News archive: February 2014
26 February 2014
On 24 February 2014 Dieder Burkhalter, Chairperson-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and president of the Swiss Confederation, in a briefing to the UN Security Council, urged that security in Europe cannot be taken for granted, in light of the escalation of violence and political crisis in Ukraine. (more…)
Source: UN News Centre | Head of European security bloc outlines areas for greater collaboration with UN
26 February 2014
On 24 February 2014 the members of the Caribbean’s political and economic body Caricom met in order to discuss their campaign for reparation by former slave-owning nations in Europe – principally the UK, France, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Denmark. The claim is channelled through the UN Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), which can be employed as a forum for negotiation according to Caricom. If no agreement is concluded, however, the Caribbean leaders will take their claim to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). (more…)
Source: The Guardian | UK sternly resists paying reparations for slave trade atrocities and injustices
24 February 2014
The top United Nations (UN) official in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) expressed concern after a political rally in South Kivu turned violent, leaving dozens of people injured. Martin Kobler, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and head of the UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC, known by the French acronym MONUSCO said: “I wish to remind the shared responsibility of political actors as well as administrative and security officials (…) Preserving peace and security for all as well as respect for human rights is everyone’s responsibility.”
MONUSCO is mandated by the UN Security Council and has among its primary tasks to protect civilians in the country.
Source: UN News Centre | UN peacekeepers in eastern DR Congo meet with injured after political rally turns violent
20 February 2014
A call for papers and panel proposals has been issued for the Association of Human Rights Institutes (AHRI) 2014 Human Rights Conference entitled Human Rights under Pressure: Exploring norms, institutions and policies, which will be held on 29-30 September 2014 in Copenhagen.
See for the call here.
20 February 2014
The Guardian reports that Ecuador pursued a secret 1 billion US dollar deal with a Chinese bank to extract oil from under the Yasuni national park in the Amazon, while at the same time committing to a high-profile project to keep the ITT oil in the ground in exchange for international donations. The government of Ecuador abandoned the Yasuni-ITT Initiative last year, but according to a former ambassador of the initiative, Atossa Soltani, from NGO Amazon Watch, the negotiations with China raise doubts about whether Ecuador was ever truly committed to the plan to protect the Amazon.
An Ecuadorian government document, titled China Development Bank Credit Proposal, clarifies that the oil fields are meant to be explored by two state-run Chinese firms. Ecuador’s president Correa stated that Ecuador abandoned the Yasuni-ITT initiative due to a lack of donations – over 2 million US dollar in the government trust and slightly less than 10 million US dollar in a trust established and administered by the UN Development Programme, in spite of a final target of 3.6 billion US dollar. Others blame Ecuador’s relationship with China and pressure from the country’s oil sector, in which Chinese companies have a near monopoly.
Source: The Guardian | Ecuador pursued China oil deal while pledging to protect Yasuni, papers show