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Subject: International Relations

  • Morocco to normalize ties with Israel

    Morocco has become the fourth Arab nation this year to recognise Israel after interventions by the US.

    Must read:

    Israel and Morocco

    • After the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan, Morocco is the fourth Arab State since August to commit to establishing diplomatic relations with the Jewish State.
    • Morocco and Israel had respectively maintained liaison offices in Tel Aviv and Rabat in the 1990s, before closing them in 2000.
    • Israeli PM Netanyahu anticipated direct flights between the two countries soon.
    • Palestinian officials condemned the agreement, saying it encouraged Israel’s denial of their rights.

    For the sake of Western Sahara

    • The White House said the US would recognise Morocco’s claim over Western Sahara as part of the deal with Israel.
    • The US recognised Moroccan sovereignty over the entire Western Sahara territory.
    • A former Spanish colony, it was annexed by Morocco in 1975.
    • Since then it has been the subject of a long-running territorial dispute between Morocco and its indigenous Saharawi people.
    • Morocco says it has always been part of its territory, while the African Union recognizes it as an independent state.
    • A 16-year-long insurgency ended with an UN-brokered truce in 1991 and the promise of a referendum on independence, which has yet to take place.

    Ground realities

    • The latest move by the Trump administration will not necessarily have an immediate impact on the ground because the dispute is seen as greater than the whims of the American president.
    • However, Trump’s backing of Morocco’s claim to sovereignty over Western Sahara is a big deal because it diminishes the hope of a people who have aspired for the independence of that territory for decades.
    • The UN is still mandated to oversee a referendum for the independence of Western Sahara – although this hasn’t materialized since 1991.

    Why Arab countries are normalizing their ties with Israel?

    • Economics: The Gulf States see opportunities for trade and more. The deal helps the ambitious gulf, who has built themselves into military power as well as a place to do business.
    • Common enemy: The UAE has used its already well-equipped armed forces in Libya and Yemen. But its most serious potential enemy is Iran, just on the other side of the Gulf.
    • For the Iron wall: Normalizing its relations with gulf is a genuine achievement for the Israelis who is a believer in the strategy first described in the 1920s of an “Iron Wall” between the Jewish state and the Arabs.

  • UN Population Award for 2020

    HelpAge India has been presented the UN Population Award for 2020 (institutional category), according to a release issued by UNFPA.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.The Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE), a UN mechanism to assist countries transition towards a greener and more inclusive economies, emerged at:

    (a) The Earth Summit on Sustainable Development 2002, Johannesburg

    (b) The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development 2012, Rio de Janeiro

    (c) The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 2015, Paris

    (d) The World Sustainable Development Summit 2016, New Delhi

    UN Population Award

    • Each year, the Committee for the UNPA honours an individual and/or institution in recognition of outstanding contributions to population and reproductive health questions and to their solutions.
    • The Award was established by the General Assembly in 1981, in resolution 36/201, and was first presented in 1983. It consists of a gold medal, a diploma and a monetary prize.
    • The Committee for the Award is comprised of 10 UN Member States, with UN Secretary-General and UNFPA Executive Director serving as ex-officio members.
    • Nominations for the award are accepted through 31 December of each year.

    Whats’ so special this year?

    • For the first time in the history of the UNPA, the honour is being conferred on an Indian institution.
    • HelpAge India, which has been working for ‘the cause and care of disadvantaged older persons to improve their quality of life’ for over four decades, is the first Indian institution to receive this award.
    • The last time the Award came to an Indian was 28 years ago, back in 1992, when it was awarded to Mr J.R.D. Tata as an individual laureate.

  • Iran’s calculated risk

    The article analyses Iran’s response to the recent killing of its top nuclear scientist. Instead of responding to the provocation, Iran has decided to wait and watch the new U.S. administrations response.

    Background of nuclear deal with Iran

    • In 2015, the P5+1 nations-China, France, Russia, the U.K. and the U.S., plus Germany- reached an agreement with Iran to curb the country’s nuclear programme.
    • It was expected that the agreement would lead to a new beginning in West Asia, however, this did not happen.
    • Washington saw Iran’s nuclear programme, which was at an advanced stage in 2015, as a national security problem and tackled it via diplomacy.
    • However, for Israel and Saudi Arabia, Iran’s nuclear programme was not the problem but was part of the larger geopolitical challenges Iran posed.
    • The problem was Iran itself: Tehran’s influence across West Asia, its backing for non-state militias, and its ambition to emerge as a dominant pillar in the region.
    • The Donald Trump administration took an entirely different line towards Iran.
    • It pulled the U.S. out of the nuclear deal, despite United Nations certification that Iran was compliant with its terms, and reimposed sanctions on Tehran.

    Israels

    • Iran wants to set back Iran’s nuclear programme by taking out a prominent scientist and scuttle the possible revival of the nuclear deal.
    • If Iran does not retaliate, it shows that Iran’s deterrence is getting weaker, which could trigger more such attacks from its rivals.
    • If it retaliates, it could escalate the conflict, giving the outgoing Trump administration and Isarael reasons to launch heavier strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, closing off the diplomatic path.

    Iran’s response and challenges in it

    • Instead of walking into the trap of provocation, Iran’s Parliament passed a Bill that obliges the government to enrich uranium to a higher level, from less than 5% now to 20%.
    • This is a technical step away from the weapons-grade level of 90%.
    • And stop access for UN inspectors to the country’s top nuclear facilities in two months if sanctions relief is not given.
    • Within two months, Mr. Biden will be in the White House.

    Conclusion

    Iran is taking a calculated risk by enhancing its nuclear programme, which can be reversed if talks are revived. But it is leaving the Israel problem unaddressed, for now. This leaves the region vulnerable to a prolonged crisis.

  • Building political consensus on climate change

    With the victory of Joe Biden in the U.S. Presidential election geopolitics of the climate change is headed for a new reset. The article examines the role India could play in the changing geopolitical realities and also spells out the challenge for India.

    India’s role in geopolitics of climate change

    • India is probably better prepared than in the past when India was widely seen as part of the problem on climate issues.
    • But the urgency of addressing climate change is likely to intensify for two reasons:
    • 1) The election of Biden as US President.
    • 2) The prospect of cooperation on climate change between Washington and Beijing.
    • India’s ability to influence the new geopolitics of climate change will depend a lot on its domestic political resilience in adapting to the new imperatives.
    • While a democratic India struggles to deal with the new internal conflicts centred on climate, China has crafted a new template of “coercive environmentalism”.
    • The Chinese model of coercive environmentalism is finding an echo among some Western environmentalists.
    • Whatever the merits of authoritarian environmentalism, it has little political chance of being replicated in democracies.

    Cooperation on climate change between the US and China

    • Modernising liberal environmentalism is the essence of president-elect Biden’s commitment to integrating the climate question with the domestic policy agenda.
    • “Climate justice” is another important objective of Biden’s domestic environmental policy.
    • It is based on the recognition that pollution and other ecological problems have a greater impact on the poor and minorities.
    • Although coercive and liberal approaches to managing climate change are different, the US and China share some important objectives.
    • Both China and the US (along with the West) recognise the urgency of the challenge.
    • Beijing and Washington are also racing to develop new technologies that will constitute the foundations of the green economic future.
    • Both have zeroed in on industrial policy to achieve their climate objectives.
    • For Xi and Biden, gaining the leadership of the global movement for mitigating climate change is a strategic mission.
    • Washington and Beijing understand that climate politics is in the end about rearranging the global order.
    • Consequently, the new direction of Chinese and US policies (in partnership with Europe and Japan) will inevitably put pressure on other states for climate actions.

    Conclusion

    India’s real test on climate change is on building a new domestic consensus that can address the economic and political costs associated with an internal adjustment to the prospect of a great global reset.

  • UN removes Cannabis from ‘Most Dangerous Drug’ Category

    The United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) voted to remove cannabis and cannabis resin from Schedule IV of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, decades after they were first placed on the list.

    Q. Too much de-regulation of Cannabis could lead to its mass cultivation and a silent economy wreaking havoc through a new culture of substance abuse in India. Critically analyse.

    What is Cannabis?

    • Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the Cannabis plant used primarily for medical or recreational purposes.
    • The main psychoactive component of cannabis is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is one of the 483 known compounds in the plant, including at least 65 other cannabinoids, including cannabidiol (CBD).
    • It is used by smoking, vaporizing, within the food, or as an extract.

    UN’s decision and India

    • Currently in India, the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, illegalizes any mixture with or without any neutral material, of any of the two forms of cannabis – charas and ganja — or any drink prepared from it.
    • The WHO says that cannabis is by far the most widely cultivated, trafficked and abused illicit drug in the world. But the UN decision could influence the global use of medicinal marijuana,
    • India was part of the voting majority, along with the US and most European nations.
    • China, Pakistan and Russia were among those who voted against, and Ukraine abstained.

    Cannabis in India

    In India, cannabis, also known as bhang, ganja, charas or hashish, is typically eaten (bhang golis, thandai, pakoras, lassi, etc.) or smoked (chillum or cigarette).

    Under international law

    • The Vienna-based CND, founded in 1946, is the UN agency mandated to decide on the scope of control of substances by placing them in the schedules of global drug control conventions.
    • Cannabis has been on Schedule IV–the most dangerous category– of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs for as long as the international treaty has existed.

    Fuss over Cannabis

    • Cannabis has various mental and physical effects, which include euphoria, altered states of mind and sense of time, difficulty concentrating, impaired short-term memory and body movement, relaxation, and an increase in appetite.
    • But global attitudes towards cannabis have changed dramatically, with many jurisdictions permitting cannabis use for recreation, medication or both, despite it remaining on Schedule IV of the UN list.
    • Currently, over 50 countries allow medicinal cannabis programs, and its recreational use has been legalized in Canada, Uruguay and 15 US states.

    Impact of the decision

    • The reclassification of cannabis by the UN agency, although significant, would not immediately change its status worldwide as long as individual countries continue with existing regulations.
    • The decision would add momentum to efforts for decriminalizing cannabis in countries where its use is most restricted, while further legalizing the substance in others.
    • Scientific research into marijuana’s medicinal properties is also expected to grow.
    • Legalising and regulating cannabis will “undermine criminal markets” as well as its smuggling and cultivation.

    Risks of Legalizing Cannabis

    (1) Health risks continue to persist

    • There are many misconceptions about cannabis. First, it is not accurate that cannabis is harmless.
    • Its immediate effects include impairments in memory and in mental processes, including ones that are critical for driving.
    • Long-term use of cannabis may lead to the development of addiction of the substance, persistent cognitive deficits, and of mental health problems like schizophrenia, depression and anxiety.
    • Exposure to cannabis in adolescence can alter brain development.

    (2) A new ‘tobacco’ under casualization

    • A second myth is that if cannabis is legalized and regulated, its harms can be minimized.
    • With legalization comes commercialization. Cannabis is often incorrectly advertised as being “natural” and “healthier than alcohol and tobacco”.
    • Tobacco, too, was initially touted as a natural and harmless plant that had been “safely” used in religious ceremonies for centuries.

    Way ahead

    • It’s important to make a distinction between legalization, decriminalization and commercialization.
    • While legalization and decriminalization are mostly used in a legal context, commercialization relates to the business side of things.
    • For India to liberalise its policy on cannabis, it should ensure that there are enough protections for children, the young, and those with severe mental illnesses, who are most vulnerable to its effects.

  • Places in news: Bhashan Char Island

    Bangladesh has transported more than 1,600 Rohingya refugees to a low-lying island in the first phase of a controversial planned relocation of 1,00,000 people.

    Can you see, what the so-called champions of tolerance and human rights doing to the refugees in their own country!

    Bhashan Char Island

    • Bhasan Char also known as Char Piya, is an island in Hatiya, Bangladesh.
    • Located 34 kilometres (21 miles) from the mainland, its name in Bengali means “floating island.”
    • The island was formed with Himalayan silt in 2006 spanning 40 square kilometres.
    • It is underwater from June to September annually because of the monsoon, and it has no flood fences.
    • In June 2015, the Bangladeshi government suggested resettling Rohingya refugees on the island under its Ashrayan Project.
    • The proposal was characterized by the UN Refugee Agency as “logistically challenging”.

    Extraditing to another hell

    • Bhashan Char is a flood-prone island that emerged from the sea 20 years ago.
    • The refugees had been coerced into going to this flood-prone island which is also vulnerable to frequent cyclones.
    • This compact island is too small to occupy and nurture the Rohingya population and there is chronic overcrowding in camps.

  • Geopolitical turbulence in the Middle East and consequences for Indian subcontinent

    Three broad trends emerging from the Middle East and its implication for the region have been discussed here.

    Growing vulnerability of Iran and implications for subcontinent

    • The brazen murder of a top Iranian nuclear scientist highlights the Islamic Republic of Iran’s growing strategic vulnerabilities.
    • This geopolitical turbulence in the Middle East has major consequences for the subcontinent.
    • Whether they want to or not, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh must deal with three broad trends that define the new Middle East.

    3 Trends in the Middle East

    1) Iran’s growing isolation

    •  The Trump administration and the Republicans, Israel and the Gulf Arabs have a shared interest in preventing the next US President from renewing nuclear diplomacy with Iran and ending Tehran’s isolation.
    • The assassination of Fakhrizadeh is about achieving that political objective.
    • If Iran retaliates vigorously, it will invite an all-out confrontation with Israel and the US.
    • Holding back will expose Iran’s weakness and sharpen internal divisions between pragmatists who want to engage the US and the hardliners.
    • The frequent attacks on high-profile Iranian targets indicate hostile penetration of its society such that domestic opponents of the regime are now willing to collaborate with foreign security agencies, including Israel’s Mossad.
    •  Iran’s internal political weakness is compounded by the massive economic pain imposed by the Trump administration through sanctions.
    • Iran has much goodwill in South Asia, but India and its neighbours have no desire to get sucked into Tehran’s conflicts with the Arabs or the US.

    2)  Transformation of Arab relations with Israel

    • The fear of Iran has been driving Gulf Arabs to embrace Israel.
    • In the last few months, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates have normalised ties with Israel.
    • There is speculation of an impending normalisation of ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
    • Pakistan’s Prime Minister has talked of pressure, apparently from Saudi Arabia and the UAE, on recognising Israel.
    • If Pakistan recognises Israel, Bangladesh would not want to be left behind.
    • Economic and technological collaboration with Israel will give Bangladesh’s economy and foreign policy a big boost.
    • For Israel, having Bangladesh and Pakistan, two of the world’s largest Islamic nations, recognise it would be a great ideological and political bonus
    • An India that proclaims the virtues of engaging all sides in the Middle East can’t grudge the same privilege for Israel in South Asia.

    3) Rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Turkey

    • While Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the UAE want to return the Middle East towards political and religious moderation, the once secular Turkey has become the new champion of political Islam.
    • Turkey’s contestation with Saudi Arabia is already having an impact on India and Pakistan.
    • Turkey is now hostile to India and has joined Pakistan in taking up the Kashmir question at international forums.
    • For Pakistan, this seemed a useful counter to the Gulf Arabs, who were ramping up strategic ties with India.
    • However, UAE and Saudi Arabia have the option to put massive costs on the Pakistani economy that can’t be plugged by Turkey or Malaysia.

    Conclusion

    Although India has made some important adjustments to its engagement with the Middle East in recent years, Delhi can’t take its eyes off the rapid changes in the region.

  • Recalibrating India-Nepal ties

    The article suggests the need for a relook at the India-Nepal ties in the changing geopolitical circumstances. 

    Unchanging perspective on of each other

    • Many in Nepal continue to equate being anti-India with being nationalistic.
    • Politicians and political parties whip up such sentiment especially before an election.
    • Prime Minister K.P. Oli won the 2017 election partly because he projected himself as someone who stood up to India during the blockade.
    • He again whipped up nationalistic sentiments when he got the Nepal map amended to add new territory.
    • India continues to think that by providing aid and development projects in Nepal, it can win Nepali hearts.
    • But despite pouring billions of rupees into Nepal over decades, it has still not been able to do so.
    • Therefore, it needs to reflect on what it is not doing right.

    India’s aid Vs Chines aid to Nepal

    • Two issues are important to understand here.
    • First, all aid to Nepal from countries other than India and China go through the Plans of the Government of Nepal.
    • Indian aid is seen in Nepal as a favour bestowed on a constituency it wants to garner support from rather than a contribution to Nepal’s planned development.
    • Second, India competes with China in providing aid outside government budgets.
    • And China picks up projects of visibility and strategic location.
    • Chinese involvement in Nepal has increased since the April 2015 earthquake and Nepal is surely an area of strategic influence in China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

    People-to-people ties

    •  In the past two decades, two significant changes have happened.
    • 1)  Indian workers in Nepal constitute a big part of the workforce and send about $3 billion to India every year.
    • In terms of remittances to India, Nepal ranks eighth.
    • So, the Government of India needs to keep in mind that many households in India are being run with remittances from Nepal.
    • 2) Nepalis have migrated in the past 20 years to more than a hundred countries; India is not the only country that Nepalis rely on for jobs or education.
    • This is a new Nepal comprising young people with global aspirations.
    • Meanwhile, Nepal needs to plan how it engages with the youth in mainland India for whom Nepal is just like Bangladesh or Myanmar.

    Consider the question “The unchanging perspective of each other in both countries calls for the recalibration of India-Nepal ties. Examine the factors that India should consider while having a relook at its ties with Nepal”

    Conclusion

    There are some fundamentals that we simply cannot forget: geography will not change, the border will remain open as millions of livelihoods on both sides depend on it, and China is going to be a big global player with varied interests in the neighbourhood. Therefore, the India-Nepal relationship has to be recalibrated.

  • India and the OIC

    India has hit out at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) for making factually incorrect and unwarranted references to Jammu and Kashmir.

    What is OIC?

    • The OIC — formerly Organisation of the Islamic Conference — is the world’s second-largest inter-governmental organisation after the UN, with a membership of 57 states.
    • The OIC’s stated objective is “to safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony among various people of the world”.
    • OIC has reserved membership for Muslim-majority countries. Russia, Thailand, and a couple of other small countries have Observer status.

    India’s relationship with OIC

    • At the 45th session of the Foreign Ministers’ Summit in 2018, Bangladesh suggested that India, where more than 10% of the world’s Muslims live, should be given Observer status.
    • In 1969, India was dis-invited from the Conference of Islamic Countries in Rabat, Morocco at Pakistan’s behest.
    • Then Agriculture Minister Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed was dis-invited upon arrival in Morocco after Pakistan President Yahya Khan lobbied against Indian participation.

    Recent developments

    • In 2019, India made its maiden appearance at the OIC Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Abu Dhabi, as a “guest of honour”.
    • Then External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj addressed the Inaugural Plenary.
    • This first-time invitation was seen as a diplomatic victory for New Delhi, especially at a time of heightened tensions with Pakistan following the Pulwama attack.
    • Pakistan had opposed the invitation to Swaraj and it boycotted the plenary after the UAE turned down his demand to rescind the invitation.

    What is the OIC’s stand on Kashmir?

    • It has been generally supportive of Pakistan’s stand on Kashmir and has issued statements criticizing India.
    • These statements over the last three decades became an annual ritual, of little significance to India.
    • Last year, after India revoked Article 370 in Kashmir, Pakistan lobbied with the OIC for their condemnation of the move.
    • To Pakistan’s surprise, Saudi Arabia and the UAE — both top leaders among the Muslim countries — issued nuanced statements, and were not as harshly critical of New Delhi as Islamabad had hoped.
    • Since then, Islamabad has tried to rouse sentiments among the Islamic countries, but only a handful of them — Turkey and Malaysia — publicly criticised India.

    How has India been responding?

    • India has consistently underlined that J&K is an integral part of India and is a matter strictly internal to India.
    • The strength with which India has made this assertion has varied slightly at times, but never the core message.
    • It has maintained its “consistent and well known” stand that the OIC had no locus standi,
    • This time, India went a step ahead and said the grouping continues to allow itself to be used by a certain country “which has a record on religious tolerance, radicalism and persecution of minorities”.

    OIC members and India

    • Individually, India has good relations with almost all member nations. Ties with the UAE and Saudi Arabia, especially, have looked up significantly in recent years.
    • The OIC includes two of India’s close neighbours, Bangladesh and Maldives.
    • Indian diplomats say both countries privately admit they do not want to complicate their bilateral ties with India on Kashmir but play along with OIC.

    What lies ahead with OIC?

    • India now sees the duality of the OIC untenable, since many of these countries have good bilateral ties and convey to India to ignore OIC statements.
    • But these countries sign off on the joint statements which are largely drafted by Pakistan.
    • South Block feels it is important to challenge the double-speak since Pakistan’s campaign and currency on the Kashmir issue has hardly any takers in the international community.

  • Killing of Iranian nuclear scientist and its implications

    The assassination of Iran’s nuclear scientist has implication for the future of JCPOA and the peace and the stability of the region. The article explains why.

    Context

    • Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, the Iranian scientist who led Iran’s nuclear weapons programme until it was disbanded, was assassinated last week.

    JCPOA and U.S. Presidential election’s link with the

    • Assassinations in which Israeli hands were suspected had stopped after the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was signed.
    • The U.S. withdrew from the agreement when Trump became the U.S. President.
    • In retaliation of the withdrawal, Iran began enriching uranium and stockpiling it beyond JCPOA limits.
    • With that, the strategy of targeted assassinations seems to be back.
    • This strategy has assumed urgency with the election of Joe Biden in the U.S., who has expressed his desire to return to the JCPOA.

    Understanding the Israel link

    • Israel government is apprehensive that Mr. Biden will imperil Israel’s nuclear monopoly in West Asia.
    • The assassination of Fakhrizadeh appears to be part of a larger Israeli plan in conjunction with Saudi Arabia to force the U.S. into taking military action against Iran.
    • An Israeli-Saudi nexus on this issue, when combined with President Trump’s, could culminate in a major military strike on Iran before he leaves office.

    Win-win situation for Israel

    • If the Iranian government launches revenge attacks Mr. Netanyahu would be able to persuade the U.S. to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities.
    • If Iran shows restraint, Israel would have shown up the Iranian regime as weak while augmenting anti-American feelings in the country.
    • That anti-American feeling would make it difficult for the Biden administration to resume negotiations with Tehran on reviving JCPOA.

    Conclusion

    The fallout of the assassination, while benefiting Israel, will add to the instability in the region.