Every Monday, the Research Trainees of the CERESE assess the news of the previous week. You can read their opinions below:

I like the fact that Pope Francis will return to Greece three parts of the Parthenon Marbles that have been kept by the Vatican Museums for two centuries, marking the latest instance of a Western institution yielding to requests for item repatriation to their nations of origin. The Vatican also labeled this action as a “gift” from Pope Francis to His Beatitude Ieronymos II, the Archbishop of Athens and all Greece. The repatriation, which is expected to take some time to complete, is likely to put more pressure on the British Museum, which has denied multiple requests to return its far bigger collection of Parthenon Marbles.

I like the fact that the leaders of the European Union have endorsed Bosnia & Herzegovina’s candidacy to start the EU accession process. The emphasis will be on reforms of the rule of law, democratic standards, and public administration. The EU is therefore embarking on a process of strengthening its collective security while aiming for enlargement in the Western Balkans, claiming to increase its influence while at the same time reducing the influence of Russia and China.

I dislike the fact that Japan has announced a $320 billion package over five years that promises to turn this once peaceful country into the third-strongest military power on the planet. The goal of this program is to make the security of the Japanese islands autonomous from the American expeditionary force in Asia and the Pacific, with the ultimate goal of deterring Chinese and Russian military units in the region. In a region where tensions are increasingly escalating, the above only portends further tensions. 

I dislike the decision in favor of removing Iran from the UN Commission on the Status of Women. As the US Ambassador to the UN argued, Iran was removed in order to highlight the UN’s support for women protesting against the violation of their rights and its disapproval of the Iranian government’s repressive practices. By isolating Iran from the Commission, it was believed that the institution would not degenerate, but in actuality, this act gives the Iranian government the space to continue its violations of people’s rights— especially women’s rights— without having to be accountable to this Commission. The Commission on the Status of Women ought to have reacted in a more substantial way, which would actually force Iran to change its practices and help women.