Addressing the UN-backed body meeting in Rome on Monday, António Guterres underscored that the session was taking place “at a moment of crisis for global food security” and provided some sobering statistics.
“Last year, 735 million people went hungry. More than 3 billion cannot afford a healthy diet,” said the Secretary-General in a video message, adding that “we are going backward on our goal of zero hunger by 2030.”
He emphasized that hunger and malnutrition were not just problems but human rights violations “on an epic scale”, painting a vivid picture of the dire consequences of the rolling crisis.
“When nutritious food is out of reach because of cost or geography; when bodies are eaten away by hunger; when parents watch helplessly as their children suffer and even die from a lack of food”, this is nothing less than “a human tragedy – a moral catastrophe – and a global outrage,” Mr. Guterres stated.
The Secretary-General made it clear the world has the resources to address this crisis. “There is more than enough food to go around. And more than enough resources to ensure that every person on the planet has enough to eat.”
He emphasized the role of governments in ensuring access to nutritious food, saying that while they have a responsibility to provide it, many governments lack the resources to do so.
António Guterres called for effective international solidarity to transform food systems for all people.
For that, explained the UN chief, massive investment, innovation, science, and technology are essential – to build “sustainable food systems in harmony with nature and addressing the climate crisis.”
Thinktank on food supply
He commended the work of the CFS – which includes staff from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Food Programme (WFP) – emphasizing its importance in finding solutions.
“Your Committee’s work is critical to this process. From reimagining agrifood systems, to boosting the collection and use of data, to ensuring that the needs of women and girls are at the heart of all that we do.”
The Secretary-General implored the world to prioritize this fundamental human right: “Let’s give the fundamental human right to food the investment and urgent action it deserves.”
Established in 1974, the Committee on World Food Security was reformed in 2009 to become an inclusive international and intergovernmental platform tasked to ensure food security and nutrition for all.
The dead in Gaza include many teachers, the agency noted in a tweet on Monday. “We grieve and we remember. These are not just numbers. These are our friends and colleagues…UNRWA mourns this huge loss.”
The 13,000-strong agency which operates across the Palestine Occupied Territory has been working tirelessly with other UN humanitarians inside Gaza and across the region, to aid stricken civilians, often at great personal risk.
Determined to forge peace
Through the UN Charter, countries united in their resolve to “save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.”
“On this United Nations Day, let us commit with hope and determination to build the better world of our aspirations,” he said.
Call for unity
The UN chief called on all nations to commit to a future that lives up to the name of the indispensable organization.
“We are a divided world. We can and must be united nations,” he urged.
Commemorative events planned on Tuesday include a concert at UN Headquarters in New York, on the theme of The Frontlines of Climate Action, reinforcing one of the UN chief’s key priorities, ahead of the crucial COP28 summit in Dubai next month.
UPDATED: The bombardment of Gaza has taken a devastating toll on its children said the UN Children’s Fund UNICEF on Tuesday, with a reported 2,360 fatalities and a reported 5,364 injuries suffered.
This amounts to more than 400 children reportedly either killed or injured daily. Additionally, more than 30 Israeli children reportedly have lost their lives, and dozens remain in captivity within the Gaza Strip. The 18-day period is the deadliest escalation of hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel that the UN has witnessed since 2006, the agency said.
Almost every child in the Gaza Strip has been exposed to deeply distressing events and trauma.
“The killing and maiming of children, abduction of children, attacks on hospitals and schools, and the denial of humanitarian access constitute grave violations of children’s rights,” said Adele Khodr, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.
“UNICEF urgently appeals on all parties to agree to a ceasefire, allow humanitarian access and release all hostages. Even wars have rules. Civilians must be protected – children particularly – and all efforts must be made to spare them in all circumstances.”
The UN Human Rights Council-mandated Independent Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, called on Israel, the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and Hamas which controls Gaza, to support its ongoing investigations into “serious crimes” including murder, rape and other forms of sexual violence.
The Commission was established via a Council resolution in May 2021, to investigate alleged violations of international law, including “all underlying root causes of recurrent tensions…including systematic discrimination and repression”.
Presenting its latest report to the General Assembly on Tuesday, the Commission said it “unequivocally condemns the killing of over 1,000 Israeli citizens by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups, injuring thousands more and the taking of more than 200 hostages, including children.”
Investigators also unequivocally condemned “Israeli military attacks that resulted in the deaths of thousands of Palestinian civilians, as well as hundreds of children.”
The Commission called for the immediate cessation of hostilities, and the immediate and safe return of all hostages.
Chair Navi Pillay said in her statement there were “clear indications that international crimes have been and are being committed.”
In accordance with its brief “and in furtherance of justice and accountability, the Commission immediately began collecting and preserving evidence.”
She said they would “not only focus on crimes and violations but also identify individual criminal responsibility”.
Surgery with no anesthetic: WHO
Doctors have been performing surgeries without anaesthesia or other basic surgical supplies, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said in an update, noting that fuel has become the “most vital commodity” in Gaza.
Without it, “trucks can’t move and generators can’t produce electricity for hospitals, bakeries and water desalination plants,” said Tamara Alrifai, spokesperson for the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA).
To date, fuel has been absent from the aid convoys allowed in so far.
“We are on our knees asking for sustained, scaled up, protected humanitarian operations”, UN health agency (WHO) Emergencies Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Region Dr. Rick Brennan said.
Briefing reporters from Cairo, he appealed “to all those in a situation to make a decision or influence decision makers, to give us the humanitarian space to address this human catastrophe”.
Diligence system for aid
The 54 trucks which have crossed into Gaza from Egypt as part of three convoys since Saturday contained a mix of food, medical supplies and non-food items, Ms. Alrifai said.
In comparison, she underscored that before the conflict, 500 trucks used to enter Gaza every day – those included commercial trucks and at least 100 aid trucks, some 45 of them bringing fuel.
Ms. Alrifai stressed that the logistics, coordination, transport and warehousing of the three convoys from Rafah were organized on the Gaza Strip side by UNRWA. Asked about the security risk of any fuel deliveries falling into the wrong hands, Ms. Alrifai explained that as with other equipment UNRWA would be responsible for receiving and handling the fuel, and having it delivered to hospitals and water desalination plants.
“We have in place a very sturdy diligence system to make sure that anything we receive is only used for humanitarian purposes,” she insisted.
Outbreaks ‘just a matter of time’
WHO’s Dr. Brennan highlighted the dire consequences of a lack of access to clean water, compounded by overcrowding. Between one and three litres per person per day were available in Gaza while the absolute minimum was 15 litres, he said.
People were being pushed to consume contaminated water and the spread of infectious diseases was “just a matter of time”.
Dr Brennan also said that WHO was working with UNRWA to establish a system of disease surveillance with daily reports. The most common infectious diseases were respiratory tract infections and diarrhoea, but chicken pox and skin infections like scabies and head lice were also to be expected.
Health facilities overwhelmed
WHO highlighted the extreme gravity of the health situation in the Gaza Strip under Israeli bombardment for over two weeks.
One in three hospitals and two in three clinics were not functioning, and health facilities and workers were overwhelmed with a massive load of trauma cases, many of them complex injuries due to explosions. Dr Brennan cited the example of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, which had 1.5 patients for each bed.
With 1.4 million displaced people across the territory, overcrowding was a major challenge to the health system.
“I’ve been working in humanitarian assistance for 30 years and can’t remember that number of people displaced over such a short period of time,” Dr Brennan said.
Medicines boost
Some of the WHO medicines and supplies from the three convoys allowed into the enclave have already been delivered to three key referral hospitals in southern Gaza and to the Palestine Red Crescent Society for distribution to its two health facilities and ambulance crews.
They took boxes of medicines off the trucks and straight into operating theatres
“Health staff were so relieved to have replenishments, they took boxes of medicines off the trucks and straight into operating theatres,” WHO said.
Up to 200 women per day are having babies in Gaza and have trouble finding a safe place to deliver, Dr Brennan warned. More than half of them can be expected to experience complications and risk not getting the care they need.
Furthermore, under constant bombardment, the mental health needs of the population are “enormous”, he said.
‘Mortality will increase’
Dr. Brennan highlighted the plight of Gazans with chronic conditions, including kidney disease and diabetes, who have more and more difficulty in accessing services. He warned that they will experience complications and that “mortality will increase”.
Across the border in Egypt, WHO said that it has additional medicines and medical equipment on standby that are enough to provide surgical interventions for 3,700 trauma patients, essential health services for 110,000 people and care for 20,000 chronic diseases patients.
Lives on the line
Dr. Brennan stressed however that even once supplies get across the border, delivery to hospitals is compromised not only because of the lack of fuel, but also due to the “huge security risks” to UN personnel and partners trying to bring aid to hospitals in an active war zone.
UNRWA’s Ms. Alrifai recalled that the agency was mourning the loss of 35 staff so far, most of whom were themselves displaced and were working inside the agency’s shelters and facilities to assist the 400,000 or so people who have sought safety there.
A total of 40 UNRWA installations have been damaged since 7 October.
Asked about accountability for the deaths and destruction, Ms. Alrifai reiterated the importance of respecting the principles of international humanitarian law in wartime.
“Whatever happened to our colleagues and our buildings is unacceptable – no matter who did it,” she said.
Since the Hamas attacks on 7 October and Israel’s response, anti-Semitism has risen alarmingly in many parts of the world. France, in particular, has recorded more than 1,300 incidents, reported by the police authorities, testifying to the seriousness of the situation.
Azerbaijan, a strong ally of Israel, is engaged in a long-standing conflict with Armenia. This alliance arouses the disapproval of many Armenians, who take a dim view of the proximity between Jerusalem and Baku. In protest, some Armenians have reacted by attacking Jewish symbols in their own country.
On 15 November, individuals threw Molotov cocktails at the synagogue in Yerevan (the capital of Armenia). In a statement, the police declined to say that the building housed a synagogue, but Rimma Varjapetian, a representative of Armenia’s Jewish community, confirmed this to AFP and said that “the attack took place in the early hours of 15 November when the building was empty”.
Demographic decline: Armenia’s Jewish community on the brink of extinction
In the heart of the Caucasian mountains, Armenia is home to one of the smallest Jewish communities in the world. According to a number of alarming statistics, the country’s Jewish population is in constant decline, currently numbering as few as 700. A mass exodus marked the period between 1992 and 1994 when more than 6,000 members of the Jewish community decided to leave their homeland. There were many reasons for this mass emigration, ranging from economic difficulties to security concerns.
Worrying rise in anti-Semitism in Armenia: targeted attacks despite a small Jewish population
Despite the modest size of the Jewish community in Armenia, it is increasingly the target of worrying anti-Semitic attacks. Findings from the Anti-Defamation League report reveal that Armenia stands out as the post-Soviet country with the highest rate of anti-Semitism, with 58% of its population sharing anti-Jewish sentiments.
Recently, a shocking statement was made by Mr Poghosyan, former adviser to the Chief of Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces and former assistant to the Armenian President’s former chief adviser on national security issues. In a video posted on social networks and Telegram groups, Mr Poghosyan stated unequivocally: “I will help Hamas kill Jews”.
The abusive language continues in the video, with Vladimir Poghosyan saying: “You jackals must be completely exterminated. I’m someone who has worked in intelligence all his life and who has carried out operations at the level of your Mossad and even more”. At the start of the video, this former senior civil servant expresses his denialist views, declaring: “I have never recognised the Holocaust” and describing the Jews as “a destructive people who have no right to be on this earth”.
According to the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP), anti-Israeli and anti-Jewish propaganda in Armenia feeds classic anti-Semitic stereotypes. The ISGAP report published in August 2023 highlights the worrying spread of anti-Israeli and anti-Jewish propaganda in Armenia, often associated with anti-Azerbaijani sentiments. This campaign, which resonates with both the authorities and the general public, frequently includes classic anti-Semitic clichés, according to ISGAP’s findings.
The report quotes Colonel Arkady Karapetyan, who told the Armenian news agency ‘Realist’ that “Israeli instructors shot at us to test their weapons… Jews recently celebrated the day of commemoration of the victims of the concentration camps, which was widely covered by the world media. Meanwhile, Israel is actively encouraging the transformation of Artsakh into a death camp.”
On 3 October 2023, the Jewish Cultural Centre in Yerevan was vandalised. A few hours later, Armenian social networks reported that this act of vandalism was to be understood as retaliation for Israel’s sale of drones and other weapons to Azerbaijan and for the recent criticism by dozens of rabbis of the rhetoric used by Armenian officials, who compared Azerbaijan’s actions against Armenian troops and civilians with the Holocaust.
The Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA) claimed responsibility for this act. It is worth recalling the historical link between ASALA and Iran. ASALA, founded in 1975, trained in the Bekaa Valley alongside Palestinian terrorist organisations, thus collaborating against Israel.
In conclusion, these examples highlight the danger inherent in introducing classic anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist narratives into Armenian public discourse. In the context of Yerevan’s defeat in the second Karabakh war and the emergence of radical Armenian nationalism, this threat seems to be a palpable reality. It is becoming imperative for Armenia to engage in an in-depth reflection on the consequences of such toxic narratives, both on intercommunity relations and on regional stability.
A commitment to rescue the original meaning of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) emerged at the United Nations (UN) headquarters endorsed by more than 200 political and civic leaders from 40 countries participating in the 5th Transatlantic Summit. It is the New York Commitment celebrating the 75th anniversary of the UDHR.
In this, those present agreed to work to establish enabling environments for family formation and stability; to protect children, both before and after birth; and to respect the freedom of parents and legal guardians to provide for the religious and moral education of their children in accordance with their own convictions. They also pledged to promote respect for the diverse religious and ethical values, cultural backgrounds and philosophical convictions of the peoples of the world.
“We are here to bring to the present, in its original sense, that agreement of 1948, we must return to the human person and, from there, guarantee his or her fundamental rights. It is precisely here, at the United Nations, that our voice must be heard. We claim the basic principles that inspired the UDHR, they are timeless and transcendent principles,” said José Antonio Kast, president of the Political Network for Values, the organising institution of the event.
The New York Commitment 75 for Universal Human Rights gives visibility to a broad consensus that exists on all continents on the need to affirm the dignity of the person and fundamental values, especially life, family and freedoms.
“There are many of us who think this way and are very active in the social, political and cultural spheres, and we believe that there is always room for dialogue. It is our duty to remind those who forget or want to distort the original meaning of the UDHR,” he said.
Likewise, Santiago Santurio, Argentinean national deputy, declared: “It cannot be that today the most dangerous place in the world is the womb, where human life is most at risk. That is where we have to defend it with more strength, with more conviction. And that the State has to protect. And that families must promote it. In the same way that we have to protect families from the abuses of States and governments, in the same way that we have to protect States from the abuses of international organisations. There is a specific case here, the Beatriz del Salvador case, where we run the risk that some people from Costa Rica want to legislate abortion for all the Americas. This is very serious for the defence of human rights and the sovereignty of States. The Beatriz case must be an example that human rights must be defended in international bodies and that these bodies should not be abused in order to inflict the will of States and Parliaments.
Ito Bisonó, Minister of Industry and Commerce of the Dominican Republic, pointed out that it has never been more opportune to reaffirm the principles that gave rise to the UDHR in the face of the threats that people’s lives, liberty and dignity, in particular, are suffering today.
Samuel George, member of the Ghanaian Parliament, stressed that the UN Magna Carta enshrines the right to life, the protection that should be given to the family based on the marriage of a man and a woman, the protection of motherhood and childhood, the preferential right of parents to choose the education of their children, freedom of thought, conscience, religion, opinion and expression, which is why it is incomprehensible that international organisations should violate them.
Margarita de la Pisa, a member of the European Parliament, pointed out that these rights, far from being regressive, are the basis of true human development. “Defending life, for example, means a political commitment to prosperity,” she said.
In the same vein, Hafid El-Hachimi, an official of the Independent Permanent Commission for Human Rights of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, said that families are the fundamental unit for the sustainable, cultural and economic development of society, so seeking redefinitions of the family means compromising the future.
Neydy Casillas, an expert in multilateral organisations and vice-president of the Global Center for Human Rights (GCHR) referred to the case of Beatriz, the young Salvadoran woman whose daughter, Leilani, died hours after birth due to anencephaly, and whose case was taken to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights by abortion groups: “Upon seeing this tragic case, abortionist groups who claim to protect women, illegally obtained Beatriz’s medical file, her address and went to her home, harassed her, filled her with fear regardless of her illness (she suffered from lupus) and convinced her that she would die if she did not have an abortion.”
She then addressed the legislators of several countries, warning that their “authority is being damaged, as they have the legitimacy of the people, who gave them a voice to speak on their behalf, so democracy is being ended by silencing them”, she said.
The Paraguayan deputy, Raúl Latorre, also denounced that they are seeking to change the consensus and concept that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights originally represented: “Organisms of international law are openly attacking the right of those who cannot defend themselves, of those who cannot speak”, in reference to the unborn child.
What is the New York Commitment?
In the New York Commitment, the participants of the meeting pledged to form a global alliance for the human rights and fundamental freedoms enshrined and universally recognised in the UDHR.
They will work to establish enabling environments for family formation and stability; to protect children, both before and after birth; and to ensure that the freedom of parents and legal guardians to provide for the religious and moral education of their children in accordance with their own convictions is respected.
They also pledged to promote respect for the diverse religious and ethical values, cultural backgrounds and philosophical convictions of the world’s peoples, as well as for the sovereignty of states in matters within their domestic jurisdiction.
A different kind of summit within the UN
The 5th Transatlantic Summit, convened under the theme “Affirming Universal Human Rights – Bridging Cultures for Life, Family and Freedoms”, took place on 16-17 November in Room 4 of UN Headquarters, in the framework of the 75th anniversary of the UDHR. The event was organised by Political Network for Values (PNfV) and its partner organisations.
Participants included Erwin Ronquillo, Minister of Child Protection of Ecuador; Raúl Latorre, President of the Chamber of Deputies of Paraguay; Kinga Gál and Margarita de la Pisa, Members of the European Parliament for Hungary and Spain, respectively; Lucy Akello, Member of Parliament of Uganda; Päivi Räsänen, Member of Parliament of Finland; Corina Cano, Vice-President of the National Assembly of Panama; Germán Blanco, Senator of Colombia; Nikolás Ferreira of Brazil; Santiago Santurio, Member of Parliament of Argentina; and Rafael López Aliaga, Mayor of Lima (by video).
Also Lila Rose, President of Live Action; Valerie Huber, promoter of the Geneva Consensus Statement and President of the Institute for Women’s Health; Sharon Slater, President of Family Watch International; Dawn Hawkins, Executive Director of the International Centre on Sexual Exploitation; Neydy Casillas, Vice President for International Affairs at the Global Center for Human Rights; Ádám Kavecsánszki, President of the Foundation for a Civic Hungary; Austin Ruse, President of C-Fam; Brett Schaefer, Research Fellow at the Heritage Foundation; and Peter Torcsi, Director of Operations at the Center for Fundamental Rights; among others.
The event is officially supported by the Government of Guatemala and is sponsored by The Heritage Foundation, Center for Fundamental Rights, Foundation for a Civic Hungary, Global Center for Human Rights, International Centre on Sexual Exploitation, Family Watch International, C-Fam, ADF International, The Institute for Women’s Health, International Organization for the Family, and Talenting Group.
The Summit was chaired by José Antonio Kast, founder of the Republican Party of Chile, former presidential candidate in his country, and president of PNfV.
The PNfV is an international network of politicians actively committed to the promotion and defence of life, family and liberties. The Transatlantic Summits are a cornerstone of the Network. They bring together politicians and civic leaders from different countries to strengthen ties, share success stories and best practices, and build joint agendas. They are normally held every two years.
The first Summit was held at the United Nations in New York in 2014, followed by others at the European Parliament in Brussels in 2017, at the Colombian Capitol in Bogotá in 2019, and at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in Budapest last year.
The painting by the French impressionist has never been exhibited publicly
The painting by the French impressionist Claude Monet “The Lake with the Nymphs” (1917-1919) was sold for 74 million dollars at an auction in New York organized by Christie’s, reported AFP.
Consider that in May 2019, a painting by Claude Monet was sold for a record $110.7 million. It was also the first impressionist work to cross the $100 million mark at auction. A painting from Claude Monet’s “Buy Hay” series sold for a record $110.7 million at an auction in New York, the Associated Press reported at the time. Sotheby’s auction house said it was a world record for the artist and the first Impressionist work to surpass $100 million at auction.
The 1890 painting is one of four from the Buy Hay series offered at auction this century, and one of eight in private hands. The remaining 17 are in museums, including the Metropolitan Museum and the Art Institute of Chicago. The previous owners bought the painting in 1986 for $2.53 million. Sotheby’s did not provide information about the buyer.
Photo: Claude Monet’s masterpiece “The Lake with the Nymphs” (1917-1919) / CHRISTIE’S
On the occasion of the first edition of the International Forum From Us To Us Europe Brussels, an international conference is organized on Friday 24 and Saturday 25 November 2023 on the theme: “The promotion of acquired knowledge in the development of formal and informal entrepreneurship “.
Intended for agents of change, the program of this conference was designed and developed by Madame Lutumba Ndoy Amina, Founder and President of the Empowering International Network.
The first edition of the International Forum From Us To Us targets socio-economic actors who are the Solo Mom, the Female Leader & Entrepreneur of African origin and all people who wish to undertake. It will also welcome students, international decision-makers and other international stakeholders.
Based on the observation that there are no single solutions for successful entrepreneurship, the EWI Network offers participants an opportunity to meet and discuss the realities they must face to undertake business in Europe and in Africa.
The Forum will compare and highlight the difficulties faced by entrepreneurs from immigrant backgrounds and will at the same time propose appropriate solutions based on testimonies and success stories.
Constructive exchanges will be established to achieve the Forum’s objectives so that knowledge on the challenges of the entrepreneurial world at the dawn of 2024 is transmitted to as many people as possible and the fight against the lack of information continues.
The From us to us Forum will offer the opportunity to be as concrete and realistic as possible through the exchange of ideas, tools and perspectives, allowing participants to obtain the keys to becoming leaders who stand out in their area of activity for an Africa strong in its diaspora.
Presented and moderated by Mr. Radouan Bachiri, Freelance Journalist accredited to the European Union, questions concerning formal and informal entrepreneurship will serve as the basis for discussions at the international forum on November 24 and 25.
Actors from diverse backgrounds, European and African authorities, political figures, representatives of world-renowned structures, including renowned experts, will discuss ways to accelerate the implementation of a common vision and innovative creation of synergy Made In Africa, to achieve a lasting economic and social transition of female entrepreneurship on the North and South sides.
2 DAYS – 3 THEMES
The forum is subdivided into 3 parts which each address specific themes:
Day 1 – Entrepreneurship
Plenary 1: Themes covered: Migration, its dangers and its benefits, the challenges of the contribution of female leadership to the development and fortification of the continent.
Panel 1: Theme covered: Information, an important pillar for business on the North and South sides. How can we structure our businesses in the North and the South?
Plenary 2: Themes covered: Training, an important pillar for undertaking business on the North and South sides. The keys to ensuring the sustainability of our businesses.
Panel 2: Theme addressed: Relying on the know-how of stakeholders from the continent and the diaspora by making their expertise and experience keys and tools for success.
Day 2 – Single-parent entrepreneurship & community life
Plenary 1: Themes covered: Opening the fields of possibilities to innovation. Female Entrepreneurship Specificities And Obstacles: How these women can put their leadership, know-how and skills into practice in different contexts. Their feedback will be discussed to build shared visions and implement collaborative approaches that concretely show the feasibility of transitions, and the collective dynamic that they can support.
Panel 1: Theme covered: Single parenthood & Entrepreneurship: Investing in your development.
Panel 2: Theme covered: Associative Life & Social Entrepreneurship: Principles, examples and advantages.
DAY 1
Opening speech of the Forum by HE Mohamed Ameur, Ambassador of Morocco to Belgium and Luxembourg, introduction of the concept by Madame Lutumba Ndoy Amina President and founder of the Empowering Women International Network and initiator of the From Us to Us program and international Forum, presentation and moderation by Mr. Radouan Bachiri Communication expert and Freelance journalist and Member of the EWI Sponsorship Committee.
For the Honorary Panel SEM Ahmat Awad Sakine, Ambassador of the African Union and its permanent representative to the European Union, SEM Baye Moctar Diop, Ambassador of Senegal to Belgium, Luxembourg and to the European Union as well as Madame Yvette Tabu Inangoy, General Commissioner in charge of Culture, Arts, Media, Communication and Digital for the province of Kinshasa in DR Congo.
For the first plenary respectively Mr. Rachid Madrane, President of the Brussels Parliament, Madam Minister Ngoné Ndoye, Member of the EWI Sponsoring Committee, Madam Dominique Deshayes, President of Amnesty Belgium Francophone, Madam Yolande Esther Lida-Kone, Manager of Lead Management Strategy and Member of EWI Sponsorship Committee.
For the first panel, Mr. Jean Jacques Lumumba, internationally renowned activist and anti-corruption campaigner and Member of the EWI Sponsorship Committee, Mrs. Rosy Sambwa, Stylist, Researcher and Image Advisor, Mr. Defustel Ndjoko, CEO Defustel 1974 and Member of the Sponsorship Committee EWI.
For the second plenary,
Mr. Kinoss Dossou, Journalist Member of the Board of Directors of the Union of Journalists of Belgium, Madam Deputy Latifa Ait-Baala, Brussels parliamentarian and Member of the EWI Sponsorship Committee, Madam Naoual El Ouahta Deputy Mayor for the city of Villeneuve- Saint-Georges as well as Mr. Jose Ramon Saiz De Soto, CEO of Spanish Kits Company and Member of the EWI Network Sponsorship Committee
For the second and last panel of the first day, Mrs. Nadine Minampala, CEO of Star Creation & Co, Mrs. Sandrine Essoka, Entrepreneur and Mrs. Amina Dubrecq Eloumrany, Artistic Director of Kumi.
The closing speech of the first day will be made by Minister Ngoné Ndoye Honorary Member of the EWI Sponsorship Committee.
For the second day, the opening speech will be made by Mr. Toen Tusevo, CEO of the media StreetBuzz.be and Member of the EWI Sponsorship Committee, moderated by Mrs. Lutumba Ndoy Amina, followed by a plenary bringing together respectively, Madam Minister Ngoné Ndoye, Godmother Africa Soloeotop, Madam Deputy Latifa Ait-Baala, Godmother Europe Soloeotop and Professor Marie-Paule Babli, Professor, judge and Arbitrator in Business Law.
It will be followed by two panels with the following speakers: Mrs. Nathalie Van Opstal, Psychotherapist, Mrs. Belinda Dongo Lumingu, Entrepreneur in DR Congo, Mrs. Malika Akdhim, Activist for Women’s Rights and Mrs. Kristin Bell, CEO of Kristin Bell.
The second and final panel will be moderated by Ms. Dorence Monkam, Entrepreneur Ms. Fatou Niang, Entrepreneur in Senegal, Ms. Kelly Isekemanga, CEO of Perles Noires Industry and Mr. Fabrice Pembele, CEO of Pembele Events.
The closing address will be given by Mr. Toen Tusevo Member of the EWI Sponsorship Committee
Created in 2021 to respond to a strong need, the From Us To Us Forum has become an essential meeting place for sharing and mobilizing on the challenges of developing the Leadership of African Women in the realization of innovative entrepreneurship guaranteeing the implementation highlighting their acquired skills, their skills, their experiences and their know-how. The From Us To Us concept facilitates exchange between different stakeholders (general public, experts, businesses, politicians, communities, etc.) so that everyone can act! It is structured around different sections accessible to all (exhibition, workshops, debates, etc.). The event is co-organized by Empowering Women International, a recognized public utility association chaired by Madame Lutumba Ndoy Amina as well as Mamans Soloeotop ASBL, also chaired by the latter accompanied by its partners StreetBuzz.be, Spanish Kits Company & Femidec.
ABOUT THE KULT XL ATELIERS SHOWROOM
Located in the Léopold district of Ixelles, rue Wiertz leads directly to the European Parliament. Created in 1937 to accommodate the wealthy social classes, the district was however quickly taken over by artists such as Jane Graverol and Antoine Wiertz. His house-workshop (the current Wiertz Museum) as well as the adjoining garden (the current Citizens’ Garden) are major witnesses to the rich artistic life of the time. The district was then transformed to accommodate the European institutions. Often described as a purely institutional zone, it also welcomes many residents. The reinstatement in 2021 of artists’ studios and an exhibition hall in the neighborhood allows us to reconnect with its history and build a bridge to current residents and users, therefore looking towards the future. .
With a total area of 150 m2, the exhibition space is spread over two levels. On the ground floor, the main space of 100 m2 is lined with large windows on both sides, letting in daylight. Via a staircase, you access a smaller basement space, ideal for showcasing video installations or more intimate scenes.
The Forum From Us To Us Europe Brussels is an event organized by Empowering Women International, a recognized public utility association chaired by Mrs. Amina Lutumba Ndoy and supported by HE Mohamed Ameur, Ambassador of Morocco to Belgium and Luxembourg, Mr. Ken Ndiaye, alderman of culture, its partners. Its objective is to promote African female talents known and unknown to the general public.
120 years since the death of Camille Pissarro in 2023
In a world like ours – filled with ugly scenes of wars, bad news about the climate and the future of the planet, the landscape painting of masters of fine art, authors of harmonious natural pictures, acts as a balm for our soul. And he is one of those who saw the beauty in ordinary things, and he managed to convey it so sensually that we seem to live among the characters of his canvases, and we want to be transported into them.
It has been 120 years since the death of one of the founders of impressionism – the French painter Camille Jacob Pissarro.
Pissarro created a new figurative language in art and paved the way for a new perception of the world – the subjective interpretation of reality. He was an innovator for his time and has many followers – artists of the next generations.
He was born on July 10, 1830 on the island of St. Thomas in Charlotte Amalie, Danish West Indies (b.a. from 1917 – US Virgin Islands) – a colony of the Danish Empire, to parents of a Portuguese Sephardic Jew and a Dominican woman. He lived in the Caribbean until his teenage years.
At the age of 12, he was sent to study at the Savary Lycée (boarding school) in Passy, near Paris. His first teacher – Auguste Savary, a respected artist, supported his desire to paint. After five years, Pissarro returned to the island, with changed views on art and societies – he became a follower of anarchism.
His friendship with the Danish artist Fritz Melby took him to Venezuela. Some biographers of the artist claim that he did this secretly from his father. He and Melby set up a studio in Caracas, and at that time Pissarro only briefly returned to the island of St. Thomas to see his family. His father has been angry with him for three years – the plans for his son are to succeed him in the trade, not to become an artist.
In Caracas, Pissarro painted the cityscape, the market, the taverns, but also rural life. The beauty around completely overwhelms him. His father again tries to bring him home, but even on the island Pissarro most of the time did not stay in the shop, but ran to the port, to paint the sea and ships.
In October 1855, he went to Paris for the World Exhibition, where he became closely acquainted with the canvases of Eugene Delacroix, Camille Corot, Jean-Auguste Dominique Ingres, and others. In that period he was a passionate admirer of Corot and called him his teacher. He organized an independent pavilion outside the exhibition, which he called “Realism”.
Pissarro stayed in Paris because his parents also settled there. Lives in their home. He falls in love with their maid, Julie Vallee, and they marry. The young family had eight children. One of them died at birth, and one of their daughters did not live to 9. Pissarro’s children painted from an early age. He himself continues to improve. At 26, he signed up for private lessons at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts.
In 1859 he met Cézanne. Another significant event took place – for the first time his painting was presented in the official Art Salon. We are talking about “Landscape near Montmorency”, which does not make a special impression for comment on the part of experts, but it is a serious breakthrough of Pissarro in the guild.
Only two years later, he already had an established reputation as a good artist and registered as a copyist at the Louvre. However, the Salon jury began to reject his works and he was forced to show them in the Salon of the Rejected. Some believe that the reason for this is that Pissarro signed himself in the 1864 and 1865 catalogs of the Paris Salon as a student of Corot, but openly began to distance himself from him. This was not perceived as a desire to build his own style, but as a sign of disrespect, and in this sense it was unfair to the artist.
His rejection from the Salon was short-lived. In 1866, he was admitted again – he presented two of his paintings there. His works were also accepted in the following years, incl. until the 1870s.
Between 1866 and 1868 he painted with Cézanne in Pontoise. “We were inseparable!” Pissarro later shared, explaining the similarity of the works created by the two in that period. – But one thing is certain, he specifies – each of us has the only thing that matters: his feeling. to be seen …”.
In 1870, Camille Pissarro began working with Claude Monet and Renoir. In the following years, real creative inspiration seethed in his home in Louvesien – colossuses of fine art gathered there, such as those already mentioned, plus Cézanne, Gauguin and Van Gogh. Here we should specify that Pissarro was one of Van Gogh’s earliest admirers.
The Franco-Prussian War forced Pissarro to leave home and go to London, where he met Monet and Sisslet and was introduced to the picture dealer Paul Durand-Ruel. He buys two of his “London” oil paintings. Durand-Ruel later became the most important dealer for the Impressionists.
In June 1871, Pissarro suffered a heavy blow – he found his home in Louvesien completely destroyed. Prussian soldiers destroyed some of the his works from the earlier period. Pissarro could not bear this encroachment and moved to live in Pontoise, where he remained until 1882. In the meantime, he rents a studio in Paris, which he rarely uses.
In 1874, he participated in the first impressionist exhibition in Nadar’s studio. It is a momentous event that he celebrated with Cézanne. Five years later, Pissarro became friends with Paul Gauguin, who participated in the 1879 exhibition of the Impressionists.
And here comes the turn to say something inexplicable to this day for many art critics. Camille Pissarro – this man who so amicably created with the greatest artists of his time and amicably cooperated with them, suddenly fell into a crisis.
He moved to live in Erani and was looking for a new style for his works. Just in time, the pointillists Signac and Seurat appeared on the horizon, and Pissarro began to experiment with their technique of “points”, with which he created amazing landscapes. Participated in all eight Impressionist exhibitions, incl. and in the last one – in 1886.
In the 1990s, he was once again plagued by creative doubts and returned to “pure” impressionism. His character also changes – he becomes irritable, and in his political views – an even more radical anarchist.
Meanwhile, he successfully presents his works in London. fate often pushes him from success to obscurity. At a joint exhibition with Antonio de la Gandara at the Durand-Ruel Gallery, critics literally pretend not to notice his 46 works exhibited in the gallery and comment only on De la Gandara.
Camille Pissarro is literally crushed by the neglect. Today, his works sell for millions of dollars, but that was not the case at the time. Pissarro was constantly on the edge of restlessness.
The artist died in Paris and was buried in the cemetery of the great “Père Lachaise”. Entire collections of his paintings are held in the Musée d’Orsay in Paris and the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.
His life intersects with such great personalities that it sounds like an epic. Did you know that one of the intellectuals, his loyal fan, was Emile Zola? Zola spared no words in praising Pissarro in his articles.
Indeed, not entirely undeservedly, Pizarro was left to eke out a living in the most difficult way to feed his family. He got to the point where he started painting fans and arranging shops to earn money. He often walked around with a painting under a Paris storefront, hoping someone would buy it. For this reason, he often sold his paintings for next to nothing. Claude Monet’s fate was no different, but Pissarro had a large family.
One of the saviors, as we have already said, was the dealer-gallerist Durand-Ruel. He was one of the few dealers who supported these insanely talented and unfairly poor artists, whose works today sell for fabulous prices. Claude Monet, for example, after years of poverty became the best-selling impressionist.
Camille Pissarro shook off his financial problems only in the last years of his life. Until then, the family was supported mainly by his wife, who provided food on the table with a small farm.
At the end of his life, Camille Pissarro participated in a number of impressionist exhibitions in Paris, New York, Brussels, Dresden, Pittsburgh, Petersburg, etc.
The artist died on November 12 (according to other reports on November 13) 1903 in Paris. One of the giants of impressionism is leaving. Although the artist is of Jewish descent, some critics call him the “Jewish” father of modern art.
A little trivia: If you remember Claude Monet’s hay bales, you should know that Pissarro painted them before him. The trees and apples in his works undoubtedly impressed Paul Cézanne. Pissarro’s pointillism, on the other hand, ignites Van Gogh’s “points”. Edgar Degas ignited Pissarro in the art of printing.
What a pleiad of masters of brush and beauty that time meets!
The Impressionists, however, split after the Dreyfus affair. They are separated by the wave of anti-Semitism in France. Pissarro and Monet defended Cap. Dreyfuss. You also think of Zola’s letter in defense of the captain, and Degas, Cézanne and Renoir were on the reverse side. For this reason, it came to the point that yesterday’s friends – Degas and Pissarro – passed each other on the streets of Paris without greeting each other.
Not everyone, of course, reached such an extreme. Paul Cézanne, for example, although he had a different opinion about The Affair than Pissarro, always said loudly that he recognized him as his “father” in art. Monet became the guardian of one of Pissarro’s sons after his death.
Camille Pissarro left us dozens of amazing canvases, among which the most popular are undoubtedly “Boulevard Montmartre” – 1897, “Garden in Pontoise” – 1877, “Conversation by the Fence” – 1881 “Self-Portrait” – 1903 and others. Even today, these paintings arouse true admiration from their author, who seems to have sealed life in such a way that it remains impervious to time.
A new ruling by the Vatican’s doctrine department has opened the door to Catholic baptism of transgender people and babies of same-sex couples.
Transgender believers can be baptized in the Catholic Church if it does not cause scandal or “confusion”, the Vatican said on Wednesday last week, clarifying a sensitive area of doctrine. The Office of the Doctrine of the Faith also raised no objections to the baptism of children of same-sex couples adopted or born through surrogacy. The comments were made in a document written on October 31 but only now published. The document is a response to questions posed by a Brazilian bishop
It was endorsed by Pope Francis, who has repeatedly said the Church must be open to all, including LGBTQ believers.
However, he made it clear that he considered homosexuality to be “a sin, like any sexual act outside of marriage”. Catholic teaching defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman for the purpose of producing children. In the document, the Holy See said that transgender believers “can receive baptism under the same conditions as other believers, if there is no situation in which there is a risk of generating public scandal or uncertainty among the faithful.” This applies to someone who has had hormone treatment and/or gender reassignment surgery, the release said. Asked whether a same-sex couple could be considered the parents of a child to be baptized, the Vatican said there should only be a “well-founded hope” that the child would be educated in the Catholic religion.
In the document, the Holy See said that transgender believers “can receive baptism under the same conditions as other believers, if there is no situation in which there is a risk of generating public scandal or uncertainty among the faithful.” This applies to someone who has had hormone treatment and/or gender reassignment surgery, the release said.
Asked whether a same-sex couple could be considered the parents of a child to be baptized, the Vatican said there should only be a “well-founded hope” that the child would be educated in the Catholic religion.
Following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has been subject to arguably the most comprehensive and severe sanctions ever imposed on any nation. The European Union, once Russia’s biggest trading partner, led the way with a staggering eleven packages of sanctions in the past 20 months, covering a wide array of people, state institutions and entities, private companies, and whole sectors of the economy. While morally understandable and politically prudent, it was unavoidable that such broad-based sanctions would increasingly emerge as a case of collateral damage.
Part of it is obviously due to the very nature of the European Union as it needs to reach the consensus of all its members who often have conflicting political views and economic interests vis-à-vis Russia and Ukraine, but the deliberate use of vague and obfuscating language has also been apparent and nowhere more so than in the use of word “oligarch”. Mentioned excessively in the Western press since the late 1990s, oligarchs came to symbolize the power and excess of the new class of ultra-rich businessmen who made their fortunes in the murky waters of post-Soviet Russia, often through their connection to the Kremlin.
An ill-defined word even in its heyday of the 2000s, “oligarch” was nonetheless adopted by EU policymakers as the catch-all term to denote anyone from a billionaire on the Forbes list to top managers and board members of companies across various sectors, many with no connection to the Kremlin and zero political clout. Sometimes one could even not see any difference between designated Russian top managers and non-designated foreign top managers working for major companies presented in Russia. Needless to say, this left the EU on very shaky ground legally: if you are on the list because you are an “oligarch” but that very term is evasive and subjective that destroys the rationale of imposing sanctions and makes it easier to successfully challenge them in court.
It took the EU over a year to realize that and it has now stopped using the word “oligarch” as justification for sanctions against Russian business, relying instead on something it calls “a leading businessperson”. While the term is not loaded and has no pre-conceived negative connotations, it is ultimately as vague and meaningless as an “oligarch.” Not to mention the fact that it is not at all clear why one should be sanctioned by virtue of being a “leading businessperson” regardless of actual influence on the Russian economy or the Kremlin’s decision-making. For example, the EU imposed sanctions on nearly all businessmen and top executives who met with President Vladimir Putin on February 24, 2022, in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. How participation in that meeting signifies one’s full embracement of the Kremlin’s Ukraine policies or ability to influence Putin’s decisions is anybody’s guess. In particular, much of the reasoning for designations does not reflect a person’s ability to influence Russian government policies.
Moreover, it can be argued that, following Vladimir Putin’s policies to sideline first-generation billionaire oligarchs like Mikhail Khodorkovsky or Boris Berezovsky, there are no oligarchs in the proper sense of the word (i.e. businessmen with disproportionate political sway, at times surpassing that of the government) left in Russia. Today’s top businessmen are either former oligarchs that retained their capital made in the 1990s, state-linked tycoons, or a new breed of Western-oriented entrepreneurs and CEOs, who, unlike the previous generation, did not make their money following the controversial privatization of former Soviet industry and are not dependent on state contracts and connections.
In October, Marco-Advisory, a leading strategic business consultancy focusing on the Eurasian economy, put out a report titled “Business-Government Relations in Russia – Why Some Oligarchs are Sanctioned and Others are Not.” While it praised EU’s recent decision to be more precise in its wording, the report still noted that “the current approach to sanctions targeting is based on a misunderstanding of how business and government relate to each other in Russia.”
To suggest, like the EU seems to be doing, that being “a leading businessperson” equates with the ability to influence the Russian government it to grossly mispresent their role and real impact. This is doubly so for CEOs of private Russian companies like Dmitry Konov of petrochemical company Sibur, Alexander Shulgin of e-commerce giant Ozon and Vladimir Rashevsky of fertilizer maker Eurochem, who were sanctioned by virtue of representing their corporations at meetings with President Putin. They have subsequently stepped down from their roles to reduce the risk for their companies. While Shulgin, alongside billionaires Grigory Berezkin and Farkhad Akhmedov, was lifted off the EU sanctions list on September 15, such decision is pending for many others that were sanctioned on similar grounds and with little consideration given to their actual roles or the fact that they, like Sibur’s Konov, have stepped down precisely because of sanctions imposed on them.
As Marco-Advisory put it, there is a very broad group of businesspeople “who have been sanctioned simply for being known in the Western media or because they are on rich lists, as their companies carried out IPOs in the UK or the U.S. or for other reasons, without having any sort of mutually beneficial relationship with the Russian government.” Ultimately, there appears to be little legal or even logical grounds to keep them sanctioned.
Given the bureaucratic, broad-based approach to imposing sanctions it is little wonder they have done little to approach their stated goal – that is, changing Russia’s course on Ukraine. If anything, they’ve only made the Kremlin more determined, while forced it to re-route its exports and financial flows to friendly countries like fellow BRICs China and India – something that may be impossible to reverse to the detriment of both Russia and Europe, whose relations are now poised to remain poisoned for years to come even assuming the Ukraine crisis is fully resolved.
Even more so, the sanctions appear to have the opposite effect than the one envisioned by Western politicians even on the first-generation oligarchs, like Alfa Group’s billionaire Mikhail Fridman. Fridman, whose net worth Forbes puts at $12.6 billion, making him Russia’s 9th richest individual, was in October forced to return to Moscow from his London home. In a recent interview to Bloomberg News the billionaire said he was essentially “squeezed out” by excessive restrictions making it impossible to leave the life he was used to and even called his vast investment projects in the UK over the years “a colossal mistake”.
By getting rid of the “oligarchs” on its sanctions list EU decisionmakers seem to be moving in the right direction. Whether that is just a rebranding or a sign of a more ambitious re-framing of Europe’s sanctions policies is yet to be seen. After all, as the history of economic sanctions teaches us, they are much easier to impose than to lift.
