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Modibo Ke�ta, premier pr�sident de la R�publique du Mali, aurait �t� centenaire le 4 juin 2015. Retour sur la vie de ce leader panafricain qui a marqu� l'histoire de son pays et du continent.

A Tartományi Gazdasági Titkárság pályázat útján 3 millió dinárt hagyott jóvá Ada községnek infrastrukturális beruházásra az ipari zónában, és ehhez az összeghez az önkormányzat 6 millió dinárt társít. A pénzből 354 méter hosszan szennyvízelvezető csatornát építenek az ipari zónában. Az előkészítő munkálatok már megkezdődtek, továbbá két trafóállomás kiépítését is felöleli a terv.

Tegnap a munkálatokat megtekintette Bilicki Zoltán, Ada község polgármestere.

COPENHAGEN, 28 May 2015 – The OSCE needs a strengthened presence on the ground, closer co-operation with civil society and a rededication to human rights commitments to help realize its goal of achieving comprehensive security, said participants in the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Helsinki +40 seminar today in Belgrade. (PHOTOS available here.)

OSCE PA President Ilkka Kanerva (MP, Finland) joined other leading parliamentarians, representatives of the Serbian OSCE Chairmanship, think-tank experts, civil society actors and academics for the two-day event, which was hosted by the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia in co-operation with the Belgrade Fund for Political Excellence (BFPE).
 
The seminar followed events in Moscow, Washington, Stockholm and Copenhagen as part of the OSCE PA's Helsinki +40 Project, which aims to evaluate the OSCE's past and inspire reform on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of its founding document, the Helsinki Final Act of 1975.

“People from the 57 participating States [of the OSCE] are expecting us to deliver our promises that peace has no alternative,” said Dijana Vukomanovic, the Head of Serbia’s Delegation to the PA, in her opening remarks on 27 May.

“The road ahead of us will not be easy… [We] should help each other to shape public opinion and mobilize political, legislative, human, logistical and financial resources in order to give [OSCE] issues due attention in our respective countries,” she added.

Participants agreed that OSCE field missions and presences on the ground often provide the primary avenue for implementing the Organization’s goals and achieving a measurable impact, as well as providing early warning of conflict. The OSCE and its participating States must reverse their recent course and put more resources and political will -- not less -- into these presences, they said.

“The OSCE PA has always been supportive of the OSCE’s work in the field and has been critical when missions were downgraded or shut down. So let us develop together a roadmap for strengthening OSCE fieldwork in the next decade,” President Kanerva said.

“With the situation between Ukraine and Russia, in particular, there is a need to discuss the capabilities on the ground of the OSCE,” he added.

In recent years, the OSCE’s Advisory and Monitoring Group in Belarus and the OSCE Mission to Georgia were closed and missions in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan have been downgraded in their mandates.

Gordana Comic, the Deputy Speaker of the Serbian Parliament and the Rapporteur of the OSCE PA’s Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions, argued that the downgrading of mandates, often due to host government insistence, is an indicator of negative trends taking place within the country. 

Ambassador Peter Burkhard, the Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia, noted that a consensus vote within the Organization is currently needed to extend the mandates of missions, meaning that decisions often hinge on the political climate.

Seminar participants also emphasized the need for better integration of civil society into the work of the OSCE, from informing the development of projects, partnering with the Organization on their implementation and providing feedback on challenges and successes in their respective countries.

BFPE President Sonja Licht noted that the Helsinki Final Act itself had “opened the space” for the involvement of civil society.

“The OSCE platform has an opportunity to change from being purely inter-governmental, into something else -- a cross-sectoral exercise and initiative," she said.

Ambassador Dejan Sahovic, the Head of Serbia’s OSCE Chairmanship Task Force, noted that strengthening the Organization’s co-operation with civil society is one of the Chairmanship’s goals.

“Unlike some of the other international organizations, the OSCE has no available mechanisms for monitoring compliance with OSCE commitments. This could be an area for the participation of civil society organizations, should the next Chairmanships decide to follow in the footsteps of the Serbian and Swiss Chairmanships,” he said.

Several experts from the BFPE recalled the PA’s recommendation for the establishment of an advisory council of NGOs to the OSCE. 

Gordana Comic was among several participants who said that realizing the OSCE’s full potential will require placing human rights at the fore of its agenda.

"While much has been achieved in 40 years, too many countries shrug off criticism of their rights records and continue to abuse their citizens -- without being held accountable by this Organization. Allowing this to continue means allowing the Final Act to die. The OSCE must decisively raise human rights on its agenda and establish mechanisms for real accountability," she said.

"The OSCE must also adopt an evolved understanding of what 'human rights' means today. Are there 'newer' human rights that it is time for us to acknowledge? Various forms of inequality,  such as in access to healthcare, for example, continue to plague many societies within the OSCE, and should we not consider this one of our central human rights challenges, too?" Comic asked.

On 28 May, Helsinki +40 Project Chair Joao Soares (MP, Portugal), PA Secretary General Spencer Oliver and others led a session on the outcomes of the entire Helsinki +40 Project.

The results will be presented as a final report during the OSCE PA's 24th Annual Session in the Finnish capital on 6 July.

Following the seminar, participants representing the OSCE PA, the OSCE Chairmanship-in-Office and the OSCE Mission to Serbia joined academics and youth for a debate at Belgrade University on the theme “The future of the OSCE: lessons learned from the OSCE's engagement in Ukraine.”

The topic has been central to several Helsinki +40 seminars.

For more information, visit www.oscepa.org/parliamentary-diplomacy/helsinki40.

Related Stories

• OSCE PA President, Secretary General meet OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Dacic in Belgrade
• Following Kumanovo violence, society-wide effort and political resolution are keys to stability, OSCE PA President says
• OSCE parliamentarians to observe upcoming elections in Turkey

Intimidations, agressions, exécutions extra-judiciaires... Au Burundi, la Ligue des jeunes du parti présidentiel est accusée de servir de forces supplétives au pouvoir. L'ONU parle même d'une milice agissant "en toute impunité". Reportage.

Les réseaux de Darko Šarić, baron de la cocaïne : le livre qui fait scandale en Serbie
Trafic de drogue en Serbie : les bons amis de Darko Šarić

/ Serbie, Médias, Relations internationales, Société, Newsweek Srbija

Les réseaux de Darko Šarić, baron de la cocaïne : le livre qui fait scandale en Serbie
Trafic de drogue en Serbie : les bons amis de Darko Šarić

/ Serbie, Médias, Relations internationales, Société, Newsweek Srbija

A Nyitra megyei önkormányzat május 25-i ülésén hozzájárult ahhoz, hogy a komáromi kórház üzemeltetője, a FORLIFE n. o. épület-átalakítási beruházást hajtson végre a kórház belgyógyászati és a sebészeti pavilonján,

May 28, 2015 (KHARTOUM) - Darfur main rebel groups Thursday agreed on the need to exert more efforts to protect children in the conflict areas and to adhere to the existing international standards.

In this photo extended to Sudan Tribune, JEM's Gibril Ibraim, SLM Abel Wahid al-Nur and SLM Minni Minnawi pose for a picture at the Austrian Study Center for Peace and Conflict Resolution in Stadtschlaining, Austria, 27.28 of May 2015

Leaders of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), Sudan Liberation Movement - Abdel Wahid al-Nur (SLM/AW) and Sudan Liberation Movement - Minni Minnawi (SLM/MM) made their commitment in at the end of a consultations meeting held in Stadtschlaining, Austria, on 27-28 May.

As parties to the conflict we acknowledge that "we also bear responsibility for the protection of children in Darfur/Sudan. We therefore pledge to continue to make every effort necessary to prevent members of our Movements from perpetrating any grave violations against children".

"We hereby renew our commitment to adhere to the applicable international legal standards and norms including Security Council resolutions on children and armed conflict".

The meeting was attended by the leaders of the three rebel groups Gibril Ibrahim for JEM, Abdel Wahid al-Nur and Minni Minnawi for the SLM groups.

It was organised by the Austrian Study Center for Peace and Conflict Resolution (ASPR) in coordination with the African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict (SRSG-CAAC).

The joint statement stressed that protecting children is an individual and collective responsibility and should be part of an early engagement and not await a formal comprehensive peace agreement by all parties to the conflict".

The rebel groups also expressed readiness to engage in follow up consultations until a comprehensive peace agreement is reached.

The parties are prepared to remain actively engaged in follow-up consultations including with the participation of other actors until a comprehensive peace agreement is realized

In July 2010, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) signed a child protection agreement, which includes ending the recruitment of child soldiers in Darfur, with the Justice and Equality Movement.

(ST)

May 28, 2015 (JUBA) - South Sudan has announced its inability to generate enough revenues to fund the country's annual budget, amid allegations that government may halt paying for basic services.

Traders jostle to change money in South Sudan (Reuters)

Presenting a paper at an economic and development forum held on Wednesday, the deputy finance minister, Mary Jervase Yak said government was only able to generate a third of its budget.

The government, she added, now relies on borrowed loans to fund the remaining deficit.

“The government has been looking for both domestic and external loans to fund the budget”, Yak told the forum, saying government now borrow money from its central bank.

The ongoing war and the decline in global oil prices caused the fiscal deficit, she said.

“The parallel exchange rate has affected the pound that it depreciated by 50% against the US dollar during the last 12 months, as the fall in oil revenues has reduced the availability of foreign exchange in the market,” explained the deputy finance minister.

Prices of goods are yet to be increased in line with the depreciation, she added.

However, traders involved in exchange of foreign currencies in the black market say the rate of the dollar against the pound has doubled in the last few months, while residents asserted that traders have more than double increased consumer prices this year.

The deputy minister urged the forum to contribute expertise ideas and make recommendations on how the government would work to improve the nation's economy.

(ST)

May 28, 2015 (ADDIS ABABA) – The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Thursday has passed a resolution extending mandate of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) until 30 November 2015.

UN peacekeepers in South Sudan with one of their helicopters (UNMISS)

It further authorized the peace keepers to use “all necessary means” to perform their duties and tasks in implementation of the mandate.

The resolution reaffirmed UNMISS mandate to protect civilians in South Sudan, monitor and investigate human rights abuses, create the conditions conducive to the delivery of humanitarian assistance as well as support the implementation of the cessation of hostilities agreement signed by the warring parties in the country.

It said that the situation in South Sudan continued to “constitute a threat” to international peace and security in the region and urged all parties to the conflict to resume negotiations and reach a peace agreement.

“Urges all parties to engage in an open and fully inclusive national dialogue seeking to establish lasting peace, reconciliation, good governance, including through the full and effective participation of youth, women, diverse communities, faith-based groups, civil society and the formerly detained SPLM leaders, encourages the efforts of IGAD and the United Nations to reach a peace agreement between the parties, and further urges them to ensure that child protection provisions are integrated into all peace negotiations and peace agreements,” partly reads the resolution.

The Council also urged the African Union to release and make public a report by its Commission of Inquiry on atrocities committed in South Sudan by the warring parties.

It condemned the recent upsurge of violence between forces loyal to president Salva Kiir's government and the armed opposition faction led by former vice president, Riek Machar.

The international body further called on the parties involved in the current conflict to desist from further violations of human rights and abuses such as the ongoing targeting of civilian populations including children, women and elderly.

It also called on the warring parties to desist from attacking and harassing UNMISS personnel and their facilities and provide unhindered access to humanitarian workers that provide relief assistance to the vulnerable populations.

(ST)

Le ministre des Domaines de l’Etat et des Affaires Foncières, Me Mohamed Ali Bathily, était l’invité du Forum de la presse, le 7

Átadták a köztestületi díjakat az Magyar Művészeti Akadémia (MMA) csütörtöki budapesti közgyűlésén: a Nagydíjat Tornai József költő, műfordító, a nemzet művésze; az Életműdíjat pedig Kallós Zoltán néprajztudós, a nemzet művésze vehette át.

"Ich wohne in Belgien und möchte in Deutschland Elektrogeräte und ein neues Auto kaufen. Stimmt es, dass ich unter Umständen mehr zahlen muss? Wie…

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– Un reportage de A. Diarra et de A. Sissoko – A Gao comme à Tombouctou, les soldats de la paix effectuent dans un climat de tension extrême. Qu’a également vécu notre équipe de reportage Il est 15 h 10 minutes quand l’avion de la Minusma amorce sa descente sur la Cité des Askia. Gao, […]

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Notre pays, à l’instar de la communauté internationale, a célébré le 21 mai, la semaine mondiale d’action pour l’Education pour tous (EPT) sur le thème « Le droit à l’éducation de 2000 à 2030 ». L’événement a été marqué par l’organisation, au Centre national de documentation et d’information pour la femme, d’une conférence débat sur le bilan […]

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