🔗 https://www.passblue.com/2022/12/16/trending-un-news-week-ending-dec-16/
Trending UN News: Week Ending Dec. 16
by Damilola Banjo
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#afghanistan #guterres #childreninarmedconflict #commissiononthestatusofwomen #genderequality #genderinequality #humanrightswatch #israelipalestineconflict #lindathomasgreenfield #minusma #myanmar #uneconomicandsocialcouncil #unpeacekeeping #unsecuritycouncil #usmissiontotheun #usafricanrelations #violenceagainstwomen #womensrights #russiaukraine #UN #Women #UnitedNations
This week, opinion seemed divided on the decision to expel Iran from the UN Commission on the Status of Women. You are reading This Week @UN, summarizing the most pressing issues before the organization. The information is gathered from UN press briefings, PassBlue reporting and other sources. This week, an attack in Kabul killed three people; in the West Bank, a 15-year-old Palestinian girl was shot by Israeli military; an Irish peacekeeper was shot dead in Lebanon; and two Nigerian peacekeepers were killed in Mali. This year, our biggest stories have been investigations, complemented by op-ed essays that present new ideas or frank looks at a stubborn problem. An opinion piece by Stephen Browne, a development expert on the UN based in Geneva, rated high on our most-read list. The headline, "The UN in Crisis: Big Powers and Bad Influence," says it all, as Browne delves into the factors conspiring against the UN's ability to function optimally. To enable PassBlue to continue to deliver this vital journalism, please donate to our annual double-your-money campaign through Dec. 31. For every donation up to $1,000, the funds are matched. Our editorial goal remains the same: to ensure the accountability and transparency of the UN. As Samantha Power, the head of Usaid and a former American envoy to the UN, said: "I mean transparency alone -- sunlight is the best disinfectant but it requires people who can see with the new light." • This year has turned out to be contentious for the UN's Economic and Social Council, a k a Ecosoc, which usually focuses on development, a topic that doesn't arouse too much controversy. Besides the protracted round of votes between Russia and North Macedonia for the Eastern European seat -- balloting that resumes on Dec. 20 -- the 54-member body held a heated vote on whether to expel Iran from the UN Commission on the Status of Women. (See Dec. 14 item.) Other upsets have occurred: A 75-year-old record fell in the spring when Russia lost re-election to the UN's Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations. The 19-member group is a subsidiary of Ecosoc and recommends which civil society groups can get consultative status, granting them greater access to the UN and its meetings, and Russia's ouster could mean more open doors for such groups. Additionally, on Dec. 7, a United States-led resolution approved by Ecosoc (E/2023/L.6) bypassed the NGO committee's rejection of nine organizations and gave them consultative status. (India, Russia, China and 14 other countries voted against the resolution.) Its approval ended a 15-year quest for consultative status of the International Dalit Solidarity Network (IDSN), a Danish entity that advocates for eliminating the caste system in India. Since it first applied in 2007, the IDSN has answered more than a hundred questions from the Committee on NGOs and provided hundreds of pages of information about its work. The lengthy process that was imposed on the Danish group had been criticized by UN officials and experts as an example of the power that the committee can exercise to block certain civil society groups' access to the UN. While Russia will soon be off the committee for the next four years, human-rights experts see its loss as a tepid victory. "There's a marginal improvement in the composition of the UN's NGO Committee for the 2022-2025 period," said Louis Charbonneau, the UN director at Human Rights Watch. "That's thanks to the fact Russia was voted off it. But rights abusers like China, Cuba, Eritrea, Bahrain and others will continue to dominate a committee that is effectively the UN's gatekeeper for civil society organizations." Most NGO committee members, he added, "seem to view their role as keeping legitimate human rights organizations off the UN premises. As long as that's the case, UN member states that care about human rights should keep forcing votes in Ecosoc to enable bona fide civil society groups get UN accreditation." -- LAURA E. KIRKPATRICK PassBlue is on Telegram: https://t.me/passblue. We're pausing the weekly summary until January. ∗ ∗ We wish you all a joyous and delicious holiday season. Monday, Dec. 12 • How the UN's Internal Justice System Stifles Whistleblowers Many whistleblowers at the UN have had to defend their careers and character as they fight to uncover wrongdoing at the organization. Experts from around the world discussed the issue at the just-concluded International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC), held in Washington. Damilola Banjo brought important insights from the conversation. • Spokesperson's briefing: Virginia Gamba, the UN special representative on children and armed conflict, was in Israel and Palestine till Thursday. The visit was meant to engage with all parties in the conflict on the need to end and prevent "grave violations against children," the deputy spokesperson, Farhan Haq, said. But while Gamba was there, a 15-year-old Palestinian girl was killed. Gamba's office tweeted once during her trip, commenting on the death of Jana Zakarneh, and released a statement concluding the visit. (The statement does not refer to Jana's nationality.) Tuesday, Dec. 13 • Spokesperson's briefing: The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (Unama) condemned the Monday attack on a Chinese-owned hotel in Kabul, the capital. At least three people were reportedly killed and many others injured from explosions set off apparently by ISIS terrorists. "The UN Mission stands in solidarity with the victims," said Stéphane Dujarric. < Wednesday, Dec. 14 • Whatever Happened to the Cuban Missile Crisis?: The comparison between the current Ukrainian crisis with the 1962 Cuban missile crisis has faded, but Stephen Schlesinger thinks it was one that should never have happened and explains why. • Spokesperson's briefing: In a tense morning session (video above), the Economic and Social Council (Ecosoc) expelled Iran from the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), after the council's 54 members voted on a US-led resolution to oust Iran for its continuing women's rights violations, including violence against peaceful protesters mourning the death of a fellow Iranian, Mahsa Amini, while in custody of the morality police. The vote to remove a country from the commission was unprecedented, and as PassBlue reported exclusively, some Ecosoc members felt ambivalent about the move, which was spurred by US Vice President Kamala Harris. (The vote: 29 yes, 8 no, 16 abstentions.) Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the American envoy, said in her remarks: "Iran's membership at this moment is an ugly stain on the Commission's credibility." The statement by Mexico, which abstained, was more reflective. Alicia Buenrostro Massieu, a deputy permanent representative, said that her country didn't believe that a "simple empty seat" in the CSW would change "the status of women in the world." Iran's ambassador, Amir Saied Iravani, began his remarks: "Today, we are witnessing yet another evidence of the United States' hostile policy toward Iranian people, particularly Iranian women, which is being pursued under the guise of defending human rights and in the form of a removal policy that is specific to the United States and its allies." Bob Rae, Canada's envoy, was emphatic about the vote: "Women of Iran deserve no less," he said. Yet Chile, which voted yes, expressed dismay, with Ambassador Paula Narváez Ojeda noting that it was not an "easy decision" to make and a "completely exceptional situation." When journalists at the spokesperson's briefing quizzed Dujarric on the reaction of UN Secretary-General António Guterres to the vote to remove Iran, he said it was "a decision by Member States in which the Secretary‑General is not involved." He added that Guterres has "been very clear and outspoken in his concerns about the violence that we're continuing to see in Iran, including the executions, and he's expressed his concern relating to the rights of women in Iran." Thursday, Dec. 15 • She Was a Prisoner of War in Russia, Beaten Brutally. Now She’s Home, Recovering.: Viktoria Andrusha, a 26-year-old math teacher from Brovary, Ukraine, was a prisoner of war in Russia from March to September, after troops invaded her country on Feb. 24. Anastasiia Carrier had a sit-down Zoom with her, where Andrusha shared her experience during and after her captivity. • Spokesperson's briefing: Under Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix praised the effort made so far on protecting and holding accountable peacekeepers. Lacroix said that major progress has been achieved since 2019 in the matter. "In the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Mali, there has been an increase in the number of alleged perpetrators identified and detained, as well as cases with national investigations," he said. On the same day, Private Sean Rooney, a 23-year-old peacekeeper with Ireland's contingent in the Unifil (Lebanon) mission was shot and killed while in an armored vehicle; three other Irish peacekeepers were wounded in the convoy in what is being described as a mob incident in Al-Aqbieh, just outside Unifil's area of operations in south Lebanon, the UN mission said in a statement. "We are coordinating with the Lebanese Armed Forces, and have launched an investigation to determine exactly what happened," the mission added. Simon Coveney, the foreign and defense minister of Ireland, happened to be participating in a UN Security Council meeting on counterterrorism on Dec. 15. He spoke to the media about the peacekeeper's death, saying, "It is a reminder of the ultimate sacrifice that some of them make in terms of the dangers that they operate within." He added that Irish peacekeepers have been based with Unifil since 1978, putting in 30,000 tours of duty and suffering 47 deaths, the highest loss of any country in the mission. -- DULCIE LEIMBACH • The UN General Assembly Credentials Committee deferred three decisions on the status of representatives of Myanmar, Afghanistan and Libya until next fall. Friday, Dec. 16 • Spokesperson's briefing: Guterres called on the authorities and all parties involved in Peru "to uphold the rule of law and the rights to freedom of assembly and peaceful protests." The arrest of ex-President Pedro Castillo earlier this month sparked a protest that has been trailed by casualties. Guterres also urged "all parties to remain calm, exercise restraint and refrain from inflaming tensions." • An attack in Timbuktu against a police patrol of the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali (Minusma) left two Nigerian peacekeepers (including a woman) and one Malian security force member dead. Four people were wounded. ICYMI: • A petition to persuade Rutgers University, in New Jersey, to reverse its decision to close the Center for Women's Global Leadership is circulating globally. The center has been a mainstay of training and convening women's human-rights defenders from across the world, often around UN issues, its advocates say. Recap of US-African Leaders Summit • White House summary • White House fact sheet on US-Africa "partnership" promoting peace, security and democratic governance • Secretary of State Blinken's foreign ministers dinner • Usaid activities, including a $400 million investment to "accelerate" primary health care in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi and Nigeria. And plans to fund an additional US government investment of more than $100 million in the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI). • Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield's readouts of meetings with African leaders, including African Union Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat; President Faustin-Archange Touadera of the Central African Republic; President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of Somalia; and President Ali Bongo Ondimba of Gabon. • Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security's five-part "Seeking Peace" podcast, features women's roles in Cyprus, Kosovo and Mali and elsewhere.
🔗https://www.passblue.com/2022/12/05/ugandan-president-doesnt-deserve-a-seat-at-the-us-africa-summit-critics-say/
Uganda’s Museveni Doesn’t Deserve a Seat at the US-Africa Summit, Critics Say
by Remmy Bahati
President Joseph Biden has invited 49 African national leaders and the head of the African Union to the White House this month...
#goodgovernance #humanrights #joebiden #lindathomasgreenfield #peaceandsecurity #presidentyowerimuseveni #russiaukrainewar #samkutesa #ungeneralassembly #usafricanleaderssummit #usafricanrelations #usunrelations
President Joseph Biden has invited 49 African national leaders and the head of the African Union to the White House this month for a summit emphasizing America's "enduring" commitment to the continent and continued collaboration on such global priorities as democracy, human rights and peace and security. Four countries have not been invited: Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali and Sudan, all of which have undergone military coups in the last few years and been suspended from the African Union. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali of Ethiopia was not invited, but the country's president, Sahle-Work Zewde, as head of state was. Eritrea, which has been an antagonist in the Ethiopian civil war, was also not invited. The US says the main point of the summit is to engage with African leaders, but the conference has been criticized for its invitations to leaders who disregard human rights. "The goal of the summit is rooted in a recognition that the continent is a global player and also will help shape the future, not just for the continent but for the world," said Dana Banks, the National Security Council senior adviser for the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, which is being held Dec. 13-15. In Uganda, the invitation to President Yoweri Museveni has particularly rankled certain civil society members and politicians. Some Ugandans and the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman months ago called for the White House to exclude Museveni, saying that his administration deprives the public of civil and political liberties and is mired in corruption. His invitation to the Washington summit has been confirmed by the Ugandan State House. Museveni, 78, was sworn in for a sixth consecutive term in May 2021. He has been in power since May 1986. In a letter dated March 28, written by Senator Robert Menendez, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (D-New Jersey), addressed to Biden and copied to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Menendez asked Biden to isolate Museveni from the summit, saying that his "disregard of basic democratic and human rights norms is inconsistent with U.S. values and foreign policy goals." Despite Museveni's "troubling track record," he noted, Uganda "remains one of the top recipients of U.S. foreign aid and security assistance." "Extending invitations to leaders who benefit from corruption, show a lack of commitment to democracy, or trample human rights norms will undermine the important work this administration is doing in Africa and around the world to promote democracy, combat corruption, defend human rights, and advance the values and interests of the United States," Menendez added. He also highlighted that "Museveni has twice changed the Ugandan constitution to remain in power in perpetuity, impeded democratic processes, turned a blind eye to rampant corruption, and subjected civil society activists and opposition party members to illegal detention, violence, and torture with impunity." The main Uganda opposition political party -- the National Unity Platform, led by Robert Kyagulanyi, who is also known for his stage name, Bobi Wine -- has been calling for justice, accountability and rule of law in the country, as well as justice for torture victims, like the exiled Ugandan novelist Kakwenza Rukirabashaija and Francis Zaake, a Parliament member. "We are indeed not asking the United States to come save us, we are only saying stop sponsoring our oppression," Kyagulanyi said in an online interview with the Resistance Bureau, a global show on human rights. While the US has issued statements and expressions of concern over human-rights violations in Uganda, such remarks have not sparked change. US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield traveled to Uganda on Aug. 4, where she met Museveni, telling the media in Kampala, the capital, afterward: "I just had a productive and frank meeting where we discussed a broad range of issues, including the security situation in the region, food insecurity, and strengthening democratic institutions and an independent press." Her trip came days after one by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to meet Museveni, aiming to refute Western accusations that Russia was responsible for skyrocketing food and fuel prices globally. (Museveni was quoted at the time as saying that he would not "inherit enemies.") Blinken visited South Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda soon after Thomas-Greenfield's trip. Some observers contend that her goal was to coax Uganda and the other African countries she visited to vote in the major UN bodies with the US and its allies against Russia's war in Ukraine. (Lavrov's trip was also viewed by media and pundits as a counterbalance to America's influence.) Thomas-Greenfield said that she was going to Uganda, Ghana and Cape Verde to talk about the "food security crisis" in those countries, among other issues. (Ghana is an elected member of the Security Council.) Uganda has consistently abstained in General Assembly votes regarding Russia's Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine. Some European diplomats say that abstentions by countries in such public balloting may reflect an uneasiness to go against Russia while not alienating the West. In an early-August media briefing previewing her overseas travel to Africa, Thomas-Greenfield said specifically it was to discuss the "security situation in the region, food insecurity, and strengthening democratic institutions and an independent press." She later explained in her media briefing in Kampala the thinking behind the Washington summit in December, saying, "We are in the process of planning the summit and the plan is to invite all countries that are not under sanctions and are in good standing with the African Union." She added, "We have heard from different groups who say their presidents should not be invited, but we think this is a good opportunity to engage." Thomas-Greenfield, a career diplomat with 35 years in the US Foreign Service, served as assistant secretary of state for African affairs, where she led America's policy on the sub-Saharan region. She was ambassador to Liberia from 2008 to 2012. She announced during her trip to Uganda in August that Usaid was planning to donate $20 million in aid to the country to help ease its food security problems. Robert Scott, the US deputy assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of African Affairs, described in a media briefing on Nov. 22 the layout of the Biden summit in December, replete with forums on African and diaspora youth leaders as well as a meeting on civil society and on peace, security and governance. The second day is focused on a US-Africa business forum and the third day is when Biden meets with the African leaders. Scott emphasized Africa's impact on the global economy but also its power at the UN, saying, "You're looking at a continent -- fastest-growing population, largest free trade area, largest voting bloc in the United Nations." Yet Uganda's disturbing human-rights record cannot be overlooked, say civil society and opposition politicians there. "I have gradually come to the conclusion that widespread, sustained violations of human rights by the dictatorship and the collapse of the rule of law are actually the required conditions for successful implementation of the US foreign policy interests in Africa," Isaac Semakadde, the chief executive of Legal Brains Trust, a Uganda-based independent nonprofit organization, said in a phone interview with PassBlue. When a reporter asked Thomas-Greenfield in her August preview of her visit to Africa about the effects of US sanctions against Ugandan officials for rights violations, she said: "And in regard to our sanctions and some of the visa restrictions that we have imposed on individuals, I would direct you to the Department of Defense and the Africa Bureau on how impactful those sanctions have been. But again, these are issues that have been part of our ongoing concerns in Uganda, but again, issues that we will discuss bilaterally." According to a statement released by the US State Department, the US-Africa Leaders Summit will enable Biden to meet leaders from the continent amid the current geopolitical divides with the West and China and Russia. That split is reflected visibly at the UN, such as during a recent General Assembly vote on Oct. 12 condemning Russia's illegal attempt to annex four regions of Ukraine. Uganda abstained with 34 other countries, including China. But 143 countries voted yes and only 5 voted no -- Russia among them. On March 2, during a UN historic vote condemning Russia for invading Ukraine on Feb. 24 and demanding that it withdraw its military forces from its neighbor, Uganda and 34 other nations abstained, while 141 countries voted in favor of the nonbinding resolution. Museveni last visited the US in 2014 for President Barack Obama's US-Africa leaders summit. In 2018, the US Department of Justice convicted a Chinese national for bribing Sam Kutesa, who was Uganda's foreign affairs minister and a president of the UN General Assembly during its 2014-2015 session, and President Museveni in a multiyear, multimillion-dollar plan in exchange for business favors from the Hong Kong operative, working on behalf of a Shanghai oil and gas company. The scheme violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), and on Dec. 18, 2018, the US convicted Chi Ping Patrick Ho for bribing Kutesa and Museveni. (Ho was also convicted of bribing the president of Chad.) Uganda remains a top recipient of US foreign aid. Besides major development money, the American funds go to health programs, including for fighting AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis and improving maternal and child well-being. The total aid budget exceeds $950 million a year, according to the US State Department. Moreover, Uganda is the largest refugee-hosting country in Africa, taking in more than one million people. "In terms of Uganda, we're approaching the 60th anniversary of our relationship, and we're proud to continue to work with the Ugandans to help build a more peaceful and a more prosperous and a healthy and democratic future," Thomas-Greenfield said in August, clarifying her visit to Uganda. This article was updated to include new information about which countries were not invited to the summit.
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