Hong Kong nearly 10 years ago. In late 2015, five people associated with Causeway Bay Books -- a bookstore that published and sold books critical of the Chinese Communist Party and the Xi administration -- disappeared one after another. The five -- four Hong Kongers and one Swedish national born in China -- were later found to have been detained by Chinese authorities. The Swedish national was abducted from a Thai resort. The "disappearances" came despite Hong Kong's "one country, two systems" model. It is less ironic that they also took place after the mainland established its national security legislation. Looking back, the incident was the beginning of the end to a free Hong Kong. The goose that laid golden eggs was being killed, significantly impacting not only Hong Kong's economy but also mainland China's in the years to come. The loss of freedom has forced economic and psychological adjustments on Hong Kongers, many of whom have decided to pull up roots. Some are visiting the reborn Causeway Bay Books, in central Taipei. The original Causeway Bay Books was forced to close years ago. Store manager Lam Wing-kee, who was among the 2015 abductees, later migrated to Taiwan. He reopened Causeway Bay Books there in 2020. Among his frequent visitors is a married couple in their 30s and 40s who recently migrated from Hong Kong to New Taipei City, a residential area adjacent to Taipei. "Chatting and exchanging views with Lam and others that gather here is our joy of life in Taiwan," they said. With no restriction on freedom of speech, the store is crammed with all genres of material, including works critical of the mainland's communist regime and photo archives of the Hong Kong demonstrations. It is the kind of haven that no longer exists in Hong Kong. Advocating a comprehensive national security concept, the Xi administration in 2014 established an anti-espionage law and then in 2015 a national security law, putting political, economic and social activity under a national security umbrella. The moves might have appeared quite abrupt. But there was an important albeit overlooked sign at a Communist Party meeting held in November 2013, a year after Xi took the party's helm as its general secretary. Just as the meeting -- the third plenary session of the Communist Party's Central Committee -- closed, a surprise announcement was made through the state-run Xinhua News Agency. The international audience was waiting for the meeting's communique that would reveal the Xi administration's mid- and long-term economic policies. But instead, state media broke the news that a decision had been made to establish the National Security Commission. As no detailed explanation was given about the commission, the announcement was not well understood. But looking back now, it was a harbinger of the Xi administration's national security-first principle. The full name of the new organization -- the National Security Commission of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party -- showed that the commission was under the direct control of the Central Committee. The name was made known in January 2014. Xi was the head, while Cai was tapped as the de facto top official in charge of managing the commission. At the time, no one within the party could have predicted Cai would rise through the ranks to become a member of the powerful Politburo Standing Committee. The National Security Commission has since acted as China's command center, not only for national security-related legislation but also for moves to deprive Hong Kong of freedoms. The unprecedented incidents involving Causeway Bay Books were just waiting to happen. The ultimate goal of the national security-first principle is to ensure "political security" and "regime security." In other words, the goal is to secure the current communist regime led by Xi. In a sense, even the Causeway Bay Books crackdown was meant to ensure the Xi administration's security. But to maintain that security, something had to be done about China's limit of two five-year terms for presidents. "Something" turned out to be an abruptly announced revision to the national constitution in 2018, scrapping the term limit. In October 2022, Xi secured an unprecedented third five-year term as party general secretary. Work had already begun around 2015 to pave the way for his extended reign. In 2023, China's revised anti-espionage law took effect. The definition of espionage can be interpreted broadly, and it is unclear what activity might lead one to be accused of a crime. Charging one with espionage seems to be at the discretion of authorities. Foreign companies operating in China are thus at the mercy of these authorities, never knowing if one of their executives or employees might be detained, when or for what reason. But with Xi's national security-first principle and Hong Kong prosperity unable to coexist, the city is reaching a tipping point, with businesses and citizens trying to get out from under the heavy pressure weighing on them. A number of foreign companies have scaled back their operations in Hong Kong, relocating to Singapore and other hubs. Many Hong Kongers are also decamping to the U.K., Taiwan, Canada and Japan. The exodus of business operations and anxious citizens has also affected Hong Kong's property market. A similar trend is also happening in mainland China. Hong Kong's current situation shows how contradictory China's economic policies are. By looking through the prism of Hong Kong, one can gain a hint of what Chinese leaders in Beijing are thinking. Source: NIKKI ASIA