UN’s slow pace of justice & UNESCO’s decision on Venice

The “UN in Focus” series holds the United Nations accountable to UN-aligned’s standards.

The slow pace of justice

UN judges have still not quite finished with the aftermath of the atrocities relating to the breakup of the former Yugoslavia almost 30 years ago. On June 30, they convicted former head of Serbia’s State Security Service, Jovica Stanisic, and his subordinate Franko “Frenki” Simatovic to 12 years in prison. The two men, now in their seventies, were initially acquitted in 2013, after having entered into court custody ten years earlier, but a retrial was ordered in 2015. If UN justice were any slower, it would probably have to be a post mortem affair involving psychopomps and psychostasis.

Venice on the brink

This month UNESCO is due to decide on whether to put the city of Venice on its list of World Heritage in Danger sites. The proposal, put forward a few weeks ago, will highlight the precarious status of the city, overwhelmed by tourism and vulnerable to climate change. The city and its lagoon were put on its list of World Heritage Sites in 1987. The list of endangered sites, created in 1972 “is designed to inform the international community of conditions which threaten the very characteristics for which a property was inscribed on the World Heritage List, and to encourage corrective action”. Currently 53 “properties” are on the World Heritage in Danger list.

Take ownership of UN-aligned

Unlike most organisations, UN-aligned is, primarily, its members. We are the New United Nations and though just a drop in the ocean, for now, we will carry on growing until we will become a force to be reckoned with!The more of us there are, the more chance we have of achieving our aims. Help us by promoting membership to you friends or to people you think have similar values. If every member added another, membership would snowball and we would be unstoppable!We also need active members: people who roll up their sleeves and contribute to the work of the organisation. Some already have, for instance, by writing articles for The Gordian, or offering to help with proofreading.

No matter what you can do, we want you. Write to us with your talents and we’ll make it work. 
The Gordian

Fair’s Fair: Entitlements Are Not Charity

No one needs to be poor. There is plenty for all of us! This is not utopia; this is a fact. In this second issue of our new Utopia series, we will be focusing on poverty and its elimination. Of course, our coverage does not end here. The March issue offers a wide range of insightful pieces by Partho Pratim Chatterjee, Pradeep Kumar Chatterjee, Elvira Ineza, Atika Harba, Carla Pietrobattista, Alex Liberto, Dinojah Patkunarajah, Dawn Roy, and Omar Alansari-Kreger. The editors are Adrian Liberto and Ariana Yekrangi.

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The Gordian Magazine is a community supported magazine that shares YOUR revolutionary ideas in regards to human rights, animal welfare and environmental protection. Every issue contains global news, opinions and long reads accompanied by striking photography and insightful companion pieces.

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