Perspective on global affairs
- Division One Academic and Language Services values human life, and recognises the importance of global rules-based order to foster peace.
- International institutions such as the United Nations (UN) [including the International Court of Justice (ICJ)] and the International Criminal Court (ICC) [replacing ad hoc tribunals], alongside conventions such the the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 1949 Geneva Conventions, are — despite some flaws — important in: preserving human life and dignity; deterring cross-border aggression (including attack, invasion, and occupation); avoiding the perpetration of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and ethnic cleansing; and ultimately punishing those guilty of such crimes.
- Reputable non-governmental organisations (NGO's) — such as Amnesty International (AI), Human Rights Watch (HRW), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF) — play a vital role in either stepping up to support the international institutions, or stepping in in response to occasional shortcomings or limitations within those international institutions.
Stance and action
Division One Academic and Language Services
- stands with the people of Ukraine, and opposes Russian aggression against that nation, and crimes against its civilians; and
- stands with the people of Palestine, and opposes Israeli aggression against that nation, and crimes against its civilians.
Correspondingly, until further notice 10% of all revenue derived from language services (poof-reading, editing, and translation) shall be donated, in equal share (5% each), to support those peoples.
Furthermore, no jobs would be accepted from clients in Russia, Belarus or Israel until further notice.
Other causes
There are many causes deserving of aid. A valid question is to ask, "Why only those two causes?" Or, "Why select those particular causes?"
In answer to the first question, Division One Academic and Language Services has limited resources to provide such support. It would not be practical to give $1 each to 1000 different charities. It is more useful to provide the same funds to a small number of recipients.
In answer to the second question, these are two grievous examples involving widespread killing of civilians (and other crimes & indignities) on an ongoing basis with numerous parallels. Ultimately it appeared unbalanced to support only one, and not the other. Of course, there are indeed other worthy causes (such as identified by the NGO's listed above) ...so you can donate to an alternative cause, at your own discretion.