In this edition, the reader will find ten articles distributed in two thematic sections: Cooperation and asymmetric international integration in matters of security, strategy and commerce and Global culture in international relations.Cooperation and asymmetric international integration in matters of security, strategy and commerce We opened the 2018-I edition of the article entitled "How to strengthen EU-China cooperation based on Belt and Road", by the authors Weidong Wang and Simona Picciau; in which the Belt and Road initiative, presented by the Chinese president Xi Jinping in 2013, promotes cooperation and the strengthening of person-to-person connections between Asia, Africa, and Europe. China has already signed cooperation agreements with more than forty States and trained thirty others. This initiative impacted the establishment of relations between China and the European Union, based on win-win cooperation and aimed at fostering mutual respect.Sonia Alda Mejías publishes her article "The challenges of Latin America to project as a regional actor in the field of international security", in which she considers the possibility of Latin America to project itself as a regional actor in the field of global security from a qualitative methodology. Also, reference as necessary the processes of subregional or regional integration and the development of national and international multilateral cooperation in the field of security and defense, and the participation of Latin American countries in international peace missions, from a sovereignty perspective very marked.The article "Notions of safety and control in the Northern Border Plan: an expression of teichopolitics", by the authors Gilberto Aranda and Cristian Ovando, considers the teichopolitics as a current expression of segmented globalization, which not only raises the erection of walls. Chile manifested this policy in the 70s, undermining border areas as preventive mechanisms to a foreign invasion and today, through the Northern Border Plan. This securitization mechanism aims to guarantee the continuity of trade flows and the cultural consequences that it entails, from the constructivist approach.Pablo Garcés Velástegui presents his article "Latin American integration as a wicked problem: the case for a plural approach". In this paper, social planning is not any problem, but a "wicked", not docile, a problem of exact sciences that involves a public policy issue; a problem hard to define, unique, inherently paradoxical, important, subject to many interpretations and, thus, without a correct solution. Latin American integration has these characteristics, and the implications are relevant for academics and decision makers. If regional integration continues to be approached as an easy problem, the results will probably continue to disagree with expectations."The United Kingdom and Argentina: geopolitics of technological constraint and strategic-export controls", by Daniel Blinder, shows how the United Kingdom controls the export of military or dual-use technology to the Argentine Republic through its defense institutions and trade, as well as with others of an international nature. A strategic public policy at a local and global level represented in the logical space/power, relative to the possibility of Argentina acquiring sensitive technologies.The co-authors Roldán Andrés-Rosales, Luis Alberto Sánchez-Miter and José Nabor Cruz Marcelo, present the article entitled "Insecurity and its impact on tourism in Guerrero: a spatial approach, 1999-2014". This paper gives the reader the possibility to know how Mexican insecurity has affected the economic growth of the State and the region at the tourist level. This is done through a case study in Guerrero because it obeys one of the most insecure areas, classified worldwide, which is an index of violence that shows the concentration of the danger through the analysis of the figures of the Institute. National Statistics and Geography."Asymmetric regionalism as the axis of the South American resistance to Brazil (2000-2013)", by Rita Giacalone, assumes that regionalism in itself creates asymmetric tensions. Brazilian regionalism has realistic, constructivist and institutionalist features, which emphasize such asymmetries following the region-centric paradigm. The organizations built to support the regional and global projection of Brazil generated resistance in South American governments between 2000 and 2013. This article analyzes the opposition of Chile, Argentina, and Venezuela, through a decentralized multipolarity.Global culture in international relationsWe open this thematic section with the article by Juliano Oliveira Pizarro titled "Governance of sport: an inflection of global governance?" In this, it is considered that the global is a birthplace of diverse actors that exercise specific governments, as represented by football. A sport made a social and cultural mechanism that suffers direct impacts from the globalizing processes. FIFA is a non-profit, non-governmental organization, although it may not seem so, because its activities express hybrid and contradictory conditions, either from the perspective of global governance or as a multinational company.Luis González Tule, in his article "Organization of global space in 'classic' geopolitics: a view from critical geopolitics", starts at the roots of the geopolitics and its development, in between of European imperial rivalries, global wars, border mutations, political changes, significant technological developments and transformation in the dynamics of power (1870 and 1945). The classic indoctrinators coming from the main powers established the geopolitical discourses to their accommodation.Thus, this edition closes with the article "The emergence and increase of Anti-Semitism in the Governments of Hugo Chávez and its relationship with the deepening of the relations between Venezuela and Iran (2005-2013)", by Margarita Figueroa Sepúlveda, which establishes the growth of media and Chavez anti-Semitic incidents in 2004, as well as their direct proportional relationship with the rapprochement and creation of new ties with the Islamic Republic of Iran. The ideological convergence —based on anti-imperialism— is analyzed through the empirical evidence provided by primary and secondary sources. The author considers that anti-imperialism made Israel be conceived as an enemy of both countries.Thanking the confidence of the institutional authorities again to edit the Journal of International Relations, Strategy and Security, I invite you to know, use and disseminate the content of this edition. ; En esta edición el lector encontrará diez artículos distribuidos en dos secciones temáticas: Cooperación e integración internacional asimétrica en asuntos de seguridad, estrategia y comercio y Cultura global en relaciones internacionales.Cooperación e integración internacional asimétrica en asuntos de seguridad, estrategia y comercio Abrimos la edición 2018-I con el artículo denominado "Cómo fortalecer la cooperación EE. UU. - China basada en el cinturón y la carretera", de los autores Weidong Wang y Simona Picciau, en el cual la iniciativa belt and road, presentada por el presidente chino Xi Jinping en 2013, promueve la cooperación y el reforzamiento de las conexiones persona-a-persona entre Asia, África y Europa. China ya ha firmado acuerdos de cooperación con más de cuarenta Estados y capacitó a otros treinta. Esto impactó el establecimiento de relaciones entre China y la Unión Europea, basadas en la cooperación win-win y direccionadas al favorecimiento del respeto mutuo.Sonia Alda Mejías publica su artículo "Los desafíos de América Latina para proyectarse como actor regional en el ámbito de la seguridad internacional", en el que contempla la posibilidad de América Latina de proyectarse como actor regional en el ámbito de la seguridad internacional desde una metodología cualitativa. Asimismo, referencia como necesarios los procesos de integración subregional o regional y el desarrollo de la cooperación multilateral intra e internacional en el ámbito de la seguridad y la defensa, y la participación de los países latinoamericanos en las misiones internacionales de paz, desde una perspectiva soberanista muy marcada.El artículo "Las nociones de seguridad y control en el plan frontera norte: una expresión de teichopolítica", de los autores Gilberto Aranda y Cristian Ovando, considera la teichopolítica como una expresión actual de la globalización segmentada, la cual no solo plantea la erección de muros. Chile manifestó dicha política en los años 70, minando zonas fronterizas como mecanismos preventivos a una invasión extranjera y hoy, a través del plan Frontera Norte. Este mecanismo securitario pretende garantizar la continuidad de los flujos comerciales y las consecuencias culturales que conlleva, desde el enfoque constructivista.Pablo Garcés Velástegui presenta su artículo "Integración latinoamericana como un problema perverso: el caso para un abordaje plural". En este la planificación social no es un problema cualquiera, sino uno "perverso", nada dócil, un problema de ciencias exactas que conlleva un tema de política pública; un problema difícil de definir, único, inherentemente paradójico, importante, sujeto a muchas interpretaciones y, así, sin una solución correcta. La integración latinoamericana tiene estas características y las implicaciones son relevantes para académicos y tomadores de decisión. Si la integración regional continúa siendo abordada como un problema dócil, los resultados probablemente seguirán discordando con las expectativas."El Reino Unido y Argentina: geopolítica de la limitación tecnológica y controles de exportación estratégicos", de Daniel Blinder, muestra cómo el Reino Unido controla la exportación de tecnología militar o de uso dual a la República Argentina a través de sus instituciones de defensa y comercio, así como con otras de índole internacional. Una política pública estratégica a nivel local y global representada en la lógica espacio/poder, relativa a la posibilidad de que la Argentina adquiera tecnologías sensibles.Los coautores Roldán Andrés-Rosales, Luis Alberto Sánchez-Mitre y José Nabor Cruz Marcelo presentan el artículo titulado "La inseguridad y su impacto en el turismo en Guerrero: un enfoque espacial, 1999-2014", que le brinda al lector la posibilidad de conocer cómo la inseguridad mexicana ha afectado el crecimiento económico del Estado y la región a nivel turístico. Esto lo hacen a través de un estudio de caso en Guerrero, pues obedece a una de las zonas más inseguras, clasificada a nivel mundial, lo que constituye un índice de violencia que muestra la concentración del peligro a través del análisis de las cifras del Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía."El regionalismo asimétrico como eje de la resistencia sudamericana a Brasil (2000-2013)", de Rita Giacalone, supone que el regionalismo en sí mismo crea tensiones asimétricas. El regionalismo brasileño posee rasgos realistas, constructivistas e institucionalistas, que enfatizan tales asimetrías siguiendo el paradigma región-céntrico. Las organizaciones construidas para apoyar la proyección regional y global de Brasil generaron resistencia en Gobiernos sudamericanos entre 2000 y 2013. Este artículo analiza la resistencia de Chile, Argentina y Venezuela, mediante una multipolaridad descentralizada.Cultura global en relaciones internacionalesAbrimos esta sección temática con el artículo de Juliano Oliveira Pizarro titulado "Gobernanza del deporte: ¿una inflexión de la gobernanza global?". En este se considera que lo global es un espacio de nacimiento de diversos actores que ejercen gobiernos específicos, como lo representa el fútbol. Un deporte hecho mecanismo social y cultural que sufre impactos directos desde los procesos globalizadores. La FIFA es una organización no gubernamental sin fines lucrativos, aunque no lo parezca, pues sus actividades expresan condiciones híbridas y contradictorias, bien sea desde la óptica de la gobernanza global, o bien como una empresa multinacional.Por su parte, Luis González Tule, en su artículo "Organización del espacio global en la geopolítica "clásica": una mirada desde la geopolítica crítica", inicia en las raíces de la geopolíca y su desarrollo, en medio de rivalidades imperiales europeas, guerras mundiales, mutaciones fronterizas, cambios políticos, grandes desarrollos tecnológicos y transformación en las dinámicas de poder (1870 y 1945). Los doctrinantes clásicos provenientes de las principales potencias establecieron los discursos geopolíticos a su acomodo.Así, pues, la presente edición se cierra con el artículo "La emergencia y aumento del antisemitismo en los Gobiernos de Hugo Chávez y su relación con la profundización de las relaciones entre Venezuela e Irán (2005-2013)", de Margarita Figueroa Sepúlveda, que establece el crecimiento de los incidentes antisemitas mediáticos y chavistas en 2004, así como su relación directamente proporcional con el acercamiento y creación de nuevos lazos con la República Islámica de Irán. Se analiza la convergencia ideológica –sustentada en el antiimperialismo–, a través de la evidencia empírica proporcionada por fuentes primarias y secundarias La autora considera que el antiimperialismo hizo que Israel fuera concebido como enemigo de ambos países.Agradeciendo nuevamente la confianza de las autoridades institucionales para editar la Revista de Relaciones Internacionales, Estrategia y Seguridad, los invito a conocer, usar y divulgar el contenido de la presente edición. ; Nesta edição o leitor encontrará dez artigos distribuídos em duas seções temáticas: Cooperação é integração internacional assimétrica em assuntos de seguran- ça, estratégia, comércio e Cultura global em relações internacionais.Cooperação e integração internacional assimétrica em assuntos de segurança, estratégia e comércioAbrimos a edição 2018-I com o artigo denominado "Como fortalecer a coopera- ção EE. UU - China baseada no cinturão e a estrada", dos autores Weidong Wang e Simona Picciau, no qual a iniciativa belt and road apresentada pelo presidente chino, Xi Jinping em 2013, promove a cooperação e o fortalecimento das conexões pessoa-a-pessoa entre a Ásia, África e a Europa. China já assinou acordos de cooperação com mais de quarenta Estados e treinou a outros trinta. Isto impactou o estabelecimento das relações entre a China e a União Europeia, baseadas na cooperação win-win e direcionadas ao favorecimento do respeito mútuoSonia Alda Mejías publica no seu artigo "Os desafios da América Latina para projetar-se como ator regional no âmbito da segurança internacional", no qual contempla a possibilidade da América Latina de projetar-se como ator regional no âmbito da segurança internacional desde uma metodologia qualitativa. Assim mesmo, referência como necessários, os processos de integração sub-regional ou regional e o desenvolvimento da cooperação multilateral "intra" e internacional no âmbito da segurança e a defesa, e a participação dos países latino-americanos nas missões internacionais de paz, desde uma perspectiva "soberanista" muito marcada.O artigo "As noções de segurança e controle no plano fronteira norte: uma expressão de "teichopolítica", dos autores Gilberto Aranda e Cristian Ovando, considera a "teichopolítica" como uma expressão atual da globalização segmentada, na qual não fala somente na construção de muros. Chile manifestou tal política nos anos 70, minando zonas de fronteiras como mecanismos preventivos a uma invasão estrangeira, através do plano Fronteira Norte. Este mecanismo de segurança pretende garantir a continuidade dos fluxos comerciais e as consequências culturais que leva, desde o foco construtivista. Pablo Garcés Velástegui apresenta seu artigo "Integração latino-americana como um problema perverso: o caso para uma abordagem plural". Neste a planificação social não é um problema qualquer, si não um problema "perverso", nada suave, um problema de ciências exatas que encaminha a um tema de política pública; um problema difícil de definir, único, inerentemente paradóxico, importante, sujeito a muitas interpretações e assim sem uma solução correta. A integração latino-americana tem estas características e as implicações são relevantes para acadêmicos e tomadores de decisão. Sem a integração regional continua sendo abordada como um problema suave, os resultados provavelmente continuarão discordando com as expectativas."O Reino Unido e Argentina: geopolítica da limitação tecnológica e controles de exportação estratégicas", de Daniel Blinder, mostra como o Reino Unido controla a exportação tecnologia militar ou de uso dual para a República Argentina através de suas instituições de defesa e comércio, assim também como com outras de caráter internacional. Uma política pública estratégica a nível local e global representada na lógica espaço/poder, relativa a possibilidade de que Argentina adquira tecnologias sensíveis.Os co-autores Roldán Andrés-Rosales, Luis Alberto Sánchez-Mitre e José Nabor Cruz Marcelo apresentam o artigo titulado "A insegurança e o seu impacto no turismo em Guerrero: um enfoque espacial, 1999-2014", que lhe oferece ao leitor a possibilidade de conhecer como a insegurança mexicana tem afetado o crescimento econômico do Estado e da região a nível turístico. Isto o faz através de um estudo de caso em Guerrero, pois abrange a uma das zonas mais inseguras, classificada a nível mundial, o que constitui um índice de violência que mostra a concentração do perigo através das análises das cifras do Instituto Nacional de Estatística e Geografia."O regionalismo assimétrico como eixo da resistência sul-americana ao Brasil (2000-2013)", de Rita Giacalone, supõem que o regionalismo em si mesmo cria tensões assimétricas. O regionalismo brasileiro possui rasgos realistas, construtivistas e institucionalistas, que enfatizam tais assimetrias seguindo o paradigma "região-centrico". As organizações construídas para apoiar a projeção regional e global do Brasil geram resistência nos Governos sul-americanos entre 2000 e 2013. Este artigo analisa a resistência do Chile, Argentina e Venezuela, mediante uma multipolaridade descentralizada.Cultura global em relações internacionaisAbrimos esta seção temática com o artigo de Juliano Oliveira Pizarro titulado "Governança do deporte: uma inflexão da governança global?". Neste se considera que o global é um espaço de nascimento de diversos atores que exercem governos específicos, como representa o futebol. Um esporte feito para mecanismo social e cultural que sofre impactos diretos desde os processos globalizadores. A FIFA é uma organização não governamental sem fins lucrativos, ainda que não pareça, pois, as suas atividades expressam condições híbridas e contraditórias, seja ela, desde a ótica da governança global ou bem como uma empresa multinacional.Luis González Tule, por sua parte, no seu artigo "Organização do espaço global na geopolítica "clássica": um olhar desde a geopolítica crítica", inicia nas raízes da geopolítica e seu desenvolvimento, em meio das rivalidades imperiais europeias, guerras mundiais, mutações de fronteiras, mudanças políticos, grandes desenvolvimentos tecnológicos e transformações nas dinâmicas do poder (1870 e 1945). Os doutrinantes clássicos provenientes das principais potencias estabeleceram os discursos geopolíticos de acordo a sua conveniênciaAssim, a presente edição se fecha com o artigo "A emergência e aumento do antissemitismo nos Governos de Hugo Chávez e sua relação com a aprofundamento das relações entre Venezuela e o Iram (2005-2013)", de Margarita Figueroa Sepúlveda, que estabelece o crescimento dos incidentes antissemitas mediáticos e chavistas em 2004, assim como a sua relação diretamente proporcional com a aproximação e criação de novos laços com a República Islâmica do Iram. Se analisa a convergência ideológica –sustentada no anti-imperialismo–, através da evidencia empírica proporcionada por fontes primárias e secundarias. A autora considera que o anti-imperialismo fez que Israel fosse concebido como inimigo de ambos países.Agradecendo novamente a confiança das autoridades institucionais para editar a Revista de Relações Internacionais, Estratégia e Segurança, os convido a conhecer, usar e divulgar o conteúdo da presente edição.
The Situation In Guinea-Bissau Report Of The Secretary-General On Developments In Guinea-Bissau And The Activities Of The United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office In ; United Nations S/PV.8186 Security Council Seventy-third year 8186th meeting Thursday, 22 February 2018, noon New York Provisional President: Sheikh Al Sabah . (Kuwait) Members: Bolivia (Plurinational State of). . Mr. Llorentty Solíz China. . Mr. Ma Zhaoxu Côte d'Ivoire. . Mr. Tanoh-Boutchoue Equatorial Guinea. . Mr. Ndong Mba Ethiopia. . Mr. Alemu France. . Mr. Delattre Kazakhstan. . Mr. Temenov Netherlands. . Mr. Van Oosterom Peru. . Mr. Meza-Cuadra Poland. . Ms. Wronecka Russian Federation. . Mr. Nebenzia Sweden . Mr. Skoog United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland . Mr. Hickey United States of America. . Ms. Eckels-Currie Agenda The situation in the Middle East This record contains the text of speeches delivered in English and of the translation of speeches delivered in other languages. The final text will be printed in the Official Records of the Security Council. Corrections should be submitted to the original languages only. They should be incorporated in a copy of the record and sent under the signature of a member of the delegation concerned to the Chief of the Verbatim Reporting Service, room U-0506 (verbatimrecords@un.org). Corrected records will be reissued electronically on the Official Document System of the United Nations (http://documents.un.org). 18-04815 (E) *1804815* S/PV.8186 The situation in the Middle East 22/02/2018 2/19 18-04815 The meeting was called to order at 12.10 p.m. Adoption of the agenda The agenda was adopted. The situation in the Middle East The President (spoke in Arabic): In accordance with rule 37 of the Council's provisional rules of procedure, I invite the representative of the Syrian Arab Republic to participate in this meeting. In accordance with rule 39 of the Council's provisional rules of procedure, I invite Mr. Mark Lowcock, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator to participate in this meeting: Mr. Lowcock is joining the meeting via video-teleconference from Geneva. The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. I give the floor to Mr. Lowcock. Mr. Lowcock: My colleagues and I have given the Security Council a lot of updates on the situation in eastern Ghouta over the past three months. I want to start today by bringing members some voices directly from eastern Ghouta. The Office of the Special Envoy in Geneva has, just in the past three days, received thousands of messages on instant messaging applications from civilians there. They are pleading for help. Here is one of them, from a humanitarian worker in the area — a person well versed in international humanitarian law: "During the past two months, military operations turned into a process of systematic targeting of civilians. Most air raids have intentionally targeted civilian residential buildings. Whole families have died under the rubble. Today, and as battles intensify, I call on you, as a father now expecting my first child to be born, and as a humanitarian worker trying to maintain what is left of life, to act to stop the systematic operations against civilians and open the roads for humanitarian assistance." Here are more voices. "There are entire families being targeted. A mother and her three children. Four pregnant women; one died, another is in a critical condition, the third lost her baby, and the fourth is under observation. A young girl lost both eyes, and it is continuing." "We do not want war, we do not want war, we do not want war." "Can you hear our messages, voices and fear?" "Our situation is so tragic. Our basements are not safe and lack basic needs. Help us, be with us." "Instead of saying 'no more', the world is saying 'one more.'" As representatives of Member States, all here aware that their obligations under international humanitarian law are just that — they are binding obligations. They are not favours to be traded in a game of death and destruction. Humanitarian access is not a nice-to-have; it is a legal requirement. Counterterrorism efforts cannot supersede the obligation to respect and protect civilians. They do not justify the killing of civilians and the destruction of entire cities and neighbourhoods. The Council has been briefed in minute detail, month after month, on the scale of the suffering of the Syrian people. Our reports have indeed been endless: dead and injured children, women and men; airstrikes, mortars, rockets, barrel bombs, cluster munitions, chemical weapons, thermite bombs, suicide bombs, snipers, double-tap attacks on civilians and the essential infrastructure they depend on, including hospitals and schools; rape, illegal detention, torture, child recruitment and sieges of entire cities reminiscent of medieval times. Over the past 24 hours, heavy shelling and aerial bombardment of multiple communities in eastern Ghouta have reportedly continued, resulting in the deaths of at least 50 people and wounding at least 200. According to some sources, the total death toll since 19 February is close to 300 people. Twenty-three attacks on vital civilian infrastructure have been reported since 19 February. At least seven health facilities were reportedly hit on 21 February. The only primary health-care centre in Modira town was reportedly rendered out of service by airstrikes. A hospital in Duma city sustained significant damage from nearby barrel bombs. Also in Duma city, an obstetrics centre was damaged A hospital in Jisrein town was reportedly attacked, resulting in the death of a nurse. The two Syrian Arab Red Crescent centres in Duma city and Harasta town were reportedly damaged 22/02/2018 The situation in the Middle East S/PV.8186 18-04815 3/19 by the bombardment. Meanwhile — and this is also a point I have consistently emphasized — mortar shelling from eastern Ghouta is reportedly killing and injuring scores of civilians in Damascus city, too.Members all know the statistics of this conflict. They know that half the Syrian population has either fled the country or faced repeated internal displacement. These people have lost everything. They have seen their homes destroyed, their neighbours killed, their loved ones disappear. Everyone knows that the repeated confirmed or alleged chemical attacks in Syria have killed and terrorized Syrian civilians.Eastern Ghouta is a living example of an entirely known, predictable and preventable humanitarian disaster unfolding before our eyes. Everyone knows that nearly 400,000 people are besieged and that they have been besieged for more than four years. Everyone knows that in eastern Ghouta thousands upon thousands of children are facing acute malnutrition the likes of which we have not seen elsewhere in Syria since the onset of the conflict. Everyone knows that more than 700 people are in need of urgent medical evacuation to hospitals just miles away in Damascus city.We have all seen in recent days the images of bombs and mortars raining down on bakeries and medical facilities. According to reports documented by United Nations human rights colleagues, at least 346 civilians have been killed since the beginning of this month and close to 900 people have been injured. Members all heard the Secretary-General yesterday, in the Chamber, describing eastern Ghouta as "hell on Earth" and saying that we cannot "allow things to go on happening in this horrendous way". They also heard him pleading for "the immediate suspension of all war activities in eastern Ghouta" (S/PV.8185, p. 2).Earlier this week, UNICEF issued a blank statement, as it could no longer find the words to describe the brutality of this war. Its only message was that "no words will do justice to the children killed, their mothers, their fathers and their loved ones."This appalling violence is happening as we face significantly increased constraints on our ability to reach people trapped behind conflict lines. In recent months we have encountered greater difficulties in accessing people in hard-to-reach and besieged areas, particularly through cross-line convoys, than during any period since 2015. Since 1 December, for nearly three months, we have been able to deploy only three cross-line convoys, reaching just 67,200 people. Only 7,200 of those people were in besieged areas, less than 2 per cent of the overall besieged population. In 2017, through November, approximately 53 cross-line convoys reached people in need, an average of nearly five convoys per month. A cumulative total of nearly 2 million people were reached in the first 11 months of 2017, or around 175,000 people per month. Therefore in 2017 we reached 175,000 a month; in the past three months we have reached 22,000 a month. Those are not reports or allegations. We have complete, factual information on this, because they are our convoys.Moreover, the 2017 access levels were themselves nearly 40 per cent below our access levels in 2016. Access is not only limited on aid deliveries, but we are also seeing growing challenges to our ability to independently assess needs on the ground and to monitor aid delivery.When an entire generation is robbed of its future, when hospital attacks have become the new normal, when sieges of entire cities and neighbourhoods have become a lasting reality for hundreds of thousands of people, the international community must take urgent and concrete action. I have said this before and I will say it again. What we need is a sustained cessation of hostilities, and we need it desperately — a cessation of violence that will enable the immediate, safe, unimpeded and sustained delivery of humanitarian aid and services, the evacuation of the critically sick and wounded and an alleviation of the suffering of the Syrian people.The Council can still save lives in eastern Ghouta, and elsewhere in Syria. I urge it to do so. Millions of battered and beleaguered children, women and men depend on meaningful action by the Council.The President (spoke in Arabic): I thank Mr. Lowcock for his briefing.I shall now give the floor to those members of the Council who wish to make statements.Mr. Nebenzia (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): We are grateful to you, Mr. President, for the prompt response to our delegation's proposal to convene a special meeting on the situation in eastern Ghouta, in Syria. That certainly does not mean that other problematic areas require any less attention. In particular, not long ago, at our initiative, the Security Council discussed the dire situation in Raqqa in detail. S/PV.8186 The situation in the Middle East 22/02/2018 4/19 18-04815 And in general, over the past month we have revisited Syria's humanitarian issues more than once. I would like to ask Council members to listen carefully to what I have to say.It is past time to discuss frankly what is going on in this Damascus suburb. The mass psychosis in global media outlets of the past few days, working in coordination to circulate all the same rumours, is certainly not contributing to an understanding of the situation. When eastern Aleppo was in the news, propagandistic disaster scenarios were put forward for it — a city where, after it was liberated from the terrorists, warehouses full of medicines and medical equipment were discovered. At the time we demanded that the Secretariat conduct an investigation, but the report presented to the Security Council was blatantly superficial.We are constantly seeing images of the activities of the White Helmets, who pass themselves off as rescuers. They were long ago shown to be supported by generous foreign assistance, and they work closely with terrorist groups. As a general rule, they serve as the original sources of well-rewarded disinformation. We are given the impression that the whole of eastern Ghouta consists of nothing but hospitals and that it is the hospitals that the Syrian army is attacking. That is a well-known tactic in information warfare. It is a very well-known fact, however, that the militants everywhere make a habit of locating their military facilities in medical and educational institutions, but for some reason that inconvenient truth is not advertised.It would be a good idea to begin with the fact that there are still several thousand defiant militants in eastern Ghouta, including some affiliated with terrorist organizations, mainly Jabhat Al-Nusra. Some time ago, they breached the agreement on a cessation of hostilities with an attack on an armoured tank unit of the Syrian armed forces in Harasta. They are shelling Damascus, and the intensity of the attacks increases daily. Dozens of missiles are launched every day, and not a single area of the capital has been spared. For some reason, those statistics are not being taken into account by United Nations representatives, although the Permanent Mission of Syria distributes them regularly. We have pointed out that in a 20 February statement, an official representative of the Secretary-General described factual information as "reported" (see S/PV.8183). And today the Under-Secretary-General talked about reported shelling. But those reports could easily have been verified by United Nations staff if they had inspected the areas of destruction and visited the victims.The Russian Embassy facilities have been repeatedly shelled, and each time the same delegations in the Security Council have made up excuses to lay off the blame for these terrorist acts. One is compelled to conclude that someone is purposely helping the criminals avoid accountability. Incidentally, we are disturbed by the fact that not so long ago, representatives of some delegations who view themselves as leaders in the protection of human rights and international humanitarian law quite seriously said that the damage resulting from the shelling in Damascus did not reach a level deserving of the attention given to eastern Ghouta. Our immediate response was to ask how many people have to die to attain, as it were, the gold standard of sympathy? There has been no answer. Is it appropriate to pass over the tragedies in Ramadi, Fallujah, Mosul and Raqqa in silence while drumming up hysteria about Madaya, Daraya, eastern Aleppo and eastern Ghouta, encouraging militants to to further humiliate civilians?Incidentally, the coalition forces' methodical destruction of Raqqa is extremely recent. The memory of it is hardly likely to have faded so quickly. For some reason, when the Coalition bombing flattened Raqqa, no one sounded the alarm, demanded compliance with international humanitarian law or proposed an immediate ceasefire. Yes, the Coalition smoked the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) out of Raqqa. We know that. But with that done, the United States has forgotten about the city. No one is clearing any mines there. Who is aware of the fact that as many as 50 returning civilians are blown up by mines in Raqqa every day? Nor do we see much enthusiasm from these famous activists about the worst humanitarian crisis of our time, which happens to be unfolding against the backdrop of the armed conflict in Yemen.The militants have turned the people who are left in eastern Ghouta into hostages who are not allowed to leave the area under rebel control through the Al-Wafideen checkpoint. The Russian Centre for Reconciliation of Opposing Sides has urged the illegal groups to lay down their arms and resolve their status, but they broke off negotiations yesterday, on 21 February. It is quite obvious that they do not care about the life and safety of the residents of eastern Ghouta, whom they use as human shields to hide behind. Their aim consists of continuing to negotiate 22/02/2018 The situation in the Middle East S/PV.8186 18-04815 5/19 tactical and logistical advantages for themselves. That does not seem to particularly worry these groups' foreign sponsors, who might be able to exert crucial influence on them. But no, they would rather maintain the status quo and organize loud campaigns blackening Syria and Russia.Energy is also being wasted on fragmenting the international efforts regarding a settlement in Syria. Instead of giving due backing to the Astana de-escalation process and the Syrian National Dialogue Congress in Sochi, which have become an important support to the inter-Syrian negotiations under the auspices of the United Nations in Geneva, we see ongoing backroom efforts designed to openly undermine the work being done through those platforms. On top of that, exclusive clubs are being created, one striking example of which is the so-called International Partnership against Impunity for the Use of Chemical Weapons, which undermines the established frameworks for international cooperation on non-proliferation. We know that preparations are being made for an unofficial presentation of that initiative in Geneva. We would like to reaffirm our position in that regard, which is that in view of the neutral status of respected international organizations such as the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, representatives of their secretariats should not be associated with narrow initiatives such as these, which do not enjoy universal support.Many are now asking the logical question of how de-escalation in eastern Ghouta and other problematic areas of Syria can be achieved as soon as possible. The delegations of Sweden and Kuwait have come up with their recipe for this, in their role as informal monitors of the humanitarian dimension of the Syrian conflict in the Security Council. Their draft resolution — which has now been officially prepared for a vote, despite the fact that the authors know perfectly well that there is no agreement on it — proposes an apparently simple idea, which is the establishment of a ceasefire throughout Syria for not less than 30 days. We would very much like to know how such a truce will be guaranteed, but we have had no intelligible answers. The important thing, they say, is adopting the decision, and we can come up with the details later. An issue as complex as the Syrian conflict does not respond to such logic. We have been through this before, including, once again, in the case of eastern Aleppo.In principle, a ceasefire would be extremely significant, and not just for ensuring the delivery of humanitarian aid. The challenge is in how to achieve it. What we need here is not resolutions for the sake of resolutions, but measures that correspond to the realities on the ground. We are constantly talking about ensuring that the Security Council agrees on feasible decisions that are not divorced from reality or that cater to populist demands. This is about the credibility of the principal organ of the United Nations, responsible for the maintenance of international peace and security, in accordance with the Charter, whose purposes and principles we were discussing only yesterday. If we could stop the violence in crisis zones with resolutions, we would already be living in a completely different world.It will take long and hard work with the sides to the conflict to stabilize the situation so that the parties can sit down at the negotiating table and come up with the parameters for a ceasefire. There is no other way. It will also be impossible to ensure on paper that in 48 hours, or any other amount of time, humanitarian convoys can get going and mass medical evacuations begin. By the way, specific parameters for normalizing a number of complex issues are currently being formulated in Geneva, including by using the potential of the specialist International Syria Support Group. They include the Rukban camp for displaced persons — where, we understand, the United States military presence occupying the area has finally given the United Nations written guarantees — the Yarmouk camp, where the ISIL terrorists still have a presence, and the Fua and Kefraya enclaves.In that connection, I would like to know if the authors of today's initiative genuinely do not understand its utopian nature or if there is some other purpose at work here that has nothing to do with a desire to help struggling Syrians. Unfortunately, the story of eastern Aleppo in 2016 suggests that the second is true, and that the aim is to start a fight so as to strengthen international pressure on the Syrian authorities and slander Russia. Besides that, it shifts the focus from the importance of reviving the Geneva process as quickly as possible on the basis of the agreements that the Syrians arrived at in Sochi to indiscriminate accusations against the Syrian Government. Will that improve Geneva's chances of success?I will say it again to make sure that everyone hears it one more time. Russia will continue to do everything S/PV.8186 The situation in the Middle East 22/02/2018 6/19 18-04815 possible to achieve peace in Syria and restore stability to the Middle East. We call on our partners to do the same in a spirit of constructive cooperation and in cooperation with the United Nations, rather than continuing to sow confusion, ramp up support for jihadists and tear the region apart. For this draft resolution to be meaningful and realistic, the Russian delegation has prepared some amendments to it that we will now circulated to Council members.Mr. Skoog (Sweden): I would like to thank the Russian Federation for calling for a meeting on the horrendous situation in eastern Ghouta, and Mr. Mark Lowcock for his briefing. I will now make some brief remarks on behalf of Sweden and Kuwait.In seven years of war, the situation in the besieged area of eastern Ghouta has never been worse. I would like to thank the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs for another briefing reminding us of the horrific reality for citizens in eastern Ghouta and of the Council's responsibilities. Yesterday, in this Chamber, the Secretary-General said that the 400,000 inhabitants of eastern Ghouta live in hell on earth. His appeal to all of us in the Council was to act — to immediately suspend all war activities in eastern Ghouta, allowing for humanitarian aid to reach all of those in need, allowing for the evacuation of the hundreds of people that need urgent treatment and that cannot be provided for and allowing the possibility for other civilians to be effectively treated. I want to take this opportunity to remind all parties, as Mark Lowcock just did, of their obligations under international law to protect civilians and hospitals and other medical facilities.The co-penholders, Sweden and Kuwait, have put forward a draft resolution to respond to the constant legitimate calls from the United Nations for a nationwide cessation of hostilities for 30 days in order to allow for humanitarian access and emergency medical evacuations. Our draft resolution also calls for the lifting of the siege directed against eastern Ghouta. We plead to all Council members to come together to support the draft resolution and to urgently adopt it so that we can halt the incessant attacks against eastern Ghouta and beyond, and we can avert a situation that is beyond words in its desperation. We, Sweden and Kuwait, furthermore urge the parties to the de-escalation agreement in eastern Ghouta to comply and implement it. We call upon the Astana guarantors — Russia, Iran and Turkey — to spare no effort and bring all their influence to bear on the parties to that end to avert the human disaster unfolding before our eyes.In response to our Russian colleague on our draft resolution, the United Nations convoys and evacuation teams are ready to go, subject to standard security procedures. The draft resolution that we are putting forward is not a comprehensive peace deal. Its aim is a much-needed humanitarian pause for an initial period of 30 days. There are already ceasefire agreements in force for the areas where fighting has escalated the most recently. They must be complied with. There are existing monitoring mechanisms that can be utilized. The role of the Council, I believe, is to push the parties to the conflict to comply with the proposed cessation of hostilities. Compliance is on the shoulders of the parties. I think that we can make a difference, and I think that we are tested today — not just as Ambassadors representing our countries, but as human beings. That is a massive responsibility.The President (spoke in Arabic): I shall now make a statement in my capacity as the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Kuwait. At the outset, I would like to thank Mr. Mark Lowcock, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, for his briefing today. The remarks in Mr. Lowcock's statements are in line with the Secretary-General's remarks yesterday morning (see S/PV.8185) — that eastern Ghouta can wait no longer. There is tremendous suffering there, with 400,000 people who are living hell on Earth.We support all what the Permanent Representative of Sweden, Mr. Skoog, said in his statement on behalf of Kuwait and Sweden as co-penholders of the humanitarian dossier in Syria. It is unfortunate that the number of people killed since the beginning of this month in eastern Ghouta has reached 1,200 civilians. The international community is silent; it stands still. The question here is: How long we are going to remain silent? How many more civilians, women, children and elderly must die or be displaced until the international community starts taking action and speaking in one voice and saying enough — enough carnage and grave violations of human rights law and international human law? In that regard, I would like to make the following points.22/02/2018 The situation in the Middle East S/PV.8186 18-04815 7/19 First, Kuwait and Sweden, in response to the clear-cut demands of the United Nations on the humanitarian situation in Syria, have jointly submitted a simple and clear draft resolution that demands a cessation of hostilities across Syria for a 30-day period in order for the United Nations and its partners to be able to deliver humanitarian aid and services and provide critical medical evacuation to the sick and wounded, in accordance with the provisions of international law, and end the blockade on residential areas.Secondly, action on the part of the the State of Kuwait is based on our religious and national duty to our brothers in Syria. We have a legal, human and ethical responsibility to end their suffering. In that connection, we call on all Member States to support the draft resolution and vote in its favour. We should rise above our political differences to protect civilians.Thirdly, a failure to ende the systematic and horrendous carnage and bloodshed that has continued for seven years with various weapons would only serve to encourage the perpetuation of such crimes without accountability, as those who commit them are heartened by impunity.I now resume my functions as President of the Council.Ms. Eckels-Currie (United States of America): I thank Under-Secretary-General Lowcock for his briefing, particularly his noting of the systematic targeting of civilians in eastern Ghouta and the toll that it is taking on the people there.Yesterday, Russia's Permanent Representative requested this meeting in order to "make sure that all parties can present their views". The view that Mr. Lowcock presented today is, as the Secretary-General said and others have repeated, one of hell on Earth for the people of eastern Ghouta. I would also like to share the vision of some of the people of eastern Ghouta.Bilal is 22 years old, with a wife who is five months pregnant. He says, "We are waiting our turn to die; this is the only thing I can say". Abdullah is a construction worker, with a wife and six children. He says,"Bombs were falling everywhere near our house. We have been spending the last week digging into the rubble of nearby areas with our bare hands."Malik is a doctor treating the wounded. He says,"The hospitals have been overflowing with blood. We are doing what we can to help, but the situation is becoming unbearable."Those are just a few of the overwhelming number of horrific stories coming out of eastern Ghouta everyday. The pictures and videos are everywhere — screaming parents digging through rubble to find their children; doctors working frantically with no medicine and no equipment in underground hospitals to save whoever they can. Those are not terrorists showing up in these makeshift emergency rooms — they are civilians. They are ordinary people, under attack by a barbaric Al-Assad regime that is bent on levelling eastern Ghouta to the ground, with no regard for the 400,000 men, women and children who live there.No one needs to use their imagination to know what the Al-Assad regime is planning. It is exactly what we saw in Aleppo in 2016, and in Hama and Homs before that. The Al-Assad regime wants to bomb or starve of all of its opponents into submission. That is why, except for two small deliveries of aid, the regime has not allowed any medical convoys or deliveries of food into eastern Ghouta since November, and the bombing attacks have been relentless. The regime wants to keep bombing and gassing these 400,000 people, and the Al-Assad regime is counting on Russia to make sure the Council is unable to stop their suffering.Yesterday the Russian representative asked for the parties to present their views, and has put forward a deeply cynical one today. Those present have now also heard from the United Nations humanitarian leader and from people, like Bilal, Abdullah and Malik. The assault from the regime is relentless, and the suffering is overwhelming. The Russian Permanent Representative also asked that we "come up with ways of getting out of the situation." Yet it appears to be intent on blocking any meaningful effort to do so.None of us on the Council need to look very far for the way out. Thanks to the tireless efforts of our colleagues from Kuwait and Sweden, the way is sitting in front of us. We have a draft resolution establishing a 30-day ceasefire to help shield the people of eastern Ghouta and allow for deliveries of food and medicine to arrive. All 15 of us have spent the past three weeks negotiating that text, patiently attempting to work with each other, including the Russian delegation. We believed we had an agreed text. There are no surprises here. The United S/PV.8186 The situation in the Middle East 22/02/2018 8/19 18-04815 States is ready to vote on the draft resolution — right here and right now. All of us should be ready. Sweden and Kuwait have consulted everyone on that text. They have done their part. There is no reason to delay. Literally, the minute this meeting ends, the Council can take the clearest possible step to help — vote for a ceasefire and vote for humanitarian access.What the people of Eastern Ghouta need is not complicated, and do not just take our word for it. The International Committee of the Red Cross head of delegation in Syria summed it up, "This is madness and it has to stop". The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Prince Zeid, asked,"How much cruelty will it take before the international community can speak with one voice to say enough dead children, enough wrecked families, enough violence, and take resolute concerted action to bring this monstrous campaign of annihilation to an end?"UNICEF can hardly put words on a page. All UNICEF said in a haunting statement was, "No words will do justice to the children killed, their mothers, their fathers and their loved ones". The Secretary-General made his point clearly yesterday. He supports the cessation of hostilities because eastern Ghouta cannot wait.Yesterday Russia's Permanent Representative asked what we should do about eastern Ghouta. The people of eastern Ghouta, United Nations officials, humanitarian and human rights leaders and, indeed, pretty much the entirety of the Council have answered: stop the bombing of eastern Ghouta and allow medical assistance in. The rest of the Council is ready to act. We urge the Council to move forward with the ceasefire and humanitarian draft resolution immediately.Mr. Ma Zhaoxu (China) (spoke in Chinese): I would like to thank Russia for its initiative in convening this meeting. I also thank Under-Secretary-General Lowcock for his briefing.Recently, the security situation in parts of Syria, including its capital, Damascus, and the eastern Ghouta region, has escalated, causing significant civilian casualties, which is drawing broad attention from the international community. China would like to express its profound sympathy to the Syrian people for their suffering. We condemn all acts of violence that target civilians and civilian facilities and harm innocent lives. China has always believed that there is no military solution to the Syrian issue; it would only aggravate the suffering of the Syrian people. A political settlement is the only way out.The present situation is now such that the international community needs to support the Syrian parties in the resumption of dialogue and negotiations under the United Nations mediation as soon as possible and in seeking a solution that is accepted by all parties through a Syrian-owned and Syrian-led political process. That is the only way to fundamentally ease the humanitarian situation in Syria and rid the Syrian people of their suffering at an early date.Terrorist organizations are still launching attacks in Syria, which have caused significant civilian casualties and impeded humanitarian relief efforts by the United Nations. The international community should strengthen its cooperation on counter-terrorism, adopt unified standards and resolutely combat all terrorist organizations designated as such by the Security Council.As part of the Syrian issue, the humanitarian aspect in the country is closely linked to Syria's overall situation, in addition to its political process. Actions taken by the Security Council on Syria's humanitarian issue should not only help ease the overall humanitarian situation in the country, but also help consolidate the momentum for a ceasefire in Syria and be conducive to the bigger picture of a political settlement to the issue. China calls upon the Security Council to remain united on the issue of Syria, speak with one voice and create favourable conditions for substantive progress in Syria's political process at an early date.Mr. Delattre (France) (spoke in French): I would like to thank Mr. Mark Lowcock for his enlightening briefing of the situation of the inhabitants of eastern Ghouta. Mr. Lowcock has said it all — the torrent of fire that is indiscriminately falling eastern Ghouta is relentlessly pushing the limits of horror and human suffering. There are no words to describe what is taking place in eastern Ghouta as we speak.The regime is not merely bombing its own people. It is methodically targeting hospitals and vital infrastructure for the population with the macabre aim of ensuring that the injured who have not perished during the shelling do not survive the wounds inflicted upon them. We must insist that the attacks against hospitals and health-care personnel constitute war crimes, and the perpetrators must be held accountable.22/02/2018 The situation in the Middle East S/PV.8186 18-04815 9/19 The reports we have received from non-governmental organizations and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights are unbearable. Twenty eight attacks struck 20 hospitals in eastern Ghouta since January. More than 700 individuals are in need of urgent medical evacuation. Those evacuations are systematically blocked by the Damascus regime, which has been the case for months. More than 400,000 people, including 130,000 children, have been besieged for months by the regime as part of a siege that is reminiscent of the Middle Ages.We should make no mistake: the Syrian regime and its allies are brandishing the fight against jihadist fighters, the need for which no one is disputing, as justification of an offensive aimed at entirely different goals. Its real intentions are indeed to annihilate any and all opposition and break the morale of civilians by indiscriminately massacring them. The offensive against eastern Ghouta, which has seen an unbridled acceleration in recent years — the worst of which is undoubtedly yet to come — has added to both the methods and consequences of the new Aleppo. Let us recall that in that city the intensification of bombing preceded a reconquest operation and unknown levels of violence that never sought to shield civilians or rule out the use of chemical weapons. We shall be particularly vigilant on the latter.Yesterday, through President Macron, France emphatically condemned the indiscriminate shelling of residential areas and civilian infrastructure. We called for the immediate establishment of a ceasefire to enable medical evacuations and humanitarian access to the people. The Secretary-General also spoke resolutely along the same lines. As was recalled this morning by the French Foreign Minister, Mr. Jean-Yves Le Drian, any lack of action is an indication of guilt. We must act swiftly, for the Council has the means at its disposal, if the willingness is put forth.Sweden and Kuwait, the commitment of which France commends, have proposed a draft resolution demanding an immediate cessation of hostilities to enable humanitarians to evacuate the wounded and gain access to the people. The draft resolution before us does not seem to me to be a political judgement. It conveys the humanitarian imperative that, as such, must bring us together. Accordingly, we have noted Russia's intention to propose changes to the draft resolution. We will consider them, but it is crucial that we quickly adopt the draft resolution so that a cessation of hostilities takes place immediately, as addressing the situation on the ground is of the utmost urgency.A cessation of hostilities is not a concession. It is the minimal form of response to the repeated requests of the United Nations and humanitarian actors, which have been communicated by members of the Council. Subsequently, it is up to the regime's supporters to ensure full respect and to respond to all calls for access to humanitarian assistance and medical evacuations under international humanitarian law. It is inconceivable to us that a Council member could be opposed to that.At the same time, we must — and France stands ready to — redouble our efforts to establish a neutral environment that will allow for a credible political process and the holding of elections in Syria. Since the beginning of the Syrian crisis, France has consistently advocated for the priority of achieving a negotiated solution to the military situation and of finding a political solution that satisfies the aspirations of the Syrian people, ensures lasting peace and stops terrorism in its tracks. France will not deviate from the road map adopted by the international community. We have already said, and will say once again, that only a political, inclusive solution, established under the auspices of the United Nations through enabling a political transition within the framework of the Geneva process and resolution 2254 (2015), will end the suffering of the Syrian people in a credible and lasting manner.I should like to conclude with both a warning and an appeal. Not only has the situation in Syria reverted to the tragic darkest hours of the crisis, but, if we fail to react robustly and immediately — let us make no mistake — the worst is yet to come. The worst is the endless escalation of the humanitarian crisis that is crushing the people, any semblance of humanity and the very values underpinning the United Nations. A widespread ground campaign directed against eastern Ghouta might well be the next deadly stage. The worst is also the expansion of the conflict. The combination of circumstances before us today might lead to a potentially major regional or even international confrontation. That risk must be taken very seriously.In the name of our shared values and interests, I call on every member of the Council to join and act together. We owe that to the civilians who are dying by the hundreds in the hell in eastern Ghouta. We owe it to the security of the region and of the world, which S/PV.8186 The situation in the Middle East 22/02/2018 10/19 18-04815 we have the collective responsibility to protect. We owe it to upholding the credibility of the United Nations, which is our shared heritage. Let us beware that the Syrian tragedy does not also become the grave of the United Nations.Mr. Meza-Cuadra (Peru) (spoke in Spanish): We thank Mr. Lowcock, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, for his briefing today on the tragic situation facing the more than 400,000 people living in eastern Ghouta and in other cities.We heard with dismay that, in that area, the basic principles of international humanitarian law and human rights continue to be disregarded. That has been evidenced by the incessant and merciless bombardments resulting in hundreds of civilian casualties — many of whom are women and children — on a daily basis. Far from decreasing, the bombardments have intensified over the past several days and weeks, as has been the case with regard to the number of people with urgent medical issues who are dying because they cannot be evacuated. We deeply regret that humanitarian convoys are unable to reach besieged and difficult-to-access areas, such as eastern Ghouta, among others, despite repeated appeals from the United Nations and various countries, including Peru, to facilitate immediate, safe and unrestricted access in eastern Ghouta, as well as other areas of Syria.All those facts, which are ultimately allowing for and fuelling a hell on Earth, as the Under-Secretary-General just pointed out to us, warrant our strongest condemnation. We must remind all parties, including the Syrian authorities, of the responsibility to protect the civilian population. The United Nations has determined various actions that can be taken to alleviate the suffering of civilians in eastern Ghouta and other affected areas. We stress the importance of the immediate implementation of a 30-day cessation of hostilities to allow for providing aid and setting out and implementing the humanitarian assistance response plan and the five priorities that Mr. Lowcock mentioned. Those are all indispensable and urgently needed measures that Peru fully supports.Implementing them will require a genuine political will to reverse direction and turn them into a reality. Accordingly, we thank Sweden and Kuwait for their generous efforts to reach a consensus on a draft resolution on a cessation of hostilities, which we hope can be adopted as soon as possible. It is of the utmost importance that Council members, in particular those who are able to exercise their influence on the ground, show the world their unity, sense of duty and willingness to compromise, and that we send a clear signal that prioritizes human beings over other interests.The Council must be able to rise to the occasion and fulfil its sensitive and important responsibilities. All can count on my delegation's commitment to carrying out actions that will alleviate the human suffering in eastern Ghouta and throughout Syria.Mr. Van Oosterom (Netherlands): We thank the presidency for convening this meeting, and I thank Mark Lowcock for his sobering briefing. I will address the following three points: first, the escalation of violence in eastern Ghouta, secondly, international humanitarian law, and, thirdly, action by the Security Council.First, with regard to the escalation of violence in eastern Ghouta, we are meeting at a moment of grave distress for the people in eastern Ghouta and elsewhere in Syria. We have seen the extreme escalation of violence in Idlib and eastern Ghouta, which was initiated a few weeks ago by the Syrian regime and its allies. That has severely intensified over the past several days and continues without pause, as Mark Lowcock clearly described. We condemn all indiscriminate attacks directed against civilians. Communities in eastern Ghouta have experienced the most intense bombardments since the beginning of the siege in 2012. Mortars are also being fired into Damascus. Families do not have a safe place to hide. Women and children are dying. Last Monday, the United Nations reported, over a period of just 13 hours, at least, 92 civilian deaths in eastern Ghouta, and the total death toll since Monday appears to stand now at approximately 300.We continue to receive reports of attacks on hospitals and of the renewed use of chemical weapons, thereby leading to the inhumane suffering of civilians and those who try to help them. We pay tribute to the humanitarian efforts of the White Helmets. We condemn targeted attacks against them. While the indiscriminate bombardment of civilian-populated areas continues, desperately needed humanitarian aid, including medical aid, for the people of eastern Ghouta cannot be delivered. We condemn the incessant violence and the barbaric tactics of besiegement. We have seen those tactics before. If we think back to Aleppo in December 2016, the same scenario took place. The regime turned 22/02/2018 The situation in the Middle East S/PV.8186 18-04815 11/19 that city into an unlivable hell where civilians were imprisoned, constantly targeted from the air and cut off from any form of aid. The Council should not stand by and watch a repetition of such events in eastern Ghouta.Secondly, concerning the erosion of international humanitarian law, in witnessing the sheer disregard for human life, we must ask ourselves: What has become of the hard-won gains in the area of international humanitarian law? The lack of compliance with the Geneva Conventions by parties to the Syrian conflict erodes the very norms enshrined therein. It also erodes the rules-based international order. We cannot let that happen. The carnage in Syria must stop. The Council must take effective, credible and decisive action today. The world is watching. We call upon all parties to the Syrian conflict, in particular the Syrian regime and its allies, to stop the targeting of civilians, stop the attacks on hospitals and facilitate immediate access for humanitarian organizations to deliver much needed aid.That brings me to my third point, which is action by the Council on the cessation of hostilities. We thank penholders Kuwait and Sweden for negotiating a draft resolution during the past two weeks that addresses the dire situation in Syria. We pay tribute to the prudent, inclusive manner in which Sweden and Kuwait have organized negotiations on the draft resolution. We wholeheartedly support the Swedish-Kuwaiti appeal to support their text.The draft resolution includes clear and implementable measures. We fully support an immediate cessation of hostilities in Syria to enable aid convoys to deliver food and medicines to all those in need, and the safe medical evacuation of the critically ill and wounded. That must happen as soon as possible. Parties to the Syrian conflict and those with influence on them have a heavy responsibility to assure the safety of humanitarian operations and to ensure that no forced evacuations of civilians take place.In conclusion, some Council members say that the draft resolution cannot be implemented because it is not realistic. But with sufficient political will on the part of the parties involved in Syria, the cessation of hostilities can become a most urgently needed reality. The Council showed forceful action when it adopted resolution 2393 (2017) in December 2017 to alleviate the suffering in Syria by allowing for vital cross-border humanitarian aid. Let us again show forceful action. Let us prove to the world that we can agree to put the safety of civilians first, throughout Syria.The human suffering in Syria, in particular in Ghouta, must end. We need a cessation of hostilities now. We call on the Russian Federation in particular to use its influence, do its utmost to achieve that objective and allow the Council to act effectively. Let us adopt the realistic, clear and balanced draft resolution as it stands, end the violence and allow access for humanitarian assistance.Mr. Alemu (Ethiopia): We thank Under-Secretary-General Mark Lowcock for his briefing. We appreciate his efforts and understand the challenges he faces.We are deeply concerned about the military escalation in eastern Ghouta and its devastating impact on civilians. We are also equally concerned about escalating conflict in other parts of Syria. The continued reports of attacks against medical facilities, resulting in a number of civilian deaths and injuries, is indeed extremely worrying. We stress that it is absolutely imperative to protect civilians in eastern Ghouta and other affected areas.Nonetheless, we should never overlook the fact that the capital, Damascus, is being shelled from eastern Ghouta — one of its suburbs. All the same, it is impossible to deny the fact that life-saving aid must reach all Syrians in need of urgent assistance. In that regard, while we welcome the fact that the United Nations inter-agency convoy delivered life-saving assistance to more than 7,000 persons on 14 February, we acknowledge that, given the severity of the humanitarian situation, it is obviously not enough.To address humanitarian needs, the United Nations and its humanitarian partners should be allowed safe, improved and unhindered humanitarian access. As the Secretary-General recalled in his statement on 20 February and through his strong appeal yesterday in the Chamber (see S/PV.8185), a cessation of hostilities is desirable to enable humanitarian aid deliveries and medical evacuation. We see no problem with reaching a consensus on the matter. In that connection, members of the Council have been engaged in constructive discussions on how to ensure the implementation of a cessation of hostilities.As the situation on the ground becomes increasingly complex, we understand that implementing a humanitarian pause will not be easy. We understand S/PV.8186 The situation in the Middle East 22/02/2018 12/19 18-04815 the concerns of some in that regard. We do not ignore the possibility that terrorist elements might exploit that tool to advance their goals. It will require the political will and tangible cooperation, in good faith, of all Syrian actors, as well as of all States with influence over the parties. Let us not forget that the situation in Syria is becoming extremely complicated and that the humanitarian situation has not remained unaffected. We are extremely worried about the current trajectory.As a human tragedy unfolds before our very eyes, it is expected that the Council will take meaningful, collective action that could help save lives on the ground. That is why we have reiterated that the Council should extend its unified support for the humanitarian work of the United Nations and its partners. Only by working together will the Council convey a strong and unified message that could help facilitate the much-needed humanitarian work of the United Nations and alleviate the continued suffering of the Syrians. In that regard, the humanitarian draft resolution will perhaps provide us with a good opportunity to demonstrate our resolve for concrete action. It may not be a perfect text but we believe it paves the way for all parties to coordinate their existing efforts to halt hostilities for the sake of civilians who are in an extremely difficult situation.Let me take this opportunity to thank the two penholders Kuwait and Sweden, which have been working tirelessly to achieve a consensus outcome. We hope they will continue their much-appreciated efforts until the last minute to address the concerns — real, legitimate concerns — of all delegations.Let me conclude by reiterating that the escalating violence in eastern Ghouta and other parts of Syria should reinforce the importance and urgency of finding a comprehensive political solution, without which the suffering of Syrians will continue unabated.Ms. Wronecka (Poland): I would like to thank Mr. Mark Lowcock for his briefing.As our Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Jacek Czaputowicz, stated yesterday with regard to eastern Ghouta, there is no justification for the indiscriminate attacks on innocent civilians, including children, or on civilian infrastructure, such as health facilities. They must stop immediately and all parties to the conflict must strictly comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law. We would like to stress that all actors should use their influence to bring about immediate and improved conditions on the ground.Once again, we urgently call for the cessation of hostilities in the whole of Syria. Attacks against civilian targets, including medical facilities, must stop now in order to relieve the enormous and unreasonable suffering of the Syrian people. We therefore call upon all parties to alleviate the suffering of civilians, including children, by granting them urgent, free and safe access to humanitarian assistance.With regard to the de-escalation zones, which include eastern Ghouta, I should recall that they were aimed at ensuring a ceasefire and humanitarian access in accordance with international law, including international humanitarian law. In the light of this fact, I call on all parties engaged to respect their ceasefire-related commitments. I also call on States members of the Security Council to use their leverage on the parties in order to implement relevant previous commitments and to create conditions for a permanent ceasefire.In conclusion, I would like to stress the importance of maintaining the unity of the Council on the question of humanitarian access. We should find a mutually acceptable way to express a clear position of the Security Council in this regard. Accordingly, Poland would like to reiterate its support for the work of Sweden and Kuwait as penholders of the draft humanitarian resolution for Syria. Now more than ever do we need to make every possible effort to adopt the draft resolution as soon as possible. It is the Council's responsibility not to fail to stop the ongoing humanitarian tragedy in the eastern Ghouta.Mr. Hickey (United Kingdom): I thank Under-Secretary-General Lowcock for his very detailed and clear briefing today. It was very powerful to hear through him the voices of the people of eastern Ghouta.Russia called this meeting today to allow us to present our understanding of the situation on the ground and come up with ways of getting out of the situation. We have heard very clearly from Under-Secretary-General Lowcock today and from the Secretary-General yesterday about the situation on the ground (see S/PV.8185). This is hell on Earth; the scale of the human suffering and destruction is unbearable. The suffering of the Syrian people, while primarily the responsibility of the Syrian regime, brings shame on all of us in the Security Council.Let us be very clear about the main cause of this hell on Earth. It is the direct result of an escalation by 22/02/2018 The situation in the Middle East S/PV.8186 18-04815 13/19 the Syrian regime of its aerial bombardment of civilian areas, using cluster bombs and chemical weapons and systematically killing hundreds of its own civilians. As others in this Chamber have said today, these are breaches of international humanitarian law and are war crimes. The United Kingdom will be unrelenting in its campaign to ensure accountability and justice for these crimes using all mechanisms at our disposal.We owe it to the people of eastern Ghouta to highlight the utter devastation facing them and then to take measures to stop it. According to the Syrian American Medical Society, in the first 48 hours of this week, 250 civilians were killed and 460 injured. Those who survived these attacks have been further targeted by the regime while trying to get help for their injuries. There have been 22 separate attacks on 20 different hospitals in the three days since Monday. We applaud the incredible work of the brave doctors on the ground who risk their own lives to save others. And like the Netherlands, we salute the heroes of the White Helmets who have demonstrated incredible bravery, courage and resilience to save the lives of thousands of Syrians on all sides of this conflict.From the start of the conflict, the Al-Assad regime has peddled the myth that all of those opposing Al-Assad are terrorists. This is manifestly not the case. The people of eastern Ghouta are not terrorists. Jabhat Al-Nusra has only a small presence in eastern Ghouta; its fighters number less than a quarter of 1 per cent of the population of that area. Nothing can justify the barbaric bombardment we have seen in recent days or the blocking of humanitarian aid or the denial of medical evacuations. We also condemn the mortar shelling from eastern Ghouta of civilian areas of Damascus and attacks against the Russian embassy in that city.The Security Council has failed to uphold its responsibilities in Syria. We all know why this is the case, but we have all agreed that there can be no military solution to the conflict — only a political one. The actions of the Al-Assad regime in recent weeks and the military escalation in an area guaranteed by Russia and Iran as a de-escalation zone show cynical disregard by the regime for every member of the Security Council and for our resolutions. It is therefore vital that we all send a clear and unified message in response.The solution to the situation is not difficult. We need to see an immediate cessation of hostilities, including an immediate end to the aerial bombing of eastern Ghouta. If everyone in this Chamber were to commit unequivocally to this today, it could have an impact on the ground. It could save the lives of thousands of innocent men, women and children who are being killed as we speak here in this Chamber today. We therefore welcome the draft resolution put forward into blue by you, Mr. President, and by the delegation of Sweden, and we look forward to a vote later today.In conclusion, yesterday we discussed the principles of the United Nations Charter, which our predecessors drafted in the name of the peoples of the world to help save succeeding generations from the scourge of war (see S/PV.8185). It is clear that we have fallen woefully short of this aim. We have failed the people of eastern Ghouta. But let us reverse this trend today. Let us adopt the draft resolution and take the concrete actions needed to ease the suffering in this zone of death and destruction.Mr. Ndong Mba (Equatorial Guinea) (spoke in Spanish): Equatorial Guinea thanks the Russian Federation for convening this meeting of the Security Council and hopes to contribute to the adoption of a decision aimed at alleviating the enormous suffering and regrettable loss of human life in eastern Ghouta and other parts of Syria. We thank the representative of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Mr. Mark Lowcock, for his informative briefing.For the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, the changing humanitarian situation in eastern Ghouta requires urgent action to alleviate the critical state of affairs of the most vulnerable members of the civilian population. In recent days, the number of victims and amount of material damage to infrastructure have increased considerably, and the international community is obliged to take some urgent action so as to halt the ongoing loss of lives, mostly of children and women.We reiterate the appeal made by the delegation of Equatorial Guinea on 14 February for the parties to the conflict to allow humanitarian aid to reach those most in need (see S/PV. 8181). The cessation of hostilities is imperative in order to ensure safe access for relief teams, the distribution of humanitarian aid and the evacuation of the wounded and sick. Equatorial Guinea calls on all parties to the conflict to take the necessary steps to cease hostilities.S/PV.8186 The situation in the Middle East 22/02/2018 14/19 18-04815 Frank, direct and inclusive dialogue is the only viable way out of the Syrian crisis. The Council must redouble its efforts and persuade the opponents to return to the negotiating table. In that sense, resolution 2254 (2015) remains a valid instrument. The recent history of this conflict has taught us the devastating implications that it can have for the entire region. A definitive and sustainable solution to the conflict is in the interests of all the countries of the world.The Republic of Equatorial Guinea urgently calls on all parties to the conflict, be they directly or indirectly involved, to declare a ceasefire with immediate effect that will be respected and guaranteed by all parties so as to allow for the evacuation of civilians and the delivery of medical care, drinking water and food that will save hundreds of human lives. Even as we debate this issue here in the Chamber, the people of eastern Ghouta and elsewhere in Syria are on the verge of perishing. We must consider any proposal to be submitted from the humanitarian perspective, taking into account the suffering of the population of eastern Ghouta and Syria.Mr. Llorentty Solíz (Plurinational State of Bolivia) (spoke in Spanish): My delegation thanks the delegation of Russia for having asked the presidency to convene this meeting, for I think it very important to exchange views about what is happening in Syria. We also grateful for the briefing by Mr. Mark Locock.Bolivia reiterates its regret that the crisis in Syria has to date led to so many lives being lost and so much destruction. According to Mr. Lowcock's office, more than 500,000 people have died since the beginning of the conflict, 13.1 million people require humanitarian assistance, of whom 2.9 million are trapped in besieged or hard-to-reach, and 6.9 million persons have been displaced internally. We regret that recent events have led to more people dying or needing humanitarian assistance. We call for the earliest possible beginning of demining operations and for the provision of humanitarian assistance — such as to the city of Raqqa — in order to facilitate the safe and dignified return of the families that were displaced as a result of the conflict.We also regret that the latest events in Syria have once again served to underscore the urgent need to revitalize the Geneva political process, while strengthening the tangible results achieved in Astana and Sochi, in consultation, of course, with all the parties concerned. We reiterate what several of our colleagues have said during this meeting: there is no military solution to the situation in Syria, only a political one.We also again reiterate our great gratitude for the work being done by the staff of the humanitarian assistance agencies and groups on the ground. We demand that the parties involved comply with their obligations under international law, in particular international humanitarian law and international human rights law.We reiterate to the parties involved that they must respect the agreements and the de-escalation zones, as well as avoid attacks on civilian facilities — such residential areas, schools and hospitals — in line with international humanitarian law, so as to ensure the protection of civilians and unrestricted access for humanitarian agencies to provide much-needed assistance.I understand that we all agree with those principles, as they are basic, fundamental principles of international humanitarian law. Each and every one of us has spoken repeatedly about the obligations of the Security Council under the Charter of the United Nations, including its highest responsibility in terms of the maintenance of international peace and security. Nevertheless, my delegation cannot agree with double standards being applied on any issue, and much less on humanitarian ones. We must not drag down the Security Council by using it as an instrument for a different agenda. Nor, as we have also said several times, should we allow the Council to become an echo chamber where we repeatedly recite well-known areas of war.In referring to double standards, I will desist from referring to the humanitarian situation in other places around the world. I will limit myself just to Syria. My delegation is surprised, and does not understand, at how the Security Council has not even been able to express itself on the terrorist attacks on the Russian Embassy in Damascus, a member the Council. We have counted six such attacks in the past two weeks, followed by silence on the part of the Council. That should draw our attention as to double standards.I repeat that we totally reject the politicization of any humanitarian issue. We know that the situation in Syria is urgent. We need to think very carefully about how we can address each of these situations, given that each has its particular characteristics.22/02/2018 The situation in the Middle East S/PV.8186 18-04815 15/19 With regard to the draft resolution that has been circulated for the Council's consideration, first of all, my delegation would like to sincerely express its gratitude for the efforts of the delegations of Sweden and Kuwait. We have seen them work with great dedication, consulting with the various delegations as part of what of course is a complicated process. That is the nature of negotiations. We hope that the various calls for the Council to do something will come to fruition. . However, I think we have to recognize that putting to a vote a draft resolution, as several delegations have called for today, in the knowledge that it will not be adopted by the Council shows that the goal is not of a humanitarian nature, the aim is political. Putting to a vote a draft resolution while knowing that it will not be adopted means that the goal is not to alleviate the humanitarian situation but to garner a few headlines in the media. That is why we say that we should avoid making the Council an instrument for political ends.We very much welcome the fact that the Russian delegation has put forward language to enable us to continue the negotiations, which is essential. I agree with what my colleague the Ambassador of Sweden said, that is, the Council is being tested in alleviating the humanitarian situation in Syria. The Council is indeed being tested, and that test is to achieve unity in the Council. If we do not, then the meeting at which the draft resolution is put to the vote will go down in history as just a few headlines. But it will come to nothing and will in no way alleviate the humanitarian situation in Syria.I therefore issue a fraternal call on my colleagues the members of the Security Council — especially my beloved brothers the Ambassadors of Sweden and Kuwait — that we do everything we can to send out a signal for there to be a change in direction with regard to what the Council has been doing repeatedly over the past months, and show that by being united we will in some way be able to meet the expectations of the rest of the membership and meet the responsibilities assigned to us by the Charter.Mr. Tanoh-Boutchoue (Côte d'Ivoire) (spoke in French): At the outset, I wish to thank the Russian Federation for having called for this meeting.I also thank Mr. Mark Lowcock, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, for his helpful briefing on the latest developments in the humanitarian situation in Syria, which has reached a critical threshold.Côte d'Ivoire remains deeply concerned by the ongoing deterioration of the humanitarian situation, largely due to the resurgence of fighting on the ground, particularly in eastern Ghouta where since Monday, I regret to say, 40 civilians have been killed and more than 150 wounded, and many hospitals and schools have been destroyed. In the face of this extreme escalation of hostilities, my delegation would like, following the call issued yesterday in this Chamber by Secretary-General António Guterres (see S/PV.8185), to appeal to the sense of responsibility of the parties involved to end the tragedy of eastern Ghouta. It urges them to exercise restraint with a view to an immediate cessation of hostilities in order to enable the resumption of the delivery of humanitarian aid, including medical evacuations, to alleviate the suffering of the Syrian population.Côte d'Ivoire reiterates its conviction and principled position that the response to the crisis in Syria cannot be military. On the contrary, it should be pursued through an inclusive dialogue and political process, as provided for in the road map set out by resolution 2254 (2015).Finally, in the light of the tragic humanitarian situation in eastern Ghouta — which Mr. Lowcock so somberly described earlier — Côte d'Ivoire supports the draft resolution proposed by the delegations of Kuwait and Sweden, calling for a cessation of hostilities for a period of 30 days with a view to allowing immediate humanitarian access to the besieged populations of the region. The Council must set aside all political calculations and other distractions and undertake the commendable task of rescuing the inhabitants of eastern Ghouta and other regions of Syria, who also happen to be Syrians, from the hell in which they are living.Mr. Temenov (Kazakhstan): We thank the delegation of the Russian Federation for initiating this open briefing on the very critical humanitarian issue in Syria, and thank Mark Lowcock for his update.Like others, we express our serious concern about the continued severity of the devastating humanitarian situation in Syria, including in eastern Ghouta, Idlib and northern Hama governorates, Rukban and Raqqa. Kazakhstan urges all parties within and outside the country to prevent further violence and enable humanitarian organizations to access and assist people in need. Since early February, with the military offensive against eastern Ghouta, there have been more than 1,200 civilian casualties.S/PV.8186 The situation in the Middle East 22/02/2018 16/19 18-04815 We truly need a cessation of hostilities and all military operations throughout Syria to enable the delivery of humanitarian aid and services and the medical evacuation of the critically sick and wounded, in accordance with international law. Kazakhstan considers it critical for the Security Council to adopt a workable and effective resolution on a cessation of hostilities in Syria, a draft of which is now being considered by Council members. Kazakhstan calls on all parties to find consensus and unite in their efforts to undertake an immediate suspension of all war activities in eastern Ghouta and other parts of Syria, allowing humanitarian aid to reach all those in need, as well as the evacuation of all patients requiring urgent treatment that cannot be provided there.My delegation supports the five requests identified by the Emergency Relief Coordinator on 11 January during his mission to Syria, and calls upon all parties to facilitate the implementation of these five requests and others, as specified in relevant Security Council resolutions, so as to ensure principled, sustained and improved humanitarian assistance to Syria in 2018. In this context, we look forward to a meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the guarantor countries of the Astana process — namely, the Russian Federation, Turkey and Iran — who intend to gather in Astana in March to discuss all issues related to recent developments on the ground. The timing and the specific agenda are currently being specified. In this regard, the next round of the Astana process itself is scheduled to be held after the aforementioned meeting of the Foreign Ministers.Lastly, in May 2017 Kazakhstan welcomed the adoption of the memorandum on the creation of de-escalation areas in the Syrian Arab Republic. They have lessened hostilities between the conflicting parties. However, the ceasefire agreements in these zones are currently being violated. We attach the utmost importance to compliance by all conflicting parties with ceasefire agreements and their enforcement by the guarantor States. Likewise, each of the agreements reached in Astana should not remain on paper, but must be strictly complied with.The President (spoke in Arabic): I give the floor to the representative of the Syrian Arab Republic and urge him to limit his statement to five minutes in accordance with Security Council note S/2017/507.Mr. Ja'afari (Syrian Arab Republic) (spoke in Arabic): The delegation of my country was not aware of your decision, Sir, to limit my statement to five minutes. I oppose that decision and therefore reserve the right to express the views of my country in this important meeting devoted to the situation in my country.The President (spoke in Arabic): The representative of the Russian Federation has asked to make a further statement.Mr. Nebenzia (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): We fail to understand, Sir, why you have proposed limiting the statement of the representative of the Syrian Arab Republic on the important issue under discussion. His country is directly involved and where everything being discussed is taking place. We must afford an opportunity for the representative of Syria to speak for the full amount of time required to deliver his statement. I do not believe we need any artificial limits on his statement.The President (spoke in Arabic): I did not make a decision. I simply encouraged the representative of Syria to adhere to the provisions of note S/2017/507.I again give the floor to the representative of the Syrian Arab Republic.Mr. Ja'afari (Syrian Arab Republic) (spoke in Arabic): Once again, I reiterate that we were not aware of note S/2017/507. I believe that this act is unjust and raises many issues to which I already intended to refer in my statement. I hope that everyone will be patient enough to listen to the statement I shall make on behalf of the Government of my country. I shall not deliver a personal statement. All speakers have spoken on behalf of their Governments, and I shall do the same. I encourage all members to listen carefully to what I have to say.As I talk here at this moment, hundreds of rockets and mortars are targeting the capital, Damascus. To date, they have injured 37 people, including six children, and led to a number of martyrs, including two children. That comes as no surprise. As the Council is aware, every time a Security Council meeting is held to discuss the Syrian situation, there is a massacre here and a suicide bombing there, as well as the killing of civilians in some Syrian cities. We have seen not dozens, but rather hundreds of massacres over the past seven years. Mr. Lowcock did not get this information the way he gets messages from what he calls humanitarian workers in eastern Ghouta who know about international humanitarian law. Mr. Lowcock 22/02/2018 The situation in the Middle East S/PV.8186 18-04815 17/19 did not solicit the views of the Syrian Government, which we have expressed in hundreds of letters sent to him and to the Council. All those who in this meeting have used the word "regime" to refer to my country are neither objective nor impartial. They reveal their countries' involvement in the ongoing terrorist crisis in my country.We thank the delegation of the Russian Federation for convening this meeting to give us the opportunity to once again present the reality of the suffering of civilians as a result of the practices of armed terrorist groups or, as some call them, moderate armed opposition groups. Over the past seven years, they have been sowing death and destruction wherever they have operated. They have used civilians as human shields. They have targeted hospitals and schools, turning them into military centres. They have hurled missiles and rockets indiscriminately at residential and populated areas.Of course, as the Permanent Representative of France said before leaving this meeting, all of this is a form of resistance. He referred to the terrorists who bombard Damascus as the "resistance" that the Syrian regime is trying to suppress. This meeting is particularly important, as some actors — especially the United States of America and the so-called international coalition — have moved from the stage of aggression by proxy through their support for terrorism to the stage of direct aggression. Those actors have recruited terrorists from all four corners of the world. They call them jihadists and send them to Syria. Whenever terrorists have failed, those actors have been there — militarily, politically, through the media and the United Nations — to intervene in order to achieve what their terrorist proxies failed to achieve.Let us be clear. Some Council members — and I specifically mean the United States of America, the United Kingdom and France — would like to deprive the Syrian Government of its constitutional and sovereign right to defending its territories and people, as enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations back when we had wise founding fathers and international law and as guaranteed by all United Nations resolutions on counter-terrorism.Today, I have heard references to the draft resolution contained in document S/2018/146, on humanitarian issues. The penholders, Kuwait and Sweden, have been working on it for several weeks. I thank them for their efforts. However, those efforts are deeply flawed. The penholders did not coordinate with the Syrian delegation at all. They did not even ask to hear my country's view on the draft resolution that concerns it.Let us imagine for a moment that hundreds of terrorists had used the Bois de Boulogne as a centre to target civilians in Paris, launching dozens of missiles every day. Would we have seen a draft resolution calling for a humanitarian truce to give the moderate armed French opposition the opportunity to regain its power and launch missiles targeting Paris?Let us imagine for a moment that hundreds of terrorists had used Central Park here in New York as a centre to target civilians in Manhattan, and had launched dozens of missiles every day. Would we have seen a draft resolution calling for the medical evacuation of the moderate armed American opposition?Let us imagine for a moment that hundreds of terrorists had used Hyde Park as a centre to target civilians in London, launching dozens of missiles daily. Would we have seen a draft resolution calling for the delivery of humanitarian aid to the moderate armed British opposition? Would we have seen statements by high-level Secretariat officials, such as Mr. Lowcock, calling for stopping the fight against armed groups that they describe as non-State armed opposition groups? Unfortunately, that is how United Nations documents refer to terrorists nowadays — non-State armed opposition groups.Of course, those are all hypothetical scenarios that might seem far-fetched. However, that is the reality in Syria. It is the tragedy that we are seeing in Syrian cities every day, including the city of Damascus and its inhabitants. It is a bitter reality that the Syrian Government is facing as a result of the erroneous approaches adopted by the United Nations and the positions of some of its Member States. Damascus is the oldest populated city in history. It is seeing destruction, death and sorrow every day as a result of missiles, mortars and rockets launched by armed terrorist groups operating in eastern Ghouta. These terrorist groups — the Islamic State in Iraq and the Sham, the Al-Nusra Front and affiliated groups — are designated as terrorist groups in the Security Council. Today, 8 million people live in Damascus, among them hundreds of thousands who fled armed groups that attacked their villages and their homes in many parts of Syria, including eastern Ghouta.S/PV.8186 The situation in the Middle East 22/02/2018 18/19 18-04815 The United Nations today is going through a professional and moral crisis that is unfathomable. High-level Secretariat officials see no harm in adopting the positions of Governments that sponsor terrorism in my country. They are directly involved in distorting facts, manipulating figures, using insidious phrases and terminology, and depending on unreliable sources in their statements and reports. Of course, I cannot list all of those scandals today. I will only remind the Council of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons Fact-Finding Mission report (S/2017/567), issued in June 2017. The report states that among the open sources on which it relied was the testimony of British doctor Shajul Islam. For those who do not know who Mr. Islam is, he is a foreign terrorist fighting for the Al-Nusra Front in Idlib. He was convicted in the United Kingdom and was not allowed to practice medicine there as he was involved in crimes related to terrorism, such as kidnapping British journalist John Cantlie. That is but one example of some misleading reports issued by the Secretariat.We are convinced that those abhorrent practices will not stop and that some United Nations officials will ignore the serious information that we have conveyed to them about armed terrorist groups fabricating the story that the Syrian Government used toxic chemical substances against civilians in eastern Ghouta. Those groups are training some of their members to pretend that they have been exposed to toxic substances. Of course, those scenes are broadcast by well-known networks and correspondents of Mr. Lowcock, and the Syrian Arab Army is blamed for it. Although we have sent hundreds of letters to the Secretary-General, the President of the Security Council and specialized United Nations agencies specialized in counter-terrorism and the prohibition of chemical weapons, we are sure that some at the United Nations will not hesitate to believe that story and blame the Syrian Government. That is simply because certain agendas in the Organization compel some to join in the extortion of the Syrian Arab Republic and its allies that are fighting terrorism on behalf of all those present.For over two months now, the Syrian Government has been sending letters almost daily to the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council documenting the number of missiles used, which have amounted in the past few weeks to almost 1,200. We have been also documenting the human and material losses of civilians in the city of Damascus as a result of being targeted by terrorists groups in eastern Ghouta. However, in its statements and appeals the Secretariat has no problem ignoring the suffering of 8 million people in Damascus. It has not hesitated to participate in the misleading campaign launched by some States to protect a few thousand members of armed terrorists groups in eastern Ghouta. They are sacrificing 8 million civilians in Damascus to protect a few thousand terrorists in eastern Ghouta. This is scene in short.Both international and United Nations sources are spreading news of a stifling siege on eastern Ghouta. That is not consistent with the indisputable reality on the ground. We are talking here about a vital area that is the main source of food for the city of Damascus. Commercial trucks constantly move back and forth to Ghouta. The Syrian Government has facilitated the delivery of humanitarian aid to people in eastern Ghouta, when conditions on the ground have allowed. We have also approved medical evacuations to Government hospitals in Damascus. The truth that we all know, and even high-level Secretariat officials know, is that armed terrorist groups are controlling the humanitarian aid that enters eastern Ghouta. They distribute it among its members and deprive civilians of any of it.There is another truth that the Secretariat is ignoring. Residents of eastern Ghouta have taken to the street in protest against the practices of terrorists who point their guns at innocent people. Of course, those besieged innocents are also sending messages, but Mr. Lowcock's radar is not receiving them. I would like to ask the Secretariat the following. How does it justify ignoring the reports and information that the Syrian Government has presented on thousands of hostages and kidnapped people being detained by armed terrorist groups in eastern Ghouta in the so-called Attawba prison? They require immediate medical evacuation. The United Nations is ignoring video footage posted by armed groups showing women and children, among the hostages, being pushed into metal cages and left on the street. It is a painful scene reminiscent of the times of slavery. It is true insanity that the Secretary-General spoke of yesterday and has been echoed by some colleagues today. Yes, there is terrorist insanity in eastern Ghouta and we must put a stop to it.What is even worse is that some in the Secretariat are trying to use the agreement on de-escalation zones to distort the facts and ignore repeated violations perpetrated by these armed terrorist groups. They are 22/02/2018 The situation in the Middle East S/PV.8186 18-04815 19/19 being instructed from the outside by actors that some of them are present in this Chamber. They are instructed to target Syrian military sites and launch attacks using rockets, missiles and car bombs on residential neighbourhoods in Damascus.These groups operating in eastern Ghouta that kill civilians in Damascus daily are armed terrorists groups, regardless of any change to their names, affiliations or alliances. Today they are Jaysh al-Islam, the Al-Rahman Corps, the Dawn of Islam and Ahrar al-Sham. Yesterday they were the Islamic Front, Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham and the Al-Nusra Front. I invite all members of the Council to take a look at the websites of those groups and the satellite television channels that Western satellites are helping broadcast. It will become apparent that they all share the same Wahhabi terrorist ideology, and that they all call for takfiri ideas and the annihilation of others. Any attempt to change their names and description by calling them moderate opposition or non-state armed groups will not change their terrorist reality. It will not prevent us, as the Government, from defending our citizens with the support of our allies, and fighting terrorism pursuant to the Council's resolutions on counter-terrorism.Some among us today are exploiting the suffering of the Syrian people and trading in their blood. They are demanding accountability while being direct partners in supporting and defending terrorism. They are involved in direct military aggression against my people, as was the case in Palestine, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Africa and Latin America. The dilemma that we are facing today is that the mechanism of work inside the United Nations is being held hostage to political and financial polarization. As a result, this mechanism of work completely disregard the crimes of the so-called international coalition led by the United States of America.As mentioned by my colleague the Ambassador of the Russian Federation, the international coalition completely destroyed Raqqa, killing hundreds of civilians and destroying shelters, infrastructure and bridges over the Euphrates river and everywhere in Syria, under the pretext of fighting the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). It used internationally prohibited weapons against civilians in Syria, including American Napalm, just as it did in Viet Nam. The international coalition targeted Syrian armed forces and allied forces more than once in order to break the siege on ISIL. The coalition and its militias made a deal with ISIL so that ISIL fighters, their families and their heavy weapons could leave Raqqa and other places in order to fight the Syrian forces and their allies elsewhere.The United Nations is completely disregarding the repeated aggressions of Israeli occupation forces on our territories as part of its support to armed terrorist groups. The Department of Peacekeeping Operations is clueless as to what is going on in the Golan. The United Nations itself is completely disregarding Turkish aggressions and violations against Syrian sovereignty, and the direct military aggression initiated now by Turkey on Afrin. Nobody has addressed this issue in their statements.In conclusion, responding to those who fear that eastern Ghouta might become a second Aleppo, I invite them to go to Aleppo today and see with their own eyes how millions, not thousands, have resumed their normal lives after Aleppo was liberated from terrorism. Indeed, eastern Ghouta will become a second Aleppo, as will Idlib and all areas that have suffered under the terrorism of armed groups in Syria.We will not succumb no longer to the extortion of those who have supported terrorism in Syria. We will not be complacent to the plans of the Governments of the five States that met in Washington, D.C., last month to divide Syria and ensure the failure of both the Sochi conference and the political process as a whole. That news was reported today in the United Kingdom. We will not sit idly by while those who use terrorism, take unjust economic measures and wage direct military aggression against the Syrian people seek to achieve their cheap political agendas. Rest assured that history will soon admit that we and our allies have fought a war on behalf of the entire world against terrorism, which is being supported by Governments that soon will be held accountable by their people and world public opinion. Those Governments have invested all they can in terrorism until it reached their cities, their own citizens and all safe places throughout the world.When I look at some of the faces in the Chamber and see the political hypocrisy therein, I recall the famous adage by the Great Russian writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky, who said: "Rest assured, hell is big enough for everyone. There is no need for people to compete so fiercely to be the worst."The meeting rose at 2.10 p.m.
Il tema della Responsabilità Sociale d'Impresa (RSI) è recentemente tornato ad essere di grande attualità. A partire dalla fine degli anni Novanta, si è assistito infatti ad un proliferare di iniziative e strumenti destinati alla sensibilizzazione delle imprese e al sostegno delle loro buone pratiche; in ambito dottrinale si è ricominciato a scrivere e a discutere sull'argomento, molto spesso anche con un approccio pragmatico, mirato in particolare alla trattazione del tema della rendicontazione sociale e della gestione aziendale della responsabilità sociale. Analizzando la letteratura di riferimento, tuttavia, si scopre come molti problemi fossero già emersi e molte riflessioni fossero già state fatte sul tema, fin dalle prime pubblicazioni degli anni Sessanta e Settanta. In particolare, da una preliminare analisi degli studi anglosassoni sulla Corporate Social Responsibility si è notata un'ampia varietà di approcci, dei quali, però, alcuni si sono rivelati più adatti a costituire l'impostazione teorica di fondo della responsabilità sociale in ottica economico-aziendale. Si allude in particolare tre filoni teorici che, pur essendo concettualmente e formalmente distinti si connotano per avere un approccio strategico e manageriale alla responsabilità sociale d'impresa. Nel primo capitolo, pertanto, si è ritenuto di dover costruire la base teorica di riferimento della RSI in ottica strategica riassumendo i tratti salienti delle seguenti teorie: la Corporate Social Responsiveness la Corporate Social Performance la Stakeholder Theory Il più profondo dibattito sulla RSI divide i sostenitori della stessa da coloro che categoricamente la rifiutano; la scelta di trattare il filone di studi strategici sulla RSI è dovuta alla convinzione di poter superare questa prima antitesi con la dimostrazione dell'attinenza del tema alle problematiche economico aziendali, ovvero dell'attinenza della responsabilità sociale agli aspetti di gestione dell'impresa. L'idea di fondo è pertanto quella di riconoscere alla RSI una valenza strategica, e di poter annoverare le strategie sociali tra le altre strategie a livello aziendale, attribuendo alla gestione delle relazioni con gli stakeholder un ruolo che pervade tutti gli aspetti dell'operatività dell'azienda; non si tratta, pertanto, di incorporare forzatamente nella gestione dell'impresa una serie di valori, di principi e di obiettivi che non le sono propri, ma di scoprire come una consapevole impostazione dei rapporti con l'ambiente di riferimento possa costituire per l'impresa un vantaggio competitivo e possa contribuire, attraverso una gestione di qualità, al raggiungimento della fondamentale finalità dell'impresa di perdurare in condizioni di equilibrio economico. A questo punto, la considerazione della rilevanza della Responsabilità Sociale d'Impresa appare, a nostro avviso, se non auspicabile quanto meno condivisibile. Il concetto che meglio si adatta a questo approccio è quello di Corporate Social Responsiveness, ovvero di "sensitività", di "rispondenza" sociale: l'impresa che vuole gestire i rapporti con il suo ambiente di riferimento deve sviluppare questa sensibilità a cogliere le istanze che da esso provengono e a mediare i suoi imprescindibili obiettivi con le aspettative degli stakeholder; per fare ciò l'impresa deve approntare al suo interno una serie di processi di gestione, di strumenti che le permettano di instaurare un proficuo dialogo con l'ambiente esterno. Come si può facilmente notare, il concetto è ben lontano dall'originario significato di responsabilità sociale come obbligazione, come dovere morale dell'impresa di rispettare valori la cui individuazione è, a questo livello - così generico - difficilmente attuabile. Se l'impresa è chiamata a rispettare dei principi di fondo, è importante che questi scaturiscano dal concreto interagire con i suoi interlocutori: ecco allora che la Stakeholder Theory costituisce in termini descrittivi, normativi e strumentali la matrice teorica di riferimento, individuando quali sono i soggetti verso cui l'impresa è responsabile. La teoria degli stakeholder ha contribuito a definire una nuova visione dell'impresa, da "scatola nera" di trasformazione di input in output a centro di molteplici relazioni con tutti coloro che, per dirla con Freeman, "influenzano o sono influenzati dal raggiungimento degli obiettivi di un'organizzazione-impresa". L'impresa necessita di risorse per lo svolgimento dell'attività, e di ottenere consenso e legittimazione al suo agire; in mancanza di ciò finisce con il compromettere la sua stessa capacità di creare valore economico. La responsabilità sociale d'impresa, pertanto, non è semplicemente un vincolo all'equilibrio economico: è un arricchimento della finalità dell'impresa che, se correttamente percepito può trasformarsi anche in vantaggio competitivo. Il passaggio successivo diviene pertanto quello di incorporare la RSI in tutta la gestione aziendale, dalle strategie fino all'attività operativa, dalla pianificazione alla misurazione e rappresentazione dei risultati raggiunti. L'incorporazione degli obiettivi sociali nell'impresa comporta necessariamente un diverso approccio alla misurazione della performance: i modelli di Corporate Social Performance si sono occupati di ciò fin dagli anni Ottanta, evidenziando innanzitutto la pervasività della responsabilità sociale, che si può rappresentare e misurare a livello di principi, di processi e di risultati concreti. Il filone della Corporate Social Performance riesce pertanto a conciliare l'approccio di responsabilità sociale basato sui valori e quello che, più pragmaticamente, mette in luce l'esigenza per l'impresa di dotarsi di processi e di strumenti per gestirla in ottica strategica. Se principi, processi e risultati sono ugualmente rilevanti, allora l'impresa deve ricorrere a diversi strumenti, di volta in volta finalizzati a: valutare la coerenza dei principi di RSI con la mission e le strategie, esplicitare le fasi dei processi e le attività da porre in essere per implementare la RSI, misurare e rendicontare la performance sociale, ovvero il grado di attuazione delle politiche sociali nell'ambito delle relazioni con gli stakeholder. Le strategie sociali comprendono pertanto gli obiettivi relazionali dell'azienda con i suoi stakeholder, e la misurazione delle performance diviene i tal senso uno dei momenti del più ampio processo di pianificazione e controllo delle strategie stesse. Ecco allora che la letteratura di riferimento nell'ambito della Corporate Social Responsibility si intreccia con gli studi che si sono occupati di dare un contenuto alle strategie sociali d'impresa e di classificarle sulla base di molteplici aspetti, quali ad esempio il diverso grado di reattività dell'impresa alle sollecitazioni del suo ambiente di riferimento, le categorie di stakeholder a cui le strategie si rivolgono e la tipologia di scambi di cui si compone la relazione con essi, la tipologia di problematiche sociali da monitorare e il tipo di organizzazione aziendale che si dimostra più adatta a ciò, o, infine, le strategie di influenza che gli stakeholder possono porre in essere per ottenere soddisfazione delle loro attese nei confronti dell'impresa. Dopo aver ribadito la rilevanza strategica della RSI e aver espresso i possibili contenuti sociali incorporabili negli obiettivi dell'impresa, si è ritenuto di dover trattare le modalità e gli strumenti di implementazione delle strategie sociali stesse. Il secondo capitolo è pertanto dedicato all'analisi di alcuni strumenti proposti nell'ambito della responsabilità sociale d'impresa, organizzati secondo l'approccio teorico della Corporate Social Performance (CSP). Partendo dall'osservazione della varietà di modelli e strumenti di riferimento, si è ritenuto infatti di procedere con una proposta di tassonomia che vede distinti: dichiarazioni di principi e di valori; standard di processo per la gestione della RSI; standard di rendicontazione, sia in termini di processi che di contenuti. La tassonomia ricalca la tripartizione principi-processi-risultati che caratterizza la CSP e inoltre corrisponde a grandi linee ad altre proposte di classificazione degli strumenti di RSI recentemente formulate in dottrina. Le dichiarazioni di principi e di valori sono quei documenti, quali ad esempio il Global Compact ONU, le linee guida OCSE per le imprese multinazionali, le convenzioni ILO, che contengono alcuni principi fondamentali sul rispetto dei diritti umani, dell'ambiente, dei diritti dei lavoratori, sulla lotta alla corruzione - per citarne solo alcuni - a cui le imprese sono chiamate ad aderire. Tali dichiarazioni di principi, oltre alla valenza intrinseca di sensibilizzazione delle imprese e di promozione delle buone prassi, possono dare utili suggerimenti sulla costruzione di strumenti interni aziendali quali la carta dei valori o il codice etico, o sull'incorporazione di obiettivi sociali nella mission. Questi strumenti interni aziendali caratterizzano quel livello di implementazione della RSI che nel capitolo 4 è stato ripreso e definito come "strategico", proprio perché di competenza del vertice aziendale e finalizzato alla creazione e diffusione nell'azienda di un'autentica cultura della responsabilità sociale. La seconda categoria di strumenti accoglie invece i cosiddetti "standard di gestione", che sostanzialmente svolgono la medesima funzione dei sistemi di gestione della qualità: trattasi infatti di una serie di norme, anche di tipo organizzativo e procedurale, il cui rispetto può comportare per l'impresa un riconoscimento esterno, una sorta di certificazione di qualità sociale. Nell'ambito di tale categoria se ne sono presentati due in particolare: la norma SA 8000 e il modello Q-RES. La norma SA 8000 è sostanzialmente uno strumento mono-stakeholder, trattando esclusivamente del rapporto con i lavoratori dipendenti; di fatto, però, assume rilevanza per il meccanismo, in essa contenuto, di ottenimento della certificazione sociale, che richiede la definizione e implementazione di un sistema di gestione. Il sistema di gestione SA 8000 sottolinea la necessità per l'impresa di dotarsi di una politica della responsabilità sociale, di sistemi di pianificazione, implementazione e controllo della stessa, e di un adeguato piano di rilevazione e comunicazione delle attività sociali poste in essere. Il modello Q-RES stimola l'azienda a gestire la responsabilità sociale come un processo, che partendo dalla visione etica e passando attraverso alcuni strumenti di attuazione e controllo, giunge alla rendicontazione sociale e alla verifica esterna. I diversi strumenti di Q-RES si ricompongono nell'unitario processo, finalizzato al raggiungimento dell'eccellenza nella gestione della RSI. La considerazione della RSI come processo porta con sé anche la positiva conseguenza di far emergere il vero ruolo della rendicontazione sociale: il bilancio sociale non viene più visto pertanto come fine in sé, ma diviene un mezzo, uno strumento informativo sulla gestione aziendale e uno strumento di comunicazione con gli stakeholder. Tra i modelli che si occupano dei processi di rendicontazione, inseriti nella terza categoria di strumenti, spiccano il modello AA 1000 e il modello della Copenhagen Charter. Il modello AA 1000 esprime le fondamentali fasi di cui si compone il processo: pianificazione, rilevazione, controllo e rendicontazione; ciascuna fase è integrata nel più ampio contesto dei processi di gestione aziendale e si caratterizza per opportune modalità di coinvolgimento degli stakeholder, in termini di fissazione degli obiettivi, di raccolta delle informazioni e di espressione di un giudizio sui risultati aziendali e sulla qualità del reporting sociale. Il modello della Copenhagen Charter, invece, sottolinea la rilevanza strategica della rendicontazione sociale; un costante dialogo con gli stakeholder permette di accorciare i circuiti di risposta dell'azienda agli eventi esterni, senza attendere che tali accadimenti siano rilevati dagli strumenti contabili tradizionali, nel momento in cui determinano conseguenze in termini di risultati economico-finanziari. In quest'ottica, pertanto, i contenuti della rendicontazione sociale devono essere rivisti, per accogliere al loro interno la misurazione delle performance sociali; il controllo delle strategie sociali, infatti, richiede parametri ad hoc, utilizzabili sia per finalità interne di gestione, che per scopi di comunicazione e relazione con gli stakeholder. Nel panorama degli standard di contenuto della rendicontazione sociale non è tuttavia molto diffuso l'utilizzo di indicatori di performance: tra i pochi esempi in tal senso si sono riscontrati il modello GRI e il Social Statement del progetto CSR-SC del Ministero del Welfare italiano; in entrambi i casi è stato analizzato il contenuto del modello, soprattutto con riferimento agli indicatori sociali proposti. Ciascuna azienda può, evidentemente, ipotizzare una propria lista di indicatori rilevanti, sulla base delle caratteristiche specifiche dell'operatività aziendale e dei propri stakeholder; tuttavia, nell'ambito della rendicontazione sociale, si ritiene di dover ribadire l'importanza di un livello minimo di standardizzazione degli indicatori. In assenza di uniformità sulle denominazioni e sui contenuti degli indicatori, il report sociale fallisce il suo fondamentale scopo di permettere agli stakeholder di esprimere un giudizio effettivo sulla responsabilità sociale dell'impresa, non rendendo possibile il confronto delle sue performance nel tempo e nello spazio. La ricerca degli indicatori sociali si è pertanto spostata dagli standard di riferimento alla prassi di rendicontazione: nel terzo capitolo della tesi si sono riportati gli esiti di una ricerca empirica effettuata sui report sociali delle società quotate italiane. La finalità della ricerca è stata quella di presentare un'elencazione di possibili indicatori di performance sociale, attraverso la raccolta e sistematizzazione di tutti quelli riscontrati nei bilanci sociali e di sostenibilità analizzati. La ricerca dei bilanci sociali è stata effettuata su internet; sono stati visitati i siti di tutte le società quotate italiane (277 società al 1 dicembre 2005), dai quali si sono riscontrati solamente 32 casi di bilanci sociali e di sostenibilità . Dalla lettura dei bilanci è stato possibile estrapolare gli indicatori sociali utilizzati da ciascuna società nel report; con il termine di indicatori sociali si sono intese, in questa sede, tutte quelle informazioni quantitative (monetarie e non, espresse in numero e in percentuale) inserite nel report a complemento delle informazioni discorsive, anche sotto forma di tabelle e grafici. Nella fase successiva, gli indicatori raccolti per ciascuna società sono stati resi uniformi, quanto a denominazioni e contenuto, e sono stati inseriti in alcune tabelle di sintesi, dalle quali è stato possibile estrapolare la frequenza con cui tali indicatori sono presenti nei diversi bilanci analizzati. Nelle tabelle di sintesi gli indicatori sono stati organizzati sulla base delle categorie, corrispondenti ai diversi stakeholder di riferimento, e all'interno delle categorie sono stati suddivisi per aspetto, ovvero per tipologia di problematica sociale (ad esempio, nella categoria delle risorse umane, gli aspetti possono essere la formazione, la salute e sicurezza, la remunerazione ecc.). L'analisi empirica ha evidenziato lo scarso livello di standardizzazione che caratterizza la prassi di rendicontazione sociale in Italia; gli indicatori utilizzati dalle società quotate italiane sono moltissimi, ma spesso dietro a denominazioni diverse si nascondono identici contenuti o misurazioni di performance analoghe, che tuttavia difficilmente esprimono tutto il loro potenziale informativo, nel momento in cui non sono chiaramente comprensibili e soprattutto confrontabili. Il processo di omogeneizzazione degli indicatori è stato pertanto piuttosto laborioso, ma ha comunque portato all'ottenimento del prodotto atteso: un elenco di indicatori di performance sociale che si prestano non solo ad essere inseriti nella rendicontazione sociale, ma anche ad essere utilizzati come strumenti di misurazione e controllo della responsabilità sociale dell'impresa. Nel quarto capitolo sono state infatti riprese le problematiche di implementazione delle strategie sociali, non più dal solo punto di vista dei modelli e degli strumenti utilizzabili in tal senso dalle imprese, ma con specifico riferimento ai processi di pianificazione e controllo. Il processo di pianificazione e controllo della RSI parte dalla mission aziendale, attraverso l'inserimento in essa del fondamentale obiettivo di equilibrio relazionale con gli stakeholder. Dalla mission discendono le strategie sociali, che si possono scomporre in politiche sociali verso le diverse categorie di stakeholder (ad esempio, politica dei dividendi verso gli azionisti, politica di pari opportunità nei confronti del personale). Le politiche sociali a loro volta si declinano in obiettivi sociali specifici, il cui raggiungimento può essere misurato e monitorato attraverso opportuni parametri, ovvero indicatori di performance sociale. L'individuazione degli specifici obiettivi, ovvero degli aspetti rilevanti nella relazione dell'impresa con le diverse categorie di stakeholder, ha permesso di effettuare una scrematura degli indicatori di performance rilevati nel terzo capitolo, selezionando quelli che appaiono più significativi rispetto agli obiettivi posti. Tali indicatori sono stati inseriti nell'ambito di un sistema di misurazione delle performance, che a sua volta è scaturito dalla fusione di alcune proposte dottrinali nell'ambito della Corporate Social Performance e degli studi di pianificazione e controllo strategico. Il set di indicatori proposto, tuttavia, non ha alcuna pretesa di esaustività, né tanto meno di risoluzione della complessa problematica della misurazione delle performance sociali, ma ci permette di fare alcune osservazioni conclusive: nel momento in cui si riconosce la rilevanza strategica per l'impresa del rapporto con gli stakeholder, nasce l'esigenza di un processo di gestione consapevole della responsabilità sociale; tale processo deve necessariamente avvalersi di strumenti ad hoc, tra i quali spiccano in particolare gli strumenti relazionali quali il bilancio sociale e il bilancio di sostenibilità; poiché non si può gestire ciò che non si conosce, anche gli strumenti di misurazione e reporting interno devono focalizzarsi sugli oggetti specifici del rapporto impresa-stakeholder; infine, la responsabilità sociale deve pervadere tutta l'organizzazione, dai vertici fino ai livelli più operativi; questo significa che anche i sistemi di valutazione e incentivazione devono essere ripensati in termini di obiettivi sociali attribuibili alle funzioni aziendali e ai singoli manager. La misurazione delle performance sociali ai diversi livelli dell'organizzazione potrebbe in particolare suggerire la costruzione di una balanced scorecard sociale; si ritiene che la proposta di un set di indicatori possa essere un primo passo in questa direzione. Infine, con riferimento alla rendicontazione agli stakeholder, e quindi verso l'esterno dell'impresa, si ritiene che gli indicatori di performance possano arricchire gli standard di contenuto esistenti, contribuendo in tal senso a diffondere una cultura del bilancio sociale come strumento di vera comunicazione, non solo di pura immagine. ; The thesis deal with the implementation of corporate social responsibility in planning and control processes. After a review of the main theories concerning the corporate social responsibility and the social strategy of the firm, the social reporting process is treated, with reference to main international and national standards of sustainability management and reporting (e.g. GRI, GBS). The empirical research presented in chapter three is aimed at showing the large variety of social and environmental indicators used in social reporting by a sample of big Italian firms: the sample is formed by all Italian listed companies with a social, environmental or sustainability report published in their website. The last chapter contains the conclusion on the empirical research, and a proposal of management process in terms of social responsibility implementation; in particular an hypothetical set of performance indicators is presented as a mean to measure, report and control the social responsibility of firms.
Où va la France ? : cette question, liée aux concepts de déclin et de décadence, traverse l'histoire sans jamais se démoder et s'avère toujours d'une brûlante actualité. Par ailleurs, elle sous-tendait déjà notre mémoire de licence, consacré à la période du Front populaire. Les débats passionnés de l'époque nous ont amenée à nous interroger sur l'après-Libération. Comment la France s'est-elle relevée de son effondrement rapide du printemps 1940 et, plus largement, du traumatisme que fut le second conflit mondial ? Quelle place, quel rôle, quelle mission lui accorde-t-on encore et accepte-t-elle d'assumer au sortir de celui-ci, dans un monde en pleine recomposition, entre guerre froide, érosion des Empires et début de la construction européenne ? Cette notion de rôle ou de mission s'applique à la France mieux qu'à toute autre nation. La France dite « éternelle », c'est-à-dire celle qui allie l'héritage royal aux grands principes de la Révolution qu'elle veut universels, joue en effet un rôle particulier dans l'imaginaire collectif, parce qu'elle est stratégiquement, historiquement et culturellement au cœur de l'Europe et parce qu'elle est traditionnellement considérée comme la représentante par excellence de la civilisation européenne. À travers le destin de la France, c'est le devenir d'une certaine tradition, de certaines valeurs et d'un certain mode de vie qui est en jeu. L'axe de réflexion que nous avons privilégié, dans le sillage de plusieurs publications dirigées par les historiens français Robert Frank et René Girault, est le concept de puissance, qui mesure la capacité d'un pays à imposer sa volonté aux autres ou à les influencer et qui, d'autre part, évalue le degré d'indépendance d'un Etat sur la scène mondiale. A la Libération, la France peut-elle encore être considérée comme une grande puissance ou a-t-elle perdu ce statut et, dans ce cas, a-t-elle intégré cette évolution dans ses schémas de pensée ? Plus concrètement, il s'agit de savoir dans quelle mesure et par quels moyens la France a pu préserver sa souveraineté et son rang, pour employer un terme très « gaullien ». Débordant largement la sphère politico-militaire, cette entreprise induit de fortes implications culturelles, tant il est vrai que Paris a souvent voulu compenser sur ce plan les faiblesses qu'elle ne pouvait ni cacher, ni surmonter sur d'autres. Il en découle une autre question fondamentale : la France reste-t-elle une puissance disposant, au surplus, d'une aura culturelle ou n'est-elle plus qu'une puissance culturelle ? D'autre part, cette aura est-elle prospective ou s'avère-t-elle passéiste et limitée à la préservation d'un héritage ? Ceci posé, il importait de déterminer un observateur. Parce qu'ils entretiennent avec la France un rapport particulier et ambigu, parce qu'ils sont à la fois semblables et différents, les francophones de Belgique, Wallons et Bruxellois, nous sont apparus comme un groupe cohérent et pertinent. Ils partagent avec les Français la même langue, la même culture et la même angoisse face à l'Est. Cependant, ils font partie d'un autre Etat et ressortissent à une autre histoire – si l'on excepte les années 1795 à 1815. Leur rapport à la France est donc unique, oscillant entre amour et déception, entre la proclamation d'une parenté spirituelle ou, selon certains, « ethnique » et le souci d'affirmer une identité propre. Par ailleurs, la période 1944-1951 voit, pour la première fois, le mouvement wallon se montrer plus actif et revendicatif que le mouvement flamand, qui a beaucoup gagné avant-guerre, qui se réjouit de la mise sur pied du Benelux mais qui, sur fond d'épuration, doit opérer une courbe rentrante. Si seuls les Wallons les plus radicaux réclament le fédéralisme, l'indépendance ou le rattachement à la France, l'immense majorité d'entre eux font entendre leurs craintes d'étouffement culturel, politique, économique et démographique. Ils sont rejoints en cela par les Bruxellois qui, eux aussi, prennent peur face à la loi du nombre. Enfin, dernier élément méthodologique, il nous a semblé essentiel d'envisager à la fois l'image de la France telle qu'elle a été perçue par les Belges francophones mais également telle qu'elle a été construite par la France elle-même à l'usage de ces voisins particuliers. En effet, si l'opinion est reflet, il est clair que celui-ci peut être façonné ou modifié de l'extérieur. Nous avons donc prêté attention à l'action culturelle de la France, à sa propagande, c'est-à-dire aux tentatives menées par la France officielle – le Quai d'Orsay, l'ambassade à Bruxelles et les divers consulats – pour infléchir son image dans un sens plus favorable ou pour construire une image différente d'elle-même, répondant davantage aux priorités politiques et culturelles définies à Paris. Les sources pour ce qui s'avère avant tout une étude d'opinion sont diverses. Face à la relative indigence, pour la période, des sondages et des études statistiques, nous avons privilégié les témoignages individuels, français et belges, sous forme de souvenirs, discours, brochures, essais, romans, papiers inédits, les sources diplomatiques françaises, belges et britanniques, riches d'observations et de renseignements sur les relations franco-belges, mais aussi et surtout la presse quotidienne et périodique (journaux, revues, illustrés) publiée à Bruxelles et dans les diverses provinces wallonnes. A la fois mine d'or et meule de foin, la presse a ses évidentes limites – nous y consacrons d'ailleurs un chapitre – mais reste incontournable pour les années 1945-1950, qui précèdent l'avènement de la télévision et vivent sous le régime de l'INR, radio d'Etat. Nous l'avons interrogée sur une variété de thèmes permettant d'évaluer la puissance française globale : la politique intérieure française, dans ses aspects institutionnels, sociaux et économiques, la politique étrangère, dans ses aspects diplomatiques et militaires, les questions liées à l'Outremer au sens large, mais aussi la vie culturelle – cinéma, littérature, arts plastiques – et, bien sûr, les relations franco-belges proprement dites, alors parasitées par des préjugés devenus traditionnels, par certaines frictions économiques, par l'omniprésente question royale et par le rôle, souvent fantasmé, de la France dans ce que l'on n'appelle pas encore le conflit communautaire. Quelles sont nos principales conclusions ? Tout d'abord, on notera la succession de deux périodes bien distinctes : les premiers mois de l'après-guerre, ère de glorification du miracle français et de la France nouvelle, laissent place, dès le second semestre de 1945, à la désillusion. La première époque correspond à une profonde adhésion des Belges francophones à la thèse officielle diffusée par le général de Gaulle et son gouvernement : non, la France n'a pas trahi car Vichy ne l'a jamais incarnée ; oui, on peut et on doit plus que jamais l'admirer pour sa résistance héroïque, qui rachète l'écroulement de 1940, et pour son profond désir de réformes politiques, économiques et sociales. En Wallonie et à Bruxelles, où l'on a souvent douté de la France durant l'occupation, chacun se trouve désormais de bonnes raisons de louer la France nouvelle et nombreux sont ceux, surtout à gauche, qui la comparent avantageusement à une Belgique prétendument sclérosée : n'a-t-elle pas la chance d'avoir un chef charismatique, de Gaulle, mais aussi une nuée d'hommes nouveaux, jeunes, dynamiques, issus de la Résistance et – ce qui plaît à droite – souvent élevés dans le sérail chrétien ? En réalité, cette France nouvelle rassure la Belgique francophone parce que celle-ci veut croire encore à un possible retour de l'ordre international classique. Certes, dans les grandes conférences – Yalta, San Francisco, Potsdam –, la France est absente ou minorisée, ce que d'aucuns, d'ailleurs, comprennent ou justifient, mais on se persuade qu'à moyen terme, elle reprendra une place de choix, d'arbitre peut-être, sur la scène mondiale. Toutefois, les mois passant, ce scénario devient de moins en moins crédible. Alors que la Belgique, bonne élève de l'Europe et enfant chérie des Anglo-Saxons, se redresse avec calme et méthode malgré la question royale, la France paraît, au contraire, patauger. Le nouveau régime qu'elle s'est donné ne satisfait réellement personne, la coalition au pouvoir – tripartisme puis Troisième Force – ne parvient nullement à assurer la stabilité de l'Exécutif, l'inflation est galopante, le rationnement reste strict, les grèves, insurrectionnelles ou non, se multiplient, et, jusqu'en 1947-48, certains redoutent une bolchevisation du pays. Bien plus, le malaise de la France, entre rébellion, apathie et nihilisme, semble se répercuter sur l'art contemporain : la littérature, la peinture, le cinéma français créent la polémique et divisent, selon des lignes de partage qui ne recoupent d'ailleurs pas les clivages traditionnels. La politique internationale de Paris, quant à elle, déroute : elle apparaît velléitaire, rigide voire impérialiste alors qu'elle devrait être souple et évolutive. Bref, dans leur grande majorité, les Belges francophones hésitent entre pitié et condescendance, colère et inquiétude. Rares sont les voix discordantes, souvent issues des milieux wallingants ou de sphères idéologiques soucieuses d'épauler leurs homologues françaises au pouvoir. La France est donc perçue par beaucoup comme l'homme malade de l'Europe, dont on craint la contagion. Et le Belge se prend à développer vis-à-vis du Français, incorrigible chauvin à ses yeux, un inhabituel complexe de supériorité. C'est l'époque où le riche touriste belge parade outre-Quiévrain au volant de sa « belle américaine » et s'offre, dans un pays convalescent, le luxe que lui permet son franc fort. C'est l'époque aussi où les plus unitaristes usent de l'état de la France comme d'un répulsif : pourquoi voudrait-on se rattacher à un pays manifestement en déclin ? Revers de l'universalité qu'elle prétend incarner, la France doit, en fait, rendre des comptes non seulement à son propre peuple mais aussi aux peuples voisins, à commencer par ceux qui partagent sa langue et vivent son évolution presque par procuration. Or, et c'est son drame, quel que soit le geste posé, elle se heurte à l'insatisfaction sinon à l'opposition d'une partie des observateurs. Et selon les faits et les moments, l'identité de ses adversaires et de ses défenseurs varie : l'image de la France est, par conséquent, profondément et perpétuellement brouillée et paradoxale. Mais, si paradoxe il y a, n'est-il pas également entretenu par la France elle-même ? L'image qu'elle construit par son action culturelle est, en effet, tout aussi ambivalente. Après avoir travaillé, en 1944-1945, à renouer des liens matériellement et intellectuellement distendus par la guerre et à reconquérir en Belgique un terrain naguère acquis, Paris va chercher à concilier deux exigences presque contradictoires : d'une part, rester fidèle à l'image traditionnelle qui fait de la France le temple des valeurs humanistes, du raffinement et de la douceur de vivre, bref être cette France éternelle, dépositaire d'un passé, et, d'autre part, démontrer son dynamisme, sa modernité au moment où la technique prend le dessus et devient la valeur de référence. La grande inquiétude réside dans la concurrence de plus en plus forte qu'il faut désormais affronter sur le plan culturel, en Flandre comme en Belgique francophone : on citera l'omniprésence du cinéma hollywoodien, le succès croissant du roman anglo-saxon et, en peinture, le déclin de l'École de Paris au profit de New York. Cette concurrence accrue et les restrictions budgétaires amènent la France à recentrer son action culturelle. Au grand dam des plus wallingants, elle mise avant tout sur la Flandre pour des raisons stratégiques : démographiquement, politiquement et économiquement, celle-ci représente l'avenir et l'on veut y sauver ce qui peut encore l'être pour la langue française. Les francophones ne sont pas délaissés mais on estime qu'ils sont capables, structurellement et financièrement, de défendre eux-mêmes une culture qui est aussi la leur. Toutefois, cette vision est peut-être trop optimiste. En effet, le Belge francophone de 1945 peine manifestement à définir ce qu'il attend de la France, preuve d'un déficit de visibilité. Notre analyse est que, pour l'individu lambda, la France s'identifie alors avant tout à une sorte de « paradis intemporel » ou de référent éthéré. Il ne faudrait pas pour autant en déduire qu'on la considère uniquement comme une puissance culturelle au sens large. En effet, les missions qu'on lui prête restent nombreuses et plus vastes : on veut qu'elle soit un garde-fou solide face à l'Allemagne, on veut aussi qu'elle prenne la tête de l'Europe en construction, on voudrait enfin qu'elle résiste à des Anglo-Saxons perçus comme trop matérialistes et pragmatiques. Mais, on estime que l'apport principal de la France au monde réside dans sa vocation éducatrice et civilisatrice ainsi que dans l'universalité de son message. Par ailleurs, il existe bien, dans le discours belge, une corrélation entre l'état de la puissance française, réelle ou supposée, et l'intensité avec laquelle on invoque le facteur culturel, qui peut aisément devenir un argument compensatoire. Remarquons que, de nouveau, les Belges francophones s'approprient ici un mécanisme de défense forgé par la France officielle. Comment, dès lors, ont-ils appréhendé le passage de la France au rang de puissance moyenne ou médiane ? Après une courte période d'euphorie, ils semblent avoir compris, avant les Français, que les temps avaient radicalement changé. Dès 1946, ils ont constaté et, le plus souvent, déploré l'impuissance française ou l'inefficacité des efforts français. Ceci se vérifie dans la presse comme dans les milieux dirigeants. On observe une France qui semble aller de recul en recul, qui, souvent, se replie sur elle-même puis qui, en 1950, surprend avec l'inventif et audacieux Plan Schuman mais, très vite, paraît retomber dans ses travers sur la question du réarmement allemand. D'autre part, on comprend mal le relatif succès du neutralisme tout comme on ne perçoit pas encore les effets bénéfiques de la modernisation et du Plan Monnet, qui ne seront patents que dans les années suivantes. Ce qui domine donc, à chaud, pour les Belges francophones, c'est l'impression d'une France qui s'adapte mal à la nouvelle donne mondiale alors qu'aujourd'hui, a posteriori, on estime plutôt que Paris est alors parvenue à conserver les attributs essentiels d'une puissance tels qu'ils pouvaient s'exprimer au sein d'un bloc dominé par une super-puissance. Mais, quoi qu'il en soit, deux réalités s'imposent : le déplacement du centre de gravité mondial et la modification des rapports internationaux. Les Belges qui, en 1945-1950, ont disserté sur la France appartiennent à trois générations : la première a connu l'affaire Dreyfus et la France revancharde d'avant 1914 ; la deuxième a eu vingt ans au cœur des « années folles » qui ont suivi l'Armistice de 1918 ; la troisième a vécu la seconde guerre comme un rite de passage à l'âge adulte. Pour cette dernière génération, la France n'est plus le centre du monde. Elle reste une référence mais les horizons se sont élargis. La culture anglo-saxonne a commencé à déferler. Les nouveaux décideurs belges, de plus en plus souvent scientifiques ou économistes, ont complété leur formation de l'autre côté de la Manche ou de l'Atlantique alors que leurs aînés, plus littéraires, avaient davantage fréquenté la Sorbonne ou le Collège de France. Les jeunes Wallons et Bruxellois de la Libération restent attachés à la culture et à la langue françaises, qu'ils défendent et dont ils souhaitent préserver la prédominance, mais ils refusent tout exclusivisme. Ils souhaitent aussi que la Belgique francophone devienne plus autonome et que les échanges avec Paris cessent de se faire à sens unique. Leurs pères, eux, sont inquiets voire déroutés par l'évolution en cours, ainsi que le prouvent leurs invocations répétées de la France comme rempart contre un technicisme inhumain. Mais n'est-ce pas parce que le recul de la France signe aussi la fin de « leur » Belgique, la « Belgique de papa », cette « Belgique française » héritée de 1830 ? Par ailleurs, les rapports internationaux sont en train de changer de nature. Le bilatéralisme s'efface progressivement devant le multilatéralisme. Avec l'entrée en guerre froide et les débuts d'une unification inter- ou supra-étatique, la France ne perçoit plus la Belgique comme l'alliée indispensable mais comme un élément parmi d'autres au sein du bloc occidental ou de l'Europe. En conséquence, on voit s'émousser l'attention de Paris pour Bruxelles. La réciproque est vraie, même si le phénomène est peut-être moins affirmé. L'intérêt, si perceptible à la Libération, pour le rôle et la place de la France subsiste au début des années cinquante mais les Belges savent que, quoi qu'il arrive, une architecture nouvelle les protège, dont l'OTAN est la principale incarnation. Désormais, Wallons et Bruxellois veulent simplement que la France soit suffisamment forte pour tenir tête à l'Allemagne, dont ils se méfient encore, et que la culture française demeure suffisamment influente pour leur servir d'argument face aux appétits de la Flandre. Pour le reste, Paris n'est plus la carte maîtresse, celle que l'on brandissait hier, selon les cas, comme un talisman ou comme un épouvantail.
The Situation In The Middle East Report Of The Secretary-General On The Implementation Of Security Council Resolutions 2139 (2014), 2165 (2014), 2191 (2014), 2258 (2015), 2332 (2016) And 2393 (2017) ; United Nations S/PV.8206 Security Council Seventy-third year 8206th meeting Friday, 16 March 2018, 10 a.m. New York Provisional President: Mr. Van Oosterom. . (Netherlands) Members: Bolivia (Plurinational State of). . Mr. Inchauste Jordán China. . Mr. Ma Zhaoxu Côte d'Ivoire. . Mr. Tanoh-Boutchoue Equatorial Guinea. . Mr. Esono Mbengono Ethiopia. . Ms. Guadey France. . Mr. Delattre Kazakhstan. . Mr. Umarov Kuwait. . Mr. Alotaibi Peru. . Mr. Tenya Poland. . Ms. Wronecka Russian Federation. . Mr. Nebenzia Sweden . Mr. Skoog United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland . Mr. Allen United States of America. . Mr. Miller Agenda The situation in the Middle East This record contains the text of speeches delivered in English and of the translation of speeches delivered in other languages. The final text will be printed in the Official Records of the Security Council. Corrections should be submitted to the original languages only. They should be incorporated in a copy of the record and sent under the signature of a member of the delegation concerned to the Chief of the Verbatim Reporting Service, room U-0506 (verbatimrecords@un.org). Corrected records will be reissued electronically on the Official Document System of the United Nations (http://documents.un.org). 18-07334 (E) *1807334* S/PV.8206 The situation in the Middle East 16/03/2018 2/10 18-07334 The meeting was called to order at 10.10 a.m. Adoption of the agenda The agenda was adopted. The situation in the Middle East The President: In accordance with rule 39 of the Council's provisional rules of procedure, I invite Mr. Staffan de Mistura, Special Envoy of the Secretary- General for Syria, to participate in this meeting. Mr. De Mistura is joining the meeting via video-teleconference from Brussels. The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. Recalling the Security Council's latest note 507 on its working methods (S/2017/507), I wish to encourage all participants, both members and non-members of the Council, to deliver their statements in five minutes or less. Note 507 also encourages briefers to be succinct and to focus on key issues. Briefers are further encouraged to limit initial remarks to 15 minutes or less. I now give the floor to Mr. De Mistura. Mr. De Mistura: We have been constantly, around the clock, in touch with the Secretary-General, my colleagues in the field and all those with influence because, as the Security Council knows, many events, some of which are very worrisome, have taken place in the past few days. On 7 March, I briefed the Council in consultations on the status of the implementation of resolution 2401 (2018). At that time, I said that there had not been any sustained ceasefire or adequate humanitarian access at that stage. On 12 March, the Secretary-General himself orally reported to the Council on the implementation of resolution 2401 (2018) and United Nations efforts to create such conditions by using his own good offices or those of his own team, including ourselves (see S/PV.8201). The Secretary-General also underscored that it was incumbent on all the parties and on all those with influence in the Council, in the Astana process and in the broader International Syria Support Group to act on the resolution throughout Syria without delay. Allow me to update the Council on where we stand on the matter since then — that is, since the Secretary- General gave a very comprehensive report — on the very day after the sad anniversary of the beginning of the conflict. We are entering the eighth year. In everything that we are doing in the horrific conflict, our compass — and I know the Council feels the same — has been, is and should be the Syrian people, wherever they are, who are telling us that they are fed up with the conflict and the way in which civilians are being affected in the cross-fighting. That is our compass. So whatever we do these days and whatever we suggest, including our current facilitation role, is constantly framed by the urgent needs of ordinary civilians — women, children and men. Since the briefing by the Secretary-General, in the past few days further meetings have taken place between the Russian Federation and Jaysh Al-Islam on the outskirts of Douma, which is the northernmost of the three opposition-controlled enclaves in eastern Ghouta. The result of that engagement is a tenuous and fragile ceasefire between the Government, the Russian military and the Jaysh Al-Islam forces, which has now largely continued to hold for the sixth day. We hope that it will continue to do so, notwithstanding the engagement between Government forces and Jaysh Al-Islam in other areas outside Douma, such as the village of Reihan. In other words, the talks, the discussions and the ceasefire have been effected and implemented with Jaysh Al-Islam in Douma but not beyond. However, that is only one part of eastern Ghouta. For example, the ceasefire is not being replicated in the rest of eastern Ghouta or elsewhere, and it is extremely fragile. While I speak, I understand that at this very moment there are some delicate meetings taking place regarding the follow-up to the arrangement regarding Douma. Let us therefore hope that the ceasefire holds because that would be at least one good piece of news among very bad news. The United Nations has been practicably offering its good offices but efforts to facilitate meaningful contacts between the Russian Federation and Faylaq Al-Rahman or Ahrar Al-Sham have not yet produced results. They are dominant forces in the two other enclaves in eastern Ghouta — in Harasta and around Kafr Batna, Ayn Tarma, Arbin, Zamalka and Jobar, respectively. In those two other areas, we have not seen any ceasefire to speak of. Rather we have seen Government forces and their allies pursue a concerted escalation against those two enclaves with rapid ground offensives, accompanied by shelling and airstrikes. Reports of a public market in Kafr Batna having been 16/03/2018 The situation in the Middle East S/PV.8206 18-07334 3/10 hit are just coming in. Of course, we need to verify them, since they are new reports. Again, regrettably, there are numerous civilian casualties. We have also seen continuous shelling coming from those areas of eastern Ghouta inside civilian areas of Damascus again. We are also hearing from people inside eastern Ghouta, asking the United Nations, the Council and Member States with influence to pressure the armed opposition groups to let civilians leave and to pressure all parties for a ceasefire and protection for those who do not want to leave but want to stay. The bottom line of all this is that too many civilians are suffering and too many have died in that area. Let me first say that it need not be that way. Negotiations in Douma in the past few days show that there is a way to create the conditions to advance the implementation of resolution 2401 (2018). As we have done so far, the United Nations therefore stands ready to offer its good offices to all parties to facilitate further engagement of that kind so as to make a concrete contribution to the implementation of resolution 2401 (2018) in all areas of eastern Ghouta. The United Nations is not ready to facilitate ultimatums from either side. It stands ready to facilitate discussion, a ceasefire and evacuations. Meanwhile, violence has escalated across many other parts of Syria, where there is no ceasefire to speak of. In Afrin, the Turkish Government forces and their armed allies continue to gain ground rapidly. We have also received reports of shelling in besieged Fo'ah and Kafraya — two villages which, for a long time, have been held by the opposition. There have also been air strikes in Idlib and a new armed-opposition offensive in Hama. Clashes and air strikes have also occurred in Dar'a, southern Syria. If now is the time for de-escalation, the Security Council had better convince me that de-escalation is indeed taking place. What we see on the map looks like the opposite — escalation. Let me re-emphasize that resolution 2401 (2018) cannot be applied piecemeal. It is not an à la carte menu. It applies to all non-Security- Council-listed terrorist groups across Syria. Let me also reiterate the words of the Secretary-General who stated that even efforts to combat terrorist groups identified by the Council do not supersede obligations under international law. I am sure that members of the Council will have the opportunity to hear a briefing from Mr. Mark Lowcock. Meanwhile, since I have the opportunity to brief the Council today, let me provide some information about the humanitarian situation. On 13 March, the United Nations observed the evacuation of 147 civilians, including 10 critical medical cases — the majority of them women and children from Douma who sought shelter in rural Damascus. Based on the outcome of discussions and meetings between the Russian military and Jaysh al-Islam, facilitated by the United Nations, on 15 March, United Nations colleagues also delivered a convoy of food assistance to Douma for 26,100 people in need. Additional medical cases were also evacuated. Let us be honest and admit that positive efforts are generally welcome and long overdue, but remain limited. Civilians require much more, including medical and health-care supplies, the restoration of water, commercial access and freedom of movement. Members of the Council must have seen the report in which Mr. Peter Maurer, who had been meeting with some of the people in eastern Ghouta, stated they were simply asking for water. They just needed water. Humanitarian colleagues who entered those areas spoke of having seen hunger, dire want, poverty, haggard faces and despair all around. Even for experienced people, such as my own humanitarian colleagues, it is an unsustainable situation in which people are on the brink of collapse a few kilometres — 20 minutes' drive — from Damascus. Let me be clear, that is only in Douma — an area which has seen a few days of ceasefire and positive movement on humanitarian access. Can we imagine the situation elsewhere? In other words, in the other two enclaves of eastern Ghouta further south, we have seen no ceasefire to speak of and to borrow the words of the Secretary-General, people are still living in hell on Earth. Scores of people have been killed and the injured left unattended because health workers could not reach them due to the relentless air strikes. We have heard fresh allegations about the use of incendiary weapons in various urban areas and the targeting of medical facilities since 12 March, as well as new and disturbing allegations of chlorine use in those areas. As the Secretary-General has stated, we cannot independently verify those allegations but we also cannot and should not ignore them. We have also received reports of thousands of people displaced, some moving further into eastern Ghouta and many others exiting en masse in large groups, as a result of the advances of the Syrian Government in Hama, Noria and in Saqba. S/PV.8206 The situation in the Middle East 16/03/2018 4/10 18-07334 Evacuations not observed by the United Nations are also reported to have taken place, including from Misraba and other areas. The United Nations was not present to observe those evacuations and is unable to know the precise number of them. We urge parties that all evacuations must take place in accordance with the highest protection standards under international humanitarian law and international human rights law. Whether civilians choose to stay or leave, they must be protected against attacks and have access to the essentials to survive. They must be safe and voluntarily enter a place of their of choosing. The United Nations stands ready to provide assistance to people in need — those who choose to stay and those who want to leave. We are also extremely concerned about the plight of civilians throughout Syria. They include the displaced, as well as almost 3 million in besieged and hard-to-reach areas and those caught up in escalations in Idlib, Hama, Aleppo and Dar'a. Resolution 2401 (2018) demands that all parties immediately lift the sieges of populated areas. To date, that has not occurred. According to my colleagues, the situation in Afrin is particularly worrying. We have received reports of tens of thousands of people displaced within Afrin and to nearby Tell Rifaat and surrounding villages, Nubul and Zahra, and other areas of Aleppo governorate. The United Nations has also received reports of civilian casualties and restrictions on movement for many of the large numbers of civilians seeking to leave the city. I urge all parties to ensure that civilians seeking to leave Afrin be given safe passage. Since 6 March, it has been reported that people in Afrin city have suffered from severe water shortages as its source of water has been damaged by the fighting. Allow me to add a point of particular importance that was revealed in a recent report. The safety of Syrian women in particular is threatened when they are evacuated following the lifting of a siege or end of a battle. Threats include widespread sexual and gender-based violence, which has been widely documented and mentioned by women's groups. The protection and needs of women must be at the forefront of our response. With regard to a separate humanitarian issue, on 14 March my technical team participated in the first meeting of the Working Group on detainees and missing persons that took place in Astana. We pressed the Astana guarantors at that meeting and before to make progress on the crucial issue, which to us, is one of the main reasons we attend meetings in Astana. It is an issue that has been at the forefront of our concerns. We have offered to host a standing secretariat so that information on detainees can be distributed in all meetings of the Working Group. Thus far, the guarantors have simply agreed to consider our proposal about a standing secretariat in Geneva to monitor the issue of detainees, but no final decision has been taken. We will intensify our contact with them and the parties in order to accelerate work on that important — frankly, crucial — humanitarian issue. We should remind ourselves that the issue of detainees and missing persons was first raised in Astana a year ago and, sadly, no concrete progress has been made so far. We owe it to the Syrian families on all sides who have long been awaiting word on the fate of their relatives. Although the logic of war clearly still prevails and resolution 2401 (2018) is not being implemented as it should be, as the Secretary-General stated, we absolutely refuse to give up hope of seeing Syria rising from the ashes. The Syrian people deserve to be helped. The Syrian people are proud. They love their country. We need to help them to go back to having a normal country. There too, it is with the people of Syria in mind and their legitimate aspirations for the long-term shape of their country that we continue our political efforts — in spite of what we see on the ground — for a sustainable settlement of the conflict. And there too, the voices of women across Syria conveying their wish to play a meaningful role — just as with our own civil society — in the next stage of the political process must be heard. Therefore, my team and I have continued to consult, in the context of the political side, widely and intensively on the formation of the constitutional committee in Geneva in an effort to advance the full and complete implementation of resolution 2254 (2015) within the framework of the United Nations-facilitated political process in Geneva. To this end, we seek to leverage the momentum produced by the Sochi final declaration, which emphasizes the fact that we should have a constitutional committee in Geneva with the assistance of the United Nations. We take note, therefore, of the statement issued — today, I believe — by the Astana guarantors in their own ministerial meeting, in which they reaffirmed that "the results of the Sochi Congress, especially to form the constitutional committee and to facilitate the 16/03/2018 The situation in the Middle East S/PV.8206 18-07334 5/10 beginning of its work in Geneva with the assistance of the United Nations Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Syria as soon as possible." However, I have to be frank. I must report that at this stage — more than two weeks beyond one month since the National Dialogue Congress in Sochi — we have not yet received the complete inputs on the pool of candidates for a constitutional committee developed in Sochi, from the three guarantors. It is my intention, in close consultations with all concerned, to look carefully at this pool when we receive it, and at others as required and consistent with resolution 2254 (2015), to facilitate the establishment of the constitutional committee. I must also report, once again, that there is still some serious homework to be done regarding the Syrian Government's readiness to engage on implementing the Sochi final declaration and moving forward with a constitutional committee in Geneva. I have impressed that on the relevant guarantors repeatedly in recent weeks, just as I continue to make clear the readiness of the United Nations to engage the Government of Syria on this matter. We need them to be part of it. We need to have the comprehensive participation of all Syrian parties. In the meantime, we have been proactive in offering creative suggestions as to how to expedite the formation of that constitutional committee. We continue to assess various options on how to advance discussions on all four baskets of the political process in Geneva. In particular, it is clear that there must be more and serious talks with the Government, the opposition and all Syrian and international stakeholders on what is required in order to establish a secure, calm, neutral environment, as per resolution 2254 (2015), in which a constitutional process and United Nations-supervised presidential and parliamentary elections, pursuant to a new constitution, could viably take place. We remained determined to engage all parties. As I said in my most recent briefing, a month ago (see S/PV.8181), conflict is increasingly spilling over Syria's borders, or at least risks doing so. This month we have further incidents of potential and real international confrontation within Syria that we cannot independently verify, but which concern us. That is precisely we need urgent action on the political front. Syrians need to see some positive movement on the political process. On Monday I will be attending a meeting of European Union (EU) Foreign Ministers here in Brussels. On Tuesday, I should be back in Geneva. I will attend the meeting at the invitation of High Representative Mogherini, in the context of the preparatory efforts of the EU and the United Nations for their joint ministerial conference in Brussels at the end of April. I hope that the Conference will provide a significant opportunity to bolster international support for the Syrian people though humanitarian commitments. I also hope that the gathering of a significant number of Foreign Ministers will also provide an opportunity to reinvigorate the collective efforts of the international community towards a sustainable peace through the United Nations-led peace process in Geneva, within the framework of resolution 2254 (2015) and other relevant resolutions. In conclusion, I urge caution. We must recognize that we are witnessing developments of the utmost gravity on the ground. These events demand action, and the world is worried and watching. I remain concerned that concrete matters that we have been trying to advance — resolution 2401 (2018), detainees and a constitutional committee — need to move faster and with more meaningful impact than has so far proven possible. And de-escalation must replace what we are watching at the moment — a clear tendency towards escalation. I will continue, creatively and determinedly, to seek to facilitate the overall political process. As the Secretary-General said on Monday, the ultimate goal is to help the Syrians and to "see a united, democratic Syria able to avoid fragmentation and sectarianism and with its sovereignty and territorial integrity respected, and to see a Syrian people able to freely decide their future and choose their political leadership." (S/PV.8201, p. 5) The President: I thank Mr. De Mistura for his briefing. I now give the floor to those Council members who wish to make statements. Mr. Tenya (Peru) (spoke in Spanish): We thank you, Sir, for convening this meeting and Mr. De Mistura for his briefing. We are grateful for his tireless and important efforts. We agree that the continuation of the conflict and the regrettable humanitarian situation in Syria undermines the prospects of making political S/PV.8206 The situation in the Middle East 16/03/2018 6/10 18-07334 progress. The unpunished lack of compliance with international law, international humanitarian law and Security Council resolutions erode the needed trust for sustainable peacebuilding. While we express our deep sympathy and solidarity with the victims, we would like at the same time to indicate our concern over the impact of the Syrian conflict on regional stability, the Council's credibility and the functioning of an rules-based international system. More specifically, the international community is awaiting an immediate ceasefire throughout Syria, full access to the needed humanitarian assistance, the attainment of a political agreement that could bring about sustainable peace in Syria, and accountability for the heinous crimes committed, including the use of chemical weapons. There can be no more excuses and no more delays. The humanitarian ceasefire, as stipulated in resolution 2401 (2018), must be implemented immediately in eastern Ghouta, Idlib, Afrin, Raqqa, Rukban and throughout Syria. All parties should commit to resolving the conflict peacefully, in accordance with resolution 2254 (2015) and the Geneva communiqué (S/2012/522, annex). That will require the constructive participation of the Syrian Government and the opposition groups in establishing a constitutional committee, as agreed in Sochi. We believe that a new constitution must be drafted to lay the political and institutional groundwork for sustainable peace in Syria. The Syrian Government and all parties to the conflict must rise to the occasion in confronting the gravity of the situation, prevent its further deterioration and escalation, and fulfil their obligations and responsibilities. The Astana guarantors must also meet expectations in terms of the special responsibility entailed by their influence and involvement on the ground. Yesterday's meeting in Astana and the meeting to be held in Istanbul in early April must yield concrete outcomes, including in the matter of those detained and missing. As a member of the Council, Peru believes that its own responsibility vis-à-vis the tragic humanitarian situation in Syria entails requiring all parties involved in the conflict, especially those with greater ability to influence events on the ground, to comply with international law and international humanitarian law. Peru places priority on the protection of civilians, in particular women and children, and stresses the importance of maintaining the unity of the Council concerning this and all other conflicts and humanitarian crises, wherever they might arise. In conclusion, we convey our support for Mr. De Mistura's work to encourage dialogue among the Syrian opposition groups that have expressed their willingness to comply with the ceasefire and expel terrorists from eastern Ghouta and other parties to the Syrian conflict. Mr. Esono Mbengono (Equatorial Guinea) (spoke in Spanish): We appreciate the initiative of convening this meeting owing to the gravity of the situation on the ground. We also thank the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Syria, Mr. De Mistura, for his informative briefing. As we continue to seek a solution to the tragic humanitarian situation throughout the country, it is also important to continue pursuing political efforts. We all believe that there is no military solution to the Syrian issue. The international community must continue to support and encourage the intra-Syrian negotiations and impress upon all parties that it is only by sitting around the negotiating table and engaging in frank, direct and inclusive dialogue that a solution can be reached that addresses everyone's concerns. In such a process, we must ensure that the sovereignty and unity of Syria are respected. We support the United Nations in its mission as a mediator in finding a political solution to the Syrian issue, pursuant to resolution 2254 (2015). It is imperative to relaunch negotiations in Geneva and all other peace initiatives, including those in Astana and Sochi, which must lead to the resumption of negotiations in Geneva. The final outcome must ensure the well-being of the Syrian people. Consolidating a political process in Syria will be difficult without eradicating terrorism. The international community must also demonstrate its unfaltering unity by joining forces and following the same criteria to combat the various terrorist organizations operating in Syria. Mr. Umarov (Kazakhstan): We thank Special Envoy De Mistura for his update. The humanitarian situation in Syria remains dire. We echo the United Nations call on all parties to facilitate a ceasefire and unconditional, unimpeded and sustained access to all people in need throughout the country, pursuant to resolution 2401 (2018). It is also vital to take the measures necessary to protect civilians 16/03/2018 The situation in the Middle East S/PV.8206 18-07334 7/10 and civilian infrastructure, including schools and medical facilities, as required under international law and human rights standards. As members of the Security Council are aware, the guarantor States of the agreement on the cessation of hostilities adopted a joint statement on the settlement of the conflict and its future direction at the meeting of Foreign Ministers on 16 March in Astana. Kazakhstan remains committed to bringing peace to Syria. The situation is not simple, but nevertheless we cannot give up. Kazakhstan has taken the following positions. First, we do not believe in a military solution, for that would only aggravate an already difficult situation. We need serious compromises from every side. Any conflict — even the most serious — ends with negotiations, and we must strive to achieve the goal of bringing peace to Syria. We know of many fine examples in which conflicting parties in many other countries have come together despite difficult negotiations so as to find common prosperity for their peoples. Secondly, Kazakhstan calls on the Syrian Government and opposition parties to immediately begin substantive talks on the entire spectrum of issues. Astana does not anticipate any political or international miracles, yet sees great promise in a collective and pragmatic approach. Kazakhstan, for its part, is deeply committed to ending the intense suffering, which has lasted for eight long years. We all know that today Syria is undergoing a significant challenge that must not lead to a deadlock, but offer new opportunities to pave the way to a peaceful and lasting political settlement to the crisis. We hope that the forthcoming ninth round of talks, to be held in Astana in May, will offer an opportunity to end the war. In that regard, we will urge the guarantors and Syrian parties to overcome their differences through dialogue and reach a final agreement covering every aspect of the issue. Mr. Tanoh-Boutchoue (Côte D'Ivoire) (spoke in French): Côte d'Ivoire thanks Mr. De Mistura, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Syria, for his briefing on the latest developments in the political process and the situation in the country, and for his work to find a solution to the ongoing crisis. The Ivorian delegation remains concerned about the upsurge in fighting, which with every passing day further distances us from finding a peaceful settlement through political negotiations. Despite the efforts of the international community to establish a ceasefire, we continue to witness indiscriminate attacks and bombardments in eastern Ghouta and other areas in Syria, thereby resulting in a large number of casualties among civilians and the destruction of important infrastructure. My country therefore calls once again for an immediate cessation of hostilities and urges the international community to work together towards the effective implementation of resolution 2401 (2018). That resolution, which was unanimously adopted by the Security Council, calls for establishing a humanitarian cessation of hostilities of at least 30 days so as to allow for the safe, lasting and unhindered access of humanitarian convoys to deliver essential supplies to the people of eastern Ghouta and other areas in Syria. Should it be implemented, such a temporary cessation of hostilities could not only alleviate the suffering of millions of people living in distress and hopelessness, but also allow for the resumption of political talks among Syrian parties in a peaceful environment. In that regard, Côte d'Ivoire hopes that the Astana meeting will lead to a lasting ceasefire, improve the humanitarian situation and establish the conditions for advancing the political process. My country welcomes all initiatives aimed at reviving the inter-Syrian dialogue and encourages Mr. De Mistura to continue undertaking, within the framework of the Geneva process, the steps needed to set up the committee responsible for drafting Syria's new constitution, as agreed at the meeting in Sochi in the Russian Federation. In conclusion, my delegation urges the Syrian parties to give priority to dialogue, which is the only way to advance the political process with a view to a definitive end to the crisis, in accordance with the road map laid out by resolution 2254 (2015). That is Côte d'Ivoire's profound conviction and it is in the interests of the Syrian people. Mr. Inchauste Jordán (Plurinational States of Bolivia) (spoke in Spanish): We appreciate the briefing given by the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Syria, Mr. Staffan de Mistura, to whom we reiterate our support in the discharge of his duties. As on previous occasions, my delegation wishes to express its support for the various meetings held in S/PV.8206 The situation in the Middle East 16/03/2018 8/10 18-07334 different contexts and at different levels, which have allowed for the creation of de-escalation zones, the cessation of hostilities and humanitarian access. At the same time, we remain converned over the urgent need to advance in a political process that will help to resolve the conflict in Syria so that the people can return to peace. That is why we again highlight the commitments made at the Syrian National Dialogue Congress, held in Sochi on 30 January. It focused on strengthening the political process led by the United Nations within the framework of resolution 2254 (2015), particularly through the drafting of a new constitution by a constitutional committee, which we believe should be representative and neutral. We underscore in particular that the mandate, terms of reference, powers, rules of procedure and selection criteria for the composition of the committee must be agreed in the United Nations-supported talks held in Geneva. In that regard, we firmly believe that the principles agreed at the Sochi Congress will lead to a strong commitment on the part of the parties to respecting the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria, in the context of its right to choose its own political, economic and social systems, without pressure or foreign interference. We are certain that the political process will resume as a result of those dialogues. However, and despite the advances in the political arena, we remain concerned over the critical situation of the Syrian people. In that regard, we welcome the holding of the Astana meeting and its outcome, and we hope that those political agreements will be reflected on the ground. We also express our greatest hopes for the success of the summit to be held shortly among high-level representatives of Turkey, Iran and Russia. We hope that it will serve to reaffirm the Astana agreements and de-escalation zones with a view to reducing violence and addressing the needs of families of detained, kidnapped and disappeared persons. Once again, the Council has the challenge of remaining united and calling on the parties involved to join forces and maintain the impetus of the Astana talks and the political process in Sochi, among others, the outcomes of which, we reiterate, must strengthen the political process in Geneva. We hope that those forums for dialogue will promote points of convergence and consensus in order to reduce violence and allow the humanitarian access that is so necessary, not only for the safe and dignified return of refugees and internally displaced persons, but also to achieve sustainable peace in Syria. To that end, it is crucial for the parties to demonstrate their willingness to seek a settlement to the conflict, which has persisted for more than 8 years. We again call on all parties involved to effectively implement resolution 2401 (2018) throughout the entire Syrian territory in order to achieve unrestricted humanitarian access and permit the necessary urgent medical evacuations. We reject any attempt at fragmentation or sectarianism in Syria, and believe that the Syrian people must be able to freely decide their future and political leadership within the framework of their sovereignty and territorial integrity. In that regard, we reiterate that the only way to resolve the conflict is through an inclusive, negotiated and concerted political process, led by the Syrian people for the Syrian people, which will enable a peaceful solution for all parties involved. The President: In accordance with rule 37 of the Council's provisional rules of procedure, I invite the representative of the Syrian Arab Republic to participate in this meeting. I wish to again remind all speakers to limit their statements to no more than five minutes in order to enable to Council to carry out its work expeditiously. Mr. Ja'afari (Syria) (spoke in Arabic): On 12 March (see S/PV.8201), I informed the members of the Security Council of a number of measures undertaken by the Syrian Government to alleviate the suffering of Syrians throughout my country caused by armed terrorist groups. Today, I assure those present once again that the Government of Syria is indeed most keen to save the lives of its citizens and continues to take all necessary measures to ensure their safety and security. In line with those efforts, the Government of Syria opened the new secure corridor in Hamouriyah village, which was liberated from terrorists yesterday in eastern Ghouta. Its aim is to assist the evacuation of civilians who are being used as human shields by terrorist groups. Just yesterday, Thursday, 15 March, more than 40,000 civilians exited eastern Ghouta through the new additional corridor. They went to the Syrian Government, which coordinated with the Syrian Red Crescent, to facilitate their safe transportation to temporary shelters that are equipped with all the necessary resources. They were not transferred to camps, or tents. The Syrian Army, in coordination with 16/03/2018 The situation in the Middle East S/PV.8206 18-07334 9/10 the Russian Reconciliation Centre for Syria, has opened a total of three corridors in Hamouriyah, Jisreen and Wafideen. Yesterday, the Government of Syria also allowed the entry of a joint assistance convoy of the Red Crescent, the Red Cross and the United Nations, made up of 25 trucks carrying 340 tons of various medical and nutritional supplies. The Syrian Government will continue to allow the passage of such convoys, security conditions permitting. In return for all those efforts undertaken by the Government of Syria to protect its citizens, the armed terrorist groups — upon direct instructions from the Governments of the States supporting them — continue to use civilians as human shields in eastern Ghouta and prevent them from using the corridors as they target them with bullets and missiles. It is quite strange that the Government of Syria is shouldering the huge responsibility of implementing resolution 2401 (2018) and responding to the needs of civilians exiting the inferno of terror in the eastern Ghouta, while the United Nations agencies working in Damascus, including the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, and Governments of other countries that are lamenting the destiny of our civilian population have done nothing materially or morally to alleviate the suffering of tens of thousands of people who have escaped from terrorism. One hundred thousand civilians were displaced in Afrin and around 100,000 fled eastern Ghouta —— a total of almost 200,000 civilians — yet no one has provided them with help. Some States members of the Security Council are abusing the work of the Council in launching campaigns to defame and spread misinformation about the Government of Syria, especially with respect to the unofficial Arria Formula meeting that the Council held on 12 March. However, I recall that the United Nations is an Organization of Governments and not a theatre for the display of power, and that giving the opportunity to terrorist groups, including the so called White Helmets affiliated with the Al-Nusra Front, to use the platform of the Security Council represents a gross violation of Security Council resolutions, especially those on combating terrorism. The biggest scandal is that one of the United Nations agencies working in Damascus has asked for the transfer of 76 White Helmets out of eastern Ghouta. It does not care about the tens of thousands of civilians but it cares about 76 White Helmet terrorists. If the Security Council really wants to know about what is happening in Syria, it should ask some of our people who are still living in the city of Raqqa to talk before the Council about the scandals perpetrated against civilians by the outlaw coalition, and its extreme respect for international law after it completely destroyed their city. The coalition has committed the most terrible massacres against civilians, provided protection to 4,000 terrorists affiliated with Da'esh, and facilitated their exit from the city of Raqqa in order to use them somewhere else in Syria. The city of Raqqa is to us what Dresden is to Germany. The Security Council should also ask to hear from some of our people in Afrin, who could tell its members about the ideal implementation of the provisions of international humanitarian law and resolution 2401 (2018) by the invading Turkish forces that have perpetrated terrible massacres against civilians and displaced tens of thousands of them. The Council should also ask some foreign terrorist fighters who have returned to their countries to explain in an open meeting of the Security Council how the Governments of their countries were actually involved in their recruitment, training and financing and how they provided them with arms and sent them to Syria to commit massacres against the Syrian people. The problem is, however, that these fighters have been recycled, renamed and rebranded as the moderate opposition in Syria. The Security Council should also ask some of our people who have left eastern Ghouta over the past few days to talk about the terrorist practices of Jaysh Al-Islam, Faylaq Al-Rahman and Ahrar Al-Sham, the three groups that have been called the moderate Syrian opposition by the United States, France, Britain and their agents in the Gulf Sheikhdoms, and to talk in particular about how those groups kill anyone who tries to get out. They have seized all forms of humanitarian and medical assistance and sold it at very high prices. The Council should also ask some of our people from Fo'ah and Kafraya to talk about their years of suffering in the ongoing oppressive siege there, which has been conducted by Al-Nusra Front with direct assistance from Turkey and Qatar. However, it seems that those defenders of humanity have no ears and tongues to listen about the suffering of those civilians and talk about it. If Western countries in the Security Council were one part in a thousand as sincere as the Russian Federation in their assertions that they really care about the Syrian people and respect the provisions S/PV.8206 The situation in the Middle East 16/03/2018 10/10 18-07334 of the international law, the purposes and principles of the Charter and the Security Council resolutions, particularly those pertaining to combating terrorism, then terrorism would not have emerged in Syria and in other countries. No civilian would have suffered in eastern Ghouta or in eastern Aleppo or in the old city of Homs, Raqqa or any other Syrian city. Those Western countries have invested in terrorism to bring down Iraq, Libya and Yemen. Now, they have also invested in terrorism in Syria and that investment has failed. It is as if these countries were saying that, given a choice between supporting the demons of terrorism, on one the hand, and the Syrian State, on the other, they, the sponsors of terrorism, would choose the demons. In conclusion, the Government of my country reiterates its principled position that the solution to the Syrian crisis is a political one, based on an intra-Syrian dialogue led by Syria without any foreign interference or preconditions. I have spent hours and hours in negotiations with Mr. De Mistura on those very words in resolution 2254 (2015). I remind Council members that the success of the political track and the tangible enhancement of the humanitarian situation will depend primarily on creating an environment conducive to international and regional commitment to seriously fighting terrorism in Syria and freeing the process from politicization. The President: There are no more names inscribed on the list of speakers. I now invite Council members to informal consultations to continue our discussion on the subject. The meeting rose at 11.05 a.m.
Correspondence of Mr. Myron M. Parker, American attorney and legal consultant; Mr. Roberto V. Pesqueira, Confidential Agent of the Mexican government; Senator Albert B. Fall; Mr. Fernando Iglesias Calderón, ambassador of Mexico in Washington, D.C.; Mr. J.H. Perestrejo; Mr. Ira Bennet, editor of the WASHINGTON POST, and Gen. Alvaro Obregón in which Mr. Parker informs Gen. Obregón that the Senator Albert B. Fall is awaiting victory in the elections to begin diplomatic relations between Mexico and the United States; he reports on the meeting Mr. Fernando Iglesias Calderón had with Mr. Norman Davis and sends him a newspaper clipping in which the rebellion of Gen. Francisco Villa in Tamaulipas is mentioned: "Envoy urges quick U.S. aid to Mexico. Another Revolt brews as Calderón asks recognition of Secretary Davis"; Mr. Parker also attaches a pamphlet that has a report from the President of the United States about the treaty signed in Bogota, Colombia, mentioning the policy nationalizing oil in that country; comments on the position of the Democratic Party respect to Mexico, stating that they will not recognize any president other than Gen. Obregón. Mr. Parker reports that Mr. Sherburne Hopkins claims to be the diplomatic representative of Mexico's interim government and regards him as a bad person; sends newspaper clippings: "Mexico will lift oil restrictions" THE EVENING STAR, U.S.A, July 9, 1920. Deals with the matter regarding petroleum concerning the application of Article 27 of the Constitution and the opinion of American Industrialists on the situation. "New Revolt in Mexico foreseen by Bonillas" THE EVENING STAR, U.S.A, July 9, 1920. Commentary by Engr. Ignacio Bonillas about the Agua Prieta Revolution against the government of Venustiano Carranza. "New Revolt plot bared in Mexico" THE WASHINGTON POST, Washington, D.C., U.S.A., July 10, 1920. Commentary about the organization that is being made by Mr. Luis Cabrera and Gen. Juan Barragán in the north of Mexico to rebel against the government of De la Huerta. Gen. Obregón's reply of acknowledgment and denying that Mr. Hopkins has any position within the Mexican government. Mr. Myron Parker sends Gen. Obregón a copy of the letter by former Ambassador in Mexico, Harry P. Fletcher, to Mr. Bainbridge Colby, Secretary of State, giving his opinion on the recognition of the provisional government; he attaches a newspaper clipping stating that the government of Adolfo de la Huerta could be recognized as "de facto" and some other proposals that must be concluded, among them, the pending issue of "Chamizal": "Urges caution Mexican Policy" THE WASHINGTON POST, Washington, D.C., U.S.A., July 12, 1920. Gen. Obregón informs that Mr. Ignacio Bonillas has gone to Washington and has made statements to the press about the murder of President Venustiano Carranza; he states that the candidacy of Engr. Alfredo Robles Domínguez is the representation of the clergy and informs about the recognition of the Mexican government by the United States; attaches newspaper clippings: "Text of Senator Harding's speech accepting the nomination" THE NEW YORK TIMES, New York, New York, July 23, 1920 **. COREY, Herbert "Villa dares not give up his role as bandit chief", U.S.A., July 19, 1920, in which it is detailed the steps for the demobilization of Gen. Francisco Villa's armed forces; sends a copy of the letter addressed to Mr. Fernando Iglesias Calderón commenting on the diplomatic relations between Mexico and the United States; comments on the mission of Gen. Salvador Alvarado to obtain a loan from some capitalists in New York and commentary about the political state of Mexico. Attached is a newspaper clipping about policy in Mexico and the issue of Col. Esteban B. Cantú, Governor of Baja California, who is attempting to rebel against the government of Mr. Adolfo de la Huerta: "Fear coup by Huerta" U.S.A., August 10, 1920. Mr. Parker sends Gen. Obregón a questionnaire from Mr. Ira Bennet asking him about the political measures that Gen. Obregón will employ when he is elected President; he sends a copy of the letter sent to Mr. Fernando Iglesias Calderón recommending that the government designate a joint commission to handle the differences between Mexico and the United States so that they might be resolved; attaches a newspaper clipping in which Senator Harding's opinion about Mexico is given: "Harding salvaging 'failed league' to build a tribunal" THE WASHINGTON STAR, Washington, D.C., August 20, 1920. "Honors George Washington Mexican special Ambassador places wreath on Mount Vernon tomb". THE WASHINGTON STAR, Washington, D.C., August 20, 1920. Mr.Myron M. Parker congratulares Gen. Obregón on his election victory. Mr. J.H. Perestrejo transcribes the same message to Gen. Obregón. Mr. Parker recommends Gen. Obregón to designate a joint commission to facilitate U.S. recognition of the Mexican government. (Go to Files G-19, G-09; P-23 and P-011 of the same series). (The newspaper clipping from the NEW YORK TIMES, from July 23rd of 1920 go to archive 1, box 1, folder 2, folder 8). Files P-5 and P-05 / Correspondencia entre el Sr. Myron M. Parker, abogado y consultor de leyes norteamericano; Sr. Roberto V. Pesqueira, agente confidencial del gobierno de México; Senador Albert B. Fall; Sr. Fernando Iglesias Calderón, Embajador de México en Washington, D.C.; Sr. J.H. Perestrejo; Sr. Ira Bennet, editor del WASHINGTON POST y el Gral. Alvaro Obregón, en la que el primero comunica al Gral. Obregón que el Senador Albert B. Fall espera su triunfo en las elecciones para que se inicien las relaciones diplomáticas entre México y los Estados Unidos; informa sobre la entrevista que tuvo el Sr. Fernando Iglesias Calderón con el Sr. Norman Davis y le envía recorte de prensa en el que se menciona la rebelión del Gral. Francisco Villa en Tamaulipas: "Envoy urges quick U.S. aid to Mexico. Another Revolt brews as Calderón asks recognition of Secretary Davis"; anexa un folleto que tiene un informe del Presidente de los Estados Unidos sobre el tratado firmado en Bogotá, Colombia, mencionando la política de nacionalización del petróleo en ese país; comenta sobre la posición del Partido Democrático con respecto de México, indicando que no reconocerán a otro presidente que no sea el Gral. Obregón; informa que el Sr. Sherburne Hopkins dice ser el representante diplomático del gobierno provisional de México y le considera como una persona negativa; envía recortes de prensa: "Mexico will lift oil restrictions" THE EVENING STAR, E.U.A., Jul. 9, 1920. Trata la problemática del asunto petrolero con respecto a la aplicación del Artículo 27 Constitucional y la opinión de los industriales americanos sobre esta situación. "New Revolt in Mexico foreseen by Bonillas" THE EVENING STAR, E.U.A., Jul. 9, 1920. Comentarios del Ing. Ignacio Bonillas sobre la revolución de Agua Prieta en contra del gobierno de Venustiano Carranza. "New Revolt plot bared in Mexico" THE WASHINGTON POST, Washington, D.C., E.U.A., Jul. 10, 1920. Comentarios sobre la organización que están haciendo los Srs. Luis Cabrera y Gral. Juan Barragán en el norte de México para rebelarse en contra del gobierno de De la Huerta. Respuesta del Gral. Obregón de enterado y negando que el Sr. Hopkins tenga algún cargo del gobierno mexicano. El Sr. Myron Parker envía al Gral. Obregón una copia de la carta que dirigió el ex-Embajador en México Harry P. Fletcher al Sr. Bainbridge Colby, Secretario de Estado, dando su opinión respecto al reconocimiento del gobierno provisional; anexa recorte de prensa indicando que el gobierno de Adolfo de la Huerta podría ser reconocido como "de facto" y algunas propuestas que deben concluirse, entre ellas está la cuestión pendiente del "Chamizal": "Urges caution Mexican Policy" THE WASHINGTON POST, Washington, D.C., E.U.A., Jul. 12, 1920. El Gral. Obregón comunica que el Sr. Ignacio Bonillas ha ido a Washington y ha hecho declaraciones a la prensa sobre el asesinato del presidente Venustiano Carranza; indica que la candidatura del Ing. Alfredo Robles Domínguez es la representante de los clericales y le informa acerca del reconocimiento del gobierno mexicano por parte de los Estados Unidos; anexa recorte de prensa: "Text of Senator Harding's speech accepting the nomination" THE NEW YORK TIMES, Nueva Yor, N.Y., Jul. 23, 1920 **. COREY, Herbert "Villa dares not give up his role as bandit chief", E.U.A., Jul. 19, 1920, en el cual se indican las gestiones para el licenciamiento de las fuerzas del Gral. Francisco Villa; envía copia de la carta que dirigiera al Sr. Fernando Iglesias Calderón comentando sobre las relaciones diplomáticas entre México y los Estados Unidos; comenta sobre la misión del Gral. Salvador Alvarado para obtener un préstamo de algunos capitalistas de Nueva York y comentarios sobre la política de México; anexa recorte de prensa sobre la política de México y el asunto del Corl. Esteban B. Cantú, Gobernador de Baja California, quien intenta rebelarse en contra del gobierno del Sr. Adolfo de la Huerta: "Fear coup by Huerta" E.U.A, Ag. 10, 1920. El Sr. Parker envía al Gral. Obregón cuestionario del Sr. Ira Bennet preguntándole sobre las medidas políticas que adoptará el Gral. Obregón cuando sea electo Presidente; envía copia de la carta que dirigió al Sr. Fernando Iglesias Calderón recomendándole que el gobierno designe una comisión mixta para que se traten las diferencias existentes entre México y los Estados Unidos a fin de que se resuelvan; anexa recorte de prensa en el que aparece la opinión del Senador Harding acerca de México: "Harding salvaging 'failed league' to build a tribunal" THE WASHINGTON STAR, Washington, D.C., Ag. 20, 1920. "Honors George Washington Mexican special Ambassador places wreath on Mount Vernon tomb", THE WASHINGTON STAR, Washington, D.C., Ag. 20, 1920. El Sr. Myron M. Parker felicita al Gral. Obregón por su triunfo electoral. El Sr. J.H. Perestrejo transcribe al Gral. Obregón el mismo mensaje. El Sr. Parker recomienda al Gral. Obregón que designe una comisión mixta para gestionar el reconocimiento del gobierno mexicano por los Estados Unidos. (Véanse Exps. G-19 y G-09; P-23 y P-011 de esta misma serie). ( El recorte de prensa del NEW YORK TIMES, del 23 de julio de 1920 pasó al planero 1, cajón 1, carpeta 2, folder 8). Exps. P-5 y P-05
The twentieth century (characterized by the gruesome and haze of horror of two World Wars, the Cold Wars-CW, dictatorships, civil wars, genocides, etc.) has seen a great transformation in warfare but to the expense of the innocent civilians and yet in the full view of regulatory internationally recognized war-laws. So, if at one point in history, civilian populations hardly suffered war directly, the order of the state of affairs has now changed. Many civilians perish simply because warlords so desire; extremes of violence, killings and destruction of property is predominantly preferred. As if that is not enough, the indifference of the majority of the public in tranquil zones of the world towards the fate of the civilians in zones under by fire kind of provide implicit licenses to violence planners to do whatever it takes to "win". Consequently, great numbers of survivors are seen trying to escape from situations of assured death to that of probable death. It is against this background that we feel moved to take on this dissertation. Bearing in mind the generally complex and challenging contemporary conflicts that acutely breeds volatile security environments (for civilians), our thesis is that there needed to be an increased, noteworthy and continued applicable innovation of approaches to civilian protection. To be precise, as a strategy to sustainable peace, we have aspired after a world where the United Nations Peacekeeping Department (UNPKD) is not singly considered the sole custodian of the concept of civilian protection but (based on contexts and cases) as one but a leader among other stakeholders (local and foreign) able and ready to contribute to the common-pool of operational arenas. Thinking about these other stake holders, we have in this work stood by those that: firstly, move towards more civilian-centered operations that are; secondly, carried out by (a mixture of grassroots and international) unarmed civilians by means of; thirdly, engages nonviolent approaches and practices that in themselves anticipate the basic constituents of successive bottom-up Peacemaking (PK) and Peacebuilding (PB) in the hic et nunc of their Peacekeeping (PK) initiatives and applications. All these basics, in our view, do not just add up to drawing a continuous line that intersects the just mentioned Three Approaches to Peace (PK, PM, PB) coined by Johan Galtung way back in 1975; they also open avenues to sustainability. The thesis is taken on through three different parts; each subdivided into two chapters. With due attention to intrastate contemporary violent conflicts, the first part tries to demonstrate the reason why in PK there has been indeed need for rethinking the protection of civilians (PoC) and/or for enriching the methods until now employed in bringing it about. In the first chapter of the part, we kind of gave a sketchy attention to the historical journey that the patterns of violent conflicts in relation to the fate of non-combatants have made. It emerges that, unlike in the past, the pattern of contemporary violent conflict, especially with reference to the CW (especially in third-world countries) and post-CW periods, have become severely complex to handle. Wars have continued and proved to be very hot especially on the populations on the periphery; on those who are minimally directly concerned with and honestly ignorant of its objectives. In the period in question, these innocent men, women and children are more than ever struck hard not just by its direct consequences but also the indirect ones and their hopes are constantly put at the brink of mere survival and of the grave. Mores so the lucky ones who manage to escape these snares, continue to unwaveringly hope for bread, freedom, justice and peace, instead of iron that kills and destroys. In chapter II of the same part, looking at the commitments borne by the UN right from its early years in keeping, initially, the interstate and successively also the intrastate peace (of those tormented by reign of violence and terror), we acknowledge the strides gradually taken along the years. These strides has better late than never embraced a multidimensional point in time where civilian protection counts as a primacy. Accordingly, we recognize that the UN military PK is certainly capable of reducing the level of tension in conflicts but we also negated that, by so doing, it is able to guarantee a durable peace not only because of the application of the non-peaceful means which is limited to separating the conflicting parties but also because it lacks the strategic concern of fostering an active citizenship which is a basic ingredient to democratic populace. In Part Two, we have concentrated on the vision and the peculiar picture of the practitioners of the alternative way, particularly; the Nonviolent Peaceforce (NP) which operates on a benchmark of bottom-up strategic empowerment of local civilian unarmed and nonviolent efforts by international unarmed and nonviolent civilians to protect civilians, prevent, reduce and stop violent conflicts. The first chapter of this second part begins by singling out some of the nuts and bolts (Like: The centrality of sustainability; strategic, local and multilevel capacity and relational empowerment and mediation for peace; conflict transformation as the adequate language; nonviolence and nonpartisanship as a philosophy) that make Unarmed Civilian Protection (UCP) stands out faithfully to the above stated aspirations. Without giving importance to the chronological specifics and with a particular reference to the assessment of the practicality of the project that, on a later date, would organizationally become the NP, an extensive attention is paid to the vicissitudes that surrounded the founding of this UCP protection agency and especially to the foundations of the formative elements entailed. Chapter II does not only build on the findings and stimuli of Chapter I, it supersedes it and makes real a new and distinct reality. Herein, a unique place is devoted to the formative components reserved to the practitioners as a strategy for guaranteeing the competencies and high professionalism needed for the successful execution of field strategies attached to the NP UCP objectives, principles, key methods and practices. Through the analysis of the UCP Training Course entitled "Strengthening Civilian Capacities to Protect Civilians; A joint UNITAR- Nonviolent Peaceforce online Course" the chapter tries to show how the activities of the organization intrinsically flow from its very being; from elements which define it. And this is illustrated in how the very life of the NP UCP is blended with its formative spirit and content; a sort of transformative training that seeks to promote transformative operational frameworks that applicable to situations and contexts. The third part of the work is an applied one. It is dedicated to our chosen case study, namely, NP's intervention in the longtime violence-stricken Republic of South Sudan; in a country which (Thomas Hobbes would say) has once again reverted to its natural state; a harsh reality of hand to mouth living and a never ending search for sustenance in an ambiance virtually challenging to change. In chapter I, the pragmatic implementation of NP UCP in strengthening the local civilians' capacity, security and sense of safety in situation of violent conflict is marked out. Here, some concrete instances of this intervention are presented to exemplify the claim that a multiple base of actors (UCPs, the inviting civil society and/or local NGOs of an UCP presence and local partners) can sustainably and strategically provide the PoC work that for a long time was and is still largely entrusted to the military. And at the end of the day PK, PM, PB resources are considered to consist in not only financial and material supports, but also, and (in the same way) importantly, the socio-cultural resources of the affected people. And in this way people in conflict settings are seen as resources rather than recipients. Even though we evidently confirmed that the alternative way counts exceptionally big in strategically promoting, developing, and implementing sustainable unarmed civilian PK as a tool for preventing, reducing and stopping violence and protecting civilians in situations of violent conflict, we also acknowledge that it is not without challenges. These are actually what chapter two of the part extensively dwells on. The second chapter is instead dedicated (at length) to looking at the challenges that NP faces not only with regard to its missions lands but also in general. We have gone about this in the form of a comprehensive assessment and in some humble recommendations are advanced. Among these challenges we have particularly paid attention to issues like: The meager UCP funding and the dominant top-down mentality; the violent bully character of some major world power wielders; the need for more practitioners to carry out UCP; the dynamicity and complexity of conflict nature as a challenge; conflict prevention challenges like delays in capturing the signs of time so as to effectively intervene; the presence of spoilers as a challenge; the challenge of effective sustainable credibility. Recommendations proposed include among others: Investing in systematic reflections on the extent of the progress and failures so far registered in efforts to involve the UN, regional bodies and other donor agencies or individuals in the cause of NP (UCP) and reflecting on the philosophy that underpins the reasons why financial assistance to UCP and NP in particular is founded; more emphasis on the already existing engagement with political leaders and other influential people and embarking on popular campaigns to propagate a concretely evidenced knowledge of the feasibility of the alternative way, instituting and investing in "School Project" (dedicated to preferably to high schools) within the NP Advocacy and Outreach office and insisting on the positives of volunteers' contribution; enriching a little more the content of the just elaborated online UCP training course; etc. Hereafter, the general conclusion of our dissertation will be drawn. A profound acknowledgement of the UNPK pivotal role with its actual multidimensional fronts in PK basically intended as PoC specifically in the contemporary intrastate violent conflicts. It is also observed that, thanks to the appropriate blending of local and international capacities giving priority to the former, UCP's strategic approach to PK (which is not limited to the PoCs but is also anchored to preventing, reducing and ending not just those that are already on but also lays for standing up to the future possible ones) could be counted on. Thus far, it is on one hand, admissible that, despite all the challenges that there may be, NP (UCP) mechanisms is already proffering a great deal to this end, and on the other, it is evident that it can and should still do more. The ability of its interventions to stand the test of time and to stand up to the future conflicts (i.e. its sustainability) resides in a time which is not yet at hand and in the continuous involvement and inventiveness of many. As per now, if the Italian proverb "Il buongiorno si vede dal mattino" (Meaning: You can tell how something will go by how it begins) holds, then it is, up till now, realistic to count on NP as one of the most outstanding Bottom-up UCP organizations in the PoC in (selected) contemporary violent conflict situations. All that is needed is the building and the consolidation of international interest and support for UCP that presents the hope and reality of alternatives to over dependence on armed intervention; alternatives that chances the revitalization of local communities and the restoration of the social fabrics and capital of the affected people.
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Hamas's attack into Israel and massacre of Israelis, followed by Israel's war of obliteration on Gaza backed by the United States, is a political earthquake in the Middle East. Its tremors are shaking up the politics of the Horn of Africa, bringing down an already tottering peace and security architecture. It's too early to discern the shape of the rubble, but we can already see the direction in which some of the pillars will fall.The most obvious impact is that the Israel-Palestine war has legitimized and invigorated protest across the wider region. Hamas showed that Israel was not invincible, and Palestine would no longer be invisible. Many in the Arab street — and Muslims more widely — are ready to overlook Hamas's atrocious record as a public authority and its embrace of terror, because it dared stand up to Israel, America, and Europe.Hamas's boldness has given a shot in the arm to Islamists, such as Somalia's al-Shabaab. As the African Union peacekeeping operation in Somalia draws down, al-Shabaab remains a threat— and will likely be emboldened to intensify its operations both in Somalia and neighboring Kenya.Kenyan President William Ruto gave strong backing to Israel while also calling for a ceasefire. For the U.S. and Europe, Kenya is now the anchor state for security in the Horn — but it desperately needs financial aid if it is to shoulder that burden.The war is consuming Egyptian attention and terrifies President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who is treading a fine line between sponsoring pro-Palestinian protests and suppressing them.Red Sea SecurityThe Red Sea is strategic for Israel. One quarter of Israel's maritime trade is handled in its port of Eilat on the Gulf of Aqaba, an inlet of the Red Sea. Eilat is Israel's back door, vital in case the Mediterranean coast is under threat. Israel has long seen the littoral countries of the Red Sea — Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti and Somalia — as pieces in the jigsaw of its extended security frontier.Historically, Egypt has shared the same concern. Last year, revenues from the Suez Canal were $9.4 billion— its third largest foreign currency earner after remittances from Egyptians working in the Gulf States and tourism. Neither Israel nor Egypt can afford a disruption to maritime security from Suez and Eilat to the Gulf of Aden.The Red Sea is also the buckle on China's Belt and Road Initiative, with China's first overseas military base — strictly speaking a "facility" — in the port of Djibouti near the Bab al-Mandab, the narrow straits between the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea. More than 10 percent of world maritime trade is carried on 25,000 ships through these straits every year.Having long neglected its Red Sea coastline, Saudi Arabia has reawakened to its significance in the last decade. In the 1980s, amid fears that Iran might block tanker traffic through the Persian Gulf, Saudi Arabia built an east-west pipeline from the Aqaig oil fields to the Red Sea port of Yanbu al Bahr. Its strategic significance is back in focus.In parallel, the United Arab Emirates is well on track to securing a monopoly over the ports of the Gulf of Aden, which forms the eastern approaches to the Red Sea. It has de facto annexed the Yemeni island of Socotra for a naval base. The UAE is looking for a foothold in the Red Sea proper, and a string of satellite states on the African shore.All these factors intensify the scramble for securing naval bases in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. Djibouti is already host to the U.S.'s Camp Lemonnier along with French, Italian, Japanese, and Chinese facilities. Turkey and Russia are actively seeking bases too, focusing on Port Sudan and Eritrea's long coastline.Empowered Gulf StatesWell before the recent crisis, the Horn of Africa was becoming dominated by Middle Eastern powers. This process is now intensified. Decades of competition between Saudi Arabia and Iran for alignment of Sudan and Eritrea has swung different ways. Sudan's General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, formerly political partner of Benjamin Netanyahu and signatory to the Abraham Accord, cut an ill-timed deal with Iran in early October, to obtain weapons, which has embarrassed his outreach to Egypt and Saudi Arabia. More recently, Turkey and Qatar's regional ambitions have clashed with Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, especially over the Muslim Brothers — supported by the former, opposed by the latter. The latest emerging rivalry is between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.Saudi Arabia has positioned itself as the regional anchor. While running for president, Joe Biden called Saudi Arabia a "pariah." But it is now indispensable to the U.S.Among the Arab states. the UAE has been the most restrained in condemning Israel for its actions in Gaza. It has also said that it doesn't mix trade and politics— meaning that it will continue to implement the economic cooperation agreements it signed with Israel following on from the Abraham Accords. The UAE is also positioned at the center of the U.S.-sponsored India-Middle East-Europe Corridor (IMEC), unveiled at the September G20 summit in India as a response to China's Belt and Road Initiative.The UAE also has a free hand in the Horn of Africa, and in the last five years it has moved more rapidly and decisively than Saudi Arabia.Sudan's Fate between Riyadh and Abu DhabiAfter the eruption of war in Sudan in April, the joint Saudi-American mediation was in large part a gift from Washington to try to mend fences with the Kingdom. Talks in Jeddah resumed in late October, with the modest agenda of a ceasefire and humanitarian access, and a pro forma "civilian track" delegated to the African Union, which has shown neither commitment nor competence.Meanwhile, the Emiratis are backing General Mohamed Hamdan Dagolo, known as "Hemedti," who is currently driving the Sudan Armed Forces out of their remaining redoubts in Khartoum. This followed more than six months of fighting in which Hemedti's Rapid Support Forces gained a reputation for military prowess and utter disregard for the dignity and rights of civilians. Despite widespread revulsion against the RSF, especially among middle class Sudanese, UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed al Nahyan, known as MBZ, stuck with his man.In charge of the ruins of Sudan's capital city, Hemedti will soon be in a position to declare a government, perhaps inviting civilians for the sake of a veneer of legitimacy. What's holding him back is the ceasefire talks in Jeddah. His rival, Gen. al-Burhan is meanwhile floating a plan to form a government based in Port Sudan — raising the prospect of two rival governments, as in Libya. The real negotiations there are between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi. If the two capitals agree on a formula, the U.S. and the African Union will applaud, and the Sudanese will be presented with a fait accompli.Ethiopia Goes RogueIn Ethiopia, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's rule is underwritten by Emirati treasure. MBZ has reportedly paid for Abiy's vast new palace, a vanity project whose $ 10 billion price tag is paid for entirely off-budget. Abiy told lawmakers that this bill was none of their business as it was funded by private donations, directly to him. Other megaprojects in and around the capital Addis Ababa, such as glitzy museums and theme parks, have similarly opaque finances.Ethiopia's wars have depended on largesse from the UAE. Ethiopian federal forces prevailed against Tigray, forcing the latter into an abject surrender a year ago, on account of an arsenal — especially drones — supplied by the UAE. Abiy is currently rattling his saber against his erstwhile ally, Eritrea, demanding that landlocked Ethiopia be given a port, or it will take one by force. The likely target is Assab in Eritrea, though other neighbors such as Djibouti and Somalia have been rattled too.Eritrea unexpectedly finds itself as a status quo power and is relishing this role, tersely expressing its refusal to join in the confusing discourse from Addis Ababa. It suddenly has allies in Djibouti, Somaliland, Somalia and even Kenya — all of them threatened by Abiy's bellicosity.If Abiy does invade Eritrea, he will violate the basic international norm — the inviolability of state boundaries — and risk plunging his already failing economy deeper into disaster. This will pose a sharp dilemma for the UAE. It is ready to override multilateral principles, but whether it would bail out its errant client in Addis Ababa, and jeopardize its winning position in Sudan, is a different matter. It would also present Saudi Arabia with the dilemma of whether to back Eritrea's notorious dictator, President Isaias Afewerki.America and the Pax AfricanaPeace and security in the Horn of Africa isn't a priority for the Biden administration. Despite a rhetorical commitment to a rule-based international order, Washington has neither protected Africa's painstakingly-constructed peace and security architecture nor brought the Ethiopian and Sudanese crises to the U.N. Security Council.While the American security umbrella was in place over the Arabian Peninsula, the countries of the Horn of Africa had the chance to develop their own peace and security system, based on a layered multilateral structure involving the regional organization, the InterGovernmental Authority on Development, the African Union, and United Nations, with peacekeepers and peace missions funded by the Europeans. This emergent Pax Africana was already imperiled as the U.S. drew down and the Middle Eastern middle powers became more assertive. President Donald Trump authorized his favored intermediaries — Egypt, Israel, Saudi Arabia and the UAE — to pursue their interests across the Horn of Africa. The Biden administration has not pulled that back.It's possible that the administration cares about peace, security and human rights in Africa. But for as long as the U.S.'s Horn of Africa policy is handled by the Africa Bureau at the State Department — whose diplomats scarcely get the time of day from their counterparts in the Gulf Kingdoms — Washington's views will remain all-but-irrelevant. The Horn of Africa doesn't make the cut when staffers prepare talking points for President Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken or national security adviser Jake Sullivan to speak to their Arab counterparts. It's a prioritization that leaves the region in a deepening crisis, at the mercy of ruthless transactional politics.America's well-established practice of treating Israel as an exception to international law is rubbing off on Israel's allies and apologists across the Middle East, who are actively dismantling the already-tottering pillars of Africa's norm-based peace and security system. Those African countries most in need of principled multilateralism are paying the price.
Erase and Forget is an inquiry into the nature of human conscience and the limits of deniability. It premiered at the 2017 Berlin Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Glashuette most original documentary award. Charting 'the deep bonds between Hollywood's fictionalized conflicts and America's hidden wars', Andrea Luka Zimmerman's ERASE AND FORGET is a new investigative documentary which charts the extraordinary life and times of Bo Gritz, one of America's highest decorated veterans and the 'inspiration' for Rambo and Brando's Colonel Kurtz. Using never before seen archive footage of covert US operations, and interviews filmed over a ten year period, ERASE AND FORGET provides a complex perspective of an individual and a country in crisis. ERASE AND FORGET is a compelling inquiry into the nature of human conscience which raises urgent questions about US militarism and gun control, and embodies contemporary American society in all its dizzying complexity and contradictions. Erase and Forget was long-listed for BIFA new talent emerging producer award, with Ameenah Ayub Allen, 2018 / Nominated for Glashuette original documentary award, Berlin Film festival, 2017 /Platinum Reel Award, Nevada International Film Festival, 2018 / Semi finalist, best documentary Hot Springs Womens film festival, 2018 / Spotlight Documentary Film awards, 2017 Erase and Forget was screened at Spring Sessions in Wadi Rum, in Jordan (http://www.springsessions.org/happenings/announcement244?edition=edition2019-en) and in a special session at Goethe Institut Ramallah, including discussion with the director (https://www.events.ps/en/Events/1086/Screening-and-discussion-with-the-director-of-Erase--Forget). --- DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT: "You already know enough. So do I. It is not knowledge we lack. What is missing is the courage to understand what we know and to draw conclusions." Sven Lindqvist, from 'Exterminate All The Brutes' I chose to work with Bo over ten years because I needed to understand how he was part of history (as much as what history). I am fascinated by profound questions of responsibility – on the part of ourselves and others. There can be no moral high ground or hierarchy if we are genuinely seeking to understand extreme behaviour. We are part of a system that makes enormous profits out of structural and political violence. Bo is really a witness to the excesses of the military-industrial complex. I wanted to explore how a highly intelligent man came to believe, through cultural and social conditioning, that killing in such a way and on such a scale might be perceived as virtuous. My years with Bo recorded his reflections on life before, during and after his time as 'the real Rambo – the American Warrior'- when the reasons for transgressing these boundaries had shifted. Bo is a man of a thousand faces. His is a public life lived in the media age. It is a life made from fragments, from different positions, both politically and in terms of their mediation. His life is contradictory and assembled from all these shards. There is no single 'right' life or reading of his public activities. My portrait of Bo is drawn mainly from original material, which I shot over ten years, but it also includes found footage from the world's first truly public archive – the global online media bank, scattered across numerous platforms. My structural approach is instinctual, distinctive, and formally rigorous articulated in tightly selected montages – each emotional unfolding is countered with a denial of feeling, hence producing a confliction emotional experience, truer the creative maladjustment necessary when grappling with structural and political violence and their spectacular representations through Hollywood (dominant) cinema. While working with a broadly chronological, autobiographical narrative, I also operate associatively, tracking parallels and seeking echoes and refrains of action and reflection across the decades of Bo's diverse military, political and social experiences. The exploration of this complex and constantly changing relationship between event and image is one of my key intentions in and for the film. When contentious ideas and actions enter this social mediated space, all too often crude binaries (of action and reaction, right and wrong, etc…) are created. These are, as is evident across the world today, extremely dangerous. I see my film being in creative dialogue with Swedish writer Sven Lindqvist's Exterminate all the Brutes, a seminal work exploring the origins of totalitarian thinking. The film is an inquiry into the nature of human conscience and the limits of deniability. Over the course of a decade of filming, it became clear that the focus must be Bo's own relationship with his public image, activities and response (underpinned by the known and covert activities of his military career). Director's Statement on the Relationship with Cinema: Hollywood's Ghosts Fiction creates reality. Hollywood and political structures in the United States are tightly knit. On a material level, there are exchanges of personnel and funds. Hollywood regularly employs (often retired) covert operators and military staff as advisers and the story rights of military operations often become the properties of major studios. Whereas the purchase of such rights is, by definition, often after the fact, on occasion funding precedes the event. For instance, a covert prisoner-of-war recovery mission led by Bo Gritz was in part financed by Clint Eastwood in return for a possible option on the story. It is variously claimed, that Bo is the soldier who the Rambo series is modelled on. The flow of funds from Hollywood to the military is not exclusive. The Pentagon contributes by providing army assistance (military advisers, helicopters, use of bases, etc…) to productions that it deems supportive of US policy. Such films inform climates of public opinion within which policy operates. They open imaginative spaces and arenas of ethical consideration in which certain kinds of military operations are validated. Furthermore, Hollywood cinema serves as a curious, discursive space for policy makers (and thus for speechwriters as well as scriptwriters). Ronald Reagan, on numerous occasions, publicly drew on the Rambo series to articulate his foreign policy vision and promote his political aspirations: "After seeing Rambo last night, I know what to do next time this happens." [Ronald Reagan, 1985] Where Reagan at times dipped into the movies to illustrate an argument, Bo is produced as if he were a movie star, by both the media and by his own public performances. On January 31st, 1983, CBS News described Bo's foray into Laos as "the stuff from which movies are made…a case of life imitating art". The inadvertently implied elision of difference between 'life' and 'art' in this strictly nonsensical news-speak is telling. Does the above mean that 'this mission is a model for movies that this mission is modelled on'? Touring the country for his own presidential campaign, Bo is hailed on national television as the 'real-life Rambo' as well as the "model for the real life Rambo". The description of Bo as a mythical figure has been drawn in terms of another such character: Colonel Kurtz. A journalist on Nevada Regional news, declared that Bo is "[…] the mythical Colonel Kurtz in Apocalypse Now…". It was not just the news media however, that tried to fuse Bo with the 'mythical' Colonel Kurtz. In 1975, Francis Ford Coppola's production company approached Bo during the making of Apocalypse Now to ask for permission to superimpose Marlon Brando's face over Bo's. As Bo explains, "he wanted to use the photograph in General William C. Westmoreland's book showing me with Nurse Toi kneeling in front of a lot of really mean-looking Cambodian mercenaries as the headliner for his new movie. Colonel Kurtz was commanding a Cambodian army and I was Major Gritz, and I did command a Cambodian army. Matter of fact I was the first to do so". What does it mean that Bo so eagerly figures himself as the man who inspired these representations? After all, he is not unaware of the fact that Coppola's Kurtz and indeed, the entire plot of Apocalypse Now, is taken from Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness and set in the context of the Indochinese war. Rather, Bo's suggestion that 'Kurtz' is a play on 'Gritz' not only indicates a desire to project himself as famous and infamous, it also points to a willingness to perform his own history, including that of his covert operations, in accordance with the conventions of Hollywood cinema. Bo's willingness to perform according to a 'script' (both inspired by Hollywood and subsequently itself adapted and produced by Hollywood in a feedback loop between the silver screen and covert policy) gives the POW 'production' an actual star – a star who becomes a simulacum of the Hollywood characters and vice versa. Bo's authenticity is produced not only by his own insistence that he is the basis for his Hollywood avatars, but equally by his parallel insistence that he has no interest in these figures or, as he dismissively puts it, 'Hollyweird' and its 'play acting'. This denial, by masking his desire to identify himself as the 'original', therefore makes his identification more plausible, precisely by producing him as 'the real thing'. The chicken comes back to roost Rambo III was released in 1988. The film ends with a dedication printed over its final scene: 'This film is dedicated to the gallant people of Afghanistan'. At the time of its release, the Reagan administration's covert funding for operations in Afghanistan was at its highest. The film premiered as President Gorbachev announced the withdrawal of Soviet forces from Afghanistan, a policy decision that was welcomed by none more than the marketing team working on Rambo III. The film rode the wave of euphoria for US political and military 'success'. This was, then, a historical context which enabled the film's hero to be figured – both by the film's marketing team and, indeed, by audiences, who read the film in the social and discursive context of the times – as individually responsible for the defeat of the Soviets in Afghanistan. There is another, utterly un-distributed film that stands as testimony to the Reagan government's dedication to the 'gallant people of Afghanistan'. Untitled and shot on Super 8 Sound film in the autumn of 1986, it is the record of a secret training program for Afghan Mujahedeen on US soil. Bo claims that the training program was initiated by the National Security Council (NSC) under the direction of State Department official William Bode and that the funding was allegedly channelled through Stanford Technology, a CIA front-company. Spectres Bo was part of a world where deniability lies at the forefront of action on the uncertain line between knowing and unknowing (post-truth before the event …). The spectral nature of covert operations resides in their being officially, 'neither confirmed, nor denied'. Thus the spectral is produced by official discourse, but admissible to it only as that which cannot be admitted. However, rather than being a product of official denial, it is a product of 'deniability'. This involves not the denial of a particular event, but the denying of official authorisation of an event. Dislocating action and intention, cause and effect, creates a shadow realm from which strategic operations march forward like zombies. An operation appears to have been carried out in the absence of an originating order. The action is spectral in as much as it seems to escape the laws of causality that govern the rest of the world – it is an effect without identifiable cause. A methodology of making This led me to develop a film making approach through which I have tried to understand the person within this context of visibility and invisibility – between deniable reality and fiction. There is a curious symmetry between the careers of Reagan and Bo. On the one hand there is the actor turned politician, who became President and imagined he'd been a soldier; and on the other there is the soldier who would have been President, who flirted with the movies and now defines himself as 'real' in contra-distinction to them. The relationship between Bo and the President he served has surely been subject to Bo's mythologizing autobiographical imagination. Nonetheless, the speculative discursive space that has opened around the relationship (in biographies and autobiographies, in news reports and internet conspiracy sites) has effected a conflation of political drama and movies, of covert operator (whose modus operandi is disguise, dissemblance, subterfuge) and movie actor. And so, focusing on such a figure as Bo, has allowed me to trace a series of discursive and imaginary movements that issue not so much into an exchange between domains, as a conflation of domains. Bo seems to induce a certain ontological confusion, a collapse of fiction and history, biography and popular myth, which is not restricted to his own imagination. It is a confusion that the media are happy to propagate (this is so for his detractors as well as his champions, for the major news channels and fringe internet conspiracy blogs alike). And how timely for our times this is… --- '.like a Lynchian nightmare of right-wing America.' Total Film ★★★★ 'The film is so loopy you end up like Laocoön, wreathed by serpents of paradox and contradiction.' Financial Times ★★★★ 'Zimmermann marshals her material…with relentlessly thought-provoking confidence.' Empire ★★★★ 'An especially probing portrait of a wounded man and his role in the fetishisation of state-sanctioned violence.' Time Out ★★★★ 'This illuminating portrait of a rather broken champion is enriched by extraordinary archive footage.' Filmuforia ★★★★ 'Gripping and jaw-dropping, it's a documentary that needs to be seen to be believed.' Morning Star ★★★★ 'Bo's nonchalance when talking about his behaviour in countries such as Panama makes your jaw drop. An education.' EVENING STANDARD 'This is a new way to make a documentary, exploiting the bountiful public record of the Internet age.' Variety …like a Lynchian nightmare of right-wing America. Tim Coleman, Total Film Erase and Forget reflects the kind of ideological instability that has contributed to the US's surreal political moment. Jessica Loudis, Frieze ERASE AND FORGET explores 'the deep bonds between Hollywood's fictionalized conflicts and America's hidden wars' through a complex portrayal of US soldier, whistle-blower and ex-presidential candidate Bo Gritz, taking us to a world before President Trump. One of America's highest decorated veterans, the 'inspiration' behind RAMBO, Colonel John 'Hannibal' Smith (THE A-TEAM) and Brando's Colonel Kurtz (APOCALYPSE NOW), Gritz was at the heart of American military and foreign policy – both overt and covert – from the Bay of Pigs to Afghanistan, before turning whistle-blower and launching anti-government training programmes. Today he lives in the Nevada desert where he once secretly trained Afghan Mujahedeen, is loved by his community and still admired as a hero figure by white supremacists for his role in the Ruby Ridge siege of 1992. This event was a key turning point in the rise of the far right and militia anti-Government groups in the US. Filmed over ten years, Zimmerman's film is an artist's perspective of an individual and a country in crisis, which raises urgent questions about US militarism and gun control. Deploying confessional and exploratory interviews, news and cultural footage, creative re-enactment and previously unseen archive material, ERASE AND FORGET explores the implications on a personal and collective level of identities founded on a profound, even endemic violence. It examines the propagation of that violence through Hollywood and the mass media, the arms trade and ongoing governmental policy. Revealing the filmmaker's own nuanced relationship with a controversial subject, without judgment and sensationalism, ERASE AND FORGET proposes a multi-layered investigation of war as a social structure, a way of being for individuals and countries in what is becoming an era of 'permanent conflict'.
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Emily Goldman of UC Berkeley's Global Policy Lab introduces new research from an international team co-led by CEGA affiliated professor Solomon Hsiang that extends the record of high-resolution earth observation images backwards in time, enabling the investigation of long-term relationships between society and the environment.Visualization of timeline of existing remote sensing data and the Directorate of Overseas Surveys archive. We plot how the resolution (y-axis) evolved over time (x-axis) as new remote sensing technologies launched. The aerial photographs contained in the DOS archive extend the instrumental record back to the 1940s and have sub-meter resolution comparable to state-of-the-art 21st century satellites. | Emily GoldmanA mission to fill in development blind spotsSatellite imagery is a powerful tool for understanding Earth and humanity's role in transforming it. Policymakers increasingly turn to satellite images to detect and make decisions about crucial social issues, including migration, poverty, crop forecasts, mining, methane emissions, and even aid targeting. Analyzing satellite data gives policymakers a birds-eye view of societal changes that are otherwise difficult to detect.Satellite imagery can also help us understand the past, but this approach only works for phenomena that occurred during or after the 1970s. The primary satellite imagery record began in 1972, which limits our collective understanding of how the global relationship between environment and society has changed over time. This problem is exacerbated in the world's poorest regions, where historical data is often insufficient to establish long-term baselines prior to the large-scale anthropogenic changes of the 20th century, including climate change. The decades of absent data constrain policymakers' ability to illustrate and analyze the severity of the changes experienced in recent years.With this challenge in mind, the team at the Global Policy Lab (GPL), in collaboration with the the custodians of the archive, the National Collection of Aerial Photography in the United Kingdom, and researchers at Stockholm University, Caltech, and MIT, set out to build a window back in time — a machine learning pipeline that translates historical aerial imagery into analysis-ready imagery. Much more than a theoretical exercise, the project provides the first geospatial longitudinal dataset constructed from aerial imagery in the 60+ surveyed countries and the first insight into the effects of climate on long-run capital accumulation and population changes throughout Africa, the Caribbean, and several other regions.The archived aerial photos used for this project are currently held by the National Collection of Aerial Photography | Historic Environment Scotland, reproduced with permission.Securing the imagesBefore satellites, the only aerial images available were taken by photographers in airplanes throughout much of the 20th century. In an effort that began as part of the process of mapping the then-British Empire, the British Directorate of Overseas Surveys collected more than 1.6 million high-resolution aerial photos, spanning more than 60 countries, from the 1940s to the 1990s. The research team secured access to these high-resolution historical aerial photos, worked with partners to digitize them, and set out to transform the photos into continuous basemaps resembling those constructed from modern satellite imagery.Example images from a survey of Jamaica, mosaicked together manually by the DOS mapmakers by arranging printed aerial photographs on the floor and photographing them from above. The team's work automates this process digitally. | Historic Environment Scotland, reproduced with permission.From Aerial Photo to Pseudo-Satellite Image: Two Big HurdlesTransforming aerial photos into pseudo-satellite imagery was an enormously challenging task. The research team faced two primary technical challenges: one, the photos had limited georeferencing information(e.g. latitude, longitude); and two, the aerial photos had different image characteristics than satellite photos. To address these challenges, the team developed an algorithm to stitch together and georeference large quantities of the historical aerial imagery. The algorithm uses common features between adjacent images to solve the puzzle of which individual aerial images went together, and conducted image preprocessing to transform the aerial photographs into images comparable to satellite photographs.Assembled "satellite-like" image of Barbados in 1951 created by the stitched mosaic process described. | Emily GoldmanSetting up the machine learning pipelineThe team needed a way to comparably label both sets of imagery and extract variables like forest cover or population density. To solve this analytical challenge, they turned to convolutional neural networks and MOSAIKS, a tool developed by researchers affiliated with GPL, CEGA, and other institutions. The team used a combination of these methods to extract structured information, like forest cover and population density, from the historical aerial images and modern satellite imagery.The team's assembled "satellite-like" images, like that of Barbados in 1951, enable comparisons between modern day and historical imagery. | Emily GoldmanThe team's first environmental analysis project using this approach examined the effects of hurricanes on eight Caribbean islands over time. By simulating each location's exposure to historical hurricanes, we estimated the long-term effects these events had on natural and human systems.Implications for global policy researchTimeline of the project's scope | Emily GoldmanThe team is only beginning to explore the various new analytical and policy frontiers that this technological innovation opens. During the next stage of analysis, we intend to use this new dataset to examine long-term patterns in land use change, infrastructure development, population growth, and wealth accumulation. Geotagged results from this analysis have numerous real-world applications, such as identifying hotspots where policy intervention is most valuable, providing spatially-explicit risk assessments that can inform infrastructure investment, and informing global climate policy design. It is our hope that this novel dataset will open new doors for researchers and policymakers to develop a more nuanced understanding of which policies are likely to have long-term, positive effects on the relationship between society and the environment.Note: This project is a collaboration between the Global Policy Lab, the National Collection of Aerial Photography in the United Kingdom, and researchers at Caltech (Hannah Druckenmiller), MIT (Sherrie Wang), and Stockholm University (Andreas Madestam, Anna Tompsett).[1] MOSAIKS is a GIS tool that centralizes satellite imagery processing, making it easier for users without large computational resources or deep learning experience to extract useful insights from this data. CEGA supported the development of an open-source API for MOSAIKS through our USAID-funded Development Impact Lab (DIL).Building a Satellite Imagery "Time Machine" was originally published in CEGA on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
Ottaen huomioon Maailmanpankin taloudellista kehitystä edistävä globaalin koulutuspolitiikan ohjelma, jotkut Afrikan maat ovat kokeneet vuodesta 1981 lähtien monenlaisia haasteita koulutus- ja kehitysapupolitiikassaan yrittäessään saavuttaa niissä asetetut tavoitteet. Tämän tutkimuksen tavoitteena on edistää tutkimusta ja keskustelua tietotalouden ja yrittäjämäisen yliopiston politiikkatavoitteista, joilla pyritään edistämään Kamerunin taloudellista kehitystä. Tutkimus tarkasteli erityisesti Buean yliopiston tietotalouden ja yrittäjämäisen yliopiston politiikkatavoitteisiin liittyviä prosesseja, joilla tavoiteltiin Kamerunin taloudellista kehitystä vuosina 1993–2016. Näin tehdessään tutkimus kiinnitti huomiota relevantteihin tutkimuskirjallisuudessa oleviin aukkoihin ja tarkasteli julkisten menojen paikkaa näissä koulutuspolitiikan ohjeistoissa. Kansainvälisen regiimiteorian ja institutionaalisen teorian lisäksi keskustelu uusliberalistisista ja globaaleista koulutuspolitiikan kysymyksistä, liittyen kumpaankin politiikkatavoitteeseen, asetti puitteet Buean yliopistossa toteutetulle empiiriselle tutkimukselle. Anti-positivistinen (post-positivistinen) filosofinen/teoreettinen lähestymistapa – kriittinen realismi ja historismi – tutkijan subjektiivisuus ja kontekstin merkitys ohjasivat tutkimusta. Tutkimuksessa sovellettiin tapaustutkimuksen strategiaa sisältäen politiikkatavoitteiden empiirisen tutkimuksen Buean yliopistossa. Buean yliopisto valittiin harkinnanvaraista otantaa käyttäen, jotta ilmiön kompleksisuus Kamerunin julkisissa yliopistoissa pystyttiin ottamaan haltuun asianmukaisella tavalla. Aineistoina käytettiin puolistrukturoituja haastatteluja, dokumentteja ja muita julkaisuja. Haastateltaviksi valittiin yliopiston opettajia ja tutkijoita, ylintä johtoa sekä hallinnollista tukihenkilöstöä. Haastattelut toteutettiin helmi-maaliskuussa 2016 ja ne käsittelivät ensi sijassa rahoitusta, tutkimusta, yhteistyötä, yleisiä johtamisen prosesseja ja toimintoja, jotka liittyivät tutkittaviin politiikkatavoitteisiin. Aineiston analyysissä käytettiin sekä deduktiivista että induktiivista temaattista analyysiä. Tutkimustulokset osoittivat, että vähentynyt ja epäsäännöllinen julkinen rahoitus Buean yliopistolle on heikentänyt sen kykyä toimia tehokkaasti tietotalouden ja yrittäjämäisen yliopiston politiikkaideoiden kehyksessä. Yliopiston vaikea taloudellinen tilanne on vaikuttanut olennaisesti siihen, ettei yliopistolla ole ollut kapasiteettia tiedon tuottamiseen ja sen valorisointiin, levittämiseen ja soveltamiseen. Se on yhtä lailla vastuussa siitä, että useat yliopiston institutionaaliset prosessit on alistettu järjestelmätason korkeakoulupolitiikan vaikutuksen alaiseksi hallintorakenteessa, jossa yliopiston keskushallinto, tiedekunnat ja akateemiset laitokset ovat korkeakouluministeriön täyden kontrollin alla – johtaen rajoitteisiin yliopiston yhteistyöpyrkimyksissä. Tämän seurauksena yliopiston sitoutuminen korkeakouluministeriöön perustuu poliittiseen riippuvuussuhteeseen julkisesta rahoituksesta. Yliopiston kumppanuudet ja yhteistyö ulkoisten sidosryhmien kanssa perustuu riippuvuuteen apurahoista ja muusta tuesta sen toiminnoille. Tutkimuksen johtopäätöksenä on, että globaalin koulutuspolitiikan strategiat talouden kehittämiseksi voivat olla mahdollinen ohjauksen muutoksen ja hämmennyksen lähde vastaanottajamaiden koulutusjärjestelmissä. Tietotalouden ja yrittäjämäisen yliopiston politiikkatavoitteet ovat tuoneet kompleksin suhteen Kamerunin korkeakouluministeriön ja julkisten yliopistojen välille, saaden aikaan uusia ja hämmennystä aiheuttavia ulottuvuuksia maan julkisten yliopistojen ominaisuuksissa. Järjestelmätason politiikan sekaantuminen Buean yliopiston johtamisprosesseihin – esimerkiksi Maailmanpankin politiikkatavoitteiden pohjalta – on heikentänyt yliopiston johtamisprosesseja ja missiota (yliopiston autonomian puitteissa), jotka tavoittelevat sen vision saavuttamista. Tämä tutkimus loi mahdollisuuden tutkia uudelleen julkisen yliopiston johtamisen ja korkeakoulutuksen hallintorakenteen välisen suhteen luonnetta taloudelliseen kehitykseen tähtäävien politiikkavalintojen ja institutionaalisten prosessien suhteen. Tutkimus myös ehdottaa, että Buean yliopiston tulisi vahvistaa tahtoaan saavuttaa sisäistä organisatorista tehokkuutta, sisäisiä ja ulkoisia olosuhteitaan painottaen, pyrkiessään saavuttamaan visiotaan ja tavoitteitaan. ; Given the World Bank's global education policy agenda for economic development, some African countries have, since 1981, experienced a wide range of challenges in their education and development aid policies aiming to reach the set goals. This study sought to contribute to the research and debate on knowledge economy and entrepreneurial university policy objectives aimed towards the economic development of Cameroon. Specifically, it examined the responses, that is, the processes of the University of Buea in relation to knowledge economy and entrepreneurial university policy objectives aimed towards the economic development of Cameroon from 1993 to 2016. In doing so, the study paid attention to relevant gaps in the existing literature and examined the place of public expenditure in these education policy prescriptions. In addition to international regime and institutional theories, a discussion on neoliberalism and global education policy issues, in relation to both policy prescriptions, set the scene for the empirical inquiry conducted at the University of Buea. Generally, a non-positivist (post-positivist) philosophical/theoretical approach—critical realism and historicism—subjectivity of the researcher and significance of context, informed the study. A case study design was applied, involving empirical inquiry of the policy objectives at the University of Buea, which was purposively selected in order to adequately capture the complexity of both phenomena at public universities in Cameroon. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews as well as reviews of documents and other publications. The interviews were conducted with identified respondents, including academics, top management and administrative support staff at the university. They focused primarily on funding, research, collaboration and general management processes and activities that are in line with the policy objectives under study. The exercise took place in the months of February and March of 2016. Data collected for the study were analysed through the use of both deductive and inductive thematic analytic approaches. The research revealed that reduced and irregular public expenditure for the University of Buea has weakened its ability to effectively function within the framework of knowledge economy and entrepreneurial university policy ideas. The university's difficult financial situation has been fundamental for its lack of effective capacity for knowledge production and its valorisation, dissemination and application. It is equally responsible for submitting much of its institutional processes under great influence of system-wide higher education policies enabled by a governance structure that has submerged its central administration, faculties and academic departments under the full control of the Ministry of Higher Education— leading to a constrain on its collaborative endeavours. Consequently, its engagement with the government is premised on a political dependency relationship for public expenditure. With external stakeholders, its partnership and collaborative endeavours are based on dependency for grants and other forms of support for its activities. The study concludes that global education policy strategies for economic development could be a potential source of diversion and confusion in the national education systems of recipient countries. Knowledge economy and entrepreneurial university policy prescriptions have introduced a complex type of relationship between Cameroon's higher education governance structure and its public universities, giving rise to new and confusing dimensions in the character of the public university in the country. The interference of system-wide policies in the management processes of the University of Buea—on the basis of policy prescriptions of the World Bank, for example—have undermined the university's management processes and mission objectives (within the framework of its autonomy) aimed towards achieving its vision. Hence, this study creates an opportunity for re-examining the nature of the relationship between the public university management and the higher education governance structure regarding policy choices and institutional processes aimed towards economic development. It also suggests the need for the University of Buea to develop the desire to achieve internal organisational efficiency, with a focus on its internal and external circumstances, while striving to reach its specific vision and goals.
Twentieth anniversary of September 11. The plot, the events and the aftermath of the terrorist attack on the USA
The series of terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001 in the USA, the largest in the history of the world, was carried out by 19 people. Among them were 15 Saudis, two UAE nationals, a Lebanese and an Egyptian. Three of the four formed the Hamburg cell, which was the backbone of the entire plot. It was led by the Egyptian Muhammad Atta el-Sayed. He flew Boeing 767 aircraft American Airlines Flight 11, which first struck the North Tower of the WTC. Marwan al-Shehhi was the pilot of Boeing 767 aircraft United Airlines Flight 175, which crashed into the South Tower of the WTC. Hani Hanjour sat at the controls of the Boeing 757 aircraft American Airlines flight 77. It was the third machine to target the Pentagon. The pilot of the fourth plane - Boeing 757 aircraft United Airlines Flight 93 - Ziad Jarrah failed to reach his destination, possibly the Capitol, because the passengers decided to take over the control of the plane from the terrorists. The machine crashed in Pennsylvania. In the events of 9/11, a total of 2,996 people were killed, including 19 terrorists, and 6,291 were injured . Six Poles were among the fatalities. 343 firefighters died in the rescue operation. The attacks caused enormous material losses. Particularly high costs were incurred by insurance and reinsurance companies, airlines and aircraft manufacturers, as well as the tourism industry. The huge losses related to the destruction of the New York City World Trade Center and the disruption of the financial system had to be covered by insurance companies involved in the operations on the American market. The terrorist attack on the USA was the impetus for the largest reform of the American secret services since 1947. Washington made a decision regarding the need to create a system that would effectively counteract terrorist threats and effectively warn in the event of their occurrence. This was related to the strengthening of structures with operational and reconnaissance powers, increasing the scope of their tasks and improving their ability to coordinate. Most of the legal regulations were expressed in the document commonly known as the USA Patriot Act of 26 October 2001. The most critical, however, were the international repercussions. By the attacks on the WTC and the Pentagon, al-Qaeda influenced world politics by prompting Washington to declare a "war on terror". Within its framework, American forces, supporting the so-called Northern Alliance led to the collapse of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, and then entered Iraq, which in the long run turned out to be one of the most spectacular and deadly strategic mistakes in the history of the military. At the same time the September 11 attacks sparked many conspiracy theories. Their propagation in the media, in documentaries, as well as in articles, contributed to undermining trust in the American government. An organization called Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth which boasts 3.3 thousand architects and engineers from all over the United States, is still very active in researching the case of 7 WTC. Its mission is to establish the truth that the twin towers did not collapse due to the impact of terrorist-piloted planes, as well as the destruction of WTC 7 was not a result of the detachment of a fragment of the second plane. In the opinion of members of this organisation, the damage caused by the planes was far from sufficient to lead to such a catastrophe. They believe someone must have planted explosives.
Serię ataków terrorystycznych z 11 września 2001 r. w USA, największych w historii świata, przeprowadziło 19 osób. Wśród nich było 15 Saudyjczyków, dwóch obywateli Zjednoczonych Emiratów Arabskich, Libańczyk i Egipcjanin. Trzech spośród tej czwórki tworzyło komórkę hamburską, która stanowiła trzon całej operacji. Kierował nią Egipcjanin Muhammad Ata as-Sajjid. Pilotował on samolot Boeing 767 American Airlines, lot nr 11, który pierwszy uderzył w północną wieżę WTC. Marwan asz-Szihhi był pilotem Boeinga 767 United Airlines, lot nr 175, który rozbił się o południową wieżę WTC. Hani Handżur zasiadł za sterami samolotu Boeing 757 American Airlines odbywającego lot nr 77. Celem ataku był Pentagon. Pilotowi czwartego samolotu – Boeinga 757 United Airlines, lot nr 93 – Zijadowi Dżarrahowi nie udało się osiągnąć celu, prawdopodobnie Kapitolu, ponieważ pasażerowie przystąpili do odbicia samolotu z rąk terrorystów. Maszyna spadła na ziemię w Pensylwanii. W wydarzeniach z 11 września ogółem zginęło 2996 osób, w tym 19 terrorystów, a 6291 zostało rannych66. Wśród ofiar śmiertelnych było sześcioro Polaków. W akcji ratunkowej zginęło 343 strażaków. Zamachy wyrządziły olbrzymie straty materialne. Duże koszty poniosły zwłaszcza towarzystwa ubezpieczeniowe i reasekuracyjne, linie lotnicze oraz producenci samolotów, a także branża turystyczna. Ogromne straty związane ze zniszczeniem nowojorskiego World Trade Center oraz dezorganizacją systemu finansowego musiały zostać pokryte przez towarzystwa asekuracyjne, zaangażowane w działalność na rynku amerykańskim. Atak terrorystyczny na USA stał się impulsem do największej od 1947 r. reformy amerykańskich służb specjalnych. Waszyngton podjął decyzję dotyczącą konieczności stworzenia systemu efektywnie przeciwdziałającego zagrożeniom o charakterze terrorystycznym oraz skutecznie ostrzegającego w przypadku ich wystąpienia. Wiązało się to ze wzmocnieniem struktur mających uprawnienia operacyjno-rozpoznawcze, zwiększeniem zakresu ich zadań oraz usprawnieniem ich zdolności do koordynacji działań. Większość regulacji prawnych została zawarta w dokumencie znanym powszechnie pod nazwą USA Patriot Act z 26 października 2001 r. Najważniejsze były jednak skutki o charakterze międzynarodowym. Atakami na WTC i Pentagon Al-Kaida wpłynęła na światową politykę przez skłonienie Waszyngtonu do wypowiedzenia "wojny z terroryzmem". W jej ramach siły amerykańskie, wspierając Sojusz Północny, doprowadziły do upadku Islamskiego Emiratu Afganistanu, a następnie wkroczyły do Iraku, co jednak w dłuższej perspektywie okazało się jedną z najbardziej spektakularnych pomyłek strategicznych w dziejach wojskowości. Atak z 11 września 2001 r. spowodował również, że pojawiło się wiele teorii spiskowych. Ich propagowanie w mediach, filmach dokumentalnych przyczyniło się do spadku zaufania do amerykańskiego rządu. W sprawie WTC 7 do dzisiaj prężnie działa organizacja o nazwie Architekci i Inżynierowie na rzecz Prawdy o 9/11, która szczyci się, że skupia 3,3 tys. architektów i inżynierów z całych Stanów Zjednoczonych. Celem tych osób jest ujawnienie "prawdy", czyli tego, że bliźniacze wieże nie zawaliły się z powodu uderzenia samolotów pilotowanych przez terrorystów, tak samo jak WTC 7, która nie uległa zniszczeniu na skutek oderwania się fragmentu drugiego samolotu. W ich ocenie szkody spowodowane przez samoloty były dalece niewystarczające, aby doprowadzić do takiej katastrofy. Wierzą, że ktoś musiał podłożyć ładunki wybuchowe.
In the article an attempt is made to comprehend Ukrainian state formation in cultural value aspects. It is indicated that all modern social processes are based on historical experience of past millenia. Topicality of this experience is most efficiently revealed in the moral sphere. O. Fedorenko calls it value-ethic paradigm of life, S. Troyan stresses out cultural-civilization system in the sphere of values and identity, I. Bredun defines this phenomenon as philosophic-culturological basis of national and civilization identifications.The author comes to decision about the existence of different forms of the singular cultural-civilization identification in broad layers of Ukrainian society. It's quite regular from the point of view that it is Ukrainian consciousness that reflects historical experience of generations. At the same time noncom-formity of some representatives of authority with new expectations from civil society and with the requ-irements of time is indicated.A short analysis of main stages of historical-ethnic development of Ukrainians is made in the article. It is shown that there are common beginnings with many European peoples that lasted big periods of time. For example, Indo-European community covered the period of several millenia. Germanic Balto-Slavic group evolved during 2–3 rd centuries B. C. The early political union «Rus Land» gradually arose within forest-steppe Ukraine. It was based on autonomous households of free owners-warriors, who formed the foundation of civil society. The same social structure was also in Early Medieval European societies.In the 8th century «Rus Land» felt the influence of eastern Muslim societies and Byzantium with its internal problems and external brilliance. On the contrary, Varangian factor and orientation to Western European world was increased. But it was ruined by means of total violence by Moscow Czardom during 17-18th centuries. Since that time Ukraine has fulfilled the mission of victim-donor for modernization of Moscovia in different ancient and new imperial forms. The most «successful» of them was post-reform Russian Empire of the late 19th century and the Soviet Union of the 60-70s of the 20th century. Unfor-tunately, modern Russia can't suggest anything analogical to the world neither by the level of governing nor by the civilization achievements. Nostalgia for the Soviet identity is completely ruined by Russian leaders in the East of Ukraine and in the Crimea. But an important problem is that Ukrainian political class can't suggest the world proper alternative either. An astonishing display of civil self-sacri-fice and cohesion can only at the beginning compensate the lack of well-laid-out state policy of the further deve-lopment of the country.Available scientific material about Slavic homeland and its further structuring completely denies poli-tical myth about «the cradle of three fraternal families». At least one of these «brothers» objectively can not belong to the great Slavic family. Current events doubt Slavic identity of modern Russia and Chris-tian character of its behaviour. The center of Eastern Slavic Christian-Orthodox civilization moves to Ky-iv. This civilization has archaic belief traditions which are expressed in the cultural and linguistic sphere, its own mentality and philosophic perception of reality. In modern conditions it has become the found-ation for structuring and identification of Ukrainian political nation.The article also examines the contradictions of modern Ukrainian history, including those of 2003–2004 and 2013–2014, which some Ukrainian historians interpret as stages of unfinished spiritual civilization revolution.It is noted that there is no effective public policy in the humanitarian sphere, particularly in the ap-proaches to solving the problems of information space and educational branch of Ukraine. They have to become powerful social institutions that will promote processes of cultural identification of inhabitants of our country. In this context, it is underlined that it is necessary to develop own innovative effective mechanisms of the state that should take into account positive international experience, particularly that of European countries ; В статье анализируется современное украинское государственное строительство в культурно-ценносных координатах.Отмечается, что в основе современных социальных процессов лежит историческое наследие минувших тысячелетий. Автор указывает на разные формы единой культурно-цивилизационной идентифика-ции в широких слоях украинского общества что общественное сознание отображает историческое насле-дие поколений. Указывается на несоответствие отдельных представителей власти новым ожиданиям со сторо-ны гражданского общества и требованиям времени.Прослеживаются общие истоки со многими европейскими народами, которые длились большие промежу-тки времени. Подчеркивается, что в современных условиях центр восточнославянской христианско-православной цивилизации перемещается в Киев. Эта цивилизация имеет архаические мировоззренчиские тра-диции, которые вы-ражены в культурно-языковой сфере, собственном менталитете и философском вос-приятии действительности. В современных условиях она стала основой для структурирования и идентифика-ции политической украинской нации.В статье также анализируются неоднозначности современной украинской истории, обращается особое внимание на отсутствие эффективной государственной политики в гуманитарной сфере, в частности в под-ходах к решению проблем информационого пространства и системы образования Украины. Они должны стать мощными социаль-ными институтами, которые будут содействовать процессам культурной иденти-фика-ции жителей нашего государства. В этой связи подчеркивается необходимость разра-ботки собствен-ных инновационных эффективных государственных механизмов кото-рые должны учитывать позитивный иностранный опыт, в частности европейских го-сударств. ; У статті робиться спроба осмислити українське державотворення в культурноцін-нісних координатах. Зазначається, що в основі сучасних суспільних процесів лежить історичний досвід минулих тисячоліть. Автор робить висновок про наявність різних форм єдиної культурно-цивілізаційної ідентифікації в широких верствах українського су-спільства, що саме суспільна свідомість відображає історичний досвід поколінь. Вказу-ється на невідповідність окремих представників влади новим очікуванням з боку грома-дянського суспільства і вимогам часу.Прослідковуються спільні витоки з багатьма європейськими народами, які тривали протягом довгого часу. Наголошується, що в сучасних умовах центр східно-слов'янської християнсько-православної цивілізації переміщається до Києва. Ця цивілі-зація має архаїчні світоглядні традиції, які виражені в культурно-мовній сфері, власному менталітеті і філософському сприйнятті дійсності. У сучасних умовах вона стала ос-новою для структурування та ідентифікації політичної української нації.У статті також аналізуються суперечності новітньої української історії наголошу-ється на відсутності ефективної державної політики в гуманітарній сфері, зокрема. в підходах до вирішення проблем інформаційного простору та освітянської галузі Украї-ни. Вони повинні стати потужними соціальними інститутами, що сприятимуть про-цесам культурної ідентифікації мешканців нашої держави. У цьому контексті зазна-чається необхідність вироблення власних інноваційних ефективних механізмів держа-вотворення, що повинні враховувати позитивний іноземний досвід, зокрема європейських країн