About this New Secretary General at the United Nations

Posted on October 13, 2016October 13, 2016 by Denise Simon

He joined the Socialist party in 1974 – the same year five decades of dictatorship came to an end in Portugal – and soon became a full-time politician. In 1992 he became secretary general of the Socialist party, in opposition at the time. Guterres led the party to victory in the next general election in 1995, becoming prime minister.

Then Mr Guterres, fluent in Portuguese, English, Spanish and French, turned his attention to the world of international diplomacy, becoming the UN’s high commissioner for refugees in 2005. More here from BBC.

Antonio Guterres will serve as the 9th Secretary General and he has been assigned some key items as he begins this new role.

He is to bridge all the divisions of the General Assembly.
He is to be the peacemaker for countries such as Syria, Yemen and South Sudan.
To fulfill all the items listed in his own vision statement.

António Guterres

Challenges and Opportunities for the United Nations

“We the peoples”

The United Nations Charter is an achievement exceptional in the annals of history. Seventy years after being adopted, its validity remains undiminished. The Charter is the source of the United Nations’ unique legitimacy and provides guidance for its every activity. All its signatories decided to abide by its purposes, principles and provisions to “achieve international cooperation in solving international problems”.

The UN is the institutional expression of the international community, the cornerstone of our international system and the key actor of effective multilateralism. It is the essential instrument of member States to confront common challenges, manage shared responsibilities and exercise collective action, in an enduring quest for a peaceful, inclusive and sustainably developed world, in which international law and the dignity and worth of the human person are fully pursued.

Challenges

Understanding global mega-trends is crucial. We live in times of multiple, evolving and mutually-reinforcing shifts. These dynamics, of geopolitical, demographic, climatic, technological, social and economic nature, enhance threats and opportunities on an unprecedented scale.

Globalization and technological progress fostered extraordinary economic growth and created conditions for unparalleled reduction of extreme poverty and generalized improvement of living standards. But their unbalanced nature led to high income concentration and extreme inequality, and made exclusion even more intolerable. Exclusion, competition over dwindling resources and shortcomings in governance undermine social cohesion and institutional robustness, further contributing to the eruption of violent conflicts.

In addition to traditional threats to international peace and security, the nature of conflict is changing, with a multiplicity of armed actors, many employing asymmetric methods.

Terrorism, international organized crime and illicit trafficking pose real threats. Devastating epidemics loom persistently on the horizon. Climate change affects economies and peoples, their lands, oceans and seas. More and more States are turning to the oceans as a source of economic and social development, while realizing that their resources have to be developed in a sustainable manner.

Against this background, the UN faces new challenges in ensuring peace and security, promoting sustainable development, protecting human rights and delivering humanitarian aid.

Connecting the dots

The UN is uniquely placed to connect the dots to overcome these challenges. To succeed, it must further strengthen the nexus between peace and security, sustainable development and human rights policies – a holistic approach to the mutually-reinforcing linkages between its three pillars.

The 2015 landmark agreements on sustainable development, notably the Agenda 2030, the Paris Climate Agreement and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda lay out a clear strategy for action. They represent a unique opportunity that must be seized. Achieving these important goals has direct implications for peace and the realization of human needs and fundamental rights. For many it means survival.

Now that we know what, we must work on how. With clear priorities, tangible benchmarks and the power to mobilize all stakeholders, promoting national ownership and ensuring no-one is left behind. The reform and fine tuning of the UN Development System should be pursued to deliver full support to member States. With the horizon of 2030 the focus is on action and the watchword is implementation, implementation, implementation.

It’s widely recognized that there is no peace without development and no development without peace; it is also true that there is no peace and sustainable development without respect for human rights. Based on its acquis and normative framework, the UN human rights system has a key role to play in strengthening member States’ capacity to comply with their human rights obligations, without discrimination. The SG should ensure the mainstreaming of human rights across the whole UN system, notably through the Human Rights Up Front initiative, preventing violations and abuses, ensuring accountability and addressing the plight of victims.

The UN must be at the forefront of the global movement towards gender equality, an inalienable and indivisible feature of all human rights and fundamental freedoms: progressively moving from perceiving women and girls as a subject of protection to promoting their empowerment; from an isolated focus on women to gender mainstreaming.

Similarly, fully respecting the humanitarian principles and the autonomy of the humanitarian space, it is clear that there is no humanitarian solution for humanitarian problems. The solution is always political. And the protracted nature of present humanitarian emergencies also requires a medium and long-term resilience and development perspective.

Three concrete examples, discussed in the preparatory work of the upcoming World Humanitarian Summit, demonstrate how dots can be connected:

More than bridging a traditional gap, humanitarian and development actors must work together from the very beginning of a crisis, ideally contributing to prevent it;

States that are the largest recipients of refugees, pillars of regional stability and first line of defense of our collective security, should be a priority of development cooperation and UN agencies´ support, even if middle-income countries;

Development cooperation policies must take much greater account of human mobility. Migration should be an option, not a necessity; out of hope, not despair.

The Centrality of Prevention

The world spends much more energy and resources managing crises than preventing them. Thus the UN must uphold a strategic commitment to a “culture of prevention”, pledged in 2005 but yet to materialize.

First, we need a surge in diplomacy for peace. Under the guidance of the Security Council and in accordance with the Charter, the SG should actively, consistently and tirelessly exercise his good offices and mediation capacity as an honest broker, bridge builder and messenger of peace. Full use should be made of the Organization’s convening power, as a forum for dialogue, to ease tensions and facilitate peaceful solutions.

Second, the reviews on peacekeeping, peacebuilding and on women, peace and security create a unique opportunity to develop a comprehensive, modern and effective operational peace architecture, encompassing prevention, conflict resolution, peacekeeping, peacebuilding and long-term development – the “peace continuum”.

Those reviews should not be artificially treated as a package, but strategies and policies must converge. The UN should ensure the primacy of political solutions at all stages, promote preventive approaches, mainstream human rights, and foster inclusive engagement and empowerment of women and girls. Full participation of women is essential to the success of any peace process.

People in need of protection are not getting enough. The most vulnerable, such as women and children, are an absolute priority. We must make sure that when someone sees the Blue Flag she or he can say: “I am protected”.

Third, further investment in capacity and institution-building of States is another central element of prevention, promoting inclusive and sustainable development, overcoming fragilities and strengthening the ability of Governments to address the needs of their people and respect their rights.

Fourth, prevention is also crucial to combating terrorism. Force must be used when necessary and in accordance with the Charter, but let us not forget that it is also a battle for values; our common battle. Terrorist attacks target not just their direct victims, but all who subscribe to the purposes and principles of the Charter. The international community has the legal right and the moral duty to act collectively to put an end to terrorism “in all its forms and manifestations, committed by whomever, wherever and for whatever purposes”. In doing so, we shall neither concede to fear nor abdicate our values.

Fifth, values are, indeed, the defining argument and the vital strength in our collective mobilization against intolerance, violent extremism and radicalization. To prevent them, we need to foster inclusion, solidarity and the cohesion of multiethnic, multicultural and multi-religious societies.

This is also the best antidote to racism, xenophobia, islamophobia and anti-semitism.

Informal Dialogue at UN AG. Photo LUSA.

Coordination and Partnerships

Global coherence demands a permanent strategic cooperation culture at all levels. The key to further enhancing UN’s effectiveness is attitude: cooperation instead of duplication, sharing instead of competing, and collective responsibility instead of circumstantial individual interests. This requires leadership and more and better coordination – delivery-centered, not process oriented.

Breaking silos requires accountability at three levels: system-wide; within each UN institution regarding its mandate; and how each of them contributes to the performance of the whole system. The Chief Executive Board and the Senior Management Group must be the beacons of the strategic coherence of the UN’s operational dimension.

To ensure effective multilateralism, the UN needs to develop a strong culture of partnership at three levels:

First, increasing cooperation with regional organizations, as foreseen in Chapter VIII of the Charter. They are essential actors in conflict prevention and resolution, in peace operations and promotion of development and human rights. The relationship with the African Union deserves particular commitment.

Second, strengthening partnerships with International Financial Institutions, seizing synergies of working together in addressing global and local challenges.

Third, enhancing engagement with civil society and the private sector. Their role providing global public goods must be fully recognized. Relevant UN organizations should develop strategic cooperation with their civil society partners. Since there can be no poverty eradication without generation of wealth, we should further promote the UN Global Compact, highlighting the mutual benefits of corporate responsibility.

Reform and Innovation

The future of the UN will be determined by its readiness to change and adapt, in full respect of the provisions of the Charter and the competences of the main bodies. The SG must promote reform and innovation, focused on delivery and results.

Reform is not a onetime action, it is a permanent attitude to make the UN less bureaucratic and more efficient, productive and field oriented; to simplify processes, eliminate redundant structural costs and make full use of modern technology and innovation.

As chief administrative officer, the SG must maintain unwavering commitment to transparency, accountability and oversight.

Moreover, the SG must stand firmly for the reputation of the UN and its dedicated staff. Leading by example and imposing the highest ethical standards on everyone serving under the UN flag. In particular, elevating the prestige of the blue helmet, the soldier standing for peace, and eradicating, once and for all, the exploitative and abusive conduct of those UN agents who do not represent what the Organization stands for.

Staff policies need to address substantial gaps in gender equality and regional diversity. Given that previous commitments to gender parity were not fulfilled, the SG should present and implement a road map for gender parity at all levels, with clear benchmarks and timeframes within the next mandate, giving priority to senior staff selection. In particular, parity should henceforth be respected in the appointments by the SG of members of the Chief Executive Board and the Senior Management Group. And a clear shift in this direction is required in the selection of Special Representatives and Envoys. A similar commitment is necessary to move consistently into regional equilibrium in senior appointments.

The SG should further enhance the Organization’s communication capacity. The UN must communicate in ways that everybody understands and use the most modern digital platforms, reaching out to common citizens and making the most of its unique and powerful brand.

Values

Peace, justice, human dignity, tolerance and solidarity are enshrined in the Charter and bind us together. These values are central to all cultures and religions in the world and are reflected in the Holy Books – from the Qur’an to the Gospels and the Torah, from the Upanishads to the Pali canon.

As Kofi Annan put it, “of course having such common values does not solve all problems, or eliminate the scope for different societies to solve them in different ways.(…) Each society should be given the space, not to distort or undermine universal values, but to express them in a way that reflects its own traditions and culture.”

In times of insecurity, when people feel uncertain about their future, when anxieties and fears are promoted and exploited by political populists, old-fashioned nationalists or religious fundamentalists, the success of the UN and the international community lies in our common commitment to our common values. The UN must be proud of its diversity. A diversity that only enriches the strength of the expression of our common humanity.

António Guterres

General designate of the United Nations

How Much has Russia Penetrated America and Policy?

Posted on October 13, 2016October 13, 2016 by Denise Simon

A couple of items, then one wonders if either presidential candidate will mention any part of these items before the election……nah

Beginning with the Department of Justice:

Brooklyn Resident And Two Russian Nationals Arrested In Connection With Scheme To Illegally Export Controlled Technology To Russia

Defendants Used Brooklyn-Based Front Companies to Procure Sophisticated Military and Satellite Technology on Behalf of Russian End-Users

Earlier today, Alexey Barysheff of Brooklyn, New York, a naturalized citizen of the United States, was arrested on federal charges of illegally exporting controlled technology from the United States to end-users in Russia. Simultaneously, two Russian nationals, Dmitrii Aleksandrovich Karpenko and Alexey Krutilin, were arrested in Denver, Colorado, on charges of conspiring with Barysheff and others in the scheme.[1] Federal agents also executed search warrants at two Brooklyn locations that were allegedly used as front companies in Barysheff’s illegal scheme.

Barysheff is scheduled to make his initial appearance today at 2:00 p.m. at the United States Courthouse, 225 Cadman Plaza East, Brooklyn, New York, before Chief United States Magistrate Judge Roanne L. Mann. Karpenko and Krutilin are scheduled to make their initial appearances today at the United States Courthouse in Denver, Colorado, where the government will seek their removal in custody to the Eastern District of New York.

The arrests and charges were announced by U.S. Attorney Robert L. Capers of the Eastern District of New York; Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin; Special Agent in Charge Angel M. Melendez, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) for New York; FBI Assistant Director in Charge William F. Sweeney, Jr., New York Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Carson, U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security, Office of Export Enforcement, New York Field Office; and Craig Rupert, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Defense, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, North East Field Office.

The complaints allege that Barysheff, Karpenko, Krutilin, and others were involved in a conspiracy to obtain technologically cutting-edge microelectronics from manufacturers and suppliers located within the United States and to export those high-tech products to Russia, while evading the government licensing system set up to control such exports. The Department of Commerce, pursuant to authority granted by the President of the United States, has placed restrictions on the export and re-export of items that it has determined could make a significant contribution to the military potential and weapons proliferation of other nations and that could be detrimental to the foreign policy and national security of the United States. The microelectronics shipped to Russia included, among other products, digital-to-analog converters and integrated circuits, which are frequently used in a wide range of military systems, including radar and surveillance systems, missile guidance systems, and satellites. These electronic devices required a license from the Department of Commerce to be exported to Russia and have been restricted for anti-terrorism and national security reasons.

As further detailed in the complaints, in 2015 Barysheff registered the Brooklyn, New York-based companies BKLN Spectra, Inc. (Spectra) and UIP Techno Corp. (UIP Techno). Since that time, the defendants, and others have used those entities as U.S.-based front companies to purchase, attempt to purchase, and illegally export controlled technology. To induce U.S.-based manufacturers and suppliers to sell them high-tech, export-controlled microelectronics and to evade applicable controls, the defendants and their co-conspirators purported to be employees and representatives of Spectra and UIP Techno and provided false end-user information in connection with the purchase of the items, concealed the fact that they were exporters, and falsely classified the goods they exported on records submitted to the Department of Commerce. To conceal the true destination of the controlled microelectronics from the U.S. suppliers, the defendants and their co-conspirators shipped the items first to Finland and subsequently to Russia.

“U.S. export laws exist to prevent potentially dangerous technology from falling into the wrong hands,” said U.S. Attorney Capers. “Those who seek to evade the scrutiny of U.S. regulatory and law enforcement agencies by operating in the shadows present a danger to our national security and our allies abroad. We will continue to use all of our available national security options to hold such individuals and corporations accountable.”

“According to the complaints, Barysheff, Karpenko, and Krutilin conspired among themselves and with others to send sensitive U.S. technology surreptitiously to Russia in violation of U.S. export law,” said Assistant Attorney General Carlin. “These laws are in place to protect the national security, and we will spare no effort in pursuing and holding accountable those who seek to harm the national security by illegally procuring strategic commodities for foreign entities.”

“Had law enforcement not interceded, the alleged perpetrators would have exported materials that are known to be used in a wide range of military devices,” said Melendez, Special Agent in Charge for HSI New York. “HSI will continue to partner with other law enforcement agencies while focusing its efforts on national security and stopping the illegal flow of sensitive technology.”

“Export controls were established to prevent certain individuals, organizations, or nations from obtaining protected technology and information. When the laws are evaded, we become vulnerable to the many threats posed by our adversaries. The FBI will continue to protect our national security assets as we work with our partners to prevent the exportation of restricted materials,” said Sweeney, FBI Assistant Director in Charge, New York Field Office.

“Today’s arrest is a collaborative effort among law enforcement agencies. I commend our colleagues for their efforts,” said Special Agent in Charge Carson, U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security, Office of Export Enforcement, New York Field Office. “The Office of Export Enforcement will continue to use our unique authorities as the regulator and enforcer of our nation’s export control laws to keep the most dangerous goods out of the most dangerous hands.”

“The attempted theft of restricted U.S. technology by foreign actors severely threatens the United States’ defensive posture,” said Special Agent in Charge Craig Rupert, DCIS Northeast Field Office. “DCIS will continue to pursue these investigations with our Federal partners to shield America’s investment in national defense.”

If convicted of the charges, the defendants face up to 25 years in prison and a $1 million fine.

The case is being handled by the Office’s National Security and Cybercrime Section. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Craig R. Heeren and Peter W. Baldwin are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Trial Attorney Matthew Walczewski of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.

The Defendants:

ALEXEY BARYSHEFF
Age: 36
Brooklyn, New York

DMITRII ALEKSANDROVICH KARPENKO
Age: 33
Russia

ALEXEY KRUTILIN
Age: 27
Russia

E.D.N.Y. Docket Nos. 16-893-M, 16-894-M

Then:

Again, Syria, again. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will meet yet again in Switzerland on Saturday, despite the ceasefire deal in Syria having fallen apart and Kerry suggesting that Russia was carrying out war crimes by bombing civilians in Aleppo. Putin brushes it all off. But Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview with French television TF1 on Wednesday that accusations of Russian war crimes are simply “political rhetoric that doesn’t make a lot of sense and doesn’t take account of the reality in Syria.” He added, “I am deeply convinced that it’s our Western partners, and especially the United States, that are responsible for the situation in the region in general and Syria in particular.” At an event in Moscow on Wednesday, Putin also insisted Russia won’t give in to “blackmail and pressure” over its military offensive in Syria and accused the U.S. and its allies of whipping up “anti-Russian hysteria.” Cyber front. The FBI believes that the hacking and leaking of Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta’s emails was carried out by Russian intelligence, anonymous officials tell the Wall Street Journal. The emails have been leaked to outlets such as the Intercept and WikiLeaks and show political deliberations of the Clinton campaign as well as transcripts of Clinton’s private speeches. The Department of Homeland Security is also helping states look for evidence of breaches and harden their networks following break-ins at a number of state electoral databases, similarly attributed to Russia. “The whole hysteria is aimed at making the American forget about the manipulation of public opinion,” Putin added Wednesday. “No one is talking about that, everyone wants to know who did that, what is important is what is inside and what that information is about.”

Actions of the State Dept in the Name of Diplomacy

Posted on October 13, 2016October 13, 2016 by Denise Simon

Primer: Liberation of Libya

Press Statement

Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State

Washington, DC

October 23, 2011

The United States joins the Libyan people as they celebrate liberation from more than four decades of Qadhafi’s brutal dictatorship. The Libyan revolution was the work of ordinary, brave Libyans who demanded their freedoms and dignity. The United States is proud to have supported them in those efforts and we are committed to their future.

This is a historic moment, but much work remains to be done. The process of forming a new representative government that is accountable to its people must reflect the same spirit of the revolution and the Transitional National Council should work to announce this government as soon as possible. The transitional authorities can build on this movement by promoting reconciliation and respect for human rights across Libyan society, while helping to prevent reprisals and ensuring the justice and due process that the Libyan people expect and deserve.

The path to democracy is a long-term process that requires the participation of all Libyans. Just as the Libyan people led the revolution, they will also lead the process of transition and government formation. The United States remains deeply committed to the Libyan people who can now look forward to a new era of freedom, dignity, and security.

Then this:

*****

Below is just a sampling of what is found at the State Department.

(Encouraging refugees)

Refugees Welcome Department’s message reaches millions

By Brian Street, public affairs officer,

Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration

On World Refugee Day, June 20, senior Department officials including Secretary of State John Kerry, Deputy Secretaries Tony Blinken and Heather Higginbottom, and Assistant Secretary for Population, Refugees, and Migration Anne C. Richard, stressed that refugees are welcome in the United States.

Senior Department leaders, through engagement in a variety of public outreach and media appearances, reminded listeners of America’s history as a land comprising those escaping persecution, seeking safety together through a common identity as Americans and having a history of compassion toward those needing help. Secretary Kerry met that day with six Department of State employees who were refugees themselves, or the children of refugees, to hear of the circumstances that brought them to the United States, and of their resulting public service. They spoke of how their personal histories led them to serve the nation. Kerry told the group that some in the United States are trying “to make a negative out of being a refugee or somehow turn people who are refugees into threats.” He noted that each of the group’s members is “contributing enormously to the work of this department, to the fiber of our country… and they have a story to tell about how America keeps faith with people’s dreams and hopes and aspirations.”

Later, Kerry participated in the day’s largest event, an interfaith iftar (the evening meal served during Ramadan) organized by the Office of the Special Representative for Religious Engagement (S/RGA).

Gathered with children from the All Dulles Area Muslim Society in Virginia during an interfaith event on World Refugee Day are, from left, Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration Anne C. Richard, Special Representative for Religious Engagement Shaarik Zafar, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Special Envoy Angelina Jolie Pitt and Secretary of State John Kerry.

There, he joined Assistant Secretary Richard, the Department’s Special Representative to Muslim Communities Shaarik Zafar and U.N. High Commission for Refugees Special Envoy Angelina Jolie Pitt to meet with a small group of refugees, refugee assistance organizations and religious leaders to hear about their experiences. He said “a huge effort is being made to respond to this [refugee] crisis, but I have to tell you, my friends, all of our efforts still fall short of the need. Every nation, every sector, every individual has a responsibility to try to do more.”

Jolie Pitt spoke against the negative rhetoric directed at Muslims— including refugees and said, “When we discriminate, when we imply with our actions that some lives are worth more than others, or when we denigrate the faith, traditions and cultures of any group of people, we weaken our strength in democratic societies.”

****

Hillary started it and John Kerry continues the program:

This week, HRC submitted comments in response to the U.S. State Department’s request for feedback on improving the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP), which is responsible for helping refugees resettle in the United States. While USRAP has made tremendous strides in recent years to help meet the unique needs of LGBT refugees, a great deal more can be done.

The number of refugees worldwide who are fleeing their homeland because of violence and discrimination remains at historic and tragically high levels.

“From discrimination and bullying to violence and murder, LGBT people are among the most vulnerable individuals in the world,” wrote HRC Government Affairs Director David Stacy. “It is therefore essential that the United States continue to serve as a beacon of hope and safety for all people who face persecution, no matter who they are or whom they love.”

In its comments, HRC urged the State Department to collect more data on the number of LGBT refugees entering the U.S. in order to identify solutions that will better meet their needs in the applicable process. The comments also recommended that the federal government place LGBT refugees in communities that have appropriate support and services for LGBT people, as well as provide cultural competency training for individuals who work with LGBT refugees in order to help combat discrimination and harassment that some LGBT refugees face. HRC also urged the State Department to create more avenues to allow individuals to be reunited with same-sex partners who are already resettled in the U.S.

HRC will continue to advocate for the needs of LGBT refugees, beginning with a summit that HRC will host on June 9, 2016. The convening will focus on developing strategies to help LGBT refugees who are fleeing in mass numbers from areas that are in and around territory that is controlled by the Islamic State.

(The vast majority of illegals via the Southern Border are from these countries)

Central America’s Northern Triangle countries have much to offer. El Salvador,
Guatemala and Honduras each feature their own distinct cultural highlights, unique sights, beautiful scenery and local culinary specialties, and each country provides an unparalleled professional opportunity to do interesting, challenging work at a pivotal moment in history.
In late 2014, President Obama launched the U.S. Strategy for Engagement in Central
America. Simply put, the strategy changes how we work in the region. It seeks to resolve the underlying conditions that drive undocumented migration to the United States by comprehensively promoting prosperity, good governance and security throughout Central America, but most especially in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. The strategy uses a cross-cutting, multidisciplinary approach, known as place-based strategy, to address the core problems that are plaguing the region. The Northern Triangle countries are also investing heavily in their own recovery, putting $3 billion of their own resources into the Alliance for Prosperity, their own regional plan for improvement. Our strategy dovetails with the Alliance for Prosperity. The result is an unprecedented synergy between U.S. foreign assistance and host government investment in the region, with a shared goal of effecting lasting change.
On the security piece, the strategy recognizes that violence doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It therefore seeks to resolve the primary issues underlying the violence. For this reason, in Honduras, a country where the average person has only about seven years of education, the U.S. government is working with Honduran government and NGO partners to develop programs that educate at-risk youth and provide long-term, formal employment options as solid alternatives to gangs and criminal behavior. We are already seeing significant reductions in the number of homicides in target neighborhoods.

El Salvador, where extortion is crushing businesses of all sizes, we are effectively addressing the impunity problem. We have partnered with the government to create an anti-extortion task force to eradicate this scourge. The task force’s work has resulted in more than 75 convictions, and more than 200 additional people are awaiting trial, with a 96 percent conviction rate since 2014 and not a single case dismissed before trial—unusual in El Salvador, where many cases are thrown out for purported lack of evidence and witnesses often recant out of fear of reprisal. It is just one example of the type of transformative opportunities we have witnessed while undertaking critical prosperity-enhancing work in the region.
We promote good governance and rule of law in Guatemala through support for the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (commonly known by its Spanish acronym, CICIG), as well as by creating 24-hour courts to deal with all forms of crime, especially domestic violence; a new asset seizure chamber that is capturing ill-gotten gains for law enforcement purposes; and a so-called “high impact” court with sufficient security so that the highest-profile criminal cases can be expeditiously tried. As you’ll read in the story about Guatemala, CICIG and the Public Ministry are leading the charge against impunity. More than 200 public officials have been charged with crimes, including the former president and vice president. Our investments are paying dividends: 73 percent of Guatemalans are familiar with the tribunal’s work, 95 percent of that group believe CICIG is doing a good job, and 88 percent of Guatemalans believe the Public Ministry is doing a good job.
These and many more opportunities to have a positive impact on the future of each of these countries await officers in WHA. We are just getting started on our work under the strategy. You can make a difference in this region. There is much work to be done. We hope you will consider joining us in 2016 and beyond.

(How do you impact the climate in places like the Marshall Islands?)

There is much more but several issues have been deleted from the State Department website.

SCOTUS to Decide to Hear Case on Post 9/11 Case on FBI

Posted on October 12, 2016October 12, 2016 by Denise Simon

Justices Will Hear Post-Sept. 11 Claims Against Ashcroft, Mueller

Photo, BBC

NationalLawJournal: The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to decide whether a 14-year-old suit should go forward against former George W. Bush attorney general John Ashcroft and former FBI director Robert Mueller III based on their roles in the post-Sept. 11 roundup and detention of Muslim, Arab and South Asian men.

In Ashcroft v. Turkmen, the Obama administration had asked the high court to review a June 2015 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit that reinstated claims by eight men and a potential class of 80. The plaintiffs alleged the former Bush officials purposely and unconstitutionally directed their detentions in harsh and abusive conditions due to their race, religion or national origin.

Justices Sonia Sotomayor, a former Second Circuit judge, and Elena Kagan, a former U.S. solicitor general, did not participate in the high court’s decision to review the case. Their potential recusals from the case could set the stage for a six-justice court to decide the outcome if the vacancy caused by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia remains unfilled through early next year.

The justices on Tuesday also added another potentially high profile case: Hernandez v. Mesa, a challenge stemming from a U.S. Border Patrol agent’s shooting of a 15-year-old Mexican boy on Mexican soil.

In the Ashcroft petition, the Obama administration argued that the Second Circuit was wrong—in the context of the Sept. 11 investigations—to allow Ashcroft, Mueller and other Justice department officials to be sued in their individual capacities for violations of constitutional rights under the 1971 high court decision Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents.

The Second Circuit is “the first circuit to permit such a damages remedy to be pursued ‘against executive branch officials for national security actions taken after the 9/11 attacks,’” then-Solicitor General Donald Verrilli Jr. wrote in the petition.

The Obama administration also challenges the appellate court’s ruling that Ashcroft and Mueller, now a partner at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, were not entitled to qualified immunity for their alleged role in the treatment of those detained. The government also contends the allegations that the former officials personally condoned the detentions because of “invidious animus” against Arabs and Muslims are not “plausible.”

The justices set the plausibility standard in a similar case, Ashcroft v. Iqbal, in 2009. The court ruled 5-4 then that Javaid Iqbal, a Pakistani Muslim and post Sept. 11-detainee, failed to plead sufficient facts to support his claim of intentional, unlawful discrimination.

From Verrilli’s petition:

Based on conclusory allegations and after-the-fact inferences drawn in the chambers of appellate judges, the court of appeals concluded that the nation’s highest-ranking law-enforcement officers—a former Attorney General of the United States and former Director of the FBI—may be subjected to the demands of litigation and potential liability for compensatory and even punitive damages in their individual capacities because they could conceivably have learned about and condoned the allegedly improper ways in which their undisputedly constitutional policies were being implemented by lower-level officials during an unprecedented national-security crisis.

Representing the Turkmen plaintiffs, Rachel Meeropol of the Center for Constitutional Rights, had urged the justices to deny review.

“The petitions instead boil down to a request for a new and remarkable form of immunity, one in which the clearly unconstitutional actions of federal officials are untouchable so long as they occur in temporal proximity to a national tragedy,” Meeropol wrote.

The justices also granted review in two related petitions raising similar issues. Ballard Spahr’s William McDaniel Jr. filed a petition on behalf of former Immigration and Naturalization Service commissioner James Ziglar, and MoloLamken’s Jeffrey Lamken filed on behalf of former wardens of the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.

The Second Circuit decision stemmed from a lawsuit filed in 2002 by the Center for Constitutional Rights. The center charged that the plaintiffs and other detainees were placed in solitary confinement, some for up to eight months, even though they were only charged with civil immigration violations like overstaying a visa or working without authorization.

The lawsuit has yet to go to trial.

Fourth Amendment at the border

In Hernandez, the border shooting case, the parents of Sergio Hernandez, represented by Deepak Gupta of Washington’s Gupta Wessler, are asking the high court to overturn a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

The appeals court said the Fourth Amendment’s protection against excessive deadly force did not apply because their son was a Mexican citizen with no significant voluntary connection to the United States and he was killed on Mexican territory.

The justices have directed the parties also to brief whether Hernandez’s claim against border patrol agent Jesus Mesa could be brought under their 1971 decision in Bivens.

The Obama administration had urged the justices to deny review.

Related Articles:

Obama’s Justice Dept. Defends Bush DOJ in Post-9/11 Supreme Court Case

What is the Reason for this Global Demand by Putin?

Posted on October 12, 2016October 12, 2016 by Denise Simon

Russia recently held defense drills for 40 million citizens in apparent preparation for an all-out nuclear war.

“And earlier this month, Putin’s ministers announced they had built bunkers capable of housing Moscow’s 14 million people.

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The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation has stated that it is considering the return of Russian military bases to Cuba and Vietnam. Judging by everything, this information slipped through the cracks into the public space by accident, as most officials now prefer to either remain silent or answer evasively in the face of reporters’ questions. For a list of targeted Russian bases globally, click here.

Related reading: Breaking Sanctions with Cuba?

Russia orders all officials to fly home any relatives living abroad, as tensions mount over the prospect of a global war

DailyMail: Russia is ordering all of its officials to fly home any relatives living abroad amid heightened tensions over the prospect of global war, it has been claimed.

Politicians and high-ranking figures are said to have received a warning from president Vladimir Putin to bring their loved-ones home to the ‘Motherland’, according to local media.

It comes after Putin cancelled a planned visit to France amid a furious row over Moscow’s role in the Syrian conflict and just days after it emerged the Kremlin had moved nuclear-capable missiles near to the Polish border.

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev has also warned that the world is at a ‘dangerous point’ due to rising tensions between Russia and the US.

According to the Russian site Znak.com, administration staff, regional administrators, lawmakers of all levels and employees of public corporations have been ordered to take their children out of foreign schools immediately.

Failure to act will see officials jeopardising their chances of promotion, local media has reported.

The exact reason for the order is not yet clear.

But Russian political analyst Stanislav Belkovsky is quoted by the Daily Star as saying: ‘This is all part of the package of measures to prepare elites to some ‘big war’.’

Relations between Russia and the US are at their lowest since the Cold War and have soured in recent days after Washington pulled the plug on Syria talks and accused Russia of hacking attacks

The Kremlin has also suspended a series of nuclear pacts, including a symbolic cooperation deal to cut stocks of weapons-grade plutonium.

Just days ago, it was reported that Russia had moved nuclear-capable missiles near to the Polish border as tensions escalated between the world’s largest nation and the West.

The Iskander missiles sent to Kaliningrad, a Russian enclave on the Baltic Sea between Nato members Poland and Lithuania, are now within range of major Western cities including Berlin.

Polish officials – whose capital Warsaw is potentially threatened – have described the move as of the ‘highest concern’.

RUSSIA TESTS BALLISTIC MISSILES AS TENSIONS BUILD

Russia’s military conducted a series of intercontinental ballistic missile tests on Wednesday, the latest flexing of its muscles as tensions with the US spike over Syria.

Russian forces fired a nuclear-capable rocket from a Pacific Fleet submarine in the Sea of Okhotsk north of Japan, state-run RIA Novosti reported.

A Topol missile was shot off from a submarine in the Barents Sea, and a third was launched from an inland site in the north-west of the vast country, Russian agencies reported.

The latest display of might by Moscow – which has been conducting regular military drills since ties with the West slumped in 2014 over Ukraine – comes as tensions have shot up in recent days.

Russia has pulled the plug on a series of deals with the US – including a symbolic disarmament pact between the two nuclear powers to dispose of weapons-grade plutonium – as Washington has halted talks on Syria.

The Kremlin has also moved an air defence missile system and missile cruisers to the war-ravaged country to bolster its forces there.

That comes as the West has accused Moscow of committing potential war crimes in its bombing of rebel-held part of the city of Aleppo in support of an assault by regime forces.

Washington has previously lashed out at Moscow for resorting to alleged “nuclear sabre-rattling” as East-West relations fell to the worst level since the Cold War following Russia’s seizure of Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014.

Putin’s decision to cancel his Paris visit came a day after French President Francois Hollande said Syrian forces had committed a ‘war crime’ in the battered city of Aleppo with the support of Russian air strikes.

Putin had been due in Paris on October 19 to inaugurate a spiritual centre at a new Russian Orthodox church near the Eiffel Tower, but Hollande had insisted his Russian counterpart also took part in talks with him about Syria.

The unprecedented cancellation of a visit so close to being finalised is a ‘serious step… reminiscent of the Cold War’, said Russian foreign policy analyst Fyodor Lukyanov.

‘This is part of the broader escalation in the tensions between Russia and the West, and Russia and NATO,’ he told AFP.

The Kremlin has also been angered over the banning of the Russian Paralympic team from the Rio Olympics amid claims of state-sponsored doping of its athletes.

Meanwhile, the top advisor to US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has said the FBI is investigating Russia’s possible role in hacking thousands of his personal emails.

But Russian officials have vigorously rejected accusations of meddling in the US presidential elections and dismissed allegations that Moscow was behind a series of recent hacks on US institutions.

Retired Russian Lt. Gen. Evgeny Buzhinsky told the BBC: ‘Of course there is a reaction. As far as Russia sees it, as Putin sees it, it is full-scale confrontation on all fronts. If you want a confrontation, you’ll get one.

‘But it won’t be a confrontation that doesn’t harm the interests of the United States. You want a confrontation, you’ll get one everywhere.’

Earlier this week British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson waded into the row, calling for anti-war campaigners to protest outside the Russian embassy in London.

Johnson said the ‘wells of outrage are growing exhausted’ and anti-war groups were not expressing sufficient outrage at the conflict in Aleppo.

‘Where is the Stop the War Coalition at the moment? Where are they?’ he said during a parliamentary debate.

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