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Parliament signs up for new EU Body for Ethical Standards

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The agreement was reached between Parliament, the Council, the Commission, the Court of Justice, the European Central Bank, the European Court of Auditors, the European Economic and Social Committee, and the European Committee of the Regions. It provides for the joint creation of a new Body for Ethical Standards. This Body will develop, update, and interpret common minimum standards for ethical conduct, and publish reports on how these standards have been reflected in each signatory’s internal rules. The institutions participating in the Body will be represented by one senior member and the position of Chair of the Body will rotate every year between the institutions. Five independent experts will support its work and be available for consultation by the participating institutions and bodies about standardised written declarations, including declarations of interest.

A successful push for watchdog functions

Parliament was represented in the negotiations by Vice-President Katarina Barley (S&D, DE), Chair of the Constitutional Affairs Committee Salvatore De Meo (EPP, IT), and rapporteur Daniel Freund (Greens/EFA, DE). They improved significantly the Commission’s proposal, described as “unsatisfactory” by MEPs in July 2023, by adding to the tasks of the independent experts the competence to examine individual cases and issue recommendations. The agreement was approved by the Conference of Presidents.

Only the first step

The accompanying report by Daniel Freund (approved with 301 votes in favour, 216 against, and 23 abstentions) underlines that final decision-making rests with the signatories and that any consultation of the independent experts on an individual case begins with a request by a signatory. MEPs also point out that the declarations of financial interests of Commissioners-designate should as a rule be subject to examination by the independent experts.

Parliament reiterates its commitment to developing the independent ethics body in the future so it would be capable of carrying out investigations on its own initiative and of issuing recommendations for sanctions. A body like this should be composed of independent experts as full members, and cover members of EU institutions and bodies before, during, and after their term of office or service, as well as staff. MEPs are disappointed the European Council declined to join the agreement, and regret the unwillingness of the Council to allow the Body to cover at least the representatives at ministerial level of the member state holding the Council Presidency, and provides arguments against the relevant reasoning.

The text includes Parliament’s positions on financing provisions, the criteria for the consensus-based appointment of the experts, the existing legal pathways for the Body’s information-gathering, and the modalities of the independent experts’ work. It also sets out the need for the Body to lead by example by publishing its work-related information in a machine-readable open data format accessible to citizens, while protecting the privacy of the individuals concerned to an appropriate extent, and the presumption of innocence.

Finally, MEPs stress the need to define how the mandate of the Vice-President (and the alternate member) representing Parliament will be determined, and to put in place accountability mechanisms (which should include the Constitutional Affairs Committee) to ensure MEPs will have a say in the development of standards that will be binding for them.

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Rapporteur Daniel Freund (Greens/EFA, DE) commented: “Without the tireless efforts of the European Parliament pushing for more transparency, we would not have come this far. The fact that the new body can also deal specifically with individual cases is an enormous negotiating success. Today, we are creating more transparency, laying the foundation for greater citizen confidence in European democracy.”

Next steps

The agreement needs to be signed by all parties before it can enter into force. The agreement will be reviewed three years after its entry into force to improve and enhance the Body.

Background

The European Parliament has been calling for the EU institutions to have an ethics body since September 2021, one with real investigative authority and a structure fit for purpose. MEPs reiterated the call in December 2022, in the immediate aftermath of the allegations of corruption involving former and current MEPs and staff, alongside an array of internal improvements to enhance integrity, transparency, and accountability.

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MEPs adopt plans to boost Europe’s Net-Zero technology production | News

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MEPs adopt plans to boost Europe’s Net-Zero technology production | News

The “Net-Zero industry Act”, already informally agreed upon with the Council, sets a target for Europe to produce 40% of its annual deployment needs in net-zero technologies by 2030, based on National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) and to capture 15% of the global market value for these technologies.

Technologies to be supported include all renewable technologies, nuclear, industrial decarbonisation, grid, energy storage technologies, and biotech. The law will simplify the permitting process, setting maximum timelines for projects to be authorised depending on their scope and output.

The agreement provides for the creation of “Net-Zero Acceleration Valleys” initiatives, speeding up the permitting process by delegating parts of the evidence collection for environmental assessments to member states.

Sustainability and resilience criteria

National support schemes aiming to get households and consumers to move over to technologies such as solar panels and heat pumps more quickly will have to take into account sustainability and resilience criteria. Public procurement procedures and auctions to deploy renewable energy sources should also meet such criteria, albeit under conditions to be defined by the Commission, and for a minimum of 30% of the volume auctioned per year in the member state, or alternatively for a maximum of six Gigawatt auctioned per year and per country.

The legislation will encourage funding from national Emission Trading System (ETS) revenues and for most strategic projects through the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP), and it is a step towards a European Sovereignty fund.

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“This vote is good news for European industry and sets the tone for the next term. To achieve all our economic, climate and energy ambitions, we need industry in Europe. This Act is the first step to making our market fit for this purpose”, said lead MEP Christian Ehler (EPP, DE).

Next steps

The legislation was adopted with 361 votes to 121, with 45 abstentions. It will now have to be formally adopted by Council in order to become law.

Background

A considerable amount of clean energy technology is needed to support reaching Europe’s 2030 and 2050 climate targets. Europe largely imports these technologies, and many non-EU countries have stepped up their efforts to expand their clean energy manufacturing capacity.

Conference on the future of Europe

The “Net Zero Industry Act” aligns with the conclusions of the Conference on the Future of Europe through several key proposals and measures.. Specifically, the Act reflects Proposal 3 (measures 1, 3, 5, 6), Proposal 11 (measure 1), Proposal 12 (measure 5), Proposal 17 (measure 1), and Proposal 18 (measure 2), which collectively aim to foster a sustainable, resilient, and independent energy framework within the EU.

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MEPs call for a firm response to counter Russian interference | News

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MEPs adopt plans to boost Europe’s Net-Zero technology production | News

Following several recent revelations of Kremlin-backed attempts to interfere with and undermine European democratic processes, MEPs adopted on Thursday a resolution firmly denouncing such efforts. Any such tactics, they say, must have consequences. Parliament is appalled by credible allegations that some MEPs were paid to disseminate Russian propaganda and that several participated in the activities of pro-Russian media outlet “Voice of Europe”, at the same time as Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine.

MEPs want EU and member state leaders to deal with Russian interference efforts, not just in the EU institutions but across the Union. There is, they argue, a sense of urgency and resolve to this given the approaching European elections on 6-9 June 2024.

Paying elected representatives to spread propaganda

Referencing suspected Russian interference cases from across Europe, including Bulgaria, Germany and Slovakia, MEPs are concerned by the recent questioning of leading Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) MEP Maximilian Krah by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) over suspicions that he received money from Kremlin agents, and by the arrest in Germany on 23 April 2024 of his parliamentary assistant on charges of being a Chinese spy. Parliament calls on the AfD to publicly declare without delay its financial relations, especially with the Kremlin, and to publicly disclose the purpose and exact amount of all payments originating from Kremlin-linked sources.

Joint and vigorous response needed to counter interference

MEPs say that while Russia remains the main origin of foreign interference and disinformation in the EU, other countries are also active. They underline that the EU’s response to these threats can only be effective if it is based on a cross-cutting, holistic and long-term policy approach jointly carried by both the EU and member states.

To beef up Parliament’s own defences, the resolution suggests enhancing its internal security culture, including thorough internal investigations to assess possible cases of foreign interference and the full enforcement of its internal sanctions framework. MEPs also want mandatory security training for MEPs and staffers, appropriate security clearance, and reinforced staff screening.

The resolution calls on the Council to include Kremlin-backed media outlets, other broadcasting and media organisations, and individuals responsible for propaganda and disinformation campaigns in the EU in the forthcoming 14th Russian sanctions package. MEPs want to mirror the sanctions adopted by the Czech government against “Voice of Europe”, as well as Ukrainian pro-Russian oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk and his close associate Artem Marchevskyi. They also deplore Voice of Europe’s ability to restart its operations from Kazakhstan and call on EU member states to ensure it cannot be accessed in the EU.

For the full details, the resolution will be available in full here (25.04.2024). It was adopted by 429 votes in favour, 27 against with 48 abstentions.

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Human rights breaches in Azerbaijan, The Gambia, and Hong Kong | News

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MEPs adopt plans to boost Europe’s Net-Zero technology production | News

Azerbaijan, notably the repression of civil society and the cases of Dr Gubad Ibadoghlu and Ilhamiz Guliyev

MEPs urge Azerbaijan to immediately and unconditionally release Ilhamiz Guliyev, a human rights defender arrested in December 2023, and all other political prisoners, including EU and other nationals. They call on the authorities to lift the travel ban and drop all charges against Gubad Ibadoghlu, a political economist and opposition figure, and ensure he receives independent medical care after he was released from jail and placed under house arrest on 22 April.

The ongoing human rights violations in Azerbaijan are incompatible with the country hosting COP 29, MEPs say. They want the Commission to consider suspending the strategic partnership with Azerbaijan in the field of energy. MEPs insist on making any future partnership agreement conditional to the release of all political prisoners and an improvement of the human rights situation in the country, and they reiterate their call for EU sanctions against Azerbaijani officials who have committed serious human rights violations.

The resolution was adopted by 474 votes in favour, 4 against and 51 abstentions. For further details, the full version will be available here (25.04.2024).

Concern over potential repeal of female genital mutilation ban in The Gambia

MEPs warn that The Gambia risks being the first country in the world to reverse legal protection against female genital mutilation (FGM) and urge the Gambian Parliament to reject a proposal to repeal the current FGM law and to uphold the practise’s criminalisation. They also urge the Gambian government to strengthen its efforts to prevent and eliminate FGM through enforcement measures, education and collaboration with international partners.

Parliament says it is ready to support the government and civil society in community engagement to combat FGM, assist survivors, and defend women’s rights. FGM should, MEPs argue, be urgently and systematically raised with the Gambian authorities by the Commission and the European External Action Service.

The resolution was adopted by 535 votes in favour, 1 against and 1 abstention. For further details, the full version will be available here (25.04.2024).

The new security law in Hong Kong and the cases of Andy Li and Joseph John

The resolution strongly condemns the adoption of the Safeguarding National Security Ordonnance (SNSO) in Hong Kong, expanding the National Security Law (NSL) imposed by China, and urges China and Hong Kong to repeal both laws.

MEPs are appalled by the shutting down of pro-democracy political forces, civil society, news outlets and the arrest of over 200 people since the adoption of NSL. They urge the Hong Kong government to immediately and unconditionally release Andy Li, Joseph John, Jimmy Lai, all other pro-democratic activists, and drop all charges against them.

They demand the Council review its 2020 Conclusions on Hong Kong and adopt sanctions under the EU global human rights sanctions regime against Chief Executive John Lee and all officials responsible for the crackdown on freedoms in Hong Kong. They are also concerned about the Safeguarding National Security Ordonnance’s extraterritoriality and retroactivity, targeting the Hong Kong diaspora, and urge member states to suspend extradition treaties with China and Hong Kong.

The resolution was adopted by a show of hands. For further details, the full version will be available here (25.04.2024).

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Sudan catastrophe must not be allowed to continue: UN rights chief Türk

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Sudan catastrophe must not be allowed to continue: UN rights chief Türk

A year to the day since heavy fighting erupted between Sudan’s rival militaries, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights warned of a further escalation, including an imminent attack on El-Fasher in North Darfur.

“The Sudanese people have been subjected to untold suffering during the conflict which has been marked by indiscriminate attacks in densely populated areas, ethnically-motivated attacks, and a high incidence of conflict-related sexual violence. The recruitment and use of children by parties to the conflict are also deeply concerning,” said Mr. Türk.

And as an international donor conference for the Sudan emergency began in Paris on Monday, the UN rights chief underscored the potential for further bloodshed, as three armed groups announced that they were joining the Sudanese Armed Forces in their fight against the Rapid Support Forces and “arming civilians”.

UN chief’s appeal

In a video message to the conference, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said that “we cannot let this nightmare slide from view”, given the sheer scale of the suffering.

“I appeal to the generosity of donors to step up their contributions” and support for the life-saving humanitarian work being done, with woeful shortfalls in current contributions.

The Humanitarian Response Plan of $2.7 billion is only around six per cent funded.

“We urge effective and coordinated international mediation efforts to stop the fighting”, he said.

Since fighting erupted on 15 April 2023, more than eight million people have been displaced, including at least two million to neighbouring countries.

Acute hunger danger

“Nearly 18 million people face acute food insecurity, 14 million of them children, and over 70 per cent of hospitals are no longer functional amid a rise in infectious diseases – this catastrophic situation must not be allowed to continue,” said High Commissioner Türk.

Echoing those concerns, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said that some 8.9 million children are suffering from acute food insecurity; this includes 4.9 million at emergency levels. 

“Almost four million children under five are projected to suffer from acute malnutrition this year”, including 730,000 from life-threatening severe acute malnutrition, UNICEF said in a statement on Sunday. 

“Almost half of the children suffering from severe acute malnutrition are in areas that are hard to access” and where there is ongoing fighting, noted UNICEF Deputy Executive Director, Ted Chaiban. 

“This is all avoidable, and we can save lives if all parties to the conflict allow us to access communities in need and to fulfil our humanitarian mandate – without politicizing aid.”

 

Civilian rule targeted

Top UN rights official Türk also expressed deep concern that arrest warrants had been issued against former Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok and others on apparently unsubstantiated charges.

“The Sudanese authorities must immediately revoke the arrest warrants… and prioritize confidence-building measures towards a ceasefire as a first step, followed by a comprehensive resolution of the conflict and the restoration of a civilian government,” Mr. Türk insisted.

UN humanitarians meanwhile have reiterated that chronic hunger and malnutrition continue to make children “much more vulnerable to disease and death”.

Conflict has also disrupted vaccination coverage in Sudan and safe access to drinking water, UNICEF explained, meaning that ongoing disease outbreaks such as cholera, measles, malaria and dengue now threaten the lives of hundreds of thousands of children. 

“Spikes in mortality, especially among internally displaced children, are a forewarning of a possible huge loss of life, as the country enters the annual lean season,” the UN agency said, as it underlined the need for predictable and sustained international aid access.

“Basic systems and social services in Sudan are on the brink of collapse, with frontline workers not being paid for a year, vital supplies depleted, and infrastructure, including hospitals and schools, still under attack.”

Schools shuttered

And in a warning that the whole country could be engulfed in fighting that has left half of Sudan’s population in need of humanitarian relief, the global fund for education in emergencies, Education Cannot Wait, underscored that four of the eight million people uprooted by the violence are children.

The conflict “continues to take innocent lives, with over 14,000 children, women and men reportedly killed already,” said Yasmine Sherif, Executive Director of Education Cannot Wait. 

Ms. Sherif echoed deep concerns that Sudan now has one of the worst education crises in the world, with more than 90 per cent of the country’s 19 million school-age children unable to access formal education. 

Mariam Djimé Adam, 33, is sitting in the yard of Adre’s secondary school in Chad. She arrived from Sudan with her 8 children.

“Most schools are shuttered or are struggling to re-open across the country, leaving nearly 19 million school-aged children at risk of losing out on their education,” she said. 

To date, the global fund has provided nearly $40 million to support education for victims of the crisis in Sudan and beyond, in the Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia and South Sudan. 

“Without urgent international action, this catastrophe could engulf the entire country and have even more devastating impacts on neighbouring countries, as refugees flee across borders into neighbouring States,” Ms. Sherif said.

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An employee of the Belgian development agency Enabel in Gaza killed during a bombing

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Photo de Mike Labrum sur Unsplash

The house where Abdallah’s family was located housed around 25 people, including residents and displaced people who had taken shelter there. Last night’s attack claimed the lives of at least seven people and injured many more.

Abdallah Nabhan was a very dedicated and appreciated colleague. He joined Enabel in April 2020 as Business Development Officer as part of a European project aimed at helping small businesses in the Gaza Strip to produce ecologically, in addition to a Belgian Cooperation project aimed at helping young people to find a job.

Like all other Enabel employees in Gaza, Abdallah was on the list of people authorized to leave Gaza, which was handed over to Israeli authorities several months ago. Sadly, Abdallah died before he and his family were allowed to safely leave Gaza. Currently, seven staff members remain in Gaza.

The Minister of Development Cooperation, Caroline Gennez, and Enabel condemn in the strongest terms this attack against innocent civilians and demand that colleagues still present in Gaza be immediately authorized to leave.

Minister Caroline Gennez: “What we feared for a long time has become a reality. This is horrible news. I would like to express my most sincere condolences to Adballah’s family and friends, his son Jamal, his dad, his brother and his niece, as well as all the Enabel staff. Our hearts are broken once again today. Abdallah was a father, a husband, a son, a human being. His story and that of his family is just one of tens of thousands of others. When will it finally be enough? After six months of war and destruction in Gaza, we already seem to be getting used to it, but the fact remains that the indiscriminate bombing of civilian infrastructure and innocent civilians goes against all international and humanitarian laws. and the law of war. The Israeli government bears an overwhelming responsibility here. »

Jean Van Wetter, general director of Enabel: “I am deeply touched by the death of our colleague Abdallah and his son Jamal, and I am outraged and shocked by the ongoing attacks. This is yet another blatant violation of international humanitarian law by Israel. As the director of a Belgian agency and a former aid worker, I cannot accept that this has continued with impunity for so long. It is tragic that innocent civilians are victims of this conflict. We must do everything in our power to end the violence. »

EP TODAY | News | European Parliament

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MEPs adopt plans to boost Europe’s Net-Zero technology production | News

Debate and vote on boosting Europe’s Net-Zero technology production

In a debate at around 10.30 with Commissioner Sinkevičius, MEPs will review legislation intended to bolster Europe’s production in technologies needed for decarbonisation. The so-called “Net-Zero Industry Act” sets a target for Europe to produce 40% of net-zero technologies such as solar panels, heat pumps, or electrolysers by 2030 and to capture 15% of the global market value for these technologies. The vote on the agreed text with Council will take place at noon.

Baptiste CHATAIN
(+32) 498 98 13 37
EP_Industry

Setting up a Body for Ethical Standards: debate and vote

Following a debate at 9.00 with Commissioner Sinkevičius, MEPs will vote at noon on the deal between EU institutions and bodies to set up a Body for Ethical Standards, which would develop and oversee common minimum standards of ethical conduct, as well as publish reports on how these have been applied in internal rules.

Kyriakos KLOSIDIS
(+32) 470 96 47 35
EP_Institutional

Alleged Russian interference in the European Parliament: vote on a resolution

In a vote at noon, MEPs will take stock of revelations about Russian influence campaigns targeting the European Parliament. They are set to call for a firm response to counter Russian interference and to demand that the German AfD publicly declare their financial dealings, especially with the Kremlin. To beef up Parliament’s own defences, they want to enhance its internal security.

Viktor ALMQVIST
(+32) 470 88 29 42
EP_ForeignAff

Iran’s attack on Israel, the need for de-escalation and an EU response: vote on a resolution

Following yesterday’s debate, MEPs will vote on a resolution on Iran’s unprecedented attack on Israel, calling on all parties to avoid any further escalation and demanding maximum restraint and de-escalation. The text welcomes the EU’s decision to expand the current sanctions regime against Iran and calls for more individuals and entities to be sanctioned.

Viktor ALMQVIST
(+32) 470 88 29 42
EP_ForeignAff

Votes

During the final voting session of this legislature, starting at noon, MEPs will vote, among other things, on

  • Russia’s undemocratic presidential elections and their illegitimate extension to the occupied territories;
  • a €5.8 billion increase for the 2024 EU budget, mainly to support Ukraine;
  • Attempts to reintroduce a foreign agent law in Georgia and its restrictions on civil society;
  • Azerbaijan, in particular the repression of civil society and the cases of Dr Gubad Ibadoghlu and Ilhamiz Guliyev;
  • the proposed repeal of the law banning female genital mutilation in The Gambia;
  • the new security law in Hong Kong and the cases of Andy Li and Joseph John; and
  • advance passenger information: enhancing and facilitating external border controls.

Live coverage of the plenary session can be found on Parliament’s webstreaming and on EbS+.

For detailed information on the session, please also see our newsletter.

All information regarding plenary, can be found here.

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World News in Brief: Dignity and justice key to end evil of racial discrimination, methane emissions update, Mpox latest, peacebuilding boost

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World News in Brief: Dignity and justice key to end evil of racial discrimination, methane emissions update, Mpox latest, peacebuilding boost

The international day on Thursday highlights that theme, as well as the importance of recognition, justice and development opportunities for those of African descent, said Secretary-General António Guterres.

He said the results of entrenched racism continue to be devasting: “opportunities stolen; dignity denied; rights violated; lives taken and lives destroyed.”

The African diaspora faces a unique history of systemic and institutionalized racism, and profound challenges, he continued.

“We must respond to that reality – learning from, and building on, the tireless advocacy of people of African descent. That includes governments advancing policies and other measures to eliminate racism against people of African descent.”

Racist algorithms

He also singled out the recent controversy involving some artificial intelligence tools which have reportedly been unable to eliminate racist tropes and stereotypes from even highly advanced algorithms, calling on tech firms to “urgently” address racial bias in AI.

In a joint statement a group of independent UN Human Rights Council-appointed experts said the international day was a time to take stock of “persistent gaps” in the effort to protect hundreds of millions whose human rights continue to be violated due to racial discrimination.

“It is also an opportunity to recommit to our promise to fight all forms of racism everywhere.”

 They noted that racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance continue to be a cause of conflict worldwide.

“We are witnessing a dangerous regression in the fight against racism and racial discrimination in many spaces”, the experts said.

“Minorities, people of African descent, people of Asian descent, Indigenous Peoples, migrants, including asylum seekers and refugees, are particularly vulnerable as they often face discrimination in all aspects of their lives based on their racial, ethnic or national origin, skin colour or descent.”

States must implement international rights obligations, conventions, and declarations to which they are a party, they added. Special Rapporteurs and other rights experts are independent of the UN or any government, and receive no salary for their work.

Tackle methane emissions now, to slow global warming

Tackling emissions of methane now, is essential to meet the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels by 2050, according to a new report issued by the UN-backed Global Methane Forum on Wednesday.

The Forum is meeting in Geneva, hosted by the UN Economic Commission for Europe, the UN Environment Programme-convened Climate and Clean Air Coalition and other partners.

Political momentum is building towards methane mitigation and new technology is allowing more accurate measurement, revealing the urgent need to turn commitment into real cuts, the Forum said in a press release.

Nearly 500 participants from across the world have been sharing success stories to catalyze methane emission reductions in line with the Global Methane Pledge, which aims to reduce emissions by at least 30 per cent from 2020 levels up to end of this decade. It now has 157 countries and the European Union on board.

A powerful greenhouse gas, methane has a warming effect over 80 times greater than CO2 over a 20-year timeframe, which means action to cut emissions now can unlock significant near-term benefits for climate action.

The gas is responsible for around 30% of total warming since the Industrial Revolution and is the second largest contributor to global warming after CO2.

Turning pledges into action

UNECE Executive Secretary Tatiana Molcean opened the plenary session on Tuesday by making a global call to mobilize more ambitious action: “Hand in hand with decarbonization of energy systems, methane emissions need to be addressed in governments’ plans for stronger climate action.”

Meeting the Global Methane Pledge goals could reduce global warming by at least 0.2° C by 2050.

“In view of the devastation and suffering caused by extreme weather events, in particular in the most vulnerable countries, the world can simply not afford to miss this opportunity”, she added.

Mpox deaths falling everywhere but Africa, says expert panel

Cases of Mpox are falling everywhere except in Africa, a UN health agency expert panel has said, warning that the virus is causing “high mortality” in children under 15 years old.

The Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization meeting in Geneva to advise the World Health Organization (WHO) noted that the African Mpox strain appears to have a different genetic blueprint to other outbreaks reported around the world.

Experts on the panel highlighted the need to monitor and find the source of an ongoing outbreak of Mpox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo which has been linked to 265 deaths.

WHO’s Dr Kate O’Brien said the agency was encouraging countries to be proactive, “in particular the Democratic Republic of Congo, to have access to the vaccine, to use the vaccine and to do evaluations of the vaccine performance, which we expect to be very high.”

Vaccines should be used in at-risk communities and in non-high risk populations, the panel said.

But experts highlighted the problems caused by poor vaccine access in parts of Africa and urged greater investment in vaccine research on M-pox.

The WHO announced that Mpox was no longer a public health emergency last May.

Demand for peacebuilding outstrips supply

Amidst an intensification and multiplication of crises, the demand for support to UN peacebuilding continues to outstrip supply, the Secretary-General said in a new report published on Wednesday.

“The wars grabbing the headlines today only underscore the need to invest now in sustainable peace for tomorrow”, said António Guterres.

Covering the period from 1 January to 31 December, the report highlights that in 2023 the Peacebuilding Fund approved over $200 million for projects in 36 countries and territories, including for women’s and youth empowerment.

Redouble peacebuilding efforts

While the decision of the General Assembly to provide assessed contributions to the Fund starting in 2025 marked a milestone, the Fund reached its lowest liquidity level since its inception due to a decline in contributions last year.

“This is a time to redouble, not diminish, peacebuilding efforts”, said Assistant-Secretary General for Peacebuilding Support Elizabeth Spehar.

“This year’s report shows again that peacebuilding works: stronger institutions and inclusive dialogues help break and prevent cycles of violence.”

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The media in Mali are no longer allowed to cover the activities of political parties

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The decision rests with the military junta that has seized power

The junta in Mali continued with its restrictions on political life in the country and banned the media from covering the activities of political parties, reported AFP. This decision came a day after the junta suspended the activities of political parties in Mali.

The military, which overthrew President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita a few years ago, announced that until further notice they were suspending the activities of political parties and associations guilty of subversive activity, according to them.

Now the High Communication Authority, which regulates the activities of local media, has asked them to stop covering the activities of the parties. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has expressed deep concern over the suspension of the parties. And US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller criticized the decision and called on Mali to hold elections.

Illustrative Photo by brotiN biswaS: https://www.pexels.com/photo/selective-focus-photography-of-magazines-518543/

This tiny chip can safeguard user data while enabling efficient computing on a smartphone

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A new chip can efficiently accelerate machine-learning workloads on edge devices like smartphones while protecting sensitive user data from two common types of attacks — side-channel attacks and bus-probing attacks. Credits:Image: Chip figure courtesy of the researchers; MIT News

Researchers have developed a security solution with this tiny chip for power-hungry AI models that offers protection against two common attacks.

Health-monitoring apps can help people manage chronic diseases or stay on track with fitness goals, using nothing more than a smartphone. However, these apps can be slow and energy-inefficient because the vast machine-learning models that power them must be shuttled between a smartphone and a central memory server.

Engineers often speed things up using hardware that reduces the need to move so much data back and forth. While these machine-learning accelerators can streamline computation, they are susceptible to attackers who can steal secret information.

To reduce this vulnerability, researchers from MIT and the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab created a machine-learning accelerator that is resistant to the two most common types of attacks. Their chip can keep a user’s health records, financial information, or other sensitive data private while still enabling huge AI models to run efficiently on devices.

The team developed several optimizations that enable strong security while only slightly slowing the device. Moreover, the added security does not impact the accuracy of computations. This machine-learning accelerator could be particularly beneficial for demanding AI applications like augmented and virtual reality or autonomous driving.

While implementing the chip would make a device slightly more expensive and less energy-efficient, that is sometimes a worthwhile price to pay for security, says lead author Maitreyi Ashok, an electrical engineering and computer science (EECS) graduate student at MIT.

“It is important to design with security in mind from the ground up. If you are trying to add even a minimal amount of security after a system has been designed, it is prohibitively expensive. We were able to effectively balance a lot of these tradeoffs during the design phase,” says Ashok.

Her co-authors include Saurav Maji, an EECS graduate student; Xin Zhang and John Cohn of the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab; and senior author Anantha Chandrakasan, MIT’s chief innovation and strategy officer, dean of the School of Engineering, and the Vannevar Bush Professor of EECS. The research will be presented at the IEEE Custom Integrated Circuits Conference.

Side-channel susceptibility

The researchers targeted a type of machine-learning accelerator called digital in-memory compute. A digital IMC chip performs computations inside a device’s memory, where pieces of a machine-learning model are stored after being moved over from a central server.

The entire model is too big to store on the device, but by breaking it into pieces and reusing those pieces as much as possible, IMC chips reduce the amount of data that must be moved back and forth.

But IMC chips can be susceptible to hackers. In a side-channel attack, a hacker monitors the chip’s power consumption and uses statistical techniques to reverse-engineer data as the chip computes. In a bus-probing attack, the hacker can steal bits of the model and dataset by probing the communication between the accelerator and the off-chip memory.

Digital IMC speeds computation by performing millions of operations at once, but this complexity makes it tough to prevent attacks using traditional security measures, Ashok says.

She and her collaborators took a three-pronged approach to blocking side-channel and bus-probing attacks.

First, they employed a security measure where data in the IMC are split into random pieces. For instance, a bit zero might be split into three bits that still equal zero after a logical operation. The IMC never computes with all pieces in the same operation, so a side-channel attack could never reconstruct the real information.

But for this technique to work, random bits must be added to split the data. Because digital IMC performs millions of operations at once, generating so many random bits would involve too much computing. For their chip, the researchers found a way to simplify computations, making it easier to effectively split data while eliminating the need for random bits.

Second, they prevented bus-probing attacks using a lightweight cipher that encrypts the model stored in off-chip memory. This lightweight cipher only requires simple computations. In addition, they only decrypted the pieces of the model stored on the chip when necessary.

Third, to improve security, they generated the key that decrypts the cipher directly on the chip, rather than moving it back and forth with the model. They generated this unique key from random variations in the chip that are introduced during manufacturing, using what is known as a physically unclonable function.

“Maybe one wire is going to be a little bit thicker than another. We can use these variations to get zeros and ones out of a circuit. For every chip, we can get a random key that should be consistent because these random properties shouldn’t change significantly over time,” Ashok explains.

They reused the memory cells on the chip, leveraging the imperfections in these cells to generate the key. This requires less computation than generating a key from scratch.

“As security has become a critical issue in the design of edge devices, there is a need to develop a complete system stack focusing on secure operation. This work focuses on security for machine-learning workloads and describes a digital processor that uses cross-cutting optimization. It incorporates encrypted data access between memory and processor, approaches to preventing side-channel attacks using randomization, and exploiting variability to generate unique codes. Such designs are going to be critical in future mobile devices,” says Chandrakasan.

Safety testing

To test their chip, the researchers took on the role of hackers and tried to steal secret information using side-channel and bus-probing attacks.

Even after making millions of attempts, they couldn’t reconstruct any real information or extract pieces of the model or dataset. The cipher also remained unbreakable. By contrast, it took only about 5,000 samples to steal information from an unprotected chip.

The addition of security did reduce the energy efficiency of the accelerator, and it also required a larger chip area, which would make it more expensive to fabricate.

The team is planning to explore methods that could reduce the energy consumption and size of their chip in the future, which would make it easier to implement at scale.

“As it becomes too expensive, it becomes harder to convince someone that security is critical. Future work could explore these tradeoffs. Maybe we could make it a little less secure but easier to implement and less expensive,” Ashok says.

Written by Adam Zewe

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