"The International Year of..."
There are other examples that give evidence that the Watchtower diligently sought to cooperate with the DPI. For instance, Bethel seemed especially keen to make mention of the UN’s special year declarations. So, in keeping with its obligation to inform the pubic of a broad range of UN-related issues, the July 22nd, 1999, Awake, featured a series of articles on aging. It just so happened that 1999 was also the UN’s “International Year of Older Persons.” Not surprisingly, the Awake published the following announcement:
“Having turned 60 myself . . ., I am now counted among the statistics I cited earlier,” said UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan recently during the launching of the International Year of Older Persons. Mr. Annan has plenty of company. Researchers say that by the turn of this century, in many countries 1 out of every 5 people will be 60 or older. Some of them will be in need of care, but all of them will be in need of ways in which they can retain their independence, their dignity, and their productivity. To help policymakers meet the challenges created by this ‘demographic revolution’ and to get a better appreciation of “the value of old age in society,” the UN General Assembly decided in 1992 to designate 1999 as the International Year of Older Persons. “Towards a Society of All Ages” is the theme of this special year.”
The Watchtower discussing family problems drew attention to the fact that 1994 also happened to be the “International Year of the Family”:
“THE family—the United Nations tried to make it the focus of world attention. How? By declaring 1994 the “International Year of the Family.” Although world leaders, sociologists, and family counselors have been quick to lament such things as the rise in illegitimate births and skyrocketing divorce rates, they have been slow to come up with workable, realistic solutions to such problems.” (9-15-95)
1995 was to be the “Year of Tolerance”—as declared by the United Nations, of which fact the October 1st Watchtower of that year also informed their readership, saying:
“In harmony with their declaration, the United Nations has declared 1995 to be the Year for Tolerance. Realistically speaking, though, will it ever be possible to achieve peace and security in a world divided by religion?”
The year, 1998, was the UN-declared “International Year of the Ocean,” which the Awake mentioned in two separate issues that year. One of which stated:
“Ruthless overfishing, poisonous chemicals, and radioactive waste in the oceans endanger the basis for life on the whole earth,” reports the newspaper Nassauische Neue Presse. According to the newspaper Kieler Nachrichten, a foremost victim is the Black Sea. It is considered to be one of the most endangered ecosystems in the world, with 90 percent of it totally lifeless. Unprocessed sewage has turned the waves lapping on the shores of Ukraine into a greenish-brown slop, and the beaches around Odessa were opened for only one week last summer. “The Black Sea is fatally wounded,” said Romania’s president Emil Constantinescu. “If we let it die, we are in for consequences worse than we can imagine.” The United Nations has declared 1998 to be the “International Year of the Ocean.” (9-22-98)
The June 8th, 1998, Awake informed its readers that the United Nations declared 1997-2006 as the Decade for he Eradication of Poverty.”
James Speth, administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, stated: “We cannot accept that [poverty] will always be with us. The modern world has the resources, the know-how and the expertise to relegate poverty to the pages of history.” But can the modern world eradicate poverty?
The United Nations General Assembly evidently hopes that human efforts can eliminate poverty, as it proclaimed the years 1997 through 2006 as the first “United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty.” The UN proposed to work alongside governments, peoples, and institutions to foster economic development, improve access to basic services, improve the status of women, and generate income and employment.
The January 1st, 2001, Watchtower belatedly announced that 2000 had been declared as “The International Year for the Culture of Peace.”
In THE International Year for the Culture of Peace was launched in Paris and New York City on September 14, 1999. This was proclaimed for the year 2000 by the General Assembly of the United Nations. Federico Mayor, former director general of UNESCO, made a solemn appeal “to create a global movement for a culture of peace and non-violence.”
UNESCO has a maxim that “since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed.” In harmony with this, the organization intends to promote a culture of peace through “education, dialogue and co-operation.” Mr. Mayor commented that it is not enough “to be peaceful, not even to be pacifists, but to be peacemakers.”
The year, 2001, was designated by the United Nations as the “International Year of Volunteers.” So, just a few months before the Watchtower was exposed and forced to hastily dissolve its NGO membership, the July 22nd Awake magazine was devoted to volunteerism. While not surprisingly touting the volunteer work of Jehovah’s Witnesses around the world, the Awake also gave the United Nations “International Year of Volunteers” a plug too:
“The UN hopes that IYV 2001 (International Year of Volunteers) will result in more requests for the services of volunteers, in more offers from people to serve as volunteers, and in more funding and facilities for volunteer organizations to tackle society’s growing needs. A total of 123 governments have joined in sponsoring the objectives of this UN resolution.”
But the Watchtower Society did not merely commemorate and publicize current UN special year crusades, such as the International Year of Volunteers; they also informed the reading public about the UN’s past initiatives as well. For example, the UN declared that 1979 was the “International Year of the Child.” More than likely the December 8th, 2000, issue of the Awake magazine was also one that Bethel sent to the DPI reviewers as proof of their ongoing support for United Nations’ global agenda. That particular issue of the Awake is devoted to praising UNICEF and publicizing the “International Year of the Child.”
The article entitled “An Ongoing Search for Solutions” opens by enthusiastically endorsing UNICEF:
“FROM its very inception, the United Nations organization has been interested in children and their problems. At the end of 1946, it established the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) as a temporary measure to care for children in areas devastated by war.
In 1953 this emergency fund was turned into a permanent organization. Although it is now officially known as the United Nations Children’s Fund, it retained its original acronym, UNICEF. Thus, for over half a century, UNICEF has been providing children throughout the world with food, clothing, and medical care and has been trying to look after children’s needs in general…
…The needs of children were given greater prominence in 1959 when the United Nations adopted a Declaration of the Rights of the Child. (See box, page 5.) It was hoped that this document would generate interest in the problems of children and would help solve them by encouraging public support, financial and otherwise.
…So in recognition of the continuing need to solve the problems of children and in accord with its declared goals, the United Nations designated 1979 the International Year of the Child. Government, civic, religious, and charitable groups all over the world were quick to respond to the search for solutions.”
Others, though, do not share the Awake’s assessment of the United Nations’ concern for children, and for good reason. For instance, a former UN official, Denis Halliday, called the UN-sponsored sanctions against Iraq a form of genocide, in which probably over one-million Iraqis died as a result—many being infants and children. Contrary to the Awake’s glowing endorsement of their UN partner, apparently the UN Children’s Fund was not all that interested in the plight of starving Iraqi children.
Of course, the Awake commentary concludes with the obligatory reference to God’s kingdom being the answer; but it is obviously ancillary to the focus on the United Nations and their ongoing search for a solution to the problems of children. Even at that, the article adulterates the uniqueness of the good news by shamelessly applauding the United Nations for sharing the same lofty ideals as the very Kingdom of God. (Remember: The DPI requirements stipulate that NGOs must share the UN’s ideals.) In conclusion the Awake unabashedly gushes:
“Under God’s Kingdom humans will be enabled to rear children in a balanced way. Young folks will be raised in the spirit of peace and universal brotherhood, the ideal set forth in the UN Declaration of the Rights of the Child. Never again will there be the need for an International Year of the Child or for a Convention on the Rights of the Child.”
Perhaps the Watchtower’s most blatant propagandizing in support of the United Nations was the November 22nd, 1998, issue of Awake. It seems the Watchtower Society willingly did its part in commemorating the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by writing a ten page article to publicize the event. While the average Jehovah’s Witness attached no importance to the occasion, the Office for the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR) certainly did—and so did the Watchtower. The OHCHR website promoted the 50 year anniversary by publishing a list of “More than Fifty Ideas for Commemorating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.” The website offered suggestions for governments, schools and youth groups, and yes, NGOs. The following were three suggestions for NGOs:
- Redefine daily life/work in human rights terms.
- Educate membership and the community on how an organization's activities relate to human rights.
- Distribute information and educational materials (e.g., publicity posters, fliers, calendars showing human rights events, UN pictures) to constituencies.
It is evident that the Watchtower undertook to implement at least two of the suggestions for commemorating the Declaration. Undeniably, efforts were made to distribute information, including UN pictures, in order to educate both the “membership and the community” about the “organization’s activities” related to human rights. The Awake even published the basic tenets of the Declaration of Human Rights as if they were the Ten Commandments. That was understandable, though, in view of the fact that the year before the Watchtower registered with the DPI as an NGO with special interests in the field of human rights. The article also took the opportunity to restate the globalists’ mantra that nationalism is the root of evil and must be replaced by a super-national government. For example, on page 11 the article states:
‘“WHAT is the root cause of human rights violations?” an experienced human rights lawyer was asked. “Greed,” answered the lawyer. “Greed for political and economic power.” And since greediness springs from man’s mind, human rights violations ultimately reflect a state of mind. Another cause is nationalism. The my-country-first philosophy fuels human rights violations. Human rights, therefore, will be realized only ‘if a world government comes about that is in a position to take enforceable measures,’ says Dutch professor of law and economy Jan Berkouwer. In other words, for human rights to become a global reality, at least two things have to happen first: a change of mind and a change of government. Is it realistic to expect these to occur?.. ‘Changing minds is a challenge, but forming a world government is a Utopia,’ a UN worker remarked. And indeed, the fact that nations have been unwilling to give up their sovereignty to the UN, or to any other organization, underscores this conclusion.”
As a word of rebuttal against the Society’s editorial in favor of world government, it must be pointed out that as unsatisfactory as government by a community of competing independent nation-states has been, the inviolable sovereignty of nations stands as the only bulwark against the Orwellian nightmare that would result if the United Nations were to become an absolutist world government. Jehovah long ago thwarted Satan’s first attempt to impose a world government when he caused the confusion of languages at Babel.
As with other compromising articles the Society has written, the Awake’s cleverly designed flimflammery is obviously intended to pacify Jehovah’s Witnesses by making a token reference to Jehovah, while, at the same time giving the uninitiated reader the impression that Christ’s kingdom has some abstract connection with the United Nations. The human rights article concludes with a formulaic reference to God’s proposed solution:
“Just as the Bible shows that the Creator is the source of the faculties that underlie human rights, it also informs us that he is the source of a world government that ensures them. This heavenly government is invisible but real. In fact, millions of people, perhaps unwittingly, pray for this world government when saying in what is commonly called the Lord’s Prayer: “Let your kingdom come. Let your will take place, as in heaven, also upon earth.” The God-appointed Head of that Kingdom government is the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ.—Isaiah 9:6. This world government will succeed in creating a truly global and lasting human rights culture by, among other things, eliminating war forever.”
