Iran Rejects Nuclear Inspections Ahead of New Talks With IAEA
'Until we reach a new agreement framework, no cooperation will begin' with the United Nations nuclear watchdog, he said in televised remarks. Araghchi didn't identify the IAEA deputy director general who he said will be visiting.
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Forbes
an hour ago
- Forbes
When Violence Based On Religion Or Belief Amounts To International Crimes
August 22nd marks the International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief, a day established by the United Nations General Assembly to condemn acts of violence targeting individuals on the basis of or in the name of religion or belief. Such violence is ever-growing around the world and requires urgent and comprehensive responses. On this day, we remember all victims and survivors of such violence and call upon the international community to address the crimes. Violence based on religion or belief will have multiple and diverse manifestations. In its extreme forms, such violence may amount to international crimes, including crimes against humanity and even genocide. Such crimes require comprehensive responses, including steps to ensure justice and accountability. The last decade has seen a multitude of such extreme manifestations of violence based on religion or belief. In Nigeria, Boko Haram and other militia groups have been spreading havoc and targeting anyone who does not subscribe to their interpretation of Islam. Among their victims are Christians, who are a minority in the states where the terror group operates. The Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) of the International Criminal Court (ICC) recognized the gravity of the crimes by Boko Haram when, in 2020, it concluded the preliminary examination and sought formal investigations. The next steps have been stalled for the last five years as the ICC has been waiting for domestic authorities to investigate the crimes. In Syria, reports suggest a new wave of atrocities committed against religious minorities, including violence against Christians, the Alawites and the Druze. In Iraq, Yazidis continue to fight for justice and accountability, some eleven years after the Daesh genocide, with close to 2,600 Yazidi women and children still enslaved to this day. In China, Uyghurs are said to be moved from forced indoctrination camps to forced labor camps, with the products tainted by this slavery flooding Western markets. In Afghanistan, religious minorities such as Christians, Ahmadiyas, and Baha'is, among others, are effectively extinct in the country after many of them were evacuated when the Taliban was taking over, with a small number of their members going underground. Hazara Shias, a numeric minority group, although going into millions of members, continue to be subjected to targeted attacks by the Islamic State of Khorasan Province (IS-KP) and other groups. The Taliban, while not claiming responsibility for these attacks, is responsible for failing to prevent them. In Iran, Baha'is are considered to be apostates and face persecution, marked by extreme violence including extrajudicial killings, torture, and arbitrary detention. Baha'is are denied equal rights, which affects all aspects of their lives in the country. This year has also seen an increase in Islamist attacks in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), as perpetrated by Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) fighters, part of the Islamic State's Central African Province. One of such attacks, on a church in the town of Komanda, resulted in some 40 worshipers killed. To name a few. All such attacks, which meet the legal definitions of international crimes, must be addressed by states and the international community as a whole. However, as we see too often, responses are rare and often too late to make a difference in the lives of individuals, let alone whole communities. Investigations and prosecutions of those responsible are an exception to the rule, with the rule being impunity. Prevention of these atrocities is a faraway goal with little to no preparatory work being undertaken by States. In relation to the crime of genocide, States have a legal duty to prevent, as enshrined in the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. The duty to prevent requires States to take 'all means reasonably available to them, so as to prevent genocide so far as possible', with the trigger for this duty being 'the serious risk of genocide.' A similar legal duty to prevent will be imposed in relation to crimes against humanity, once the draft treaty on crimes against humanity is adopted. This process may take some 5-10 years. In addition, States have the political commitment of Responsibility to Protect (R2P), which should trigger responses, especially where the duty to prevent genocide does not reach. Unfortunately, as seen too many times over the years, prevention is a promise yet to be fulfilled. Too often, States choose their own interest over their legal duties or political commitments and fail to act. Such an approach is contrary to the duties themselves and the spirit of the commitments States made voluntarily. As we mark the UN day, and stand with victims and survivors of acts of violence based on religion or belief, we must call out the hypocrisy of the international community by screaming 'Never Again' but doing nothing and allowing the atrocities to happen again and again.
Washington Post
3 hours ago
- Washington Post
Grave by grave, a new project in divided Cyprus tries to mend mistrust
TOCHNI, Cyprus — On opposite sides of ethnically divided Cyprus , even the resting places of the dead haven't been spared the fallout of war. Shattered granite crosses are strewn about the weed-choked Greek Cypriot cemeteries in the island's northern third that's in Turkish Cypriot hands. In the Greek Cypriot south, Muslim headstones in Turkish Cypriot cemeteries are concealed by overgrowth. Until 2003, no one could cross a United Nations-controlled buffer zone to place flowers at loved ones' graves. In the five decades since a Turkish invasion, vandalism and the ravages of time have transformed hundreds of Cyprus' cemeteries into evidence of the geographic and political rift. But even as chances for bilateral talks to end the divide appear bleak, Greek and Turkish Cypriots have teamed up to mend mistrust and push for peace, one grave at a time. Restoration is underway at 15 civilian cemeteries on each side of the so-called Green Line cutting across the Mediterranean island. Expansion of the roughly 700,000-euro project ($815,000) to more cemeteries is being considered. 'The maintenance and restoration of cemeteries constitutes one of the most symbolic and morally pressing acts for a place that strives for reconciliation,' said Sotos Ktoris, a Greek Cypriot member of the committee from both communities overseeing the work. Turkey's 1974 invasion, triggered when Athens-backed supporters of uniting Cyprus with Greece mounted a coup, prompted some 160,000 Greek Cypriots to flee their villages to safety in the south, where the internationally recognized government is seated. Some 45,000 Turkish Cypriots moved north, where authorities declared independence a decade later. To this day, only Turkey recognizes Cyprus' northern authorities. Among the displaced were the custodians of places of worship and cemeteries, both Orthodox Christian and Muslim. Churches in the north were vandalized and looted. Mosques in the south fell into neglect and decay. As part of U.N.-mediated efforts to achieve a peace deal, both sides have found ways to address past wrongs, including the restoration of churches, mosques and other monuments by the committee. Earlier this year, Greek Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar expanded the committee's work to cemetery restoration, with European Union funding and U.N. support and assistance. Work began in May. Greek Cypriot workers last month were rebuilding the 100-year-old stone wall at one Muslim cemetery in Tochni, a village nestled in hilly countryside near the southern coast. Turkish Cypriot residents had outnumbered Greek Cypriots here by nearly three to one until they were transferred north a few months after the Turkish invasion ended. Many Turkish Cypriots from the north are now visiting the village to reconnect with their past, find family homes and honor their ancestors, according to Tochni's Greek Cypriot community leader, Charoulla Efstratiou. 'Just as we demand that they respect us, our dead, our religion and so forth, I believe that we owe the same respect to them,' Efstratiou said. At the Tochni cemetery, a small patch of crimson flowers emerged from the parched soil atop the grave of a man who died 65 years ago, planted recently by his descendants. In the village of Palaikythro that Turkish Cypriots have renamed Balikesir, broken crosses at the Greek Cypriot cemetery have been set upright again until they're fully mended. Virtually nothing was left intact. Turkish Cypriot contractor Recep Güler said it wasn't easy to restore the external walls and gate. Mürüde Erzen, the village's Turkish Cypriot community leader, said the cemetery is part of shared cultural heritage. 'When I saw this place, I was very upset, wondering why it had become like this,' Erzen told the United Nations Development Program in footage shared with the AP. Turkish Cypriot authorities had denied the AP access. When Erzen became community leader, she resolved to do something about it. Sotiroulla Mina Iniati, the Greek Cypriot community leader of Palaikythro, said the cost of full restoration of crosses will be borne by families or the community council. Greek Cypriots continue to elect their own community leader to affirm their claim to their lost lands and preserve their memory. 'For us, this is a sacred place,' Iniati said. 'We feel that in this way, the souls of our dead who have for 51 years remain neglected, will be able to rest.' The last major push for a peace deal in Cyprus collapsed in 2017. Today, the Turkish Cypriots and Turkey shun the U.N.-endorsed framework for reunifying Cyprus as a federation. They insist on a two-state deal that Greek Cypriots reject because they view partition as dooming the island to Turkey's influence, with its military hardware and troops stationed there in perpetuity. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres has met Christodoulides and Tatar twice this year and is expected to meet them again in the coming months in a bid to keep peace talks alive.
Associated Press
3 hours ago
- Associated Press
Grave by grave, a new project in divided Cyprus tries to mend mistrust
TOCHNI, Cyprus (AP) — On opposite sides of ethnically divided Cyprus, even the resting places of the dead haven't been spared the fallout of war. Shattered granite crosses are strewn about the weed-choked Greek Cypriot cemeteries in the island's northern third that's in Turkish Cypriot hands. In the Greek Cypriot south, Muslim headstones in Turkish Cypriot cemeteries are concealed by overgrowth. Until 2003, no one could cross a United Nations-controlled buffer zone to place flowers at loved ones' graves. In the five decades since a Turkish invasion, vandalism and the ravages of time have transformed hundreds of Cyprus' cemeteries into evidence of the geographic and political rift. But even as chances for bilateral talks to end the divide appear bleak, Greek and Turkish Cypriots have teamed up to mend mistrust and push for peace, one grave at a time. Restoration is underway at 15 civilian cemeteries on each side of the so-called Green Line cutting across the Mediterranean island. Expansion of the roughly 700,000-euro project ($815,000) to more cemeteries is being considered. 'The maintenance and restoration of cemeteries constitutes one of the most symbolic and morally pressing acts for a place that strives for reconciliation,' said Sotos Ktoris, a Greek Cypriot member of the committee from both communities overseeing the work. The consequences of war Turkey's 1974 invasion, triggered when Athens-backed supporters of uniting Cyprus with Greece mounted a coup, prompted some 160,000 Greek Cypriots to flee their villages to safety in the south, where the internationally recognized government is seated. Some 45,000 Turkish Cypriots moved north, where authorities declared independence a decade later. To this day, only Turkey recognizes Cyprus' northern authorities. Among the displaced were the custodians of places of worship and cemeteries, both Orthodox Christian and Muslim. Churches in the north were vandalized and looted. Mosques in the south fell into neglect and decay. As part of U.N.-mediated efforts to achieve a peace deal, both sides have found ways to address past wrongs, including the restoration of churches, mosques and other monuments by the committee. Earlier this year, Greek Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar expanded the committee's work to cemetery restoration, with European Union funding and U.N. support and assistance. Work began in May. Seeking mutual respect Greek Cypriot workers last month were rebuilding the 100-year-old stone wall at one Muslim cemetery in Tochni, a village nestled in hilly countryside near the southern coast. Turkish Cypriot residents had outnumbered Greek Cypriots here by nearly three to one until they were transferred north a few months after the Turkish invasion ended. Many Turkish Cypriots from the north are now visiting the village to reconnect with their past, find family homes and honor their ancestors, according to Tochni's Greek Cypriot community leader, Charoulla Efstratiou. 'Just as we demand that they respect us, our dead, our religion and so forth, I believe that we owe the same respect to them,' Efstratiou said. At the Tochni cemetery, a small patch of crimson flowers emerged from the parched soil atop the grave of a man who died 65 years ago, planted recently by his descendants. Putting up crosses In the village of Palaikythro that Turkish Cypriots have renamed Balikesir, broken crosses at the Greek Cypriot cemetery have been set upright again until they're fully mended. Virtually nothing was left intact. Turkish Cypriot contractor Recep Güler said it wasn't easy to restore the external walls and gate. Mürüde Erzen, the village's Turkish Cypriot community leader, said the cemetery is part of shared cultural heritage. 'When I saw this place, I was very upset, wondering why it had become like this,' Erzen told the United Nations Development Program in footage shared with the AP. Turkish Cypriot authorities had denied the AP access. When Erzen became community leader, she resolved to do something about it. Sotiroulla Mina Iniati, the Greek Cypriot community leader of Palaikythro, said the cost of full restoration of crosses will be borne by families or the community council. Greek Cypriots continue to elect their own community leader to affirm their claim to their lost lands and preserve their memory. 'For us, this is a sacred place,' Iniati said. 'We feel that in this way, the souls of our dead who have for 51 years remain neglected, will be able to rest.' An intractable dispute The last major push for a peace deal in Cyprus collapsed in 2017. Today, the Turkish Cypriots and Turkey shun the U.N.-endorsed framework for reunifying Cyprus as a federation. They insist on a two-state deal that Greek Cypriots reject because they view partition as dooming the island to Turkey's influence, with its military hardware and troops stationed there in perpetuity. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres has met Christodoulides and Tatar twice this year and is expected to meet them again in the coming months in a bid to keep peace talks alive.
