‘Global tyranny lingers on’
‘Human values need upgradation’
“ON THIS day (Dec 10) 70 years ago, just before midnight in the winter of 1948 in a suburb of Paris, the world was on the verge of adopting an almost impossible idea,” columnist, professor at Kuwait University’s Political Science Department, an advisor to Human Rights Watch and the secretary general of the Arab Fund for Human Rights Dr
Ghanim Al-Najjar wrote for Al-Jarida daily. “The idea looked very simple, but its implementation was the most difficult one. The vicious world war just ended that destroyed and killed millions of people and used the most deadly weapons to achieve hegemony, influence and power, the prevailing values in the world.
“The Second World War showed the magnitude of evil in humans. Man is the only person who destroys himself, sometimes for no reason at all.
“The massacres appeared on a great scale and had taken on ugly practices at the heart of the developed world, the bloodiest of which was genocide and the use of a nuclear bomb on civilians.
“The world had no choice but to show disapproval to what had happened, even if it was to raise the thresholds, and this is exactly what occurred. In this context, the United Nations was established in 1945, a committee was formed to draft a convention guaranteeing respect for human rights, the new term on the international scene.
“In this context, one may refer that the United Nations, had been founded in 1945. However, following such an event, a committee had been for couching an agreement for guaranteeing the respect of human rights – the then ne term on the international arena.
“This committee calmly over three years, sought how to reach an international consensus over the term which the international community was still to deal with, namely how to absolutely and without any discrimination provide the necessary protection for the human dignity. It was not an easy matter, it was almost impossible.
“Such being the case, the question that imposed itself during that time was how to place the human being at the top priority. In this connection, we say the relevant authorized committee was on the verge of completing the agreement, and the then effective powers realized, that they didn’t give the necessary seriousness to the meetings of the new committee, simply because they were under the impression that the said meetings will bear no fruit.
“Given the above, these powers stopped the course of the Convention, ending with a declaration only. Thus, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was issued.
“As a matter of fact, this Declaration contained new values, but they faced some obstructions that made its implementation incomplete. Not only that, this declaration found itself knee deep in the mud of the Cold War, but it woke up from the same following the end of the said war and the dismantling of the former Soviet Union at the outset of a real legal move and the latter continues to stumble up to this date.
“Seventy years have passed since the emergence of these human values to unite the nations around them, a victory for the marginalized man, where most countries declare their faith in those principles by day, and deny them at night.
“Although the human rights march continues, many documents, bodies and institutions have emerged in support of the idea of protecting human dignity and rights, but there is still much to be done.
“Humanity has not yet succeeded in elevating human values and reducing tyranny, tyranny and tyranny.”
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“The World Bank was established more than seventy years ago,” columnist Fares Nasser AlNoun wrote for Al-Qabas daily. “This institution is one of the institutions of the United Nations that is concerned with the development issue. In this context, we say the World Bank and since the very beginning of its activities, has contributed to the reconstruction of Europe post the World War II.
“Speaking of the relations of the State of Kuwait with the World Bank over the past two years only, the country has concluded nine projects worth more than $70 million whereby the Bank shall submit studies, technical support, bills and so on to the concerned authorities in the State of Kuwait.
“However, we have read too much about this or that Kuwaiti authority seeking help of the World Bank although some people say this help will achieve nothing except plundering of our resources.
“Not just that, these people say the World Bank submits unsuitable studies to the Kuwaiti community. Moreover, these studies are not applicable, while some others say although the World Bank submits good studies and applicable for implementation, they do not find its way for implementation due to many reasons, but we will not highlight these reasons.
“Such being the case, I suggest that it is high time for the State of Kuwait to review its relations with the World Bank by organizing a conference or symposium for this purpose, provided the government issues a statement to clarify the money that has been paid to the World Bank since the very beginning of its activities in the State of Kuwait and until now.
“Apart from the above, we should hasten to define the Kuwaiti authorities which had sought the assistance of the World Bank and accepted its offer.
“In other words, the government must specify the relevant authorities and how they had benefited from the studies conducted by the Bank, simply because it will be unreasonable to keep the people unaware about such an ambiguous relationship between the State of Kuwait and the World Bank.“
“There are indications that a Cabinet reshuffle is likely to happen soon especially since the Minister of Public Works has submitted his resignation, which is still pending before the Council of Ministers, and reports indicate there is a possibility of other ministers tendering their resignations in the next few days and add to this the grilling of the Prime Minister,” columnist Dr Hamad Al Ansari wrote for Al-Rai daily.
“In my opinion, there is a possibility of a ministerial reshuffle at the present time which is the most logical, especially for those who follow the Kuwaiti political scenario and the traditional governmental way of dealing with the political situation.
“The government does not deal with the major problems it faces. The government is trying hard to brighten the image of the rain scandal, but the reality is that the rain has revealed corruption that cannot be tolerated and does not benefit from it but only ‘resentment’.
“I do not think that the government is able to convince anyone even the politicians and the people about its ability to resolve these files which remain unsolved since 2011. Add to this, the file of prisoners of conscience and gatherings, so the solution is expected from this government.
“What is important is what will happen in the event of a Cabinet reshuffle. I do not think that the ministerial reshuffle will make any difference if the government adopts the same approach. The most that can be achieved is to gain more time and avoid public questioning so only the government will gain from the Cabinet reshuffle.
“What is also important is that they do not have a plan or program and certainly do not work in the spirit of a single team, because when they change a minister, the new minister comes up with new policies and decisions different from those of the previous minister. Therefore, we find the same outstanding problems.”
“In a statement attributed to the General Traffic Department, the Ministry of Interior decided not to issue citations for broken windows of vehicles taking into consideration the flying gravel issue,” columnist Mishref Uqab wrote for Al-Shahed daily.
“The decision is good in terms of the humanitarian side. However, we need to ask who is responsible for the flying gravel and dust that covered most of the roads in the country after the heavy rains. What will be the condition of our roads if rain falls throughout winter? We need answers to our questions on the huge budget allocated for maintenance of sewage systems and roads.
“What is happening is illogical especially since we have been talking about combating corruption for so long. Who then is responsible for solving road problems, if not the Ministry of Public works? Should the citizens and residents find solutions?
“The road problem in the country is not new. It has been there since the 1970s when the main ring roads were established and they have not witnessed any development so far. They also lack regular maintenance despite the fact that the ministry signed contracts for this purpose.
“The destruction of roads worsened the traffic jam, in addition to the serious issue of flying gravel that resulted in a number of accidents.
“All rich countries do not suffer from such problems except Kuwait, just because we have the money but we lack good planning. The government must learn from the relevant experiences of some countries which managed to address traffic and road problems. The conditions are no longer bearable.”
“Violations and misdeeds in the Ministry of Health concerning corruption in the ethics of work during the tenure of former minister Al-Obaidi will be exposed in a public discussion soon,” Saud AlSamakah wrote for Al-Seyassah daily. “The cases regarding misappropriation and embezzlement of public funds will be revealed in quick successions to make the tenure of the concerned minister the worst in the history of the Ministry of Health as regards stealing, illegitimate accumulation of wealth, and abuse of office. The last allegation the current minister Dr Basel Al-Sabah referred for prosecution is not just about misappropriation of public funds but abuse of official position to violate human rights with dead conscience in cold blood.
“Responding to a question posed by MP Rakan Al-Nisf, Dr Al-Sabah explained the violation included excessive hiring of nurses beyond the number approved by Civil Service Commission (CSC) for the ministry, in addition to the allegation of irregularities in appointments through issuance of work permits and residences without the commission’s approval, while those appointments were suspected to be done in return for specific sums. He said nurses were appointed through some companies without them receiving salaries since 2016. The above-stated allegations revealed the rate of undermining government jobs and low level of trust on the side of the concerned minister. It also indicates files of corruption in his tenure are still fraught with scandals in an unprecedented manner.”
“I am not a football fan and I have no keen interest in attending football matches, and I do not care much about football analyses,” columnist Abdulrahman Al-Awad wrote for Al-Sabah daily. “I am neither a fan of any specific team or a fanatic who keenly follow competitions. Nevertheless, I recently became fond of Liverpool Football Team because of Muhammad Salah or ‘Mo Salah’ as his fans call him. I really do not consider myself a fan of Liverpool team, although I am a fan of Muhammad Salah whom I like so much. I like him not only because of his exceptional football skill and ability to score and manipulate the defense of his opponent team, because many other footballers can do the same. I like Muhammad Salah – the brilliant ambitious Muslim playing real world model football to make all Arab and Muslim youths proud. Muhammad Salah is a talented individual who ended up as a global figure. He is a good plant in a good soil that yields good fruits. This is applicable to our youths in case they find a suitable environment too.”