position:secretary-general

Syrie. Le point sur la bataille de Qoussaïr (21 mai 2013)

Où est Qoussaïr ? Ville située près de Homs, à quelques kilomètres de la frontière avec le Liban. Elle occupe une position stratégique. Elle permet aisément de rentrer et sortir du Liban.

Début des combats ? L’assaut de l’armée syrienne contre la rébellion installée à Qoussaïr a débuté le dimanche 19 mai. Il n’est pas terminé (1). L’armée régulière avait pris position dans les alentours depuis plusieurs semaines. Elle contrôlait depuis une dizaine de jours la zone d’al-Tal, qui domine Qoussaïr.

Qui combat ? D’un côté, des groupes de la rébellion qui contrôlaient la ville depuis une année (notamment la Brigade Farouk relevant de l’Armée Libre Syrienne) ; En face, l’armée syrienne assistée de combattants se revendiquant du Hezbollah et les Forces de la Défense Nationale (milice paramilitaire créée par le régime). L’aviation est intervenue. Il y aurait une centaine de morts des deux côtés.

Issue ? Tout le monde s’accorde à dire que le régime va reprendre le contrôle de la ville dans les heures ou jours à venir.

Réactions arabes ? La Ligue arabe a convoqué une réunion pour jeudi 23 mai pour évoquer la conférence internationale dans le contexte de la situation sur le terrain, notamment à Qoussaïr.

Contexte politique et diplomatique ? L’assaut de Qoussaïr est intervenu au lendemain du jour où Assad a déclaré qu’il ne quitterait pas le pouvoir (2). Personne ne croit que la conférence internationale, destinée à mettre fin au conflit par un accord entre le régime et la rébellion, puisse réellement se tenir début juin. Le fossé se creuse entre chiites et alaouites, combattant pour le régime, et sunnites qui forment le gros de la rébellion. Le Président Assad a récemment fait valoir que son gouvernement n’utilisait les services « d’aucun combattant extérieur à la Syrie, ni d’autres nationalités, et n’avait besoin d’aucun autre Etat arabe ou étranger » (2) (3) La participation du Hezbollah aux combats rend caduc la politique de non-intervention du Liban. Pire, le Front al-Nousra avait menacé, il y a plusieurs semaines, de prendre Beyrouth pour cible si le Hezbollah ne cessait pas ses opérations en Syrie.

Conséquences ? La chute de Qoussaïr permettra à Damas de reprendre le contrôle de la zone frontalière du Liban. Elle affaiblira la rébellion à Homs et ailleurs en Syrie. Elle offrira au régime la possibilité de choisir ses prochaines cibles. Elle modifiera la lecture des événements en replaçant les loyalistes au centre du jeu. Elle est susceptible de provoquer en Syrie des représailles à l’encontre des alaouites et des chiites (4) et de réalimenter les troubles à Tripoli entre alaouites et sunnites
1. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/05/2013519124646578835.html
2. http://www.clarin.com/zona/Renunciar-pueblo-decide-quedo-EEUU_0_922107887.html
3. http://www.syriaonline.sy/?f=Details&catid=12&pageid=5835
4. http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/05/syria-conflict-lebanese-border-qusayr.html

La situation se durcit, entre le gouvernement, maître de la danse, des institutions, du dialogue et des élections et l’opposition qui refuse de se prêter à cette chorégraphie finement orchestrée pour ne pas remettre en cause les bases de la répartition du pouvoir.

Bahrain oppn warned over calls to subvert polls

http://gitm.kcorp.net/index.php?id=647908

Khaleej Times - 13 May, 2013

Bahrain has warned against calls to subvert the coming legislative elections, scheduled to be held in 2014.

“Incitement to violence and chaos, reminiscent of the February 2011 unrest, to derail the forthcoming fourth legislative term polls would be deterred with the force of the law,” Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ali Al Khalifa said on Saturday.

He was responding to a call by Al Wefaq Society secretary-general Shaikh Ali Salman, who while addressing an event held at a worshipping venue in Samaheej, asked for escalation of protests in the run-up to the legislative elections.

He criticised the stance which came as the National Dialogue process is in full swing which aims to evolve consensus regarding Bahrain’s political development.

The minister slammed the crisis-mongering statements which he said were not only contravened the culture of dialogue and democratic values but were also against the nation-building will, and reproduced the violence-inciting mantra with the aim of aborting the 2014 legislative elections.

Citing the decree-law 14 for 2002 on exercising political rights, the minister warned that any violator convicted of attempting to disrupt a referendum or the election by force, intimidation or protesting would be sentenced to a maximum six months in jail and or fine of BD500.

IPS – U.N. Accused of Playing Down Nuke Disarmament Conference | Inter Press Service
http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/05/u-n-accused-of-playing-down-nuke-disarmament-conference

... the Group of 77, the largest single coalition of 132 developing countries, implicitly accuses the United Nations of falling short in its efforts to publicise a meeting on nuclear disarmament scheduled to take place Sep. 26.

Ambassador Peter Thomson of Fiji, the G77 chair, last week described the upcoming talks as “the first-ever high level meeting of the General Assembly on nuclear disarmament.”

He said the meeting is of importance to developing nations, and therefore, all efforts should be made to give it timely and wide publicity.

A G77 delegate told IPS the conference is not getting the advance publicity it should, probably because three of the big powers, the United States, UK and France, are not supportive of the meeting.

“We have not seen anything on the high level meeting so far,” he added.

The lack of coverage stands in contrast to the strong public stand taken by the secretary-general, who has consistently called for the total elimination of nuclear weapons.

Asked about the significance of the upcoming meeting, Dr. John Burroughs, executive director of the New York-based Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy, told IPS the meeting is a chance for world leaders, including U.S. President Barack Obama and others, to give direction to the nuclear disarmament enterprise, “which is now drifting aimlessly despite much rhetoric over the past five years.”

Deux articles sur l’usage d’armes chimiques en Syrie.
Carla Del Ponte, en charge de la Commission des Nations Unies sur la Syrie, indique ne pas détenir de preuve de l’implication du régime d’Assad dans l’usage d’armes chimiques. En revanche, elle fait valoir que de fortes suspicions pèsent sur l’opposition qui pourrait avoir utilisé du gas sarin. Ali Akbar Salehi, Ministre des Affaires étrangères d’Iran, émet la même hypothèse.

Article 1
U.N. has testimony that Syrian rebels used sarin gas: investigator
Sun, May 05 (2013) 18:13 PM EDT

http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE94409Z20130505?irpc=932

GENEVA (Reuters) - U.N. human rights investigators have gathered testimony from casualties of Syria’s civil war and medical staff indicating that rebel forces have used the nerve agent sarin, one of the lead investigators said on Sunday.

The United Nations independent commission of inquiry on Syria has not yet seen evidence of government forces having used chemical weapons, which are banned under international law, said commission member Carla Del Ponte.

“Our investigators have been in neighboring countries interviewing victims, doctors and field hospitals and, according to their report of last week which I have seen, there are strong, concrete suspicions but not yet incontrovertible proof of the use of sarin gas, from the way the victims were treated,” Del Ponte said in an interview with Swiss-Italian television.

“This was use on the part of the opposition, the rebels, not by the government authorities,” she added, speaking in Italian.

Del Ponte, a former Swiss attorney-general who also served as prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, gave no details as to when or where sarin may have been used.

The Geneva-based inquiry into war crimes and other human rights violations is separate from an investigation of the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria instigated by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, which has since stalled.

President Bashar al-Assad’s government and the rebels accuse each another of carrying out three chemical weapon attacks, one near Aleppo and another near Damascus, both in March, and another in Homs in December.

The civil war began with anti-government protests in March 2011. The conflict has now claimed an estimated 70,000 lives and forced 1.2 million Syrian refugees to flee.

The United States has said it has “varying degrees of confidence” that sarin has been used by Syria’s government on its people.

President Barack Obama last year declared that the use or deployment of chemical weapons by Assad would cross a “red line”.

(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Tom Pfeiffer)

Article 2
Iran’s Salehi says chemical weapons ’red line’ in Syria
30 avril 2013

http://tehrantimes.com/politics/107297-irans-salehi-says-chemical-weapons-red-line-in-syria

TEHRAN – Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi insisted on Tuesday that use of chemical weapons in Syria would also be a “red line” for Tehran, but suggests rebel forces should be investigated.

According to ISNA news agency, Salehi said the use of chemical weapons “by anybody is our red line.” But he said opposition groups could have used chemical agents and demanded a UN probe.

Hezbollah Low-Key as New PM Forms Government - Scarlett Haddad
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/04/hezbollah-silence-salam-appointment-lebanon.html

The data in Hezbollah’s possession allows the party to assume that a compromise is imminent between Russia, Iran and countries within the same circle of influence on the one hand, and the US and its allies on the other. This compromise should materialize during the summit to be held on June 1, between US President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Each side seeks to play its trump card in the anticipated negotiations. However, according to Hezbollah’s sources, should one of the two camps believe it would be at a disadvantage, the summit may very well be postponed.

Nevertheless, until this major event takes place — if it does as scheduled — Lebanon is going through a sort of limbo, where no important decision has been made. It is in this spirit that Hezbollah has chosen to support the candidacy of Salam for the presidency of the new government, without giving up on all its requirements regarding the formation of the government. Moreover, Hezbollah also wanted to make a goodwill gesture, especially with regard to Saudi Arabia. The party considered that Saudi Arabia has already made the first step by choosing Salam, who is believed to be a moderate figure.

[…]

Moreover, the March 14 coalition could also give new instructions to the army so as to marginalize its role, with the aim of requiring the deployment of international forces (maybe the UNIFIL after changing its mandate) along the border with Syria. In the same vein, Lebanon’s foreign policy would become favorable to the Syrian opposition, as desired by the March 14 coalition which continues to criticize the current foreign minister, accusing him of being the ambassador of the Syrian regime.

This scenario may seem overstated, but Hezbollah prefers to think of the worst instead of being taken completely off guard.

Qatar and the Five-Minute Summit – une traduction du Safir au sujet du sommet de la Ligue arabe.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/politics/2013/04/qatar-arab-league-summit-hegemony-syria-crisis.html

In comparison to the Libyan situation, this decision reflects a total lack of legal reasoning. When it was decided that the National Transitional Council should be granted Libya’s seat, this organization had already been recognized by the UN Security Council. The Libyan regime had already lost control of the capital city of Tripoli, as well as several other regions, all of which had been taken over by the armed opposition. Thus, all the elements of sovereign rule were in place.

The situation in Syria, however, is totally different. The regime is still present in Damascus, and many countries still recognize its legitimacy. Moreover, this regime remains the Syrian representative at the UN, and this is precisely what causes the glaring contradiction between the Arab League and the UN. Despite the fact that Qatar and its allies will act to expel the Syrian regime from the UN, there are nevertheless a number of countries which will stand in opposition to this move, for fear that the same thing could very well happen to them in the future.

L’Azerbaïdjan peut se permettre de forcer l’OSCE a réduire sa présence dans le pays et se désarmer juste avant les élections.| EurasiaNet.org
“Vafa Guluzadeh, a former government adviser, sees the move as an effort to cut off anticipated OSCE criticism of the upcoming election. In the past, the OSCE has consistently rated Azerbaijan’s elections as not free and unfair.

This is not about current relations. It is about future elections. It is difficult to predict whether the OSCE will recognize the election or not. There may be concern about this, and so they want to transform the OSCE into an obedient structure,”
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/66733
#elections #azerbaïdjan

http://en.rsf.org/press-freedom-index-2013,1054.html
2013_wpfi_world_press_freedom_map.jpg (Image JPEG, 1900x1365 pixels) - Redimensionnée (44%)
http://en.rsf.org/IMG/jpg/2013_wpfi_world_press_freedom_map.jpg
#RSF

Les menaces à peine voilées des pétromonarchies contre le Liban
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/politics/2013/03/lebanon-gulf-relations.html

According to the same observers, those words meant that “these states had gone beyond feeling resentment, to tacitly warn of possible security-related consequences brought about by the incomplete compliance with the Baabda Declaration. There is a major question mark over the letter’s mention of the Lebanese people’s interests and safety; for everyone knows that there are close to 600,000 Lebanese who work in the Gulf states, and whose fate might be at risk if there were a breach in Lebanon’s neutrality in relation to its Arab milieu and more specifically to the Syrian crisis.”

A source knowledgeable about the letter described it as “unprecedented,” further adding that it “was brought about by the Gulf states’ feeling of resentment toward Lebanon’s  stance vis-à-vis the events taking place in a number of Arab countries. Some positions espoused by [Lebanese] politicians had very negative repercussions and jeopardized the livelihoods of peaceful Lebanese working abroad in a manner that reversed the previously held perception that they were a peaceful and open people who only harbored goodwill towards their brothers.”

En réalité, ça fait des années que les ressortissants libanais (principalement chiites) subissent expulsions et vexations dans le Golfe, que les pétromonarchies organisent le boycott du tourisme au Liban.

Accessoirement, cela pose la question de l’économie de la dette instaurée par Rafic Hariri, et le poids politique de la dépendance du Liban à ses créanciers.

Erdogan was correct – Zionism is racism
http://www.bariatwan.com/english/?p=1413

Frankly I don’t understand the cause of this uproar and the merciless attack Turkey has faced from an ally in the US or United Nations Secretary-general Ban Ki-moon.

Plenty of UN resolutions have been passed condemning the Zionist movement’s criminal acts against the Palestinian people.

Yes, Zionism is a crime against humanity. It has stolen land and displaced people from it – the Palestinians. It has committed ethnic cleansing, leaving six million people as refugees in neighbouring countries or as international exiles.

Zionism is not a sacred cow exempt from criticism. Israel was born out of a systematic policy of ethnic cleansing that it used to gain domination of the Palestinian Territories. This is all documented in a book by Israeli historian Ilan Pappe – The Ethnic Cleansing Of Palestine.

Turkey’s Prime Minister has not told a single untruth.

In fact, Erdogan should go further and detail the crimes Zionism has committed in the last 80 years: the Deir Yassin massacre, Sabra and Shatila, dropping white phosphorus on civilians as well as other activities in the Gaza Strip which international legal expert Richard Goldstone described as war crimes.

Turkey has itself suffered at the hands of this terrorism, when Israeli naval forces attacked the Mavi Marmara humanitarian convoy which was trying to break the blockade on the Gaza Strip and deliver humanitarian aid, medicine and other medical equipment. Nine activists died.

Strange that the US did not offer its sympathy when Israel attacked the Turkish convoy.

I respect freedom of expression. I support rational criticism based on historic fact. I also condemn people who are selective about which political movements they criticise – be it Zionism or otherwise.

But there is a difference between Judaism and Zionism – one is a religion, the other is a political movement founded on and dedicated to the displacement of the Palestinian people.

UN decision to claim diplomatic immunity for #cholera outbreak in #Haiti was cold, but correct - Juliette Kayyem - The Boston Globe
http://bostonglobe.com/opinion/columns/2013/02/28/decision-claim-diplomatic-immunity-for-cholera-outbreak-haiti-was-cold-but-correct/MxeER5UM6aWzZB2WNJtjgI/story.html

There are two sides to globalization. The bad side, as is evident in Haiti, is that once-isolated microbes can kill victims across the globe, especially in places where sanitation and clean water are lacking. The beneficial side is that when a nation needs the global community to respond after a horrible earthquake, public safety resources and medical expertise are available.

rare papier en faveur de l’immunité des #Nations_unies

Haiti: fight against cholera continues, but claims against UN ‘not receivable’
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=44197

In November 2011, a claim for compensation was brought against the UN on behalf of victims of the cholera outbreak in Haiti.

“Today, the United Nations advised the claimants’ representatives that the claims are not receivable pursuant to Section 29 of the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations,”

#choléra #haïti #santé #nations-unies #circulez-y-a-rien-à-voir

Les dossiers bahreiniens et syriens lies pour la première fois explicitement. Reste a voir la reaction des autorites bahreiniennes, farouchement opposées à toute médiation étrangère (même golfienne) depuis le début de la crise.

Russia promised to mediate between Bahrain’s ruling Sunni Muslim royal family and the majority Shiite opposition in talks aimed at ending two years of unrest in the Gulf country neighboring Saudi Arabia.

“Russia will continue to hold contacts with the kingdom’s leaders as well as representatives of opposition groups, in firm support of efforts to resolve internal problems through a national consensus in the interests of all Bahrainis,” the Foreign Ministry in Moscow said in an e-mailed statement today.

“We are certain that it’s possible, with enough political will, to ease the tensions and resolve the causes of the conflict in Bahrain as well as in other countries in the region,” the Russian foreign ministry said.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-12/russia-to-mediate-in-bahrain-talks-aimed-at-ending-unrest.html

IDF spokesman posts cartoon of Nasrallah seeking terror target - Israel News, Ynetnews
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4342741,00.html

La philanthropie des données est bonne pour les affaires - Forbes
http://www.forbes.com/sites/oreillymedia/2011/09/20/data-philanthropy-is-good-for-business

Pour Robert Kirkpatrick, directeur de Global Pulse - http://www.unglobalpulse.org l’unité d’innovation du secrétariat général des Nations Unies -, la possibilité d’analyser les données va avoir des impacts considérables sur la façon de faire de l’aide international au développement. Des chercheurs du MIT ont trouvé que des changements dans nos manières de passer des appels téléphoniques pouvaient être utilisés pour détecter des épidémies de grippes. Des chercheurs de Telefonica ont montré que les (...)

#mesinfos #midata #reutilisationdesdonneespubliques

The UN in Congo: Watching from above | The Economist

http://www.economist.com/blogs/baobab/2013/01/un-congo?fsrc=scn/tw/te/bl/Watchingfromabove

The UN in Congo
Watching from above
Jan 15th 2013, 12:48 by D.H. | NAIROBI

SHOULD the secretary-general of the United Nations, Ban ki-Moon, get his way, a newcomer will appear in the skies over eastern Congo. He has asked the Security Council to approve unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), commonly known as drones, for use in the troubled region.

Supporters of their use, including the UN’s head of peacekeeping operations, Hervé Ladsous, face a diplomatic battle to get their hands on any drones. China and Russia are reluctant to back their deployment. Rwanda, which has one of the rotating seats on the Security Council, and is accused of meddling in Congo, has also opposed their use. However, America, France and more quietly Britain all support the use of unarmed, intelligence-gathering drones.

Renowned US doctor appointed to support UN efforts to eliminate cholera in Haiti
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=43853&Cr=haiti&Cr1=cholera

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed renowned United States physician Paul Farmer to help galvanize support to eliminate cholera in Haiti, where the disease has already claimed over 7,750 lives.

#nations_unies #un #haiti #cholera #santé

The Humanitarian Fallout of a Military Intervention in Mali

http://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/268-humanitarian-intervention/52150-the-humanitarian-fallout-of-a-military-intervention-in-mali-.htm

An international military intervention in Northern Mali “could further destabilize an already extremely fragile humanitarian situation” and “very well inflict more harm to the population.” Jérémie Labbé from IPI rightly argues that intense fighting would directly affect the civilian population, increase the number of refugees and internally displaced persons, and compromise the relatively stable situation of the last few months. Moreover, a military deployment would inevitably constrain an already difficult humanitarian access. Ultimately, “the risk is real that a military intervention will be perceived as promoting a Western agenda,” which might endangers the neutrality and safety of humanitarian actors operating in the region. In order not to repeat the mistakes of the relief operations in Somalia, Labbé stresses that a potential intervention should proactively and strictly comply with the UN human rights due diligence policy and that humanitarian actors should engage with non-traditional actors such as Islamic charities and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

Jérémie Labbé
International Peace Institute
December 14, 2012

[Protection Palestine]- Des centaines à protester contre la visite de Clinton à Ramallah
http://www.protection-palestine.org/spip.php?article12139

Des centaines de jeunes Palestiniens ont protesté massivement contre la venue de la secrétaire d’État U.S., Hillary Clilnton, dans la ville cisjordanienne de Ramallah, et sa rencontre avec le Président palestinien, Mahmoud Abbas, a rapporté PNN (Réseau d’informations de Palestine).

Les manifestants brandissaient des photos d’enfants martyrisés par les missiles israéliens à Gaza, tandis qu’un certain nombre de manifestants brûlaient des drapeaux américains et scandaient des slogans contre les États-Unis pour leur soutien à Israël malgré ses crimes contre le peuple palestinien.

La manifestation a eu lieu près du siège présidentiel à Ramallah ; des militants des réseaux sociaux avaient appelé à manifester en Cisjordanie.

Un des manifestants a déclaré à PNN que cette manifestation avait lieu « à cause du soutien aveugle américain à Israël malgré ses crimes contre les civils, les enfants et les bébés, à Gaza », et il a ajouté que « les États-Unis étaient le pays qui empêchait la création d’un État palestinien indépendant ».

Il est à noter que les forces de sécurité palestiniennes se sont opposées à ce que les manifestants s’approchent des bureaux présidentiels, et les ont tenus à au moins 400 mètres de distance.

Après la rencontre Abbas-Clinton, un membre du Comité exécutif de l’OLP (Organisation pour la libération de la Palestine), le Dr Saeb Erekat, a déclaré qu’Abbas avait mis l’accent sur l’importance d’arrêter l’escalade.

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Gaza live report: Day 8
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=540391

20:09 Palestinian killed, another injured in Israeli airstrike on Deir al-Balah shortly after ceasefire announced in Cairo.

19:59 Israel launches airstrikes across Gaza after ceasefire announcement.

Par « assassinat ciblé », il faut comprendre qu’Israël « cible » très largement : pour essayer de tuer Ahmad Jaabari, ils avaient déjà massacré avec précision son fils ainé, son frère et plusieurs de ses cousins :
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/58131/World/Region/Ahmed-alJaabari-A-life-of-fighting-Israeli-occupat.aspx

Jaabari had previously been the apparent target of more than one Israeli assassination attempt, including a 2004 air strike that killed his eldest son Mohammed, along with his brother and several of his cousins.

The Responsibility to Protect: What is the Basis for the Emerging Norm of R2P?
http://www.globalpolicy.org/home/268-humanitarian-intervention/52035-the-responsibility-to-protect-what-is-the-basis-for-the-emerging

he United Nations advocates the Responsibility to Protect (R2P), a controversial doctrine related to military interventions. Yet many fundamental practical questions remain unanswered and “no-one seems sure of what R2P even is.” Practically, there is no clearly defined legal status, set of implementing mechanisms, and monitoring bodies limiting potential for abuses, as well as “no consensus on what actions R2P actually legitimates, nor by whom or when.” In fact, Adam Branch argues that “it is precisely R2P’s indeterminacy that makes it so popular today,” as countries have the flexibility to “protect” according to their will and without worrying about their need to be accountable. Branch explains how this lack of conceptual clarity is particularly worrying for the African continent, where three-quarters of the crises in which #R2P has been invoked or applied. Ultimately, R2P engenders a divide between Western “protectors” and African states, whose legitimacy and sovereignty are to be judged by the “international community”. But it is also increasingly segmenting Africa itself as countries have to choose on which “side” they stand.

#droit_d'ingérence

Entre humain et profit, les coopératives cherchent à s’imposer
http://www.lesnouvellesnews.fr/index.php/entreprendre-articles-section/entreprendre/2213-entre-humain-et-profit-les-cooperatives-cherchent-a-simposer

Les coopératives, avec leur modèle économique fondé sur des valeurs, sont un levier de transition vers une économie plus socialement responsable. C’est le message que veulent faire passer les dirigeants de sociétés rassemblés à Québec du 8 au 12 octobre à l’occasion du Sommet international des coopératives. Ce rassemblement de plus 2 000 participants sera le point d’orgue d’une année 2012 désignée par l’ONU comme l’« année internationale des coopératives ».

« Nous voulons utiliser ce sommet comme un moyen de faire en sorte que les gouvernements, et le monde en général, comprennent mieux le mouvement coopératif. Nous devons être plus efficaces pour nous mettre en avant », explique Monique Leroux, PDG de Desjardins. Ce groupe financier coopératif, le plus important du Canada, est partenaire de l’Alliance internationale des coopératives (IAC), une ONG qui soutient les coopératives en développant des réseaux et solutions pour faire grandir le mouvement.

Nous sommes dans une période de transition pour l’économie, dont la forme actuelle suscite le désenchantement, observe le directeur exécutif de l’IAC, Charles Gould. Dans ce contexte, il est temps pour les coopératives de démontrer leur valeur.

il y a de quoi avoir peur pour les coopératives si l’ONU s’en soucie.
2010 l’année de célébration de la jeunesse, gâchée par cette dernière qui ruait dans les brancards en Espagne et ailleurs.
http://social.un.org/youthyear

Iran opens nonaligned summit with calls for nuclear arms ban

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/iran-opens-nonaligned-summit-with-calls-for-nuclear-arms-ban/2012/08/26/4c363ec2-ef63-11e1-b74c-84ed55e0300b_print.html

By Associated Press, Published: August 26

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran opened a world gathering of self-described nonaligned nations Sunday with a slap at the U.N. Security Council and an appeal to rid the world of nuclear weapons, even as Tehran faces Western suspicions that it is seeking its own atomic bombs.

Iran seeks to use the weeklong gathering — capped by a two-day summit of Non-Aligned Movement leaders — as a showcase of its global ties and efforts to challenge the influence of the West and its allies. Among those expected to attend include U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the prime minister of India, Manmohan Singh, whose nation remains an important Iranian oil customer as Tehran battles Western sanctions over its nuclear program.

#iran #nucléaire #a&rmement

Brahimi confirmed as new UN Syria envoy
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/brahimi-confirmed-new-un-syria-envoy

The United Nations on Friday confirmed that veteran Algerian diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi will replace former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan as the international mediator on Syria as the 17-month-old conflict slides deeper into civil war.

Fabriquer de la division sectaire : le Akhbar publie interview du Mufti de la République libanaise, lequel est désormais en conflit avec le Courant du Futur de Saad Hariri. Un point qui choque le mufti : il est censé représenter légalement tous les musulmans libanais ensemble ; le Futur (qui est pourtant sunnite) veut que le mufti représente désormais uniquement les sunnites.
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/lebanons-mufti-future-movement-wants-my-turban

Speaking about the “powers they want to take away,” he points to “an item in law no.18 which stipulates that the mufti of the republic is the religious leader of all Muslims, of all sects.” But according to Siniora’s amendment, he will become only “the religious leader of Sunni Muslims.”

“Why this deflation? If the law gave the mufti a major role that all sects agree upon, why should we restrict ourselves?” he questions.

Pour le reste, le mufti rappelle que le torchon a commencé à brûler entre lui et le Futur à propos du mufti du Akkar, en décembre 2011. Le Akkar, encore… Le Daily Star présentait une vue très partiale de l’affaire alors (le point du vue de Qabbani est à peine évoqué) :
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Politics/2011/Dec-17/157155-future-movement-protests-move-to-dismiss-akkar-mufti-rifai.ashx