A group of 442 parliamentarians from 22 European countries have urged the European Union to take action to prevent de facto Israeli annexation of the West Bank.“The recent regional normalization agreements with Israel have led to the suspension of plans to formally annex West Bank territory,” the European parliamentarians said in a letter to EU foreign policy chief Joseph Borrell and the EU’s 27 foreign ministers.
“However, developments on the ground clearly point to a reality of rapidly progressing de facto annexation, especially through accelerated settlement expansion and demolition of Palestinian structures.”The parliamentarians asked the EU to take advantage of the Biden administration’s disapproval of settlement activity, and its desire to reengage with Palestinians, by working with the US to “renew efforts” to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“Europe must work with the Biden administration, countries in the region and the parties on the ground to prevent unilateral action from undermining the possibility of peace,” they wrote.
The EU’s member countries should make use of available diplomatic tools such as the 2016 UNSC Resolution 2334 that requires nations not to recognize the settlements as part of Israel, the parliamentarians said. That means “diplomatic, legal and financial support for Palestinian communities at risk of demolition and forcible transfer should be increased,” they explained.“Active European support for Palestinian reconciliation and elections across all the Palestinian territory is vital,” also for ending the isolation of Gaza,” they added.
The letter was the initiative of four Israelis; former attorney-general Michael Ben-Yair, former Labor MK Avraham Burg, former New Israel Fund president Naomi Chazan and former Meretz Party head Zahava Gal-On.
The parliamentarians who signed onto the letter were from: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
The European Union has already called on Israel to halt the demolition of illegal Palestinian structures in Area C of the West Bank and to stop settlement activity.
Last Friday seven European countries with current and past membership in the United Nations Security Council stated their opposition to demolitions and settlement activity.
“We recall our firm opposition to Israel’s settlement policy and actions taken in that context, such as forced transfers, evictions, demolitions and confiscations of homes and humanitarian assets, which are illegal under international law… and are an impediment to a viable two-state solution.
”The seven ambassadors who signed onto the statement were from Estonia, France, Ireland, Belgium, Germany, Norway and the United Kingdom.
COVAX (COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access) is the vaccines element of the ACT-Accelerator programme, led by the WHO and international partners, to develop a set of tools to fight the virus. WHO says that the programme has supported the fastest, most coordinated, and successful global effort in history to fight a disease.
The aim is to distribute two billion doses, mostly to poorer countries, in 2021, and immunise 27 per cent of their citizens.
“No one is safe until everyone is safe”, has been a World Health Organization (WHO) mantra since the beginning of the global COVID-19 health crisis. However, richer countries had the resources to pre-order vast quantities of vaccines, ensuring that their populations were first in the queue when pharmaceutical companies got the green light to deliver doses, prompting UN human rights experts to warn against “vaccine hoarding”, and insist that vaccines must be available for all.
The AstraZeneca/Oxford is highly effective at stopping people developing COVID-19 symptoms. , by University of Oxford/John Cairns
2) How does it work?
Funded by richer countries and private donors, who have raised more than $2 billion, COVAX was launched in the early months of the pandemic, to ensure that people living in poorer countries would not be left out, when successful vaccines came onto the market. The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), in collaboration with the UN’s Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), is taking the lead in efforts to procure and supply doses.
Some 92 low and lower-income countries are purchasing vaccines with support from COVAX, and it is expected that the poorest citizens will be vaccinated free of charge. Around 80 higher-income economies have announced that they will finance the vaccines from their own budgets.
3) Which vaccines are being distributed through COVAX?
By the end of 2020, the WHO had lined up almost two billion doses of existing and candidate vaccines for use worldwide. Not all of those vaccines will be effective against the virus, but assembling such a huge vaccine reservoir meant that the UN health agency can say with confidence that COVAX will distribute enough doses to protect health and social care workers in all participating countries by mid-2021.
Some 1.2 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which requires ultra-cold chain storage are to be delivered to 18 countries in the first quarter of 2021, out of an agreed total of 40 million. A much larger rollout of around 336 million doses of the AstraZeneca/Oxford jab will be dispatched to nearly all countries that have signed up to the COVAX scheme, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe.
4) Which countries are receiving the first COVAX doses?
On 24 February around 600,000 doses of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine, produced under licence in India, arrived in Ghana, welcomed by WHO as a historic step towards the goal of ensuring equitable distribution of vaccines worldwide. This shipment was swiftly followed by the arrival of more than half a million AstraZeneca/Oxford doses in Côte d’Ivoire.
These initial shipments are part of an initial 90 million doses due to be sent to Africa from the COVAX facility in the first half of 2021, supporting the inoculation of around three per cent of those most in need of protection, including health workers and other vulnerable groups.
By the end of 2021, it is hoped that, with the availability of more vaccines and increased production capacity, 600 million doses will have been rolled out, and some 20 per cent of the African population will have been vaccinated.
5) Why is it important?
WHOchief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
The COVID-19 virus has taken a huge human toll. More than two million people worldwide have succumbed to the virus. Many more have been hospitalized, and suffered ongoing debilitating consequences. COVAX is intended to stem this tragic loss of life and chronic illness.
In addition, billions of lives have been disrupted by the travel restrictions, lockdowns and other measures put in place to slow the spread of the virus. Millions of jobs have been lost as the global economy has slowed down, and health services have been overwhelmed, making it harder for patients with non-COVID-related ailments to receive treatment.
It’s hoped that the vaccines provided by COVAX will contribute to reversing those damaging trends and return the world to normality, whatever that might look like.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghrebeyesus has pointed out that COVAX is not a charity effort: in a highly inter-connected global economy, effective vaccines, widely available in all countries, are the fastest way to end the pandemic, kick-start the global economy, and ensure a sustainable recovery. In the WHO chief’s words, “we sink or we swim together”.
After speaking to the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Board of Governors, Director General Rafael Grossi told a press conference that while the agency had opened a window of opportunity for diplomacy in Iran, it should not be put in the middle of negotiations between Iran, the United States and other nations over the deal.
On 15 February, Iran announced that it would stop implementing “voluntary transparency measures” in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), known commonly as the Iran nuclear deal, along with other arrangements in Iran’s Safeguards Agreement.
The IAEA chief said to the 35-nation board that a “temporary bilateral technical understanding” had been agreed upon during his visit to the country last month that would enable the UN agency to “resume its full verification and monitoring of Iran’s nuclear-related commitments under the JCPOA if and when Iran resumes its implementation of those commitments”.
The IAEA chief also raised the alarm that nuclear activities in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), commonly known as North Korea, remains “a cause for serious concern”.
“The continuation of the DPRK’s nuclear programme is a clear violation of relevant UN Security Council resolutions and is deeply regrettable”, Mr. Grossi said, adding that the Vienna-based agency was intensifying its readiness “to play its essential role in verifying North Korea’s nuclear programme”.
Reviewing nuclear safety
The IAEA chief also drew attention to the agency’s Nuclear Safety Review 2021, which provides an overview of the agency’s activities and global trends in nuclear, radiation, transport and nuclear waste safety protcols, as well as in emergency preparedness and response.
“This year, it also identifies the priorities in these areas, and provides an analytical overview of overall trends”, he said.
Strengthen preparedness
Moreover, the UN official flagged IAEA’s work in strengthening global preparedness for future pandemics through its Zoonotic Disease Integrated Action (ZODIAC) initiative on diseases, that jump from animals to humans – the common path for viruses such as COVID-19.
He said the initiative will help to reduce the chance that the next outbreak will wreak “the deadly destruction we are suffering today”.
And Mr. Grossi informed the members that last week, IAEA signed revised arrangements with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to “help Member States respond to emerging challenges from climate change to outbreaks of zoonotic diseases”.
Climate on the table
As the Agency prepares for the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference, known as COP26, scheduled for November in Glasgow, Scotland, Mr. Grossi said that he would personally deliver the message that “nuclear energy has a seat at the tables when the world’s future energy and climate policies are being discussed”.
“Almost five years after the signing of the Paris Agreement, governments are becoming increasingly aware that they must shift from fossil fuels to nuclear and other low-carbon technologies, if they are to reach their net zero objectives”, Mr. Grossi said.
The Director-General concluded by assuring that the agency was continuing its work on advancing gender equality, and invited Member States to join a panel discussion with some of the IAEA’s early women pioneers on 8 March, International Women’s Day.
Four of the agency’s six regions reported a rise in numbers, with Africa and the Western Pacific excluded.
“This is disappointing, but not surprising”, saidWHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, speaking during his biweekly press briefing from Geneva.
“Some of it appears to be due to relaxing of public health measures, continued circulation of variants, and people letting down their guard.”
The jump in cases comes as the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines continues.
“Vaccines will help to save lives, but if countries rely solely on vaccines, they’re making a mistake”, Tedros warned, underscoring the importance of basic public health measures such as testing, contact tracing, wearing masks and avoiding crowds.
Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire began vaccinating health care workers on Monday, becoming the first countries to benefit from a global mechanism for ensuring vaccine equity.
Through the COVAX Facility, WHO and our partners are working to ensure every country can begin vaccination within the first 100 days of the year.
COVAX will deliver 11 million doses to countries this week. By the end of May, some 240 million doses will be allocated to 142 participating countries.
Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, WHO’s Chief Scientist, pointed to “encouraging” signs as the world continues to gear up for what is the largest vaccine deployment in history.
“We’ve seen early data from countries where vaccination campaigns started months ago, the impact that this is having on reducing hospitalizations, reducing deaths, particularly in the older age groups, amongst the vulnerable. We’ve even seen very encouraging data in reduction in infections among health care workers who have received the vaccine”, she said.
“So, these are still early days, but the signs are encouraging; the safety profile is encouraging. About 250 million doses have been given worldwide, and so far, there have been no major safety signals, so that is reassuring as well.”
Concern for Tigray region
WHO explained that some countries have received COVAX vaccines early due to several factors such as the level of government preparedness, but logistical challenges in distributing vaccines, which include labelling, packaging and shipping, can also affect deployment.
Dr. Michael Ryan, WHO Executive Director, spoke about the difficulty in reaching conflict areas such as the Tigray region in Ethiopia, where government and regional forces have been fighting since November.
He said the situation is of grave concern, as water, sanitation, essential health services and COVID-19 intervention have been disrupted. Many people are living in displacement camps, increasing risk of diarrhoeal disease, malaria and other illneses.
WHO has worked to provide essential supplies to cover 450,000 people, or roughly 10 per cent of the population, for three months, Dr. Ryan told journalists.
“Our primary aim as an organization, wherever we work, is to ensure that all people have access to the basic, essential human right of access to basic health care”, he said.
“We will work with the Ministry of Health; we will work with health cluster partners and anybody else who can help us to provide better access to the population there.”
As I began preparing my heart for Easter and the 40 days of Lent, I came across many devotional books that are perfect resources to redirect our focus during this important season. Easter is one of my favorite holidays because it truly centers around family and God. As I tried to carve out some quiet time to reflect on the days that led up to the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, I found myself distracted with the multiple things going through my head. My phone is sitting within reach—maybe I should check my emails first.
Maybe I need to look to make sure I paid that bill. I should text my friend to see how she’s doing. All these things are begging for my attention. Then I realized, this may be similar to how Jesus was feeling with all the commotion surrounding him. He went to clear his mind for 40 days in the wilderness. Even Jesus needed to remove his distractions. We may be overwhelmed, preoccupied or tired—and that’s OK sometimes.
Try to take a few minutes each day during the Lenten season and focus on gratitude for the sacrifice Jesus made for us on the cross. Clear your mind with these heartfelt devotional books that will guide you by faith and connect you on a remarkable and personal Lenten journey.
Journey to the Cross: 40 Days to Prepare Your Heart For Easter Edited by Mary Carver
Prepare your heart for Easter with 40 days of encouragement. Scripture, short essays, stories, quotes, questions, reflections and prayers will kindle a spirit of gratitude to the Lord and remove whatever is standing between you and God so that you can fully experience His love. This beautiful coffee table-style book makes a wonderful gift.
Uncovering the Love of Jesus: A Lent Devotional By Asheritah Ciuciu
Prepare your family spiritually and emotionally to commemorate Jesus’ death and resurrection. Inviting you to reclaim the Lenten season, the 40 Scripture-based reflections help you contemplate, engage with and be transformed by Jesus’ love. It includes family celebrations and activities.
The Promise of Lent Devotional: A 40-day Journey Toward the Miracle of Easter By Chris Tiegreen
Though Lent is a time of remembering Christ’s sacrifice, it is not a season of sorrow. During this 40-day holy season, we reposition our hearts toward Jesus. Each of the 40 readings is based on a brief biblical passage and is followed by a prayer, reflection questions and thoughts. Learn to grow closer to God daily through each passage.
Daily Guideposts: 40 Devotions for Lent By Zondervan Publications
Lent is a time of preparation for Easter when we reflect on Jesus’ life and sacrifice, renewing our hearts in remembrance of His Resurrection. This year, experience the love of Christ in a personal new way with this Lenten book drawn from Daily Guideposts, America’s favorite annual devotional. In just five minutes a day, you’ll enjoy a Scripture verse, a personal story and a prayer.
Christianity has been in Iraq from its earliest times, as the Acts of the Apostles testify. Its origins go back to the preaching of St Thomas the Apostle and his disciples Addai and Mari in the first century A.D., which extended to East Asia. Iraq is therefore, biblically and historically, an important land for all Christians who have played an important role in its history.
The Iraqi Christian community, that is composed today of Chaldeans, Assyrians, Armenians, Latins, Melkites, Orthodox and Protestants, has been marked by persecution and discrimination since the arrival of Islam and even after Iraq’s independence. Under Saddam Hussein’s secular regime, Christians had found a modus vivendi that allowed the Church to carry out its activities, also in the charitable field. However, already at that time – especially after the succession of wars started in the Eighties – more and more Iraqi Christians began to emigrate establishing a number of communities abroad.
Plunging numbers. The exodus after 2003 and between 2014 and 2017
The most massive exodus occurred after the US-led military intervention in 2003, due to insecurity, violence and attacks and between 2014 and 2017, after the establishment of the self-proclaimed “Islamic State” (IS – DAESH) in the north of the Country.
On the eve of the second Gulf War, Christians in Iraq were estimated between 1 and 1.4 million (approximately 6% of the population). Since then, their numbers have plunged to barely 300-400.000, according to the most recent estimates of the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).
Between 2003 and March 2015, approximately 1,200 Christians were killed, including Archbishop Paulos Rahho of Mosul of the Chaldeans, who was murdered in 2008, 5 priests and the 48 victims of the jihadi attack against the Syrian Catholic Church of Our Lady of Help in Baghdad on October 31 2010) and 62 churches were damaged or destroyed.
The IS occupation of the Nineveh Plain, which is the cradle of Mesopotamian Christianity, literally emptied this region of Christians. More than 100,000 were forced to flee their homes along with other persecuted minorities such as the Yazidis. Many of these families have found refuge in Iraqi Kurdistan, namely in Ankawa, the Christian quarter of Erbil, in refugee camps in Jordan, Syria, Turkey and Lebanon, or have sought asylum in Europe and other countries. In recent years, at least 55,000 Iraqi Christians have also expatriated from Iraqi Kurdistan. Many churches and Christian properties have also been destroyed or severely damaged. An important part of the Christian historical heritage was saved from destruction by Archbishop Najib Mikhael Moussa of Mosul of the Chaldeans, who managed to save over 800 historical manuscripts and for this, in 2020, was awarded the Sakharov Prize by the EU.
Insecurity and sectarianism an ongoing threat to Iraqi Christians
After the military defeat of the Caliphate in Iraq in 2017, Christians have gradually begun to return to the Nineveh Plain, with the help of the universal Church and, in particular, of the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN). Today, almost 45% of Nineveh’s Christians have returned to their homes, while 80% of the churches in the Plain are undergoing reconstruction (with the exception of Mosul, due to red tape problems).
To date, about 57% of the damaged homes belonging to Christian families in the region and included in the reconstruction plan have been repaired, 35% of with the financial support of ACN, who has also facilitated the establishment of the Nineveh Reconstruction Committee (NRC) with the aim of encouraging Christians to return to their communities and ensuring them and to other minorities protection.
Yet the lack of security and ongoing harassment, intimidation and exactions by local militias and hostile groups continue to threat the Iraqi Christian community, especially in this area. This was confirmed by the Report “Life after Isis: New challenges to Christianity in Iraq”, released in autumn 2020 by ACN, and by “Open Doors”, a Christian organization which helps persecuted Christians around the world and has promoted the “Centres of Hope” initiative in Iraq.
The aspiration to full citizenship in a peaceful and pluralistic Iraq
Insecurity, political instability, sectarianism, but also corruption and the economic crisis, which has worsened with the COVID-19 pandemic, continue to discourage Christians from returning or staying in the Country. To ensure their future in a united and jihadi-free Iraq, they need above all recognition of their full citizenship. This is the reason why Christian Churches have long insisted for a secular Constitution and for a more active role in the Iraqi political and social life. The Constitutional Charter approved in 2005 formally guarantees respect for religious freedom, but Article 2 actually establishes Islam as the official State religion and a primary source of legislation. Islam continues to be a privileged religion in the Iraqi system to the detriment of minorities.
Chaldean Patriarch H.B. Louis Raphaël Sako has repeatedly brought up this issue, insisting on the importance of an open dialogue between all parties involved to build a strong and pluralist State that respects all citizens, regardless of their religion and ethnicity. This was also reiterated at the last Synod of the Chaldean Church in August 2019, which called for a State based on “equality, justice, law” which recognizes a fair representation for Christians in government institutions.
The Iraqi Churches have found support on these issues from the Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi. Since taking office on 7 May 2020, al-Kadhimi has expressed on several occasions the desire to stop the exodus of Christians and to involve them in rebuilding the Country, emphasizing that they represent an important component of Iraqi society. These words have been accompanied by action. One important gesture was the recent go-ahead from the Iraqi Parliament to the recognition of Christmas as a public holiday throughout the country on a permanent base. More recently, even the Shiite leader Muqtada al Sadr, head of the powerful Sadrist Party, has shown his willingness to dialogue with the Iraqi Christian community, by returning the properties stolen over past years by Shite groups to their legitimate owners.
The Holy See’s concerns for Christians in Iraq
The plight of Christians in Iraq has always been of great concern for the Holy See, especially since the second Gulf War of 2003, which Pope Saint John Paul II strenuously opposed, as he did in 1991, warning about “the tremendous consequences that an international military operation would have for the population of Iraq and for the balance of the Middle East region, and for the extremisms that could stem from it” (Angelus, March 16 2003). The Pontiff was fully aware of the repercussions that this second armed conflict would have had on Christian communities in Iraq and throughout the region.
The establishment of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria in 2014 further precipitated their situation. In this context, Pope Francis too has constantly voiced his closeness “to the beloved Iraqi people”. This concern was reaffirmed by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, on the occasion of his trip to the Country in December 2018. During his visit, Vatican Secretary of State insisted on the importance of overcoming hatred and expressed the Church’s gratitude for the Iraqi Christian witness which – he said – has become “a living example for all Christians in the world”.
Pope Francis The reiterated the hope that Iraq “can face the future through the peaceful and shared pursuit of the common good on the part of all elements of society, including the religious” on 10 June 2019, during the Reunion of Aid Agencies for the Oriental Churches (ROACO), when he expressed his desire to visit Iraq in 2020.
The importance of preserving the historical presence of Christians in the Country and the need to guarantee their security and a place in the future of Iraq was once again highlighted on the occasion of the second official visit to the Vatican by President Barham Salih, on January 25, 2020, which focused on the challenges facing the Country and on the importance of promoting stability and the reconstruction process.
Pope Francis insisted on the need to protect the “Christian presence” in Iraq and in the entire region during an online meeting on the Syrian and Iraqi humanitarian crisis organised by the Vatican Dicastery for the Service of Integral Human Development with dozens of Catholic NGOs, on 10 December 2020. “We must work to ensure that the Christian presence in these lands continues to be what it has always been: a sign of peace, progress, development, and reconciliation between peoples”, the Pontiff said in a video-message, calling on the international community to encourage the return of communities dispersed by war.
”In this context, the announcement on 7 December 2020 of Pope Francis’ pastoral journey has been welcomed with enthusiasm by the Iraqi Church. The papal trip takes place 21 years after Pope John Pauls II’s “dreamed visit” to the Country, on the occasion of his Jubilee pilgrimage in the footsteps of Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Paul in year 2000, was cancelled due to the political situation in Iraq.
Points of Entry Analysis: January 27, 2021 – IOM Regional Office for the European Economic Area, the European Union and NATO
The outbreak of the COVID-19 virus has affected global and regional human mobility in the form of various travel disruptions and restrictions.
The total number of COVID-19 cases reached 22,765,857 in the European Economic Area region (EEA) as of 31 January 2021 according to the World Health Organization (WHO). To better understand how the pandemic affects mobility at the Points of Entry (PoEs), the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has developed an online tool and database which tracks changes in mobility at Points of Entry (airports, land and blue border crossing points). This includes preparedness and response measures to prevent, protect against, control and assist in line with the International Health Regulations (IHR). Among the mobility changes tracked by IOM are: 1) Movement restrictions on entry and/or exit, 2)
Changes in visa requirements, 3) Restrictions applied to certain nationalities to disembark at this location, 4) Changes in identification documents needed to disembark, 5) Medical measures in place such as Health Staffing/Medical Personnel, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE), Infection prevention and control (IPC) and Surveillance and Referral.
As of 27 January 2021, data was collected on 809 PoEs in 30 countries/territories/areas across the EEA region. These locations include: 480 land border crossings points, 190 airports, and 139 blue border crossing points (including sea, river and lake ports). This work is based on the information collected by or available to IOM Country Offices in the region. This PoEs brief analysis provides an overview of the changes of the operational status and mobility restrictions over the past year, between April 2020 and January 2021. Not all data on PoEs have been updated every month, meaning that the displayed trend does not necessarily represent the situation of all PoEs at any given month. A total of 809 PoEs have been assessed as of January 2021, which is 45 more than the 764 PoEs assessed in April last year when the global data collection exercise was rolled out
The national-conservative Danish People’s Party (DF) has called for the religion of people being granted citizenship to be stated in the public record as well as a ban on granting citizenship to people married to foreign nationals.
As opposed to the current rules, the Danish People’s Party wants the religion of all applicants to be stated on publicly accessible parliamentary bills. As of today, only names are listed, not religion. The party wants the lists to state whether the applicant is, say, Christian, Muslim, or atheist. Refusal to disclose one’s religion would result in rejection, the newspaper Jyllands-Postenreported.
The chief aim of the proposal is admittedly to clarify whether the new citizens are Muslims.
“For many people being Muslim raises some fundamental problems with living a Danish life. Whether that is views on women or views on law and democracy”, Danish People’s Party deputy leader Morten Messerschmidt told the newspaper Jyllands-Posten, calling for “extra vigilance”.
At the same time, Messerschmidt emphasised he doesn’t want Denmark to completely ban granting citizenship to Muslims. He named “good examples” like Danish politician and Conservative Party heavyweight Naser Khader, who “have a Muslim background and support democracy”.
“But it just cannot overshadow the violent problems that we have experienced with people with a Muslim background over the past 30 years, and therefore it must be the most important thing to get clarified”, Messerschmidt said.
Messerschmidt also said he wanted Denmark to block citizenship for people already married to foreign nationals, citing the negative impact on integration of “marrying your cousin from the same village your parents came from”.
“We don’t wish to target Gertrude and Hans from Germany or Svenne and Lotta from Sweden”, Messerschmidt said, suggesting he would be more keen to prevent citizenship from being given to a Swede with Somali heritage.
The minority Social Democrat government said it is prepared to consider both proposals, of listing the religion of new citizens and the ban on citizenship to foreign spouses, as its citizenship spokesperson, Lars Aslan Rasmussen, said the government wants “as much transparency as possible”.
However, the latter idea may face practical obstacles, as senior researcher Eva Ersbøll at the Danish Institute for Human Rights underscored the proposal to block citizenship based on the nationality of people’s partners would be in breach of the European Convention on Nationality.
“You can apply conditions but the convention states persons with legal and permanent residence in a state must have the possibility of gaining citizenship. And if you make this demand it would rule out so many people that it would in my assessment no longer be a general possibility”, Ersbøll told Jyllands-Posten.
Negotiations over new citizenship rules began earlier in February. Remarkably, none of the minority government’s regular left-of-centre allies are involved in the negotiations, which left the governing Social Democrats dealing with members of the opposing “blue” right-of-centre bloc. Among other things, the liberal-conservative Venstre party proposed interviews to test whether citizenship-hopefuls share “Danish values” as part of the application process.
MEPs will assess the situation on the Canary Islands, following the surge in migrants’ arrivals in the last months and the limited reception capacity.
The Civil Liberties Committee will discuss the latest developments with Commissioner Ylva Johansson, President of the Canary Islands Ángel Víctor Torres and a representative of the NGO Spanish Commission for Refugees (CEAR).
According to the Spanish Government, 23 023 migrants and asylum-seekers landed on the archipelago last year irregularly from Africa by boat (compared with 2 687 in 2019). Most of them arrived in the last few months of 2020, leaving reception centres overwhelmed. Combined with the public health restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this led to the rapid deterioration of the humanitarian situation and sparked some protests among the local population.
National and regional authorities are speeding up the construction of emergency accommodation, but in the meantime, people are being housed between makeshift camps and tourism resorts, mostly empty because of the pandemic.
According to UNHCR data, up to 81% of migrants arriving by boat on the Canary Islands are men, mostly from Morocco, Mali, Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal. The sea crossing from the African coast can be as short as around 100 km, but the strong currents make it a perilous journey. According to Missing Migrants, in November 2020 alone, the month with most arrivals, over 500 people lost their lives trying to make it to the Canary Islands.
JIND: Farmers on Sunday observed a ‘Sarv Dharma Sammelan’ (congregation of all religions) at Khatkar toll plaza in Jind district to send out the message that people from all faiths were together in the fight against the Centre’s three agro-market laws which have sparked widespread protests. Thousands of farmers took part in the congregation. Protesters said BJP had damaged the state’s social fabric and that of the nation as well during its six years of rule. “BJP did nothing, but playing politics of divide and rule,” said one of the speakers. Nawab Ali, one of the protestors at toll plaza, said, “Muslims are equally dedicated to the nation and always contributed to nation building, but BJP pushed the community back just to rule over people. But this fight to repeal the farm laws pertains to every section of society. If farmers are prosperous, the nation and every section of society would be happy automatically. We will support farmers until laws are repealed,” he added. sGurudev Singh, a Sikh from Durana village in Jind district, said they organised the congregation, so that the BJP government could come to know that all religions and communities were standing by it firmly. “A peaceful and disciplined movement is being defamed by the government. But, today, they will get the message as thousands of people from different communities gathered to show their solidarity,” he added.
