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Week Review: January 23 - January 29

2012-01-30T03:57:00.000-08:00

A summary of what happened in the world over the last week.

The first free parliament in six decades got to work in Egypt one year after start of the revolution; UN criticism over the US detention facility of Guantanamo; Diplomatic tensions between France and Turkey over French bill, as well as between Argentina and the UK over the Falkland Islands; President Barack Obama delivers the State of the Union address; the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust; Israel/Palestinians peace talks; Lybia rebuilding challenges; pressure mounts on Iran over nuclear program and on Syria over continued violence and killing of civilians.

January 23

Egypt. The first free parliament in six decades got to work on Monday with Islamists holding by far the most seats and opponents comparing their grip on the chamber to that enjoyed by the now defunct party of deposed President Hosni Mubarak. See article on Reuters.

UK/EU. The latest draft of the fiscal compact discussed by European finance ministers increases the isolation of Britain by excluding London from taking part in euro summits and rejecting the UK’s objections over the new role of the Court of Justice. See article on EurActiv.

USA/OHCHR. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Monday expressed deep disappointment that the Government of the United States of America has failed to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, and has instead entrenched a system of arbitrary detention. The UN rights chief said she was also disturbed at the failure to ensure accountability for serious human rights violations, including torture, that took place there. See press release on OHCHR's website.

January 24

EU/Iran. The European Union is dialing up the pressure on Iran, saying Monday it will cut off oil imports and freeze assets in an effort to starve the country's nuclear program of funding. See article on CNN International.

France/Turkey. Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan attacked the French parliament on Tuesday for passing a "discriminatory and racist" bill which makes it illegal to deny that the mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks nearly a century ago was genocide. See article on Reuters.

USA. President Barack Obama delivered the 2012 State of the Union address. See a commentary on US foreign policy on CFR.

January 25

Egypt. Thousands of Egyptians filled Cairo's Tahrir Square on Wednesday, exactly one year after the start of the revolution that ousted longtime Egyptian ruler Hosni Mubarak but, many say, accomplished little else. See article on CNN International.

UN. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today outlined a series of actions he believes the global community must take over the next five years to build "the future we want." See article on UN News Centre.

January 26

Falkland Islands. It's been nearly 30 years since British and Argentinian troops fought over the Falkland Islands, but politicians from both countries are ratcheting up their rhetoric over the British-controlled territory. See article on CNN.

EU. European Commission Vice President Maroš Šefčovič is confident that the Citizens’ Initiative, one of the new democratic tools pushed forward by the Lisbon Treaty, will bring Europe closer to its citizens and create a "genuine European public space". See article o EurActiv.

January 27

Lybia. Clashes between rival militias. Allegations of detainee torture. Assaults on the headquarters of the National Transitional Council, which governs Libya. These are among the signs that Libya faces challenges on several fronts as it struggles to craft a new nation from the ashes of tyranny. See article on CNN International.

Israel. Israel has presented Palestinians with its ideas for the borders and security arrangements of a future Palestinian state, in a bid to keep exploratory talks alive, Palestinian and Israeli sources said on Friday. See article on Reuters.

UN. Statement by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights for the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust. See statement on UN OHCHR.

January 28

Greece/EU. The German government wants Greece to cede sovereignty over tax and spending decisions to a eurozone "budget commissioner" to secure a second €130bn bail-out, according to a copy of the proposal obtained by the Financial Times. See article on CNN International.

Iran. Senior United Nations nuclear inspectors headed to Tehran to press Iranian officials to address suspicions that the Islamic state is seeking atomic weapons. See article on Reuters.

January 29

Pakistan. A political crisis in the past three months that has seen the worst tension between Pakistan's government and military since a coup in 1999 appears to have eased -- for now -- with a delicate balance of power re-established, observers said. See article on Reuters.

Syria. At least 62 people were killed in Syria Sunday, according to an opposition activist group -- and as Russia calls for more monitors to be sent to the violence-ridden country. See article on CNN International.

Week Review: January 16 - January 22

2012-01-22T15:09:00.000-08:00

A summary of what happened in the world over the last week.

January 16

Canada. An editorial in a major Canadian medical journal Monday urges doctors to conceal the gender of a fetus from all pregnant women until 30 weeks to prevent sex-selective abortion by Asian immigrants. See article from National Post.

Kazakhstan. The elections in Kazakhstan did not meet democratic standards, said OSCE/ODIHR observers in Astana during the presentation of their report on the vote. "Notwithstanding the government’s stated ambition to strengthen Kazakhstan’s democratic processes and conduct elections in line with international standards, yesterday’s early parliamentary vote still did not meet fundamental principles of democratic elections," the document reads. See OSCE's press release.

Syria. Eleven people, including five civilians, were killed on Monday by pro-Assad forces, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. These killings happened only a day after UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon pressured Assad to stop killing his people. "I hope the U.N. Security Council handles Syria in a coherent manner and with a sense of gravity," Ban Ki-moon said today during a visit to Abu Dhabi, calling the situation "unacceptable." See article from Reuters.

January 17

Ethiopia. The Ethiopian government is forcing tens of thousands of people off their land so it can lease it to foreign investors, leaving former landowners destitute and in some cases starving. Human Rights Watch said that 1.5 million Ethiopians would eventually be forced from their land and highlighted what it said was the latest case of forced relocation in its report "Ethiopia: Forced Relocations Bring Hunger, Hardship." See article from Reuters.

Israel/Syria. Israel has serious concerns about what will happen to “huge stockpiles” of chemical and biological weapons in Syria when the Assad regime collapses, a senior military official said. Maj. Gen. Amir Eshel, head of the Israeli military’s planning division, said the working assumption was the regime of President Bashar al-Assad would eventually fall. “The question is when, not if. And the big question is what’s going to come the day after,” he said. See article from Defense News.

EU. If 2011 was Europe’s annus horribilis, EU ambassadors hope actions in the making will restore confidence in the 27-nation bloc, reverse the cascade of the sovereign debt crisis that has marred the EU, and ultimately turn 2012 into an annus mirabilis. EU ambassadors spoke to EurActiv Managing Editor Daniela Vincenti.

January 18

EU/Iran/Israel. EU countries are intensifying efforts to agree an oil boycott and muscular financial sanctions against Iran, which is sizing up the option of shutting down the Hormuz Strait as a response (see article on EurActiv). In the meantime, Israel moved to calm the increasingly tense discourse over Iran’s nuclear program on Wednesday, with the Israeli defense minister asserting that any decision on a possible pre-emptive military strike on Iranian targets was “very far off” (see article on The New York Times).

January 19

Iran/US. The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln arrived in the Arabian Sea on Thursday, Navy officials said, a likely prelude to testing Iran's recent warning against sending a U.S. carrier through the Strait of Hormuz. See article on CNN International.

January 20

DR Congo. The United Nations refugee agency voiced concern over fresh violence in eastern parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) that has forced more than 100,000 civilians to flee their homes in the provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu since November. See news release on UN News Centre.

Religion. In a move that is sure to become a new anti-Obama rallying cry for the religious right, the Department of Health and Human Services has ruled that religious institutions have a one-year exemption before they must comply with the requirement under the Affordable Care Act that employers provide co-pay free coverage for contraception in their health insurance plans. See article on Religion Dispatches.

January 21

Greece. Talks on restructuring Greek debt continued Saturday, with negotiators reporting some progress made toward reaching a deal with the nation's private creditors. The deal is a key condition for Greece to receive additional bailout funds from the EU and IMF. Without additional financial support, Greece may not be able to make a €14 billion payment it owes on bonds coming due March 20. See article on CNN International.

USA/GOP Primary. Newt Gingrich won Saturday's South Carolina GOP presidential primary, marking a stunning turnaround for a candidate who finished fourth in Iowa and New Hampshire and whose campaign had been left for dead by observers just weeks ago. See article on CNN.

January 22

Human Rights. Western democracies should overcome their aversion to Islamist groups that enjoy popular support in North Africa and the Middle East and encourage them to respect basic rights, Human Rights Watch said in a report on Sunday.

Week Review: January 9 - January 15

2012-01-15T23:26:00.000-08:00

A summary of what happened in the world over the last week.

January 10

USA. "Thank you New Hampshire. Today we have written history," said Mitt Romney to a cheering crowd after winning the New Hampshire primary. Jon Huntsman came third and Rick Santorum only fifth. Mitt Romney, strong of his extremely well performing fundraising machine, is now looking at the primary in South Carolina on January 21.

January 11

Iran. Another scientist, Mustafa Ahmadi Roshan, has been killed, the fourth over the last two years. Tehran accuses the governments of the USA and Israel to be behind the killing.

Pakistan. President Yousuf Raza Gilani critized the leaders of the army, General Pervez Kayani, and of the military intelligence services, General Shuja Pasha, for participating in a public judicial inquiry, violating the Constitution. ISPR released a statement saying that "This has very serious ramifications with potentially grievous consequences for the Country." Mr. Gilani has also sacked his Defence Secretary.

January 12

Afghanistan. Live Leak posted a video of American troops urinating on the corpses of Taliban fighters. The Pentagon promised an investigation and both US authorities and the Taliban commented that this incident would not jeopardize the peace talks. In the meantime the Washington Post reported the intention of the US to get back on good terms with President Karzai after the frictions following the agreement between the US and the Taliban that would allow the latter to open a political office in Qatar.

Haiti/UN. After two years from the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti and its people, the country is still in desperate conditions and it is becoming more and more evident that the international community has failed to keep its promises. And the reasons for this failure are, of course, hard to establish. A report was released today by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. See blog post.

Nigeria/UN. The High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay urged Nigeria's political and religious leaders to make all necessary efforts to stop the spiralling sectarian violence unleashed by the Boko Haram group. See blog post.

January 13

EU. European leaders described Standars & Poor's downgrading of nine eurozone countries as 'political' and 'inconsistent', and China claimed the move cast doubt on the credibility of credit ratings agencies. The downgrades – especially of Austria and France – will put pressure on the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), which has already been used to rescue Portugal and the Irish Republic. The EFSF is guaranteed by the eurozone governments, and therefore relies on their creditworthiness. See article on EurActiv.com.

Hungary/EU. Hungary Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, announced that his government is ready to review its controversial law on the Central bank, considered by EU institutions as contrary to the European Treaties. Mr. Orban, however, rejected other remarks by the European Commission regarding the independence of the judiciary and the authority for the protection of privacy. The changes to the law on the Central bank is a precondition to start negotiations with the International Monetary Fund.

Italy. The Costa Concordia, which was carrying more than 4,000 passengers, experienced trouble a few hundred metres from the tiny Tuscan holiday island of Giglio. An evacuation operation, involving helicopters and rescue boats, was immediately launched as the vessel began to take on water and list to the right.

January 14

Lebanon, UN. The United Nations will maintain its “strong and unwavering” commitment to Lebanon, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon pledged as he began an official visit to the country. Lebanon marks Mr. Ban’s first trip abroad since beginning his second term as Secretary-General on 1 January. The country is home to the Organization’s third-largest peacekeeping operation, as well as the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA).

January 15

Israel/US. The United States and Israel have decided to postpone an upcoming, large-scale joint naval exercise because of growing tensions with Iran. Officials said the war games, originally scheduled for May and named "Austere Challenge," would not happen until later in the year. Read Los Angeles Times report.

Haiti: two years after the earthquake

2012-01-12T15:41:00.000-08:00

After two years from the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti and its people, the country is still in desperate conditions and it is becoming more and more evident that the international community has failed to keep its promises. And the reasons for this failure are, of course, hard to establish.

Fact is that according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), "more than 500,000 people still live in camps, and a cholera epidemic continues to claim lives ." Poor hygiene and poverty are the norm with 75 percent of the population living with less than $2 per day. Elisabeth Byrs, spokesperson for OCHA, said that the initial appeal for Haiti in the immediate aftermath of the massive earthquake two years ago that sought $1.5 billion was 75 percent funded and last year, humanitarian agencies received only 54 per cent of the requested $382 million.

Another UN agency, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), reported that it will continue to distribute food aid to some 1.5 million people each month through its school meals scheme, mother and children nutrition and food-for-work programmes in Haiti, but insufficient funding remains a concern. Food prices in the country have risen by 50 percent since 2010, which means that one out of every two Haitians are experiencing some kind of food shortages, WFP’s spokesperson, Gaëlle Sévenier, told reporters in Geneva. The agency’s capacity to respond has been affected by a budget deficit of $18 million for the next six months, she said. This year, some $231 million is required to continue efforts against the cholera outbreak and to fund other relief programmes, she added.

In addition to funding issues, Emmanuelle Schneider, OCHA spokesperson, sustains that "there are too many NGOs and hundreds of them have never registered their presence in the area." In other words, operating according to international standards, UN agencies cannot provide resources to organizations of which they do not know their modus operandi.

A report by the United States Institute of Peace, "Haiti: A Republic of NGOs?", addresses the concerns of the role of NGOs in Haiti's development. According to the report, "funneling aid through NGOs has perpetuated a situation of limited government capacity and weak institutions resulting in Haitians looking to NGOs rather than their government for basic public services."

Click to enlarge

One study found that even before the 2010 earthquake, NGOs provided 70 percent of health care, and private schools (mostly NGO-run) accounted for 85 percent of national education. NGOs are seen as more reliable and able to provide the needed expertise, especially in the eyes of international donors, than the Haitian government. This approach, however, could undermine, in the long-run, the foundations for the creation of a stronger Haiti, thus affecting negatively today's recovery efforts.

According to the United States Institute of Peace, "the international donor community should reinforce the Haitian state’s capacity to regulate and coordinate NGOs, especially in the education, health and infrastructure (roads, buildings and reforestation)."

After two years since the devastating earthquake the international community should have accomplished more. Surely, many important projects have been carried out and foreign international aid has collectively saved thousands of lives. Now it is time to coordinate those efforts, keeping in mind the ultimate role of Haitian institutions. This approach will surely improve the ability of the Haitian government to take care of its people and gradually gain ownership of the recovery process.

Nigeria and sectarian violence

2012-01-12T08:47:00.000-08:00

Map of Nigeria, from Wikipedia

Today, the High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay urged Nigeria's political and religious leaders to make all necessary efforts to stop the spiralling sectarian violence unleashed by the Boko Haram group.

“It is essential that the country’s leadership, and especially its Muslim and Christian leaders, join forces to unequivocally condemn all violence, including retaliation, and encourage their followers to identify and help arrest all those involved in killings and other acts of violence that have been taking place,” the UN human rights chied said in a news release.
Deliberate acts leading to population “cleansing” on grounds of religion or ethnicity would also amount to a crime against humanity, she added.
As security forces are struggling to containing the growing threat there are rumors that Boko Haram is receiving help from abroad, possibly from terrorist groups, including al-Qaida
Boko Haram, is a terrorist organisation based in the north east of Nigeria that seeks to "abolish the secular system and establish an Islamic state" and "establish Sharia system of government in the country." The country's 160 million people are roughly evenly split between Christians and Muslims.

South Africa: celebrations of ANC's 100th anniversary

2012-01-09T22:19:00.000-08:00

South Africa, Wikipedia

African National Congress celebrated its 100th anniversary with a jamboree on January 9th in Bloemfontein, where it was founded.

"We are determined to move to the second centenary with a more rejuvenated organisation that is strategically positioned to continue to lead the people of our country and continent in their tireless and ceaseless quest for a better life, in a just and more humane world," said President Jacob Zuma in his address.