11 May 2016 No Images? Click here
Joint Press Release: High-Level Event on “The Future of Civilian Protection in Peace Operations: Endorsing and Implementing the Kigali Principles”
On 11 May 2016 the Governments of the Kingdom Netherlands and the Republic of Rwanda, in association with the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, co-hosted a high-level event on “The Future of Civilian Protection in Peace Operations: Endorsing and Implementing the Kigali Principles.”
The meeting, convened at UN Headquarters in New York, was launched by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, H.E. Mr. Albert Koenders, and the Minister of State in Charge of Cooperation and Permanent Representative of Rwanda to the UN, H.E. Mr. Eugène-Richard Gasana. Additional opening remarks were delivered by H.E. Mr. Mogens Lykketoft, President of the UN General Assembly.
H.E. Ms. Samantha Power, U.S. Permanent Representative to the UN, Lt. General Carlos Alberto dos Santos Cruz, former UN Force Commander, and Mr. Ian Martin, Executive Director of Security Council Report, were panelists. The event was moderated by Dr. Simon Adams, Executive Director of the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect.
The Kigali Principles on the Protection of Civilians, adopted on 28-29 May 2015, are a set of best practices to enhance implementation of civilian protection mandates. The eighteen recommendations provide a blueprint to strengthen the international community’s commitment to more effectively protect civilians.
In his opening remarks H.E. Mr. Bert Koenders noted: “People and communities under threat, with nowhere to go, need to know the UN will do anything within its scope to provide protection.”
H.E. Mr. Eugène-Richard Gasana added: “Rwanda’s history teaches us the high price paid by civilians when the UN is unwilling or unable to protect civilians from mass atrocities. The Kigali principles are a commitment to ensure that modern peacekeeping learns from past failures and protects the vulnerable.”
The meeting concluded with a ceremony to welcome 19 new Member States who endorsed the principles, namely: Austria, Belgium, Burkina Faso, Djibouti, Estonia, Finland, Ghana, Guinea, Ireland, Latvia, Malawi, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Sweden, Ukraine, United States and Zambia. To date, the Kigali Principles have been endorsed by 28 Member States.
In his closing remarks, Dr. Adams urged all Member States to endorse the Kigali Principles: “In far too many situations in the world today, peacekeepers in blue helmets are all that stand between civilians and those who prey upon their misery. The Kigali Principles recognize that the protection of civilians is at the heart of twenty-first century peacekeeping. They should be endorsed by all UN member states.”
For more information regarding the Kigali Principles, please contact:
Netherlands: Mr. Frits Kemperman (frits.kemperman@minbuza.nl or +1 646-515-2918)
Rwanda: Lt. Col Raoul Batazoha (rbazatoha@minaffet.gov.rw or +1 347-247-4545)
Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect: Atrocity Alert, Issue 4: Syria, Nigeria and Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories
Atrocity Alert is a weekly publication by the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect highlighting and updating situations where populations are at risk of, or are enduring, mass atrocity crimes. |
 UN Photo/Elma Okic |
Syria Despite the cessation of hostilities, fighting in Syria increased during mid-April, including government forces bombing hospitals and displacement camps. Violence in Aleppo has killed over 300 people in the last two weeks. On 9 May the United States and Russia led a diplomatic push to reinstate the nation-wide cessation of hostilities. The Syrian government agreed to extend a truce in Aleppo, in place since 5 May, until midnight on 11 May. |
|
Nigeria The humanitarian crisis in Nigeria and neighboring countries remains dire due to the widespread displacement of populations, acute food insecurity and the ongoing threat of attacks by the extremist group Boko Haram. The upcoming regional security summit, taking place in Abuja on 14 May and bringing together the heads of state of Nigeria, France, Cameroon, Niger, Chad, and Benin, should emphasize the humanitarian situation in Boko Haram-affected areas and address ways to improve support for IDPs and refugees. |
 UNHCR/C.Arnaud |
 UN Photo/Evan Schneider |
Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories For the first time since the 2014 war in Gaza, Hamas and Israeli forces engaged in cross-border attacks. The attacks started two days prior to a UN Security Council Arria Formula meeting on the protection of the Palestinian civilian population in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The meeting was convened on 6 May by the Permanent Missions of Angola, Malaysia, Senegal and Venezuela. |
Civitas Maxima: Civitas Maxima Annual Report 2015
Dear friends and colleagues,
Civitas Maxima’s team is thrilled to share with you its 2015 Annual Report!
You can download the Report here.2015 has been an exciting year with considerable progress being made on the different cases Civitas Maxima works on, and with the first ever arrest for the crime of pillage of blood diamonds from Africa (Sierra Leone).
We are working hard to keep this momentum in 2016 and we continue devoting all our strength to bringing justice to the too many forgotten victims of international crimes.
Thank you so much for all your support.
Alain Werner, Director
Visit our updated website at http://www.civitas-maxima.org/
Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect: Strengthening South-South Cooperation to Prevent Mass Atrocities
During 2015 states, civil society and the UN took stock of the progress made in operationalizing the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) over the decade since it was first adopted at the UN World Summit in 2005. While practitioners noted the normative and institutional progress towards protecting populations from genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing, critical gaps remain in our collective response to the risk of mass atrocity crimes. As security challenges around the world evolve, we need to continue discussing how to address these threats in innovative ways.
The Department of International Relations and Cooperation of the Republic of South Africa and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sweden, in partnership with the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, convened a workshop during December 2015 on Strengthening South-South Cooperation to Prevent Mass Atrocities in Johannesburg, South Africa. The interactive workshop brought together practitioners from the Global South – including from the emerging powers of India, South Africa and Brazil – to highlight mechanisms for enhancing South-South cooperation in implementing R2P.
The following outcome document highlights the challenges in implementation identified by participants and provides recommendations for strengthening South-South cooperation on mass atrocity prevention.
The document is accessible on our website via the following link: Ten Years of the Responsibility to Protect: Strengthening South-South Cooperation to Prevent Mass Atrocities.
Justice for Sergei Magnitsky:Crane 1 of 1 French TV Station ARTE Permanently Cancels Nekrasov’s Anti-Magnitsky Propaganda Film
French TV Station ARTE Permanently Cancels Nekrasov’s Anti-Magnitsky Propaganda Film
9 May 2016 – The French TV station, ARTE, has permanently cancelled the anti-Magnitsky propaganda film by Russian filmmaker Andrei Nekrasov.
French lawyer Safya Akorri who represents the widow of Sergei Magnitsky, and William Browder, the leader of the international justice campaign for Sergei Magnitsky, wrote to ARTE, submitting a list of false allegations made in Nekrasov’s film and presenting the evidence of their falsity.
ARTE has since cancelled the show scheduled for release on 3 May 2016 and officially informed their lawyers that they had no intention to show it at any point in the future.
ARTE’s decision follows the decision at the European Parliament on 27 April 2016 not to air the Nekrasov’s film for similar reasons. The screening of Nekrasov’s film was scheduled as a personal initiative of Nekrasov’s girlfriend, Heidi Hautala, a member of the European parliament from the Green Party in Finland.
Speaking about the decision by ARTE to cancel the film, William Browder, leader of Magnitsky justice campaign, said:
“There are many people who wish to avoid facing justice for Magnitsky’s death and the crimes he exposed by trying to destroy his memory and legacy. It is our duty to make sure this doesn’t happen.”
Andrei Nekrasov’s film on Sergei Magnitsky was prepared for release on ARTE’s European cultural channel on May 3, 2016 ignoring the fact that Sergei Magnitsky’s mother did not consent to the use of video footage of her.
“We are outraged that Mr. Nekrasov pretended that he sympathized with our grief,” said Nataliya Magnitskaya.
Nekrasov’s film, which claims to be a “documentary”, contains numerous false allegations against Sergei Magnitsky, which had been reviewed and refuted by independent Russian and international bodies, including the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, comprising delegates from 47 states, the European Parliament, theUS Department, and the US Congress, among others.
The letter from Magnitsky’s mother and widow denounced any form of distribution of Nekrasov’s film which, they believe, used compromised methods characteristic of Kremlin propaganda films:
“Mr. Nekrasov is not unique, such misleading movies and programs are demonstrated in Russia on a regular basis to drag Sergei Magnitsky’s name through the mud and to justify the persons responsible for his death. Directors use fragments of interviews which are often taken by deceit, single sentences or even words are taken out of the context of the documents, certain phrases are turned inside out and acquire the opposite meaning, fragments of speeches are combined in a way necessary to manipulative individuals, according to the order.”
When the Magnitsky family learned about Nekrasov’s film, they issued a letter of protest against this latest anti-Magnitsky propaganda initiative. The Magnitsky family said:
“We think that the film by Andrei Nekrasov, which is based on his concoctions but not on the documents and facts, degrades the dignity of Sergei Magnitsky, degrades the deceased person who is unable to defend himself.”
“This movie is made in the interests of those who are scared of the truth uncovered by Sergei Magnitsky,”
said Magnitsky’s mother and widow.
Following the revelation of Nekrasov’s turn-around on Magnitsky case, questions have been raised as to what could explain it.
Andrei Nekrasov was previously known for films, including about poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko, which were produced by his wife, Olga Konskaya, who passed away in Germany in 2009. Andrei Nekrasov’s public stance on Putin’s Russia changed since at least March 2014 — the time of President Putin’s invasion in Ukraine.
In Andrei Nekrasov’s blog post of 21 March 2014 available on the website of ‘Echo of Moscow,’ Russian radio station, he expressed a strong anti-American sentiment, justifying Putin’s actions, saying:
“Why America (and allies) can violate international law, and Russia — not? Americans and Co violate it, and this is not Kremlin-Kiselev’s propaganda, it is a fact recognized by the international community;”
“Putin controls the imagination of the people, and this is not the result of him “usurping power…;”
“In the opinion of aggrieved Russians, Crimea is not subject to Budapest memorandum.”
For more information, please contact:
Justice for Sergei Magnitsky
+44 207 440 1777
e-mail: info@lawandorderinrussia.org