Religions for Peace Norway has urged the Norwegian Government to join the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), which seeks for the first time to establish a comprehensive ban on the development, testing, production, stockpiling, stationing, transfer, use and threat of use of nuclear weapons, as well as obligations for victim assistance and environmental remediation. The Treaty was adopted on July 7 2017 and will come into force on 22 January. Until now, it has been ratified by 51 Countries. Norway, however, has consistently opposed signing the TPNW, arguing that it would come into conflict with its membership in NATO.
According to the World Council of Churches website, the Norwegian leaders of Religions for Peace have expressed “deep regret” that the Country has not joined the Treaty , reminding that: “The threat of a catastrophic mass eradication using nuclear weapons was one of the most important reasons for more than 400 religious leaders to be brought together in Kyoto in Japan in 1970 for the first World Conference of Religions for Peace”.
“As Norwegian representatives of Religions for Peace, we are deeply convinced that the existence and use of nuclear weapons is fundamentally in conflict with our religious values and ethical principles,” the appeal stresses. “In the name of humanity, we cannot accept the use of nuclear weapons”.
Unacceptable support for the use of nuclear weapons
According to the Norwegian peace leaders, as long as nuclear weapons exist, there is a danger that they may be used. They therefore claim that “Norwegian current support for the use of nuclear weapons that violate human dignity is unacceptable,” stressing there is “no decisive conflict between international law, moral principles, Norway’s membership in NATO, and the ratification of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons”.
Noting that the annual expenses used on nuclear weapons globally are estimated to at least 100 billion US dollars, the appeal also points out that: “More of our resources should be used for human development and protection of the creation, and not for investing in weapons that can eradicate the world’s human population”.
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union is arming itself with a new ability to impose punitive tariffs on the United States and other trading rivals that refuse to resolve disputes after Washington’s paralysis of the World Trade Organization.
FILE PHOTO: The World Trade Organization (WTO) headquarters is pictured in Geneva, Switzerland, October 28, 2020. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
A day before Joe Biden becomes U.S. president, the European Parliament voted 653 to 10 on Tuesday for the enforcement law, which is likely to enter force by early March.
The law is designed to protect the bloc’s interest in cases normally be handled by the WTO. Luxembourg lawmaker Christophe Hansen said it should deter others from deploying “Trump-era tactics”.
“The day after we vote on this amendment a new U.S. president takes office. Together we can find solutions to bridge our differences and together we can bring the WTO back to speed,” he told parliament late on Monday.
The WTO’s Appellate Body, which has acted as a supreme court for international disputes, was left with too few adjudicators to make rulings in December 2019 after U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration blocked new appointments.
Any WTO member unhappy with the decision of a lower-level WTO panel can now appeal into a void, leaving a case in legal limbo.
Under the new law, the EU will be able to take retaliatory action if another country denies it a settlement in this way.
The EU has agreed an interim appeals system with trading partners, including Australia, Brazil and China, but not the United States.
“With this vote, you will allow Europe to convey a message to its trading partners – rules exist and they need to be respected,” French lawmaker Marie-Pierre Vedrenne said.
The enforcement law is one of a series of measures to defend EU markets. The European Commission has also committed to propose this year new rules to protect the bloc against “coercive” action by others.
Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop. Editing by Mark Potter
Support for economic recovery after and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic
Promoting digital and green transformation
864 million EUR for 2021-2027
The Technical Support Instrument will help EU countries prepare the recovery plans needed to access funding from the Recovery and Resilience Facility.
The regulation adopted by Plenary on Tuesday, with 540 votes in favour, 75 against and 77 abstentions outlines how the Technical Support Instrument (TSI) will support economic recovery after and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic by promoting economic, social and territorial cohesion as well as digital and green transitions including biodiversity and implementation of climate targets. The reforms supported by the instrument should effectively address the challenges identified in the adopted country-specific recommendations.
Specific objectives and actions
The TSI will assist national authorities in preparing, amending, implementing and revising their national plans. The text sets out a list of key actions to be carried out, such as digitalisation of administrative structures and public services, in particular healthcare, education or the judiciary, creating policies to help people retrain for the labour market and building resilient care systems and coordinated response capabilities. A single online public repository managed by the European Commission will provide information on the actions that fall under the TSI.
TSI budget and implementation
The TSI will have a budget of €864 million over the period 2021-2027 (in current prices). In order to receive technical support, such as expertise related to policy change or to prepare strategies and reform roadmaps, a member state has to submit a request to the Commission by 31 October, outlining the policy areas it will focus on. To ensure resources are readily available and that there is an immediate response in urgent or unforeseen circumstances, up to 30% of the yearly allocation should be reserved for special measures.
Next steps
Once Council has also formally approved the regulation, it will enter into force one day after its publication in the Official Journal of the EU. There is going to be a transitional period for actions initiated before 31 December 2020, which will be governed by the Structural Reform Support Programme (2017-2020) until their completion.
The Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response found critical elements to be “slow, cumbersome and indecisive” in an era when information about new disease outbreaks is being transmitted faster than countries can formally report on them.
“When there is a potential health threat, countries and the World Health Organization must further use the 21st century digital tools at their disposal to keep pace with news that spreads instantly on social media and infectious pathogens that spread rapidly through travel”, said Helen Clark, former Prime Minister of New Zealand and co-chair of the panel.
“Detection and alert may have been speedy by the standards of earlier novel pathogens, but viruses move in minutes and hours, rather than in days and weeks.”
The Independent Panel was established to review lessons learned from international response to COVID-19, which first emerged in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. Nearly 94 million confirmed cases and more than two million deaths have been reported globally as of Tuesday.
The panel’s second progress report said countries were slow to respond to the new coronavirus disease, noting “there were lost opportunities to apply basic public health measures at the earliest opportunity”.
Although WHO declared on 30 January 2020 that COVID-19 was a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), the panel found many countries took minimal action to prevent spread both within and beyond their borders.
“What is clear to the Panel is that public health measures could have been applied more forcefully by local and national health authorities in China in January”, the report said.
“It is also clear to the Panel that there was evidence of cases in a number of countries by the end of January 2020. Public health containment measures should have been implemented immediately in any country with a likely case. They were not.”
The report also outlined critical shortcomings at each phase of response, including failure to prepare for a pandemic despite years of warning.
“The sheer toll of this epidemic is prima facie evidence that the world was not prepared for an infectious disease outbreak with global pandemic potential, despite the numerous warnings issued that such an event was probable”, it said.
Deepening inequalities
Pandemic response has also deepened inequalities, according to the panel, with inequitable access to COVID-19 vaccines a glaring example as rollout has favoured wealthy nations.
“A world where high-income countries receive universal coverage while low-income countries are expected to accept only 20 per cent in the foreseeable future is on the wrong footing – both for justice and for pandemic control. This failure must be remedied”, said the panel’s co chair, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former President of Liberia.
The report further highlighted the need to strengthen the UN’s health agency.
“The WHO is expected to validate reports of disease outbreaks for their pandemic potential and, deploy support and containment resources, but its powers and funding to carry out its functions are limited”, Ms. Sirleaf said. “This is a question of resources, tools, access, and authority.”
Countries are also urged to ensure testing, contact tracing and other public health measures to reduce virus spread, are being implemented, in efforts to save lives, particularly as more infectious virus variants emerge.
The Independent Panel began its review last September and will present a report to the World Health Assembly, the decision-making body of WHO, in May.
WHO is working with Romania’s Ministry of Health and health professionals in the country to make telephone consultations more widely available. The aim is to institutionalize telemedicine in Romania and make the service easily accessible to patients during and after the pandemic. WHO supported a proposal by the Ministry’s Paediatric Commission to update national health legislation to include phone triage, thereby helping to strengthen health services in the wake of COVID-19.
Many paediatric units in Romania are exploring how to replicate the project, which began in Cluj County in 2014. Alopedi is a phone triage service for children in Romania and in the diaspora that is now publicly owned and financed. Thirty-eight paediatricians work around the clock, taking calls from parents and advising on what type of medical care is needed. Patients can then access the health system at the appropriate level, increasing efficiency and avoiding delays.
WHO Representative to Romania Dr Miljana Grbic called Alopedi “a wonderful example of how we can improve health services and build back better following the COVID-19 pandemic”. She highlighted the model of successful collaboration between public and private sectors and between digital health and community projects, saying this could be shared with and implemented by other countries.
Over 65 000 calls have been made to Alopedi, which was set up by a team of senior paediatric physicians led by Dr Călin Lazăr and Dr Daniela Dreghiciu of Cluj-Napoca Clinical Emergency Hospital for Children. It has proven to be a sought-after and valuable service both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The task is to establish legal norms so that Alopedi’s medical triage service, and other similar initiatives, are integrated into the telemedicine system in Romania,” explained Dr Dreghiciu at Alopedi. “The benefits are clear,” she stressed, adding, “It is a quick, simple and comfortable solution for patients, and we are also looking to expand our service to cover chronic diseases following COVID-19.”
Representatives of the Ministry of Health, hospital representatives, patients, and professionals from the Romanian College of Physicians agreed to work to improve understanding of telemedicine in Romania. This followed a WHO policy dialogue on the proposal by the Paediatric Commission to update national health legislation to include phone triage.
A parent’s perspective
“I called Alopedi when my son suffered a finger injury and I couldn’t go to the paediatrician as it was late at night,” recounts Ms Liana Alexandru. “I didn’t want to go to the emergency room, but I wanted a professional medical opinion that I could trust.”
“I find Alopedi extremely useful. For a parent, it is a relief to have access to such a service, to be able to seek a specialist’s advice at any time when there is no clear emergency but when you do not know what to do. It is also a great mental comfort which helps us to calm down,” she adds.
“The interaction with the doctors from Alopedi was very pleasant. I used their services twice and they were very kind. The call waiting time is short and the doctors gave me all their attention. I found out about Alopedi a few years ago from a popular blogger. At first, I was reluctant to use such a service but, based on my personal experience, I would like the service to be extended nationwide. I would be happy to have something similar in Bucharest,” concludes Ms Alexandru.
MAPUTO – A combined total of €7.6 million in funding from the European Union (EU) is helping the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) address the growing food needs in Mozambique driven by climate change, insecurity, displacement and the socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, while also strengthening national capacity to respond to natural disasters.
Thanks to generous donors like the EU, WFP has been providing vital food assistance to nearly 323,000 people affected by the crisis in Cabo Delgado where escalating violence has displaced over 565,000 people.
“Despite challenging and unprecedented developments over the last few months, our partnership with WFP has ensured uninterrupted assistance to many vulnerable families in Mozambique, and especially to the increased number of persons displaced in Cabo Delgado,” said Annabelle Vasseur, EU Humanitarian Aid Technical Assistant in Mozambique.
The EU is also one of the partners of WFP’s lean season response in Sofala, Manica, Tete, Gaza, Maputo-Province, and Inhambane. Thanks to donations such as the one from the EU, WFP plans to provide food assistance to nearly 470,000 people, while also helping the National Disaster Management Institute (INGC) strengthen its capacity to prepare for and respond to disasters using unmanned aerial vehicles or drones, which efficiently gather essential data.
“The needs in Mozambique have been growing every day. We are grateful to the EU for the continued support that allows us to reach those who need the most”, said Antonella D’Aprile, WFP’s Representative and Country Director for Mozambique. “The EU’s continuous investments in innovative technologies have also played a key role in national preparedness efforts enabling to save lives and conduct assessments in the immediate aftermath of sudden-onset natural disasters”.
Funding from the EU is also allowing WFP to develop life-changing innovations for longer-term climate resilience of communities in drought-prone districts of Gaza and Tete. One of these innovations is the development of an early warning system, which helps farmers prepare for prolonged dry spells. When fully operational, this system will improve farmers’ resilience to natural hazards and reduce the potential damage to the livelihoods and of smallholder farmers.
The European Union is a long-standing partner to WFP, contributing over €32.8 million towards WFP’s activities across Mozambique over the past five years.
The United Nations World Food Programme is the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. We are the world’s largest humanitarian organization, saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.
Presidents Sassoli and von der Leyen and Prime Minister Costa will hold a joint press conference on the priorities of the Portuguese Council Presidency at 13.00 CET on Wednesday.
When: Wednesday 20 January 13.00 CET
Where: EP Press room and via Interactio
After the debate in plenary, EP President David Sassoli, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Portugal’s Prime Minister António Costa will comment on the programme of the Portuguese Presidency, which focuses on the economic and social recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, achieving an inclusive climate and digital transition, and giving a new impetus to EU relations with Africa and Latin America. They are also expected to talk about COVID-19 vaccination, EU’s relations with the new US administration, and shaping the Conference on the Future of Europe.
Interpretation will be available at the press conference in English, French and Italian and Portuguese.Journalists wishing to actively participate and ask questions, please connect via Interactio by using the link.You can also follow it live from 13.00 CET via Parliament’s webstreaming and EbS+.
BRUSSELS — The European Union’s top migration official on Tuesday criticized Bosnian authorities for failing to properly care for hundreds of migrants living in sub-zero temperatures on its territory, warning the Balkans country of its obligations if it hopes to join the EU.
Bosnia has faced sharp criticism for leaving around 1,000 people without shelter after a fire gutted the makeshift Lipa refugee camp near the northwest border with EU-member Croatia just before Christmas. The authorities at first said they would move the migrants to another location, but finally set up military tents at the site instead after locals elsewhere protested.
“Bosnia-Herzegovina must show it’s capable of managing migration. It must take responsibility, address the humanitarian situation,” Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson told EU lawmakers.
“As a country with a perspective of EU accession, we expect Bosnia-Herzegovina to work on sustainable, long-term solutions, to set up facilities evenly distributed across the full territory of the country,” Johansson said. She said she would visit the area in February.
The problem is not new. Bosnia has been widely criticized in recent years for mishandling the arrival of thousands of people, many fleeing war and poverty. The politically unstable and impoverished Balkan country is still recovering from its own war in the 1990s.
Divided into two feuding entities, Bosnia lacks a unified policy on migrants. The Serb-run part of the country has refused to accept any, and the overburdened northwestern region has complained it has been abandoned despite help from international organizations.
Migrants come to Bosnia with the aim of reaching Croatia before moving on into Western Europe. Many have complained about being pushed back, which is illegal under international refugee law, and violence at the hands of Croatia’s police.
Johansson said thanks to EU help, around 900 people at the site in Bosnia now have shelter in weather-proof tents, with access to heating and food supplies.
“Thanks to our action, the situation has improved, but only from grave to serious. Stopping immediate risk to life is the beginning, not the end, of ensuring acceptable, dignified living conditions,” she said.
The Lipa camp was only ever set up as a temporary measure to cope with the impact of the coronavirus over the summer. Bosnian central authorities wanted to move some migrants to a nearby facility at Bira, but local authorities blocked the move as protests erupted.
“Winter has a long way to run and I must admit that it is frustrating to have to set up tents and temporary shelters when we have an empty, fully equipped and winterized facility just 30 kilometers (19 miles) down the road,” Johansson said.
Jovana Gec in Belgrade contributed to this report.
