Nagorno-Karabakh, EU Bishops appeal for intensifying multilateral peace efforts
COMECE calls on the European Union to actively engage for peace in the Nagorno Karabakh region and provide concrete assistance to communities affected by recent flare-up of violence between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Since the end of September 2020, the Nagorno Karabakh has been repeatedly experiencing renewed waves of violence, leading to the loss of lives of many civilians and to the destruction of homes, basic infrustructures and places of worship.
COMECE expresses concerns about the situation in the south Caucasus, currently marked by fragile truces interrupted by armed clashes, causing not only grave material damage, but also spiritual suffering.
In recent weeks, Pope Francis has addressed several appeals to the parties in conflict “to stop the shedding of innocent blood and engage in sincere negotiations with the help of the international community”.
While joining Pope Francis’ prayers for a lasting peace in the region, COMECE welcomes the humanitarian assistance provided by the European Commission to cover the needs of civilians affected by the conflict, and calls on the EU to actively contribute to the OSCE-led negotiation efforts involving all conflict parties and regional stakeholders.
In this context, Fr. Manuel Barrios Prieto, General Secretary of COMECE, appeals on the EU to ensure the protection of places of worship and the safety of all local communities. In the medium and long term, COMECE also enourages the EU to promote integral human development and a strategy on empowering people – especially the youth – at all levels of political, social and economic life in the region.
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Jagannath University (JnU) student Tithy Sarker has been sued under the Digital Security Act for making “derogatory” comments about religion on Facebook.
Abu Musa Rifat, a student of the university’s zoology department, filed the case with the Cyber Tribunal in Dhaka today, Shamim Al Mamun, bench assistant of the tribunal, confirmed to The Daily Star.
After a hearing, Judge Mohammad Ash Sams Joglul Hossain took the case into cognisance and recorded the complainant’s statements.
The court also instructed the Cyber Crime Investigation Division of the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit of police to investigate the matter and submit a report to it by December 8.
On a recent country visit to Turkey at the invitation of Minister of Health Dr Fahrettin Koca, WHO Regional Director for Europe Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge delivered a keynote address at the Health Scientific Board of the Turkic Council and spoke with Mr Baghdad Amreyev, Secretary General of the Turkic Council.
The Regional Director’s visit also offered the opportunity to visit WHO/Europe’s new geographically dispersed office (GDO) in Istanbul, which will be a centre of excellence for preparedness for humanitarian and health emergencies.
Preparedness for humanitarian and health emergencies
Earlier this year, WHO/Europe and Turkey’s Ministry of Health signed an agreement to establish the new GDO focusing on preparedness for humanitarian and health emergencies. Dr Kluge met with Deputy Minister of Health Professor Emine Alp Meşe and expressed his thanks to the Ministry for their support in establishing the GDO.
Dr Kluge reiterated that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the real and lasting impact of health emergencies on health systems. He spoke of the importance of ensuring that countries have the necessary capacities to prepare for health emergencies. The GDO will be a regional centre for such capacity-building and training.
Emergency preparedness is strongly emphasized under the European Programme of Work (EPW), United Action for Better Health, which envisages protecting more people from health emergencies as one of its core priorities. This will also contribute to the triple-billion goals highlighted in WHO’s 13th General Programme of Work.
Speech at the Turkic Council
In his keynote speech at the fourth meeting of the Health Scientific Board of the Turkic Council, Dr Kluge stressed the importance of subregional networks like the Turkic Council, which help coordination on health security threats such as COVID-19. In addition, Dr Kluge spoke of the need for greater understanding how health and livelihoods interlink, and emphasized how decisive measures taken early to control the pandemic will, in the long run, benefit the economy.
The meeting also provided an opportunity to speak with other health ministers, including Dr Alexey Tsoy of Kazakhstan, Dr Alymkadyr Beyshenaliev of Kyrgyzstan and Dr Alisher Shadmanov of Uzbekistan.
Working together with United Nations partners
Central to WHO’s work in countries, partners play a vital role in improving health care. Dr Kluge met with Ms Alanna Armitage, Regional Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). He thanked UNFPA for their collaboration during the COVID-19 pandemic and recognized ongoing work between the agencies, including an agreement and joint work plan on the implementation of the WHO European Action Plan on Sexual and Reproductive Health in countries of eastern Europe and central Asia. Dr Kluge and Ms Armitage spoke about the importance of sexual and reproductive health and maternal health to both agencies, adding that a new action plan should be planned together between WHO/Europe and UNFPA.
In a separate set of meetings, Dr Kluge spoke with Ms Gwi Yeop Son of the United Nations Development Coordination Office (UNDCO) about possible areas for collaboration with the opening of the new GDO in Istanbul. The meeting also offered the chance to highlight the implementation of the EPW, which regards partnerships with other United Nations agencies as an important part of success. The discussions covered how WHO/Europe and UNDCO can work together to ensure that any potential COVID-19 vaccine is rolled out smoothly in countries of Europe and central Asia.
Responding to an earthquake
During the visit, an earthquake struck Izmir and affected other parts of Turkey as well as neighbouring Greece. The Regional Director expressed his condolences to the Turkish authorities and offered WHO/Europe’s support. The WHO Country Office in Turkey immediately mobilized a response to support partners in the Ministry of Health as well as the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency of Turkey (AFAD).
European Commission Speech Brussels, 05 Nov 2020 Let me begin by thanking DG ECFIN and my team for their efforts.
It is not easy to have solid forecasts in such an uncertain situation.
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Bishop Oballa urged couples to work towards ensuring that things are right in the family so that society can achieve success in curbing Gender Based Violence (GBV).
“The family is one of the most precious values that the Church holds and promotes,” said Bishop Oballa. “If things are right in the family, society will thrive. If things begin going wrong at the family level, society is going to be affected. God intended that as the first unit of society, the family should be a place of holiness, communion and love,” he said.
The Bishop was addressing Family Life Coordinators drawn from Kenya’s Catholic Diocese of Ngong during a training workshop on Prevention and Intervention of violence. The workshop was held at the Watakatifu Wote Senta in Ngong recently. The training was organised by the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) – Family Life National Office. It was the first in a series of trainings planned across Catholic dioceses in Kenya to address the rising incidences of GBV in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic.
Bishop Oballa noted that Covid-19 has brought out many issues that have been underlying in families, saying the world we are living in today calls for families to have a lot of compassion and love for one another. He encouraged families not to give room to intolerance as this could spark violence.
God’s word can heal our tendency to violence
“God’s word can heal our anger, intolerance and tendency to violence so that we can start to treat one another with love and mercy in all situations without calculation, especially with those we live,” said the Bishop. “I believe we give room to intolerance and violence when we begin calculating. When people start calculating, they give room to sowing discord, and this brings bitterness.”
Bishop Oballa called upon the family life coordinators to strive to have model families and be examples that others can emulate, telling them that a lot is expected from them by God and the Church.
‘When you cultivate a model family, this will help you to work on your wrong relationships and allow God to heal whatever it is that has not been going well,” he said. “I call on you to reflect on whether you are the man or woman, husband or wife, father or mother, that you should be. God has expectations of you, and the Church too has expectations of you,” emphasised Bishop Oballa.
See in every human person, a child of God
The Bishop urged the coordinators to heed the exaltation of Pope Saint John Paul II that calls on Christian families to share in the life and mission of the Church.
“If all families understood the ministry of the Church, GBV would have no place whatsoever in the society,” said Bishop Oballa. “If everyone saw in every human being, a child of God, GBV would be non-existent. Please go out and be ambassadors of God’s love and peace.”
Combating violence in society requires commitment
He told the coordinators that success in their work of combating violence in the society would not depend on their numbers but their commitment to the cause. He reminded them that Jesus only had 12 Apostles, but the message of Salvation has today reached the ends of the world.
“You just need a few people who grasp the message and are convinced to be able to pass the message and influence the attitudes and habits of others,” said the Bishop.
He thanked the staff of KCCB – Family Life National Office for organising the diocesan trainings, saying this was a true mark of their commitment and dedication in ensuring the laity are formed in ways that contribute to peace and a loving atmosphere in the homes.
Change begins with each one of us
For his part, the National Executive Secretary of the KCCB – Commission for Pastoral and Lay Apostolate, Fr. Josiah Muthee, told the coordinators to be committed to the GBV campaign and have the zeal and passion of football fans while championing their cause. He said the time had come for those in Kenya to take matters of child safeguarding seriously just as is happening in the Western World.
“Ensure that you benefit as much as possible from this training before you can cascade the GBV campaign to the grassroots. Change begins with all of us. We must be ready to do away with certain norms, cultures and customs that have become outdated,” said Fr. Muthee.
China is set to begin construction of the strategic railway line connecting Ya’an in Sichuan Province and Nyingtri (Ch. Linzhi) in Tibet Autonomous Region according to Chinese state-run Global Times. The project is part of the larger Sichuan-Tibet railway line.
The Sichuan-Tibet Railway is the second such project in Tibet after the Qinghai-Tibet Railway. It will go through the southeast of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, one of the world’s most geologically active areas, a report by the state-run China News reported.
Linzhi, which is also known as Nyingchi, is located close to Arunachal Pradesh border. China claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of southern Tibet while India contests it. Linzhi also has an airport, one of the five built by China in the Himalayan region.
The Ya’an-Nyingtri section runs 1,011 kilometres and will include 26 stations once completed. The total cost of the entire Sichuan-Tibet Railway project is around 319.8 billion yuan (USD 47.8 billion), Global Times reported.
“After the Sichuan-Tibet railway starts operation, Tibet will have more exchanges with other parts of the Chinese mainland. Strategically, China’s Tibetan region will have much stronger capabilities in material transportation and logistical supplies,” said Lin Minwang, deputy director at the Center for South Asian Studies at Fudan University.
The construction when completed, will provide logistical superiority to China linking the border regions near India’s Arunachal Pradesh, a hot-bed of disputed border claims by Beijing. Observers say that the project is in alignment with not only China’s economic prospects but military interests as well. The new railway line will cater to military transports and contribute to what China calls “border stability”.
Qian Feng, director of the research department at the National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University said, “If a scenario of a crisis happens at China-India border, the railway will provide great convenience for China’s delivery of strategic materials.”
The construction of the Sichuan-Tibet Railway is of strategic importance that benefits the overall development of Tibet, Xiong Kunxin, an ethnic studies professor at the Tibet University in Lhasa, said.
The Sichuan-Tibet Railway starts from Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, cuts through Ya’an and enters TAR via Chamdo (Ch. Qamdo), reducing the journey from Chengdu to Lhasa from 48 hours to 13 hours, the report said.
Both Sichuan and Tibet are rich in resources with their unique natural landscapes, huge mineral reserves, and a wide variety of medicinal herbs.
After the completion of the Sichuan-Tibet Railway, it is expected to greatly boost local tourism all along the line, it said. “It will also enhance person-to-person exchanges between different regions and ethnic groups, promote understanding and cultural integration,” Xiong said.
WHO/Europe and the Welsh Government have agreed to work more closely together to promote health equity and rights and to ensure prosperity for all. Discussions with Public Health Wales and National Health Service (NHS) Wales, held at a virtual meeting on 4 November 2020, focused on the next steps in implementing the new agreement, and how to identify and overcome the common challenges faced by society both before and as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“In what kind of place would you like to grow up, have a family and grow old? Through its focus on building people’s resilience and strengthening health and livelihood systems, Wales has taken an approach that can deliver healthy and cohesive places for all people to prosper and flourish, today and for future generations. The learning from Wales on how to make this happen in practice will contribute to fulfilling my vision for health across the WHO European Region through the European Programme of Work,” said Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe.
“With this agreement between the Welsh Government and WHO, I look forward to supporting the delivery of health, sustainable development and prosperity to the people of Wales, and learning from these innovative approaches to strengthen health equity across Europe in the years to come,” he added.
A common sentiment expressed by many participants at the event was that the COVID-19 pandemic brings added urgency and impetus to this area of work.
The agreement calls on WHO/Europe and the Welsh Government to accelerate progress towards healthy, prosperous lives for all by increasing equity in health and leaving no one behind in Wales and the European Region. It also seeks to strengthen the role of Wales in the Region and globally in developing and sharing solutions and expertise through collaboration with WHO and its Member States, networks and partners.
Specific activities include:
developing a health equity status report for Wales with data, policy and health economics analysis, and potential solutions for policy action and investment to reduce health inequities;
creating a health equity solutions platform for Wales – a digital portal containing data, evidence, legislation, policies, tools and practical solutions to reduce health inequity; and
establishing Wales as a “live policy innovation site” through the development of innovative tools, mechanisms and digital solutions to model outcomes and impact and to monitor progress, and by providing a forum for sharing information, learning and know-how across the Region and beyond.
Cementing partnership with Wales
The joint work emerging from this agreement further reinforces the strong collaboration between WHO/Europe and Wales on technical and policy issues related to sustainable development and public health.
Wales was a founding member of and is active in the WHO Regions for Health Network, takes part in advisory groups and task forces coordinated by WHO/Europe, and hosts the WHO Collaborating Centre on Investment for Health and Well-Being at Public Health Wales.
“Through our WHO Collaborating Centre, we have worked closely with our colleagues at WHO for the last few years, and this memorandum of understanding comes at an extremely important time as we move swiftly to mitigate the broader health impacts of the coronavirus and learn together in doing so,” said Dr Tracey Cooper, Chief Executive of Public Health Wales.
“It also marks a further strengthening of Wales’s relationship with WHO. In partnership with the Welsh Government, we will work collaboratively on the agreed work plan to optimize health and well-being and improve health equity in these challenging times,” she added.
Health equity at the core of the European Programme of Work (EPW)
Addressing the persistent challenge of health inequalities to ensure that no one is left behind is a core value underpinning the EPW for 2020–2025, which was endorsed by Member States in September 2020. This priority is shared by the Welsh Government.
“Here in Wales, we are fully committed to achieving sustainable prosperity within our borders and beyond. Wales, like most countries, experiences inequalities in health, but we are determined to build a healthier Wales for all,” said Mr Vaughan Gething, Minister for Health and Social Services in Wales.
“Having our hard work recognized by the World Health Organization is a true testament to the hard work and grit of the people of Wales, who are continually working for equality for our nation,” he concluded.
/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/world/europe/2020/11/05/eu-negotiators-clinch-deal-tying-rule-of-law-to-fund-access/FS106-115_2020_120902.jpg?w=696&resize=696,0&ssl=1 "Remarks by Commissioner Gentiloni at the press conference on the Autumn 2020 Economic Forecast")
