Anti-war movement must listen to voices within Syria’s civil war
National Catholic Reporter October 10, 2016.
Category: Human Rights
From Gaza to Aleppo: A Handy Guide for Defending War Crimes
In These Times, Huffington Post and ZNetwork.org Oct. 7, 2016 Given the United States’ disastrous record in the Middle East—most critically the invasion and occupation of Iraq—and the manifold lies coming out of Washington to justify its policies, many Americans…
Uzbekistan’s Karimov: The Death of One of Washington’s Favorite Tyrants
The Progressive September 7, 2016
Western Sahara-Morocco dispute remains stalemated as federation proposal advanced
The New Arab August 19, 2016
Interview: ‘Most Progressive Dem Platform in History’ Hawkish on Foreign Policy
The Democratic Party platform may indeed be, as some have proclaimed, the “most progressive” in the history of the party—at least on various important domestic issues. But some of its foreign policy planks reflect a disturbingly hawkish worldview consistent with those of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
Stephen Zunes’ Testimony before the UN conference on decolonization
My interest in the dispute over Western Sahara is based not simply upon my belief in justice for that country’s people, but its implications in regard to international law and the principles upon which the United Nations organization is founded. These include the right of self-determination by non-self-governing territories and the inadmissibility of any country expanding its territory by force. Since I am not from Western Sahara, I have no stake as to whether the people of that country choose integration with Morocco, independence, or some sort of autonomy within the Moroccan kingdom. However, as a non-self-governing territory, they must have the right to make that choice.
Morocco continues occupation of Western Sahara, in defiance of UN
As Morocco continues to defy the United Nations, the International Court of Justice, and much of the international community in its continued occupation of Western Sahara, the United States continues supporting that autocratic government.
Reasons to oppose the proposed state anti-boycott bill
The California State Assembly is considering a bill entitled the “Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions of Recognized Sovereign Nations or Peoples Act” (AB 2844) that could lead to penalizing California businesses that boycott any country or any products from a particular country — even if the product is being made in a colony or occupied territory or if it is made under illegal, inhumane or environmentally deleterious conditions. It would also deny state or local government contracts to sole propietorships who participate in such boycotts.
Africa’s Last Colony: Western Saharan Independence Movement Mourns Loss of Polisario Front Leader
President Abdelaziz was not a defining figure in the revolution. I mean, he was not the equivalent of Ho Chi Minh or Fidel Castro or Mao Zedong. The Polisario has traditionally practiced more of a collective leadership. At the same time, he played a very important role in terms of holding the movement together through a long and arduous struggle. Unlike many liberation struggles, it did not split into factions. They were able to keep a cohesive unit, both during the armed struggle against Morocco and subsequently in the diplomatic efforts to win recognition of so many countries, to keep the issue, if not on the front pages here in the United States, at least in the United Nations and various regional organizations. And we’re seeing the beginnings of an international solidarity movement, as well.
Defending Israel’s Attacks on Civilians—A Harbinger for Clinton’s Presidency?
A fight is brewing as Democrats prepare to debate U.S. policy on Israel at their national convention in July. Bernie Sanders’ appointees to the platform committee Cornel West and James Zogby plan to challenge the party establishment’s uncritical support for an increasingly aggressive, right wing Israeli government.
Hillary Clinton’s double standards on human rights
During the 1980s, the United States was seriously divided over U.S. policy toward Central America. The Reagan administration was propping up a brutal military-backed regime in El Salvador that was responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of people, including priests, nuns and catechists, along with labor, student and human rights leaders, as well as peasants who happened to live in areas supporting the opposition.
US support for Saudis belies claims of supporting democracy
Santa Cruz Sentinel February 20, 2015 One of the greatest myths is that the U.S. government supports democracy. In reality, under both Republican and Democratic administrations, the U.S. remains the world’s No. 1 military, financial, and diplomatic supporter of authoritarian…
Obama Ignores Morocco’s Illegal Occupation and Human Rights Abuses
Late last month, President Barack Obama met with Morocco’s King Mohammed VI in Washington for their first face-to-face meeting. The result was a bitter disappointment for supporters of human rights and international law.
Interview: Commentary on the OPCW and the Nobel Peace Prize
FSN Reports
A five-minute radio interview on FSN Reports about the OPCW winning the Nobel Peace Prize. Dr. Zunes’ section begins just before the 13:00 mark
The Nobel Committee’s Rebuke to Washington’s Unilateralism
The awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), one of the most effective instruments for international arms control, sends an important message to those who have insisted that unilateral military action is the best means to eliminate and prevent the use of these deadly agents.
The US Has No Credibility Dealing With Chemical Weapons
This is an updated and expanded version of the article “The US and Chemical Weapons: No Leg to Stand On,” originally posted in Foreign Policy in Focus on May 2, 2013.
Interview: International News Net: World Report (audio)
INN World Report
Dr. Stephen Zune’s commentary on Egypt and other topics begins at the 36-minute mark
The Last Colony: Beyond Dominant Narratives on the Western Sahara Roundtable
Western Sahara is a sparsely-populated territory about the size of Italy, located on the Atlantic coast in northwestern Africa, just south of Morocco. Traditionally inhabited by nomadic Arab tribes, collectively known as Sahrawis and famous for their long history of resistance to outside domination, the territory was occupied by Spain from the late 1800s through the mid-1970s. With Spain holding onto the territory well over a decade after most African countries had achieved their freedom from European colonialism, the nationalist Polisario Front launched an armed independence struggle against Spain in 1973. This (along with pressure from the United Nations) eventually forced Madrid to promise the people of what was then still known as the Spanish Sahara a referendum on the fate of the territory by the end of 1975. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) heard irredentist claims by Morocco and Mauritania and ruled in October of 1975 that (despite pledges of fealty to the Moroccan sultan back in the nineteenth century by some tribal leaders bordering the territory, and close ethnic ties between some Sahrawi and Mauritanian tribes) the right of self-determination was paramount. A special visiting mission from the United Nations engaged in an investigation of the situation in the territory that same year and reported that the vast majority of Sahrawis supported independence under the leadership of the Polisario, not integration with Morocco or Mauritania.
Interview: French Military Incursion in Mali (audio)
The Scott Horton Show
Stephen Zunes, professor of politics and international studies at the University of San Francisco, discusses the French military incursion in Mali; the hostage disaster in Algeria; the cascading failure of interventions from Libya to Mali and Algeria; why the US favors the tyrannical government in Morocco instead of the pro-democracy protestors; and how a heavy-handed foreign policy ensures the most radical opposition groups come to the fore.