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Category: France

  • MIL-OSI Global: 200 years ago, France extorted Haiti in one of history’s greatest heists – and Haitians want reparations

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Marlene L. Daut, Professor of French and African American Studies, Yale University

    A French propaganda engraving from 1825 depicts King Charles X bestowing freedom on a Black man kneeling before him in chains. ‘S.M. Charles X, le bien-aimé, reconnaissant l’indépendance de St. Domingue,’ 1825, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Cabinet des Estampes, CC BY-SA

    In 2002, Haiti’s former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide argued that France should pay his country $US22 billion.

    The reason? In 1825, France extracted a huge indemnity from the young nation, in exchange for recognition of its independence.

    April 17, 2025, marks the 200th anniversary of that indemnity agreement. On Jan. 1 of this year, the now-former president of Haiti’s Transitional Presidential Council, Leslie Voltaire, reminded France of this call when he requested that France “repay the debt of independence and reparations for slavery.” In March, tennis star Naomi Osaka, who is of Haitian descent, added her voice to the chorus in a tweet wondering when France would pay Haiti back.

    As a scholar of 19th-century Haitian history and culture, I’ve dedicated a significant portion of my research to exploring Haiti’s particularly strong legal case for restitution from France.

    The story begins with the Haitian Revolution.

    France instituted slavery in the colony of Saint-Domingue on the western third of the island of Hispaniola – today’s Haiti – in the 17th century. In the late 18th century, the enslaved population rebelled and eventually declared independence. In the 19th century, the French demanded compensation for the former enslavers of the Haitian people, rather than the other way around.

    Just as the legacy of slavery in the United States has created a gross economic disparity between Black and white Americans, the tax on its freedom that France forced Haiti to pay – referred to as an “indemnity” at the time – severely damaged the newly independent country’s ability to prosper.

    The cost of independence

    Haiti officially declared its independence from France on Jan. 1, 1804. In October 1806, following the assassination of Haiti’s first head of state, the country was split into two, with Alexandre Pétion ruling in the south and Henry Christophe ruling in the north.

    Despite the fact that both Haiti rulers were veterans of the Haitian Revolution, the French had never quite given up on reconquering their former colony.

    In 1814, King Louis XVIII, restored as king after the overthrow of Napoléon earlier that year, sent three commissioners to Haiti to assess the willingness of the country’s rulers to surrender. Christophe, crowned king in 1811, remained obstinate in the face of France’s exposed plan to bring back slavery. Threatening war, the most prominent member of Christophe’s cabinet, Baron de Vastey, insisted,“ Our independence will be guaranteed by the tips of our bayonets!”

    In contrast, Pétion, the ruler of the south, was willing to negotiate, hoping that the country might be able to pay France for recognition of its independence.

    In 1803, Napoléon had sold Louisiana to the United States for US$15 million. Using this number as his compass, Pétion proposed paying the same amount. Unwilling to compromise with those he viewed as “runaway slaves,” Louis XVIII rejected the offer.

    Pétion died suddenly in 1818, but Jean-Pierre Boyer, his successor, kept up the negotiations. Talks, however, continued to stall due to Christophe’s stubborn opposition.

    “Any indemnification of the ex-colonists,” Christophe’s government stated, was “inadmissible.”

    Once Christophe died in October 1820, Boyer was able to reunify the two sides of the country. However, even with the obstacle of Christophe gone, Boyer repeatedly failed to successfully negotiate France’s recognition of independence. Determined to gain at least suzerainty over the island – which would have made Haiti a protectorate of France – Louis XVIII rebuked the two commissioners Boyer sent to Paris in 1824 to try to negotiate an indemnity in exchange for recognition.

    On April 17, 1825, Charles X, brother to Louis XVIII and the new French king, performed a sudden about-face. Charles X issued a decree stating that France would recognize Haitian independence but only at the price of 150 million francs – or nearly twice the 80 million francs the U.S. had paid for the Louisiana territory.

    Baron de Mackau, whom Charles X sent to deliver the ordinance, arrived in Haiti in July, accompanied by a squadron of 14 brigs of war carrying more than 500 cannons.

    His instructions stated that his “mission” was “not a negotiation.” It was not diplomacy either. It was extortion.

    Amid the threat of violent war and a looming economic blockade, on July 11, 1825, Boyer signed the fatal document, which stated, “The present inhabitants of the French part of St. Domingue shall pay … in five equal installments … the sum of 150,000,000 francs, destined to indemnify the former colonists.”

    French prosperity built on Haitian poverty

    Newspaper articles from the period reveal that the French king knew the Haitian government was hardly capable of making these payments, as the amount was nearly six times Haiti’s total annual revenue. The rest of the world seemed to agree that the agreement was absurd. One British journalist noted that the “enormous price” constituted a “sum which few states in Europe could bear to sacrifice.”

    Forced to borrow 30 million francs from French banks to make the first two payments, it was hardly a surprise to anyone when Haiti defaulted soon thereafter. Still, a subsequent French king sent another expedition in 1838 with 12 warships to force the Haitian president’s hand. The 1838 revision, inaccurately labeled “Traité d’Amitié” – or “Treaty of Friendship” – reduced the outstanding amount owed to 60 million francs, but the Haitian government was once again ordered to take out crushing loans to pay the balance.

    It was the Haitian people who suffered the brunt of the consequences of France’s theft. Boyer levied draconian taxes in order to pay back the loans. And while Christophe had been busy developing a national school system during his reign, under Boyer, and all subsequent presidents, such projects had to be put on hold. Moreover, researchers have found that the independence debt and the resulting drain on the Haitian treasury were directly responsible not only for the underfunding of education in 20th-century Haiti, but also for the lack of health care and the country’s inability to develop public infrastructure.

    A 2022 analysis by The New York Times, furthermore, revealed that Haitians ended up paying more than 112 million francs over seven decades, or $560 million – estimated between $22 billion and $44 billion in today’s dollars. Recognizing the gravity of this scandal, French economist Thomas Piketty has argued that France should repay at least $28 billion to Haiti in restitution.

    A debt that’s both moral and material

    Former French presidents, from Jacques Chirac to Nicolas Sarkozy to François Hollande, have a history of punishing, skirting or downplaying Haitian demands for recompense.

    In May 2015, when Hollande became only France’s second head of state to visit Haiti, he admitted that his country needed to “settle the debt.” Later, realizing he had unwittingly provided fuel for the legal claims already prepared by attorney Ira Kurzban on behalf of the Haitian people, Hollande clarified that he meant France’s debt was merely “moral.”

    To deny that the consequences of slavery were also material is to deny French history itself. France belatedly abolished slavery in 1848 in its remaining colonies of Martinique, Guadeloupe, Réunion and French Guyana, which are still territories of France today. Afterward, the French government demonstrated once again its understanding of slavery’s relationship to economics when it financially compensated the former “owners” of enslaved people.

    The resulting racial wealth gap is no metaphor. In metropolitan France, 14.1% of the population lives below the poverty line. In Martinique and Guadeloupe, in contrast, where more than 80% of the population is of African descent, the poverty rates are 38% and 46%, respectively. The poverty rate in Haiti is even more dire at 59%. And whereas the gross domestic product per capita – the best measure of a country’s standard of living – is $44,690 in France, it’s a mere $1,693 in Haiti.

    These discrepancies can be viewed as the concrete consequences of stolen labor from generations of Africans and their descendants.

    In recent years, French academics have begun to increasingly contribute to the conversation about the longitudinal harms the indemnity brought to Haiti. Yet what effectively amounts to a statement of “no comment” has historically been the only response from France’s current government under President Emmanuel Macron.

    Yet if recent reports prove accurate, on the bicentennial of the indemnity “agreement,” Macron plans to issue a “landmark statement” about France’s “colonial legacy,” along with several “memory initiatives,” designed to “keep the memory of slavery alive throughout the national territory, as in Haiti.”

    But to me, the only initiative from France that would matter would be one detailing how it plans to provide economic recompense to Haitians.

    This is an updated version of an article originally published on June 30, 2020.

    Marlene L. Daut does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. 200 years ago, France extorted Haiti in one of history’s greatest heists – and Haitians want reparations – https://theconversation.com/200-years-ago-france-extorted-haiti-in-one-of-historys-greatest-heists-and-haitians-want-reparations-254550

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Railways were essential to carrying out the Holocaust – decades later, corporate reckoning continues

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Sarah Federman, Associate Professor of Conflict Resolution, Kroc School of Peace Studies, University of San Diego

    Liliane Lelaidier-Marton stands in front of the kind of car her parents were forced into in Drancy, France, when deported to their deaths. Sarah Federman

    The Holocaust could not have happened without the railways.

    Preeminent Holocaust scholar Raul Hilberg underscored that almost everyone murdered at a camp arrived by train, including Jews, political prisoners and other “undesirables.” Since the 1990s, groups of survivors have asked European railway companies to acknowledge and atone for their critical role – a reminder that war, genocide and other atrocities cannot occur without corporate participation.

    One long-running attempt met a setback on Feb. 21, 2025, when the U.S. Supreme Court threw out an appeals court ruling in favor of survivors seeking atonement from Hungary’s state railways. The lower court held that plaintiffs could sue the company over looting during the deportation of 440,000 Jews, most of whom were murdered at Auschwitz-Birkenau. The Supreme Court disagreed, however, saying the case did not warrant an exception to law protecting foreign governments from being sued in U.S. courts.

    SS personnel select Hungarian Jews for life or death after their arrival at Auschwitz.
    Bernhard Walter/Yad Vashem via Wikimedia Commons

    Even without legal rulings, however, survivors have sometimes mobilized enough public support to force rail companies to confront their complicity.

    I wrote a book about one such case: the French national railways’ multiple roles in World War II, and the company’s 30-year struggle to make amends. I dug through archives and legal documents and spoke to over 120 experts – including historians, legislators, executives and more than 90 Holocaust survivors – about what obligations, if any, they believe railways have today.

    The French national railways’ wartime activities and slow roll to accountability helped me better understand and articulate productive ways that companies can respond to demands for atonement decades or more after the events.

    The author stands with Daniel Urbejtel, one of the youngest people who survived deportation to Auschwitz.
    Sarah Federman

    Multiple wartime roles

    The French railway company, known as the SNCF, played more than one role during the war. Depending on which facts you focus on, you can see the company as a victim, hero or perpetrator.

    With roughly 500,000 employees at the time, the company found itself in the crosshairs of the Nazi occupation. When France capitulated to Germany on June 22, 1940, the country was divided into occupied and free zones, and the French national railways were put under German command.

    Unlike companies such as Hugo Boss, which made Nazi uniforms, the SNCF did not financially profit from the occupation. To the contrary, Germans rarely paid the rail company the full amounts due. Machines were destroyed, an estimated 24,000 railway workers were sent to forced labor, and 2,229 railway workers were murdered.

    After the war, the acts of the brave railway workers came to light. Some slowed trains so deportees could jump off; some found other ways to facilitate escapes. Near the city of Lille, some SNCF workers helped save dozens of Jewish children. Most importantly, some workers coordinated with the French Resistance on D-Day, sabotaging trains to prevent German armaments from reaching the Normandy beaches and fighting off the Allies.

    After the war, the SNCF amplified heroic stories with the help of the French government, using a film, pamphlets and other means.

    ‘La Bataille du Rail,’ a 1946 film about French railway workers during the war.

    These stories are true – even if those workers made up less than 1% of the workforce. Surely, some stories were never told. But even if we double or triple the number, such resistance was an exception, not the rule.

    Senior executives reported on acts of sabotage and did little to save their own Jewish colleagues. In fact, Vichy France – the wartime collaborationist government – put the head of the SNCF, Pierre-Eugene Fournier, in charge of liquidating Jewish businesses. He did so efficiently and complained only about German interference.

    French Jews are forced into a train during deportations in Marseille in January 1943.
    Wolfgang Vennemann/German Federal Archives via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

    The SNCF transported approximately 76,000 Jewish deportees in merchandise cars to the German border, where a Nazi train driver carried them on to their deaths. While it’s possible the company didn’t understand the mass murder occurring at Auschwitz or other camps, drivers knew they carried unwilling passengers crammed together with little food, water or air in extreme weather without stopping. The deportation trains continued for two months after D-Day.

    Push for justice

    Yet SNCF’S image as part of the Resistance lived on in France until the 1990s, when survivors first approached the company for atonement. SNCF escaped legal liability, but public pressure forced the company to respond. Though it never financially compensated victims directly, the SNCF did commission an independent study, opened its archive to the public, made statements of regret and contributed to Holocaust commemoration and education.

    A couple married for over 50 years discovered that their fathers were deported on the same train.
    Sarah Federman

    The conversation then moved beyond French borders. In 2014, after Holocaust survivors protested the SNCF’s bids for contracts in the U.S., French and American ambassadors hammered out a US$60 million fund to compensate survivors who were not covered by other programs.

    The SNCF’s journey toward accountability encouraged debates involving rail companies in the Netherlands, Belgium and Hungary, which had also transported hundreds of thousands of people to their deaths.

    In 2019, Holocaust survivor Salo Muller successfully lobbied the Dutch state-owned railways for an apology and compensation for deportees. The company gave €15,000 – about $16,500 – to each survivor who had been forced to pay for their own ticket to be transported in horrific conditions to death camps. In the case of deceased survivors, the railway offered half that amount to heirs.

    Not about the money

    Liliane Lelaidier-Marton in front of a memorial at Drancy, France, where her father was deported.
    Sarah Federman

    In 2012, historian Michael Marrus invited me to join him at Corporate Liability for Human Rights Violations, a conference at the University of Tel Aviv. There, he slapped his hands on the table and all but shouted to his senior colleagues, “It’s not about the money!”

    Judicial rulings and financial payouts make headlines and create important precedents. But my interviews with survivors confirmed the spirit of Marrus’ words: “People want to set the record straight, to tell the story, and to have their history constitute a warning.”

    Liliane Lelaidier-Marton took me to the Shoah Memorial in Drancy, France, where her parents had been interned before deportation. She appreciated the memorials and visitor center, which acknowledge her loss and their suffering. Renée Fauguet-Zejgman and I went to a ceremony in Paris together so she could read her murdered father’s name – an opportunity sponsored, in part, by the SNCF. Daniel Urbejtel, one of the youngest to survive Auschwitz, didn’t hold on to special anger against the railways. But when I told him about their statement of regret and funding of memorial sites, he said, “I’m glad that they did that.”

    Renée Fauguet-Zejgman points to her father’s name on a memorial in Paris.
    Sarah Federman

    Leo Bretholz, who jumped out of an SNCF train bound for Auschwitz, wanted a verbal acknowledgment of the harm and an apology along with compensation. Stanley Kalmanovitz, who received over $200,000 from the 2014 settlement for his deportation to Auschwitz, told me, “The money came at a good time in my life … but this is not a settlement of conscience.” He knew the railway company was trying to win U.S. contracts and saw the money as a way to get survivors out of the way.

    Motivations aside, Kalmanovitz wondered what people today expect from the SNCF workers during the war. He said, “What was the French railroad supposed to do? Someone has a gun at your head, what do you do? You take the bullet? Then, if everyone takes a bullet, who’s left?”

    Historians only know of one French train driver who defied orders to drive his train. Léon Bronchart refused to drive a train filled with either German soldiers or political prisoners. He lost his bonus and title, but not his life.

    While a number of survivors I spoke with wanted SNCF to atone, others expressed misgivings about holding today’s company accountable for the actions of its predecessors.

    Thousands of Jews around Paris were arrested in July 1942, including more than 4,000 children. Most were later deported to Auschwitz.
    Antoine Gyori/Sygma via Getty Images

    Restoring dignity

    Today, some companies are trying to address their connections to mass atrocities: not only the Holocaust, but also other genocides, the transatlantic slave trade, colonialism and even ecological destruction.

    I encourage companies, institutions and ambassadors to focus on addressing harm, rather than on calculating their institution’s percentage of guilt or complicity. These difficult – if not impossible – calculations distract institutions from supporting the innocent people grappling with the aftermath and from preventing future harm.

    While money matters, people also want their dignity restored and suffering acknowledged – and companies can do this work without lawsuits prompting them. When they do it on their own, stakeholders see their efforts as evidence of a moral conscience rather than an economic necessity.

    This look back encourages stakeholders to consider how today’s corporate actions may be judged in the years ahead. Will future generations celebrate or condone their use of natural resources, labor practices or any participation in the deportations of their day?

    Sarah Federman received funding from the Fondation pour la Memorial de la Shoah to conduct research on the SNCF in France. During her time as a doctoral student, George Mason University’s Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution awarded Federman the Presidential Scholarship in support of this research.

    – ref. Railways were essential to carrying out the Holocaust – decades later, corporate reckoning continues – https://theconversation.com/railways-were-essential-to-carrying-out-the-holocaust-decades-later-corporate-reckoning-continues-250008

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Export bars placed on two paintings by 18th century artist Agostino Brunias

    Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

    Press release

    Export bars placed on two paintings by 18th century artist Agostino Brunias

    Temporary export bars have been placed on two paintings by 18th century Italian artist Agostino Brunias

    • Export bars have been placed on the paintings to allow time for a UK gallery or institution to acquire them

    Export bars have been placed on two paintings of the island of St Vincent by 18th century artist Agostino Brunias. 

    Both paintings depict the island through the lens of the British Empire, with one showing the signing of a treaty and the other a representation of Indigenous life. 

    The Minister’s decision follows the advice of the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest.

    The Committee found that ‘Sir William Young Conducting a Treaty with the Black Caribs on the Island of St Vincent’ met the first and third Waverley criteria for its connection with our history and national life. In addition, the Committee found that ‘A family of Charaibes in the Island of St Vincent’ met the third Waverley criterion for its significance to the study of the history of slavery and colonialism. 

    The decision on the export licence applications for both paintings will be deferred for a period ending on 15 July 2025 inclusive. At the end of the first deferral period owners will have a consideration period of 15 Business Days to consider any offer(s) to purchase one or both the paintings.

    Sir William Young Conducting a Treaty with the Black Caribs on the Island of St Vincent is set at the recommended price of £240,000 (plus VAT of £8,000). The second deferral period will commence following the signing of an Option Agreement and will last for three months.

    A family of Charaibes in the Island of St Vincent is set at the recommended price of £180,000 (plus VAT of £6,000). The second deferral period will commence following the signing of an Option Agreement and will last for three months.

    Notes to editors

    1. Organisations or individuals interested in purchasing one or both the paintings should contact the RCEWA on 02072680534 or rcewa@artscouncil.org.uk.
    2. The Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest is an independent body, serviced by Arts Council England (ACE), which advises the Secretary of State for  Culture, Media and Sport on whether a cultural object, intended for export, is of national importance under specified criteria.

    Details: A family of Charaibes in the Island of St Vincent 

    1. Details of the ITEM are as follows: A family of Charaibes in the Island of St Vincent, c.1773, oil on canvas, by Agostino Brunias (c.1730 – 2 April 1796), 56 x 61 cm.; 22 x 24 in.
    2. Provenance: Commissioned by Sir William Young, 1st Bt (1725–1788), Governor of Dominica; By descent to his son, Sir William Young, F.R.S. (1749–1815), Governor of Tobago; Anonymous sale, Paris, Hotel Drouot, 9 March 1951, lot 74 (as one of a pair); Private collection, France; Anonymous sale, Christie’s, London, 25 September 2003, lot 424; Where acquired by the mother of the present owners.

    Details: Sir William Young Conducting a Treaty with the Black Caribs on the Island of St Vincent

    1. Details of the ITEM are as follows: Sir William Young Conducting a Treaty with the Black Caribs on the Island of St Vincent, 1773, oil on canvas, by Agostino Brunias (c.1730 – 2 April 1796), 56 x 61 cm.; 22 x 24 in.
    2. Provenance: Commissioned by Sir William Young, 1st Bt (1725–1788), Governor of Dominica; By descent to his son, Sir William Young, F.R.S. (1749–1815), Governor of Tobago; Anonymous sale, Paris, Hotel Drouot, 9 March 1951, lot 74 (as one of a pair); Private collection, France; Anonymous sale, London, Christie’s, 25 September 2003, lot 425 (where titled ‘Pacification of the Maroon Negros in the Island of Jamaica’); Where acquired by the mother of the present owners.

    Updates to this page

    Published 16 April 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Pope Francis and Laudato Si’: an ecological turning point for the Catholic Church

    Source: The Conversation – France – By Bernard Laurent, Professeur, EM Lyon Business School

    In Laudato Si’, Pope Francis called for a radical break with consumerist lifestyles. Ricardo Perna/Shutterstock

    On May 24, 2015, Pope Francis signed his encyclical Laudato Si’ – “Praise be to you” in medieval Italian. This letter to Roman Catholic bishops was no half measure: it took many Catholics by surprise with its uncompromising conclusions and call for an in-depth transformation of our lifestyles. In France, it managed to bring together both conservative currents – such as the Courant pour un écologie humaine (Movement for a Human Ecology), created in 2013 – and more open-minded Catholic intellectuals such as Gaël Giraud, a Jesuit and author of Produire plus, polluer moins: l’impossible découplage? (Produce more, Pollute Less: the Impossible Decoupling?).

    The Pope was taking a cue from his predecessors. Benedict XVI, John Paul II and Paul VI had also expressed concern about the dramatic effects of an abusive exploitation of nature on humanity:

    “Man is suddenly becoming aware that by an ill-considered exploitation of nature he risks destroying it and becoming in his turn the victim of this degradation.”

    What does Pope Francis’s encyclical teach us? And how does it reflect the Catholic Church’s vision, and his own?


    A weekly e-mail in English featuring expertise from scholars and researchers. It provides an introduction to the diversity of research coming out of the continent and considers some of the key issues facing European countries. Get the newsletter!

    The “green” pope

    In the text, Pope Francis describes a situation in which the environment is deteriorating rapidly:

    “There is […] pollution that affects everyone, caused by transport, industrial fumes, substances which contribute to the acidification of soil and water, fertilizers, insecticides, fungicides, herbicides and agrotoxins in general.” (§-20)

    The “green” pope published Laudato Si’ on June 18, 2015, a few months prior to the Paris climate conference. The aim was to raise public awareness around the challenges of global warming by creating a relational approach that included God, human beings and the Earth. It was the first time an encyclical had been devoted wholly to ecology.

    In it, the Pope voiced his concern about the effects of global warming:

    “Warming has effects on the carbon cycle. It creates a vicious circle which aggravates the situation even more, affecting the availability of essential resources like drinking water, energy and agricultural production in warmer regions, and leading to the extinction of part of the planet’s biodiversity.” (§-24)

    Criticizing a “technocratic paradigm”

    Since Pope Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum, the various social encyclicals have consistently rejected the liberal idea of a society solely regulated by the smooth functioning of the market. The French sociologist of religion Émile Poulat summed up the Church’s position perfectly in 1977 in his book Église contre bourgeoisie. Introduction au devenir du catholicisme actuel, in which he writes that the Church “never agreed to abandon the running of the world to the blind laws of economics”.

    In 2015, Pope Francis rejected technical solutions that would not truly be useful, as well as the belief in the redeeming virtues of a self-regulating market. He accused “the technocratic paradigm” of dominating humankind by subordinating the economic and political spheres to its logic (§-101). His comments are reminiscent of the unjustly forgotten French Protestant philosopher Jacques Ellul and his idea of a limitless “self-propulsion” of technology, which has become the alpha and omega of our societies.

    For Jacques Ellul, technology is anything but neutral since it represents genuine power driven by its own movement.
    Wikimedia, CC BY-SA

    The pope’s charge against the supposed virtues of the market was spectacular. Among others, he criticized the following:

    • overconsumption in developed countries:

    “Since the market tends to promote extreme consumerism in an effort to sell its products, people can easily get caught up in a whirlwind of needless buying and spending.” (§-203);

    • the glorification of profit and a self-regulating market:

    “Some circles maintain that current economics and technology will solve all environmental problems.” (§-109);

    • the hypertrophy of speculative finance:

    “Politics must not be subject to the economy, nor should the economy be subject to the dictates of an efficiency-driven paradigm of technocracy.” (§-189);

    • the unequal distribution of wealth in the world:

    “In fact, the deterioration of the environment and of society affects the most vulnerable people on the planet: […] the gravest effects of all attacks on the environment are suffered by the poorest.” (§-48);

    • the unequal levels of development between countries, leading Francis to speak of an “ecological debt” owed by rich countries to the least developed ones. (§-51)

    Social justice and shrinking growth

    In Francis’s words, the goals of saving the planet and social justice go hand in hand. His approach is in keeping with the work of the [economist Louis-Joseph Lebret, a Dominican, who in 1941 founded the association Économie et humanisme. Father Lebret wanted to put the economy back at the service of humankind, and work with the least economically advanced countries by championing an approach based on the virtues of local communities and regional planning.

    Pope Francis, for his part, is calling for a radical break with the consumerist lifestyles of rich countries, while focusing on the development of the poorest nations. (§-93). In Laudato Si’, he also wrote that developed countries’ responses seemed insufficient because of the economic interests at stake (§-54).

    This brings us back to the principle of the universal destination of goods – the organizing principle of property defended by the Catholic Church’s social doctrine, which demands that goods be distributed in such a way as to enable every human being to live in dignity.

    In addition to encouraging the necessary technical adjustments and sober individual practices, Pope Francis is urging citizens in developed countries not to be content with half measures deemed largely insufficient. Instead, he is calling for people to make lifestyle changes in line with the logic of slowing growth. The aim is to enable developing countries to emerge from poverty, while sparing the environment.

    “Given the insatiable and irresponsible growth produced over many decades, we need also to think of containing growth by setting some reasonable limits and even retracing our steps before it is too late. […] That is why the time has come to accept decreased growth in some parts of the world, in order to provide resources for other places to experience healthy growth.” (§ -193)

    Nearly 10 years on, Laudato Si’ resonates fully with our concerns. In the United States, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who both identify as Catholic, would be well advised to read it anew.

    Bernard Laurent is a member of the CFTC and of the IRES Scientific Council

    – ref. Pope Francis and Laudato Si’: an ecological turning point for the Catholic Church – https://theconversation.com/pope-francis-and-laudato-si-an-ecological-turning-point-for-the-catholic-church-253977

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Pope Francis and Laudato Si’: looking back at an ecological turning point for the Catholic Church

    Source: The Conversation – France – By Bernard Laurent, Professeur, EM Lyon Business School

    In Laudato Si’, Pope Francis called for a radical break with consumerist lifestyles. Ricardo Perna/Shutterstock

    On May 24, 2015, Pope Francis signed his encyclical Laudato Si’ – “Praise be to you” in medieval Italian. This letter to Roman Catholic bishops was no half measure: it took many Catholics by surprise with its uncompromising conclusions and call for an in-depth transformation of our lifestyles. In France, it managed to bring together both conservative currents – such as the Courant pour un écologie humaine (Movement for a Human Ecology), created in 2013 – and more open-minded Catholic intellectuals such as Gaël Giraud, a Jesuit and author of Produire plus, polluer moins: l’impossible découplage? (Produce more, Pollute Less: the Impossible Decoupling?).

    The Pope was taking a cue from his predecessors. Benedict XVI, John Paul II and Paul VI had also expressed concern about the dramatic effects of an abusive exploitation of nature on humanity:

    “Man is suddenly becoming aware that by an ill-considered exploitation of nature he risks destroying it and becoming in his turn the victim of this degradation.”

    What does Pope Francis’s encyclical teach us? And how does it reflect the Catholic Church’s vision, and his own?


    A weekly e-mail in English featuring expertise from scholars and researchers. It provides an introduction to the diversity of research coming out of the continent and considers some of the key issues facing European countries. Get the newsletter!

    The “green” pope

    In the text, Pope Francis describes a situation in which the environment is deteriorating rapidly:

    “There is […] pollution that affects everyone, caused by transport, industrial fumes, substances which contribute to the acidification of soil and water, fertilizers, insecticides, fungicides, herbicides and agrotoxins in general.” (§-20)

    The “green” pope published Laudato Si’ on June 18, 2015, a few months prior to the Paris climate conference. The aim was to raise public awareness around the challenges of global warming by creating a relational approach that included God, human beings and the Earth. It was the first time an encyclical had been devoted wholly to ecology.

    In it, the Pope voiced his concern about the effects of global warming:

    “Warming has effects on the carbon cycle. It creates a vicious circle which aggravates the situation even more, affecting the availability of essential resources like drinking water, energy and agricultural production in warmer regions, and leading to the extinction of part of the planet’s biodiversity.” (§-24)

    Criticizing a “technocratic paradigm”

    Since Pope Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum, the various social encyclicals have consistently rejected the liberal idea of a society solely regulated by the smooth functioning of the market. The French sociologist of religion Émile Poulat summed up the Church’s position perfectly in 1977 in his book Église contre bourgeoisie. Introduction au devenir du catholicisme actuel, in which he writes that the Church “never agreed to abandon the running of the world to the blind laws of economics”.

    In 2015, Pope Francis rejected technical solutions that would not truly be useful, as well as the belief in the redeeming virtues of a self-regulating market. He accused “the technocratic paradigm” of dominating humankind by subordinating the economic and political spheres to its logic (§-101). His comments are reminiscent of the unjustly forgotten French Protestant philosopher Jacques Ellul and his idea of a limitless “self-propulsion” of technology, which has become the alpha and omega of our societies.

    For Jacques Ellul, technology is anything but neutral since it represents genuine power driven by its own movement.
    Wikimedia, CC BY-SA

    The pope’s charge against the supposed virtues of the market was spectacular. Among others, he criticized the following:

    • overconsumption in developed countries:

    “Since the market tends to promote extreme consumerism in an effort to sell its products, people can easily get caught up in a whirlwind of needless buying and spending.” (§-203);

    • the glorification of profit and a self-regulating market:

    “Some circles maintain that current economics and technology will solve all environmental problems.” (§-109);

    • the hypertrophy of speculative finance:

    “Politics must not be subject to the economy, nor should the economy be subject to the dictates of an efficiency-driven paradigm of technocracy.” (§-189);

    • the unequal distribution of wealth in the world:

    “In fact, the deterioration of the environment and of society affects the most vulnerable people on the planet: […] the gravest effects of all attacks on the environment are suffered by the poorest.” (§-48);

    • the unequal levels of development between countries, leading Francis to speak of an “ecological debt” owed by rich countries to the least developed ones. (§-51)

    Social justice and shrinking growth

    In Francis’s words, the goals of saving the planet and social justice go hand in hand. His approach is in keeping with the work of the [economist Louis-Joseph Lebret, a Dominican, who in 1941 founded the association Économie et humanisme. Father Lebret wanted to put the economy back at the service of humankind, and work with the least economically advanced countries by championing an approach based on the virtues of local communities and regional planning.

    Pope Francis, for his part, is calling for a radical break with the consumerist lifestyles of rich countries, while focusing on the development of the poorest nations. (§-93). In Laudato Si’, he also wrote that developed countries’ responses seemed insufficient because of the economic interests at stake (§-54).

    This brings us back to the principle of the universal destination of goods – the organizing principle of property defended by the Catholic Church’s social doctrine, which demands that goods be distributed in such a way as to enable every human being to live in dignity.

    In addition to encouraging the necessary technical adjustments and sober individual practices, Pope Francis is urging citizens in developed countries not to be content with half measures deemed largely insufficient. Instead, he is calling for people to make lifestyle changes in line with the logic of slowing growth. The aim is to enable developing countries to emerge from poverty, while sparing the environment.

    “Given the insatiable and irresponsible growth produced over many decades, we need also to think of containing growth by setting some reasonable limits and even retracing our steps before it is too late. […] That is why the time has come to accept decreased growth in some parts of the world, in order to provide resources for other places to experience healthy growth.” (§ -193)

    Nearly 10 years on, Laudato Si’ resonates fully with our concerns. In the United States, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who both identify as Catholic, would be well advised to read it anew.

    Bernard Laurent is a member of the CFTC and of the IRES Scientific Council

    – ref. Pope Francis and Laudato Si’: looking back at an ecological turning point for the Catholic Church – https://theconversation.com/pope-francis-and-laudato-si-looking-back-at-an-ecological-turning-point-for-the-catholic-church-253977

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI: Draganfly Establishes Public Safety Advisory Board, Appoints Homeland Security and Law Enforcement Expert Paul Goldenberg as Chair

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Industry Veteran Joins Draganfly to Drive Innovation at the Intersection of Public Safety and Technology

    Tampa, FL, April 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Draganfly Inc. (NASDAQ: DPRO) (CSE: DPRO) (FSE: 3U8) (“Draganfly” or the “Company”), an industry-leading developer of drone solutions and systems, is proud to announce the formation of its Public Safety Advisory Board. This new initiative reinforces Draganfly’s commitment to delivering cutting-edge, mission-critical technologies that support enforcement and public safety agencies worldwide. Renowned global public safety expert and Homeland Security advisor Paul Goldenberg will serve as the inaugural Chair of the Board.

    With more than 30 years of experience in law enforcement, global security, and national intelligence, Goldenberg brings unparalleled expertise to the role. Recently named America’s Most Influential Person in Homeland Security, he has advised U.S. Presidents, members of Congress, and international security bodies on counterterrorism, cybercrime, and public safety. As a former senior member of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC), Goldenberg led pivotal initiatives, including the DHS Cybersecurity Task Force and the Countering Foreign Influence Task Force. He currently serves as Chief Advisor for Policy and International Policing at the Rutgers University Miller Center on Policing, a Distinguished Visiting Fellow for Transnational Security at the University of Ottawa, and a member of the National Sheriffs’ Association Southern Border Security Committee.

    Goldenberg’s career also includes directing the OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) transitional policing mission, working on the ground in regions such as Kosovo, Bosnia, Ukraine, and France. His efforts focused on strengthening police responses to extremism and fostering collaboration between law enforcement agencies and vulnerable communities.

    “Draganfly’s commitment to utilizing technology to enhance public safety and law enforcement aligns with my lifelong mission to improve security and foster trust between agencies and the communities they serve,” said Goldenberg. “Given the challenges law enforcement agencies face, including recruitment and retention issues, drones have become an invaluable tool that helps officers protect both themselves and the communities they serve.”

    Cameron Chell, CEO of Draganfly, emphasized the significance of Goldenberg’s appointment:
    “Paul’s vast experience in homeland security, counterterrorism, and law enforcement makes him the ideal choice to lead our Public Safety Advisory Board. His leadership will be instrumental in advancing Draganfly’s mission to deliver innovative, AI-powered drone technologies that improve situational awareness and operational efficiency for law enforcement agencies across the globe.”

    Goldenberg’s past roles have included serving as the first Chief of the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office for Hate Crime and Domestic Terrorism Investigations, managing major organized crime cases, spending six years deep undercover as part of the South Florida Task Force, and leading one of the United States’ largest social service and juvenile justice systems. His work has directly influenced modern policing strategies and shaped national and international policy.

    The creation of Draganfly’s Public Safety Advisory Board marks a pivotal step in the Company’s continued efforts to strengthen public safety and law enforcement capabilities, offering innovative solutions that support officers in the field.

    About Draganfly

    Draganfly Inc. (NASDAQ: DPRO; CSE: DPRO; FSE: 3U8A) is a pioneer in drone solutions, AI-driven software, and robotics. With over 25 years of innovation, Draganfly has been at the forefront of drone technology, providing solutions for public safety, agriculture, industrial inspections, security, mapping, and surveying. The Company is committed to delivering efficient, reliable, and industry-leading technology that helps organizations save time, money, and lives.

    For more information, visit www.draganfly.com.

    For investor details, visit:
    CSE
    NASDAQ
    FRANKFURT

    Media Contact
    media@draganfly.com

    Company Contact
    info@draganfly.com

    Forward-Looking Statements

    This release contains certain “forward looking statements” and certain “forward-looking ‎‎‎‎information” as ‎‎‎‎defined under applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements ‎‎‎‎and information can ‎‎‎‎generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as ‎‎‎‎‎“may”, “will”, “expect”, “intend”, ‎‎‎‎‎“estimate”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “continue”, “plans” or similar ‎‎‎‎terminology. Forward-looking statements ‎‎‎‎and information are based on forecasts of future ‎‎‎‎results, estimates of amounts not yet determinable and ‎‎‎‎assumptions that, while believed by ‎‎‎‎management to be reasonable, are inherently subject to significant ‎‎‎‎business, economic and ‎‎‎‎competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Forward-looking statements ‎‎‎‎include, but are not ‎‎‎‎limited to, statements with respect to the Public Safety Advisory Board advancing Draganfly’s mission to deliver innovative, AI-powered drone technologies that improve situational awareness and operational efficiency for law enforcement agencies across the globe. Forward-‎‎‎‎looking statements and information are subject to various ‎known ‎‎and unknown risks and ‎‎‎‎‎uncertainties, many of which are beyond the ability of the Company to ‎control or ‎‎predict, that ‎‎‎‎may cause ‎the Company’s actual results, performance or achievements to be ‎materially ‎‎different ‎‎‎‎from those ‎expressed or implied thereby, and are developed based on assumptions ‎about ‎‎such ‎‎‎‎risks, uncertainties ‎and other factors set out here in, including but not limited to: the potential ‎‎‎‎‎‎‎impact of epidemics, ‎pandemics or other public health crises, including the ‎COVID-19 pandemic, on the Company’s business, operations and financial ‎‎‎‎condition; the ‎‎‎successful integration of ‎technology; the inherent risks involved in the general ‎‎‎‎securities markets; ‎‎‎uncertainties relating to the ‎availability and costs of financing needed in the ‎‎‎‎future; the inherent ‎‎‎uncertainty of cost estimates; the ‎potential for unexpected costs and ‎‎‎‎expenses, currency ‎‎‎fluctuations; regulatory restrictions; and liability, ‎competition, loss of key ‎‎‎‎employees and other related risks ‎‎‎and uncertainties disclosed under the ‎heading “Risk Factors“ ‎‎‎‎in the Company’s most recent filings filed ‎‎‎with securities regulators in Canada on ‎the SEDAR ‎‎‎‎website at www.sedar.com and with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on EDGAR through the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. The Company undertakes ‎‎‎no obligation to update forward-‎looking ‎‎‎‎information except as required by applicable law. Such forward-‎‎‎looking information represents ‎‎‎‎‎managements’ best judgment based on information currently available. ‎‎‎No forward-looking ‎‎‎‎statement ‎can be guaranteed and actual future results may vary materially. ‎‎‎Accordingly, readers ‎‎‎‎are advised not to ‎place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or ‎‎‎information.‎

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI China: MOFA response to French Foreign Minister Barrot reaffirming France’s opposition to unilateral attempts to change cross-strait status quo by force or coercion

    Source: Republic of Taiwan – Ministry of Foreign Affairs

    MOFA response to French Foreign Minister Barrot reaffirming France’s opposition to unilateral attempts to change cross-strait status quo by force or coercion

    • Date：2025-04-11
    • Data Source：Department of European Affairs

    April 11, 2025  

    French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot attended a regular hearing of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Armed Forces on April 9. In response to a question by Senator Olivier Cadic, Vice President of the committee, Minister Barrot stated that France and the other Group of Seven (G7) members had reached a consensus on the importance of maritime security across the Taiwan Strait and other regions before issuing the G7 foreign ministers’ statement on April 6. He added that France had participated in joint sea and air drills in the Indo-Pacific with countries in the region to reaffirm the high level of importance it attached to freedom of navigation on the high seas, as enshrined in international maritime law. He also noted that France remained opposed to any unilateral attempts to use force or coercion to change the status quo across the Taiwan Strait.

     

    Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung sincerely thanks France for continuing to monitor peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific, as well as reiterating its opposition to unilateral attempts to alter the cross-strait status quo by force or coercion. Maintaining cross-strait peace and stability is a matter of international consensus and common interests. The world is well aware of China’s attempts to steadily increase cross-strait tensions, change the cross-strait status quo, and undermine regional peace and stability. As a responsible member of the international community, Taiwan is committed to continuing to work hand in hand with France and other like-minded partners to jointly safeguard peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific. 

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: AFRICA/SUDAN – The London conference ends without a final declaration; the RSF proclaim the formation of an alternative government

    Source: Agenzia Fides – MIL OSI

    Wednesday, 16 April 2025 war  

    Khartoum (Agenzia Fides) – The London conference organized exactly two years after the outbreak of the Sudanese civil war on 15 April 2023, to try to put an end to the conflict, ended without a final declaration.The conference was convened by the United Kingdom, the African Union (AU), the European Union (EU), France and Germany, and was attended by foreign ministers and high-level representatives of Canada, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Saudi Arabia, Norway, Qatar, South Sudan, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Uganda and the United States of America, together with high-level representatives of the League of Arab States (LAS) and the United Nations (UN). However, the absence of the two opposing forces—the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), commanded by Mohamed Hamdan “Hemeti” Dagalo—has severely limited the prospects for progress. The organizers of the conference said that this year’s participants pledged more than $1 billion to Sudan and its neighbors. This figure includes $590 million from the EU and its member states and $158 million from the United Kingdom.The final declaration that was supposed to address the formation of a contact group to mediate between the parties, fell through due to differences between Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, according to The Guardian. The first two support General al-Burhan, while the third are suspected of siding with Dagalo. The latter, coinciding with the London conference, proclaimed once again yesterday, April 15, the formation of an alternative government to the one led by General al-Burhan, calling it a “Government of Peace and Unity, the true face of Sudan.” Dagalo described the administration as “an alliance between the Sudanese Revolutionary Front, civil society, humanitarian organizations, and youth movements.” He also emphasized that the RSF government aims to unify Sudan by committing to providing education, healthcare, and essential services throughout the war-torn country, and not only in the territories they control. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides, 16/4/2025)
    Share:

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: MOFA response to French Foreign Minister Barrot reaffirming France’s opposition to unilateral attempts to change cross-strait status quo by force or coercion

    Source: Republic of China Taiwan

    MOFA response to French Foreign Minister Barrot reaffirming France’s opposition to unilateral attempts to change cross-strait status quo by force or coercion

    Date：2025-04-11
    Data Source：Department of European Affairs

    April 11, 2025  

    French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot attended a regular hearing of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Armed Forces on April 9. In response to a question by Senator Olivier Cadic, Vice President of the committee, Minister Barrot stated that France and the other Group of Seven (G7) members had reached a consensus on the importance of maritime security across the Taiwan Strait and other regions before issuing the G7 foreign ministers’ statement on April 6. He added that France had participated in joint sea and air drills in the Indo-Pacific with countries in the region to reaffirm the high level of importance it attached to freedom of navigation on the high seas, as enshrined in international maritime law. He also noted that France remained opposed to any unilateral attempts to use force or coercion to change the status quo across the Taiwan Strait.
     
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung sincerely thanks France for continuing to monitor peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific, as well as reiterating its opposition to unilateral attempts to alter the cross-strait status quo by force or coercion. Maintaining cross-strait peace and stability is a matter of international consensus and common interests. The world is well aware of China’s attempts to steadily increase cross-strait tensions, change the cross-strait status quo, and undermine regional peace and stability. As a responsible member of the international community, Taiwan is committed to continuing to work hand in hand with France and other like-minded partners to jointly safeguard peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific. 

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: LCQ6: Measures to attract inward investment

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

         Following is a question by Dr the Hon Kennedy Wong and a written reply by the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Christopher Hui, in the Legislative Council today (April 16):
     
    Question:
     
         Regarding measures to attract inward investment, will the Government inform this Council:
     
    (1) of the respective numbers of applications received, approved and rejected by the authorities under the New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme (New CIES) since its enhancement measures took effect on the first of last month, together with a breakdown by the applicants’ place of domicile and total investment amount; and the reasons for rejecting applications under New CIES;
     
    (2) whether it has compiled statistics on, among the approved applications mentioned in (1), the number of successful applicants who have already made investments in Hong Kong; whether it has assessed the effectiveness of the enhancement measures for New CIES in promoting the development of family offices in Hong Kong;
     
    (3) as it has been reported that the delegation of Hong Kong deputies to the National People’s Congress has proposed to establish a dedicated remittance mechanism called “Property Purchase Capital Connect” to allow residents of the Mainland and Hong Kong to make cross-‍boundary remittances for purchasing properties in Hong Kong or on the Mainland, with a view to further facilitating the flow of talents and economic integration between the two places, whether the authorities will look into this proposal and communicate with the relevant Mainland authorities in this regard; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
     
    (4) as it has been reported that even though the policies adopted by some countries to combat investment immigrants’ money laundering are more stringent compared to Hong Kong, such money laundering still exists in those countries, how the authorities strike a balance between anti-money laundering on the one hand and facilitating the entry of and attracting investment immigrants to Hong Kong on the other; and
     
    (5) as it is learnt that while persons who have been granted visas under New CIES may apply to become Hong Kong permanent residents after meeting the relevant requirements and having resided in Hong Kong continuously for seven years, there is no such arrangement for the major asset managers of family office who have also come to Hong Kong for investment, whether the authorities will consider putting in place an identical arrangement for the aforesaid major asset managers with reference to New CIES; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

    Reply:
     
    President,
     
         In consultation with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the Immigration Department (ImmD) and Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK), the reply to various parts of the question is as follows:
     
    (1) and (2) Since the implementation of the enhancement measures for the New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme (the Scheme) from March 1, 2025 up to end-March, a total of 174 applications have been received. The applications are being processed and no application has been rejected so far. Under the Scheme, applicants must invest a minimum of HK$30 million in the permissible investment assets. If all the aforementioned applications are approved, it is estimated that they will bring more than HK$5.2 billion to Hong Kong. Besides, since the Scheme opened for application from March 2024, a total of 1 092 applications have been received, having a positive impact on attracting more new capital to Hong Kong and strengthening the development of our asset and wealth management business, financial services and related professional services.
     
         In accordance with the application procedures under the Scheme, after InvestHK has verified that the applicant fulfills the net asset requirement, he/she may submit to the ImmD an entry application for a visa/entry permit to enter Hong Kong for residence (entry application). Upon “approval-in-principle” after assessment from the immigration perspectives, the ImmD will grant a visa/entry permit to the applicant for entering Hong Kong as a visitor for not more than 180 days for making the committed investment within the period. Among the 174 applications received in March, InvestHK has approved 99 applications for Net Asset Assessment, and the ImmD has received 65 entry applications. The ImmD will generally complete the assessment of “approval-in-principle” in around three weeks, upon receipt of all needed documents. Since no application has been granted “approval-in-principle” so far, applicants have yet to commence their investments in Hong Kong. The detailed breakdown of the 65 entry applications received by the ImmD is set out in the table below:
     

      Entry applications received by the ImmD
    Guinea-Bissau 41
    Vanuatu 15
    Hungary 2
    New Zealand 2
    Australia 1
    Canada 1
    France 1
    Greece 1
    Malta 1
    Total 65

     
         Since the enhancement measures under the Scheme have only been implemented for a short period of time, the Government will continuously review the applicants’ investment arrangement and suitably evaluate its effectiveness.
     
    (3) The Government has maintained communication with financial regulatory authorities in the Mainland on various cross-boundary remittance arrangements to seek to provide more facilitation arrangements for the convenience and benefit of the public and the business sector while ensuring that the risks are manageable. On facilitation for cross-boundary property purchases, the facilitative payment arrangement for Hong Kong and Macao residents purchasing properties in the Mainland cities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), announced in January 2024, has been implemented. This arrangement applies to both newly built and second-hand residential properties purchased by individual Hong Kong and Macao residents, and allows them to remit funds in Renminbi or foreign currencies from outside the Mainland for property purchases and repayment of mortgage loans in the Mainland following the relevant procedures for settlement and payment.
     
         For cross-boundary remittance arrangements (including that for property purchases) for Mainland residents or Mainland talents admitted to Hong Kong, since it involves different regulatory regimes (including requirements for capital inflows and outflows), the Government has been, with regard to their practical needs, exploring facilitation arrangements with the Mainland authorities concerned, with an aim to explore a gradual approach for seeking suitable policies and solutions through close collaboration between the two places within their regulatory framework and existing practices. Any facilitation arrangements will be announced in due course.
     
    (4) Under the Scheme, an applicant is required to appoint eligible financial intermediary(ies) to manage the permissible investments in his/her designated account(s). The appointed financial intermediary(ies) is/are required to carry out customer due diligence and fulfill relevant anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing obligations under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorist Financing Ordinance (Cap. 615), and report to InvestHK on the applicant’s continuous compliance with the Scheme Rules. When processing the applications for Assessment on Investment Requirements, InvestHK will also check the fund flow and investment arrangement of the applicant, and examine contract notes/reference letters, etc as provided by the applicant or issued by the appointed financial intermediary(ies). If necessary, InvestHK will also request the applicant to provide other supporting documents and information to certify that the applicant’s investment complies with the requirements of the Scheme.
     
    (5) Since the enhancement measures to the Scheme effected in March 2025, applicants may make investments through eligible family-owned investment holding vehicles or family-owned special purpose entities. The Government has included experienced management professionals in asset and wealth management under the Talent List to promote the development of Hong Kong as an asset and wealth management hub. Outside talents who meet the eligibility criteria for the relevant profession (including family office professionals and asset managers) may apply for entry under the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme, the General Employment Policy or the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals. Persons admitted under the above various talent admission schemes who have ordinarily resided in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) for a continuous period of not less than seven years may apply for the right of abode in the HKSAR in accordance with the law.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: The cumulative exports (merchandise & services) during FY 2024-25 (April-March) is estimated to grow by 5.50% at US$ 820.93 Billion, as compared to US$ 778.13 Billion in FY 2023-24 (April-March).

    Source: Government of India

    Posted On: 16 APR 2025 8:48AM by PIB Delhi

     The cumulative value of merchandise exports during FY 2024-25 (April-March) was US$ 437.42 Billion, registering a positive growth of 0.08%, as compared to US$ 437.07 Billion during FY 2023-24 (April-March).

    The cumulative Non-Petroleum exports in FY 2024-25 (April-March) valued at US$ 374.08 Billion registered an increase of 6.0% as compared to US$ 352.92 Billion in FY 2023-24

    Major drivers of merchandise exports growth in FY 2024-25 (April-March) include Coffee, Tobacco, Electronic Goods, Rice, Jute Mfg. including Floor Covering, Meat, dairy & poultry products, Tea, Carpet, Plastic & Linoleum, RMG of all Textiles, Drugs & Pharmaceuticals, Cereal preparations & miscellaneous processed items, Mica, Coal & Other Ores, Minerals including processed minerals, Engineering Goods and Fruits & Vegetables.

    Coffee exports increased by 40.37% from US$ 1.29 Billion in FY 2023-24 (April-March) to US$ 1.81 Billion in FY 2024-25 (April-March).

    Tobacco exports increased by 36.53% from US$ 1.45 Billion in FY 2023-24 (April-March) to US$ 1.98 Billion in FY 2024-25 (April-March).

    Electronic Goods exports increased by 32.47% from US$ 29.12 Billion in FY 2023-24 (April-March) to US$ 38.58 Billion in FY 2024-25 (April-March).

    Rice exports increased by 19.73% from US$ 10.42 Billion in FY 2023-24 (April-March) to US$ 12.47 Billion in FY 2024-25 (April-March).

    Jute Mfg. including Floor Covering exports increased by 13.35% from US$ 0.34 Billion in FY 2023-24 (April-March) to US$ 0.38 Billion in FY 2024-25 (April-March).

    Meat, dairy & poultry products exports increased by 12.57% from US$ 4.53 Billion in FY 2023-24 (April-March) to US$ 5.1 Billion in FY 2024-25 (April-March).

    Tea exports increased by 11.84% from US$ 0.83 Billion in FY 2023-24 (April-March) to US$ 0.92 Billion in FY 2024-25 (April-March).

    Carpet exports increased by 10.46% from US$ 1.4 Billion in FY 2023-24 (April-March) to US$ 1.54 Billion in FY 2024-25 (April-March).

    Plastic & Linoleum exports increased by 10.23% from US$ 8.09 Billion in FY 2023-24 (April-March) to US$ 8.92 Billion in FY 2024-25 (April-March).

    RMG of all Textiles exports increased by 10.03% from US$ 14.53 Billion in FY 2023-24 (April-March) to US$ 15.99 Billion in FY 2024-25 (April-March).

    Drugs & Pharmaceuticals exports increased by 9.39% from US$ 27.85 Billion in FY 2023-24 (April-March) to US$ 30.47 Billion in FY 2024-25 (April-March).

    Cereal preparations & miscellaneous processed items exports increased by 8.71% from US$ 2.85 Billion in FY 2023-24 (April-March) to US$ 3.1 Billion in FY 2024-25 (April-March).

    Mica, Coal & Other Ores, Minerals including processed minerals exports increased by 6.95% from US$ 4.68 Billion in FY 2023-24 (April-March) to US$ 5.01 Billion in FY 2024-25 (April-March).

    Engineering Goods exports increased by 6.74% from US$ 109.3 Billion in FY 2023-24 (April-March) to US$ 116.67 Billion in FY 2024-25 (April-March).

    Fruits & Vegetables exports increased by 5.67% from US$ 3.66 Billion in FY 2023-24 (April-March) to US$ 3.87 Billion in FY 2024-25 (April-March).

    India’s total exports (Merchandise and Services combined) for March 2025* is estimated at US$ 73.61 Billion, registering a positive growth of 2.65 percent vis-à-vis March 2024. Total imports (Merchandise and Services combined) for March 2025* is estimated at US$ 77.23 Billion, registering a positive growth of 4.90 percent vis-à-vis March 2024.

    Table 1: Trade during March 2025*

    March 2025

    (US$ Billion)

    March 2024

    (US$ Billion)

    Merchandise

    Exports

    41.97

    41.69

    Imports

    63.51

    57.03

    Services*

    Exports

    31.64

    30.01

    Imports

    13.73

    16.60

    Total Trade

    (Merchandise +Services) *

    Exports

    73.61

    71.71

    Imports

    77.23

    73.63

    Trade Balance

    -3.63

    -1.92

    * Note: The latest data for services sector released by RBI is for February 2025. The data for March 2025 is an estimation, which will be revised based on RBI’s subsequent release. (ii) Data for FY 2023-24 (April-March) and April-December 2024 has been revised on pro-rata basis using quarterly balance of payments data.

    Fig 1: Total Trade during March 2025*

    • India’s total exports during FY 2024-25 (April-March)* is estimated at US$ 820.93 Billion registering a positive growth of 5.50 percent. Total imports during FY 2024-25 (April-March)* is estimated at US$ 915.19 Billion registering a growth of 6.85 percent.

     

    Table 2: Trade during FY 2024-25 (April-March)*

    FY 2024-25

     (US$ Billion)

    FY 2023-24

     (US$ Billion)

    Merchandise

    Exports

    437.42

    437.07

    Imports

    720.24

    678.21

    Services*

    Exports

    383.51

    341.06

    Imports

    194.95

    178.31

    Total Trade

    (Merchandise +Services) *

    Exports

    820.93

    778.13

    Imports

    915.19

    856.52

    Trade Balance

    -94.26

    -78.39

     

    Fig 2: Total Trade during FY 2024-25 (April-March)*

    MERCHANDISE TRADE

    • Merchandise exports during March 2025 were US$ 41.97 Billion as compared to US$ 41.69 Billion in March 2024.
    • Merchandise imports during March 2025 were US$ 63.51 Billion as compared to US$ 57.03 Billion in March 2024.

     

    Fig 3: Merchandise Trade during March 2025

    • Merchandise exports during FY 2024-25 (April-March) were US$ 437.42 Billion as compared to US$ 437.07 Billion during FY 2023-24 (April-March).
    • Merchandise imports during FY 2024-25 (April-March) were US$ 720.24 Billion as compared to US$ 678.21 Billion during FY 2023-24 (April-March).
    • Merchandise trade deficit during FY 2024-25 (April-March) was US$ 282.83 Billion as compared to US$ 241.14 Billion during FY 2023-24 (April-March).

     

    Fig 4: Merchandise Trade during FY 2024-25 (April-March)

    • Non-petroleum and non-gems & jewellery exports in March 2025 were US$ 34.17 Billion compared to US$ 33.66 Billion in March 2024.
    • Non-petroleum, non-gems & jewellery (gold, silver & precious metals) imports in March 2025 were US$ 37.76 Billion compared to US$ 35.85 Billion in March 2024.

    Table 3: Trade excluding Petroleum and Gems & Jewellery during March 2025

    March 2025

    (US$ Billion)

    March 2024

    (US$ Billion)

    Non- petroleum exports

    37.07

    36.28

    Non- petroleum imports

    44.50

    40.68

    Non-petroleum & Non-Gems & Jewellery exports

    34.17

    33.66

    Non-petroleum & Non-Gems & Jewellery imports

    37.76

    35.85

    Note: Gems & Jewellery Imports include Gold, Silver & Pearls, precious & Semi-precious stones

     

    Fig 5: Trade excluding Petroleum and Gems & Jewellery during March 2025

     

    • Non-petroleum and non-gems & jewellery exports in FY 2024-25 (April-March) were US$ 344.26 Billion, compared to US$ 320.21 Billion in FY 2023-24 (April-March).
    • Non-petroleum, non-gems & jewellery (gold, silver & precious metals) imports in FY 2024-25 (April-March) were US$ 453.62 Billion, compared to US$ 424.67 Billion in FY 2023-24 (April-March).

    Table 4: Trade excluding Petroleum and Gems & Jewellery during FY 2024-25 (April-March)

    FY 2024-25

     (US$ Billion)

    FY 2023-24

     (US$ Billion)

    Non- petroleum exports

    374.08

    352.92

    Non- petroleum imports

    534.46

    499.48

    Non-petroleum & Non Gems & Jewellery exports

    344.26

    320.21

    Non-petroleum & Non Gems & Jewellery imports

    453.62

    424.67

    Note: Gems & Jewellery Imports include Gold, Silver & Pearls, precious & Semi-precious stones

    Fig 6: Trade excluding Petroleum and Gems & Jewellery during FY 2024-25 (April-March)

    SERVICES TRADE

    • The estimated value of services export for March 2025* is US$ 31.64 Billion as compared to US$ 30.01 Billion in March 2024.
    • The estimated value of services imports for March 2025* is US$ 13.73 Billion as compared to US$ 16.60 Billion in March 2024.

     

    Fig 7: Services Trade during March 2025*

     

    • The estimated value of service exports during FY 2024-25 (April-March)* is US$ 383.51 Billion as compared to US$ 341.06 Billion in FY 2023-24 (April-March).
    • The estimated value of service imports during FY 2024-25 (April-March)* is US$ 194.95 Billion as compared to US$ 178.31 Billion in FY 2023-24 (April-March).
    • The services trade surplus for FY 2024-25 (April-March)* is US$ 188.57 Billion as compared to US$ 162.75 Billion in FY 2023-24 (April-March).

    Fig 8: Services Trade during FY 2024-25 (April-March)*

    • Exports of  Coffee (39.2%), Drugs & Pharmaceuticals (31.21%), Electronic Goods (29.57%), Marine Products (28.56%), Jute Mfg. Including Floor Covering (21.67%), Meat, Dairy & Poultry Products (16.62%), Tobacco (13.95%), Tea (11.25%), Gems & Jewellery (10.62%), Fruits & Vegetables (8.57%), Rice (7.62%), Carpet (6.52%), Mica, Coal & Other Ores, Minerals Including Processed Minerals (6.35%), Rmg Of All Textiles (3.97%), Leather & Leather Products (3.48%), Cereal Preparations & Miscellaneous Processed Items (3.35%), Cotton Yarn/Fabs./Made-Ups, Handloom Products Etc. (2.16%), and Plastic & Linoleum (1.56%) record positive growth during March 2025 over the corresponding month of last year.
    • Exports of Tea (11.84%), Coffee (40.37%), Rice (19.73%), Tobacco (36.53%), Spices (4.78%), Fruits & vegetables (5.67%), Cereal preparations & miscellaneous processed items (8.71%), Marine products (0.45%), Meat, dairy & poultry products (12.57%), Mica, coal & other ores, minerals including processed minerals (6.95%), Leather and leather products (2.06%), Drugs and pharmaceuticals (9.39%), engineering goods (6.74%), Electronics goods (32.47%), Cotton yarn/fabs/makeups etc (3.19%), Man-made/ yarn/Fabs/made ups etc (4.07%), RMG of Textiles (10.03%), Jute Mfg. including Floor Covering (13.35%), Carpet (10.46%), and Plastic & Linoleum (10.23%) registered positive growth during FY 2024-25 over the previous FY 2023-24.
    • Imports of Project Goods (-87.25%), Silver (-85.39%), Coal, Coke & Briquettes, Etc. (-30.18%), Transport Equipment (-25.53%), Pulses (-23.45%), Newsprint (-17.99%), Pearls, Precious & Semi-Precious Stones (-13.77%) and Pulp and Waste Paper (-11.8%) record negative growth during March 2025 over the corresponding month of last year.
    • Imports of Fertilisers, Crude & Manufactured (-2.21%), Coal, coke & briquettes (20.03%), Dyeing/tanning/colouring materials (-13.42%), Newsprint (-2.71%), Pearls, precious & semi-precious stones (-24.41%), Iron & Steel (-4.61%), Project goods (-18.45%), and Silver (-11.24%) registered negative growth during FY 2024-25 over the previous year FY 2023-24.
    • Services exports is estimated to grow by 12.45 percent during FY 2024-25 (April-March)* over FY 2023-24 (April-March).
    • Top 5 export destinations, in terms of change in value, exhibiting positive growth in March 2025 vis a vis March 2024 are U S A (35.06%), Australia (70.81%), Kenya (98.46%), Togo (46.52%) and             U K (8.43%).
    • Top 5 export destinations, in terms of change in value, exhibiting positive growth in FY 2024-25 (April-March) vis a vis FY 2023-24 (April-March) are U S A (11.59%), U K (12.08%), Japan (21.12%), U Arab Emts (2.84%) and France (11.42%).
    • Top 5 import sources, in terms of change in value, exhibiting growth in March 2025 vis a vis March 2024 are U Arab Emts (57.25%), China P Rp (25.02%), Saudi Arab (44.03%), Kuwait (93.8%) and Ireland (208.09%).
    • Top 5 import sources, in terms of change in value, exhibiting growth in FY 2024-25 (April-March) vis a vis FY 2023-24 (April-March) are U Arab Emts (32.06%), China P Rp (11.52%), Thailand (43.99%), U S A (7.44%) and Russia (4.39%).

    *Link for Quick Estimates

    ***

    Abhishek Dayal

    (Release ID: 2122016) Visitor Counter : 49

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Thales delivers complete set of Dual Travelling Wave Tubes (TWTs) for the Optus-11 Satellite, developed by Airbus Defence and Space

    Source: Thales Group

    Headline: Thales delivers complete set of Dual Travelling Wave Tubes (TWTs) for the Optus-11 Satellite, developed by Airbus Defence and Space

    • In order to enhance satellite performance and mission efficiency, travelling wave tubes (TWTs), which amplify radiofrequency signals in satellite systems, can be doubled and integrated together into a more compact and lightweight format (Dual-TWT),. This technology, with performances that are unique in the world, contributes to the new flexibility requirements of satellites.
    • Thales has delivered all the Dual-TWTs necessary for the optimal performance of the Optus-11 satellite, developed by Airbus Defence and Space, and operating in the Ku-band1. This delivery will significantly improve the communication and data management capabilities of Optus-11, while enhancing its performance and operational reliability.
    • Reconfigurable even in orbit, this flexible satellite represents a major advancement in the field of geostationary telecommunications satellites.
    © Airbus Defense and Space” id=”image-c42f2a26-0769-4e95-b799-941f5e3be8d5″ data-id=”c42f2a26-0769-4e95-b799-941f5e3be8d5″ data-original=”https://cdn.uc.assets.prezly.com/c42f2a26-0769-4e95-b799-941f5e3be8d5/-/inline/no/PR+IMG.png” data-mfp-src=”https://cdn.uc.assets.prezly.com/c42f2a26-0769-4e95-b799-941f5e3be8d5/-/format/auto/” alt=”© Airbus Defense and Space”/>
    © Airbus Defense and Space

    As the foundation of a new generation of highly flexible and innovative telecommunications satellites that can quickly adapt to the changing dynamics of the market and user needs, the OneSat program by Airbus Defence and Space has been developed through synergies among key national and international space industry players. While Airbus is responsible for the main design, TESAT is integrating Thales’s TWTs in to Microwave Power Modules (MPM). Both partners bring their expertise in communication systems, built on Thales’s experience with over 23,200 TWTs in orbit.

    Thales’s next-generation Dual-TWTs offer unparalleled global performance, combining reduced weight and size with advanced technology. These Dual-TWTs are engineered to provide exceptional reliability and performance in constrained space environments. Easily integrated into the satellite antenna system, they are a crucial element for the success of the Optus program. Available in two versions for both the Ku and Ka band satellite frequency ranges, the Dual-TWTs fully meet the requirements of active antenna amplification systems designed for flexible and software-defined satellites.

    Three of Thales’s facilities are collaborating to manufacture the Dual-TWTs: Ulm in Germany, and Thonon-les-Bains and Vélizy in France.

    With key components such as Thales’ Ku-band Dual-TWTs, the Optus-11 satellite is positioned as a vital element for next-generation spacecraft, significantly enhancing their communication and satellite service capabilities.

    “We are honored to make a significant contribution to the operation of the Optus-11 satellite by providing Airbus Defence and Space with our next-generation Dual Travelling Wave Tubes. Our successful delivery of this system for the first flight model showcases Thales’s ability to quickly provide cutting-edge technological solutions that will shape the future of space communications,” said Charles-Antoine Goffin, Vice President, Microwave and Imaging Systems, Thales.

    1Frequency of 12-18 GHz, allowing satellites to send and receive messages without interfering with other signals.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Joint Statement from the United Kingdom and France on Haiti

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments 3

    Press release

    Joint Statement from the United Kingdom and France on Haiti

    Joint statement from the United Kingdom and France on Haiti.

    The UK and France are concerned by reports of criminal gangs coordinating to further destabilise Haiti’s Transitional Presidential Council (TPC). We reiterate our collective support for CARICOM and the Kenyan-led Multinational Security Support mission in assisting the TPC and the Haitian National Police to tackle the gangs who continue to cause daily suffering to the Haitian people and in their efforts to bring about the stability required to restore democratic institutions and the rule of law in Haiti. We are committed to maintaining pressure on those who seek to destabilise Haiti via the implementation of sanctions, and we call on authorities to fully implement the sanctions regime in Haiti.

    Media enquiries

    Email newsdesk@fcdo.gov.uk

    Telephone 020 7008 3100

    Contact the FCDO Communication Team via email (monitored 24 hours a day) in the first instance, and we will respond as soon as possible.

    Updates to this page

    Published 16 April 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – Will Europol support Member States and third countries in the fight against terrorist groups that target certain companies and their customers? – E-001418/2025

    Source: European Parliament

    Question for written answer  E-001418/2025
    to the Commission
    Rule 144
    Catherine Griset (PfE)

    In order to strike at the financial interests of Elon Musk, far-left groups in the United States have set up an anonymous website that publishes the personal data of Tesla owners (names, addresses and telephone numbers)[1].

    These same individuals also blew up a Tesla in front of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas and regularly set fire to charging stations and vehicles of this brand in the United States.

    The US Attorney General, Pam Bondi, did not hesitate to describe these criminal acts as ‘domestic terrorism’[2].

    This violence is now spreading across Europe, particularly in Member States whose governments are highly indulgent of violent far-left groups. In France, in particular, a Tesla dealership near Toulouse and Tesla vehicles in Niort have been set on fire. The French headquarters of the manufacturer has also been vandalised in recent days.

    • 1.Is the Commission aware of attacks against this company and its customers in other Member States?
    • 2.Can Europol, as part of its mission to support Member States and third countries against terrorism, provide assistance in stopping these violent groups?

    Submitted: 8.4.2025

    • [1] https://www.bvoltaire.fr/aux-etats-unis-comme-en-france-tesla-est-visee-par-des-attaques-dultra-gauche/
    • [2] https://www.francetvinfo.fr/internet/elon-musk/etats-unis-des-hackers-divulguent-les-donnees-personnelles-de-proprietaires-de-tesla-elon-musk-denonce-un-terrorisme-interieur_7141125.html
    Last updated: 16 April 2025

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – Transparency of the chemical composition of menstrual products and rules governing their safety in the EU – E-001459/2025

    Source: European Parliament

    Question for written answer  E-001459/2025
    to the Commission
    Rule 144
    Joanna Scheuring-Wielgus (S&D)

    There is no obligation in the EU to indicate the composition of menstrual products on their packaging. This means that millions of persons who menstruate do not know what substances are coming into direct contact with their bodies. The lack of transparency regarding the composition of menstrual products in the EU is a serious health and consumer issue. The substances in these products can affect both intimate health and the body’s overall health[1], and current regulations do not provide adequate protection. The examples of France[2] and some states in the USA[3] show that the introduction of regulations is possible and necessary.

    • 1.Does the Commission plan to make it mandatory for the chemical composition of menstrual products to be indicated on their packaging, as is the case in the USA and France?
    • 2.What steps is the Commission taking to ensure greater transparency and safety in relation to menstrual hygiene products in the EU?
    • 3.Are there any plans to regulate the chemical substances allowed in tampons and sanitary pads to minimise health risks?

    Submitted: 9.4.2025

    • [1] CNN. (2024). Tampons may contain lead, arsenic, and plastics, study finds. https://edition.cnn.com/2024/07/11/health/tampons-lead-arsenic-plastics-wellness/index.html
    • [2] RTL. (2024). Protections hygiéniques : la composition des produits devra être indiquée à partir d’avril. https://www.rtl.fr/actu/debats-societe/protections-hygieniques-la-composition-des-produits-devra-etre-indiquee-a-partir-d-avril-7900361430
    • [3] Women’s Voices for the Earth. (2021). Nation’s first menstrual products disclosure law goes into effect in New York. https://womensvoices.org/2021/10/20/nations-first-menstrual-products-disclosure-law-goes-into-effect-in-new-york/
    Last updated: 16 April 2025

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: G7 foreign ministers’ statement marking 2 years since the beginning of Sudan war

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments 3

    News story

    G7 foreign ministers’ statement marking 2 years since the beginning of Sudan war

    G7 foreign ministers gave a joint statement marking 2 years since the beginning of the war in Sudan.

    Joint statement:

    We, the G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America and the High Representative of the European Union, unequivocally denounce the ongoing conflict, atrocities and grave human rights violations and abuses in Sudan, as the world marks two years since the beginning of the devastating war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

    As a direct result of the actions of the SAF and the RSF, the people of Sudan, especially women and children, are enduring the world’s largest humanitarian and displacement crises, and continued atrocities, including widespread conflict-related sexual violence, ethnically motivated attacks and reprisal killings. These must end immediately.

    We strongly condemn the RSF attacks carried out in and around El Fasher on the Zamzam and Abu Shouk IDP camps, which have caused numerous casualties, including humanitarian workers. Civilians must be protected and allowed safe passage.

    As famine continues to spread across Sudan, G7 members are disturbed by reports of the use of starvation of civilians as a method of warfare and reiterate that such actions are prohibited under international humanitarian law.

    We call on the warring parties to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law and their commitments under the Jeddah Declaration, which include the crucial responsibility to distinguish at all times between civilians and combatants and between civilian objects and military targets.

    We call on all parties to the conflict to lift impediments to effective crossline humanitarian assistance, provide assurances of safety and security for local and international humanitarian actors, and allow humanitarian access through all border crossings into Sudan, including through South Sudan and Chad. We recognize the important role of Emergency Response Rooms in providing for and protecting civilians and call for their protection. We further call on all parties to refrain from attacks on critical infrastructure that civilians rely upon, including dams and telecommunications systems.

    We call for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire and urge both the SAF and the RSF to engage meaningfully in serious, constructive negotiations. All external actors must cease any support that further fuels the conflict, in accordance with the Declaration of Principles adopted at the International Humanitarian Conference for Sudan and Neighbouring Countries in Paris in 2024 and the United Nations arms embargo on Darfur. We condemn all violations and unlawful attacks by the SAF, the RSF, and their allied militias.

    For sustainable peace in Sudan, any resolution to the conflict must be rooted in the voices of Sudanese civilians. Women, youth, and civil society must be meaningfully included in all peace processes.

    We reaffirm our support for a democratic transition and express our solidarity with the people of Sudan in their efforts to shape the future of their country that reflects their aspirations for freedom, peace and justice.

    The sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Sudan are paramount.  

    G7 members remain committed to deepening collective diplomatic efforts to bring about an end to the world’s largest humanitarian crisis and secure an end to the conflict, including through the London Sudan Conference.

    Updates to this page

    Published 15 April 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI: ACT Group Enhances Support for Latin America with New Miami Office

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    MIAMI, April 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — ACT Group, the leading developer and provider of comprehensive and innovative environmental solutions for businesses globally, is enhancing its longstanding presence in Latin America with the opening of its Miami, Florida office. This strategic move will enable ACT to provide even greater support and localized expertise for businesses headquartered in the region, as well as global companies with operations there.

    With existing offices in Amsterdam, London, New York, Paris, Shanghai, Singapore, and Tokyo, ACT’s operations in Latin America reflect its commitment to addressing evolving client needs locally and globally. As the pressure to decarbonize and navigate complex regulatory frameworks intensifies, ACT’s Miami office will serve as a regional hub, empowering organizations to bridge the gap between ambition and action with tailored, market-based solutions. These solutions include tools to measure carbon footprints, set climate targets, and reduce, mitigate, and disclose emissions efficiently.

    “ACT has always been about more than just helping businesses achieve environmental goals—it’s about empowering them to decarbonize with clarity and confidence. Across Latin America, we’re seeing a growing commitment to net zero, and our role is to make that journey as accessible and impactful as possible,” said Ronald Rozgonyi, CEO of ACT Americas.

    David Maarek to Lead Latin America Office

    Pioneering this initiative is David Maarek, a 15-year veteran of ACT who played a pivotal role in the company’s early growth in Amsterdam and spearheaded the successful energy efficiency business in Paris, France. As Head of Latin America, David will oversee efforts to deepen ACT’s impact in the region, bringing with him a wealth of knowledge and a proven track record of leadership.

    “Latin American businesses are eager to contribute to a low-carbon economy but often face challenges in knowing where to begin,” said Maarek. “Our goal is to meet them where they are and provide the holistic tools and on-the-ground assistance needed to chart a path forward.”

    His leadership reflects ACT’s strong corporate culture, which prioritizes client-centric dedication, a high standard of excellence, and open collaboration within teams and with partners.

    Actionable Insights in Mexico’s Carbon and Energy Markets

    To complement this expansion, ACT has launched a comprehensive whitepaper titled Navigating Mexico’s Carbon and Energy Markets: Practical Insights for Compliance and Voluntary Success. Created by ACT’s dedicated R&D team—who continuously track global regulatory and market developments—this resource offers businesses a roadmap to accelerate low-carbon goals while efficiently meeting regulatory obligations.

    Inside, you’ll find:

    • A detailed overview of Mexico’s regulatory landscape, including Clean Energy Certificates (CELs) and carbon tax frameworks.
    • Practical insights into utilizing CELs and International Renewable Energy Certificates (IRECs) for voluntary sustainability goals.
    • Updates on the operational phase of Mexico’s Emissions Trading System (ETS) and its implications for businesses.

    About ACT

    ACT develops and provides comprehensive and innovative environmental solutions that empower businesses globally to act on and achieve their environmental goals efficiently and transparently. No matter how ambitious. Founded in 2009, thousands of customers worldwide rely on ACT’s extensive global environmental regulation, market, standard, and product expertise to deliver real results.

    Providing solution discovery, optimized procurement strategies, environmental project development, and cutting-edge digital decarbonization services as well as physical environmental products, ACT simplifies and streamlines its customers’ journeys to net zero and empowers them through market expertise and digital simplicity.

    A PDF accompanying this announcement is available at 

    http://ml-eu.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/beaeb218-63c1-4ab3-a5b5-51a6c0d2975d

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Gaza has become a “mass grave” for Palestinians and those helping them – MSF

    Source: Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF)

    JERUSALEM, 16 APRIL – As Israeli forces resume and expand their military offensive by air, ground and sea on the Gaza Strip, Palestine, forcibly displacing people and deliberately blocking essential aid, Palestinian lives are once again being systematically destroyed, warns Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF). A series of deadly attacks by Israeli forces have shown a blatant disregard for the safety of humanitarian and medical workers in Gaza. We call on Israeli authorities to immediately lift the inhumane and deadly siege on Gaza, protect the lives of Palestinians, humanitarian and medical personnel, and for all parties to restore and sustain the ceasefire.

    “Gaza has been turned into a mass grave of Palestinians and those coming to their assistance. We are witnessing in real time the destruction and forced displacement of the entire population in Gaza.” says Amande Bazerolle, MSF emergency coordinator in Gaza. “With nowhere safe for Palestinians or those trying to help them, the humanitarian response is severely struggling under the weight of insecurity and critical supply shortages, leaving people with few, if any, options for accessing care.”

    Over 50,000 people have been killed since October 2023, nearly a third of whom are children, according to the Ministry of Health. Since the resumption of hostilities on 18 March, more than 1,500 people have been killed, according to local authorities.

    According to the United Nations, at least 409 aid workers, most of whom were UNWRA staff, the main provider of humanitarian aid in Gaza, have been killed since October 2023. Eleven MSF colleagues, some while on duty, have been killed since the start of the war, including two in just the past two weeks.

    In the latest instance of a ruthless attack by Israeli forces on aid workers, the bodies of 15 emergency responders and the ambulances they were traveling in were found in a mass grave on 30 March in Rafah, southern Gaza. The group was killed by Israeli forces while trying to assist civilians caught in shelling on 23 March. Recent publicly shared evidence has shown that the workers and their vehicles were clearly marked and identifiable, challenging the initial claims given by Israeli authorities.

    “This horrific killing of aid workers is yet another example of the complete disregard shown by Israeli forces for the protection of humanitarian and medical workers. The silence and unconditional support of Israel’s closest allies further emboldens these actions,” says Claire Magone, General Director of MSF France. MSF considers that only international and independent investigations can bring to light the circumstances of, and the responsibilities for, these attacks on aid workers.

    Although the situation has already been catastrophic for over 18 months, over the past three weeks, MSF has witnessed several incidents involving the killing of humanitarian and medical workers. The coordination of humanitarian movements with Israeli authorities, known as the Humanitarian Notification System (HNS), an already imperfect mechanism, has become more unreliable and is now barely affording any protection guarantees. Notified locations, in which humanitarians have informed Israel of their presence, such as health facilities where we work, compounds of humanitarian stakeholders, and MSF offices and guesthouses have been hit by shells or bullets. Areas near healthcare facilities have been subjected to strikes, fighting and evacuation orders.

    Medical facilities are not exempt from attacks and evacuation orders by Israeli forces. MSF teams have had to leave many facilities, while others continue operating with staff and patients trapped inside, unable to leave safely for hours at a time. On 7 April, MSF teams and patients found themselves trapped in the MSF field hospital in Deir Al-Balah, central Gaza. Rockets were launched by Hamas in close proximity to our field hospitals in Deir Al-Balah endangering both patients and staff and leading to an evacuation order of the area by Israeli forces, who also carried out strikes near the compounds of Al Aqsa and Nasser hospitals. We strongly denounce these actions by the warring parties and call on them to respect and protect healthcare facilities, patients and medical staff.

    Since March 18, MSF has not been able to return to Indonesian hospital in northern Gaza where our teams were set to begin pediatric care but had to flee the field hospital, which was set up right next to the compound. MSF mobile clinics in North Gaza were suspended, and in the south, teams have been unable to return to Al-Shaboura clinic in Rafah.

    The full siege on Gaza has depleted food, fuel and medical stocks. MSF is especially facing shortages in medications for pain management and chronic illnesses, antibiotics and critical surgical materials. The lack of fuel replenishment across the Strip will lead to the inevitable suspension of activities as hospitals rely on generators for electricity to keep critical patients alive and conduct lifesaving operations.

    “Israeli authorities have deliberately blocked all aid from entering Gaza for over a month. Humanitarians have been forced to watch people suffer and die while carrying the impossible burden of providing relief with depleted supplies, all while facing the same life-threatening conditions themselves,” explains Bazerolle. “There is no way they can carry out their mission under such circumstances. This is not a humanitarian failure — it is a political choice, and a deliberate assault on a people’s ability to survive, carried out with impunity.”

    Israeli authorities must end their collective punishment of Palestinians.

    We urge Israel’s allies to end their complicity and stop enabling the destruction of Palestinian lives.

    MSF is an international, medical, humanitarian organisation that delivers medical care to people in need, regardless of their origin, religion, or political affiliation. MSF has been working in Haiti for over 30 years, offering general healthcare, trauma care, burn wound care, maternity care, and care for survivors of sexual violence. MSF Australia was established in 1995 and is one of 24 international MSF sections committed to delivering medical humanitarian assistance to people in crisis. In 2022, more than 120 project staff from Australia and New Zealand worked with MSF on assignment overseas. MSF delivers medical care based on need alone and operates independently of government, religion or economic influence and irrespective of race, religion or gender. For more information visit msf.org.au 

    MIL OSI – Submitted News –

  • MIL-OSI: JLT Mobile Computers AB (publ) Publishes 2024 Annual Report

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Växjö, Sweden, April 16, 2025 * * * JLT Mobile Computers, a leading provider of rugged computers for demanding environments, publishes its 2024 annual report today.

    Report in brief

    1. Order intake MSEK 103.0 (135.4)
    2. Net revenues MSEK 118.4 (158.8)
    3. Gross margin 45.8% (41.4)
    4. EBITDA -2.1 MSEK (4.8)
    5. Operating profit MSEK -9.7 (1.9)
    6. Profit after taxes MSEK -7.7 (1.6)
    7. Cash flow +7.2 MSEK (-21.5)
    8. No dividend proposed (0.00)

    Summary

    A Challenging Year for the Industry, with Signs of Recovery

    The year was characterized by low demand in warehousing/logistics, one of JLT’s largest target markets, which led to reduced order intake and net sales. In 2024, the company conducted a strategic review to address the challenges during the year. Software development has been integrated with other product development and the operations of the subsidiary JLT Software Solutions AB have been discontinued. The new structure is cost-effective and market-oriented which enables efficient maintenance and customer-driven development of the JLT software solutions together with the company’s other product portfolio.

    Capitalized development expenses were written down, which, together with other decommissioning costs, impacted on the Group’s earnings in the fourth quarter by MSEK 5.0, of which MSEK 1.2 will affect cash flow. Despite non-recurring costs, organizational and R&D expenses decreased by MSEK 5.4 for the year.

    To strengthen its position in the market, JLT has launched upgraded versions of its core products and invested in sales and marketing. The company has recruited a senior marketing manager for its US subsidiary and expanded the organization and carried out a planned generational change in the leadership, of its French subsidiary.

    JLT has actively worked to reduce inventory and improve cash flow, which has resulted in an increase in cash flow of MSEK 7.2.

    In 2024, JLT celebrated thirty years as a player in the rugged computing industry and continues to adapt to industry trends and customer needs.

    In early 2025, the market rebounded, and the company won several major deals in the first months of the year. With the implemented measures and structural changes, JLT looks forward to a solid foundation for growth as the market recovers in 2025.

    The annual report is attached to this press release and published on JLT’s website, jltmobile.com.

    Printed copies, English and Swedish, can be requested over email to investor@jltmobile.com, by phone: +46 470 53 03 00, or by mail to the following address: 

    JLT Mobile Computers AB (publ) 
    Isbjörnsvägen 3 
    352 45 Växjö, SWEDEN 

    About JLT Mobile Computers

    JLT Mobile Computers is a leading supplier of rugged mobile computing devices and solutions for demanding environments. 30 years of development and manufacturing experience have enabled JLT to set the standard in rugged computing, combining outstanding product quality with expert service, support and solutions to ensure trouble-free business operations for customers in warehousing, transportation, manufacturing, mining, ports and agriculture. JLT operates globally from offices in Sweden, France, and the US, complemented by an extensive network of sales partners in local markets. The company was founded in 1994, and the share has been listed on the Nasdaq First North Growth Market stock exchange since 2002 under the symbol JLT. Eminova Fondkommission AB acts as Certified Adviser. Learn more at jltmobile.com.

    Attachment

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Earthquake & renewable energy a focus in Vanuatu

    Source: New Zealand Government

    New Zealand is boosting support to Vanuatu to recover from last year’s earthquake and develop its renewable energy sector, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters says.

    “Being in Port Vila has underlined the scale of the challenge that Vanuatu faces in recovering from the December earthquake, and we are pleased to provide a further NZ$10 million of support.” 

    “New Zealand will work with the Vanuatu Government over coming weeks to identify priority areas to focus our efforts,” Mr Peters says. 

    “This support will draw on our experience of preparing for, and responding to, major earthquakes through the provision of geotechnical, engineering, and local government response advice, as well as reconstruction.

    “We are also pleased to announce that New Zealand will lead on a renewable energy project on Efate and Tanna — focused on solar photo-voltaic and battery energy storage systems. Working with France, the project will help reduce fuel import costs, and provide for cleaner, more efficient energy use.” 

    While in Port Vila, the New Zealand cross-party delegation met Prime Minister Jotham Napat, the new Vanuatu Government, as well as members of Vanuatu’s Opposition.

    “We had productive discussions, highlighting the muti-faceted nature of our engagement, as neighbours and as development and regional partners,” Mr Peters says. 

    “Our visit also reinforced our shared interest in a safe, secure, and peaceful Pacific.”.

    The delegation attended the completion ceremony of the South Paray Wharf, an important economic project delivered with Vanuatu and the Asian Development Bank.

    Vanuatu is the New Zealand delegation’s fourth and final destination on this Pacific trip, following Tonga, Hawaii and Fiji.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI China: France to recall ambassador, expel 12 Algerian diplomats

    Source: China State Council Information Office

    French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot announced on Tuesday that France will recall its ambassador to Algeria and expel 12 Algerian diplomatic staff stationed in France in a reciprocal move.

    Barrot made the announcement on his X account after Algeria ordered 12 French diplomats to leave the country within 48 hours on Monday.

    In a press release published on Tuesday, the Elysee said Algerian authorities should take full responsibility for a “sudden” deterioration in bilateral relations.

    “In this context, France will proceed with the symmetrical expulsion of twelve agents serving in the Algerian consular and diplomatic network in France. The President of the Republic has decided to recall the French Ambassador to Algiers, Mr. Stephane Romatet, for consultations,” the Elysee said.

    Relations between France and Algeria have deteriorated in recent months, partly due to the hardline stance of the French interior minister. Although both sides expressed a willingness to improve ties following Barrot’s visit to Algeria on April 6, tensions escalated after France indicted a consular official over suspected involvement in the 2024 abduction of an Algerian government opponent.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Zelensky meets Rutte on Ukrainian, European security

    Source: China State Council Information Office

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met on Tuesday with visiting North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary General Mark Rutte to discuss Ukrainian and European security, the presidential press service reported.

    At the meeting in Ukraine’s southern city of Odesa, Zelensky and Rutte discussed various formats of cooperation between Ukraine and NATO member states, including in Ramstein format.

    The talks also focused on Ukraine’s relations with the U.S. and Washington’s efforts in negotiations with Russia.

    The report said Zelensky accused Russia of “ignoring the U.S. proposal for a full ceasefire” and continuing its strikes on Ukraine.

    Emphasizing the need to strengthen Ukraine’s air defense, Zelensky voiced hope for the implementation of air defense-related agreements with partners in Europe and the U.S.

    He also noted that the UK, France, and other NATO countries are actively laying the foundation for a security contingent in Ukraine.

    For his part, Rutte reaffirmed that the alliance will continue to stand with Ukraine.

    According to him, in the first three months of this year, NATO member states pledged over 20 billion euros (about 22.5 billion U.S. dollars) in security assistance to Ukraine for 2025.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Xi’s Vietnam visit highlights ‘camaraderie plus brotherhood’

    Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

    HANOI, April 16 — On a balmy April morning in Hanoi, the second floor of the Hanoi International Convention Center hummed with anticipation, as representatives attending the Chinese and Vietnamese People’s Friendship Meeting waited eagerly to welcome a special guest from China.

    Around 10 a.m. (0300 GMT), Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese president, walked into the venue alongside General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee To Lam and Vietnamese President Luong Cuong. They strolled along the red carpet, smiling and waving to the hundreds of Chinese and Vietnamese delegates gathering there.

    Smiles, joy and applause filled the room. It felt, in many ways, like a family reunion.

    The Tuesday event was part of Xi’s fourth visit to Vietnam in a decade and his first overseas tour of the year. During each trip, he would quote on multiple occasions late Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh’s famous description of China-Vietnam relations — a bond of “camaraderie plus brotherhood.”

    That sentiment echoed in his speech on Tuesday, as he traced the deep historical ties between the two nations.

    The China-Vietnam friendship took root in the mutual support between the two peoples, Xi said, adding that they fought shoulder to shoulder for the just cause of national independence and liberation, and created a shared revolutionary legacy that shaped their deep friendship featuring “camaraderie plus brotherhood.”

    For Nguyen Vinh Quang, vice president of the Vietnam-China Friendship Association, the expression of “camaraderie plus brotherhood” remains the “best testament to that shared history of standing together through storm and stress, with unwavering loyalty.”

    “During Vietnam’s resistance wars against France and the United States, we received selfless assistance from China. It is a fact no one can or should ever forget,” he said.

    During his previous visits to Vietnam, Xi consistently emphasized the importance of passing on the traditional friendship between China and Vietnam to the younger generation. For him, the foundation of China-Vietnam friendship lies between the two peoples, and the future of this friendship will be created by the young people.

    When meeting with Chinese and Vietnamese youth representatives during his visit to Vietnam in 2015, Xi expressed a firm belief that the traditional China-Vietnam friendship will certainly span the long river of history, growing even deeper and newer in spite of time.

    When meeting representatives of young Chinese and Vietnamese and people who have contributed to the China-Vietnam friendship during his visit in 2023, Xi expressed the hope that the young people will take the lead in promoting bilateral friendship.

    On Tuesday, Xi said that in the next three years, China will invite Vietnamese youth to China for “Red Study Tours,” where they will explore the revolutionary heritage that underpins the bilateral friendship, and experience the dynamism of Chinese modernization.

    The launch of the “Red Study Tours” reflects both sides’ commitment to cherishing their shared revolutionary heritage, said Dao Ngoc Bau, director of the Institute of International Relations under the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics.

    This initiative will help strengthen the friendship between the two peoples, particularly between the younger generations, he said.

    One of the attendees, Nguyen Quang Minh, a lecturer at Vietnam’s University of Transport and Communications, said he sensed from the speech “a steadfast resolve of China and Vietnam to pursue development hand in hand.”

    “Looking ahead,” he said, “the younger generations of both countries will draw strength from their shared history to drive mutual prosperity and progress.”

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Chinese shipbuilder delivers 24,000-TEU LNG dual-fuel container ship

    Source: China State Council Information Office

    A subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation Limited (CSSC) on Tuesday delivered an ultra-large 24,000-TEU liquefied natural gas (LNG) dual-fuel container ship to France’s CMA CGM Group.

    Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group) Co., Ltd. delivered the vessel, CMA CGM SEINE, in Shanghai, marking the completion of the CSSC’s breakthrough construction of the world’s first ultra-large dual-fuel container ship. The dual-fuel power system allows the shipping company to use LNG or oil to power the ship.

    The vessel, which is 399 meters long and 61.3 meters wide, can carry 220,000 tonnes of goods. It can accommodate a total of 23,876 TEU containers, including up to 2,200 standard refrigerated containers. It is the first of four such vessels ordered by the French container shipping giant.

    With an 18,600-cubic-meter fuel bunker fully loaded with LNG, the ship can sail nearly 20,000 nautical miles.

    Compared to oil-powered container vessels of the same size, the ship emits approximately 20 percent less carbon dioxide and up to 85 percent less nitrogen oxides.

    The vessel is scheduled to be launched on a Far East-Europe route on April 18.

    To date, Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding has delivered 17 container ships to CMA CGM Group, including 12 dual-fuel vessels. 

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: 16 April 2025 News release WHO Member States conclude negotiations and make significant progress on draft pandemic agreement

    Source: World Health Organisation

    After more than three years of intensive negotiations, WHO Member States took a major step forward in efforts to make the world safer from pandemics, by forging a draft agreement for consideration at the upcoming World Health Assembly in May. The proposal aims to strengthen global collaboration on prevention, preparedness and response to future pandemic threats.

    In December 2021, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, WHO Member States established the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB)to draft and negotiate a convention, agreement or other international instrument, under the WHO Constitution, to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.

    Following 13 formal rounds of meetings, nine of which were extended, and many informal and intersessional negotiations on various aspects of the draft agreement, the INB today finalized a proposal for the WHO Pandemic Agreement. The outcome of the INB’s work will now be presented to the Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly for its consideration.

    “The nations of the world made history in Geneva today,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “In reaching consensus on the Pandemic Agreement, not only did they put in place a generational accord to make the world safer, they have also demonstrated that multilateralism is alive and well, and that in our divided world, nations can still work together to find common ground, and a shared response to shared threats. I thank WHO’s Member States, and their negotiating teams, for their foresight, commitment and tireless work. We look forward to the World Health Assembly’s consideration of the agreement and – we hope – its adoption.”

    Proposals within the text developed by the INB include establishing a pathogen access and benefit sharing system; taking concrete measures on pandemic prevention, including through a One Health approach; building geographically diverse research and development capacities; facilitating the transfer of technology and related knowledge, skills and expertise for the production of pandemic-related health products; mobilizing  a skilled, trained and multidisciplinary national and global health emergency workforce; setting up a coordinating financial mechanism; taking concrete measures to strengthen preparedness, readiness and health system functions and resilience; and establishing a global supply chain and logistics network.

    The proposal affirms the sovereignty of countries to address public health matters within their borders, and provides that nothing in the draft agreement shall be interpreted as providing WHO any authority to direct, order, alter or prescribe national laws or policies, or mandate States to take specific actions, such as ban or accept travellers, impose vaccination mandates or therapeutic or diagnostic measures or implement lockdowns.

    Dr Tedros paid tribute to the members of the Bureau who guided the INB process: Co-Chairs Ms Precious Matsoso (South Africa) and Ambassador Anne-Claire Amprou (France), and Vice-Chairs Ambassador Tovar da Silva Nunes (Brazil), Ambassador Amr Ramadan (Egypt), Dr Viroj Tangcharoensathien (Thailand); and Ms Fleur Davies (Australia). Past members included former Co-Chair, Mr Roland Driece (the Netherlands), and former Vice-Chairs Ambassador Honsei (Japan) and Mr Ahmed Soliman (Egypt). The Director-General also acknowledged the constant support provided by WHO Secretariat colleagues.

    INB Co-Chair Ms Matsoso said: “I am overjoyed by the coming together of countries, from all regions of the world, around a proposal to increase equity and, thereby, protect future generations from the suffering and losses we suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic. The negotiations, at times, have been difficult and protracted. But this monumental effort has been sustained by the shared understanding that viruses do not respect borders, that no one is safe from pandemics until everyone is safe, and that collective health security is an aspiration we deeply believe in and want to strengthen.”

    Fellow INB Co-Chair, Ambassador Amprou, said the draft agreement is a major step in strengthening the global health security architecture so people of the world would be better protected from the next pandemic.

    “In drafting this historic agreement, the countries of the world have demonstrated their shared commitment to preventing and protecting everyone, everywhere, from future pandemic threats,” Ambassador Amprou said. “While the commitment to prevention through the One Health approach is a major step forward in protecting populations, the response will be faster, more effective and more equitable. This is a historic agreement for health security, equity and international solidarity.”

    The INB was established in December 2021, at a special session of the World Health Assembly , bringing together Member States and relevant stakeholders, including international organizations, private sector, and civil society. At the World Health Assembly in  June 2024, governments made concrete commitments to complete negotiations on a global pandemic agreement within a year. The upcoming Assembly starting 19 May 2025 will consider the proposal developed by the INB and take the final decision on whether to adopt the instrument under Article 19 of the WHO Constitution.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: G7 Foreign Ministers’ statement marking two years since the beginning of the devastating war in Sudan

    Source: Government of Canada News

    April 15, 2025 – Ottawa, Ontario – Global Affairs Canada

    We, the G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America and the High Representative of the European Union, unequivocally denounce the ongoing conflict, atrocities and grave human rights violations and abuses in Sudan, as the world marks two years since the beginning of the devastating war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

    As a direct result of the actions of the SAF and the RSF, the people of Sudan, especially women and children, are enduring the world’s largest humanitarian and displacement crises, and continued atrocities, including widespread conflict-related sexual violence, ethnically motivated attacks and reprisal killings. These must end immediately.

    We strongly condemn the RSF attacks carried out in and around El Fasher on the Zamzam and Abu Shouk IDP camps, which have caused numerous casualties, including humanitarian workers. Civilians must be protected and allowed safe passage.

    As famine continues to spread across Sudan, G7 members are disturbed by reports of the use of starvation of civilians as a method of warfare and reiterate that such actions are prohibited under international humanitarian law.

    We call on the warring parties to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law and their commitments under the Jeddah Declaration, which include the crucial responsibility to distinguish at all times between civilians and combatants and between civilian objects and military targets.

    We call on all parties to the conflict to lift impediments to effective crossline humanitarian assistance, provide assurances of safety and security for local and international humanitarian actors, and allow humanitarian access through all border crossings into Sudan, including through South Sudan and Chad. We recognize the important role of Emergency Response Rooms in providing for and protecting civilians and call for their protection. We further call on all parties to refrain from attacks on critical infrastructure that civilians rely upon, including dams and telecommunications systems.

    We call for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire and urge both the SAF and the RSF to engage meaningfully in serious, constructive negotiations. All external actors must cease any support that further fuels the conflict, in accordance with the Declaration of Principles adopted at the International Humanitarian Conference for Sudan and Neighbouring Countries in Paris in 2024 and the United Nations arms embargo on Darfur. We condemn all violations and unlawful attacks by the SAF, the RSF, and their allied militias.

    For sustainable peace in Sudan, any resolution to the conflict must be rooted in the voices of Sudanese civilians. Women, youth, and civil society must be meaningfully included in all peace processes.

    We reaffirm our support for a democratic transition and express our solidarity with the people of Sudan in their efforts to shape the future of their country that reflects their aspirations for freedom, peace and justice.

    The sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Sudan are paramount. 

    G7 members remain committed to deepening collective diplomatic efforts to bring about an end to the world’s largest humanitarian crisis and secure an end to the conflict, including through the London Sudan Conference.  

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: G7 Foreign Ministers’ statement marking two years since the beginning of Sudan war

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    News story

    G7 Foreign Ministers’ statement marking two years since the beginning of Sudan war

    The G7 Foreign Ministers’ have issued a joint statement marking two years since the beginning of the war in Sudan.

    We, the G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America and the High Representative of the European Union, unequivocally denounce the ongoing conflict, atrocities and grave human rights violations and abuses in Sudan, as the world marks two years since the beginning of the devastating war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

    As a direct result of the actions of the SAF and the RSF, the people of Sudan, especially women and children, are enduring the world’s largest humanitarian and displacement crises, and continued atrocities, including widespread conflict-related sexual violence, ethnically motivated attacks and reprisal killings. These must end immediately.

    We strongly condemn the RSF attacks carried out in and around El Fasher on the Zamzam and Abu Shouk IDP camps, which have caused numerous casualties, including humanitarian workers. Civilians must be protected and allowed safe passage.

    As famine continues to spread across Sudan, G7 members are disturbed by reports of the use of starvation of civilians as a method of warfare and reiterate that such actions are prohibited under international humanitarian law.

    We call on the warring parties to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law and their commitments under the Jeddah Declaration, which include the crucial responsibility to distinguish at all times between civilians and combatants and between civilian objects and military targets.

    We call on all parties to the conflict to lift impediments to effective crossline humanitarian assistance, provide assurances of safety and security for local and international humanitarian actors, and allow humanitarian access through all border crossings into Sudan, including through South Sudan and Chad. We recognize the important role of Emergency Response Rooms in providing for and protecting civilians and call for their protection. We further call on all parties to refrain from attacks on critical infrastructure that civilians rely upon, including dams and telecommunications systems.

    We call for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire and urge both the SAF and the RSF to engage meaningfully in serious, constructive negotiations. All external actors must cease any support that further fuels the conflict, in accordance with the Declaration of Principles adopted at the International Humanitarian Conference for Sudan and Neighbouring Countries in Paris in 2024 and the United Nations arms embargo on Darfur. We condemn all violations and unlawful attacks by the SAF, the RSF, and their allied militias.

    For sustainable peace in Sudan, any resolution to the conflict must be rooted in the voices of Sudanese civilians. Women, youth, and civil society must be meaningfully included in all peace processes.

    We reaffirm our support for a democratic transition and express our solidarity with the people of Sudan in their efforts to shape the future of their country that reflects their aspirations for freedom, peace and justice.

    The sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Sudan are paramount.  

    G7 members remain committed to deepening collective diplomatic efforts to bring about an end to the world’s largest humanitarian crisis and secure an end to the conflict, including through the London Sudan Conference.

    Updates to this page

    Published 15 April 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Governor Josh Stein Awards 17 Counties, 11,816 Households & Businesses with High-Speed Internet

    Source: US State of North Carolina

    Headline: Governor Josh Stein Awards 17 Counties, 11,816 Households & Businesses with High-Speed Internet

    Governor Josh Stein Awards 17 Counties, 11,816 Households & Businesses with High-Speed Internet
    lsaito

    Raleigh, NC

    Today, Governor Josh Stein announced more than $41 million in Completing Access to Broadband (CAB) program projects to connect 11,816 households and businesses in 17 counties to high-speed internet.

    “Connecting North Carolinians online helps strengthen our state,” said Governor Josh Stein. “Broadband plays a crucial role in our development, and I look forward to seeing how these funds expand economic opportunities for people in every corner of North Carolina.”

    “Internet access is a necessity in today’s world. These grants will fund projects to provide that crucial access to residents in communities across the state,” said NCDIT Secretary and State Chief Information Officer Teena Piccione. “We will continue to partner with counties and internet service providers to make more awards this month as we work to expand high-speed internet to every North Carolinian.”  

    These projects will be funded by more than $29 million from the federal American Rescue Plan awarded by NCDIT and nearly $12.5 million from the selected broadband providers:

    • Anson County: Windstream North Carolina, LLC This award will provide high-speed internet access to 945 homes and businesses (35% of the county’s 2,714 eligible locations).
    • Caldwell County: Connect Holding II, LLC This award will provide high-speed internet access to 203 homes and businesses (12.91% of the county’s 1,572 eligible locations).
    • Carteret County: Connect Holding II, LLC This award will provide high-speed internet access to 164 homes and businesses (46.2% of the county’s 355 eligible locations).
    • Caswell County: Connect Holding II, LLC This award will provide high-speed internet access to 565 homes and businesses (65.16% of the county’s 867 eligible locations).
    • Davidson County: Windstream This award will provide high-speed internet access to 436 homes and businesses (38.6% of the county’s 1,127 eligible locations).
    • Edgecombe County: Connect Holding II, LLC This award will provide high-speed internet access to 1681 homes and businesses (85.55% of the county’s 1,965 eligible locations).
    • Greene County: Connect Holding II, LLC This award will provide high-speed internet access to 637 homes and businesses (94.37% of the county’s 675 eligible locations).
    • Lincoln County: Spectrum Southeast, LLC This award will provide high-speed internet access to 271 homes and businesses (10.35% of the county’s 2,619 eligible locations).
    • McDowell County: Skyrunner This award will provide high-speed internet access to 704 homes and businesses (32.8% of the county’s 2,142 eligible locations).
    • Mitchell County: French Broad Electric Membership Corp This award will provide high-speed internet access to 432 homes and businesses (51.86% of the county’s 833 eligible locations).
    • Onslow County: Connect Holding II, LLC This award will provide high-speed internet access to 626 homes and businesses (60.71% of the county’s 1,031 eligible locations).
    • Pitt County: Connect Holding II, LLC This award will provide high-speed internet access to 534 homes and businesses (92.55% of the county’s 577 eligible locations).
    • Sampson County: Connect Holding II, LLC This award will provide high-speed internet access to 1605 homes and businesses (73.59% of the county’s 2,181 eligible locations).
    • Tyrrell County: Connect Holding II, LLC This award will provide high-speed internet access to 237 homes and businesses (73.37% of the county’s 323 eligible locations).
    • Vance County: Connect Holding II, LLC This award will provide high-speed internet access to 1327 homes and businesses (50.65% of the county’s 2,620 eligible locations).
    • Wilkes County: Wilkes Telephone Membership Corporation (RiverStreet Networks) This award will provide high-speed internet access to 658 homes and businesses (94.13% of the county’s 699 eligible locations).
    • Wilson County: Connect Holding II, LLC This award will provide high-speed internet access to 791 homes and businesses (64.26% of the county’s 1,231 eligible locations).

    The CAB program’s procurement process creates a partnership between counties and NCDIT to identify areas that need access, solicit proposals from prequalified internet service providers, and quickly make awards. Awardees must agree to provide high-speed service that reliably meets or exceeds speeds of 100 Mbps download and 100 Mbps upload.

    This CAB program award will be added to NCDIT’s dashboard that shows details and progress on programs funded by the federal American Rescue Plan Act, as part of Governor Stein’s initiative to close the state’s digital divide. The award adds to the more than $547 million in Growing Rural Economies with Access to Technology (GREAT) grants and previous CAB projects that will connect more than 200,000 North Carolina households and businesses to high-speed internet.

    For more information about the NCDIT Division of Broadband and Digital Opportunity, visit ncbroadband.gov.   

    Apr 15, 2025

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Fort Dobbs State Historic Site Prepares to Start Construction on New Visitor Center

    Source: US State of North Carolina

    Headline: Fort Dobbs State Historic Site Prepares to Start Construction on New Visitor Center

    Fort Dobbs State Historic Site Prepares to Start Construction on New Visitor Center
    jejohnson6

    STATESVILLE

    Fort Dobbs State Historic Site will start construction on a new $2 million visitor center on Monday, April 28. This will be the first major improvement at the site since the opening of the reconstructed fort in 2019.

    At nearly 3,700 square feet, the new facility will be more than five times larger than the current visitor center. In addition to a contemporary exhibit gallery, modern restrooms, and paved parking, the new building will have an expanded gift shop, lobby, and office spaces for staff. The Friends of Fort Dobbs, the site’s non-profit support group, will oversee the project. Construction is expected to take 6-8 months with the grand opening anticipated by early 2026.

    The current visitor center is housed in a log cabin built by the Fort Dobbs Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) as a meeting house in 1941. Though important to the site’s preservation story, the cabin is ill-equipped to serve the site’s thousands of visitors and school children each year.

    “Thanks to the tireless advocacy of the Friends of Fort Dobbs, there will be a purpose-built visitor center at this historic site for the first time,” said Site Manager Scott Douglas. “I am thrilled to have more space and a proper museum gallery in which to tell the larger story of North Carolina in the French and Indian War!”

    The site will continue to serve the public while work is underway. However, there will be periods of closure and times when tours are limited or unavailable. Visitors are encouraged to monitor Fort Dobbs’ website and social media accounts for operations updates and pay attention to directional signage at the site, as access routes and parking areas will shift for construction. The site will not be able to accommodate large groups traveling by bus once work begins.

    About Fort Dobbs
    Situated in the Piedmont region of North Carolina near the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Fort Dobbs interprets the French and Indian War (1754-1763) or Seven Years War. As the only state historic site associated with the period, it represents the state’s link with a global war for empire that crossed five continents, lasted nearly a decade, and sowed the seeds for independence. The site is located at 438 Fort Dobbs Rd, Statesville, NC and is open Tuesday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Special events and living history weekends are offered throughout the year. It is part of the Division of State Historic Sites within the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

    About the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
    The N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR) manages, promotes, and enhances the things that people love about North Carolina – its diverse arts and culture, rich history, and spectacular natural areas. Through its programs, the department enhances education, stimulates economic development, improves public health, expands accessibility, and strengthens community resiliency.

    The department manages over 100 locations across the state, including 27 historic sites, seven history museums, two art museums, five science museums, four aquariums, 35 state parks, four recreation areas, dozens of state trails and natural areas, the North Carolina Zoo, the State Library, the State Archives, the N.C. Arts Council, the African American Heritage Commission, the American Indian Heritage Commission, the State Historic Preservation Office, the Office of State Archaeology, the Highway Historical Markers program, the N.C. Land and Water Fund, and the Natural Heritage Program. For more information, please visit www.dncr.nc.gov.
    Apr 15, 2025

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Committee on Rights of Migrant Workers Launches General Comment on the Convergence of the Migrant Workers’ Convention and the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration

    Source: United Nations – Geneva

    The Committee on Migrant Workers today held an event to launch its general comment six on the convergent protection of the rights of migrant workers and members of their families through the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and the Global Compact for safe, orderly and regular migration.

    Fatimata Diallo, Committee Chair, in opening remarks, said migrants, especially those in an irregular situation, were disproportionately exposed to abuses and human rights violations, and often did not have access to due process or remedies.  More than 8,900 people died on migration routes in 2024.  Yet, the human rights dimensions of migration remained largely neglected, and inflammatory and xenophobic rhetoric against migrants helped politicians win votes.

    Ms. Diallo said the Convention and the Global Compact were unique, complementary and mutually reinforcing to advance migration governance and promote and protect the rights of all migrants. General comment six offered avenues for the coordination of the convergent measures for protection of the rights of migrant workers and members of their families in the Convention and the Global Compact.

    Peggy Hicks, Director, Thematic Engagement, Special Procedures and Right to Development Division, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in opening remarks that general comment six was a milestone in international efforts to ensure that States aligned migration governance with international human rights obligations. Ms. Hicks called on all States, including those that had endorsed the Global Compact but had not yet ratified the Convention, to engage in dialogue on ratifying this important human rights instrument.

    Introducing the general comment, Mohammed Charef, Committee Expert and Chair of the Committee’s Working Group on the Convention and the Global Compact, said the Convention and the Global Compact both called for the protection of migrants from human rights violations, measures to promote decent work and access to social security, and efforts to help migrants reach their potential.  The general comment sought to help States parties to implement their commitments under these instruments and promote effective, tangible respect for the rights of migrants.

    The Committee heard statements marking the launch of the general comment by panellists from Permanent Missions and United Nations agencies, before holding a general discussion on how the Convention and the Global Compact could be implemented in synergy.

    In the discussion, speakers welcomed the adoption of general comment six, which they said assisted States in implementing their commitments under the Convention and the Global Compact and in managing migration with a human rights lens.

    Speakers welcomed that the general comment promoted non-criminalisation of migration.  States needed to adopt measures to combat the intolerance of migrants, particularly vulnerable persons, and to further facilitate regular migration, they said.

    Speaking as panellists were Carlos D. Sorreta, Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the United Nations Office and Other International Organizations in Geneva; Fernando Espinosa Olivera, Deputy Permanent Representative of Mexico to the United Nations Office and Other International Organizations in Geneva; Abdellah Boutadghart, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Morocco to the United Nations Office and Other International Organizations in Geneva; Catalina Devandas, Senior Director, Office of Partnerships, Advocacy and Communications, International Organization for Migration; Gladys Cisneros, Chief of Branch, Labour Migration Unit, International Labour Organization; Patrick Eba, Deputy Director, Department of International Protection, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees; Tasha Gill, Global Lead on Migration and Displacement, United Nations Children’s Fund Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia; Jonathan Prentice, Head of the Secretariat, United Nations Network on Migration; Patrick Taran, President, Global Migration Policy Associates; Alan Desmond, Editor, Journal of Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Law, University of Leicester, United Kingdom; and Ariel Cejas Meliare, Procurador Penitenciario de la Nación [Procurator’s Office of the Nation of Argentina].

    Bangladesh, Honduras and Burkina Faso took the floor in the discussion.

    The Committee on Migrant Worker’s fortieth session is being held from 7 to 17 April.  All the documents relating to the Committee’s work, including reports submitted by States parties, can be found on the session’s webpage.  Meeting summary releases can be found here.  The webcast of the Committee’s public meetings can be accessed via the UN Web TV webpage.

    The Committee will next meet in public at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, 17 April, to close its fortieth session.

    Opening Remarks

    FATIMATA DIALLO, Committee Chair, said currently, some 281 million people lived and worked in countries that were not their own. Migration was the symptom and effect of profound social, economic, and environmental pressures and changes around the world.  Migrants, especially those in an irregular situation, were disproportionately exposed to abuses and human rights violations, and often did not have access to due process or remedies.  As border controls had become stricter and regular pathways of entry and stay had narrowed, migrants’ journeys had become longer, more fragmented and more dangerous. More than 40,000 women, men and children between 2014 and 2021 had been declared dead or missing en route, and countless other disappearances had never been reported.  More than 8,900 people died on migration routes in 2024.

    Yet, the human rights dimensions of migration remained largely neglected.  The issue of migration was usually approached from the perspective of economic development or border security and control.  Inflammatory and xenophobic rhetoric against migrants helped politicians win votes, and in times of crisis, the migrant was a convenient scapegoat to blame for social and economic hardship.

    The Convention – a global legally binding instrument on migration – and the Global Compact – a non-binding instrument – were important international mechanisms in the context of migration.  They were unique, complementary and mutually reinforcing to advance migration governance and promote and protect the rights of all migrants, regardless of their migration status. 

    The Global Compact was first and foremost a strategic policy instrument for guidance, which was nevertheless anchored in the norms and standards of international law.  It was the most comprehensive migration governance instrument in the history of international migration, contributing to the protection of the various human rights of migrants and helping to operationalise the provisions of the Convention.  It laid the groundwork for Member States to create a strategy that protected all migrants in vulnerable situations through a range of mechanisms, including the provision of regular access pathways.

    The Convention, conversely, provided a comprehensive international legal framework for the promotion of the human rights of migrant workers and their family members, and remained the best strategy to prevent abuses and address the vulnerabilities that many migrants faced. It established minimum human rights standards, which were legally binding on States parties and applied to migrant workers and members of their families. 

    General comment six offered avenues for complementary coordination for the convergent protection of the rights of migrant workers and members of their families through the Convention and the Global Compact.

    The ratification of treaties could have a transformative effect.  Governments had used treaty provisions and treaty body recommendations to advance complex societal changes that faced resistance at the national level, such as adopting comprehensive non-discrimination legislation. Regrettably, none of the 27 European Union Member States had signed or ratified the Convention.  Convincing these States to ratify was important, not only because the European Union was an important migrant destination, but also because they had robust democratic institutions and vibrant civil society activity, and could meaningfully implement and comply with the Convention. Ratification by European Union Member States would send a strong message of support for this core human rights instrument.  It was time for the European Union and the Committee to engage in dialogue on the ratification of the Convention.

    The Convention did not create new rights, besides a few exceptions, but incorporated the fundamental human rights set out in the main international human rights instruments, applying them to a vast and specific category of the world’s population, namely migrant workers and members of their families.  Ms. Diallo called on States to support the Committee’s ratification campaign.

    PEGGY HICKS, Director, Thematic Engagement, Special Procedures and Right to Development Division, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said migration was the history of humanity. The worrying trend of dehumanising anti-migrant narratives, and securitised and punitive migration policies, limited access to safe migration pathways, while the criminalisation of solidarity was placing migrants and communities at heightened human rights risks. It was time to re-centre migration governance on human rights protection and strengthen international cooperation grounded in the dignity and rights of all people, regardless of migration status.

    General comment six was a milestone in international efforts to ensure that States aligned migration governance with international human rights obligations.  It illustrated the complementarity between the Convention and the Global Compact – each reinforcing and completing the other and constituting a bridge between soft law and treaty law, providing interpretative guidance for States to implement the Global Compact commitments consistently with international human rights standards.

    The Global Compact was the first inter-governmentally negotiated agreement which covered all dimensions of international migration in a holistic and comprehensive manner.  It respected States’ sovereign right to determine who entered and stayed in their territory and demonstrated commitment to international cooperation on migration.  It presented a significant opportunity to improve governance of migration, to address the challenges associated with today’s migration, and to strengthen the contribution of migrants and migration to sustainable development.  It also explicitly reinforced the importance of human rights and international law through its guiding principle on human rights and its commitment to the principles of non-regression and non-discrimination.

    The Convention offered detailed and binding provisions that complemented and strengthened the Compact’s more aspirational commitments.  On regularisation, for example, it provided concrete and binding guidance, requiring States parties to “take appropriate measures to ensure that [an irregular] situation did not persist” when migrant workers and members of their families were in an irregular situation within their territory, and stressed that States parties should consider adopting policies to prevent migrant workers and members of their families from falling into irregularity.

    The Convention was currently the least ratified of the core international human rights treaties, with only 60 States parties. Increasing the number of ratifications of the Convention remained a top priority for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.  At the same time, many countries had accepted many of the standards enshrined in the Convention via the ratification of other human rights treaties, the provisions of which mirrored the core rights codified in the Convention.

    Some of the recent work of the Committee highlighted the relevance of the Convention and the Committee’s work even to non-States parties, such as the joint general comments with the Committee on the Rights of the Child, which provided authoritative guidance that was equally applicable to all 196 States parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Ms. Hicks also applauded the Committee for elaborating two joint general comments with the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on principles and guidelines for eradicating xenophobia towards migrants.  The two draft general comments were already at an advanced stage and would be discussed at the current session.

    As the international community worked towards the implementation of the Global Compact, there was now also momentum for States parties, with the support of the Committee and its partners, to increase the number of States parties to the Convention.  The Convention had a unique role as the only binding global treaty focused on the rights of migrant workers and their families, with its principles echoed throughout the Global Compact. 

    Ms. Hicks encouraged the recognition that soft law and treaty law were not at odds, but rather mutually reinforcing.  This general comment helped bridge the two and offered useful guidance to all States, regardless of the ratification status. She invited States to consider Convention obligations in future implementation and review processes, such as the International Migration Reviews, and called on all States, including those that had endorsed the Global Compact but had not yet ratified the Convention, to engage in a dialogue with the Committee and the Office of the High Commissioner to discuss the benefits of ratifying this important human rights instrument.

    Statements Introducing the General Comment

    MOHAMMED CHAREF, Committee Expert and Chair of the Committee’s Working Group on the Convention and the Global Compact, called on all parties to carefully read the general comment, disseminate it and support its implementation.  In many countries, there were reports of serious and repeated violations of the rights of migrant workers, which had direct consequences on the most vulnerable among them.  Despite the alarmist discourse that was often used regarding migrant workers, there were many success stories associated with migration in the business, sport, music and science fields.  Human rights needed to be put at the heart of discussions concerning migrant workers.

    States needed to commit to their international obligations.  The Convention and the Global Compact had convergent goals, though only the former was binding.  Both instruments were rooted in values such as State sovereignty and respect for human rights.  They called for the protection of migrants from human rights violations such as trafficking and measures to promote decent work and access to social security.  Both instruments called for efforts to help migrants reach their potential.

    The general comment was based on broad-ranging consultations with civil society and stakeholders in Geneva and around the world. It sought to help States parties to implement their commitments under the Global Compact and to strengthen migration governance.  The general comment sought to promote effective and tangible respect for the rights of migrants.  Mr. Charef praised the efforts of champion countries of the Convention and called on States that had not yet ratified it to do so.  Ratification issues were more of a political nature than a legal one. The Committee would continue to encourage actors to promote the ratification of the Convention.

    The Global Compact and the Convention were two essential instruments for promoting the rights of migrant workers.  The Committee would promote their implementation and help build a brighter future for migrants around the world.

    EDGAR CORZO SOSA, Committee Expert and Member of the Committee’s Working Group on the Convention and the Global Compact, said the general comment juxtaposed two different instruments that needed to complement each other, rather than be put against each other.  One of its main goals was to provide authoritative guidance on how States could meet their obligations under these two instruments.  The general comment did not water down the human rights standards developed by the Committee, but rather built on them.  Safe, orderly and regular migration was a goal that could not be reached if human rights were left behind.  In the general comment, the Committee identified 14 common points between the two instruments, relating to topics such as decent work, returns, remittances, childhood, family, gender, protection, defence and trafficking in persons.

    The general comment provided a vision of migration governance that fully respected human rights.  The Committee would do its part in periodic reviews to promote its implementation.  It would hold a meeting with States in future to assess the impact that the general comment was having on human rights, and was calling on civil society to help disseminate it.

    Panel Statements

    CARLOS D. SORRETA, Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the United Nations Office and Other International Organizations in Geneva, thanked the Committee for its work on general comment six.  There were over 10 million Filipinos working in almost all regions of the world.  The Philippines promoted effective and fair governance of migration.  The State party aimed to safeguard the rights of all migrant workers and establish legal pathways to migration.  It had instituted a stringent anti-human trafficking law and had established gender-responsive mechanisms for migrants in distress in host countries.

    During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Philippines facilitated the return of over a million Filipinos.  It had passed laws allowing for dual citizenship and absentee voting, and developed a programme for enticing entrepreneurs and professionals to return to the State.  Most countries with which the Philippines negotiated with to protect its migrants were not parties to the Convention or the Global Compact. However, there were normative baselines that these States needed to uphold.  Over the years, protections for migrants had increased, influenced by these two instruments.

    FERNANDO ESPINOSA OLIVERA, Deputy Permanent Representative of Mexico to the United Nations Office and Other International Organizations in Geneva, said there was back-peddling on human rights and discriminatory discourse against migrants worldwide.  In this context, international agreements concerning migrants were very important. Mexico had led the creation of international frameworks, including the Global Compact, that guaranteed the respect of migrants and promoted secure, orderly, regular and humane migration. Mexico welcomed general comment six, which was the product of broad consultations.  It would help to bring greater consistency in efforts to protect migrants. 

    There were several commonalities between the Convention and the Global Compact.  Mexico had developed State agencies and policies for caring for migrants abroad and supporting their reintegration, as well as tools for collecting data on migrants.  The governance of migration was only possible when it respected human rights.  All States needed to adopt constructive approaches and respect their obligations in the field of human rights and international law.

    ABDELLAH BOUTADGHART, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Morocco to the United Nations Office and Other International Organizations in Geneva, said the general comment was the product of a long and transparent process. Morocco hailed the Committee’s efforts to seek inputs from States on the general comment.  Currently, migrants around the work were facing xenophobia and violations of their rights.  The general comment would support efforts to protect their rights. 

    Morocco had developed a strategy to promote the rights of migrants on its territory.  It had regularised the status of many irregular migrants and supported their access to State services.  The Government sought to ensure that migrants could enjoy their rights. It had helped over 8,000 citizens of African countries seeking to return to their home countries to do so. Morocco shouldered its responsibilities in terms of border management and combatting trafficking in persons. States were obliged to ensure that the general comment was a success, and to develop policies on migration that were based on facts rather than disinformation.

    CATALINA DEVANDAS, Senior Director, Office of Partnerships, Advocacy and Communications, International Organization for Migration, said around 60 per cent of migrants were migrant workers.  Migrant workers constituted 4.7 per cent of the global workforce.  Over 650 billion United States dollars were sent in remittances to low and middle-income countries in 2024.  Remittances were key to development and reducing poverty. 

    The general comment promoted the benefits of safe and orderly migration and equal treatment in employment for migrant workers.  It called for key actors, including migrants themselves, to be included in conversations on migration policies and for migrants to be direct beneficiaries of these policies.  Despite the ongoing challenges, the past few decades had seen immense progress in the protection of the rights of migrants and the promotion of the benefits of migration for all.  The Convention and the Global Compact were two examples of this progress, and the general comment was an important tool for breathing new life into these instruments.

    GLADYS CISNEROS, Chief of Branch, Labour Migration Unit, International Labour Organization, said migrant workers were three times more likely to be in situations of forced labour.  Exploitation of migrant workers generated some 30 billion dollars in profits each year. In many countries, migrant workers faced legal and practical barriers to freedom of association.  These examples highlighted the urgent need for the protection of migrant workers’ rights. 

    Many International Labour Organization Conventions supplemented the rights guaranteed by the Global Compact and the Convention.  The International Labour Organization hoped to continue its collaboration with the Committee, and the Global Compact provided a crucial framework for this collaboration.  It guided States parties in the implementation of the Global Compact and the Convention.  States and civil society needed to closely study the general comment and make use of it to ensure the implementation of the Global Compact and the Convention.

    TASHA GILL, Global Lead on Migration and Displacement, United Nations Children’s Fund Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia, said the general comment emphasised protecting children from statelessness by ensuring that all births were registered.  It promoted family reunification for migrant workers and their families and the protection of children’s rights at borders.  Further, the general comment called for the establishment of safeguards to ensure that migrant children could attend school, highlighting the risks of child labour.  Many children were left behind when their parents left their countries to work. The general comment called for policies to support these children.

    JONATHAN PRENTICE, Head of the Secretariat, United Nations Network on Migration, said the Global Compact outlined the ways in which safe and orderly migration could be achieved and recognised the need to review progress in its implementation on a periodic basis.  The Committee needed to exert further efforts to promote the implementation of the Global Compact and the general comment.  The Global Compact had a long way to go before it was fully realised, but its existence and potential were not to be underestimated.

    PATRICK TARAN, President, Global Migration Policy Associates, saluted the sixtieth ratification of the Convention by Zimbabwe.  This was a milestone achievement.  In addition to the 60 States parties, there were also 11 States that had signed the Convention but had yet to ratify it.  Demand for skilled labour was growing worldwide.  Migrants and migration were worth nine trillion dollars to the global economy.  However, pushbacks against the rights of migrants continued.  The Convention and the Global Compact were complementary only when States had ratified both.  No country could be a champion of migrant workers’ rights until they had ratified the Convention. 

    The death rate for migrant workers at work was at least three times the rate for migrants in transit.  Foreign workers were at least twice as likely as nationals to die at work in European Union Member States.  These deaths were a result of the lack of implementation of the standards of the Convention.  There needed to be a joint general comment on the complementarity of the Convention and the two International Labour Organization Conventions that addressed migrant workers.  The global campaign for ratification of the Convention needed to be rejuvenated. With more resources, the Committee could achieve at least 100 ratifications by 2030.

    United Nations Women said the general comment provided clarity on States’ obligations under the Global Compact and the Convention. At every stage of migration, women’s rights were non-negotiable.  Harmful narratives needed to be combatted, and migration pathways needed to be made safe for women.  Migrant women regularly faced human rights violations and threats en route. States needed to promote the participation of migrant women in policy development, strengthen protections for migrant women, and promote their access to work.  United Nations Women would help States to convert their commitments into transformative action for migrants.

    ALAN DESMOND, Editor, Journal of Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Law, University of Leicester, United Kingdom, said the general comment would be of great use in ensuring that States that had ratified the Global Compact and the Convention implemented their obligations, and in raising awareness of the Convention. The two instruments were not identical, and it was important for States to fully implement both.  Remittances were a vital source of income for migrant families and they helped to promote economic development.  Migrants often had to pay disproportionate transaction fees, sometimes as much as 10 per cent.  International commitments had been developed to reduce remittance costs. The Convention and the Global Compact conferred on migrant workers the right to send remittances and on States the obligation to facilitate such remittances.  The holistic implementation of the two instruments would help to support migrants’ ability to send remittances, among other rights.

    Poor sound quality prevented interpretation of the statement made by ARIEL CEJAS MELIARE, Procurador Penitenciario de la Nación [Procurator’s Office of the Nation of Argentina].

    Discussion

    In the ensuing discussion, speakers welcomed the adoption of general comment six, which assisted States in implementing their commitments under the Convention and the Global Compact and would help States to manage migration with a human rights lens.  Migration governance called for a coherent vision.  Speakers welcomed that the general comment promoted non-criminalisation of migration.  States needed to adopt measures to combat the intolerance of migrants, particularly vulnerable persons, and to further facilitate regular migration, they said.

    Speakers presented policies to promote orderly migration, naturalise irregular migrants, and combat trafficking in persons and statelessness.  They also congratulated the Committee on its efforts to promote the rights of migrant workers.

    Concluding Remarks

    CARLOS D. SORRETA, Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the United Nations Office and Other International Organizations in Geneva, said the Philippines was developing an initiative to strengthen social stability and access to medical services for migrants.  This would help improve the situation of migrants abroad and when they returned home.  The State was calling on receiving countries to join the Convention.  Migrants had a transformative effect on the countries in which they worked.  Countries that had in the past criminalised Filipino migrant workers whose rights were violated by employers were now holding such employers to account.  This trend needed to continue.

    ABDELLAH BOUTADGHART, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Morocco to the United Nations Office and Other International Organizations in Geneva, said that there was a need to ground migration policy in evidence, away from xenophobic discourse.  It was welcome to hear the strong support for this approach from all speakers.

    MOHAMMED CHAREF, Committee Expert and Chair of the Committee’s Working Group on the Convention and the Global Compact, said he was moved by the support expressed for the general comment by participants.  During these challenging times, there needed to be collaboration between all parties to address migrant workers’ complex situation and support them.

    EDGAR CORZO SOSA, Committee Expert and Member of the Committee’s Working Group on the Convention and the Global Compact, said the Committee would spare no effort to promote the implementation of the general comment, and ensure that the good standards and practices established in the Convention and the Global Compact were implemented around the world.

    FATIMATA DIALLO, Committee Chair, said the Committee hoped that the general comment would be a roadmap for States parties to improve protections for migrants and migrant workers.  It would take into consideration all comments made by participants and work to disseminate the general comment through its outreach activities.  It hoped that the general comment would contribute to promoting the protection of migrant workers across the world.

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