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US "Hypocrisy" on Libya and International Criminal Court
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called for the ouster of Muammar Qaddafi, citing "universal principles."
MICHAEL RATNER
President of the Center for Constitutional Rights, Ratner said today: "While it appears that serious crimes against humanity are being committed by the Libyan government, the referral of those abuses to the International Criminal Court by the Security Council smacks of opportunism and hypocrisy.
WASHINGTON
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called for the ouster of Muammar Qaddafi, citing "universal principles."
MICHAEL RATNER
President of the Center for Constitutional Rights, Ratner said today: "While it appears that serious crimes against humanity are being committed by the Libyan government, the referral of those abuses to the International Criminal Court by the Security Council smacks of opportunism and hypocrisy.
"The Security Council, and particularly the United States, have little credibility in focusing their wrath on Libya. The Council, in large part, has lost its credibility because of the U.S. refusal to make such a referral when the Israelis slaughtered Palestinians in Gaza.
"Why Libya now and not Israel in 2009? Nor was the United States sanctioned for initiating an aggressive war against Iraq that killed hundreds of thousands. When justice is determined by the big powers, it is not justice, but politics."
MICHAEL MANDEL
Author of How America Gets Away With Murder, Illegal Wars, Collateral Damage and Crimes Against Humanity, Mandel said today: "The ICC has been used as a way of putting Africans on trial while ignoring illegal attacks by the Western powers against countries in the global south." Mandel is a professor of law at York University in Canada.
HOWARD FRIEL
Friel is coauthor with Richard Falk of Israel-Palestine on Record: How The New York Times Misreports Conflict in the Middle East and The Record of the Paper: How The New York Times Misreports U.S. Foreign Policy. He said today: "There is little question that crimes in Libya are being committed by its head of state, his associates, and his hired mercenaries against the Libyan people. Innocent people are being killed, and the Security Council, with the support of the United States, indeed was justified in referring the matter to the International Criminal Court to hold the criminals in the Libyan government personally accountable for their crimes. However, if subsequent to this action, international law still applies only to pirates like Qaddafi, but not to the American emperor, then the world will see the hypocrisy of the United States in supporting this resolution.
"Keep in mind that a 'war of aggression,' the supreme international crime according to the Nuremberg Principles, and an example of which is the illegal U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, is currently outside the jurisdiction of the ICC, mainly due to U.S. demands. Note also that the Bush administration in 2002 'un-signed' the U.S. signature on the ICC treaty. And the United States repeatedly beats back Security Council condemnations of Israeli aggression in the Middle East. So, yes, apply the law to Libya. But apply it henceforth universally, including to the United States and Israel."
Friel recently wrote "The UN Voting Record of Susan Rice on Palestinian Rights, 2009-2010," following the U.S.'s latest veto at the Security Council on behalf of Isreal on February 18.
Note: "In mid-1998, 148 countries met in Rome, following tough negotiations and voted overwhelmingly on establishing an international criminal court. ... ICC was given the vote by 120 to 7. The seven who voted against were [the] U.S., China, Iraq, Israel, Libya, Qatar and Yemen."
Also, see Glenn Greenwald "U.S. continues Bush policy of opposing ICC prosecutions."
A nationwide consortium, the Institute for Public Accuracy (IPA) represents an unprecedented effort to bring other voices to the mass-media table often dominated by a few major think tanks. IPA works to broaden public discourse in mainstream media, while building communication with alternative media outlets and grassroots activists.
LATEST NEWS
$70 Trillion in Inherited Wealth Shows Global 'Inequality Emergency' Spiraling Out of Control
"Inequality is a crisis in need of concerted action," said Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz.
Nov 04, 2025
A panel of experts convened by South Africa's president warned Tuesday that the world is facing an "inequality emergency" as the richest people on the planet capture a disproportionate share of new wealth and prepare to pass it down to their heirs—perpetuating the chasm between economic elites and everyone else.
The panel, led by Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, notes in a new report that over $70 trillion in wealth will be passed down to heirs over the next decade. In the next 30 years, the panel estimates, 1,000 billionaires will transfer more than $5.2 trillion to their heirs mostly untaxed.
"Inequality is one of the most urgent concerns in the world today, generating many other problems in economies, societies, polities and the environment," states the report, published ahead of the G20 meetings in Johannesburg at the end of the month.
Joining Stiglitz on the panel, formally called the Extraordinary Committee of Independent Experts on Global Inequality, were Adriana Abdenur of Brazil, Winnie Byanyima of Uganda, Jayati Ghosh of India, and Imraan Valodia and Wanga Zembe-Mkabile of South Africa.
"Inequality is not a given; combating it is necessary and possible," the experts wrote. "Inequality results from policy choices that reflect ethical attitudes and morals, as well as economic trade-offs. It is not just a matter of concern for individual countries, but a global concern that should be on the international agenda—and therefore the G20's."
Since 2000, the global 1% has captured more than 40% of all new wealth while the bottom half of humanity saw its wealth grow by just 1%, according to the new report. More than 80% of countries—accounting for roughly 90% of the global population—have high levels of income inequality, which undermines social cohesion, economic functioning, and democratic institutions nationally and worldwide.
The panel recommends a broad scope of policy changes to tackle runaway income and wealth inequality, from ensuring the fair taxation of multinational corporations and ultra-rich individuals, to antitrust policies that reduce corporate concentration, to major investments in public services.
The experts also called for the creation of an International Panel on Inequality—inspired by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)—"to support governments and multilateral agencies with authoritative assessments and analyses of inequality" that would "empower policymaking."
"The committee's work showed us that inequality is a crisis in need of concerted action," Stiglitz said Tuesday. "The necessary step to taking this action is for policymakers, political leaders, the private sector, journalists and academia to have accurate and timely information and analysis of the inequality crisis. This is why our recommendation above all is for a new International Panel on Inequality."
"It would learn from the remarkable job the IPCC has done for climate change, bringing together technical expertise worldwide to track inequality and assess what is driving it," he added.
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Calling Climate Change a 'Public Health Crisis,' Open Letter Urges Action at COP30
"By putting health first, leaders can design climate policies that protect lives, reduce inequalities, and rebuild trust in international cooperation," the letter reads.
Nov 04, 2025
In the lead-up to the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Belém, Brazil, more than 230 climate and health organizations, activists, policymakers, artists, and experts have signed an open letter urging world leaders to prioritize health as they discuss how to address the climate emergency.
The letter, "Put Health at the Heart of Climate Action," was publicized on Tuesday. It urges leaders not only to center health but to "raise ambition" in crafting policy to respond to the health harms caused by the burning of fossil fuels and the subsequent heating of the atmosphere.
"Health is not a secondary benefit of climate policy—it is the foundation of resilience, prosperity, and justice. Yet health remains marginal in most climate negotiations, treated as an outcome rather than a driver," the letter reads. "At COP30, this must change."
The letter—backed by major public health groups like Médecins Sans Frontières and the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments; green organizations like Amazon Watch, Greenpeace UK, and several Fridays for Future branches; prominent climate activists like Vanessa Nakate; and environmentally minded artists like director Adam McKay—urges five central actions for governments attending COP30 to take:
- Follow through on a just transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy;
- Fund local climate action, especially in poorer countries;
- Don't let polluting industries like fossil fuels, industrial agriculture, or transportation influence climate and health policy;
- Make sure that health is incorporated into all climate plans and policies, including Nationally Determined Contributions and National Action Plans; and
- Include "planetary health education" into school lesson plans and medical training.
“The climate crisis is not just an environmental issue. It is a health and human rights emergency," said Marta Schaaf, director of the Program on Climate, Economic, and Social Justice, and Corporate Accountability for Amnesty International, which signed the letter. "Governments need to take decisive action to fully phase out fossil fuels, to save lives, build resilient communities, and uphold people's right to a healthy environment.”
In particular, the letter writers emphasized the health importance of rapidly phasing out fossil fuels. In addition to being the root cause of all climate-caused health impacts—from deaths, illness, and injury due to more frequent and severe heatwaves and wildfires to waterborne diseases spread by flooding—the burning of oil, gas, and coal also leads to 8 million early air pollution deaths every year and sickens communities living near wells and mines.
"These are not abstract numbers but real people—families struggling to breathe, children developing lifelong conditions, health workers pushed to [the] breaking point," the letter writers said.
The open letter acknowledges the Belém Health Action Plan, which is designed to help the health sector adapt to the climate emergency. However, it argues that COP30 could go further by recognizing and acting upon "the role of fossil fuels in driving the climate crisis and impacting human health."
“Promoting resilient health systems is a central objective of the COP30 Action Agenda," said COP30 Special Envoy for Health Ethel Maciel. "Efforts like this open letter are helping build a broad coalition to drive implementation of the Belém Health Action Plan and its shared goals. I am pleased to add my name as the COP30 health envoy and to see a wide range of partners doing the same as we move closer to the 30th Conference of the Parties in Belém. This letter sends an unequivocal message that health is an essential component of climate action.”
The letter was instigated by Think-Film Impact Production, which has launched a Healthy Planet Now campaign linked to the upcoming documentary My Planet Now, produced by Sandpaper Films and codirected by Jenny Saunders and Henry Singer.
“Every signature on this letter represents a shared story of human resilience and hope," said Amy Shepherd, the chief operating officer of Think-Film Impact Production. "It is essential that policy leaders champion films like My Planet Now, which translate the urgency of the climate and health crisis into emotion and movement—because only when people feel the story will they fight to change its ending.”
It isn't only Think-Film Impact Production and the letter signers who are raising the alarm about the health dangers of the climate crisis. The letter's announcement comes one week after The Lancet published its annual "Countdown on Health and Climate Change."
The 128-authored paper reached several alarming conclusions, including:
- Climate change caused 84% of life-threatening heatwave days between 2020 and 2024;
- Heat-related deaths have risen by 63% since the 1990s, to reach one per minute;
- Extreme drought impacted 61% of land area in 2024;
- Global heating has increased the risk of dengue fever and tick-borne diseases;
- A record-breaking 639 billion work hours were lost due to extreme heat in 2024; and
- A lack of climate action has led to millions of preventable deaths each year.
"With the threats to people's lives and health growing, delivering a health-protective, equitable, and just transition requires all hands on deck. There is no time left for further delay," The Lancet authors wrote at the end of their executive summary.
The Healthy Planet Now letter also concludes with a call to action: "At COP30, governments must treat climate change not only as a planetary emergency but as a direct public health crisis and opportunity. By putting health first, leaders can design climate policies that protect lives, reduce inequalities, and rebuild trust in international cooperation."
"The health of billions—and the future of generations to come—depends on it," it says.
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100+ Democrats Urge Trump to Improve US-Mexico-Canada Trade Deal
"We are united in our view that the agreement enacted in 2020 has failed to deliver improvements for American workers, family farmers, and communities nationwide."
Nov 03, 2025
A group of more than 100 congressional Democrats on Monday called on President Donald Trump to use the opportunity presented by the mandatory review of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement "to make significant and necessary improvements to the pact" that will benefit American workers and families.
"In 2020, some of us supported USMCA, some opposed it, and some were not in Congress," the lawmakers wrote in a letter to Trump led by Reps. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and Frank Mrvan (D-Ind.). "Today, we are united in our view that the agreement enacted in 2020 has failed to deliver improvements for American workers, family farmers, and communities nationwide."
The USMCA replaced the highly controversial North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which was enacted during the administration of then-Democratic President Bill Clinton in 1994 after being signed by former Republican President George H.W. Bush in 1992. The more recent agreement contains a mandatory six-year review.
As the lawmakers' letter notes:
Since enactment of the USMCA, multinational corporations have continued to use the threat of offshoring as leverage wielded against workers standing up for dignity on the job and a share of the profits generated by their hard work—and far too often, enabled by our trade deals, companies have acted on these threats. The US trade deficit with Mexico and Canada has significantly increased, and surging USMCA imports have undermined American workers and farmers and firms in the auto, steel, aerospace, and other sectors. Under the current USMCA rules, this ongoing damage is likely to worsen: Since USMCA, Chinese companies have increased their investment in manufacturing in Mexico to skirt US trade enforcement sanctions against unfair Chinese imports of products like electric vehicles and to take advantage of Mexico’s duty-free access to the US consumer market under the USMCA.
These disappointing results contrast with your claims at the time of the USMCA’s launch, when you promised Americans that the pact would remedy the NAFTA trade deficit, bring “jobs pouring into the United States,” and be “an especially great victory for our farmers.”
Those farmers are facing numerous troubles, not least of which are devastating tariffs resulting from Trump's trade war with much of the world. In order to strengthen the USMCA to protect them and others, the lawmakers recommend measures including but not limited to boosting labor enforcement and stopping offshoring, building a real "Buy North American" supply chain, and standing up for family farmers.
"The USMCA must... be retooled to ensure it works for family farmers and rural communities," the letter states. "Under the 2020 USMCA, big agriculture corporations have raked in enormous profits while family farmers and working people in rural communities suffered."
"We believe that an agreement that includes the improvements that we note in this letter" will "ensure the USMCA delivers real benefits for American workers, farmers, and businesses, [and] can enjoy wide bipartisan support," the lawmakers concluded.
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