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The local communities in South Sudan’s Greater Upper Nile region have borne the brunt of the politically driven violence that began in December 2013. Since then, nearly 2 million people have been forced from their homes. Farmers have been unable to plant their crops due to continuing insecurity, increasing the threat of famine, and outbreaks of disease like Cholera have struck refugee camps and conflict-affected areas alike. In the midst of this, communication has broken down. To reach the people they need to — internally displaced people and those who remain in danger zones — media and humanitarian organizations have had to find new ways of using decidedly low-tech solutions.

While mobile phones and online social networks are pervasive in South Sudan’s urban areas, in the country’s rural regions many people still rely on traditional means of communication – primarily radio. Nearly three-quarters of the population listen on a daily basis. For many people in Jonglei, Upper Nile, and Unity states, where the fighting has been the thickest community radio and shortwave are critical sources of information about the conflict. And the lack of communication options has forced peacebuilders to take creative and novel steps to do get across messages that both contain vital information — and could even help pave the way toward peace.

The Sawa Shabab radio drama, produced by Free Voice South Sudan and United States Institute of Peace (which founded the PeaceTech Lab, where I work), is one of the more innovative attempts to reach at-risk youth communities. Premised around hosting a continuing conversation with youths and changing attitudes about their roles in resolving conflict, the first season began airing last year in English and Arabic — five episodes were also piloted in Dinka and Nuer languages. At the end of each episode, the program asks its audience to call and text into the show and respond to scripted questions about the storylines and how they think the characters are responding to conflict. The show receives an average of 400 responses per episode — and some of the seem to point toward the show making real progress. One young man from Bor, the capital of Jonglei State, called in to say: “Thank you all in the new nation Sawa Shabab! My message is that we must understand our peoples and ourselves. Let us do things (to address) what happens in our country.” But even for those who can’t respond, it empowers the youth audience to think differently about how to build peace.

And Sawa Shabab is not the only effective radio program in dealing with the country’s conflict.

Internews, an international media development NGO, has developed a radio program called “Boda Boda Talk Talk” that airs in U.N. camps for internally displaced people in Juba and Malakal. Broadcast on speakers in tents or attached to speakers driven around the IDP camps on motorbikes (called boda bodas), it offers a news update with local information and NGO-sponsored info about services for displaced people. Greetings sent from camp inhabitants to others and two-minute soap operas on relevant issues acted out by locals comprise the rest of the program. Internews trains local citizen journalists on how to gather information in the camps and investigate what the displaced communities’ needs are. The goal of the program is to help humanitarian NGOs communicate more effectively with displaced people in need of services. “The big thing about our project is that we’ve enabled NGOs to give simple solutions to provide information,” Meena Bhandari, Director of Humanitarian Programs at Internews said. “We can do that with simple technology by making professional recordings on a USB stick and blasting it on a speaker.”

During the worst of the fighting over the last year and a half, a handful of community stations were destroyed. Some have been rebuilt, while others have broken new ground — Internews launched a station called Nile FM in March 2015 to cater to displaced communities. The U.N.’s Radio Miraya also reaches IDP camps, and Radio Tamazuj, an independent station, is widely listened to via shortwave throughout the region. All told, two to three local FMs stations service the state capitals in the Greater Upper Nile, as well as three Internews-supported community stations and additional Radio Miraya repeaters, which retransmit the network’s signal.

Despite the relative success of these radio programs, traditional obstacles such as the lack of local language media content and poor information infrastructure continue to limit how far media projects can reach. The war has brought additional challenges to informing these at-risk communities.

For example, the political space for open debate and press freedom has been diminished as a result of the on-going violence. Although local media were under scrutiny prior to the first outbreak of fighting in December 2013, control has gotten even tighter. Numerous journalists have been arrested and attacked in the past year and a half, including five journalists killed in January by unidentified gunmen. Local radio stations such as the Catholic Radio Network’s Radio Bakhita have been shut down. Even the U.N.’s Radio Miraya has been threatened with closure. The government does not tolerate interviews with or statements from rebel leaders. As a result, according to a report by the British Foreign & Commonwealth Office, “self-censorship by journalists and media houses continues to be widespread.”

Still, the boundaries of communication are still being pushed with new technologies.

USAID’s VISTAS program, administered by AECOM International, is initiating a pilot program that will distribute up to 250,000 digital audio players to areas in Jonglei and Unity states where FM radio is unavailable. The players would be loaded with peace-oriented programs from other organizations as well as their own material related to trauma healing. Cell phones are part of this, too. Mobile penetration rates, while still low at 28 percent nationally, according to the 2013 National Audience Survey conducted by Forcier Consulting, are substantially higher in urban areas. Natalie Forcier, CEO of Forcier Consulting in South Sudan, told me, “Access to a mobile network can be life or death for communities. It’s a building block that opens door for everything else in development.”

Yet despite the potential of mobile, it’s far from a panacea. John Tanza Mabusu, co-host of Voice of America’s “South Sudan in Focus” program, argued, “Mobile is effective but literacy is an issue (for text messaging). How many people can read your message? Interpretation of this message can differ. How do you interpret a message about the peace deal in Addis Ababa? The best way of passing information is by empowering existing radio stations with good reach.”

Similarly, good old-fashioned face-to-face interaction is still one of the most trusted means of communication in many rural communities. Some humanitarian organizations continue to utilize word-of-mouth and distribution of leaflets with cartoons to spread the news about cholera treatment and sources of clean drinking water. As with radio, however, local and international groups are also beginning to use inter-personal communications in innovative new ways to reach at-risk people with entertaining and educational information about peace and health services.

One promising byproduct of the on-going conflict in South Sudan is a subtle shift in the collective mindset regarding how information is consumed. For the humanitarian organizations doing their best to provide services to the at-risk communities, creative programs like “Boda Boda Talk Talk” can help them understand the people they serve better. For local people who are struggling to manage displacement and insecurity, they are increasingly seeking sources of information outside their personal networks. Nicola Franco, a producer at Free Voice South Sudan, explained, “The conflict has changed things because there is more demand for information from the capital. People want to know the news through radio – and whether the rebels are coming.”

 ASHRAF SHAZLY/AFP/Getty Images

Die früheren Sowjetrepubliken leiden unter der Wirtschaftskrise in Russland. Das geht aus aktuellen Prognosen der Europäischen Entwicklungsbank hervor.

Bundespräsident Joachim Gauck, Frankreichs Präsident François Hollande und diesjährige Träger des Aachener Karlspreises, EU-Parlamentspräsident Martin Schulz, haben die Europäer aufgefordert, angesichts neuer Gefahren von innen und außen enger zusammenzurücken.

Angesichts der wachsenden Zahl von Konflikten und Krisen rund um Europa wollen die NATO und die EU enger zusammenarbeiten, insbesondere im Kampf gegen die hybride Kriegsführung – etwa im Ukraine-Konflikt.

La Vigie, lettre d'analyse stratégique publiée par Jean Dufourcq et Olivier Kempf et paraissant tous les deux mercredis, vous propose son numéro 16. Vous trouverez dans ce numéro daté du 13 mai 2015 un texte intitulé La Turquie, entre ottomanisme et islamisme, un autre sur des Militaires à tout faire ?, une Lorgnette sur Londres au large. Les entames des articles sont lisibles ci-dessous. Les conditions d'abonnement sont en fin de message. Si vous êtes déjà abonné à La Vigie, vous pouvez accéder directement au numéro 16 en vous rendant sur cette page.

Vous pouvez lire également les billet parus la semaine dernière sur notre site, en libre accès :

• Le numéro 15 bis qui propose un récapitulatif de tous les numéros publiés par la Vigie ainsi que les sujets traités, ainsi qu'un billet A contre-courants traitant de trois sujets d'actualité (les migrations en Méditerranée, la vente des Rafale, l'opération Sentinelle), une Lorgnette sur Les drones.
• Un billet de Th. Flichy de la Neuville sur "Vendre son royaume".

La Turquie, entre ottomanisme et islamisme

La Turquie se prépare aux élections législatives difficiles du 7 juin prochain. À l’occasion du renouvellement des 550 députés, le président turc, Recep Erdogan, espère que son parti, l’AKP, atteindra les deux-tiers des sièges, ce qui lui permettrait de modifier la constitution à sa guise, en faveur d’un exécutif plus fort. En effet, le poste de président est encore largement honorifique. Toutefois, la préparation de l’élection a laissé voir de multiples tensions au sein de l’AKP (voir ici) qui viennent après les fortes tensions politiques rendues publiques l’an dernier, à l’occasion des élections présidentielles. La gauche s’était alors mobilisée (manifestations violemment réprimées notamment dans un parc d’Istanbul), tandis que les islamistes s’étaient eux-mêmes durement divisés, les güleinistes se démarquant nettement de la ligne de l’AKP. Erdogan avait malgré tout gagné les élections. Toutes ces divergences illustrent une vie politique toujours animée et contrastée, qui produit une politique extérieure assez brouillonne et difficilement lisible (...)

Militaires à tout faire ?

On peut s’inquiéter- nous sommes quelques-uns dans ce cas, et souvent à contre-courant (cf. La Vigie n°15bis) - de la propension actuelle à confier à « l’armée » toutes les tâches d’ordre et d’autorité que l’État ne sait plus assumer ou que la France refuse d’endosser directement. L’opération intérieure « Sentinelle », le Service militaire volontaire à vocation sociale, l’éradication des trafiquants qui rackettent les migrants en Méditerranée sont les récents avatars de ces missions militaires de dernier recours. Pendant la guerre froide, il en allait de même pour l’aménagement du territoire, la recherche scientifique fondamentale, le soutien à l’exportation de matériel militaire qui constituaient les à-côtés coûteux des budgets militaires et supportaient des coûts relevant d’autres ministères (affaires sociales, industrie, intérieur), au nom de la cohésion, de la souveraineté ou de l’autonomie de la France. Les forces armées sont, en France, le couteau suisse de l’État. (...)

Pour avoir accès au numéro 16 en entier, rendez-vous sur le site de La Vigie et abonnez-vous : l'abonnement découverte pour 3 mois vaut 16 €, l'abonnement annuel pour les particuliers vaut 60 €, l'abonnement pour les entreprises et organisations (5 licences) vaut 250 €. Pour s'abonner, cliquer sur le lien “Vigie n° 16”, ajoutez au panier, cliquez sur “régler ma commande", payez, comme sur n'importe quel site de commande en ligne. Une fois que vous serez abonnés, vous recevrez un courriel avec un lien direct vers le numéro et à l'avenir, chaque numéro arrivera directement dans votre boite mail.

Vous pouvez aussi vous procurer le numéro à l'unité, de la même façon.

L'avenir de La Vigie et son développement (pour apprécier le projet, lire “à propos”) dépend de vos abonnements. Nous espérons que vous nous souviendrez dans cette aventure. Bien cordialement,

Jean Dufourcq et Olivier Kempf

Battle robots capable of destroying both tanks and human soldiers have successfully passed military trials in southern Russia.

Románia nyilvánosságra hozta, hogy mely légibázist jelölték ki a várhatóan 2016-tól érkező, Portugáliától megvásárolt F-16-osok otthonául: a választás a Román Légierő 86. számú bázisára, Fetești-re esett, ahol jelenleg a MiG-21LanceR-eket üzemeltető 861. és 862. vadászszázad, illetve az IAR-330 típusú helikoptereket üzemeltető 363. helikopter század települ. A légibázis felújításra szorul, tervek szerint 32 millió euróból újulhat meg, mely összeg nagy részét a NATO fedezi. Az aranyosgyéresi bázist szintén felújítják 2015 második felében. 

Megjelent a kertészeti gépek beszerzéséhez nyújtandó támogatások felhívása.

Pályázók köre: mezőgazdasági termelők

Elszámolható költségek: a felhívásban meghatározott paramétereknek megfelelő és a gépkatalógusban szereplő új kertészeti gépek.

Támogatás mértéke: 35-45%

 Vissza nem térítendő támogatás, melynek összege

• kisértékű beruházás estén: max. 5 millió Ft.
• nagyértékű beruházás estén: max. 50 millió Ft.

A támogatási kérelem benyújtási ideje: 2015. május 18. 8:00-tól forráskimerülésig, de legkésőbb 2015. június 1. 18:00-ig.

Amennyiben pályázni szeretne, kérjük írjon e-mailt névvel és telefonszámmal a palyazat@operativprogram.hu címre és ingyenes tanácsadás keretében felvesszük Önnel a kapcsolatot.

Der Österreicher Kurt Bergmann spricht sich für eine beispiellose Hilfsaktion aus, um in Ländern wirksame Hilfe zu leisten, die von Not und Krieg besonders gekennzeichnet sind und aus denen massenhaft Flüchtlinge nach Europa kommen. Getragen werden soll die Aktion von den öffentlich-rechtlichen Rundfunkanstalten aus ganz Europa.

Afghanistan

Kabul hotel attacked by Taliban

Fourteen people, including one American, were killed in an attack on a Kabul hotel on Wednesday (BBC, AP, CNN, NYT). Gunman stormed the Park Palace Guest House late Wednesday evening as a crowd, many of them foreigners, gathered for a concert at the hotel, which is in a wealthier part of the capital near several aid agencies and a hospital. Police stormed the hotel after the three gunmen were inside, but the attackers were able to hold the hotel for five hours. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.

NATO to stay in Afghanistan after 2016

On Wednesday, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) formally announced plans to retain a small troop presence in Afghanistan after 2016 (WSJ, Pajhwok). NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the future mission, called “Enduring Partnership,” would be led by civilians. NATO’s leadership will finalize plans for the new mission by the fall, but Stoltenberg said that the NATO force in the country would be smaller than the current one.

India

Prime Minister Modi meets President Xi

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in China on Thursday, launching a three-day official visit (U.S. News & World Report, Times of India, BBC). In a sign of personal diplomacy, Modi met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the city of Xian, Xi’s hometown in central Shaanxi province. This was intended to mirror Xi’s visit to India last September, when Modi hosted the Chinese president in his own hometown of Ahmedabad in the western state of Gujarat. The two leaders met for about an hour and a half and discussed a number of issues, including border disputes, terrorism, and bilateral trade and investment, which is Modi’s top priority on this trip. Modi hopes to decrease India’s $38 billion trade deficit with China and attract Chinese investment in Indian infrastructure projects (NYT). Modi also visited cultural sites including a Buddhist temple housing translations of Sanskrit texts and the famed Terra Cotta Warriors. Modi is scheduled to meet with the Chinese Prime Minister in Beijing on Friday and Chinese business leaders in Shanghai on Saturday (WSJ).

Indian Cabinet approves child labor ban with exceptions

The Indian Cabinet approved amendments to a bill on Wednesday that would ban the employment of children under the age of 14, except in certain industries (Hindustan Times, Firstpost). The Child Labour Prohibition Bill, introduced in 2012 by the previous Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, originally called for an outright ban on employing children under 14. The current Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government’s version of the bill carves out exceptions for “non-hazardous” family enterprises, the entertainment industry, and sports. Under the current law, child labor is allowed in all but 18 specified occupations. Children’s rights activists decried the inclusion of the exceptions in the bill, arguing that they were regressive and in contradiction to the Right to Education Act, which guarantees education for children under 14 years of age. “The provision, ‘home-based industries,’ will be used for exploitation of children and betrays the real intent of this government. We are legalizing a horrible reality instead of banning it,” said activist lawyer Vrinda Grover (Times of India). The proposed amendments also increase penalties for employers but decrease penalties for parents for breaching the law.

Indian Supreme Court demands action on India-Bangladesh border

The Supreme Court of India chastised both the central government and the government of the northeastern state of Assam on Wednesday for “dragging their feet” on securing the border with Bangladesh (The Times of India). The court accused the central government of not paying enough attention to India’s eastern border, noting, “The western border with Pakistan, being 3,300 km long, is not only properly fenced but properly manned too and not porous at any point” (The Hindu). In a judgment made in December of last year, the court had ordered the central government to construct roads and install floodlights along the eastern border to prevent illegal immigration and cross-border trafficking. Led by Justice Ranjan Gogoi, the Supreme Court accused both the central government and Assam state government of not implementing its orders in a timely fashion. The court has appointed an independent commissioner to visit the border and report back to the court in three weeks. The court also expressed disapproval of the Assam High Court’s lack of urgency in filling positions for special foreigners tribunals, which are charged with identifying and deporting illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. India and Bangladesh recently reached a deal to resolve all outstanding border disputes between the two countries.

Pakistan

Mass funeral in Karachi

A mass funeral took place in Karachi on Thursday for the victims of a militant attack on a bus carrying minority Ismaili Shia Muslims (BBC, ET). Flags were flown at half-mast and markets, schools, and transit were closed during the day of mourning. At least 45 people were killed in the attack by gunmen on a crowded bus on the city’s outskirts. Officials found pamphlets purporting to be from ISIS at the site of the attack, but the Pakistani Taliban also claimed responsibility for the attack.

— Emily Schneider and Udit Banerjea

Edited by Peter Bergen

Par Adopt a laying hen

L’œuf sortant de la poule, rien de mieux pour sécuriser vos approvisionnements que de posséder une poule, n’est-ce pas ? Mais il n’est pas facile d’avoir une poule chez soit lorsque l’on vit en appartement ou lorsque les arrêtés municipaux vous interdisent d’avoir un poulailler dans votre jardin. Il existe maintenant un service qui vous permettra de posséder cet animal et de le laisser en pension chez un producteur. Adopte une poule « Adopt a Layin Hen » vous propose ce service dont je vous détaille ci-dessous les avantages.

Une approche pédagogique

Si vous adoptez une poule vous réaliserez qu’elle n’est pas une machine à faire des œufs. En effet, en 1900 une poule pondait en moyenne 100 œufs par an. Aujourd’hui le travail sur la génétique des animaux, leur alimentation et les conditions de vie (lumière, chauffage…) permet à certain producteur de tourner autour de 350 œufs par an et par bestiau. Mais les conditions que vie de l’animal vous rappelleront les pires documentaire sur la malbouffe. Même les producteur locaux (osztermélo) ont tendance aujourd’hui à avoir la main lourde sur l’alimentation non conventionnelle (tap) pour faire pondre leur gallinacées en évitant les baisses de production en période basse.

Adopte une poule ne met pas de pression sur vos poules qu’ils préfèrent d’ailleurs de race ancienne. L’alimentation est intégralement composée de produit locaux et il n’y a aucun ajout d’aliment à forte teneur énergétique (farines animales). L’éclairage et la température ne sont pas artificiellement modifiés. Pour autant la ponte de leurs poules tourne autour des 120 œufs par an avec des pics de production entre avril et juin et entre septembre et octobre, lorsque les températures sont aux alentours des 20°C. En dehors de ces périodes, la poule ne pond que très peu et c’est bien ainsi.

Comme vous serez le tuteur légal d’une poule, vous aurez légalement le droit (voir l’obligation) de vérifier que ses conditions de vie sont en adéquation avec ce qui vous a été « vendu ». Vous pourrez donc visiter les installations et même, si vous le désirez, sortir votre poule, pour une balade en forêt par exemple.

Adopt a Layin Hen, Site internet et page facebook

Le schéma du « biologique » revisité

Le secteur de l’alimentation biologique est depuis toujours une niche pour les producteurs mais aussi pour les consommateurs. Le prix des produits et la sensibilité des consommateurs font que ces derniers sont souvent issus d’une CSP moyenne/haute avec un attrait pour les produits sains. On les appelle parfois les « bobos ». On retrouve aussi souvent du côté des producteurs ce même type de public.

Chez Adopte une Poule vous ne trouverez pas un ancien Directeur RH d’une multinationale qui managera vos poules. Ce service s’adresse en effet uniquement à des producteurs locaux (Ostermelo) des zones rurales ayant des installations (poulaillers) mais ne faisant plus que très peu d’élevage en raison de l’absence de débouché. Le modèle qui leur est proposé repose sur une quantité maximale de poules (40)  par exploitant avec un renouvellement du cheptel géré par l’association. Avec de tels volumes, le revenu annuel net de l’exploitant se situe entre 80.000 et 120.000ft en fonction de sa capacité à optimiser sa production (poulailler confortable, production des aliments…). Il ne s’agit donc que d’un complément de salaire mais quand on connait la situation sociale dans les campagnes hongroises, ce petit plus représente en moyenne un mois de salaire chaque année.

Du cross-funding, sans s’en apercevoir

Le cross-funding c’est à la mode et ça fait branché. Sans s’en apercevoir, il est au cœur de ce concept, car lorsque vous adoptez votre poule vous investissez à moyen terme dans cette aventure. Avec cet argent, une nouvelle poule accédera au poulailler ou une poule déjà intégrée à la basse-cours trouvera un débouché à ses œufs. C’est la manière la plus simple de financer le futur de votre exploitation. En plus pas de risque pour votre investissement car vous pourrez rompre votre contrat d’adoption à tout moment et être remboursé des œufs non ingérés.

C’est aussi un bon investissement pour le futur car l’inflation annuelle sur l’œuf est aux alentours des 20% en Hongrie. Lorsque vous adoptez un poulet votre période pour retirer les œufs est d’un an. Pour autant les œufs auront toujours le même prix et vous serez gagnant de toute façon.

Les œufs sont mis à disposition dans des points de collecte.

Soyez vous aussi acteur dans cette aventure

Si vous avez déjà adopté une poule, vous pouvez maintenant passer de l’autre coté du miroir.  L’association recrute pour gérer des points de production et de distribution, ainsi que la logistique. N’avez-vous pas un jour rêvé de devenir un manager de poules ?

Dès son lancement, le service a été pris d’assaut. En 2 jours il ne restait plus de poulets candidats à l’adoption et une liste d’attente a été mise en place. Des lots de poulets sont proposés à l’adoption de temps à autre, mais en privilégiant les races anciennes, les candidats sont peu nombreux.

Heureusement il sera prochainement possible d’adopter un poussin qui 6 mois plus tard sera une poule en capacité de vous donner le change.

ALMATY, 14 May 2015 – The OSCE-supported sixth annual Central Asian Forum on Internet Development began today in Almaty with a focus on the role of the Internet and the security of those who use it.

The two-day event was co-organized by the OSCE Programme Office in co-operation with the International Centre for Journalism MediaNet and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. It brought together some 120 government officials, representatives from civil society, media-related non-governmental organizations, professional associations, experts and journalists from all Central Asian countries, Bulgaria, Germany, Russia and Ukraine. Michael Unland, Senior Adviser from the OSCE Office of the Representative on Freedom of the Media, spoke on freedom of the media and national security issues.

Participants will discuss information security and cybersecurity, the Internet as a platform for information wars, children’s safety in the virtual space and the ways to prevent the use of Internet for terrorist purposes. They will also focus on the trends and challenges in developing the Internet and exchange views about potential threats to the free flow of online information and the legal basis for Internet development in Central Asia.

“With enhancing the Internet’s role as a major media and communication platform, the state should take every step to ensure the protection of the virtual space against this new emerging threat,” said Natalia Zarudna, the Head of the OSCE Programme Office in Astana. She added that since 2005, the OSCE has consistently promoted and facilitated implementation of targeted measures to thwart the use of the Internet for terrorist purposes and countering cybercrimes with a focus on respecting human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Meiram Begentaev, Deputy of Parliament noted: “The World Wide Web offers huge opportunities for every country’s economic, cultural and social development in line with information society goals.  In this context, cybersecurity becomes one of the state’s priorities. Other priorities include telecommunications infrastructure development, the wide use of social networks for promoting society’s cohesion.”

As a result of the discussions, participants will develop a set of recommendations related to the Forums topics that will be disseminated among government agencies, other stakeholders in Central Asia and the Internet community at large.

The forum is part of the Office’s work in promoting freedom of expression and freedom of the media in Kazakhstan and the Central Asia region.

Related Stories

• OSCE supports seminar on water-metering technologies in Kazakhstan
• OSCE Programme Office in Astana conducts seminar for military officers on confidence- and security-building measures
• OSCE Programme Office in Astana launches training seminars on National Preventive Mechanism

Der Ausbau und die Verbesserung der vorhandenen Breitbandinfrastruktur gelten als wichtige Voraussetzung für wirtschaftliches Wachstum und steigenden Wohlstand. Insbesondere in ländlichen Gegenden ist der Zugang zu Breitbandinternet eng verknüpft mit der Entwicklung von Beschäftigung, Einwohnerzahlen und Wirtschaftskraft. Dies macht den Breitbandausbau auch zu einem bedeutenden Thema für Kommunen.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has accused Russia of increasing its military presence in his country, something Moscow firmly denies, and said that Ukraine would fight “Russian aggression” “until the last drop of blood."

YEREVAN, 14 May 2015 – Co-ordination between different players to prevent crime among youth and children is the main focus of a roundtable discussion organized today by the Children’s Support Centre, the police and the OSCE Office in Yerevan.

It aims to introduce the newly developed Guide on organizations which provide social services to children and their families and launch a new project to work on the development of juvenile crime prevention strategy. The guide is based on mapping of all social services in the country and includes information on 236 public organizations, 23 foundations, 3 associations and 10 services provided by 8 church units.

“We very much hope that this initiative will be useful and instrumental for child protection and welfare specialists in joining and doubling their efforts in strengthening the protection of the rights and best interests of a child, which forms an essential part of the OSCE Human Dimension Commitments acknowledged by the OSCE participating States,” said Lilian Salaru, Acting Head of the OSCE Office in Yerevan. He said that close partnerships including families, schools and communities will be vital in developing juvenile crime prevention strategy in Armenia consistent with child-friendly justice standards.

The event brought together representatives from various state and non-state institutions including police forces, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, National Assembly Standing Committee on Protection of Human Rights and Public Affairs, Child Protection Units of the municipalities, regional administrations and civil society, which deal with juvenile crimes.

Mira Antonyan, the Executive Director of the Children’s Support Center, said: “We would like to call on our partners and all stakeholders to co-operate in the framework of the new project which strives to assist the efforts of the state bodies aimed at development of juvenile crime prevention”.

The roundtable follows a series of forums held last year in different regions of Armenia by the Children’s Support Center Foundation with the support of the OSCE Office in Yerevan to ensure better co-ordination and closer cooperation among different state and non-state agencies dealing with juvenile offenders.

The guide available only in Armenian can be found here: https://www.osce.org/yerevan/157266

Related Stories

• OSCE promotes collaboration amongst Women’s Resource Centres in Armenia
• OSCE-supported study on probation service establishment presented in Yerevan
• Roundtable on effective co-operation to prevent crime among juveniles

BISHKEK, 15 May 2015 – In co-operation with the OSCE Centre in Bishkek, the Kyrgyz Parliament hosts a two-day international conference on the role of Parliaments in achieving gender equality. The event is organized in the context of the Beijing +20 process marking the 20th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action for the advancement of women and girls. The high-level meeting is held on 15-16 May.

International and national parliamentarians, including members of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, representatives of the Kyrgyz government, the international community, civil society and media from a large number of the OSCE participating States and beyond will review and discuss new challenges and opportunities in achieving gender equality in all areas of public life. Prominent political figures including Speaker of the Kyrgyz Parliament, Asylbek Jeenbekov, and the former Kyrgyz President, Roza Otunbayeva, will provide opening remarks. Daniyar Narymbaev, first deputy head of the Presidential office will deliver a speech on behalf of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic, Almazbek Atambaev.

“Parliaments play a key role in promoting and strengthening gender equality in our societies,” says Ambassador Sergey Kapinos, the Head of the OSCE Centre in Bishkek. He added that the OSCE counts on the Kyrgyz Parliament achieving at least 30 per cent of women MPs in the next legislature, setting an example for many other OSCE participating States in the region.

Three OSCE-supported international experts will share OSCE experience on women’s leadership in parliament, on implementing United Nations Resolution 1325 on women’s participation in conflict prevention and post-conflict reconstruction, as well as enhancing the opportunities of women in political participation.

The conference is supported by the British Embassy in Kyrgyzstan, UN (UNDP, UNICEF, UN Women), NDI, USAID and others.

Related Stories

• OSCE, Aarhus Centres in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan launch Environmental Reporting Award
• OSCE-supported study tour to Georgia enhances professionalism of Kyrgyz Government press officers
• OSCE-supported Aarhus Centre opens in Bishkek

By Paul McLeary with Ariel Robinson

Well, that’s news. Washington has big plans for stationing advanced weaponry in Australia, senior Defense Department officials say, in what would be a military first for the two close allies.

During testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday, the Defense Department’s Assistant Secretary for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs David Shear said that in addition to the movement of U.S. Marines and Army units around the region, “we will be placing additional Air Force assets in Australia as well, including B-1 bombers and surveillance aircraft.”

The plans come just as Washington considers sending ships and aircraft to South China Sea to assert the right of free passage and challenge Beijing’s recent island building spree there, including airstrips in a bid to expand its scope of influence.

Requests for comment to the U.S. Pacific Command and Pacific Air Forces have not been returned, but stationing bombers in Australia is not an entirely new idea. Back in 2013, then-commander of the Pacific Air Forces Gen. Herbert “Hawk” Carlisle (who is now Commander of Air Combat Command) floated the idea, but nothing came of it.

But now U.S. officials are adamant. “We claim the right of innocent passage in such areas, and we exercise that right regularly, both in the South China Sea and globally,” Shear said. Earlier in the day, Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren said that “international law does not recognize man-made islands as an extension of the mainland, and in this case, nor do we.”

“No matter how much sand you pile on a reef in the South China Sea, you can’t manufacture sovereignty,” Daniel Russel, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, told the Senate committee.

The new crew. We wouldn’t exactly call them “fresh faces,” but if the Senate signs off on their nominations, the Joint Chiefs of Staff will have three new members come this fall. We’ve already tracked the nomination of Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs, but now we have two more: Gen. Mark Milley as Army chief of staff and Adm. John Richardson as chief of Naval operations.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter’s fingerprints are all over the nominations. Richardson is the top nuclear officer in the Navy, and has been plucked three years into an eight-year assignment with the Energy Department to take over the sea service. Remember, Carter is a former nuclear weapons analyst who has promised to make modernizing the nation’s aging nuclear weapons infrastructure a key part of his tenure. And Carter praised his work with Milley when the latter was the No. 2 commander in Afghanistan in 2013, and Carter was second-in-command at the Pentagon.

Of note: Reporters were told Wednesday morning that Carter would make a few brief remarks introducing the nominees and neither he nor the nominees would take questions, which is becoming the norm in his Pentagon. Earlier this month, as an example, the secretary also bolted after making a few brief remarks in announcing the rollout of the Defense Department’s latest sexual assault report. But this time the AP’s Robert Burns – a gentlemanly institution at the Pentagon – called out, “Mr. Secretary!” to Carter as he was about to walk away from the podium. For a second the possibility hung out there that Carter might actually have an unscripted moment, but he was quickly swallowed in a crush of military brass and moved out. Carter has only held two press conferences since taking over in February.

All together now! The Obama administration is huddling with senior leaders from the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations this week in Washington, and whenever a meeting like this occurs, it’s a sure bet that a series of expedited weapons shipments and foreign military sales announcements will follow.

So, why isn’t Israel protesting the possibility of more weapons being shipped to its neighbors?

One reason, FP’s John Hudson writes, is that is that the Obama administration is being careful about how it assists Gulf allies in facing the Iranian threat without overstepping Israel’s Qualitative Military Edge, “a calculus the executive branch is required by law to take into account as it licenses the transfer of weapons to Middle East governments.” Another reason for Israel’s “relaxed temperament,” Hudson reports, is Israel’s “newfound kinship with Arab countries who share its concerns about Iran’s rise in the region.” As David Ottaway, a Gulf expert at the Wilson Center, noted, “The Israelis have cared less about the deals happening this week because there’s a feeling in Israel that they now have an undeclared ally in the GCC against Iran.”

Yoda’s back! Sort of. When the 93-year-old Andrew Marshall retired from his perch as the Defense Department’s top futurist at the Office of Net Assessment in January, a huge hole as left in the building’s, but also in conspiracy theorizing.

But the drought appears to be over. The Washington Post’s Greg Jaffe on Wednesday reported that Ash Carter has picked a younger Yoda – if no less brainy — to fill Marshall’s shoes.

Jim Baker, a retired Air Force colonel who currently serves as a top adviser to Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey, is being tasked with doing things a little differently. “His selection reflects Carter’s desire to shift the focus of the office, which has concentrated on long-term threats to the United States that were often overlooked by a Pentagon consumed by more immediate concerns.” Jaffe writes.

Welcome to a very special edition of the Situation Report, where we celebrate the accomplishment of making it to Thursday! Pass along your notes, tips, and events to paul.mcleary@foreignpolicy.com or on Twitter: @paulmcleary.

Who’s Where When?

At 8:30 a.m. a group of think tankers from the Center for a New American Security, American Enterprise Institute, the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, and the Center for Strategic and International Studies speak at at the Senate Russell office building about defense reform. Also speaking are Republican Rep. Mac Thornberry, Chairman, House Committee on Armed Services, and Democrat Rep. Adam Smith, Ranking Member, House Committee on Armed Services. 10:00 a.m. Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work speaks in the Pentagon courtyard at the first-ever DoD Lab Day showing off some of the leap-ahead tech the Defense Department is investing in. 12:00 p.m. Iraqi Ambassador to the United States Lukman Faily and Pakistan’s Defence and Army Attaché Brigadier Chaudhary Sarfraz Ali speak at The Potomac Institute about combating terrorism.

Middle East

A senior Israeli intelligence official says Egypt is buying the Russian S-300 ground-to-air defense system. Dan Williams reports for Reuters. Neither Egypt nor Russia has confirmed the sale.

The Lebanon Daily Star writes that Hezbollah and the Syrian army have gained control of the highest mountain in the Qalamoun region along the Lebanese border. Syrian state TV thanked the Syrian army and “the Lebanese resistance.”

Europe

Authorities in the Czech Republic blocked a shipment of “sensitive technology usable for nuclear enrichment” to Iran after “false documentation raised suspicions,” Louis Charbonneau and Robert Muller write for Reuters.

Estonian officials say that they have a pretty solid plan for dealing with any “little green men” – the moniker Western officials have given to Russian special forces operatives working undercover who sprung up in the early days of the Ukraine crisis last year — according to the country’s chief of defence. “They will be shot,” reports the Financial Times.

Afghanistan

At least one American and two Indians were killed in an attack on a guest house in Kabul Wednesday evening. The attack came after “gunmen opened fire at a meeting of Muslim clerics in the southern province of Helmand, killing at least seven people, police said,” writes Mirwais Harooni for Reuters.

Congress

Senate Armed Services Chairman John McCain on Wednesday rejected a request “for changes in federal law to let the two largest U.S. arms makers use more Russian rocket engines to compete for military satellite launches against privately held SpaceX,” Andrea Shalal reports for Reuters.

 

A napokban megkezdődött a Lion Effort 2015 elnevezésű hadgyakorlat a csehországi Čáslav légibázison, ahol a mai napon, május 14-én spotternapot, május 23-án, szombaton pedig nyílt napot is rendeznek, melynek keretein belül megünneplik a cseh Gripen üzemeltetés 10. évfordulóját is. A Gripent üzemeltető légierők közül - a gyakorlatot rendező csehek mellett - Magyarország és Svédország érkezett Gripenekkel, ebből 5 gép (egy cseh, két magyar, két svéd) kiegészülve egy L-159ALCA-val és egy CASA C-295 típusú szállítógéppel a keddi napon már egy légifotózáson is részt vett! A fotókat most Olvasóinknak is megmutatjuk!

Russia advanced to 26th place in the Human Capital Report 2015 index, beating out South Korea overall and Japan among 15-25 year olds.