In March, a glowing Amal Clooney appeared before the United Nations Security Council to implore members to collect evidence on the crimes committed by ISIL. Next to her was a Yazidi woman named Nadia Murad, who has suffered and survived the unspeakable and brutal atrocities on which Mrs Clooney was urging action. Sitting side by side at the event and at the many interviews that came after, the two women presented a contrast: a wan and black-clad Ms Murad, next to a perfectly coiffed and resplendent Mrs Clooney.
Mrs Clooney’s impassioned speech demanding that the international community and the United Nations prosecute ISIL for war crimes was shown in news all around the world. Many watched and a few listened but no one seemed interested in doing anything more. The speech at the UN, the photo-ops that followed, the CNN interviews that came after, seemed all part and parcel of a sleek and choreographed act, the power of celebrity employed to push the pretence that the United Nations is a forum that matters, where resolutions produce actions and the powerful and cruel can be held to account by the power of law.
None of it is true. In the days and weeks after, Mrs Clooney did a few more appearances to push the issue before retreating into her multimillion dollar refuge. In pictures taken after the media blitz with Ms Murad, she was seen taking a walk with her film-star husband George, their images wrapped up in captions and conjectures about the names of their soon-to-arrive twin children. Ms Murad receded into invisibility, even as new devastation afflicted Syria, now at the hands of Bashar Al Assad.
A lot was said but little will be done.
Mrs Clooney is not, of course, responsible for the ineptitude of the UN, or for its devolution into a bureaucracy where everyone talks, many get paid and little else happens regardless of the urgency of the need or the cruelty of the deed.
Mrs Clooney is, however, an example of how the power of an international institution has been reduced to a platform for celebrity branding, where self-styled advocates can push one or another cause, be flanked by sad survivors and have their celebrity status stamped with pearly altruism and saintliness. Mrs Clooney is a lawyer, but there are many qualified lawyers at the UN. It is her celebrity and not her capability that raises her above the rest.
Many more instances of celebrity worship were quite literally around the corner at the UN.
Even as Mrs Clooney made her speech at the Security Council, the UN was also hosting the women’s summit. There again, celebrities Patricia Arquette and Abby Wambach made speeches about equal pay. Just like Mrs Clooney, Arquette and Wambach were flanked by actual activists, even as the attention stayed squarely on the stars. Nor are these the only instances.
Emma Stone has been feted at the UN as a great champion of women’s rights. Angelina Jolie is an ambassador for refugees. For pretty much every issue at the UN, there is a celebrity face. The cumulative message of all of it is the same: the issues that the stars speak of may be important but without their power, advocacy is ineffectual, even impossible.
There is tremendous danger in this equation and an ugliness that is masked by the beauty of celebrity.
Its essential premise is that the window dressing afforded by celebrity proponents is somehow crucial for advocacy on human rights and feminist issues.
Its consequence has been that forums – where survivors such a Ms Murad should stand alone and receive the attention and consideration that they deserve – are peopled by those for whom the issue is a dash of altruism to their otherwise narcissistic celebrity lives.
At its best, it suggests that the world’s attention is so fickle and feeble that stars have to be used as a lure to attract them.
At its worst it suggests that the moral weight of suffering, the impetus for the world to act through forums such as the United Nations, is dependent on the attentions and interests of a celebrity.
The world can do better. The suffering of the Yazidis under ISIL deserves urgent attention, as do the atrocities committed by the Assad regime against the innocent civilians of Syria.
The United Nations, the forum that the world has entrusted with taking action against human rights abuses, against the very cruelties that are at play in Syria, must not become a red carpet for celebrity poseurs.
With millions mired in conflict, suffering at the hands of extremist villains and heartless dictators, the world must not be diverted by designer-clad distractions and take seriously the impetus for serious and courageous action.
Rafia Zakaria is the author of The Upstairs Wife: An Intimate History of Pakistan
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
EXPATS
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Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
A cheaper choice
Vanuatu: $130,000
Why on earth pick Vanuatu? Easy. The South Pacific country has no income tax, wealth tax, capital gains or inheritance tax. And in 2015, when it was hit by Cyclone Pam, it signed an agreement with the EU that gave it some serious passport power.
Cost: A minimum investment of $130,000 for a family of up to four, plus $25,000 in fees.
Criteria: Applicants must have a minimum net worth of $250,000. The process take six to eight weeks, after which the investor must travel to Vanuatu or Hong Kong to take the oath of allegiance. Citizenship and passport are normally provided on the same day.
Benefits: No tax, no restrictions on dual citizenship, no requirement to visit or reside to retain a passport. Visa-free access to 129 countries.
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
hall of shame
SUNDERLAND 2002-03
No one has ended a Premier League season quite like Sunderland. They lost each of their final 15 games, taking no points after January. They ended up with 19 in total, sacking managers Peter Reid and Howard Wilkinson and losing 3-1 to Charlton when they scored three own goals in eight minutes.
SUNDERLAND 2005-06
Until Derby came along, Sunderland’s total of 15 points was the Premier League’s record low. They made it until May and their final home game before winning at the Stadium of Light while they lost a joint record 29 of their 38 league games.
HUDDERSFIELD 2018-19
Joined Derby as the only team to be relegated in March. No striker scored until January, while only two players got more assists than goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. The mid-season appointment Jan Siewert was to end his time as Huddersfield manager with a 5.3 per cent win rate.
ASTON VILLA 2015-16
Perhaps the most inexplicably bad season, considering they signed Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore and still only got 17 points. Villa won their first league game, but none of the next 19. They ended an abominable campaign by taking one point from the last 39 available.
FULHAM 2018-19
Terrible in different ways. Fulham’s total of 26 points is not among the lowest ever but they contrived to get relegated after spending over £100 million (Dh457m) in the transfer market. Much of it went on defenders but they only kept two clean sheets in their first 33 games.
LA LIGA: Sporting Gijon, 13 points in 1997-98.
BUNDESLIGA: Tasmania Berlin, 10 points in 1965-66
Squid Game season two
Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun
Rating: 4.5/5
