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« Si la situation ne change pas, nous allons devoir réfléchir au moyen de conditionner les exportations à destination des pays producteurs de vaccins à leur niveau d’ouverture », a déclaré Ursula von der Leyen mercredi (17 mars).

La route a été bloquée, hier, au niveau du quartier Hai-el-Abtal, dans la wilaya de Annaba. Les protestataires sont des parents de jeunes Harragas qui ont disparu après avoir pris le large à partir des cotes Bônoises. Les familles de ces jeunes disparus demandent aux autorités de les aider à avoir des nouvelles de leurs […]

L’article Annaba : des parents de Harragas bloquent la route est apparu en premier sur .

Gender equality is a core value of the EU, a fundamental right and key principle of the European Pillar of Social Rights.

A Népszámlálás 2021 • A magyarság érték tájékoztató kampány stábja Nyitrán és Érsekújvárban kérdezte a járókelőket arról, hogy mit is gondolnak az állampolgárság és a nemzetiség közötti különbségről.

Az Európai Unió tagállamai megállapodtak abban, hogy szankciókat vezetnek be kínai tisztségviselők ellen a pekingi vezetésnek az ujgur muszlim kisebbséggel szembeni elnyomó bánásmódja miatt – közölték szerdán Brüsszelben uniós források azt követően, hogy a tagországok kormányait képviselő diplomaták megvitatták a témát.

Hozzátették, hogy a végső döntést várhatóan a jövő héten hozzák meg. Az unió a tervek szerint több kínai illetékest beutazási tilalommal, illetve számláik zárolásával sújt.

Ming Csang, az Európai Unió mellett működő kínai képviselet vezetője azonnal elutasítóan reagált a beszámolókra. Úgy vélte, hogy a bevezetendő korlátozó intézkedések hazugságon alapulnak, és szándékosan aláásnák Kína nemzetbiztonsági és fejlesztési törekvéseit.

“Párbeszédet akarunk konfrontáció helyett. Az EU-nak ezt még egyszer meg kellene gondolnia. De ha ragaszkodnak ezen az eszközök használatához, Kína nem fog meghátrálni, és teljesíti népe felé tett kötelezettségeit” – fogalmazott a nagykövet a források szerint.

Emberi jogi csoportok szerint a muszlim kisebbségi csoportokhoz tartozó mintegy 1,5 millió embert, köztük ujgurokat, kazahokat és egyéb kisebbségeket zártak átnevelőtáborokba a kínai hatóságok az északnyugat-kínai Hszincsiang-Ujgur Autonóm Területen. A foglyokat kényszermunkának és sterilizációnak vetik alá, továbbá erőszakos módszerekkel próbálják átalakítani politikai gondolkodásukat, hogy a Kínai Kommunista Párt (KKP) iránti hűségre kötelezzék őket.

A pekingi vezetés ezt tagadja, szerintük az ujgurokat valójában szakképző központokban képezik egyebek között a vallási szélsőségesség elleni harc céljából.

Az uniós diplomaták arról is beszámoltak, hogy a 27 EU-tagállam Észak-Koreával, Eritreával, Dél-Szudánnal, Líbiával és Oroszországgal szemben is kész további korlátozó intézkedéseket bevezetni a tavaly év végén elfogadott – emberi jogi jogsértések esetén alkalmazandó – általános szankciórendszer keretében. Belső források szerint az Oroszország elleni új szankciók a Csecsenföldön elkövetett visszaélések felelőseit fogják célozni.

The post EU-szankciók várhatók Kína ellen az ujgurokkal szembeni bánásmód miatt appeared first on .

On 18 March, the Committees on Foreign Affairs and on Development will vote on the provisional agreement resulting from interinstitutional negotiations establishing the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument - Global Europe. With a proposed budget of €79.5 billion over the period 2021-2027, this instrument will radically overhaul the manner in which the financing of the European Union's external action is administered.
In an effort to streamline existing external financing instruments, the Global Europe Instrument merges ten existing regulations as well as the European Development Fund into one tool. This will make the financing of EU external action more coherent, transparent and flexible, and will allow the EU to effectively uphold and promote its values and interests worldwide.
Landmark deal on new EU Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument
Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

On 17 March Foreign Affairs MEPs will welcome Dritan Abazović, Deputy Prime Minister of Montenegro, several months after the elections, leading to the first transition of power since the introduction of the multi-party system in the country. The debate will offer an opportunity to re-confirm the EP support for Montenegro's EU-related reforms and to discuss government priorities in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, which affected Montenegrin economy particularly hard.
Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

On Friday 12 February 2021, AFET will discuss the details of the renewed partnership with the Southern Neighbourhood with Olivér Várhelyi, Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement.
The debate follows the publication of the Joint Communication by the Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on the renewed partnership with the Southern Neighbourhood - A new Agenda for the Mediterranean. The exchange of views will be web-streamed live from 8:30 to 10:00.
Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

On 6 July, the Committee on Foreign Affairs will hold an online hearing on the geopolitical implications of the COVID-19 crisis. The pandemic has had profound geopolitical consequences that inevitably affect key aspects of EU foreign policy, including relations with major global powers, humanitarian aid, development and peacekeeping, and the fight against disinformation and cyber-attacks.
The hearing will provide AFET Members with more insights on foreign policy consequences of the COVID-19 outbreak from leading experts in the area.
Location : (Remote) - 2Q2 - European Parliament - Brussels
Draft programme
Source : © European Union, 2020 - EP

On Tuesday 21 January 2020, The Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) will hold a public hearing on the Eastern Partnership - vision of development after 2020.

On 21 January, the Committee on Foreign Affairs will hold a public hearing on the future of the Eastern Partnership. The Members will discuss with experts the achievements and shortcomings of the Eastern Partnership both at the regional and multilateral level. They will also analyse possible evolution of the EU's relations with its six Eastern partners and a way forward for the Eastern Partnership in the next decade.

The hearing will help the Parliament in drafting its contribution to the Eastern Partnership summit, which is foreseen in spring 2020.
Location : JAN 2Q2, european Parliament, Brussels
AFET Public Hearing - Draft Programme
The Eastern Partnership a decade on looking back, thinking ahead
Live Webstream
Source : © European Union, 2020 - EP

Nyolcvanéves korában elhunyt Szersén Gyula Jászai Mari- és Tolnay Klári-díjas színművész – tudatta a hírt szerdán a színművész lánya Facebook-oldalán.

On 2 December the Foreign Affairs Committee (AFET) will hold an Interparliamentary Committee Meeting (ICM) with national parliaments in two sessions. The meeting is scheduled from 13.45 to 15.45 and 16.45 to 18.45, via remote participation.
The first one will be devoted to the situation in the Western Balkans in the perspective of 25 years after the Dayton Accords, and the second one to Belarus and the EU response in support of democratic change in the country. Members of the AFET Committee and national parliaments, as well as those from the Western Balkans will debate in a remote meeting with high-level speakers and experts.
Draft agenda
Watch the meeting live - 13.45 - 15.45
Watch the meeting live - 16.45 - 18.45
Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

Fire retardancy is an essential component of modern building and product safety. By helping to preventing fires or reducing their rate of spread, effective flame retardants can extend the time available for action and intervention. This makes flame retardants an...

His death will reenergise debate about whether the continent needs strong institutions or strongmen.

Credit: Mohammed Lere/IPS.

By External Source
Mar 18 2021 (IPS)

Due to growing insecurity, Nigeria is gradually becoming one of the most dangerous places to live. The 2020 Global Terrorism Index identified the country as the third most affected by terrorism. There was a sharp increase in Boko Haram’s targeting of civilians by 25%, and killings by herdsmen increased by 26%, compared with the previous year. The two countries higher on the index are Iraq and Afghanistan.

According to the Nigeria Security Tracker, 2,769 violent deaths were recorded between February 2020 and February 2021 in Borno State alone. Similarly, ransom-kidnapping by armed groups has increased substantially in the past five years. Over $18 million was paid as ransom for kidnapped victims between 2011 and 2020.

My research published last year highlights why children have become targets for the armed groups in northern Nigeria. This paper focuses on children in the Boko Haram conflict, which has for over 10 years ravaged the northeastern part of Nigeria and around Lake Chad

While insecurity is common in Nigeria, the northern region has been most affected. This is due to Boko Haram attacks, banditry, farmers-herdsmen conflicts, kidnappings and ethno-religious conflicts. Sadly, children have not been spared.

In the northeast, children have been murdered, abducted and used as sex slaves, forcefully recruited as child soldiers, and suffer from diseases and malnutrition at the Internally Displaced Persons camps. The United Nations says almost 4,000 children were killed in just a year, 2015 to 2016. UNICEF reported that an estimated 1.9 million people are displaced – and about 60% of them are children; many under the age of five.

The rising phenomenon has further manifested in the recent wave of attacks on schools and kidnapping of students.

My research published last year highlights why children have become targets for the armed groups in northern Nigeria. This paper focuses on children in the Boko Haram conflict, which has for over 10 years ravaged the northeastern part of Nigeria and around Lake Chad.

Despite the reality that children have increasingly become the face of insecurity in northern Nigeria, the literature has been silent on issues related to child security. My study therefore aimed to address the perspective of children in the conflict.

I found that children were of strategic interest to both the terrorists and the state security forces. I concluded that child security had not been given sufficient attention in Nigeria, and that child security should be included in peace-building efforts in northeastern Nigeria.

 

Children and conflict in northern Nigeria

The dimension of children in violent conflicts in northern Nigeria gained momentum in 2013 when Boko Haram adopted the strategy of direct attacks on schools, hospitals and centres for internally displaced people.

It started with the midnight raid of a dormitory in Gujba, Yobe State, leading to the murder of 44 schoolboys by the terrorist group in September 2013. Five months later, another boarding school was attacked, and 59 boys were murdered in the same state. In April 2014, 276 schoolgirls were abducted in Chibok in Borno State.

UNICEF in its 2018 report said that the group had kidnapped over 1,000 children since 2013. Between 2015 and 2016, the UN estimated that 3,909 children were killed.

In the past five years, the rise of banditry added a new and dangerous dimension to attacks on children. On December 11 2020, 333 students were kidnapped in Kankara, Katsina State. On December 20 2020, 80 students at an Islamic school were kidnapped in Mahuta, Katsina State. Twenty seven students were abducted in Kagara, Niger State, on February 17 2021.

The latest occurred on February 25 with the abduction of 317 schoolgirls in Jangebe, Talata-Mafara local government, Zamfara State.

 

Why children are prime targets

Our study used a qualitative approach, relying on data from institutional reports of intergovernmental agencies like the United Nations, United Nations Children’s Fund, and International Organisation for Migration; non-governmental agencies like Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack, Mercy Corps, Open Doors and media reports.

The research showed that children were of strategic interest to the armed groups for many reasons. First, targeting children proved effective as a tool to negotiate for the release of members of the group in prison and receive huge ransoms to purchase weapons and fund their operations.

Second, the armed groups were interested in children to gain local and international attention to show their strength, seek international collaborations with similar groups, and amplify their demands on the state authorities.

Third, children were useful for their military operations, especially for terrorist groups. They could plant explosives, act as human shields or suicide bombers, and spy on the other parties because they didn’t arouse suspicion.

Fourth, the attack on schools corresponded with the central ideology driving terrorism in the region, which was based on opposition to Western education. The increased attacks showed the plan was to make the region insecure for teaching and learning.

Fifth, girls were of interest to the armed groups for sexual exploitation. Abducted girls were sometimes raped or forced into marriages in the camps.

 

Nigeria must safeguard its children more

Child security has not been given sufficient attention in Nigeria. This explains the successful attacks on children in recent times. Child security underscores the essence of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Child, which Nigeria is a party to.

The government must show serious commitment to children’s security by tackling the rising problem of insecurity ravaging the country. The paper underscores the need for specialised programmes that can address the peculiar challenges of children involved in the conflict zones and not merely incorporate them into adult-focused or general programmes.

The international community, including important nongovernmental organisations promoting children’s rights and welfare, must also compel the authorities to secure the children and internationalise the problem of child insecurity in Nigeria.

Hakeem Onapajo, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Political Science and International Relations, Nile University of Nigeria

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

The post Why Children Are Prime Targets of Armed Groups in Northern Nigeria appeared first on Inter Press Service.

European Council President Charles Michel wants to see regions more involved in the current European processes, particularly in the drafting of national recovery plans and the Conference on the Future of Europe. EURACTIV Germany reports.

Die Europäische Kommission wird bis Ende des Jahres neue Regeln vorschlagen, die Unternehmen strengeren Lieferketten-Kontrollen unterwerfen. Damit sollen die Firmen dazu angehalten werden, sicherzustellen, dass Lieferanten die Menschenrechte respektieren und die Umwelt nicht schädigen.

1000 euró értékben lopott mobiltelefont a képen látható nő egy galgóci (Hlohovec) üzletből. A rendőrség a lakosság segítségét kéri a tolvaj megtalálásához.