Citizens for Global Solutions Blog

Law of the Sea – "it’s time to take our seat at the table"

vglick — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 17:24:49 +0000

The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) had a meeting about U.S. Ocean Governance on March 8, 2010. The meeting, which began as a general ocean governance discussion, quickly became focused on the Law of the Sea Treaty. Moderator, Scott Borgerson of CFR at one point said "this wasn't intended originally to be the Law of the Sea party, but as the author of the report outside the door titled The National Interests and the Law of the Sea, I can't lie that it doesn't it doesn't warm my heart a little bit."

The meeting began with a showing of the Council on Foreign Relation new interactive Web Oceans Governance Monitor. CLICK HERE to watch the remarkable video.

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse from Rhode Island stated: "As the wonderful video said, the oceans really are the dominant resource of our planet, and we've paid far too little attention to it. The economic theory of the tragedy of the commons is being worked out on the ocean at a massive scale, and we see it in the changes that the ocean is undergoing. It's rising. It's warming. It's enduring biological changes as it rises and warms. It is continuing to be bombarded with pollution, and it's facing chemical changes. That's a lot all at once for this resource"

Obama and Medvedev Discuss Arms Treaty

vglick — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 21:29:02 +0000

On Saturday, President Obama and Russian President Medvedev spoke for 30 minutes by telephone about "START" (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty of 1991 which expired in December). The new treaty would reduce the active nuclear arsenals of both countries by more than one-quarter. It would require each side to reduce deployed strategic nuclear warheads from 2,200 to roughly 1,600, and reduce strategic bombers and land- and sea-based missiles to below 800, down from the old limit of 1,600.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman John Kerry, who is responsible for leading the treaty through the Senate, said that the "administration administration is appropriately holding out for what we need to make the treaty verifiable and that will help it pass." John Kerry’s counterpart, committee ranking Senate Republican Richard Lugar, remains hopeful that it will be signed and that there will be time assigned on the floor for debate and a vote this year, Lugar said he would support the treaty "unless there are extraordinary changes beyond those that I've heard about."

President Obama and President Medvedev tried to resolve remaining differences before forty-four nations arrive for the nuclear summit meeting in Washington DC in mid-April. In a statement, the Kremlin said "It is now possible to talk about specific dates for the submission of the draft Start treaty for signing by the heads of state." White House spokesman, Mike Hammer, said the leaders "had a good conversation" about "the progress and consensus reached" in Geneva negotiations. He added that the "results of their talks are encouraging, and both leaders are committed to concluding an agreement soon." While most of the substance has been settled for months, missile defense and verification have proved hard to resolve.

Car-puccino: an alternative fuel?

vglick — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 20:54:22 +0000

A coffee-powered car, dubbed the "car-puccino," went on a 250-mile road trip yesterday from London to Manchester. The vehicle, powered by nothing more than coffee beans, burned the equivalent of more than 10,000 espressos during its journey.

The car is part of a showcase for alternative fuels at the annual "Big Bang: UK Young Scientists and Engineers Fair." It is the creation of engineer Jem Stansfield, presenter of the BBC show ‘Bang Goes The Theory.’ The car, formerly destined for a scrap heap, began as a 1988 VW Scirocco bought on eBay for £400 (roughly $600). A furnace built into the back of the car roasts coffee grounds to generate flammable vapors that fuel the engine.

The car was cheered through the streets as it battled endless traffic jams and eventually made it to Manchester last night. The journey took approximately 17 hours and was interrupted by some hiccups along the way, as well as for a coffee refueling stop every 60 miles. The UK’s Telegraph reported, "by lunchtime it seemed more likely to be using decaf." Francesca Bennett, a member of the team responsible for the car, responded by saying: "It's not the most reliable form of transport, but we knew that…This is the first time this has been done and it wasn't about reliability. It was about energy and making people think about how they use it."

ICC Postpones Bemba Trial

vglick — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 22:31:52 +0000

The International Criminal Court (ICC) trial of Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo was due to start on April 27, however, the ICC announced that the trial has been postponed until July 5. On April 27 the ICC will hold a status conference to discuss the admissibility challenge brought by the Defense for Bemba.

Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo grew up in Belgium and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Bemba became leader of the DRC's Mouvement de Libération du Congo (MLC). In 2002, President Ange-Felix Patasse of the Central African Republic (CAR) requested help from the MLC to put down a coup attempt. The MLC allegedly used systematic rape and torture against local populations to suppress political opposition in the CAR. More than 15% of the women in northern CAR are estimated to have experienced some form of gender based violence and many girls were exposed to HIV. Reports from the area show the extent of the damage that was inflicted by the MLC on the population and are highly disturbing to read. As leader of the MLC, Bemba is charged with five counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes including charges of rape and torture.

On May 24, 2008, Bemba was arrested at his home in Belgium. Belgian authorities, in accordance with the ICC arrest warrant, transferred him to the ICC Detention Centre in The Hague on July 3, 2008 where he remains in ICC custody.

To learn more about Bemba see Citizens for Global Solution’s interactive ICC flash module

International Women's Day!

vglick — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:34:14 +0000

Ann Lewis, a director of communications for President Clinton, and Susan Molinari, former Republican Congresswoman for New York, wrote that "investment in women and girls’ education and empowerment is increasingly recognized as a linch-pin to advancing social, economic and political progress in most poor countries... Girls with just one year of formal education are less likely to suffer from illness or hunger...and their children are less likely to die in infancy." This reasoning was implemented in Pakistan where the U.S. supported education in the country towards a goal of addressing illiteracy. The U.S. stated that this formed part of efforts to stabilize Pakistan and to weaken the influence of Al Qaeda and the Taliban; arguing that nations that are stable and democratic are far less likely to engage in war or host terrorist organizations. Thus, it has been argued that supporting women and girls through agricultural development and improvements health-care is a worthwhile investment. Indeed, there is broad bipartisan support in the idea that investing in programs that build healthy, educated societies are a big part of making the U.S. and the world safer.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in her speech today referred to U.S. policy towards women: "Today, the United States is making women a cornerstone of foreign policy because we think it’s the right thing to do, but we also believe it’s the smart thing to do as well. Investing in the potential of the world’s women and girls is one of the surest ways to achieve global economic progress, political stability, and greater prosperity for women — and men — the world over."

Success! Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe Confirmed!

vglick — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:59:50 +0000

Yesterday afternoon Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe was confirmed as the first ever United States Ambassador to the Council.

We want to thank Citizens for Global Solutions activists who sent over 1200 letters to 94% of the Senate demanding that Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe be confirmed as the United States Ambassador to the United Nations Human Rights Council.

Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe is an Affiliated Scholar at the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University. Her research has focused on norms on use of force, UN reform, and the international rule of law. Previously, Ms. Donahoe was a litigation associate at Fenwick & West in Silicon Valley. Prior to that, she was a teaching fellow at Stanford Law School and law clerk to the Honorable William H. Orrick. Ms. Donahoe has also worked with various human rights organizations.

The U.S. recognises the controversial history of the Human Rights Council, but hopes to see the Council follow its goals of protecting human rights. Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs Maria Otero stated on Monday that: "the Human Rights Council was established to strengthen the promotion and protection of human rights around the globe. Our expectations should be nothing less and the United States will continue to strongly advocate that the Council meet these expectations."

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Passing of a Larger than Life Advocate for World Peace

ajoshi — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 22:27:10 +0000

On February 20, 2010 Linda Grover, 76, who devoted more than 10 years to establishing January 1 as a worldwide day of peace, died Feb. 20 of uterine and ovarian cancer at the Washington Home and Community Hospices.

Last October, Citizens for Global Solutions joined Linda in her crusade to celebrate Global Family Day worldwide. Global Family Day is a practical tool for peace and sharing that the US Congress and the UN General Assembly have both adopted. Linda understood that what binds us together as true citizens for global solutions is our strong belief that we are all, everywhere in the world, connected as members of the Global Family.

In this vein, this past January 1^st, 2010, we recognized and celebrated Globalfamily Day, One Day of Peace and Sharing for all faiths, cultures, races, nationalities and economic classes. During the 48 hours of January 1^st, 2010, we broke bread together, rang bells, and pledged to find non-violent solutions to all our problems in the year ahead. Holidays are society's most powerful tool to inspire and unify individual groups and we will use Global Family day to remember that we are all part of the global family and to remind our leaders that we need global solutions for the world's most pressing challenges.

"We live by the rhythms of our holidays," Linda told The Washington Post in 2002. "The quality of our holidays, or the meaning of our holidays, defines our individual cultures. And having no holiday that everyone shares means we're all out of step."

"Peace is like Carnegie Hall," she said. "If you want to get there, you've got to practice." And practice she did.

ICC Prosecutor Names 20 People Involved in Instigating the Kenyan Post-Election Violence

vglick — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 22:20:51 +0000

The post-election violence killed more than 1,000 people

and left over 300,000 people displaced.

Karadzic Trial Resumes

vglick — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 19:21:38 +0000

Karadzic at the International Criminal

Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia

On March 1, 2010 the trial of Radovan Karadzic, former Bosnian Serb politician, resumed at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague. Karadzic was arrested in Belgrade in 2008 after being on the run for over a decade. He is accused of eleven counts of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and other crimes committed during the 1992-95 Bosnian war. Karadzic refused to enter a plea to charges and so the tribunal judge entered a plea of not guilty to all charges on his behalf, in line with the rules of the court.

Karadzic described the Bosnian conflict as "just and holy." Sarajevo, where some 12,000 people died in 44 months, has been described as the longest siege of a capital city in the history of modern warfare. Karadzic told the court that Sarajevo, was "not a city under siege" by Bosnian Serb forces. He also stated that claims of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre of more than 7,000 Muslim men and boys were based on "false myths and false victims". Karadzic laid the blame for the outbreak of the Bosnian war on the Bosnian Muslims. He added: "It is going to be easy for me to prove that I had nothing to do with it."

Human Rights Council Meetings Start Today

vglick — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 03:30:07 +0000

(March 1, 2010) Today is the first day of the 13th session of the Human Rights Council. Navi Pillay, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, referred to the impact of the international economic situation in her opening statement to the Council:

The "sudden and cascading upheavals exposed and exacerbated existing violations of human rights. They also widened the areas and increased the number of victims of abuse and hardship. Some countries have now overcome the most acute phases of recession and hardship. However, according to World Bank economist Shanta Devarajan, in Africa the crises have thrown an estimated 7 to 10 million into poverty, 30-50,000 children may have not reached their first birthday as a result of the recession."

The UN General Assembly created the Human Rights Council in 2006. Its main purpose is to address situations of human rights violations and make recommendations on them. The Council has had a controversial past and spectators will be watching the session’s activities closely. Pillay emphasized that the Human Rights Council must "address gaps in the Council’s practices in order to attain greater equality and a framework in which the public good is more widely enjoyed...[Council discussions] should not be, or be perceived as, a zero-sum game."

Pillay concluded her statement by recalling the six priority areas that Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights identified as requiring additional focus in the next biennium. They are: