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  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Saudi Arabia promotes ‘appeasement and development’ in the Middle East and beyond

    Source: United Nations MIL OSI

    UN Affairs

    The Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia highlighted the country’s work to support peace efforts in the region and beyond in his address to the UN General Assembly on Saturday.

    Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud said the world is seeing an increase in crises, and unfortunately the international community is just looking to manage them, rather than find concrete solutions.

    “In this context of tensions between countries, we wish to warn against political polarization,” he said, underlining the need for dialogue and cooperation.

    He said Saudi Arabia categorically rejects “all crimes perpetrated by Israel against the kindred Palestinian people”, with the war in Gaza representing just the latest chapter in their suffering.

    Last November, the kingdom hosted the joint Arab-Islamic Summit on the crisis and works “to adopt resolutions and decisions that reflect the will of Arab and Muslim people and to stop the bloodshed, ensure unhindered humanitarian access, and realize the legitimate demands of the Palestinian people – in particular, the creation of an independent State.”

    Saudi Arabia therefore welcomed the 10 May 2024 adoption of a UN General Assembly resolution which said that the State of Palestine fulfills the conditions to become a UN Member State.

    Prince Faisal said his country has provided more than $5 billion to aid the Palestinian people since the start of the war in Gaza last October, and it is working with international and UN aid agencies to bring $106 billion in humanitarian projects. Some $106 billion in services, food, medications and other needs is being provided together with the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

    He stressed that it is essential to find a fair solution to the Palestinian crisis, adding that “the prevalence of impunity, the lack of respect of legal obligations, is encouraging Israel to continue its escalation.”

    Turning to the wider region, he said that Saudia Arabia has taken measures towards ensuring “appeasement and development”, such as concluding an agreement with Iran on restoring diplomatic relations.

    “We hope that Iran will cooperate with the international community, in particular, vis-à-vis its nuclear programme and its ballistic missile programme,” he added.

    The kingdom has resumed relations with war-ravaged Syria to strengthen cooperation on common issues “because we are convinced that finding a solution to this crisis will enable us to entrench peace and stability in our region,” he continued.

    Furthermore, Saudi Arabia is supporting all efforts towards a solution to the crisis in Yemen and in the Red Sea, where attacks launched by Houthi rebels in the country are threatening international shipping.

    “In Sudan, we reaffirm our staunch position to preserve peace and stability”, he said. Engagement has included hosting peace talks in Jeddah, with a third round in the works.

    Meanwhile, “Afghanistan cannot be left by the waysides of its region and the international community, or be a prey to terrorists,” he said.

    “That’s why it’s necessary to put an end to the humanitarian and security situation in Afghanistan that is providing fertile ground to different groups and militias to continue their activities.”

    The Foreign Minister said the international community must bring an end to “the Russian-Ukrainian crisis” and the Saudi Arabian Crown Prince is continuing efforts in this regard.

    “We have announced the freeing of several prisoners of different nationalities. We hosted a meeting of different officials from different countries, with the participation of several different States and international organizations. We stand ready to continue our mediation efforts between the parties to the conflict,” he said.

    Click here for the statement (in Arabic).

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Kazakhstan tightens laws to combat trafficking of newborns

    Source: United Nations MIL OSI

    By  Kulpash Konyrova, in Kazakhstan

    Law and Crime Prevention

    Babies are being sold for up to $4,500 in Kazakhstan, but the government is cracking down on traffickers with a new law adopted earlier this month.

    To fight against trafficking newborns, the new legislation facilitates the criminal prosecution for such crimes as kidnapping, illegal deprivation of liberty, human trafficking, involvement in prostitution and more.

    Approved ahead of the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, marked annually on 30 July, the law responds to a grim reality.

    Last year, 19 cases of trade in newborns were registered in the country, for which more than 15 people were brought to justice, according to Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs.

    So far in 2024, six cases of trade in newborns have been registered, with the ministry reporting prices for each child range from $200 to $4,500.

    © Ministry of Health of Kazakhstan

    Doctors check the condition of a newborn baby who needs medical assistance at a hospital in Kazakhstan.

    True extent of the problem

    But, that is just the surface, said Gulnaz Kelekeyeva, head of the project Kazakhstan’s Actions in Combating Child Trafficking project at Winrock International, a United States-based non-governmental organization (NGO). Ms. Kelekeyeva said she believes that official statistics do not reflect the real state of affairs.

    “Unfortunately, in Kazakhstan, there has been virtually no nationwide research on socially vulnerable children and the vulnerability of children to trafficking and exploitation,” she told UN News. “There are also no accurate statistics to assess the true scale of the problem.”

    The only study on vulnerable Kazakhstani children who have been victims of human trafficking in and outside the country, as well as sexual exploitation, was conducted in 2012 by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Kazakhstan.

    Trafficking moves online

    Since then, human and child trafficking has moved online, Ms. Kelekeyeva warned.

    “Much has changed over the past 12 years, in particular, human and child trafficking is now increasingly taking place in cyberspace,” she said. “It is necessary to conduct a new analysis of the current situation in the country regarding the protection of children from trafficking and exploitation.”

    Human and child trafficking is now increasingly taking place in cyberspace

    Today, there is only isolated information about cases of child trafficking that gets into the media from crime reports, she emphasised.

    Last fall, media reports spotlighted a case about the sale of an abandoned baby by obstetricians at a maternity hospital in Kazakhstan. The doctors were found guilty of selling a newborn for $3,000 and sentenced to eight years of imprisonment.

    Another case involved a 23-year-old mother tried to sell her two children. The eldest was about a year old, and the second was less than a month old. The children are now under state protection.

    Protecting children

    Unfortunately, those tasked with caring for children are often unaware of the role they play in preventing and combatting child trafficking, Ms. Kelekeyeva said. That includes health and education authorities, maternity hospitals and schools, children’s homes, guardianship and trusteeship institutions, visiting nurses and paediatricians at clinics, emergency wards and private medical centres in Kazakhstan.

    “Often, they mistakenly believe that this issue falls within the competence of purely law enforcement agencies,” she said. “Although it is precisely in this issue that there should be interaction between all interested services.”

    Child trafficking is not only the adoption of children, but also sexual exploitation, forced labour and the sale of organs, she said.

    Digital tools are helping

    The new Kazakh law is toughening penalties for human trafficking requires healthcare workers to report abandoned newborns or face administrative liability, and digital technologies are helping to identify such cases.

    Since last year, a pilot project has been tested in one of the maternity hospitals Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. Each newborn was immediately given an individual identification number, which eliminates the possibility of criminal transactions.

    This year, the pilot is being rolled out across the country.

    Legal support

    Scientific achievements at the time, such as the possibility of artificial insemination, are now causing many difficulties in developing a law aimed at preventing the trafficking of newborns, explained member of parliament Sergei Ponomarev, who took part in developing the new anti-trafficking legislation.

    Today, cases have been encountered where women from Kazakhstan, especially from the southern regions of the country, are used as incubators to bear other people’s children, he said.

    The child’s DNA is then taken to determine parental rights with a man who is a citizen of another country, he said, noting that when determining kinship, the biological father has every right to take his child abroad.

    “Regarding this matter, we are open to studying the experience of other countries,” he said.

    A Kazakh sold abroad returns home

    When 21-year-old Eddy Jean (born Zhanibek) was born, he was adopted by a single Belgian woman who reportedly paid €12,000. In 2022, he came to Kazakhstan in search of his birth mother.

    “I don’t need anything; I just want to see my mother’s face, hug her at least once and calm my heart,” Eddy said at the time on a popular talk show that aired on national television. “I still worry, especially when I talk about my mother.”

    I just want to see my mother’s face, hug her at least once and calm my heart

    Renowned journalist Kymbat Doszhan told UN News that she was so moved by Eddy’s story that she became his official representative in Kazakhstan in the search for his biological mother.

    She said Eddy’s biological mother had asked to leave the maternity hospital with a receipt in 2002, but never returned. In those years, when the nation’s economy was recovering after the Soviet Union’s collapse, she said many Kazakhstani children were adopted by foreigners and taken abroad.

    The Kazakhstan Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that foreigners can now pay as much as $50,000 for a trafficked newborn. But, Ms. Doszhan said “it is still very difficult to find Eddy’s biological mother.”

    She said archival documents from the orphanage have either disappeared or do not contain accurate information.

    “Perhaps this was done intentionally,” she continued. “There were two meetings with Eddy’s alleged mothers, but the DNA results did not confirm the relationship. When we contacted his adoptive mother from Belgium, it turned out that she had paid the orphanage staff €12,000.”

    Today in Kazakhstan, issues of child adoption are regulated by law. In the event of the detection of a crime, in particular an act of purchase and sale or other transactions in relation to a minor, the fact is registered under article 135, on trafficking minors, of the Criminal Code.

    Still, the search for Eddy’s birth mother continues, Ms. Doszhan said.

    “We were faced with the fact that we had no one to even file claims against,” she said. “Those who sold children in those years have long since left Kazakhstan.”

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Guinea: Senior UN officials welcome verdict in 2009 stadium massacre trial

    Source: United Nations MIL OSI

    Law and Crime Prevention

    The fight against impunity must continue in Guinea, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said on Thursday, welcoming the long-awaited verdict in the trial into the 2009 massacre at a stadium in the capital, Conakry.

    On Wednesday, a court in Conakry found former President Moussa Dadis Camara and several other military leaders guilty of crimes against humanity. Four other men were acquitted.

    Those convicted were also ordered to provide reparations to the victims and their families.

    Right to justice

    “After nearly 15 years, the victims, survivors and their families have the right to full justice and transparency,” UN rights chief Volker Türk said.

    “It is necessary to continue the path that Guinea has already started towards an end to impunity and ensuring that all those responsible for human rights violations are brought to justice,” he added.

    The High Commissioner also called for further strengthening of Guinea’s judicial institutions and guaranteeing their independence as key to preventing such violations from recurring.

    Killings, sexual violence and torture

    At least 156 people were killed, many disappeared and at least 109 girls and women were subjected to sexual violence, including sexual mutilation and sexual slavery, when security and military forces attacked a peaceful political rally at the Conakry Stadium on 28 September 2009.

    A number of victims were tortured to death and buried in mass graves.

    In the aftermath, a UN Commission of Inquiry was mandated to establish the facts and circumstances, to identify those responsible and make recommendations.

    With the support of the UN human rights office, OHCHR, the Commission concluded at the time that there was a “strong presumption that crimes against humanity were committed”, with “reasonable grounds to suspect individual criminal responsibility”.

    “Those who have lost loved ones and those who have been subjected to torture and sexual violence have the right to comprehensive psychosocial as well as financial support,” Mr. Türk said.

    The High Commissioner noted that it was also crucial for the Guinean Government to determine the whereabouts of all those who went missing and ensure those responsible for enforced disappearances and associated violations are held to account.

    He also stressed the importance of guaranteeing the defendants’ right to appeal.

    Powerful message against impunity

    Separately, the senior UN official working to end rape in wartime also welcomed the outcome of the trial.

    Pramila Patten, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General on sexual violence in conflict, said the verdict sends a powerful message that impunity will not be tolerated and reaffirms commitment to upholding the rights of survivors.

    “The delivery of the first-instance verdict is a significant milestone in the pursuit of justice for survivors of sexual violence and accountability for perpetrators. Sexual violence crimes have always been at the centre of this accountability process, both in investigations and trial,” she added.

    The Special Representative’s Office has supported this process since 2011, when the Guinean Government and the UN signed a joint communiqué on the fight against impunity for the 28 September 2009 events, including sexual violence.

    Through the Team of Experts on the rule of law and sexual violence in conflict, the Office has provided technical assistance to the investigating judges throughout the investigation phase and in the establishment of a steering committee for the organization of the trial.

    Ms. Patten commended the crucial efforts by Guinean authorities in organising this nationally owned process.

    She also praised the proactive role of the national judicial system and the magistrates’ professionalism in the conduct of a fair trial.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Venezuela: UN rights office describes pervasive ‘climate of fear’

    Source: United Nations MIL OSI

    Human Rights

    The UN human rights office, OHCHR, reiterated deep concerns on Tuesday over the continuing “climate of fear” in Venezuela, after an arrest warrant was issued for the opposition’s presidential candidate in the country’s recent election.

    “It is a climate of fear in the country at the moment. We are urging the government to ensure that all steps are taken in line with international human rights law with transparency and that steps are taken to resolve this dispute peacefully,” OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani told journalists in Geneva.

    The alert is just the latest of many warnings from the UN, top independent rights experts and independent investigators appointed by the Human Rights Council over the violent repression of dissenting voices in the South American country.

    “People are being detained for expressing their right to political participation, for their freedom of expression, for freedom of assembly,” Ms. Shamdasani said, a day after the authorities called for the detention of Edmundo Gonzalez.

    His campaign proved unsuccessful against President Nicolas Maduro who was announced the winner of the July election, a result contested by opposition supporters who have questioned the absence of voting numbers to back up the victory from official electoral authorities.

    Polling result query

    According to news reports, Mr. Gonzalez’s arrest followed publication by his camp of granular polling data indicating that he had won the election easily. He stands accused of numerous crimes including falsifying documents.

    Although the UN human rights office does not have a presence in Venezuela, Ms. Shamdasani noted that OHCHR still has had “contact” and “engagement” with the authorities in Caracas, amid street protests and online criticism following the election result, which returned Mr. Maduro to power.

    “We still put our concerns to them; we are continuing to urge…all parties to resolve all electoral disputes by peaceful means and there needs to be a climate where there is a full protection of the human rights of all individuals regardless of their political affiliation,” Ms. Shamdasani insisted.

    State-sponsored violence

    According to the Human Rights Council-appointed Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela, the election protests were met with “fierce repression by the State, as directed by its highest authorities, inducing a climate of widespread fear. The Mission has recorded 23 deaths, the vast majority caused by gunfire, between 28 July and 8 August in the context of the protests. In 18 of these cases, the victims were men under the age of 30.”

    Echoing those concerns last month, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, noted that more 2,400 people have been arrested in Venezuela since 29 July, following the Presidential elections.

    “It is especially troubling that so many people are being detained, accused or charged either with incitement to hatred or under counterterrorism legislation. Criminal law must never be used to limit unduly the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association,” the High Commissioner said. 

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Today’s challenges are ‘opportunities for transformation’, Somali leader tells UN

    Source: United Nations MIL OSI

    UN Affairs

    In his address to the UN General Assembly’s annual debate, Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre of Somalia highlighted the multitude of challenges facing the world today, including transnational conflicts, humanitarian crises, and the existential threat of climate change. 

    Underscoring the theme of this year’s Assembly session, he said that these challenges come with “an opportunity for transformation” that can only be realized through “closer cooperation, collective resolve, and an unwavering commitment to the principles of humanity and multilateralism.”  

    The Prime Minister addressed the urgency of escalating global conflicts, notably the humanitarian crises in Sudan, Gaza, and Ukraine. Denouncing the violence in Sudan, where ongoing conflict has displaced millions and led to severe food insecurity, he urged a cessation of hostilities and the protection of civilians, emphasizing the need for humanitarian access and inclusive dialogue.  

    Turning to Gaza, Mr. Barre said, “The ongoing conflict has not only destroyed the physical infrastructure of Gaza but has also crushed the hopes of an entire generation,” and called for an unconditional ceasefire and the lifting of the inhumane blockade, advocating for a political process that respects the rights of the Palestinian people.  

    He also addressed the ongoing war in Ukraine, again calling for a ceasefire and adherence to international humanitarian law. He stressed the importance of dialogue to achieve a lasting political settlement and prevent further escalation.  

    The Prime Minister noted that while global conflicts demand attention, regional threats should not be overlooked, particularly highlighting the threats posed by Ethiopia’s recent actions, which he described as violations of Somalia’s territorial integrity. He condemned Ethiopia’s attempts to annex parts of Somalia and called for international support to uphold Somalia’s sovereignty.  

    He went on to emphasize the critical need for sustainable funding for peacekeeping, particularly in Somalia, where African Union forces have played a vital role in combating terrorism. He urged the international community to support innovative funding solutions to ensure the success of these missions.  

    Climate change was another focal point of Mr. Barre’s address. He highlighted the severe impacts of climate change on Somalia, including droughts and floods. He noted, “For many developing countries, the reality is that the complex bureaucracy, rigid criteria, and lack of necessary resources often stand in the way of receiving the help they so desperately need” and called for simplified access to international funds to help vulnerable nations build resilience.  

    Mr. Barre also advocated for reforming the UN Security Council to better reflect today’s geopolitical realities, supporting the ‘Ezulwini Consensus’ for a more inclusive Council. He also called for reforms in international financial institutions to create a more equitable global economy, emphasizing the need for accountability and transparency.  

    Highlighting Somalia’s progress, PM Barre celebrated recent milestones, including the completion of debt relief and accession to the East African Community, and emphasized Somalia’s potential for economic growth and development, citing natural resources and a strategic location for trade.  

    Click here for the full statement.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Venezuela: Rights probe points to ‘unprecedented’ repression

    Source: United Nations MIL OSI

    By Daniel Johnson

    Human Rights

    Violence used against opponents of the Venezuelan authorities has reached unprecedented levels, a top independent human rights probe alleged on Tuesday, citing arrests, sexual abuse and torture as just some of the methods used by the Government of President Nicolas Maduro to stay in power.

    In a new report, the Human Rights Council-mandated investigators described how security forces had raided dozens of homes of suspected critics of the Government “just using social media videos as the only evidence to arrest people”.

    Violence and threats

    Victims’ testimonies gathered either side of the disputed Presidential election on 28 July which returned Mr. Maduro to office for the third time pointed to “one of the most acute human rights crises in recent history”, the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela further maintained.

    Speaking to journalists in Geneva, Marta Valiñas, Chair of the investigation, insisted that that its latest findings were “overwhelming: not only have there been no improvements, but the violations have intensified, reaching unprecedented levels of violence”.

    The independent rights expert described “an intensification of the State’s repressive machinery” with regard to its critics which represented “a continuation of previous patterns” that the independent rights panel had already condemned as likely crimes against humanity.

    Following the re-election of Mr. Maduro – whose victory announcement prompted widespread protests across Venezuela – Ms. Valiñas said that the probe had confirmed 25 fatalities.

    Grisly findings

    Most of the victims were “young people under 30 years old from popular neighbourhoods. There are two children among them,” she said. One of the deceased was a member of the Bolivarian National Guard, Ms. Valiñas noted, before adding that 24 “died from gunshot wounds [and] the other was beaten to death”.

    The fact-finding mission’s latest report examines the human rights situation in Venezuela between September 2023 and August 2024. It points to a further deterioration of the rule of law following the presidential elections, while public authorities “have abandoned all semblance of independence”, leaving citizens “helpless” against the “arbitrary exercise” of power.

    “We documented more than 40 cases in which the security forces entered private homes without warrants, just using social media videos as the only evidence to arrest people who they thought had participated in protests or who had expressed criticism in social media,” explained Francisco Cox Vial, Member of the fact-finding mission that was created by the Human Rights Council in 2019.

    Children among those arrested

    According to the independent investigators, more than 120 people were arrested in July in the context of opposition campaign events. In the first week of protests following the elections, based on figures released by the authorities, more than 2,000 people were detained.

    Individuals included more than 100 children, some with disabilities, who faced accusations of terrorism and incitement to hatred and serious violations of due process, the investigators added.

    “Of the people detained in this period, many were subjected to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, as well as sexual violence which was perpetrated against women and girls, but also against men with reported electric shocks, beating with blunt objects, suffocation with plastic bags, immersion in cold water and forced sleep deprivation,” said Patricia Tappatá Valdez, member of the fact-finding mission.

    “We had been able to verify that at least 143 of these arrests involved members of seven opposition parties, including 66 leaders of political movements,” she noted.

    According to the rights probe, from December 2023 to March 2024, at least 48 people were detained on the grounds of “so-called conspiracy theories” against the Government, with arrest warrants issued for others. The individuals included military personnel, human rights defenders, journalists and political opposition representatives, the fact-finding mission said.

    “We cannot ignore that these violations represent a clear and deliberate line of conduct by the authorities of politically motivated persecution,” said Mr. Cox Vial. “We have come to the conclusion that many of these allegations constitute crimes against humanity.”

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Attempt to defeat Russia a ‘suicidal escapade’, Lavrov warns Ukraine and the West

    Source: United Nations MIL OSI

    UN Affairs

    Ukraine’s hope of defeating Russia on the battlefield is senseless given that Moscow holds nuclear weapons and any effort by the NATO alliance to keep aiding Kyiv will prove to be a “suicidal escapade”, Russia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs told the UN General Assembly on Saturday.

    Sergey Lavrov said criticism of Russia’s “special operation” based on the UN Charter and Ukraine’s territorial integrity, ignored the fact that the UN’s founding document also “declares the obligation to respect the principles of the equality and self-determination of peoples”, he said, arguing that this had after all been the basis for ongoing decolonisation efforts.

    “The rights of Russians and those that feel they are part of Russian culture following the coup d’etat in Kyiv have methodically been exterminated,” he declared, and this poses a threat to Russian and wider European security.

    Mr. Lavrov said President Vladimir Putin had a “realistic settlement plan” and was prepared to negotiate, blaming the West for sabotaging previous attempts.

    He said the attempt by the Washington-London-Brussels axis to defeat Russia was nullifying the UN’s attempts to enhance global cooperation through agreements such as Sunday’s Pact for the Future – which Russia refused to back – and was “blocking the functioning of the entire system of global governance, including the Security Council.”

    “That’s not something we chose and we’re not responsible for the consequences of this dangerous course,” he added.

    He accused the West of “steadily destroying the model of globalisation that they themselves created”, warning that other regions of the world were forging their own alliances, inviting all of Europe and Asia to join a “single Eurasian space” separate from Washington’s influence.

    Addressing the Middle East crisis, Mr. Lavrov said there was no justification for the terror attacks by Hamas and others of 7 October but the “mass collective punishment” of Palestinians since then had created an “unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe.”

    He bemoaned the rise of “the now almost commonplace practice of political killings” and noted the reported killing of a Hezbollah leader on Friday in Beirut.

    “Security can be either equal and indivisible for all, or it won’t be for anyone”, he told delegates, returning to the theme of NATO’s “exceptionalism and impunity”.

    The Russian Foreign Minister said the UN itself needed to be more even-handed in investigating “terrorist methods” used by Israel, the US and others, such as during the wireless device attacks in Lebanon last week.

    Moreover, the UN needed to “avoid the temptation to play into the hands of individual States, particularly those that are actively calling not for cooperation but to divide the world into the flowering garden and the jungle – or to those sitting around the table of democracy, and those that are on the menu.”

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Sudan war becomes more deadly as ethnically motivated attacks rise

    Source: United Nations MIL OSI

    Human Rights

    The conflict in Sudan is taking an “even more dangerous turn for civilians”, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said on Friday. 

    His warning comes in the wake of reports that dozens were brutally killed in ethnically targeted attacks in Al Jazirah state in the southeast, and amid reports of an imminent battle for control of the country’s capital, Khartoum.

    The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and a rival military, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been fighting since April 2023 in what Mr. Türk called a “senseless war”.

    Desperate situation worsens

    As they “battle for control at all costs…direct and ethnically motivated attacks on civilians are becoming increasingly common,” he noted.

    “The situation for civilians in Sudan is already desperate, and there is evidence of the commission of war crimes and other atrocity crimes. I fear the situation is now taking a further, even more dangerous turn,” he said.

    Attacks on camps

    In the last week alone, his office, OHCHR, documented at least 21 deaths in just two attacks on camps in Al Jazirah, located some 40 kilometres from the state capital, Wad Madani.  

    However, the actual number of attacks directed at civilians, and of civilians killed, are likely to be higher. 

    On 10 January, at least eight civilians were killed in an attack on Taiba Camp, and at least 13 women and one man were abducted. Houses were burnt and livestock, crops and other property looted, while dozens of families were displaced. 

    The next day, at least 13 civilians were killed, including two boys, in an assault on Khamsa Camp. 

    Authorities promise investigation

    The attacks came in the context of the recapture of Wad Madani by the SAF. Reports suggest they were carried out by the Sudan Shield Forces led by Abu Aqla Keikal, a former RSF commander who defected to the other side last October. 

    The attacks reportedly targeted the Kanabi, a historically marginalised group comprised mainly of Nuba and other African tribes.

    Mr. Türk noted the Sudanese authorities’ assurance that the attacks would be fully investigated and those responsible brought to justice, and that an investigation committee has been established.

    “Retaliatory attacks – of shocking brutality – on entire communities based on real or perceived ethnic identity are on the rise, as is hate speech and incitement to violence. This must, urgently, be brought to an end,” he said.

    Violence captured on video

    OHCHR received three videos that document scenes of violence, including unlawful killings. They were reportedly filmed in Wad Madani, with men in SAF uniforms visibly present.

    In the videos, victims were dehumanised and denigrated as “Wassekh” (dirt), “Afan” (mould), “Beheema” (animal) and “Abnaa E-dheif” (bastards), and summary executions were hailed by perpetrators as “Nadhafa” (a cleaning operation). 

    Concern for North Darfur

    Serious concerns also persist for civilians in North Darfur, where ethnically motivated attacks by the RSF and its allied Arab militias against African ethnic groups, particularly the Zaghawa and the Fur, continue to exact a horrific toll. 

    Separately, some 120 civilians were reportedly killed and more than 150 injured in drone attacks in the city of Omdurman, on 13 January, allegedly launched by the SAF on a market in the Ombada Dar es Salam square, an RSF-controlled area.

    End the fighting

    Mr. Türk reiterated his call for the fighting to end, and for the warring sides to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law and international human rights law. 

    He also warned the proliferation of militia recruitment and mobilization of fighters – largely along ethnic lines – risks unleashing a broader civil war and inter-communal violence.

    Appeal to warring sides

    “The SAF and the RSF are responsible for the actions of groups and individuals fighting on their behalf,” he said. 

    He urged them to “take immediate measures to ensure the protection of all civilians, including by taking all feasible measures to avoid or at the very least minimise harm to civilians in the conduct of hostilities.”

    Prompt, independent, impartial and transparent investigations into all reports of violations and abuses are crucial, he added. 

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Stories from the UN Archive: Roots of ‘no justice, no peace’

    Source: United Nations MIL OSI

    By Eileen Travers

    Human Rights

    As the United States marks Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we’re looking back this Monday at a story we produced last year examining the roots of the civil rights’ icon’s powerful call to action – “no justice, no peace”.

    Read our story here:

    When Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his wife, Coretta Scott King, visited UN Headquarters in the 1960s to protest the Viet Nam conflict, the civil rights leader likened the anti-war movement to the struggle for equality for Black people in the US, declaring then what has today become a rallying cry in the continuing battle against racism.

    On 15 April 1967, a delegation led by Dr. King held a meeting with the legendary Ralph Bunche and other top UN officials. Mr. Bunche was the first African American to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, and Dr. King was the second.

    Watch our report from the archives about UN legend Mr. Bunche, here.

    During the meeting, Dr. King presented a petition, calling for an immediate and peaceful solution to the Vietnam conflict (1961-1975). Earlier that day, he had marched alongside 125,000 protesters in what was the first of many mass marches in opposition to the war.

    Watch UN Video’s Stories from the UN Archive episode on the world-renowned civil rights advocate below:

    ‘No justice without peace, no peace without justice’

    Outside UN Headquarters in the spring of 1967, Dr. King read aloud a powerful petition for peace amid turbulent times.

    “From towns and villages, cities, campuses and farms, we have come in tens of thousands to march and rally at the United Nations in New York and at the birthplace of the world organization in San Francisco on the 15th day of April 1967,” he said. “We the participants in today’s unprecedented national peace demonstration, although of many national origins, faiths and shades of political opinion, are united in our conviction of the imperative need for an immediate, peaceful solution to an illegal and unjustifiable war.”

    “We are determined that the killing be stopped and that a nuclear holocaust be avoided,” he said. “We rally at the United Nations in order to reaffirm our support of the principles of peace, universality, equal rights and self-determination of peoples embodied in the Charter and acclaimed by mankind, but violated by the United States.”

    In terms of the priority of the peace movement and the civil rights movement, Dr. King said “from a content point of view, the issues are inextricably tied together”.

    “In the final analysis, there can be no peace without justice, and there can be no justice without peace,” he said.

    UN Photo/Teddy Chen

    Dr. King speaks to the press at UN Headquarters in New York in 1967. (file)

    Inspiring future generations

    The civil rights leader continued to advocate for peace throughout the last year of his life before he was assassinated in 1968, exactly one year after he visited UN Headquarters. His anti-war activism reinforced the connection between the conflict abroad and injustice at home in the US.

    Dr. King’s lifetime efforts, from the March to Montgomery to his iconic I Have a Dream speech in Washington, have inspired future generations, including his own granddaughter. Earlier this year, 15-year-old activist Yolanda Renee King addressed an audience in the General Assembly Hall at a special commemoration of the International Day of Remembrance of Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, marked annually on 25 March.

    “I stand before you today as a proud descendant of enslaved people who resisted slavery and racism like my grandparents, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King,” she said from the green marbled podium in the Assembly Hall.

    “My parents, Martin Luther King III and Arndrea Waters King, have also dedicated their lives to putting an end to racism and all forms of bigotry and discrimination,” said the author of the children’s book We Dream a World, which pays tribute to her celebrated grandparents.

    “Like them, I am committed to the fight against racial injustice and to carrying on the legacy of my grandparents who championed social justice and equality,” Ms. King said, calling on young people around the world to take action.

    “We must connect via the internet and organise across national boundaries around the world. This will open up new possibilities for global campaigns to advance human rights and social justice in all nations. I hope that my family’s legacy of social justice advocacy will inspire my generation to action and to confront issues affecting our world.”

    Watch her full statement below:

    Stories from the UN Archive

    UN News is showcasing epic moments across UN history, cultivated from the UN Audiovisual Library’s 49,400 hours of video and 18,000 hours of audio recordings.

    Catch up on UN Video’s Stories from the UN Archive playlist here and our accompanying series here.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Global education must integrate AI, centred on humanity

    Source: United Nations MIL OSI

    Human Rights

    Marking the International Day of Education, UN Secretary-General António Guterres has emphasized learning as a basic human right and foundation for individual and societal growth.

    His message highlighted the dual nature of technological advances such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), which offer immense potential – but also pose considerable risks.

    “Education is an essential building block for every person to reach their full potential, and for societies and economies to grow and flourish”, Mr. Guterres said.

    AI promise and risks

    The UN chief stressed that AI and other tech innovations can significantly aid students and teachers by providing wider access to information and advanced learning tools.

    “But the tremendous rewards are matched by some daunting risks. As AI-driven systems become more powerful, human intention and machine-driven impacts can easily misalign”, he added.

    This year, the UN education and culture agency, UNESCO, is dedicating the Day to the opportunities and challenges of AI. 

    Director-General Audrey Azoulay called for more investment in training both teachers and students so it can be used responsibly.

    “AI offers major opportunities, provided that its deployment in schools is guided by clear ethical principles. To reach its full potential, this technology must complement the human and social dimensions of learning, rather than replace them.”, Mr. Azoulay said.

    Human rights at the heart of AI

    Stressing that this year’s day reminds us that unlocking the AI’s potential “depends on keeping human agency – and human rights – at the heart of this rapidly evolving technology”, the UN Secretary-General called for guarantees that all users have the right tools and knowledge to “use this technology smartly, safely and ethically”.

    UNESCO’s Competency Frameworks to support learners and teachers as they incorporate AI into their learning, and the recently adopted Global Digital Compact, are expected to help ensure humanity retains control over the development and governance of AI.

    Concluding his message, Mr. Guterres called for a commitment to “keeping humanity at the centre of education systems, everywhere”.

    Divisions over AI

    As AI becomes more integrated into education, countries remain divided on its use. According to UNESCO’s latest data, in high-income nations, over two-thirds of secondary school students are already leveraging generative AI tools to support their schoolwork.

    However, a significant challenge remains with education professionals still lacking clear guidelines.

    A UNESCO survey conducted in May 2023, covering 450 educational institutions, revealed that only 10 per cent of schools and universities have an official framework for AI use.

    Simultaneously, an increasing number of countries are imposing restrictions on new technologies in the classroom. New data from UNESCO indicates that nearly 40 per cent of nations now have laws or policies banning mobile phones in schools, a notable rise from 24 per cent in July 2023.

    For more insights, listen to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education, Farida Shaheed, who recently discussed the role of AI in schools and the challenges it brings in an interview with UN News.

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    Access to education

    The International Day reminds us that access to high-quality education is a human right that not only greatly benefits individuals but also uplifts entire communities.

    Millions of children, however, remain out of school due to a variety of factors including gender, location, social background or conflict.

    Despite decades of educational progress and international commitments, according to UNESCO’s latest data, 251 million children and youth remain out of school worldwide.

    Safe and inclusive

    In a recent study, UNESCO reported that almost one in three learners has been physically attacked at least once during the school year and one in ten experiences cyberbullying.

    With too many children across the world experiencing violence in and around schools, the impacts can be devastating – affecting the well-being, education outcomes and quality of life of students.

    Watch youngsters here explain what they need to make schools safer.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Saints and liars: The story of American aid workers who helped Jewish refugees escape the Holocaust

    Source: United Nations MIL OSI

    By Tracey Petersen

    Human Rights

    Long before the United States entered the Second World War in December 1941, American aid workers were fanning out across territory occupied by the Axis powers, attempting to help Jews escape, as their grip tightened.

    A new book on their work underlines the chaos of the time, and the difficult decisions they had to make, knowing that for every person they saved, many more would be killed.

    Saints and Liars, by Debórah Dwork, the Director of the Center for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Crimes Against Humanity at the City University of New York Graduate Center, tells the stories of rescue workers in five key cities as the situation on the ground grew increasingly dire.

    At the launch ahead of the  International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust marked annually on 27 January, Tracey Petersen, the manager of the UN Holocaust Education Outreach Programme, interviewed Debórah Dwork at UN Headquarters, and began by asking her about the book’s title.

    This interview has been edited for clarity and length

    Debórah Dwork: I called it Saints and Liars because that’s what these people were. They did amazing things, in a non-religious sense. They did miraculous things. They saved people either by helping them to move on, get to sea, find a safe harbour, or by feeding, clothing and sheltering them.

    And at the same time, nearly all of them lied. They broke rules and played fast and loose with the truth in order to accomplish their goals.

    Tracey Petersen: Why did you write this book?

    UN Publications/Steven Bornholtz

    Debórah Dwork (r) author of Saints and Liars.

    Debórah Dwork: I wanted to tell the story of Americans who went to Europe when everyone who was worried about danger was trying to go in the opposite direction. Their first idea was relief activities, but their mandate morphed to trying to effect rescue. I wanted to know who they were and what prompted them.

    We start in Prague, 1939, before the war was declared and well before the United States entered the war. What prompted Waitstill and Martha Sharp? They were a pair of married Unitarians sent to Czechoslovakia by their church.

    The situation grew worse and worse for political opponents of the Nazi regime and for Jews. And yet the Sharps stayed on to help and began to engage in illegal activities in the hope of saving lives.

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    Tracey Petersen: Did the outside world in general know what was happening in Czechoslovakia at that time?

    Debórah Dwork: The loss of the Sudetenland region was part of the Munich Pact, an agreement signed by the major leaders of Europe, who gave away a whole chunk of Czechoslovakia without a single shot being fired.

    As you can imagine, this was the stuff of headlines, and it was the Munich Pact which first galvanized the Unitarian leadership in Boston to say “we’ve got to do something: the Germans have taken Sudetenland. Refugees are fleeing into Prague. They need help. They need clothing. They need shelter. They need medical care. They need food”.

    Tracey Petersen: How dangerous was the work of these American aid workers?

    Debórah Dwork: Waitstill Sharp said that Yankees like to skate on thin ice. Just one of the ways in which his work endangered him was that he did illegal currency transactions, because raising money to pay for the rescue activities was very difficult. But if the regime had learned about this he would have been at least imprisoned and probably tortured.

    Tracey Petersen: Why did refugees go to Shanghai and where were they coming from?

    Debórah Dwork: Even before the war, Jews and political dissidents in Germany and Nazi-occupied Austria and Czechoslovakia sought desperately to leave Europe and to get to some place of safety.

    As it happened, Shanghai was just such a place because no visa was required for them to land there. So, by the time war did break out in January, in September 1939, some 20,000 refugees had collected in Shanghai, which had been under Japanese rule since 1937.

    US Holocaust Memorial Museum/Yad Vashem

    Jews from Subcarpathian Rus are subjected to a selection process on a ramp at Auschwitz-Birkenau, Poland.

    The US State Department and American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) sent Laura Margolis to Shanghai to help them move on to their next destination, but the war intervened, and she ended up staying in a city under occupation with very few resources to help them meet their needs. They needed medical care, food and shelter. The children needed education. Somehow, she had to try to meet the needs of this community that was cut off from the rest of the world

    Tracey Petersen: The numbers are staggering. You had women, children, refugees, incredible terror, anxiety, being turned down for visas… did the aid workers reflect on whether they were possibly being swayed by their emotions and maybe helping some people when they should have been helping others? Is there any sense of their turmoil?

    Debórah Dwork: Definitely. There were thousands upon thousands of people who needed help. When you wake up in the morning, whose case are you going to attend to? What were the criteria?

    The Unitarians did have specific criteria: they wanted to rescue people who would help to reestablish democratic governments after the war was over. Of course, they were mostly male, mostly middle class or upper middle class. Mostly well-educated. That was the idea. But life on the ground had its own dynamic. And in Prague Martha and Waitstill ended up helping all manner of people.

    The Quakers, by contrast, had no such calculus. Their goal was to help everyone who required help. This was a sharp and distinct difference between the Unitarians agenda and the Quakers agenda. In fact, they annoyed each other with the Unitarians saying the Quakers had no principles, and the Quakers saying the Unitarians had no principles.

    Tracey Petersen: In many ways these stories reveal that a successful rescue is sometimes just a question of luck and timing.

    Debórah Dwork: We all know the degree to which the unpredictable and the irrational affect our lives. Luck, timing, fortuitous circumstances, passion, sympathies, antipathies. But when we think about the past, we strip those factors away. We think things happened for a reason. Sometimes they did happen for a reason, but sometimes they happened by accident.

    Let’s hope that we can learn from these events and say action is possible, activities are possible, initiative is possible. 

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: ‘We have a duty to stand against intolerance’: UN human rights chief

    Source: United Nations MIL OSI

    Human Rights

    On this day, 80 years ago, some 7,000 prisoners who had been left to starve in the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and extermination camps were liberated by allied soldiers.

    Marking Holocaust Remembrance Day on Monday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, said the essence of commemorations was to acknowledge the past but they “must also examine the present and look to the future”.

    ‘Hateful rhetoric’ reverberating

    Underlying the rise of hateful rhetoric, with rising antisemitism on the streets and online, the UN rights chief said that “discrimination and dehumanisation are winning out over solidarity and compassion; diversity is viewed as a threat rather than something to be treasured; and many leaders are undermining and weakening the rule of law”.

    Reminding us that everyone has a “duty to stand against intolerance”, Mr. Türk shared his fear the world is “sleepwalking into a grim future where human rights and dignity are denied, stripped away or forgotten”.

    Listen back to the story of Eva Lavi, the youngest survivor to be saved from the Nazis by the German industrialist Oskar Schindler: 

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    Call to condemn antisemitism

    In a powerful video-message, Mr. Türk urged the global community to remain vigilant in the face of rising intolerance and discrimination. The call comes as a reminder of the horrors of the Holocaust and the lessons it teaches.

    Echoing the words of Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, who famously said, “silence encourages the tormentor,” he emphasized the importance of speaking out against all forms of hatred, particularly antisemitism.

    “We must condemn it in all its forms, alongside bigotry, intolerance, and hatred,” Mr. Türk advocated, urging people to take action.

    Education is key

    The central theme of this year’s Holocaust Remembrance is the ongoing battle for dignity and human rights.

    In a call to expose disinformation and resist efforts to foster division, hatred and fear, Mr. Türk said that diversity must be celebrated, and Holocaust stories must be retold as a crucial safeguard against prejudice and racism.

    “Holocaust education remains one of the best vaccines against dehumanization,” he added, calling for a just and dignified future for all.

    Soundcloud

    Ceremony at UN Headquarters

    On Monday, the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, is due to deliver remarks to the General Assembly, at the annual ceremony of remembrance at UN Headquarters.

    The ceremony is scheduled to start at 11 AM New York time and will honour the victims, also paying tribute to the dwindling band of survivors, some of whom will share their testimonies along with invited speakers.

    You can follow live here. 

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Iran: UN experts alarmed as Supreme Court upholds death sentence of Kurdish woman activist

    Source: United Nations MIL OSI

    Human Rights

    Independent UN human rights experts on Tuesday expressed grave concern over the Iranian Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the death sentence of Pakhshan Azizi, a Kurdish woman activist and social worker.

    “The charges against Ms. Pakhshan Azizi do not meet the threshold of ‘most serious crimes’ required by international law for the death penalty,” the Human Rights Council-appointed experts stated. “Her death sentence constitutes a serious violation of international human rights law.”

    Solitary confinement

    Ms. Azizi was arrested in Tehran on 4 August 2023, by Iranian intelligence services and held in solitary confinement in the notorious Evin Prison for five months.

    On 23 July 2024, the Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced her to death for “armed rebellion against the state” and “membership of opposition groups,” along with a four-year prison term for alleged membership of in the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK).

    The Supreme Court upheld the death sentence last week.

    “Ms. Azizi’s arrest and sentencing appear to be solely related to her legitimate work as a social worker, including her support for refugees in Iraq and Syria,” the independent experts noted.

    Reports indicate that Ms. Azizi was subjected to severe psychological and physical torture in solitary confinement to extract a confession. She was also denied access to family visits and legal representation of her choice.

    Family members detained

    Several members of Azizi’s family were temporarily detained and have faced national security charges, presumably to pressure her to confess, the experts noted.

    “The use of torture to extract confessions and the denial of fair trial rights render the death sentence against Ms. Azizi arbitrary in nature,” the experts said.

    The experts highlighted that the number of executions in Iran surpassed 900 in 2024, with an increase in the number of women put to death.

    They have called for Iran to stop executions that violate international law and fundamental human rights.

    End targeting of Kurdish women activists

    “We are deeply concerned by the specific targeting of Kurdish women activists with politically motivated charges,” they said.

    “Ms. Azizi’s prosecution reflects the heightened persecution that minority women activists face in Iran and the continued intention to punish and silence them by creating a climate of fear.”

    The experts urged Iranian authorities to revoke Ms. Azizi’s death sentence, investigate allegations of torture and denial of fair trial rights, and end the harassment and targeting of women activists in Iran.

    Special Rapporteurs and Working Groups who report on and monitor allegations of rights abuses are not UN staff and are independent of any government or organization. They serve in their individual capacity and receive no salary.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: UN rights chief in historic meeting in Syria’s with caretaker authority in Damascus

    Source: United Nations MIL OSI

    Human Rights

    The UN human rights chief Volker Türk has described the unbearable suffering of former detainees under the deposed Assad regime and insisted that he stands with the people of the war-torn nation as they “rebuild a country that works for all Syrians”. 

    Speaking from Damascus after meeting the leader of the caretaker authorities, Ahmad Al-Sharaa, Mr. Türk said that he had been “assured…of the importance of respect for human rights for all Syrians and all different components of Syrian society”.

    Syria’s de facto leader – who spearheaded the lightning overthrow of Bashar Al Assad on 8 December at the head of opposition fighters Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS) –  also underscored “the pursuit of healing, trust building and social cohesion, and the reform of institutions”, the High Commissioner said. 

    Staggering needs 

    “But the challenges are immense,” he continued, pointing to the hundreds of thousands of lives lost and the fact that “much of the country lies in ruins”.

    Today, nine in 10 Syrians are “mired in poverty, the health system is on its knees and many schools are closed,” Mr. Türk said. “Millions are still displaced both inside and outside the country. The rights to food, health, education and housing are fundamental human rights, and there must be prompt, collective and concerted efforts to guarantee them.”

    Calling for “an urgent reconsideration” of ongoing sanctions on Syria “with a view to lifting them”, the UN rights chief said that considering their impact on the lives of the Syrian people was key. 

    Sednaya horrors

    Mr. Türk – whose visit to Syria is a first for any UN High Commissioner for Human Rights – said that he had heard harrowing testimony from numerous victims of torture. 

    They included some jailed at the notorious Sednaya prison outside Damascus, where his Office documented violations “for years”.

    The UN rights chief described prisoners telling him that “early in the morning, as they heard the guards at their door, trembling in fear, they retreated to the rear of the cell, fearing they would be hauled out again to be tortured, or even executed.”

    Thousands died in prisons throughout Syria, the High Commissioner explained, as he went on to condemn the “apocalyptic wasteland” of the bombed-out residential neighbourhood of Jobar, in Damascus, which he visited.

    Mass killing, destruction

    “Not a single building in the area was spared bombardment in wave after wave of attacks,” Mr. Türk said, adding that it was “inconceivable that such mass killings and destruction” had happened. 

    It was equally difficult to believe “that banned chemical weapons were used against civilians elsewhere in the country and not just once”, the UN rights chief said – a likely reference to several deadly chlorine gas attacks, including on two residential buldings in Douma in northeast Damascus by the Syrian air force on 7 April 2018.

    It “says a lot about the extreme brutality of the tactics used by the former regime”, whose acts “constitute some of the most serious crimes under international humanitarian law.”

    ‘Real threats’ to Syria remain

    Away from the immediate destruction and grief of war, the High Commissioner highlighted that the people of Syria “need every ounce of help they can get to rebuild a country that works for all Syrians”. 

    The UN human rights office, OHCHR – which has had a dedicated Syria monitoring team since 2013 – “will continue to support inclusive, nationally owned and driven processes”, Mr. Türk said.

    He warned of “very real threats” to Syria’s territorial integrity and independence. The country’s sovereignty “must be fully respected and rigorously upheld. The ongoing conflicts and hostilities must end,” the High Commissioner insisted, adding: “This is really a seminal moment for Syria after decades of repression. 

    “My most fervent hope is for all Syrians to be able to thrive together, regardless of gender, religion or ethnicity and to build a common future.”  

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    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: The climate crisis: 5 things to watch out for in 2025

    Source: United Nations MIL OSI

    By Conor Lennon

    Climate and Environment

    The Amazonian city of Belém, Brazil, will be the global focus of efforts to tackle the climate crisis in November 2025, when it hosts one of the most significant UN climate conferences in recent years. 

    However, throughout the years there will be plenty of opportunities to make important progress on several climate-related issues, from the staggering levels of plastic pollution to financing the shift to a cleaner global economy.

    1 Can we keep 1.5 alive?

    “Keep 1.5 alive” has been the UN’s rallying cry for a number of years, a reference to the goal of ensuring that average global temperatures don’t soar beyond 1.5 degrees higher than pre-industrial levels. The scientific consensus is that a lack of action would have catastrophic consequences, not least for the so-called “frontline States”, such as developing island nations which could disappear under the ocean, as sea levels rise.

    © UNICEF/Lasse Bak Mejlvang

    A man fishes sitting on sandbags which protect the Pacific Ocean island nation Tuvalu against sea erosion.

    At COP30, the UN climate conference scheduled to take place between 10 and 21 November 2025, mitigation (in other words, actions and policies designed to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to rising temperatures) is likely to a key focus.

    The nations of the world will arrive with upgraded, more ambitious commitments to lowering greenhouse gases. This is both a recognition that existing pledges are wholly inadequate, in terms of getting temperatures down, and part of the deal that Member States signed up to in 2015 at the Paris COP (nations are expected to “ratchet up” their commitments every five years. The last time this happened was at the 2021 Glasgow COP, delayed by one year because of the COVID-19 pandemic).

    2 Protecting nature

    Holding COP30 in the Amazonian rainforest region of Brazil is of symbolic importance. It harks back to the early days of international attempts to protect the environment: the pivotal “Earth Summit”, which led to the establishment of three environmental treaties on climate change, biodiversity, and desertification, took place in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro in 1992.

    © Unsplash/Sreenivas

    A parrot stands on a tree branch in Maharashtra, India.

    The location also highlights the role that nature has to play in the climate crisis. The rainforest is a massive “carbon sink”, a system that sucks up and stores CO2, a greenhouse gas, and prevents it from entering the atmosphere, where it contributes to warming.

    Unfortunately, rainforests and other “nature-based solutions” face threats from human development, such as illegal logging which has devastated huge swathes of the region. The UN will continue efforts begun in 2024 to improve the protection of the rainforest and other ecosystems, at biodiversity talks due to be resumed in Rome in February.

    3 Who’s going to pay for all this?

    Finance has long been a thorny issue in international climate negotiations. Developing countries argue that wealthy nations should contribute far more towards projects and initiatives that will enable them to move away from fossil fuels, and power their economies on clean energy sources. The pushback from the rich countries is that fast-growing economies such as China, which is now the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world, should also pay their share.

    © UNFCCC/Habib Samadov

    Activists protest against fossil fuels at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan.

    At COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, a breakthrough of sorts was made, with the adoption of an agreement to triple the amount of climate finance paid to developing countries, to $300 billion per year, by 2035. The deal is a definite step forward, but the final sum is far less than the $1.3 trillion that climate experts say these countries need in order to adapt to the crisis.

    Expect more progress to be made on financing in 2025, at a summit in Spain at the end of June. The Financing for Development conferences only take place once every 10 years, and next year’s edition is being billed as an opportunity to make radical changes to the international financial architecture. Environmental and climate concerns will be raised, and potential solutions such as green taxation, carbon pricing and subsidies will all be on the table.

    4 Laying down the law

    When the attention of the International Court of Justice turned to climate change in December, it was hailed as a landmark moment with regards to States’ legal obligations under international law.

    © UNDP/Silke von Brockhausen

    Vanuatu often experiences destructive extreme weather, such as typhoons, which are being exacerbated by climate change.

    Vanuatu, a Pacific island state particularly vulnerable to the crisis, asked the court for an advisory position, in order to clarify the obligations of States with regard to climate change, and inform any future judicial proceedings.

    Over a two-week period, 96 countries and 11 regional organizations took part in public hearings before the Court, including Vanuatu and a group of other Pacific islands States, and major economies including China and the USA.

    The ICJ will deliberate for several months before delivering its advisory opinion on the subject. Although this opinion will be non-binding, it is expected to guide future international climate law.

    5 Plastic pollution

    UN-convened talks on getting to grips with the global epidemic of plastic pollution edged closer to a deal during negotiations in Busan, South Korea.

    Some key advances were made during the November 2024 talks – the fifth round of negotiations following the 2022 UN Environment Assembly resolution calling for an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment.

    Agreement on three pivotal areas needs to be ironed: plastic products, including the issue of chemicals; sustainable production and consumption; and financing.

    UNDP India

    Plastic bottles are collected for recycling in India.

    Member States are now charged with finding political solutions to their differences before the resumed session begins, and with landing a final deal that addresses the full lifecycle of plastics and delivers on the growing global momentum to end plastic pollution.

    “It is clear that the world still wants and demands an end to plastic pollution,” said UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Executive Director Inger Andersen. “We need to ensure we craft an instrument that hits the problem hard instead of punching below its potential weight. I call on all Member States to lean in.”

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: 2024 to become the hottest year on record

    Source: United Nations MIL OSI

    Climate and Environment

    The year 2024 is set to be the warmest on record, capping a decade of unprecedented heat fuelled by human activities, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). 

    “Today I can officially report that we have just endured a decade of deadly heat. The top ten hottest years on record have happened in the last ten years, including 2024,” said Secretary-General António Guterres in his message for the New Year.  

    “This is climate breakdown — in real time. We must exit this road to ruin — and we have no time to lose,” he gravely emphasised.

    WMO will publish the consolidated global temperature figure for 2024 in January and its full State of the Global Climate 2024 report in March 2025.  

    Climate catastrophes 

    Throughout 2024, a series of reports from the WMO community highlighted the rapid pace of climate change and its far-reaching impacts on every aspect of sustainable development.

    Record-breaking rainfalls were documented as well as catastrophic flooding, scorching heat waves with temperatures exceeding 50°C, and devastating wildfires.  

    The organization found that climate change added 41 days of dangerous heat in 2024, harming human health and ecosystems in their report When Risks Become Reality: Extreme Weather.  

    Climate change also intensified 26 of the 29 weather events studied by World Weather Attribution that killed at least 3700 people and displaced millions. 

    Celeste Saulo, the WMO Secretary-General, described the year as a sobering wake-up call. 

    “This year we saw record-breaking rainfall and flooding events and terrible loss of life in so many countries, causing heartbreak to communities on every continent,” she stated.

    “Every fraction of a degree of warming matters, and increases climate extremes, impacts and risks,” she underscored.  

    Hope amid crises  

    Despite the grim realities, the year 2024 saw notable advancements with the adoption of the Pact for the Future – a landmark agreement to promote disarmament, financial reform, gender equality, and ethical technological innovation.  

    The COP29 UN climate conference also recently discussed ways to increase finance for poor countries to support them in coping with the impacts of extreme weather.  

    Developing countries are responsible for a small amount of historic carbon emissions, but as WMO research has highlighted, are being hit the hardest by extreme weather. 

    Moreover, in response to the Secretary-General’s Call to Action on Extreme Heat, a targeted group of experts representing 15 international organizations and 12 countries convened at WMO headquarters in December to advance a coordinated framework for tackling the growing threat of extreme heat.  

    2025: A pivotal year  

    With 2025 designated as the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation, WMO and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) aim to prioritise efforts to protect the cryosphere – the Earth’s frozen regions, critical to regulating global temperatures.  

    Additionally, WMO is advancing initiatives like the Global Greenhouse Gas Watch which aims to improve the monitoring of greenhouse gas (GHG) net fluxes globally.  

    By 2027, the organization also aims to ensure universal protection from hazardous environmental events through life-saving anticipatory systems currently developed in the Early Warnings for All programme.  

    Reflecting on WMO’s upcoming 75th anniversary, Ms. Saulo reinforced the shared responsibility to act.

    “If we want a safer planet, we must act now. It’s our responsibility. It’s a common responsibility, a global responsibility,” she firmly stated.  

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Confirmed: 2024 was the hottest year on record, says UN weather agency

    Source: United Nations MIL OSI

    Climate and Environment

    UN weather experts from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) confirmed on Friday that 2024 was the hottest year on record, at 1.55 degrees Celsius (C) above pre-industrial temperatures.

    “We saw extraordinary land, sea surface temperatures, extraordinary ocean heat accompanied by very extreme weather affecting many countries around the world, destroying lives, livelihoods, hopes and dreams,” WMO spokesperson Clare Nullis said. “We saw many climate change impacts retreating sea ice glaciers. It was an extraordinary year.”

    Four of the six international datasets crunched by WMO indicated a higher than 1.5℃ global average increase for the whole of last year but two did not. 

    The 1.5℃ marker is significant because it was a key goal of the 2015 Paris Agreement to try to ensure that global temperature change does not rise more than this above pre-industrial levels, while striving to hold the overall increase to well below 2℃.

    Climate deal under pressure

    The Paris Agreement is “not yet dead but in grave danger”, the WMO maintained, explaining that the accord’s long-term temperature goals are measured over decades, rather than individual years.

    However, WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo insisted that “climate history is playing out before our eyes. We’ve had not just one or two record-breaking years, but a full ten-year series. “It is essential to recognize that every fraction of a degree of warming matters. Whether it is at a level below or above 1.5C of warming, every additional increment of global warming increases the impacts on our lives, economies and our planet.”

    LA fires: climate change factor

    Amid still raging deadly wildfires in Los Angeles that weather experts including the WMO insist have been exacerbated by climate change – with more days of dry, warm, windy weather on top of rains which boosted vegetation growth – the UN agency said that 2024 capped a decade-long “extraordinary streak of record-breaking temperatures”.

    © CAL FIRE

    A bank building burns in Los Angeles, California.

    UN Secretary-General António Guterres described the WMO’s findings as further proof of global warming and urged all governments to deliver new national climate action plans this year to limit long-term global temperature rise to 1.5C – and support the most vulnerable deal with devastating climate impacts.

    “Individual years pushing past the 1.5℃ limit do not mean the long-term goal is shot,” Mr. Guterres said. “It means we need to fight even harder to get on track. Blazing temperatures in 2024 require trail-blazing climate action in 2025,” he said. “There’s still time to avoid the worst of climate catastrophe. But leaders must act – now.”

    The datasets used by WMO are from the European Center for Medium Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), the Japan Meteorological Agency, NASA, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the UK Met Office in collaboration with the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia (HadCRUT) and Berkeley Earth.

    Listen back to an interview climate scientist Alvaro Silva at the WMO, following the heat alert in the United States at the end of June: 

    Soundcloud

    Ocean warming

    Highlighting a separate scientific study on ocean warming, WMO said that it had played a key role in last year’s record high temperatures.

    “The ocean is the warmest it has ever been as recorded by humans, not only at the surface but also for the upper 2,000 metres,” the UN agency said, citing the findings of the international study spanning seven countries and published in the journal Advances in Atmospheric Sciences.

    WMO noted that about 90 per cent of the excess heat from global warming is stored in the ocean, “making ocean heat content a critical indicator of climate change”.

    To put the study’s findings into perspective, it explained that from 2023 to 2024, the upper 2,000 metres of ocean became warmer by 16 zettajoules (1,021 Joules), which is about 140 times the world’s total electricity output.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Climate emergency: 2025 declared international year of glaciers

    Source: United Nations MIL OSI

    By Pia Blondel

    Climate and Environment

    As glaciers disappear at an alarming rate due to climate change, the UN General Assembly has declared 2025 the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation (IYGP).

    Co-facilitated by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), this global initiative seeks to unite efforts worldwide to protect these vital water sources, which provide freshwater to more than 2 billion people.

    Glaciers and ice sheets hold around 70 per cent of the world’s freshwater and their rapid loss presents an urgent environmental and humanitarian crisis.

    WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo emphasised this urgency, saying “Melting ice and glaciers threaten long-term water security for many millions of people. This international year must be a wake-up call to the world.”

    Alarming data

    In 2023, glaciers experienced their greatest water loss in over 50 years, marking the second consecutive year in which all glaciated regions worldwide reported ice loss.

    Switzerland, for instance, saw their glaciers lose 10 per cent of their total mass between 2022 and 2023, according to the WMO.

    Dr. Lydia Brito, UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Natural Sciences, explained during the launch event in Geneva that the “50 UNESCO heritage sites with glaciers represent almost 10 per cent of Earth’s glacier area.” However, a recent study warned that glaciers in one-third of these sites are projected to disappear by 2050.

    With 2024 confirmed as the hottest year on record, the need for immediate and decisive action has never been more critical.

    2025 key initiatives

    A key focus, the panel explained, is raising global awareness about the essential role glaciers, snow and ice play in regulating the climate and supporting ecosystems and communities.

    “Glaciers don’t care if we believe in science – they just melt in the heat,” said Dr. Carolina Adler of the Mountain Research Initiative.

    The initiative also aims to enhance scientific understanding through programmes like the Global Cryosphere Watch, ensuring that data guides effective climate action.

    Strengthening policy frameworks is another priority, with the integration of glacier preservation into global and national climate strategies, such as the Paris Agreement.

    Mobilising financial resources is another priority – essential to support vulnerable communities and fund adaptation and mitigation efforts – alongside engaging youth and local communities.

    Milestones on climate

    The first World Glacier Day will be celebrated on 21 March 2025, coinciding with World Water Day, coming a day later.

    In May, Tajikistan will host the International Glacier Preservation Conference, bringing together scientists, policymakers and community leaders to discuss solutions and form partnerships.

    “Tajikistan is immensely proud to have played an instrumental role in advocating for this resolution,” said Bahodur Sheralizoda, Chair of Tajikistan’s Committee of Environmental Protection.

    “Let us be clear, the only way to preserve glaciers as an important resource for the entire planet is for all governments to collectively course correct with Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) fully consistent with the 1.5°C Paris Agreement limit,” he underscored.

    Challenges ahead

    According to the policy brief on the IYGP, “Some level of glacier loss remains inevitable given current loss rates, which modelling shows will continue until temperatures stabilise.”

    “We must prepare for cryospheric destruction through urgent policy changes,” explained Dr. John Pomeroy from the University of Saskatchewan.

    These efforts will require global cooperation, particularly in regions like Central Asia, where glacier loss has led to significant water security challenges.

    “In Tajikistan alone nearly 1,000 glaciers have melted, accounting for one-third of the country’s glacier volume,” Dr. Brito highlighted.

    A shared responsibility

    The IYGP seeks to unite nations, organizations and individuals in a common mission.

    “[It] provides a mechanism to kick start both renewed efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase the science and adaptation necessary to prepare for a warmer, less icy world,” said Dr. Pomeroy

    “History will record that 2025 was the tipping point where humanity changed course and eventually saved the glaciers, ourselves and our planet,” he concluded.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Stats NZ information release: Ready-mixed concrete: December 2024 quarter

    Source: Statistics New Zealand

    Ready-mixed concrete: December 2024 quarter –12 February 2025 – Ready-mixed concrete statistics provide an indicator of construction activity.

    Key facts

    • In the December 2024 quarter, the actual volume of ready-mixed concrete produced was 967,964 cubic metres, down 6.2 percent compared with the December 2023 quarter.
    • In the year ended December 2024, 3.82 million cubic metres of ready-mixed concrete was produced, down 7.7 percent compared with the year ended December 2023.
    • In seasonally adjusted terms, the volume of ready-mixed concrete fell 4.7 percent in the December 2024 quarter, following a 0.6 percent rise in the September 2024 quarter.

    Files:

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: US, Australia, and UK forces conduct joint combined operations

    Source: United States INDO PACIFIC COMMAND

    SOUTH CHINA SEA  –  

    The U.S. Navy (USN), Royal Australian Navy (RAN), and Royal Navy (RN) joined together to conduct a link exercise, a coordinated maneuvering exercise, and a variety of other combined operations in the South China Sea, Feb. 6-7.

    Participating units included the USN Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold (DDG 65), the RAN Hobart-class guided-missile destroyer HMAS Hobart (DDG 39), the RN River-class offshore patrol vessel HMS Spey (P234).

    “Regular military engagements between the defense forces in the Indo-Pacific will help maintain regional security and stability” said Commodore Jonathan Ley, Joint Force Maritime Component Commander for Australia’s Headquarters Joint Operations Command. “This activity is a testament to the growing ability of Australia and the United States to work together in this complex maritime environment. As one of the world’s busiest maritime trade routes and home to almost two thirds of the world’s population, it is essential we are ready, willing and able to meet any challenge.”

    During the maritime training, the three ships exercised their ability to exchange data using their tactical datalink systems, while the maneuvering exercise trained the crews’ ability to sail alongside each other in various conditions, improving the self-defense and communication capabilities of the three countries.

    “Operating alongside our Royal Navy and Australian counterparts strengthens collaboration at sea,” said Capt. Justin Harts, Commander, Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 15. “We will continue to reinforce our interoperability with our allies at every corner to maintain a consistent presence in the Indo-Pacific.”

    The U.S. Navy regularly operates alongside our allies in the Indo-Pacific region as a demonstration of our shared commitment to upholding international law. Combined operations provide valuable opportunities to train, exercise and develop tactical interoperability across allied navies in the Indo-Pacific.

    Benfold is forward-deployed and assigned to Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 15, the Navy’s largest DESRON and the U.S. 7th Fleet’s principal surface force.

    U.S. 7th Fleet is the U.S. Navy’s largest forward-deployed numbered fleet, and routinely interacts and operates with allies and partners in preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific region.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Miske Enterprise Member Sentenced to 20 Years in Federal Prison for Racketeering Conspiracy

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    HONOLULU – Acting United States Attorney Kenneth M. Sorenson announced that John B. Stancil, 37, of Waimanalo, was sentenced today in federal court by U.S. District Judge Derrick K. Watson to 240 months of imprisonment (the statutory maximum) followed by 3 years of supervised release for racketeering conspiracy. Stancil pled guilty on January 22, 2024, in the middle of jury selection, to conspiring to conduct and  participate in the conduct of the affairs of a racketeering enterprise, the “Miske Enterprise,” through racketeering activity that included participating in the commission of murder-for-hire and acts relating to chemical weapons.

    In his plea agreement, Stancil admitted that he and other members of the Miske Enterprise participated in chemical weapon attacks on two Honolulu nightclubs in March 2017, carried out on the orders of codefendant Michael J. Miske. Stancil provided the toxic chemical used in the attacks – a substance called chloropicrin, which can cause death, temporary incapacitation, or permanent harm to humans. Stancil also admitted to joining a murder-for-hire conspiracy with Miske and other Enterprise members. Miske put a murder contract out on an individual he believed was cooperating with law enforcement. Stancil then provided details of where the victim lived to another co-conspirator who agreed to carry out the murder until Miske eventually rescinded the contract. Stancil also admitted he served as the getaway driver for multiple assaults ordered by Miske and on behalf of the Miske Enterprise. According to other information provided to the Court, Stancil also coordinated and participated in numerous robberies on behalf of the Miske Enterprise.

    Stancil was charged alongside twelve other defendants, all of whom pled guilty except for Michael J. Miske who proceeded to trial and was found guilty of racketeering conspiracy, murder, and 11 other felony charges on July 18, 2024. Seven other members and associates of the Miske Enterprise pled guilty to various offenses in related cases.

    “You cannot run from the facts,” Judge Watson advised Stancil during today’s sentencing before reciting the litany of racketeering acts for which the Court found Stancil responsible. Judge Watson found Stancil to be  “among the most culpable” of those in the Miske Enterprise, describing him as one of Michael Miske’s “key confidantes and lieutenants” and a “key player in terrorizing the citizenry of this city and county for years.” Judge Watson further noted that Stancil deserved an even higher prison sentence that the Court was not permitted to impose by statute.

    “Today’s sentence represents the culmination of years of tireless, dogged, skilled, and innovative work on the part of the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Hawaii and our outstanding law enforcement partners, the Honolulu Division of the FBI, Internal Revenue Service, and Homeland Security Investigations, among others,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Ken Sorenson. “The court was deprived of the opportunity to sentence Michael Miske due to his untimely death following his guilty verdicts at trial for racketeering and other crimes. But today’s sentence, along with the 18 convictions we have secured against Miske’s henchmen and violent thugs, demonstrates our strong commitment to investigating, prosecuting, and convicting those who violate the law and endanger the safety and welfare of Hawaii’s citizens. Let today’s sentence and the convictions in these cases serve as a stark reminder to those who operate criminal enterprises in Hawaii that we have the tools, expertise, and resolve to bring them to justice.”

    “Mr. Stancil was a key member of the Miske Enterprise, actively participating in a longstanding pattern of racketeering activity involving murder-forhire, robbery, and use of chemical weapons,” said FBI Honolulu Special Agent in Charge David Porter. “This sentencing reflects years of collaboration between FBI Honolulu and our law enforcement partners. The FBI remains steadfast in its commitment to dismantle violent criminal enterprises, hold their members accountable, and pursue justice for victims.”

    “Mr. Stancil’s racketeering charge reminds us that organized crime threatens innocent lives for money,” said Adam Jobes, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation’s Seattle Field Office. “Our agency follows the money so we can cut off organized crime at its roots.” 

    “HSI is committed to ending organized crime in Hawaii. The sentencing of Mr. Stancil underscores the importance of leveraging law enforcement partnerships to safeguard our community,” said HSI Special Agent in Charge Lucy Cabral-DeArmas. “Our dedication to this cause is unwavering, and we will continue to work tirelessly to ensure that these criminals are held accountable for their actions.”

    This prosecution was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligencedriven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

    This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, the Criminal Investigation Division of the Environmental  Protection Agency, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, with assistance from the Honolulu Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Coast Guard Investigative Service, the United States Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force, the Cybercrime Lab of the Department of Justice Criminal Division Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, the Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center, the Honolulu Fire Department, the Hawaii National Guard, 93rd Civil Support Team, the Office of Investigations–Office of the Inspector General for the Social Security Administration, and the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General.

    Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark Inciong, Michael Nammar, KeAupuni Akina, and Aislinn Affinito prosecuted the case.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Twenty Defendants Indicted in Akron Drug Trafficking and Firearms Conspiracy

    Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

    AKRON, Ohio – A 51-count superseding indictment was unsealed today charging 17 Ohio residents of operating a large-scale drug trafficking scheme based in Akron. The Drug Trafficking Organization (DTO) is alleged to be responsible for trafficking distribution quantities of controlled substances in the Summit County, Ohio area including methamphetamine, fentanyl, and cocaine, as well as Alprazolam, which is more commonly known under the brand name Xanax. Three other defendants were indicted separately for their involvement in the conspiracy.

    According to court documents, the investigation that led to the indictment began in December 2023 and continued to around August 2024. The alleged leader, Joe Nathan Sanders-Taylor, 41, of Akron, was believed to be the center of the DTO that distributed illegal drugs throughout Northeast Ohio. He was regularly supplied by co-conspirators who funneled drug inventory from sources connected to the Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG or Jalisco Cartel). Sanders-Taylor developed a drug distribution process that employed a number of individuals to serve as drug dealers throughout the Northeast Ohio region.

    Court documents show that Sanders-Taylor used a network of associates to re-sell the drugs, assist with financial transactions, or act as lookouts while drug deals took place. Several co-defendants and other members of the conspiracy maintained and used residences in Summit County, Ohio, to store and distribute their drug supplies, or to manufacture controlled substances. Members of the conspiracy also possessed firearms to further their illegal business activities and protect their drug inventory.

    Sanders-Taylor was arrested on June 10, 2024, after he engaged in a pursuit by the Ohio State Highway Patrol on Interstate 77 in Summit County. As he fled from police, he threw two loaded firearms with high-capacity magazines from the vehicle. Sanders-Taylor crashed the vehicle and then fled on foot and attempted to carjack two separate vehicles with people still inside. Sanders-Taylor was later discovered to have prior federal convictions which prohibits him from possessing firearms. Further investigation of the incident determined that he also possessed distribution amounts of methamphetamine and fentanyl. The remaining defendants were apprehended in a series of coordinated arrests.

    The superseding indictment charges the following 17 defendants:

    • Joe Nathan Sanders-Taylor, aka Red, 41, Akron
    • Brooke Marie Logan, aka Bee, 29, Akron
    • Tyrell Jerome Jennings, aka 50, 35, Cleveland
    • Christopher Michael Andrews, aka Blondy, 28, Akron
    • Crystal Marie Harris, 50, Akron
    • Ronald Oscar Clark, 58, Akron
    • Chelsey Marie Connelly, 35, Akron
    • Angela Grace Wade, 47, Akron
    • Demardre Leshawn Johnson, aka Icey, 37, Akron
    • Denetris Condra May, aka D-May, aka Mayday, 38, Akron
    • John P. Burton, 41, Akron
    • Brian Keith Hinkle, aka Hizzle, 38, Akron
    • Joshua Lee Hackney, aka Country, 38, Akron
    • Matthew Dion Inman, 54, Akron
    • Thomas Franklin Casanova, 27, Akron
    • Donnie Keith Eugene Schaffer, 30, Akron
    • Julia Francesca Stavole-Habimana, 26, Richfield

    The superseding indictment alleges that the defendants did unlawfully, knowingly, and intentionally combine, conspire, confederate, and agree with each other to distribute, and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, fentanyl, and cocaine, all Schedule II controlled substances, and Alprazolam, a Schedule IV controlled substance.

    In addition, three other defendants involved with this drug trafficking and firearms conspiracy were charged in a separate superseding indictment:

    • Robert Parham, 54, Akron
    • Laverne Fortson, 50, Akron
    • Jeffery Goldbach, 54, Ravenna

    According to court documents, in July 2024, Parham had 28 firearms, which included a machine gun, distribution amounts of methamphetamine, fentanyl, and cocaine in his possession at his apartment in Akron. Fortson and Goldbach also possessed distribution amounts of narcotics at their residences.

    An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Defendants are entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

    If convicted, each defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after review of factors unique to this case, including each defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum, and, in most cases, it will be less than the maximum.

    The investigation preceding the superseding indictment was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and the FBI Akron Field Office, with assistance from the Akron Police Department, Ohio State Highway Patrol, Portage County Sheriff’s Office, Summit County Sheriff’s Office, Girard Police Department, Barberton Police Department, Liberty Police Department, and the University of Akron Police Department.

    This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph P. Dangelo for the Northern District of Ohio.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Waterbury Man Who Possessed Guns and Drugs While on Supervised Release Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison

    Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

    Marc H. Silverman, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that D’METRIUS JOHNSON, formerly known as D’METRIUS WOODWARD, and also known as “Meech,” 30, of Waterbury, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport to 60 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for unlawfully possessing firearms as a felon, and for violating the conditions of his supervised release that followed a prior federal conviction.

    According to court documents and statements made in court, on November 12, 2014, Johnson was sentenced in federal court to 60 months of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release, for his participation in a narcotics trafficking conspiracy.  He was released from federal prison in January 2018.  On November 21, 2022, while Johnson was on supervised release, Brookfield Police arrested him on state charges related to the theft of catalytic converters.  On that date, a search of Johnson’s Waterbury residence revealed a Ruger 57 semiautomatic pistol, a Glock 31 semiautomatic pistol, a Ruger LCP handgun, ammunition, approximately 89 grams of cocaine, and pills containing MDMA (“ecstasy”).

    It is a violation of federal law for a person previously convicted of a felony offense to possess a firearm or ammunition that has moved in interstate or foreign commerce.

    Johnson has been detained since his arrest.  On November 14, 2024, he pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.

    This matter was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Waterbury Police Department, with the assistance of the Brookfield Police Department.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren C. Clark.

    This prosecution is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce gun violence and other violent crime, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. In May 2021, the Justice Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.  For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit www.justice.gov/psn.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Fort Wayne Man Sentenced to 292 Months in Prison

    Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

    FORT WAYNE – Dontae L. Salter, 30 years old, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Chief Judge Holly A. Brady after pleading guilty to distributing methamphetamine, announced Acting United States Attorney Tina L. Nommay.

    Salter was sentenced to 292 months in prison followed by 5 years of supervised release.

    According to documents in the case, Salter distributed several pounds of methamphetamine from June through October of 2023.

    This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Fort Wayne Safe Streets Gang Task Force, which includes the FBI, the Indiana State Police, the Fort Wayne Police Department, and the Allen County Sheriff’s Department, with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives also assisting with the investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anthony W. Geller.

    This case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

    This case was also part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Stats NZ information release: Ready-mixed concrete: December 2024 quarter

    Source: Statistics New Zealand

    Ready-mixed concrete: December 2024 quarter –12 February 2025 – Ready-mixed concrete statistics provide an indicator of construction activity.

    Key facts

    • In the December 2024 quarter, the actual volume of ready-mixed concrete produced was 967,964 cubic metres, down 6.2 percent compared with the December 2023 quarter.
    • In the year ended December 2024, 3.82 million cubic metres of ready-mixed concrete was produced, down 7.7 percent compared with the year ended December 2023.
    • In seasonally adjusted terms, the volume of ready-mixed concrete fell 4.7 percent in the December 2024 quarter, following a 0.6 percent rise in the September 2024 quarter.

    Files:

     

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Scottish activity at Expo 2025

    Source: Scottish Government

    Showcasing key industries to global audiences

    Scotland’s innovation, skills and natural resources are to be showcased at Expo 2025 Osaka in Japan later this year.

    Three one day events at the global exhibition will highlight the country’s strengths in creative industries, life sciences and the offshore wind sector.

    It follows a successful attendance at Expo 2020 in Dubai, which generated forecast sales of almost £90 million for participating Scottish businesses.

    Games companies will be the focus of the creative industries day on 17 April, including eight being supported through the Scottish Government’s Techscaler business accelerator. Also attending will be KeelWorks, an established Edinburgh game development company with an existing deal with Japanese publisher KONAMI.

    Business Minister Richard Lochhead visited the company to launch the Expo programme and hear about its export success.

    Mr Lochhead said:

    “This is an opportunity for Scotland to showcase and shine on the global stage. Our message in Osaka will be simple – Scotland is open for business and is one of the best places in the world to invest.

    “We will demonstrate first hand that we have the skills, technology and opportunities in a range of emerging industries. KeelWorks is just one example of that and later in the year our buoyant life sciences businesses and the offshore wind sector will also be centre stage.

    “Japanese businesses already recognise Scotland’s economic potential, including Sumitomo, which is currently building a subsea cable factory at Nigg in the Highlands. I am confident that further companies and significant investment will follow as result of our presence at the Expo.”

    KeelWorks Chief Executive Meher Kalenderian said:

    “This activity is about strengthening connections, driving investment and opening new doors for collaboration. So, we’re thrilled to be part of Scotland’s presence at Expo 2025 Osaka, highlighting the strong business opportunities between Scotland and Japan’s prominent gaming industries.

    “This platform offers a great chance to showcase our thriving creative sector and build new collaborations. At KeelWorks, we’ve seen first-hand the value of such partnerships through our work with KONAMI on CYGNI: All Guns Blazing.

    “Our presence at the Expo reflects the growing potential for Scottish and Japanese gaming sectors to engage, as both countries lead in innovation.”

    Background

    Expo 2025 Osaka takes place from 13 April to 13 October. It is an international event at which countries, organisations and companies showcase innovations, cultural exchanges and solutions to global challenges. It is expected to attract about 28 million visitors and more than 150 participating countries. Scotland’s three events are supported by Scottish Enterprise.

    Scotland’s first Trade Envoy to Japan was appointed in October 2024. The unpaid role will last for an initial two-year period.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Deadly floods in Spain highlight need to cut greenhouse gas emissions

    Source: United Nations 2

    Climate and Environment

    The record-breaking rainfall and deadly flash floods that hit Spain this week underscore why saving lives as climate change turbocharges extreme weather must be a top priority, the World Meteorological Office (WMO) said on Friday. 

    The UN weather agency is highlighting the importance of early warning systems for all corners of the planet and reducing greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change.

    “The flooding that we’re seeing in Spain is just one of many, many, many, extreme weather and water-related disasters that have been taking place around the world this year. Almost every week we’re seeing such shocking images,” spokesperson Clare Nullis told journalists in Geneva. 

    Lives lost as rains continue

    More than 150 people have been killed in Spain, where a massive search and rescue operation is ongoing even as the rains continue. 

    The Valencia region was worst affected, and “some areas received more than the equivalent of a year’s amount of rainfall in the space of eight hours.” 

    Spain’s meteorological and hydrological service, AEMET, has been issuing constant advisories and alerts throughout the week via the common alerting protocol, she said, referring to the standardized message format for all media, all hazards, and all communication channels.

    A red alert – the top level – was issued on Friday in the southwest province of Huelva, “so, unfortunately, this episode is not finished yet”.

    Extreme weather increasing

    Ms. Nullis recalled that other areas in Europe have been badly affected by floods this year. In mid-September, parts of Central Europe experienced very heavy rainfall, breaking local and national records.

    “According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, extreme weather events causing highly impactful floods and droughts have become more likely and more severe due to anthropogenic climate change,” she said.

    She pointed to WMO’s recently released report on the State of Global Water Resources. Commenting at the time, the agency’s chief, Celeste Saulo, said that the hydrological cycle has accelerated due to rising temperatures.  

    As a result, the world is facing growing problems of either too much or too little water. Furthermore, a warmer atmosphere holds more moisture, which is conducive to heavy rainfall.

    Ms. Nullis said this is what is happening in Spain.

    “As the air warms, it becomes more moist. So, every additional fraction of warming increases the atmospheric moisture content, and this increases the risk of extreme precipitation, flooding,” she explained.

    World must act now 

    Asked what action can be taken to avoid the devastation caused in Spain and elsewhere, Ms. Nullis said the international community “can make a good start by reducing greenhouse gas emissions which are the driver behind this.”

    Countries also “need to ensure that early warnings lead to informed early action.”

    WMO will publish its latest State of the Global Climate update at the COP29 UN climate change conference in Azerbaijan later this month.  The report will provide more details about extreme events around the world over the past year. 

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Ukraine’s nuclear security situation ‘highly challenging’, warns UN atomic watchdog

    Source: United Nations 2

    Peace and Security

    Amid a deepening humanitarian crisis in Ukraine caused by the ongoing Russian invasion, the head of the UN atomic energy agency (IAEA) said that safety at the country’s largest nuclear power plant “remains a deep source of concern”.

    Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) – which is also Europe’s biggest nuclear energy facility – has been under Russian control since shortly after it launched a full-scale military campaign in February 2022.

    In recent days, an IAEA expert team crossed the frontline to replace colleagues at the Zaporizhzhya plant who have been monitoring nuclear safety and security since September 2022. The presence of the “IAEA Support and Assistance Mission” at ZNPP and four other nuclear facilities is meant “to help prevent a radiological accident during the military conflict”, IAEA said in a statement.

    “We will stay at these sites for as long as it is needed to help avert the threat of a nuclear accident that could have serious consequences for human health and the environment in Ukraine and beyond,” said IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi. “As the nuclear safety and security situation remains highly challenging, our experts are continuing to play a crucial stabilizing role at all these facilities.” 

    Media reports indicated ongoing fighting and drone attacks in the vicinity of the Zaporizhyzhya plant in southeastern Ukraine.

    Conflict ever-present

    “During the past week, the team has continued to hear frequent explosions, some distance away from the ZNPP. No damage to the ZNPP was reported,” IAEA said. The agency’s teams said that the safety and security at four other Khmelnytskyy, Rivne and South Ukraine NPPs and the Chornobyl site reported that safety and security at Ukraine’s four other nuclear plants “is being maintained despite the effects of the ongoing conflict, including air raid alarms for several days over the past week”.

    At the Zaporizhzhya plant, IAEA said that it had been informed that two backup transformers had resumed operation after successful high voltage testing, while maintenance would be carried out on the four remaining backup transformers by the end of the year.

    The IAEA expert team also reported discussing winter preparations for the plant and receiving confirmation that all six reactors will remain in cold shutdown.

    The IAEA expert team also reported discussing winter preparations for the plant and receiving confirmation that all six reactors will remain in cold shutdown.

    Humanitarian crisis worsens

    Latest updates from UN aid teams have highlighted the deepening humanitarian crisis across Ukraine, particularly in frontline areas in the northeast, east and south, owing to “intensified attacks” by Russian forces. UN human rights monitors have verified more than 1,400 deaths and injuries since the full-scale Russian invasion on 24 February 2022.

    “Humanitarian response efforts face growing challenges, including safety risks. “Six aid workers were killed or injured in July and August alone.” said UN aid coordination office, OCHA. It noted that in the first nine months of the year, the humanitarian community has provided at least one form of assistance to 7.2 million out of 8.5 million people targeted for support.

    This is despite the 2024 Humanitarian Appeal for Ukraine receiving less than half the requested $3.11 billion.

    “Civilians remaining in front-line communities in Donetsk, Kharkiv, Khersons, Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhya oblasts face dire living conditions, which is expected to worsen as winter approaches,” OCHA warned.

    Repeated attacks on energy infrastructure “are expected to worsen the challenges civilians will face in the coming winter”, the UN agency continued, highlighting likely disruption to essential services such as water, gas and heating.

    According to authorities and UN partners on the ground, attacks in the early hours of Thursday injured dozens of civilians and damaged apartment buildings and hospitals in the capital, Kyiv, and in the front-line regions of Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, Kherson, Donetsk, Sumy and Mykolaiv.

    Aid workers swiftly mobilised to offer psychological support, provide construction materials and deliver cash assistance to vulnerable people, OCHA reported.

    The UN Resident Coordinator Office in Ukraine, Matthias Schmale, who witnessed the humanitarian impact of the attacks firsthand, met with local authorities and humanitarian partners to discuss ways to strengthen the humanitarian response.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI: Granite Credit Union Selects Appli to Modernize Digital Lending Experience

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    SALT LAKE CITY, Feb. 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Appli, a provider of artificial intelligence-powered financial calculators, announced that Granite Credit Union has selected its financial calculator solution to improve the digital lending experience for its members.

    “In our market, which is very credit union-heavy, staying competitive technologically while maintaining our focus on member service is crucial,” said Garrett Laws, chief lending officer at Granite Credit Union. “Financial calculators are often the first step in a member’s lending journey, but traditional calculators provide limited value. Appli’s guided experience gives members the confidence to move forward with applications while helping those who might not initially qualify understand their path to approval. Even if someone isn’t ready for loan approval today, being able to show them a path forward aligns perfectly with our mission of helping people be confident in their financial future.”

    A Media Snippet accompanying this announcement is available by clicking on this link.

    Granite Credit Union will implement Appli’s technology to help members better understand their borrowing options and loan qualification potential before submitting formal applications. Starting with auto loans, including its unique “vanishing rate auto loan” program that rewards members with rate discounts for consistent on-time payments, the credit union plans to integrate the calculators throughout its digital presence – from its website and online banking portal to new member onboarding communications. Future phases will expand to personal loans and credit cards, with plans to explore mortgage and business lending applications.

    “Granite Credit Union is a perfect example of the innovative, member-focused approach we designed Appli for,” said Tim Pranger, CEO of Appli. “Their commitment to serving diverse communities and helping members build financial confidence through technology makes them an ideal partner as we continue expanding our platform’s capabilities.”

    About Granite Credit Union
    Founded in 1935, Granite Credit Union serves over 35,000 members and has just over $800 million in assets. Committed to helping members achieve their financial goals, Granite Credit Union offers a variety of financial products and services, including competitive rates, flexible lending options, and personalized financial guidance. With a vision of “always there… so you can make life happen,” the credit union strives to empower members with the tools and support they need to succeed financially. Members enjoy access to secure mobile banking services, online tools, and personalized in-branch assistance at locations across Utah. Granite Credit Union is dedicated to making a positive impact in the communities it serves through financial education, trusted relationships, and exceptional service. Granite Credit Union is always there… so you can make life happen. Learn more at granite.org.

    About Appli
    Appli, founded in 2024 by POPi/o co-founder Tim Pranger, provides AI-powered financial calculators that help lenders and member service representatives create personalized, engaging shopping experiences for financial products. By combining real-time analysis with generative AI, Appli’s tools boost customer confidence and increase conversion rates for financial institutions. For more information about Appli and its smart financial calculator for credit unions, visit hiappli.com.

    Media Contact:
    marketing@granite.org

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Risch, King, Thompson, Golden Lead Bipartisan, Bicameral Future Logging Careers Act

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Idaho James E Risch
    WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Angus King (I-Maine) and U.S. Representatives Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-Pa.) and Jared Golden (D-Maine) introduced the Future Logging Careers Act to support America’s family-run timber industry.
    This legislation would allow teenage members of logging families to gain critical, hands-on experience in the trade so they may carry on the family business. The Future Logging Careers Act would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act to allow 16 and 17-year-olds to work in certain mechanized logging operations under parental supervision. Similar exemptions already exist for farming families.
    “Idaho’s logging industry is rooted in family-run businesses, but current law is preventing them from passing down the trade,” said Risch. “The Future Logging Careers Act empowers timber families to prepare the next generation of loggers to properly manage our forests and support rural economies.”
    “For centuries, logging has been synonymous with the success of Maine — creating good jobs, supporting proud, hard-working families and boosting local rural economies,” said King. “As we prepare for the next generation of Maine loggers, we should provide opportunities for young people to explore this exciting field in a safe and supervised way. The bipartisan Future Logging Careers Act would give aspiring, young loggers the option to jumpstart their career, get valuable hands-on experience, and begin critical training by logging with their parents or grandparents. I’m proud to join my colleagues in working to expand good job opportunities and further build upon our state’s rich forest heritage.”
    “Pennsylvania has long been a leader in the forestry industry, and I have the great privilege of representing numerous family-owned logging businesses,” said Thompson. “By allowing young men and women to work alongside their families in this industry, we’re ensuring that the skills, knowledge, and traditions of logging can be passed down to the next generation.”
    “Maine’s working forests are a distinct part of our identity, thanks to the passionate work of generations today and past,” Golden said. “To carry on that proud tradition, young Mainers need the personal investment that comes only from experiencing something with your own two hands — an opportunity that this bipartisan legislation would finally create.”
    Additional cosponsors of the legislation include U.S. Senators Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), and John Cornyn (R-Texas).
    The Future Logging Careers Act has received support from the American Loggers Council and the Associated Logging Contractors of Idaho. 
    “The timber industry is traditionally a multi-generational business where the skills and knowledge are passed on from one generation to the next. This succession process is critical to ensuring that the timber industry infrastructure remains viable to support public and private healthy forest management, rural jobs, wildfire mitigation, and U.S. made forest products. The Future Logging Careers Act will afford the timber industry sector of the agricultural economy the same opportunities and benefits currently extended to the family farm. Workforce development is critical to maintaining the resources necessary to provide the forest management services required to meet the U.S. sustainable healthy forests objectives for today and the future. The American Loggers Council appreciates the bipartisan/bicameral sponsorship of Senator Risch (ID) and Senator King (ME), and Representative Golden (ME) and Representative Thompson (PA), of the Future Logging Careers Act and their continued support of the American timber industry,” said Scott Dane, Executive Director of the American Loggers Council. 
    “We need this today, more than ever. With the modern mechanized logging practices of today, our contractors have invested millions of dollars in machinery which necessitates the need for equipment operators. In Idaho’s Forest Products Industry, like many others, there is a shortage of labor that is having devastating consequences for our members. We are in the process of a workforce development plan to attract, train and retain workers for our industry, but for now, we rely heavily on family. Our sons and daughters grow up in our family logging operations, visit our jobsites often and many develop a love for logging that fills us with pride. By the time they are 16, they are ready and willing to jump in and start working but are hamstrung by an archaic 1938 Law. We then lose our sons and daughters to other occupations where they are allowed to work, and sadly, many don’t return to the family logging businesses. The Associated Logging Contractors of Idaho fully supports theFuture Logging Careers Actand thank Senator Risch for introducing this important legislation,”said Clete Edmunson, Executive Director of the Associated Logging Contractors of Idaho.
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    MIL OSI USA News –