Damascus, SANA-Syria strongly condemned the statement of the European Council on the extension of sanctions for an additional year on some Syrian institutions and individuals under the pretext of developing and using chemical weapons, affirming that it was based on hypocrisy and deception and it comes as a continuation of the campaign hostile to Syria.
“The Syrian Arab Republic condemns in the strongest terms the statement issued by the European Council on Monday, November 12th, extending the imposed sanctions for an additional year on some Syrian institutions and individuals under the pretext of the developing and using of chemical weapons,” An official source at the foreign and expatriates ministry said in a statement to SANA on Wednesday.
The source added that the statement was based on hypocrisy and conception, and it is a continuation of the campaign hostile to Syria to which the European Council has resorted since the beginning of the terrorist war on Syria till now, using the Syrian chemical file as a pretext to continue their lies against Syria.
“ Syria affirms that the statement indicates once again to the incredibility of the European Council and comes within the framework of the EU policies’ agreement with the unilateral coercive measures imposed by the US with the aim of starving the Syrian people and undermining their resilience , and at the same time supporting armed terrorist groups, including their repeated using of chemical weapons against innocent civilians,” the source added.
The source concluded its statement by saying that Syria has repeatedly stressed that it considers the use of chemical weapons as an immoral act, and it condemns its use anywhere, under any circumstance and against anyone, and Syria does not possess any chemical weapons.
The Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the EU (COMECE), is holding a webinar on Thursday to provide a faith-based contribution towards a future, people-centered, and fair partnership between the European Union and Africa.
The event is organized in collaboration with several Catholic organizations, and is taking place under the theme: “Fostering human security and resilience in the future EU-Africa partnership – The role of local communities.”
The online event will offer a platform for open dialogue between members from civil society, religious and faith-based actors from Africa and Europe, as well as other stakeholders and EU policymakers. The webinar will also feature speakers from different African countries who will talk about local initiatives and how grassroots actors play a role in building human security and resilience.
Other co-organizers of the webinar include the Africa Europe Faith and Justice Network (AEFJN), Caritas Europa, the International Cooperation for Development and Solidarity (CIDSE), COMECE, Don Bosco International, Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) Europe, and the Community of Sant’Egidio.
Father Barrios Prieto, General Secretary of COMECE, explained to Vatican News that the webinar’s focus on the themes of human security and resilience comes from proposals in view of a now-postponed meeting between the EU and Africa on partnership.
The meeting, he noted, was supposed to be held this year but has been postponed to 2022.
Ahead of it, COMECE and the Bishops’ Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) prepared a document addressing the issues of human security and resilience. The webinar, therefore, is a part of the Church’s contribution toward a human-centered EU-Africa partnership.
Interview with Fr. Manuel Barrios Prieto
Voices from the grassroots
Fr. Prieto underscored the importance of the work of grassroots actors in various fields and policy areas, highlighting that the purpose of the webinar is to “hear what the grassroots actors are doing in Africa to foster human security and resilience.”
“We want to hear these voices … in defending human rights for example in Zimbabwe, in building social cohesion in Liberia, in fostering resilience in Kenya and vocational training, in providing capacity support for the family, farmers in Nigeria, or what is done with young people in the Central African Republic.”
He added that these accounts from local actors can be instrumental in policymaking and in the formulation of proposals.
COMECE/SECAM document
Speaking further on the joint COMECE/SECAM document addressed to EU and African leaders on partnership, Father Prieto said it has met with “very positive reactions.”
Explaining further, he said the Bishops centered the document on the “people, the families and the persons” in Africa and put them in the first place.”
“This document has an important advantage,” he said. “It was elaborated together with the African Church,” as COMECE and SECAM put forward proposals for the partnership between Africa and the EU ahead of the now-postponed meeting.
However, the postponement of the high-level meeting is not all bad. Fr. Prieto said it gives the parties time to “hear more the voices of the local communities and what is being done.” In addition, he noted, “we are having follow-ups and meetings.”
Fratelli tutti and EU-Africa future partnership
Fr. Prieto points out that Pope Francis’ latest Encyclical Fratelli tutti’s focus on universal fraternity “speaks to the heart”. This, he pointed out, is a concept that “can help very much.”
Interreligious dialogue is another aspect that Fr. Prieto hopes will speak to the African context. He noted that the Holy Father himself said in his latest Encyclical that one of his inspirations was the 2019 Abu Dhabi document on fraternity in Abu Dhabi.
Fr. Prieto added that interreligious dialogue and fraternity are concepts that can be used fruitfully when developing the partnership between Africa and the EU.
Over the past 6 months, Over 1,608 clinics and hospitals across 5 provinces have been sanitized weekly for free, a contribution from the Scientology Volunteer Ministers who decided to participate during the lockdown by helping those who help others. They drove thousands of kilometers and spent thousands of hours paid just to serve others.
Since President Ramaphosa announced the lockdown in March this year, Scientology Volunteer Ministers did not wait for orders. Looking at all the technology they have to better understand their fellowman, they knew assistance would be needed and figured out how they could best assist in light of the circumstances. Sanitization and education on hygiene is what they decided to do.
“Little did we know how vital and big it would become and how many would reach for our assistance,” said Sandile Hlayisi, Public Affairs Director for the Scientology Volunteer Ministers. “We are empowered with the Volunteer Minister technology written by L. Ron Hubbard more than 50 years ago for South Africa. This comes with a big responsibility. And we use it at the service of our fellowman with pride and dignity,” Hlayisi added.
But the Scientologists are not the only ones happy with themselves. Others who benefit from the service are too. The regional director for Environmental Health for Sedibeng said: “We were sitting here with no solution and no idea and everyone was terrified, and you guys came like a white night out of the blue and you were there to help us. I believe you saved all of our lives! What you are doing is very important. I consider your actions to be extremely effective. I saw your teams working and I am totally impressed with their professionalism and their technical ability.”
At the Rensburg Clinic, one of the Sisters said, “You are doing wonderful work! I am surprised that you are volunteers and care for people so much. That is really great. I like these books, this is something that can really help us with our patients.”
Hlayisi says he is proud to be representing the Scientology Volunteer Ministers. He feels that with all the work they have done, they might be one of the reasons the spread of the virus in that province has been contained so far.
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Amid the numerous social pandemics that Covid-19 has exposed, the Catholic Church in Asia is called to develop the “vaccines of compassion, solidarity and justice” in the spirit of the encyclical of Pope Francis, Fratelli tutti, on fraternity and social friendship.
“May the call of our Holy Father to solidarity, encounter, and gratuitousness find an echo in your lives and communities. May you take up the insistent invitation of Pope Francis for dialogue, respect and generosity towards every human being.”
Myanmar Cardinal Charles Bo of Yangon, the president of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC), makes the appeal in a letter to his fellow bishops and their Churches in Asia.
“Our Asian realities are echoed in theurgent message Fratelli tutti”, the cardinal notes in his letter dated 12 October. Asia is at the crossroads, he says, adding that the path “we take will decide the inheritance we leave to our next generation”.
“Will it be wasted or saved? Will Asia choose individual greed or commit to the common good?” he asks Church leaders, politicians and governments. Much, he says, depends on how we rebuild society after Covid-19.
He laments that “many governments in Asia are attempting to return to tried and failed economic and social models”. He thus calls for a politics for the common and universal good; politics for and with the people; politics that seek human dignity; politics of women and men who practice political love; politics that integrate the economy and the social and cultural fabric into a consistent, life-giving human project.
Rising above the crisis
With Covid-19, the year 2020 has been a time of chaos, fear and loss for the people, Cardinal Bo points out. Yet, Pope Francis urges bishops never to stop being on mission, stressing: “If the Church is alive, it must always surprise.”
The 71-year old cardinal urges his fellow bishops not to let the joy of the Gospel diminish in their hearts, giving way to the culture of indifference. Despite all the pain surrounding us, he says, the Holy Father insists on the overwhelming, immense, surprising and unmerited gift of fraternity.
“Fraternity, which means care and respect for our sisters and brothers,” the Archbishop of Yangon says, “is the foundation and pathway to peace.” “Fraternity is solidarity and dialogue; it is true religion. Without fraternity, liberty and equality do not make sense.”
Many underlying pandemics
According to Pope Francis, Cardinal Bo says, Covid-19 has exposed underlying systemic pandemics in society such as racism, inequity, hate speech, disregard for the poor, the elderly and the unborn, trafficking of women and children, and the culture of death.
The death penalty, the cardinal notes, is legal in at least 18 Asian countries and the continent has some of the longest running wars in the world. Millions have no choice but to leave their families and go abroad to find work.
The Good Samaritan
Against all of this, the cardinal urges, “we must develop the vaccines of compassion, solidarity and justice,” as indicated by the Pope in the person of the Good Samaritan. In the parable, Pope Francis “charts a common course for humanity through a commitment to peace, the rejection of war and capital punishment, encouragement of forgiveness and reconciliation within societies and care for our common home.”
With the eyes of the Good Samaritan, the cardinal says, we are called to critique the culture of waste and to defend the human rights of people made vulnerable by society: women, children, racial minorities, refugees, the unborn, the aged and many others. Respect for persons and for the common good only grows from true fraternity, Cardinal Bo stresses.
Inter-religious relationships
In his message, the president of Asian bishops’ conferences also speaks about fraternal relationships between religions in dealing with the Covid-19 crisis and on the dangers and opportunities it creates.
In this regard, the Holy Father “urges us to look courageously and creatively for opportunities to build, here and now, the world that God desires. “The society that will rise again from Covid-19 is a society where fraternity is valued,” Cardinal Bo added.
According to the UN health agency, though TB cases fell by 9 per cent and deaths by 14 per cent between 2015 and 2019, access to TB services remains a challenge.
“Equitable access to quality and timely diagnosis, prevention, treatment and care remains a challenge”, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO, said in a news release announcing the findings.
“Accelerated action is urgently needed worldwide if we are to meet our targets by 2022,” he urged.
Caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis and most often affecting the lungs, TB spreads through the air when people with the disease cough, sneeze or spit. In spite of being a curable disease, many people die from TB and it is a leading cause of death of people living with HIV.
Approximately 90 percent of those who fall sick with the disease each year live in just 30 countries. Most people who develop the disease are adults, and there are more cases among men than women
In 2019, approximately 1.4 million people died from TB-related illnesses, and of the estimated 10 million people who developed the disease that year, some 3 million were not diagnosed or were not officially reported to national authorities, according to WHO.
The situation is even more acute for people with drug-resistant TB. About 465,000 people were newly diagnosed with drug-resistant TB in 2019 and, of these, over 60 per cent were not able to access treatment.
There has also been limited progress in scaling up access to treatment to prevent TB, said WHO, adding that funding is a major challenge. In 2020, funding for TB prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care reached $6.5 billion, about half of the $13 billion target agreed by world leaders in 2018.
In addition, disruptions in services caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have led to further setbacks, said the UN health agency.
In many countries, human, financial and other resources have been reallocated from TB to the COVID-19 response, while data collection and reporting systems have also been impacted.
The Global Fund/John Rae
Two women who are undergoing treatment for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
COVID-19 and TB
In line with WHO guidance, countries have taken measures to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on essential TB services, including by strengthening infection control.
A total of 108 countries – including 21 with a high TB burden – have expanded the use of digital technologies to provide remote advice and support. Countries are also encouraging home-based treatment, providing all-oral treatment as well as preventive treatment, to reduce the need for patients to visit health facilities.
Countries, civil society and other partners have joined forces to ensure that essential services for both TB and COVID-19 are maintained for those in need, said Tereza Kaseva, Director of WHO’s Global TB Programme.
“These efforts are vital to strengthen health systems, ensure health for all, and save lives,” she added.
When: Thursday 15 October at 15:30 – Where: Anna Politkovskaya pressroom and via Skype
EP President David Sassoli will hold a press conference at 15.30 tomorrow (15 October) following his address to heads of state or government at the EU summit. He will comment on the topics EU leaders will discuss during their meeting, like EU-UK relations, tackling COVID-19, climate change and relations between the EU and Africa.
President Sassoli will also reiterate Parliament’s position and expectations regarding the ongoing negotiations on the EU’s long-term budget (MFF) and on Own Resources.
Follow the press conference LIVE on Parliament’s webstreaming or EbS+.
The Sixth European Union-Myanmar Human Rights Dialogue was held on 14 October 2020.
The meeting, held by video-conference due to the COVID-19 related disruption, allowed the EU and Myanmar to discuss human rights issues. This discussion was also in the context of the ongoing enhanced engagement under the EU’s Everything But Arms (EBA) trade arrangement, which provided Myanmar preferential imports worth over €2.7 billion in 2019. Myanmar and the EU discussed a wide range of human rights matters, including the situation in Rakhine, Kachin and Shan States, humanitarian access and the situation of Internally Displaced Persons, accountability for alleged human rights violations, fundamental rights and freedoms, economic, labour and social rights, rights of women and human rights cooperation in multilateral fora. They also shared their respective experiences in preventing and combating the COVID-19 pandemic.
The EU reaffirmed its strong support for Myanmar’s democratic transition, notably in the context of Myanmar’s upcoming general election, as well as for its peace and reconciliation process and inclusive socio-economic development.
Myanmar and the EU agreed that sustainable peace could only be achieved by strengthening the rule of law and good governance, on the basis of shared values and applicable international human rights standards. The EU encouraged Myanmar to continue to implement the recommendations of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State, and took note Myanmar’s efforts in the implementation of its National Strategy for the Closure of internally displaced person (IDP) camps.
With regard to multilateral human rights issues, the EU encouraged Myanmar to sign or ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and welcomed the ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict and of the International Labour Convention 138 on the minimum working age. The EU and Myanmar agreed to envisage further implementation on these conventions and other human and labour rights-related international obligations.
The EU also underlined the importance of continued efforts on the part of Myanmar to cooperate with relevant UN mandates and procedures, while inviting to follow the requests of the ILO supervisory mechanism.
It was agreed to continue discussions, including under the EBA enhanced engagement. The 7th Myanmar-EU Human Rights Dialogue will take place in 2021.
The Human Rights Dialogue was co-chaired by Mr Eamon Gilmore, EU Special Representative for Human Rights and U Kyaw Tin, Union Minister for International Cooperation of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar.
Nabila MASSRALI
Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
+32 (0) 2 29 88093
+32 (0) 460 79 52 44
Adam KAZNOWSKI
Press Officer for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
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