What if the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples counted for indigenous Europeans?

Officially, the paper is legally non-binding, so it does not count. What would happen if it did, though? What if it was enshrined in the constitutions of European countries? After all, it was voted by the overwhelming majority of them, with only Ukraine, Russia and Georgia abstaining and according to the United Nations it does “represent the dynamic development of international legal norms and it reflects the commitment of the UN member states to move in certain directions”.

Much of the document deals with the discrimination suffered by indigenous people due to imperialism or colonialism, nonetheless, just like any other declaration of the UN, it has the pretense of universality, it speaks for every indigenous people, thus including indigenous Europeans.

Let’s go through the declaration. Article 8 is of particular interest and it reads: Continue reading →

Proposed new law could see Swedish media prosecuted for espionage

Swedish media outlets who uncover news which damages Sweden’s relations abroad could be charged with spying, if a controversial law gets the go-ahead.
A new law against foreign espionage has been proposed by a government inquiry, which reasoned that some reporting by Swedish mass media could have a negative impact on Sweden’s work with other countries and organizations such as Nato, the United Nations, and the European Union. Source TheLocal

Schulz cites greater European integration as price of German coalition

Germany’s Martin Schulz has made a “United States of Europe” by 2025 a goal of his Social Democratic Party (SPD), should it enter talks about a fourth electoral term for chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin. Source The Irish Times

General Electric to cut 12,000 jobs in power business revamp

General Electric Co (GE.N) said Thursday it is axing 12,000 jobs at its global power business, the struggling industrial conglomerate’s latest effort to shrink itself into a more focused company. Source Reuters

China says Indian drone violated its airspace, crashed

The Chinese military today voiced strong dissatisfaction and opposition to the recent “intrusion” of an Indian unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) into China’s airspace. Source Financial Express

Volkswagen executive gets seven years for U.S. emissions fraud

A U.S.-based Volkswagen AG executive who oversaw emissions issues was sentenced to seven years in prison and fined $400,000 by a judge on Wednesday for his role in a diesel emissions scandal that has cost the German automaker as much as $30 billion. Source Volkswagen

IMF Statement on the Efforts to Fight Corruption in Ukraine

Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), made the following statement today in Washington, D.C.:

“We are deeply concerned by recent events in Ukraine that could roll back progress that has been made in setting up independent institutions to tackle high-level corruption, including the National Anticorruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Special Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO). Fighting corruption is a key demand of the Ukrainian society, is crucial to achieving stronger and equitable growth, and is part of the government’s commitment under the program with the IMF.

“We urge the Ukrainian authorities and parliament to safeguard the independence of NABU and SAPO. We also urge the authorities to move quickly with legislation to operationalize an independent anticorruption court consistent with the recommendations of the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe, which is essential to credibly adjudicate high-level corruption cases.” Source IMF