News archive: November 2013

29 November 2013

President Karzai criticises US allies for NATO drone strikes

Afghan President, Hamid Karzai angered about NATO drone strikes which had killed civilians in southern Afghanistan, lashed out at US allies. President Karzai stated, ‘[t]his attack shows that American forces do not respect the lives and security of the people of Afghanistan (…) For years, our people are being killed and their houses are being destroyed under the pretext of the war on terror.’ The drone strike in question killed at least one child and wounded two women.

This attack comes at a delicate time when negotiations between President Karzai and the United States regarding a bilateral security agreement are becoming more strained. The security agreement provides for a 10 year long presence of the American military in Afghanistan, and if President Karzai does not sign the agreement NATO troops will be completely withdrawn from Afghanistan. However, President Karzai wants new conditions to be added to the agreement, such as an immediate ban on raids of Afghan homes, before he will sign the agreement. President Karzai stated, ‘[f]or as long as such arbitrary acts and oppression of foreign forces continue, the security agreement with the United States will not be signed.’

Source: The New York Times | Afghan Leader Lashes Out at U.S. Allies After NATO Drone Strike

29 November 2013

Loss and damage mechanism created at Climate Conference

At its 19th meeting, the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, established a new international mechanism to deal with the impacts of climate-related loss and damage. The mechanism, named the Warsaw international mechanism for loss and damage, is to ‘address loss and damage associated with impacts of climate change, including extreme events and slow onset events, in developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change.’ The decision by which the mechanism was established acknowledges ‘that loss and damage associated with the adverse effects of climate change includes, and in some cases involves more than, that which can be reduced by adaptation.’

Many richer governments, including the United States and the European Union, had opposed a new mechanism for loss and damage under the Convention, unwilling to open the door to potential claims for compensation based on their historical responsibility for global warming, but eventually agreed in return for weak language on financial assistance.

The organisation and governance of the executive committee of the Warsaw international mechanism is to be finalised at the 20th Conference of the Parties in December 2014.

Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation | UN 'loss and damage mechanism' born amid rising climate costs
Source: The New York Times | Deals at Climate Meeting Advance Global Effort
Source: Decision -/CP.19 | Warsaw international mechanism for loss and damage associated with climate change impacts (advance unedited version)

26 November 2013

Senior UN Official urges UN force to restrain ‘horrific’ situation in the Central African Republic

Citing mounting human rights abuses, sexual violence and other ‘horrors’, Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson called on the international community for immediate action to halt the rapidly deteriorating situation in conflict-wracked Central African Republic (CAR). ‘It is critical for the international community and this Council to act now’, Eliasson told the UN Security Council, proposing that a UN peacekeeping mission eventually replace the current African-led International Support Mission in the CAR.

‘We face a profoundly important test of international solidarity and of our responsibility to prevent atrocities (…) The situation requires prompt and decisive action’ he said, also stressing that humanitarian needs are escalating, while funding is woefully short, with a 195 million dollar appeal less than half funded.

He noted that the African Union and the Economic Community of Central Africa States both agree that there is an urgent need for the international community to act, and that a UN peacekeeping operation with a robust mandate will be eventually required.

Source: United Nations | Secratary-General | Ban Ki-moon | Deputy Secretary-General: Statements | New York, 25 November 2013 - Deputy Secretary-General's Briefing to the Security Council on the Situation in the Central African Republic

22 November 2013

Ban Ki-moon: momentous responsibility shared concerning climate change

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in his address to the high-level segment of the United Nations Conference on Climate Change taking place in Warsaw, Poland, that ‘climate change threatens current and future generations’. He also said that ‘all of us in this room share a momentous responsibility (…) We must rise to these challenges with wisdom, urgency and resolve to address climate change’. He expressed deep concern that the scale of efforts being undertaken by the international community are still insufficient to limit global temperature rise to below 2 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial levels.

Source: United Nations | Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon | Latest Statements | Warsaw, 19 November 2013 - Secretary-General's remarks to the Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP19/CMP9) High-level Segment

21 November 2013

United States and Afghanistan finalise bilateral security agreement

The United States and Afghanistan have agreed on a bilateral security agreement that would allow for a lasting American troop presence through 2024. On the controversial issue of American searches of Afghan homes, the draft states that American counterterrorism operations will be intended to ‘complement and support’ Afghan missions. It underscores that Afghan forces will be in the lead and that any American military operations will be carried out ‘with full respect for Afghan sovereignty and full regard for the safety and security of the Afghan people, including in their homes.’

The draft also states that United States military personnel would be subject only to American military law, and that Afghanistan pledges not to turn them over to any international tribunals. It does, however, grant Afghanistan jurisdiction over contractors.

Source: The New York Times | Pact May Extend U.S. Troops’ Stay in Afghanistan

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