organization:security council

  • YEMEN : THE INVISIBLE CRISIS

    After two years of relentless conflict, Yemen faces a humanitarian crisis quickly engulfing the majority of its population. According to latest United Nations reports published in April 2017, an alarming 18.8 million people - almost two thirds of the population - need humanitarian assistance or protection support. Since mid-2015, when Houthi rebel forces took over the capital city of Sana’a, at least three million people have fled their homes from regions now embroiled in a prolonged ground war. As a result of the fighting, public services have broken down. Less than half of the health centers function with medical supplies at a critically low supply. As of May 2017, the 1.3 million plus civil servants were entering an eighth month of not having been paid. This statistic includes the thousands of doctors, nurses and paramedics who continue to work despite the increasingly bleak future.

    http://www.gilesnclarke.com/yemen-the-invisible-crisis
    #Yémen #photographie #malnutrition #faim #famine #guerre #conflit #GILES_CLARK #santé #maladie #hôpitaux #destruction #choléra
    cc @albertocampiphoto @philippe_de_jonckheere

    • Famine in Yemen: A primer

      Warnings of famine in Yemen are coming hard and fast these days, with UN Relief Chief Mark Lowcock telling the Security Council on Tuesday that “there is now a clear and present danger of an imminent and great big famine engulfing” the country.

      The truth is that Yemen has been teetering on the edge of famine for much of its more than three and a half years of war, and while food prices have recently shot up thanks to a collapsing currency, this is not the first time humanitarians have rung the alarm bells.

      Back in November 2017, the Saudi-led coalition fighting Houthi rebels and their allies temporarily closed Yemen’s air, land, and sea borders in response to a rocket sent by the Houthis towards Riyadh. Eighteen NGOs issued a statement then expressing concern that “the humanitarian situation is extremely fragile and any disruption in the pipeline of critical supplies such as food, fuel, and medicines has the potential to bring millions of people closer to starvation and death”.
      The blockade was later eased and some aid was allowed in, but as we pointed out at the time, when it comes to averting famine, commercial imports are more important than relief supplies.

      In most of Yemen, shops and markets still sell food. But many people simply don’t have the money to buy it. Yemen’s currency has been in freefall since September, causing a spike in food and fuel prices and even further impacting the average Yemeni’s ability to purchase what they need to survive.

      Millions of hungry people live in Yemen. The UN now estimates that 14 million Yemenis, half the country, could soon be in what it calls “pre-famine” conditions; that means they will rely on aid to survive. That number may rise even more if Yemen’s Red Sea port of Hodeidah is closed by fighting; the coalition is currently intensifying an offensive on Houthis in the city.

      But declaring a famine is a technically complicated process, as this account from South Sudan illustrates:

      We don’t yet know if and when famine will be declared. Analysts are reviewing market, health, and nutrition surveys from across Yemen to determine if the situation crosses the technical threshold of “famine”. In order to avoid false alarms and crying wolf, strict requirements must be met before a situation can be designated a famine. And even that declaration can still be held up or delayed by political concerns – governments and warring parties typically don’t want to admit to a famine on their watch.

      In 2011, the UN declared the first famine of the 21st century in Somalia, caused by war, drought, and restricted relief access. The announcement was met by a wave of new funding, international media and diplomatic attention, and more determined efforts to work through blockages. The declaration, based on the same Integrated Phase Classification methodology that Yemen analysts are using, had no automatic effect but galvanised an international response, including $1.25 billion in 2011. Any famine declaration is an admission of failure: later studies showed that about half of an estimated 260,000 Somali deaths took place before the pronouncement.

      For now, just when an official declaration of famine will come, if it comes at all, is still unclear. What we know for sure: malnutrition can be deadly, and right now it’s making some Yemenis more susceptible to diseases like cholera and diphtheria.

      https://www.irinnews.org/news/2018/10/24/famine-yemen-primer
      #alimentation #nourriture #prix #blé

  • Israel averts one crisis with end of Palestinian prisoners’ hunger strike. Now Gaza looms large

    Strike leader Marwan Barghouti can chalk up achievement of putting prisoners’ plight back in Palestinian public consciousness

    Amos Harel May 28, 2017
    read more: http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.792263

    The announcement heralding the end of the Palestinian prisoners’ hunger strike on Friday night was met with a sigh of relief by Israel’s defense establishment.
    >> Get all updates on Israel and the Palestinians: Download our free App, and Subscribe >>
    The strike’s end, on the eve of Ramadan, removed a huge risk that had been lingering for the past six weeks: the potential for deterioration following the death of one of the prisoners, or an Israeli attempt to force-feed the strikers, both of which would have agitated Palestinians across the territories.
    The gap in the conflicting commentaries from both sides regarding the details of the agreement and the question of who won are inevitable, given the circumstances. Israel doesn’t want to admit it negotiated with the strike leaders – and certainly not that it made any concessions while members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet were competing with each other in their forceful declarations against the prisoners.
    The Palestinians, meanwhile, have to present any Israeli concessions, no matter how trivial, as an achievement – otherwise questions will be raised about why the lives of prisoners were put at risk and whether the demands met actually justified everything the prisoners sacrificed.

    Despite Israel’s denials, it’s clear that talks were held with the strike leaders, at least indirectly. Two weeks ago, Palestinian sources reported meetings between senior officials in the Palestinian Authority’s security apparatus and Israel’s Shin Bet security service, with the aim of ending the strike.

    The details of any arrangement that would induce the prisoners to call off their strike were crystal clear: The key issue for them was the restoration of family visits to the previous number – twice a month. The Red Cross had halved this a year ago. An agreement on this matter was reached on Friday.
    The other demands were extras. The strike leaders knew that given the current public mood in Israel, the cabinet or prison authorities would not allow the resumption of academic studies – certainly not as long as the bodies of two Israeli soldiers are being held in Gaza and two Israeli citizens are missing there.
    An improvement in specific prison conditions – an issue that isn’t a focus of media attention – can be agreed upon later. Israel ensured this would happen at a later date and wouldn’t be seen as a direct achievement of the hunger strike.
    The strike’s leaders were already handicapped by the limited response of Fatah members to join the strike. Jailed Hamas leaders didn’t take a stand, either, failing to instruct most Hamas members to join in. Outside the prison walls, senior PA officials tried to undermine the strike, fearing it would strengthen the status of senior Fatah prisoner (and strike leader) Marwan Barghouti.
    The latter can chalk up an achievement from the strike, though: it brought the prisoners’ plight to the forefront of the Palestinian agenda, and he is once more being seriously mentioned as a possible successor to President Mahmoud Abbas.
    In Israel, the sting operation in which the Israel Prison Service planted snacks in Barghouti’s cell, and recorded him eating them, served as a rich source of satire. On the Palestinian side, though, it only strengthened his image as a leader who is feared by Israel – which resorts to ugly tricks in order to trip him up. However, Barghouti still faces an internal challenge from fellow Fatah leaders, who were likely unimpressed by the fact he fell into this trap twice.
    The strike’s end resolves one Israeli headache, but two others remain in the Palestinian arena: that the religious fervor associated with Ramadan will find an outlet in the form of “lone-wolf” stabbing or car-ramming attacks, as it did last year; and the deteriorating conditions in the Gaza Strip.
    In the monthly report submitted to the UN Security Council on Friday by Nickolay Mladenov, the UN secretary-general’s special envoy to the Middle East wrote: “In Gaza we are walking into another crisis with our eyes wide open.”
    Mladenov warned the Security Council that if urgent steps are not taken to de-escalate matters, “the crisis risks spiraling out of control with devastating consequences for Palestinians and Israelis alike.”
    Mladenov reminded the Security Council that the source of the deterioration, with a reduced power supply and cuts to PA employees’ salaries in the Strip, is the political conflict between the Fatah-run PA and Hamas. Most residents in Gaza now receive electricity for only four hours a day, and this might be reduced to two hours, with the humanitarian crisis worsening. No one is interested in a military confrontation, Mladenov told Security Council members, adding that the PA, Hamas and Israel all share responsibility to prevent one.

    #Gaza #Palestine #Israël

  • Yémen | Entre guerres d’influence et migrations croisées
    https://asile.ch/2017/05/03/yemen-entre-guerres-dinfluence-migrations-croisees

    Le Yémen est le seul pays de la péninsule arabique à avoir ratifié la Convention de Genève de 1951. Avant le déclenchement des hostilités, le pays comptait 244’204 Somaliens reconnus comme réfugiés. Plusieurs milliers de Syriens ont été accueillis entre 2011 et 2015.

    • Mounting evidence of crimes against migrants in Yemen

      UNHCR and Human Rights Watch have reported on the situation for African migrants and asylum seekers in Yemen this week. Many migrants are arrested, detained in inhumane conditions, abused, sent out to sea in dangerous mass deportations and in some cases executed.

      Most migrants come from the Horn of Africa – Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia – crossing from Djibouti to Yemen with the aim of reaching the Gulf States, particularly Saudi Arabia. However, many are caught and detained, particularly in the southern port city of Aden. Around 700 people are held there in a makeshift open air detention centre which is government run. The centre is overcrowded and lacks basic sanitation or medical care. Former detainees reported to Human Rights Watch that they suffered severe physical torture, extortion and rape at the hands of Yemeni authorities. The former head of the centre reported they work with smugglers in order to deport migrants. People are forced by smugglers onto boats off the Yemeni coast, in January of this year reportedly over 50 Somalis drowned during one of these procedures.

      Meanwhile, refugees fleeing the war in Yemen are heading the other way to refugee camps in Djibouti. Yemen has historically been a country of migration, refuge and transit for people from the Horn of Africa, but over three years of conflict has caused one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. UNHCR reports any intervention or high level advocacy on the situation is hindered by the ongoing conflict. “With prolonged conflict and insecurity threatening state institutions and weakening the rule of law, there are growing accounts of extortion, trafficking and deportation,” said UNHCR spokesman William Spindler. Bill Frelick, refugee rights director at Human Rights Watch stated, “The crisis in Yemen provides zero justification for this cruelty and brutality, and the Yemeni government should put a stop to it and hold those responsible to account.”

      The newly appointed UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, addressed the Security Council on Tuesday saying he hoped to relaunch peace talks between a Saudi-led coalition and Houthi rebels. With a plan to put a framework for negotiations to the council within the next two months.

      Last year UNHCR launched a regional awareness campaign entitled ‘Dangerous Crossings’ to spread awareness of the perilous journey.

      https://www.ecre.org/mounting-evidence-of-crimes-against-migrants-in-yemen
      #réfugiés_somaliens #réfugiés_éthiopiens #réfugiés_érythréens

  • Je crois qu’on tient notre vainqueur de la semaine : « L’opération Bouclier de l’Euphrate est terminée : toute opération qui viendra après elle portera un nom différent. »
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-39439593

    “Operation Euphrates Shield has been successful and is finished. Any operation following this one will have a different name,” Mr Yildirim said after Wednesday’s meeting of the country’s security council.

  • U.S. Calls Urgent UN Security Council Meeting Over Iranian Missile Test
    http://www.rferl.org/a/us-calls-urgent-un-security-council-meeting-iranian-ballistic-missile-test/28269158.html

    The United Nations Security Council scheduled an urgent meeting for January 31 to discuss an Iranian ballistic missile test at the request of the United States.

    “In light of Iran’s January 29 launch of a medium-range ballistic missile, the United States has requested urgent consultations of the Security Council,” the U.S. mission said late on January 30.

    It was the first request made by the United States since new U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley took office last week.

    U.S. officials said they would bring the latest test before the Security Council if they determined it violated a UN resolution barring Iran from developing missiles “designed to carry nuclear warheads.”

    #Iran has regularly flaunted that restriction.

    Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker condemned the latest missile test.

    “No longer will Iran be given a pass for its repeated ballistic-missile violations, continued support of terrorism, human rights abuses, and other hostile activities that threaten international peace and security,” he said.

    #Israel is also calling on the council to punish Iran for the tests.

    #Etats-Unis

  • UN resolution is a breath of hope in sea of darkness and despair -
    It’s now even more crystal clear: The world thinks the settlements are a crime. All the settlements and all the world
    Gideon Levy Dec 25, 2016 12:12 PM

    http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.761114

    On November 29, 1947, the UN General Assembly voted to establish a Jewish state (alongside an Arab state) in the Land of Israel. Sixty-nine years later, on December 23, 2016, the UN Security Council voted to try to save it. Resolution 2334 that was approved Friday is a gust of good news, a breath of hope in the sea of darkness and despair of recent years.

    Just when it seemed that everything was going downhill – the deepening occupation increasingly supported by America, with Europe galloping to the right – along came a Hanukkah resolution that lights a thin candle. When it seemed that the evil ones would remain victorious, along came New Zealand and three other countries and gave the world a Christmas gift.

    Read more on the Security Council resolution: It’s the settlements, stupid: UN failure is entirely Netanyahu’s / Analysis | Obama, where have you been for 8 wasted years? / Analysis | Why the Palestinians are jubilant and Israel is spooked / Analysis | Security Council punch knocks Netanyahu down from hubris to humiliation

    So thanks to New Zealand, Venezuela and Malaysia. True, the Christmas tree they’ve supplied, with all its sparkling lights, will soon be removed; Donald Trump is already waiting at the gate. But the imprint will remain. Until then, this temporary rejoicing is a joy, despite the expected hangover.

    We of course must ask U.S. President Barack Obama in fury: Now you’re doing something? And we must ask the world in frustration: What about actions? But it’s impossible to ignore the Security Council decision that rules that all the settlements are illegal by nature.

    Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can call back his ambassadors, while his right-hand minister Yuval Steinitz can shriek that the resolution is “unfair.” (He has a sense of humor.) And opposition leader Isaac Herzog can babble that “we need to fight the decision with all means.” But there isn’t a person in the world with a conscience who won’t rejoice over the resolution.

    There also isn’t a decent Israeli who ought to fall for the propaganda that calls the resolution “anti-Israeli,” a definition that the Israeli media rushed to adopt – with its characteristic slavishness, of course.

    This decision has brought Israel back to the solid ground of reality. All the settlements, including in the territories that have been annexed, including in East Jerusalem of course, are a violation of international law. In other words, they are a crime. No country in the world thinks otherwise. The entire world thinks so – all Israel’s so-called friends and all its so-called enemies – unanimously.

    Most probably the tools of brainwashing in Israel, along with the mechanisms of repression and denial, will try to undermine the decision. But when the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia unite in such a clear statement, this will be difficult work.

    So you can say “the entire world is against us.” You can scream “anti-Semitism!” You can ask “What about Syria?” In the end this clear-as-crystal truth will remain: The world thinks that the settlements are a crime. All the settlements and all the world.

    True, the world doesn’t lift a finger to have the settlements removed, but maybe one day this will happen. Still, it will be too late by then, too late.

    Resolution 2334 artificially distinguishes between Israel and the settlements in that it is aimed at the settlements, not the occupation. As if the guilt of Amona were on its settlers and not all Israelis. This deception proves how much the world continues to treat Israel with leniency and hesitates to takes steps against it, as it did with Russia’s conquest of Crimea, for example.

    But Israelis who don’t live in Amona, who have never been there, who have no real interest in its fate – it seems most Israelis – have to ask themselves: Is it really worth it? All this for a few settlers they don’t know and don’t really want to know?

    Resolution 2334 is meant above all for Israeli ears, like an alarm clock that makes sure to wake you up on time, like a siren that tells you to go down to the bomb shelter. True, the resolution has no concrete value; true, the new U.S. administration promises to erase it.

    But two questions won’t let up: Why don’t the Palestinians deserve exactly the same thing that Israelis deserve, and how much can one country, with all its lobbying power, weapons and high-tech, ignore the entire world? On this first day of both Hanukkah and Christmas, we can enjoy, if only for a moment, the sweet illusion that Resolution 2334 will rouse these questions in Israel.

  • Understanding the UN resolution on Israeli settlements: What are the immediate ramifications? - Israel News - Haaretz.com

    http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.761049

    In the long-term, what are the possible ramifications?

    In the medium-to-long-term the resolution may have serious ramifications for Israel in general and specifically for the settlement enterprise. The reason for this stems from the two main clauses of the resolution. The first clause states that the settlements have “no legal validity and constitutes a flagrant violation under international law.” The International Criminal Court in The Hague is currently conducting a preliminary investigation concerning a suit filed against Israel by the Palestinians. One of the issues raised in the suit is the construction of settlements. International law takes form through different measures including Security Council resolutions. Thus, this decision, at this time, could influence the preliminary investigation and could provide cause for the ICC prosecutor to order a full investigation of Israel settlement construction.
    Another clause in the resolution calls on the nations of the world “to distinguish, in their relevant dealings, between the territory of the State of Israel and the territories occupied since 1967.” This is a precedent in UNSC resolutions concerning the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and actually calls on countries to cut ties direct and indirect with the settlements. This clause may create a path for countries, international organizations such as the EU, and corporations to impose sanctions on the settlements. The Foreign Ministry’s assessment is that the EU would have to pass a similar resolution in its institutions and base practical steps and legislation from it.

  • L’#Onu adopte une #résolution contre la #colonisation des territoires palestiniens - Libération
    http://www.liberation.fr/planete/2016/12/23/l-onu-adopte-une-resolution-contre-la-colonisation-des-territoires-palest

    Très gros malaise à Jérusalem après le vote, vendredi soir, par le Conseil de sécurité, d’une résolution exigeant l’« arrêt immédiat et complet des activités israéliennes de colonisation dans les territoires palestiniens occupés », y compris Jérusalem-Est. Cette résolution, la première depuis 1979, est un camouflet pour l’État hébreu qui se voit condamné par la communauté internationale. Et qui risque des sanctions économiques et politiques s’il poursuit l’occupation des territoires palestiniens. L’important dans cette affaire est que le texte a été voté, les États-Unis n’y ayant pas opposé leur veto, comme ils le faisaient régulièrement. Leur représentante s’est contentée de s’abstenir. Une nuance qui change tout.

    #Israël #Palestine #conseil_de_sécurité

    • Security Council resolution calls for end to Israeli settlements | United Nations Radio
      http://www.unmultimedia.org/radio/english/2016/12/security-council-resolution-calls-for-end-to-israeli-settlements

      Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories are a “flagrant violation” of international law, according to a UN Security Council resolution adopted on Friday.

      It demands that Israel immediately and completely stop all settlement activity which is essential for salvaging the two-State solution, whereby Israel and Palestine exist peacefully alongside each other.

      Dianne Penn reports.

      Applause after the vote in the UN Security Council chamber on Friday afternoon.

      Fourteen countries voted in favour of the resolution while one abstained.

      The resolution describes the communities created by Israel as a “major obstacle” to achieving the two-State solution and a lasting peace.

      Ramlan Bin Ibrahim is Malaysia’s ambassador to the UN and one of the co-sponsors of the resolution.

      “The last time the Council adopted a resolution on settlements was over 36 years ago. Since then, the situation on the ground has worsened to the point where the very prospect of the two-State solution is in question. There is no doubt that this falls under the responsibility of the Security Council under the UN Charter to maintain international peace and security.”

      The resolution also calls for immediate steps to prevent all acts of violence against civilians, including acts of terror.

      It further urges an acceleration of international and regional diplomatic efforts in support of achieving a just and lasting peace.

      Dianne Penn, United Nations.

    • Adoption d’une résolution de l’ONU réclamant l’arrêt de la colonisation israélienne
      http://www.francetvinfo.fr/monde/proche-orient/israel-palestine/adoption-d-une-resolution-de-l-onu-reclamant-l-arret-de-la-colonisation

      Donald Trump, dont l’une des promesses de campagne est de reconnaître Jérusalem comme « capitale indivisible » d’Israël, a réagi sur Twitter. « Les choses seront différentes » à l’ONU après son investiture, a écrit le président américain élu.Au total, Washington a utilisé son droit de veto trente fois pour bloquer des résolutions concernant Israël et les Palestiniens, selon l’organisation Security Council Report. C’est en 2009, concernant un appel à un cessez-le-feu à Gaza, que les Etats-Unis se sont abstenus pour la dernière fois lors d’un vote au Conseil de sécurité quel qu’en soit le thème.

    • La résolution de l’ONU réclamant l’arrêt de la colonisation israélienne a été adoptée
      http://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2016/12/23/la-resolution-de-l-onu-reclamant-l-arret-de-la-colonisation-israelienne-a-et

      En réaction, l’ambassadeur d’Israël a dénoncé cette résolution et critiqué l’abstention des Etats-Unis, affirmant « ne pas douter » que la nouvelle administration américaine et le nouveau secrétaire général allaient travailler à une nouvelle ère des relations entre Israël et les Nations unies.

    • Certes, les conséquences concrètes sur le terrain seront faibles, mais au moins, pour le principe, cela fait du bien. Et puis, juridiquement, cela pourra peut-être aider dans certains cas.

      –--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

      La résolution pour l’arrêt de la colonisation israélienne adoptée par l’ONU - Moyen-Orient - RFI
      http://www.rfi.fr/moyen-orient/20161223-resolution-arret-colonisation-israelienne-adoptee-onu

      L’abstention des Etats-Unis est historique. Dans le passé, Washington a toujours soutenu Israël en opposant son veto à toute résolution du Conseil de sécurité hostile à l’Etat hébreu. La dernière fois que les Etats-Unis n’ont pas refusé de voter une résolution de l’ONU remonte à 2009, lors d’un appel à un cessez-le feu à Gaza. En 2011, lors d’une résolution identique à celle qui vient d’être adoptée par le Conseil de sécurité, condamnant la colonisation des Territoires palestiniens, les Etats-Unis avaient bloqué son adoption en utilisant le droit de veto. Mais, depuis, les relations entre Barack Obama et Benyamin Netanyahu se sont sérieusement détériorées, même si les Etats-Unis n’ont jamais réduit leur assistance militaire à Israël.

    • Lâché à l’ONU par Barack Obama, Israël compte sur Donald Trump - La Croix
      http://www.la-croix.com/Monde/Moyen-Orient/Lache-a-lONU-par-Barack-Obama-Israel-compte-sur-Donald-Trump-2016-12-25-12

      Isolé sur la scène internationale après l’adoption par le Conseil de sécurité de l’ONU, avec l’appui tacite de Barack Obama, de la résolution 2334 qui condamne la colonisation juive en Cisjordanie, Israël compte sur Donald Trump pour bouleverser la donne.

      Barack Obama a cependant octroyé à Israël une #aide_militaire sans précédent de 38 milliards de dollars (36,8 milliards d’euros) étalée sur dix ans. Depuis juin 1967, il était le seul président américain à avoir systématiquement mis son veto aux résolutions contre la politique israélienne au Conseil de sécurité, afin de privilégier le dialogue direct entre Israël­ et les Palestiniens.

      [...] Reste qu’il est impossible d’annuler la #résolution_2334. Elle n’a d’ailleurs qu’une valeur déclaratoire réitérant le consensus international sur l’hostilité à la colonisation, puisqu’elle ne prévoit pas de sanctions.

      Certains pays pourraient s’appuyer sur ce texte pour boycotter les institutions ou entreprises israéliennes installées dans les colonies. Et les Palestiniens, qui célèbrent « une victoire historique », ne manqueront pas de s’en servir pour tenter de traîner les responsables israéliens devant la Cour pénale internationale (#CPI) de La Haye pour « crimes de guerre ».

    • Résolution sur les colonies en Cisjordanie : tensions entre l’Ukraine et Israël - Moyen-Orient - RFI
      http://www.rfi.fr/moyen-orient/20161227-resolution-colonies-cisjordanie-tensions-entre-ukraine-israel

      Pourtant, durant le week-end, la diplomatie ukrainienne a publié une déclaration critiquant explicitement l’attitude d’Israël suite au vote des Nations unies. Résultat, dimanche et lundi, les deux pays ont demandé des explications à leurs ambassadeurs respectifs.

      Afin d’expliquer sa position sur la résolution, l’Ukraine a avancé qu’elle est elle-même victime d’une occupation, en l’occurrence russe, en Crimée et à l’est de l’Ukraine. Kiev appelle donc à ce que la loi internationale soit respectée partout, que ce soit en Ukraine comme en Palestine.

      –-----------------------------------------

      L’accord d’association avec l’UE, un moyen de pression sur Israël | L’Humanité
      http://www.humanite.fr/laccord-dassociation-avec-lue-un-moyen-de-pression-sur-israel-629240

      Le Conseil de sécurité des Nations unies a adopté une résolution condamnant la colonisation d’Israël. Une première depuis 1979. Alors que Donald Trump arrive au pouvoir à Washington, l’Union européenne est l’un des seuls acteurs internationaux à pouvoir forcer Tel-Aviv à évoluer.

  • #ISRAËL : L’ONU ADOPTE UNE RÉSOLUTION RÉCLAMANT L’ARRÊT DE LA #COLONISATION DES #TERRITOIRES_PALESTINIENS
    http://www.lci.fr/international/israel-l-onu-adopte-une-resolution-demandant-l-arret-de-la-colonisation-des-terr

    La décision des #Etats-Unis de ne pas utiliser leur droit de #veto, contrairement à un précédent projet de texte, a permis l’adoption par le Conseil de sécurité de l’#ONU d’une résolution condamnant les colonies israéliennes vendredi 23 décembre.

    • Against Israel’ at Security Council

      Israel rejects anti-settlement motion out of hand, will work with incoming U.S. administration to ’negate the harmful effects of this absurd resolution,’ Prime Minister’s Bureau says in statement.
      Barak Ravid Dec 23, 2016 11:39 PM

      http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.761011

      Israel said it will impose sanctions on two states that pushed for the UN Security Council resolution against Israeli settlements. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the Israeli ambassadors in New Zealand and Senegal for consultation. Israel does not have diplomatic ties with the two other states that called for a vote on the resolution – Venezuela and Malaysia.

      The prime minister’s bureau said that Netanyahu has canceled an impending visit of the Senegalese foreign minister to Israel, and ordered the Foreign Ministry to void all planned aid to the country. He also canceled the visits of the non-resident ambassadors from Senegal and New Zealand.

      Netanyahu’s bureau also lambasted United States President Barack Obama for not casting a veto against the resolution.

    • #Obama Allows Toothless UN Resolution Against Israeli Settlements to Pass
      https://theintercept.com/2016/12/23/obama-allows-toothless-un-resolution-against-israeli-settlements-to-pa

      The administration’s abstention reflects a larger reality: President Obama did more to shield Israel from international pressure at the United Nations than any of his predecessors.

      This was the only Security Council resolution calling on Israel to respect international law that Obama ever refused to veto. Under George W. Bush, six similar resolutions were allowed through. Under H.W. Bush, nine resolutions critical of #Israel were allowed through.

    • Représailles diplomatiques d’Israël contre la Nouvelle-Zélande et le Sénégal
      Le Figaro, le 24 décembre 2016
      http://www.lefigaro.fr/flash-actu/2016/12/24/97001-20161224FILWWW00024-represailles-diplomatiques-d-israel-contre-la-nou

      Le premier ministre israélien Benyamin Nétanyahou a ordonné samedi « une série de mesures diplomatiques » contre la Nouvelle-Zélande et le Sénégal qui ont obtenu qu’un vote soit organisé vendredi à l’ONU sur une résolution contre les colonies israéliennes.

      La résolution, initialement proposée par l’Egypte et qui devait être votée jeudi, avait finalement été présentée au vote vendredi à l’initiative de la Nouvelle-Zélande, du Sénégal, de la Malaisie et du Venezuela, après une volte-face du Caire. Israël n’entretient pas de relations diplomatiques avec la Malaisie et le Venezuela.

      Netanyahou a annoncé quelques heures seulement après le vote de la résolution, le rappel « immédiat » de ses ambassadeurs en Nouvelle-Zélande et au Sénégal « pour consultations ».

      Il a également décidé d’annuler la visite du ministre sénégalais des Affaires étrangères, prévue en janvier, ordonné l’annulation de tous les programmes d’aide au Sénégal, et l’annulation des visites en Israël des ambassadeurs non résidents du Sénégal et de Nouvelle-Zélande.

      #Sénégal

      Compile #Israfrique :
      https://seenthis.net/messages/685758

    • Colonisation israélienne : le résultat de la frustration d’Obama
      Dave Clark24 décembre 2016
      https://fr.news.yahoo.com/colonisation-isra%C3%A9lienne-r%C3%A9sultat-frustration-dobama-074454

      Mais l’abstention décidée par Barack Obama a été sévèrement critiquée à Washington, des démocrates et des républicains criant à la trahison du plus proche allié au Moyen-Orient.

      Le président élu Donald Trump, qui s’était impliqué personnellement dans le dossier en obtenant jeudi un premier report du vote, a tenu à rassurer les Israéliens. « Concernant l’ONU, les choses seront différentes après le 20 janvier », date de sa prise de fonctions, a-t-il dit sur Twitter.

      Le sénateur démocrate Chuck Schumer, qui a fait pression sur l’administration Obama jusqu’à la dernière minute, a décrit une décision « extrêmement frustrante, décevante et déconcertante ».

      L’AIPAC, puissant groupe de pression pro-Israël à Washington, a estimé que ce vote montrait une fois de plus que « les Nations Unies sont un forum destiné à isoler et délégitimer Israël ».

      Pour beaucoup d’experts, la décision de Barack Obama, prise alors qu’il passe la fin de l’année à Hawaï, s’explique en partie par ses mauvaises relations personnelles avec le Premier ministre israélien Benjamin Netanyahu. C’est une relation « empreinte de méfiance », souligne Jonathan Schanzer, vice-président de la Fondation pour la défense des démocraties, un centre de réflexion de Washington.

    • ONU : pourquoi Obama a « lâché » Israël
      Intransigeance israélienne sur les colonies, relations exécrables avec Benjamin Netanyahu : l’abstention des États-Unis lors du vote à l’ONU était attendue.
      Par Armin Arefi
      Modifié le 24/12/2016
      http://www.lepoint.fr/monde/onu-pourquoi-obama-a-lache-israel-24-12-2016-2092816_24.php#xtor=CS2-239

      Pourtant, un ancien ministre français des Affaires étrangères qui a côtoyé Benjamin Netanyahu affirme que ce dernier a en tête l’idée de finalement déplacer les Palestiniens en Jordanie. Et l’arrivée au pouvoir du gouvernement le plus à droite de l’histoire d’Israël, qui fait la part belle aux colons ultra-orthodoxes et aux nationalistes, ne laisse guère de place au compromis.

    • Le Conseil de sécurité exige d’Israël qu’il cesse ses activités de peuplement dans les territoires palestiniens
      http://www.un.org/apps/newsFr/storyF.asp?NewsID=38705

      23 décembre 2016 – Le Conseil de sécurité a adopté vendredi une résolution réaffirmant que la création par Israël de colonies de peuplement dans le Territoire palestinien occupé depuis 1967, y compris Jérusalem-Est, n’a aucun fondement en droit.

      La résolution, présentée conjointement par la Malaisie, la Nouvelle-Zélande, le Sénégal et le Venezuela, a été adoptée avec 14 voix pour, zéro contre et une abstention – celle des Etats-Unis.

      Dans sa résolution, le Conseil exige « de nouveau » d’Israël qu’il arrête « immédiatement et complètement » toutes ses activités de peuplement.

      Les membres du Conseil ont réaffirmé que la création de colonies de peuplement par Israël constitue une violation flagrante du droit international ainsi qu’un « obstacle majeur à la réalisation des deux Etats et à l’instauration d’une paix globale, juste et durable ».

      Aucune modification aux frontières du 4 juin 1967, « y compris Jérusalem », ne sera reconnue, a indiqué le Conseil, à l’exception de celles convenues par les parties par la voie de négociations.

    • Résolution 2334 (2016)
      Adoptée par le Conseil de sécurité à sa 7853e séance,
      le 23 décembre 2016
      http://www.un.org/fr/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S/RES/2334(2016)

      Le Conseil de sécurité,
      Rappelant ses résolutions sur la question, notamment les résolutions 242(1967), 338 (1973), 446 (1979), 452 (1979), 465 (1980), 476 (1980), 478(1980), 1397 (2002), 1515 (2003) et 1850 (2008),
      Guidé par les buts et principes énoncés dans la Charte des Nations Unies et rappelant notamment que l’acquisition de territoire par la force est inadmissible, (...)

    • Netanyahou organise lui-même le boycott diplomatique d’Israël
      http://www.pourlapalestine.be/netanyahou-organise-lui-meme-le-boycott-diplomatique-disrael

      Une caricature d’Obama a été largement répandue sur les réseaux sociaux par les propagandistes sionistes aussitôt après le vote de la résolution 2334 : le Président des États-Unis poignardant dans le dos un soldat israélien en train de prier.

  • A Tweet from Trump and pressure on Egyptians: How Israel blocked UN vote on settlements

    - Israel News - Haaretz.com
    http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.760827

    After a 15-hour political drama Thursday, Israel succeeded in deflecting, if only temporarily, a United Nations Security Council vote on a draft resolution against the settlements.
    Pressure from the Prime Minister’s Bureau on Cairo, which proposed the resolution, requests for assistance and coordination from President-elect Donald Trump and contacts at the UN and in several world capitals caused Egypt to retract its request for a snap vote.
    Nevertheless it was made clear to the participants in a meeting of the security-diplomatic cabinet last night that the crisis is ongoing and the possibility remains that a vote will still be held in the next few days.
    The saga began on Wednesday night, when the Egyptian delegation to the UN distributed copies of its draft resolution against the settlements to the members of the Security Council and requested that it be brought to the vote on Thursday at 10 P.M. Israel time.
    Israel had operated over the past few months on the assumption that a resolution on Israel-Palestine would be brought to the council before the end of President Barack Obama’s term on January 20 next year.
    Israel’s focus was on an Israel-Palestinian resolution and a resolution from New Zealand, but it was not expected to happen this week.

  • Unpacking four years of frustration, Kerry leaves door open for Obama UN bid on Israeli-Palestinian conflict

    Nearly all of Obama’s advisers support U.S. action at the Security Council. Whether Obama decides to accept or reject their advice will have a significant impact on his legacy.

    Barak Ravid (Washington) Dec 05, 2016
    read more: http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.756992

    WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry sat on the stage at the Saban Forum in Washington on Sunday and painted an exceedingly gloomy picture of the state of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Kerry, talking without notes, spoke from the heart like someone who truly fears for Israel’s future, as he expressed frustrations over four years of repeatedly trying to revive the two-state solution, the prospects for which seem to be expiring.
    Kerry’s criticism of the Israeli government’s settlement policy and its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, was unprecedented in its intensity. Fifty days before he leaves his post, Kerry finally publicly acknowledged the reality, admitting that the Israeli government was not really interested in a two-state solution. He made it clear that anyone who wants to know the Israeli policy should take heed of the words and actions of Habayit Hayehudi chairman Naftali Bennett rather than Netanyahu.
    The U.S. secretary of state described a situation where a small group within the Israeli government is exploiting the disinterest of the majority of the Israeli public to what goes on in the West Bank to work quietly behind the scenes and create facts on the ground that will make it impossible to establish a Palestinian state. The bill to legalize unauthorized outposts in the West Bank, the strengthening of illegal outposts, the massive demolitions of Palestinian homes in Area C and more and more Jews moving into settlements outside the established blocs and east of the separation barrier are just some of the issues Kerry mentioned.

  • Ça m’avait échappé : le Liban avait participé à la proposition de no-fly zone sur la Libye ?
    http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201617/cmselect/cmfaff/119/119.pdf

    17. France, Lebanon and the UK proposed Resolution 1973 in the United Nations Security Council with the support of the United States. On 17 March 2011, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Colombia, Gabon, Lebanon, Nigeria, Portugal, South Africa and permanent Security Council members France, the UK and the United States voted in favour of the resolution. Brazil, Germany, India and permanent Security Council members China and Russia abstained. No Security Council member state opposed the resolution.40 Resolution 1973 authorised member states to establish and enforce a no- y zone over Libya and to use “all necessary measures” to prevent attacks on civilians.41 It neither explicitly authorised the deployment of ground forces nor addressed the questions of regime change and of post-con ict reconstruction.

  • US ambassador ’outraged’ over South Sudan harassment
    https://www.yahoo.com/news/us-ambassador-outraged-over-south-sudan-harassment-143548818.html

    JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, says she is “outraged” that South Sudan’s government has harassed civil rights activists who met with a U.N. Security Council delegation during a visit to the young nation.

    Power said in a statement issued Saturday that the delegation observed “chilling” living conditions for civilians trapped in the ongoing conflict between the government and rebel forces. She says the South Sudanese government should elevate, not suppress, the voices of activists “who organize peacefully and provide constructive criticism.”

    She says the Security Council is “engaging directly with the government of South Sudan to underscore that intimidation and threats toward civil society must cease immediately.”

    #étranges #indignations et #aveuglement des #Etats-Unis
    https://seenthis.net/messages/524012

    #Sud-Soudan

  • UN chief submits report related to use of chemical weapons in Syria to the Security Council

    24 August 2016 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today submitted a joint UN-Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) report to the Security Council outlining in-depth investigation into, as well as the findings, assessments and conclusions of, nine selected cases related to incidents involving the use of chemicals weapons in Syria.

    http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=54752
    #armes_chimiques #Syrie

  • Union européenne : l’occupation israélienne est la cause « à la racine » de la violence
    17 juillet | Andrew Rett pour EU Observer |Traduction JPP pour l’AURDIP |
    http://www.aurdip.fr/union-europeenne-l-occupation.html

    Les États de l’Union européenne déclarent, dans un rapport interne établi l’an dernier, que le déclenchement des attaques palestiniennes au couteau et à la voiture-bélier contre les Israéliens à Jérusalem est dû, pour une grande part, à l’occupation d’Israël.

    • EU to push Israel-Palestine peace process as Quartet report flops
      http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/07/israel-palestine-eu-road-map-for-two-state-conference.html
      July 17, 2016

      The recent report by the Middle East Quartet bluntly criticized Israel’s systematic settlement expansion and large land takeovers in Area C, targeted at preventing a two-state solution. Nevertheless, the report was met with considerable disappointment at the highest levels of the Palestinian Authority, and also a sigh of relief in the prime minister’s office in Jerusalem.

      The Palestinians had hoped that similarly to the June 3 Paris summit declaration, the report would include terms of reference for the permanent status negotiations. They expected the report to specifically highlight the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative as the main basis for negotiations leading to a state along the 1967 lines with East Jerusalem as its capital. Ramallah had even asked the EU and the United States for a binding timeline for negotiations, followed by a Security Council resolution.

      A senior Palestine Liberation Organization official close to President Mahmoud Abbas told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that Abbas is severely critical of US Secretary of State John Kerry for pressuring the EU not to make the Quartet report a policy platform for future negotiations. The senior official assessed that the United States will publish guidelines for future negotiations as a platform for the next administration, possibly via a presidential policy speech. He also expressed concern that the US policy statement will allude to the need to recognize Israel as a Jewish state. According to this source, Ramallah is committed to working with Egypt and France on a binding UN Security Council resolution on Palestinian statehood referring in detail to settlement expansion, the 1967 lines, East Jerusalem and a two-year timeline. As the official put it, “For us the Quartet report is a non-paper; our sole basis is the Arab Peace Initiative.”

  • Change for Peace Will Only Come From Outside Israeli Society

    The center is closer to Likud than the left, so the Paris conference is an important step if the United States and European Union treat it with the necessary gravitas.

    Zeev Sternhell Jun 03, 2016 12:33 AM

    http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.722899

    It’s hard to understand what all the commotion was about. After all, the new government is exactly what most voters wanted to see when they left the polling booths at the last election.

    To most of the public, Avigdor Lieberman, Naftali Bennett and Benjamin Netanyahu were meant for each other. All three believe that liberal democracy – with its moral and intellectual values, respect for individual rights without regard to religion or nationality, and system of checks and balances – is nothing but an infantile invention or a mere deception.

    All three are united in their belief that the system has to undergo a thorough change and that in the nation-state of the Jewish people, Jews must enjoy absolute priority. To achieve this, the “judicial revolution” of previous years must be erased, with the justice system subordinated to the executive branch.

    If the majority wishes to expel elected Knesset members whose loyalties it feels are unsatisfactory, or if the majority decides that leftist NGOs or human rights groups are foreign agents, the Supreme Court has no right to intervene. Justices weren’t elected and their guiding principles were never ratified by voters. This is what democracy means to these three.

    They also share the view that relinquishing control of the West Bank in order to end the conflict with the Palestinians is absurd. What sane country would volunteer to give up such assets? Israel is stronger than ever, so there is no need to change the status quo. The occupation and apartheid regime in the territories are legitimate and have become a permanent fixture via the settlement enterprise.

    All this leads to the conclusion that a profound change will not come from within Israeli society, only from without. This is so for the simple reason that most of the center’s leaders hold views similar to the right’s. The style is different and most centrist MKs don’t resemble Likud’s Miri Regev or Oren Hazan, but ultimately Moshe Kahlon, Yair Lapid and Isaac Herzog are closer to Likud than to Meretz.

    This is why the international conference in Paris is an important step forward if the United States and European Union treat it with the necessary gravitas. Recruiting international public opinion in the media and at universities is also important, but this effort will take several years to bear fruit.

    Indeed, if striving for a two-state solution becomes important enough to the Americans and Europeans, they have all the tools to take action. All the Israelis need to realize that the occupation has a price is for the Americans to whisper in the prime minister’s ear that if one more housing unit goes up in the West Bank beyond the 1967 borders or if one new outpost is established, American military aid will stop greasing the wheels of Israel’s arms makers.

    Let the Israeli taxpayer try paying for research and development and sustaining thousands of jobs. In addition, diplomatic assistance at the UN Security Council could be predicated on significant progress on the Palestinian front. No more free lunch. When the automatic American veto is lifted, Israel will be held responsible for its actions. Everyone knows that it takes one harsh Security Council resolution to shock us more than years of polite talk.

    The Europeans can do their part by deciding that the settlements are not part of Israel. They can support Israel’s economic and cultural prosperity while boycotting the settlements. This is the only way to help us extricate ourselves from the morass we’re mired in.

  • Chomsky: Hillary Clinton Fears BDS Because It Counters Decades of US Support for Israeli Aggression | Democracy Now! | May 16, 2016
    http://www.democracynow.org/2016/5/16/chomsky_hillary_clinton_fears_bds_because

    (...) Chomsky : As to the tactics of boycott and divestment, they make perfect sense. When the Presbyterian Church imposes a boycott and divestment on anything connected to the Israeli-occupied territories, including U.S. multinationals—that’s critical—which are involved in the territories, that’s a very positive step forward, not only supportive of international law, supportive of genuine moral principles, a significant act, a nonviolent act, to oppose brutality, violence and repression. We could, I think, go much farther. As I said, we should be calling for implementation of U.S. law, along joining Amnesty International and others to call for an end to U.S. military aid to Israel. Boycott and sanctions make perfectly good sense when these tactics are properly applied, as they often are.

    You can understand why Hillary Clinton is frightened of them. They might undermine the policy of her husband and his predecessors, and Obama, as well, to support Israeli violence and aggression, to protect Israeli nuclear weapons from scrutiny so we can’t have a nuclear weapons-free zone in the region, to veto Security Council resolutions, which literally support official U.S. policy, as Obama did in February 2011. Yeah, and the nonviolent actions to undermine this, legitimate actions, of course frighten Hillary Clinton enormously. And then you hear tirades like this.

    #BDS

  • United Nations News Centre - Security Council urges stronger regional approach on eradicating piracy in Gulf of Guinea
    http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=53779

    United Nations officials today reiterated a call for a comprehensive regional framework to eradicate piracy and armed robbery at sea in the Gulf of Guinea, with the Security Council stressing the importance of addressing underlying causes and strengthening justice systems and judicial cooperation in the region.

    The Security Council remains deeply concerned about the threat that piracy and armed robbery at sea in the Gulf of Guinea pose to international navigation, the security and economic development of States in the region, to the safety and welfare of seafarers and other persons, as well as the safety of commercial maritime routes,” the 15-member body said in a presidential statement adopted today.

    Le presidential statement
    http://www.franceonu.org/Presidential-Statement-Piracy-and-armed-robbery-at-sea

    • tiens, à propos du Golfe de Guinée,…

      Pirates Free Turkish Crew Kidnapped Off Nigeria - gCaptain
      https://gcaptain.com/pirates-free-turkish-crew-off-nigeria

      Six Turkish members of a cargo ship’s crew who were kidnapped by pirates off the coast of Nigeria two weeks ago have been released and are safely back in Istanbul, a lawyer for the shipping company said on Tuesday.

      The six of them have been released and are back in Istanbul. All are in good health,” said Fehmi Ulgener, a lawyer for the shipping firm Kaptanoglu Denizcilik. He declined to say whether or not a ransom had been paid.

      The Turks, who included the M/T Puli’s captain, chief officer and chief engineer, were abducted some 90 miles off Nigeria on April 11. Other members of the crew were left onboard, unharmed.

  • Palestinian officials criticize Abbas for delaying UN resolution against settlements- Haaretz.Com
    http://www.haaretz.com/misc/article-print-page///.premium-1.716196

    The resolution has been postponed so as not to sabotage the French initiative for an international conference on the Israeli-Palestinians conflict, but not all PA officials think it smart to rely solely on the French initiative.
    By Jack Khoury | Apr. 25, 2016 |

    Senior Palestinian officials, including some from Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party, are criticizing the Palestinian Authority president’s decision to postpone consideration of a UN Security Council resolution condemning settlement construction.

    For the past several weeks, the Palestinians have been telling both Western diplomats and the media that they intend to demand a vote on the resolution, a move approved by both Fatah’s Central Committee and the PLO Executive Committee. Early this month Haaretz reported that the PA had distributed its proposed resolution to several UN Security Council members.

    But last week, Haaretz reported that the PA was leaning toward freezing the resolution, due to both pressure from France and a lack of enthusiasm among other Security Council members. France argued that the resolution would undermine its efforts to convene an international conference on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict this summer.

    PA Foreign Minister Riad Malki confirmed the Haaretz report in New York this weekend, just a day after his office in Ramallah denied it.

    A senior Palestinian official told Haaretz that the Security Council resolution is important, but this is the wrong moment for two reasons. The first is that the French drive for an international conference is beginning to gain backing from other countries, especially in Europe, and the PA has always supported any move to internationalize the conflict.

    The second is that the PA is awaiting a report on construction in the settlements that the Middle East Quartet is slated to publish early next month. The Quartet consists of the United States, European Union, United Nations and Russia.

    “We haven’t yet received the report, but we know there’s already a first draft, and the report is expected to attack construction in the settlements,” the official said. “From our standpoint, even if the report finds faults with our performance, it will be a basis for the conference that the French are promoting, and then even the U.S., which is part of the Quartet, won’t be able to oppose the [Security Council] move and the convening of the conference.”

    But a senior Fatah official termed the decision to postpone the resolution a mistake, saying there’s no contradiction between the resolution and the international conference.

    “If we capitulate to pressure now,” he said, “then perhaps in the future, we’ll be pressured to postpone the conference or cancel it, and then only Israel and the U.S. will gain more and more time.”

    A senior PA official countered that the main goal right now is to ensure the success of the French move, since it is the first serious attempt since the 1993 Oslo Accords to end America’s almost exclusive custody over the talks and transfer it to other countries, mainly European.

    But Dr. Mustafa Barghouti, head of the Palestinian National Initiative, said this was a mistake.

    “It’s impossible to rely solely on the French initiative, since to this day we don’t know what it’s based on, and on the other hand, we know very well that Israel and the U.S. won’t lend a hand to implementing such an important move, and Israel will continue building in the settlements and expropriating large parts of the West Bank as if there were no global public opinion,” he said. “Therefore, if there’s a trend we should support in practice, it’s increasing anti-Israel boycott activity and intensifying the popular struggle.”

  • “Arktika” to be launched in May | The Independent Barents Observer

    http://thebarentsobserver.com/arctic/2016/02/arktika-be-launched-may

    More than 700 people are working in three shifts to finish the hull of “Arktika” – the first of Russia’s new line of nuclear-powered icebreakers for use along the Northern Sea Route. The LK-60 (project 22220) vessels will be 173 meters long, 34 meters wide, and able to break through three meters thick ice.

    #arctique #brise-glace #russie

  • Myanmar’s Peace Prize Winner and Crimes Against Humanity

    A recent Yale study suggested that the abuse of the more than one million #Rohingya may amount to genocide; at the least, a confidential United Nations report to the Security Council says it may constitute “crimes against humanity under international criminal law.”


    http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/10/opinion/sunday/myanmars-peace-prize-winner-and-crimes-against-humanity.html?WT.mc_id=2016-
    #Myanmar #Birmanie

  • UN to monitor end of Colombia-Farc conflict - Telegraph
    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/southamerica/colombia/12121534/UN-to-monitor-end-of-Colombia-Farc-conflict.html

    The United Nations agreed on Monday to monitor the expected end of a half-century conflict between the Colombian government and #Farc rebels, in a move hailed as an important step towards peace.
    The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution that, at the request of the two sides, establishes a “political mission” with unarmed international observers.
    The mission will be in place for at least 12 months to supervise and check the laying down of arms, and be part of a tripartite body to “monitor and verify the definitive bilateral ceasefire and cessation of hostilities” between Bogota and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) rebels, the resolution said.
    […]
    The resolution requests that Ban Ki-moon, UN secretary-general, begin preparations for such a mission now and submit details on its size, operational aspects and mandate for Security Council consideration and approval within 30 days of the signing of a peace agreement.
    Diplomats said the mandate and operational details of the deployment of observers - to be recruited from members of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) - were to be dealt with by a second resolution, which could be adopted in February when Venezuela holds the council’s rotating presidency.

    #Colombie

  • La Turquie refuse pour l’instant de retirer ses troupes du nord de l’Irak, malgré les menaces de Baghdad d’en référer au CS de l’ONU, arguant désormais qu’il s’agit seulement de troupes visant à protéger les équipes turques déjà présentes qui entraînent des peshmergas irakiens (Barzani) et des combattants irakiens contre Da’ich :
    http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-iraq-turkey-idUSKBN0TQ0SS20151207#5hSBErtuG7iqOX3X.97

    “It is our duty to provide security for our soldiers providing training there,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in an interview on Turkey’s Kanal 24 television.
    “Everybody is present in Iraq ... The goal of all of them is clear. Train-and-equip advisory support is being provided. Our presence there is not a secret,” he added.
    Abadi has called the Turkish deployment a violation of Iraqi sovereignty. Government spokesman Saad al-Hadithi said Iraq was still waiting for Turkey to respond officially."In case we have not received any positive signs before the deadline we set for the Turkish side, then we maintain our legal right to file a complaint to the Security Council to stop this serious violation to Iraqi sovereignty," he said.

    On appréciera au passage la position acrobatique des Américains qui prétendent soumettre la légitimité de leurs opérations militaires en Irak au principe du respect de la souveraineté de Bagdad, mais pas à celle de Damas en Syrie, le tout sans condamner clairement, pour l’instant, le maintien de ces troupes turques en Irak :

    Brett McGurk, U.S. President Barack Obama’s envoy to the global coalition to counter Islamic State, said on Twitter that Washington did not support missions in Iraq without permission of Baghdad, which he said also applied to U.S. missions there.

    D’autant que, selon le journal Hurriyet, les Américains via ce Brett Mc Gurk ont été mis au courant par Ankara de ce mouvement de troupes turques - mais pas Baghdad ! :
    http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-base-in-iraq-targets-mosuls-liberation-from-isil.aspx?pag

    Turkish sources say the reinforcement plans were discussed in detail with Brett McGurk, U.S. President Barack Obama’s counter-ISIL fight coordinator, during his latest visit to Ankara on Nov. 5-6. “The Americans are telling the truth,” one high-rank source said. “This is not a U.S.-led coalition operation, but we are informing them about every single detail. This is not a secret operation.”

    Mais un détail encore plus troublant que révèle la dépêche Reuters est que les troupes irakiennes que les Turcs entraînent sont dirigées par l’ex gouverneur (jusqu’en mai 2015) de la province de Ninive, Atheel al-Nujaïfi, qui entretient des « liens étroits avec la Turquie » et qui était en poste au moment de la chute de Mossoul en 2014 devant les troupes de Da’ich, pourtant numériquement inférieures :

    The camp occupied by the Turkish troops is being used by a force called Hashid Watani, or national mobilization, made up of mainly Sunni Arab former Iraqi police and volunteers from Mosul.
    It is seen as a counterweight to Shi’ite militias that have grown in clout elsewhere in Iraq with Iranian backing, and was formed by former Nineveh governor Atheel al-Nujaifi, who has close relations with Turkey. A small number of Turkish trainers were already there before the latest deployment.

    Sur Atheel al Nujaifi : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheel_al-Nujaifi

    Du coup on peut suspecter qu’Ankara, qui voit sa possibilité de peser sur le destin de la Syrie s’amenuiser avec les avancées du YPG et le soutien russo-iranien au régime syrien, tente de prendre pied en Irak en s’appuyant sur des obligés arabes irakiens et ses alliés les peshmergas de Barzani :

    Political analysts saw last week’s deployment in northern Iraq by Turkey, which has the second biggest army in NATO, as a bid to assert its influence in the face of increased Russian and Iranian involvement in Syria and Iraq.
    “Turkey seems to be angling to prove to the Russians and Iranians that they will not be allowed to have either the Syrian or Iraqi war theaters only to themselves,” said Aydin Selcen, former consul general of Turkey in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region.

    Et :

    The government of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region, whose security forces control the area where the Turks are deployed, backed up Ankara’s explanation: Thursday’s deployment was intended to expand the capacity of the training base, said Safeen Dizayee, Kurdish government spokesman.
    “The increase of personnel requires some protection.”
    Although Turkey is strongly suspicious of Kurds in Syria, it has good relations with Iraq’s Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani.
    “Turkey, working through the Nujaifis and the Barzanis, is trying to establish its own sphere of influence in northern Iraq,” said Aaron Stein, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council.

    Moon of alabama a consacré un article intéressant à cette question en explorant l’hypothèse de raisons liées à la géopolitique de l’énergie (tenter d’imposer un deal eau du Tigre vs gazoduc Qatar-Irak-Turquie à Bagdad) : http://www.moonofalabama.org/2015/12/is-erdogans-mosul-escapade-blackmail-for-a-new-qatar-turkey-pipeline-
    Cette même hypothèse est développée par le journaliste d’al-Rai (journal koweïti) sur son blog en anglais ici : https://elijahjm.wordpress.com/2015/12/08/turkish-forces-in-iraq-to-impose-the-gas-versus-the-water
    ou l’article en arabe sur le site d’al Raï là : http://www.alraimedia.com/ar/article/special-reports/2015/12/08/641116/nr/iran

  • U.S., Russia Seek To Tighten Islamic State Financing Curbs
    http://www.rferl.org/content/us-russia-seek-to-tighten-islamic-state-financing-curbs-united-nations/27401642.html

    The United States and Russia are drafting separate United Nations resolutions to tighten restrictions on financing sources for the Islamic State group, envoys said December 1.

    The proposed new Security Council measures would build on a resolution adopted in February that aimed to cut off millions of dollars in earnings from IS smuggling of oil and antiquities.

  • Security Council ‘Unequivocally’ Condemns ISIL Terrorist Attacks, Unanimously Adopting Text that Determines Extremist Group Poses ‘Unprecedented’ Threat | Meetings Coverage and Press Releases
    http://www.un.org/press/en/2015/sc12132.doc.htm

    #nosra et similaires clairement nommés aux cotés de #ISIS

    The full text of resolution 2249 (2015) reads as follows:

    “The Security Council,

    “Reaffirming its resolutions 1267 (1999), 1368 (2001), 1373 (2001), 1618 (2005), 1624 (2005), 2083 (2012), 2129 (2013), 2133 (2014), 2161 (2014), 2170 (2014), 2178 (2014), 2195 (2014), 2199 (2015) and 2214 (2015), and its relevant presidential statements,

    [...]

    Recalling that the Al-#Nusrah Front (ANF) and all other individuals, groups, undertakings and entities associated with #Al-Qaida also constitute a threat to international peace and security ,

    [...]

    “5. Calls upon Member States that have the capacity to do so to take all necessary measures, in compliance with international law, in particular with the United Nations Charter, as well as international human rights, refugee and humanitarian law, on the territory under the control of ISIL also known as Da’esh, in Syria and Iraq, to redouble and coordinate their efforts to prevent and suppress terrorist acts committed specifically by ISIL also known as Da’esh as well as ANF, and all other individuals, groups, undertakings, and entities associated with Al-Qaida, and other terrorist groups , as designated by the United Nations Security Council, and as may further be agreed by the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) and endorsed by the UN Security Council, pursuant to the statement of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) of 14 November, and to eradicate the safe haven they have established over significant parts of Iraq and Syria;

    [...]