International

SP Senator Tiny Kox has welcomed Pope Francis’ message to Europe delivered last week in Strasbourg. ‘During his speeches last week to the European Parliament and to the Council of Europe, the Pope pulled no punches when it came to growing poverty, exclusion and indifference in Europe,’ says Kox. ‘Full of conviction he made it clear that human rights were incompatible with such injustice.’ The leader of the Catholic world took a position in plain language against the arms trade, people trafficking and the dominant influence of multinationals in politics and society. ‘I’d like to see European heads of government who dared to express themselves in such clear terms,’ adds Kox. ‘But at the moment they’re pretty thin on the ground.’

Do you really want to get rid of nuclear weapons? I put this question this week to the new Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bert Koenders. I remember very well the backbench Member of Parliament Bert Koenders who advocated the removal of nuclear weapons from the whole of Europe and a change to NATO’s nuclear strategy. As an MP Koenders wanted to ensure that NATO would never be the first party to a conflict to use nuclear weapons, by means of what is known as a 'no first use declaration’. Now he himself sits at the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he can make the difference.