Levée de l'immunité parlementaire du sénateur Gaston Flosse

PARIS, 2 avril 2014 - Le bureau du Sénat a levé mercredi l'immunité parlementaire du sénateur Gaston Flosse, déjà poursuivi dans plusieurs affaires et qui vient d'être mis en examen pour détournement de fonds publics, a-t-on appris de sources parlementaires.

12 membres du bureau ont voté pour, les 14 autres n'ont pas pris part au vote, ce qui revient de fait à une majorité des votes exprimés. Le bureau a ainsi accédé à la demande du juge d'instruction d'un placement en garde à vue de M. Flosse, également président de la Polynésie française.

Dans l'hypothèse de sa mise en examen, le bureau a également autorisé la mesure de contrôle judiciaire qui consiste à lui interdire de communiquer avec les autres personnes mises en examen ou impliquées dans l'affaire.

La demande de levée de l'immunité parlementaire du sénateur Flosse, 82 ans, a été faite début mars à l’initiative du juge Stelmach.

Le magistrat instructeur estime nécessaire de faire entendre Gaston Flosse, sous le régime de la garde à vue, au sujet des conditions de la passation, en 2004 à la société SMPP-Sogeba, de lots du chantier pour la construction du centre hospitalier de Taaone. 

Lire l'article complet ici

Northern Marianas legislature approves Second Political Status Commission

lonelyplanet.com

Political status bill now heads to governor

By Haidee V. Eugenio

Reporter

Saipan Tribune

By a vote of 6-1, the Senate passed Thursday a House bill creating a Second Marianas Political Status Commission that would examine whether the CNMI people still desire “continuing in a political union” with the United States under the Covenant. The bill now heads to Gov. Eloy S. Inos for action, just days after the CNMI marked the 38th year since it became a part of America.

Sen. Pete Reyes (Ind-Saipan) and floor leader Ray Yumul (Ind-Saipan), both U.S. armed forces veterans, abstained from voting. Sen. Paul Manglona (Ind-Rota) voted “no.”

“I don’t have a problem in the CNMI’s relationship with the United States right now but I don’t have a problem with this process [of review], too,” Reyes said at the Senate session.

House Bill 18-112, HD1, authored by Rep. Felicidad Ogumoro (R-Saipan), passed the House on Dec. 19.

Press secretary Angel Demapan, when sought for comment, said yesterday that the governor’s position on changing the CNMI’s relationship with the U.S. is separate from the intent of the bill.

“The bill will basically examine whether the people of the CNMI want a relationship different from the current. Governor Inos will take a look at this bill once it reaches his desk,” Demapan told Saipan Tribune.

In the House, members debated at length the CNMI’s political relationship with the United States and federal control over local minimum wage, immigration, and certain areas for military uses before passing HB 18-112, HD1.

Proponents of the bill said it “doesn’t hurt” to re-examine the CNMI-U.S. political relationship, while others said Covenant Section 902 discussions could be the better venue. Still, others said instead of passing a bill creating a commission, the Legislature should place the question on the ballot for voters to decide, before creating a commission.

The 16-page bill seeks to create a Second Marianas Political Status Commission, which will have broad authority to review, study, examine, and conduct public political education and awareness to assist the commission in accomplishing its responsibilities.

Specifically, the commission would examine the present political relationship between the Northern Marianas and the United States.

It would also determine whether the CNMI people are still in favor of continuing in “political union” with the U.S. pursuant to the Covenant, and whether or not they prefer some other political status options that would enable them to fulfill their hope and aspirations of full, meaningful, and a well-defined self-government status.

Under the bill, the governor has to reprogram money to fund the commission up to $100,000.

Voter registration irregularities promoted by French authorities threaten to de-legitimise upcoming New Caledonia elections

cia.gov

"Voter registration irregularities have allowed thousands of ineligible French persons to register to vote in the upcoming elections while thousands of indigenous Kanaks have been mysteriously omitted from the voter rolls by French authorities who exercise total control over the electoral process of the colony. This scenario has major implications for the future self-determination of the Kanaky people, and makes a mockery of  the trilateral Noumea Accord which established an agreed voter eligibility criteria. This is now being violated.  The recent United Nations mission expressed serious concern over what is taking place during their visiting mission in March. But it is unclear whether the French authorities will make the necessary corrections since most of the newly 'eligible' voters would select candidates who wish to retain the French colonial status that France supports so that it can continue to exploit Kanaky marine and terrestrial resources of the territory. Such exploitation of natural resources in non self-governing territories is a clear violation of international law, but the French simply ignore such legal obligations. I am afraid that French manipulation of the electoral system in the territory threatens to de-legitimise the upcoming elections, and has serious implications for a successful process of self-determination for the Kanaky people."

  

"-  an international human rights defender  

FLNKS Wants Thousands Struck Off New Caledonia Voter Rolls

Radio New Zealand International

Pro-independence group files over 7,000 challenges to names

WELLINGTON, New Zealand.  New Caledonia's pro-independence FLNKS movement has lodged more than 7,000 court cases to demand that thousands of voters be struck off the roll for next month's provincial election.

Voting will be restricted to long-term residents in line with the decolonisation process which, after the election, opens the way for a possible independence referendum.

The FLNKS insist that people who arrived in New Caledonia between 1988 and 1998 are only allowed to vote if they were also enrolled in 1998.

Special commissions assisted by magistrates from France's highest court have been revising the rolls for a month and refuse to remove any voter, which has now prompted the court action.

The FLNKS says in its submission that neither the law nor the constitution is changed by any declaration on the subject, even if it is by the prime minister.

The loyalists are fiercely opposed to the FLNKS stance and have formed an association to assist those threatened to be removed from the roll.

See also:

United Nations sends mission to New Caledonia to investigate French electoral manipulation in upcoming New Caledonia election

French manipulation of New Caledonia electoral list threatens legitimacy of territorial elections

*****

1 April 2014

General Assembly GA/COL/3262

Department of Public Information • News and Media Division • New York

Special Committee on Decolonization

2nd Meeting (AM)

VISITING MISSION TO NEW CALEDONIA ‘GENERALLY WELL RECEIVED’,

ITS LEADER TELLS SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON DECOLONIZATION

Although greeted with some initial suspicion, a recent visiting mission to New Caledonia was generally well received, the Special Committee on Decolonization heard today.

Amadu Koroma ( Sierra Leone), who led the mission, reported that it took place from 10 to 15 March and was followed by a meeting with French Government officials in Paris on 17 March.  He said that some interlocutors initially questioned the mission’s motives given that provincial elections were due to take place in May.  However, the members believed they were able to win “hearts and minds” with the message of neutrality and shared objectives for a peaceful electoral process.

Once on the ground, Mr. Koroma reported, the mission’s programme went through last minute revisions to include meetings with those who had initially questioned the visit.  Members emphasized that they did not promote the national or regional interests of the Member States that composed the mission, although they understood the reasons for their concerns.

Through the visit, the mission discovered there were issues with the special electoral list, which would have a profound impact on who was considered a resident for voting purposes in the upcoming elections.  There was a marked lack of a unified interpretation of relevant legal provisions that determined who should be included on that list.  There were also concerns about the lack of sufficient time for completing the detailed and thorough work involved in reviewing the list, as well as the lack of important information on people’s arrival dates in the territory, settlement and initial registration.

The mission also determined that specialized training for Administrative Review members was imperative, although it had not yet taken place.  There were also concerns about challenges in reaching voters in hard to reach and isolated places.  Other items of concern included an alleged increase in the circulation of small arms, insufficient training opportunities for the Kanak peoples and an influx of immigrants.  During the trip, mission members also visited a university, where they met with student representatives who expressed their desires for peace.

The mission was organized ahead of upcoming provincial elections, regarded as the first stage of a referendum to elect a new Congress, which would oversee the last phase of the implementation of the Noumea Accord.  The Noumea Accord provides a timetable under which New Caledonia has gradually gained increasing autonomy from the French Government.

Following that presentation, the representative of Papua New Guinea noted that efforts were underway to finalize the mission report.  The referendum depended on ensuring that the special list was correct and that those who were supposed to vote actually voted.  It was incumbent upon the administering Power to ensure that the list was accurate.

The Special Committee then approved, as orally revised, the Guidelines and rules of procedure for the Pacific regional seminar (document A/AC.109/2014/17*), which would take place in Fiji from 20 to 23 May.  The Committee’s delegation would be composed of the Chair, his adviser and eight other Committee members; including members of the Bureau and four Committee members, to be selected from four regional groups: the African Group, Asia Pacific Group, East European Group, and the Group of Latin American and Caribbean States.

Nicaragua’s delegate indicated that her Government would like to participate in the regional seminar, if there was no other candidate put forward from her region.

On the issue of invitations to the seminar, the Chair said the Bureau had agreed the Committee should maintain its practice of extending invitations to select experts and non-governmental organizations.  Elected and appointed officials of Non-Self-Governing Territories would also be invited and invitations would also be extended to other Member States, administering Powers, specialized United Nations agencies, as well as regional organizations.

The representative of Papua New Guinea requested that the Chair encourage the administering Powers to participate in the regional seminar, as they had not been very active in years past.

The Committee — formally known as the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples — reviews the political, social and economic conditions in the 17 United Nations-listed Non-Self-Governing Territories.  It also organizes regional seminars to discuss the challenges of decolonization and works to ensure that the United Nations assists in the process of resolving them.

The following delegations are Committee members: Antigua & Barbuda; Bolivia; Chile; China; Congo; Côte d'Ivoire; Cuba; Dominica; Ecuador; Ethiopia; Fiji; Grenada; India; Indonesia; Iran; Iraq; Mali; Nicaragua; Papua New Guinea; Russian Federation; Saint Kitts and Nevis; Saint Lucia; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; Sierra Leone; Syria; Timor-Leste; Tunisia; United Republic of Tanzania; and Venezuela.

Remaining on the list of Non-Self-Governing Territories are the Falkland Islands (Malvinas)[1], French Polynesia, Gibraltar, New Caledonia and Western Sahara, as well as American Samoa, Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Guam, Montserrat, Pitcairn, Saint Helena, Tokelau, Turks and Caicos Islands and the United States Virgin Islands.

Following the regional seminar, the Committee will next meet in June.

* *** *

---

[1] A dispute exists between the Governments of Argentina and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland concerning sovereignty over the Falkland Islands (Malvinas).

---

African Union committed to support self-determination of Saharawi people

Addis Ababa, March 26, 2014 (SPS) - The Commissioner for Political Affairs of the African Union Dr. Aisha L. Abdullahi has expressed commitment of the AU to support the Saharawi people’s self-determination, hailing the well-organized life of the Saharawi refugees and the services provided to the citizens by the state in various domains.

In a press statement issued Monday about her visit to the Saharawi Republic (SADR), undertaken on March 16-18 2014, Mr. Abdullahi reiterated the African Union’s commitment “to continue to support the cause for self-determination of the Saharawi people,” expressing her satisfaction with “the well-organized life of Saharawi people, especially in the areas of women rights and welfare as well as the special attention given to the young people and culture.”

The AU Commissioner underlined that her visit to the SADR offered “an opportunity to see on the ground the resilience and unique experience of the Sahrawi state in the social and political domains as well as the various services provided to the citizens by the Sahrawi government despite the difficult conditions and the dawdling donor support.

She then announced a contribution of the African Union of a token amount of USD 100,000 in support of women empowerment activities in the Saharawi refugee camps.

During her 2-day visit to the Saharawi Republic (SADR), Dr. Aisha L. Abdullahi met with several officials in the Saharawi state including Mr. Abdelkader Taleb Omar, prime minister, Mr. Khatri Addouh, speaker of the Saharawi National Council (parliament), Mr. Mohamed Salem Ould Salek, minister of foreign affairs and Mr. Abdulrahman Abdallah, minister of African affairs, Mrs. Khadija Hamdi, minister of culture, Mr. Mohamed Lamine Bouhali, minister of national defense, Mr. Bah Dih Chikh Mohamed, the then minister of justice, Mr. Mohammed El-Ouali Akik, minister of occupied territories and community abroad, Mrs. Al-Azza Brahim, governor of the Wilaya of Bujodour, Mr. Hamma Bunia, governor of El Aaiun, Mrs. Fatma Mahdi, secretary general of the Saharawi Women Union, and Mr. Bouhabeini Yahya, president of the Saharawi Red Crescent.

She, moreover, met with the UN Humanitarian Country Team operating in the Saharawi refugee camps as well as the representatives of international organizations.

During this visit, the Commissioner visited some facilities in the Wilaya of El Aaiun, of which the Water Filtration Center, vocational training center for women, and children with disabilities’ center.

She also witnessed the closing ceremony of the school year and participated in handing out gifts to excelling students at the state level. (SPS)

090/089

Polisario Front urges European Court of Justice to annule EU-Morocco Fisheries Agreement

Luxembourg, March 26, 2014 (SPS) - The Polisario Front has presented last week, through a law firm, to the European Court of Justice a recourse providing for the annulment of the fisheries agreement, signed in 2013 between the EU and Morocco, said Mr. Mhamed Khaddad, member of the POLISARIO National Secretariat.

In this recourse, Polisario Front recalled to the legal status of Western Sahara as a non-self-governing territory, whose partial occupation by Morocco constitutes a violation of the right of peoples to self-determination enshrined in the Articles 1 and 2 of the UN Charter and in the jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice.

The Polisario Front called on the European Court of Justice to annul such agreement and to reject any decision or cooperation with Morocco affecting the international status of the territory of Western Sahara.

On November 2012, the Polisario Front filed an appeal in the same court against the EU-Morocco Agreement on agricultural, processed agricultural and fisheries products.

The Official Journal of the European Union published the appeal in February 2013 and the proceedings are already underway with the memoranda submitted to the Court by the European Council and Commission. (SPS)

Possible implications of the U.S. 'pivot' to the Pacific?

OP-ED: The Elephant vs. the Shark
By Lawrence Wilkerson
The Obama administration's nebulous "Pacific Pivot" is setting the stage for a superpower conflict in East Asia.
Lawrence Wilkerson was Secretary of State Colin Powell’s chief of staff as well as associate director of the State Department’s Policy Planning staff, where he was responsible for East Asia and the Pacific. Before serving at the State Department, Wilkerson served 31 years in the U.S. Army. He is a contributor to Foreign Policy In Focus.

The Obama administration’s “Pacific Pivot” will make it more difficult than ever for countries of the region to stay neutral in an emerging rivalry between the United States and China. Credit: U.S. Navy/public domain

WASHINGTON, Mar 25 2014 (IPS) - To pivot, according to the venerable Oxford English Dictionary, means “to turn as on a pivot.” Which takes us to the noun, which seems more appropriate for describing the Obama administration’s Pacific policy: “That on which anything turns; a cardinal or central point.”

The problem, however, is that finding a cardinal or a central point in the administration’s Pacific policy is extremely difficult. What is clear is only a verb tense.

At the climax of this awesome conflict, the massive land power will confront the formidable sea power.

The United States is turning from more than a decade of war – ineffective and costly – in western Asia to a more important and strategic region, eastern Asia, plus the waters that approach it. Perhaps the central point of the pivot is Asia, and the United States is switching from one end to the other.

The “Pacific,” however, suggests a broader turn, although new allies and commitments in the Indian Ocean seem to balance if not outweigh those in the Pacific Ocean. India is the most potent example, a country located more or less at a central point.

If geographical and policy clarity is lacking, so is clarity around security, and in particular military security. Muddling matters more, U.S. Secretary of Defence Chuck Hagel on Feb. 25 outlined a resource approach that implied that China is the number one challenge for the United States, therefore land forces will subsidise sea and air forces.

READ THE FULL OP ED HERE.

Montserrat Premier Meade Presents 2014-2015 Budget

Restoring Growth

Expanding Opportunities

Presented by 

Honourable Premier Reuben T Meade

delivered in the

Montserrat Legislative Assembly

24th  March 2014 

Youtube.com

INTRODUCTION

1.                       I have the honour of presenting this budget address at a time when the challenges facing our island continue to be very significant. I am also mindful that in the next few months we will exercise one of our most fundamental rights, that is, to elect a government to continue the developmental process.  This budget statement must therefore be a report of our stewardship over the past four and a half years and also an indication of our policies and programs to support our vision for the next five years.

2.                       It is a vision that carries with it huge political, economic and social programmes. It is also being presented at a time when the more prosperous nations of the world are struggling to maintain a stable socio-economic environment. Over the last four and a half years, the people of Montserrat under MCAP's administration have been on a mission.  It involved the challenge not only of stabilizing the economy but also establishing a platform for recovery and growth.

3.                       This vision has had the overwhelming support and confidence of our development partners. This is evidenced by the increase in budgetary and development resources that we have been able to negotiate with our two major development partners, namely Her Majesty’s Government and the European Union.  The local public servants and the business community have also provided critical support in delivering improved service.

4.              Let me take this opportunity to thank all the Montserratians and those who have made Montserrat their place of residence for their continued support and interest in the development of our land.  It is so easy to allow the challenging economic environment to undermine the reputation and friendly atmosphere for which Montserrat is renowned.  The MCAP Administration invites all to pause and reflect on the progress that has been made so far.

READ FULL BUDGET ADDRESS HERE.

Another stolen generation: how Australia still wrecks Aboriginal families

John Pilger

The mass removal of Indigenous children from their parents continues unabated – where is the outrage?

The tape is searing. There is the voice of an infant screaming as he is wrenched from his mother, who pleads, "There is nothing wrong with my baby. Why are you doing this to us? I would've been hung years ago, wouldn't I? Because [as an Aboriginal Australian] you're guilty before you're found innocent." The child's grandmother demands to know why "the stealing of our kids is happening all over again". A welfare official says, "I'm gunna take him, mate."

This happened to an Aboriginal family in outback New South Wales. It is happening across Australia in a scandalous and largely unrecognised abuse of human rights that evokes the infamous stolen generation of the last century. Up to the 1970s, thousands of mixed-race children were stolen from their mothers by welfare officials. The children were given to institutions as cheap or slave labour; many were abused.

Described by a chief protector of Aborigines as "breeding out the colour", the policy was known as assimilation. It was influenced by the same eugenics movement that inspired the Nazis. In 1997 a landmark report, Bringing Them Home, disclosed that as many 50,000 children and their mothers had endured "the humiliation, the degradation and sheer brutality of the act of forced separation ... the product of the deliberate, calculated policies of the state". The report called this genocide.

READ THE FULL REPORT HERE.

Experimental seabed mining part of the UK’s continuing colonial vision

Papua New Guinea Mine Watch

The United Kingdom built an Empire in the 19th Century so it could make itself rich by plundering the resources of foreign countries while inflicting terrible abuses on the local ‘savages’ (which it pretended to be ‘civilising’ and ‘developing’). Today the UK sees nothing wrong in continuing that tradition with experimental seabed mining…

Deep sea mining could give UK ‘minerals and wealth’

BBC

Deep sea mining could provide the UK economy with a “great deal” of mineral resources and wealth, a marine biologist has claimed.

The idea comes as government leaders, marine biologists and mining experts prepare to discuss how the process can become a commercial reality.

Minerals found in the sea bed include copper and rare earth minerals which are in great demand for their use in smartphones and other gadgets.

Marine biologist Dr Jon Copley told BBC Radio 5 live’s Morning Reports: “The copper there and zinc could be worth £150 billion pounds and that’s just the vents we know about.”

Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat leads Assessment in Marshall Islands to enhance Access and Management of Climate Change Finance

The Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS) recently undertook a climate change finance assessment in the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) to help the small island nation better access and manage climate change finance.

According to Chief Secretary of the RMI, Mr. Casten Nemra, “The assessment is timely because it will inform us of the current situation and the steps needed to enable us to tap much needed climate finance sources that would strengthen the resilience of our communities and atoll islands to the adverse effects of climate change.”

The assessment follows a formal request made by the Government of RMI and is being undertaken as a collaborative initiative between the PIFS and development partners, including USAID ADAPT Asia-Pacific, Secretariat of the Pacific Community’s Global Climate Change Alliance: Pacific Small Island States (SPC-GCCA: PSIS programme) funded by the European Union, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Pacific Financial Technical Assistance Centre (PFTAC), and the RMI Government. The Australian Government is also providing funding for the assessment.

Following consultations and briefings with key stakeholders, including members of the RMI National Climate Change Committee chaired by the Chief Secretary, the Minister responsible for climate change, all key line Ministries and entities in RMI that have a role in climate change; the Mayors Association; development partners present in-country; NGOs, and educational institutions, the joint team are now in a position to produce a report that will provide strategic advice to the RMI Government on the sources of funding for climate related activities, policies and plans, public financial management and expenditure, institutional and human capacities, and development effectiveness.

“With climate change at the forefront of our Government’s priority, we believe that partnership at all levels is crucial in order for a small island nation like ours to effectively access and manage international climate change finance to respond to adverse impacts of climate change,” says Honorable Tony deBrum, the national Minister responsible for Climate Change.

“The Secretariat was pleased to receive the request from the RMI Government and wishes to commend RMI for the leadership shown in continuing to place climate change at the forefront of high level political discussions in the region and internationally,” says Tuiloma Neroni Slade, Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat. “The Forum Secretariat has taken a multi-stakeholder, multi-partner approach to this joint mission, to ensure that findings of this assessment are comprehensive and useful to the RMI government on various levels, and particularly to increase and improve RMI’s ability to access climate financing, strengthen coordination and implementation of climate related efforts, now and into the future.”

This assessment complements and builds on other existing frameworks including the Forum Compact work in identifying gaps and areas of progress, and how development partners and other stakeholders could effectively collaborate to assist national efforts on Climate Change Financing,” added Mr. Slade.

The joint team intends to undertake a follow-up visit in April to present the preliminary findings and discuss the necessary follow-up actions with the RMI.

ENDS

For media enquiries, contact media@forumsec.org

Slavery and the slave trade are 'crimes against humanity' - President of the United Nations General Assembly John Ashe

Remarks 

by 

H.E. Mr. John W. Ashe 

President of the 68th

 Session of the United Nations 

General Assembly

New York 

25 March 2014 

 

Follow-up to the commemoration of the two-hundredth anniversary 

of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade: commemorative 

meeting on the occasion of the International Day of Remembrance of 

the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade [item 120]

"Today we commemorate the spirit, courage and legacy of millions of men, women and children who were victims of one of the darkest and most abhorrent chapters in history – the Transatlantic Slave Trade. As we gather for this year’s International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, we call to mind the memory of all those who suffered the cruelty and injustice of the largest forced migration in history." 

A number of commemorative activities will be held in observance of this Day and I encourage the support and participation of all Member States. 

The theme of this year’s celebration is “Victory over Slavery: Haiti and Beyond,” and this year we acknowledge the role of a country synonymous with the quest for freedom against the institution of slavery. The Haitian Revolution of 1791-1804 is considered by historians to be the most successful and sustained slave revolt to have ever occurred. Led by Toussaint L’Ouverture, and others like Jean-Jacques Dessalines and Henri Christophe, the Haitian revolution was a defining moment in the histories of Europe and the Americas, and culminated in the birth of a new nation, the Republic of Haiti, which celebrated its 210th anniversary in January 2014.

READ THE FULL REMARKS HERE.

ALSO SEE: 

Emancipation did not end with the abolition of chattel slavery

French Overseas Departments, cooperation and the process of major hazard prevention in the Caribbean

The heterogeneity of territories is the major characteristic of the Caribbean region with various legal and political structures, cultural and linguistic differences (Dutch, English, French and Spanish), disparate socio-economic development as measured by the Human Development Index (HDI) ranging from 0.471 for Haiti to 0.850 and 0.858 for Guadeloupe and Martinique respectively. However, whether independent Small Island Developing States (SIDS) or non-independent territories of European nations (French and Dutch), the regional territories share many problems, particularly in terms of vulnerability to natural hazards and poor connectivity.

Despite similar vulnerabilities, converging priorities and the efforts of the various regional parties, cooperation between non-EU Caribbean territories and the French regions of the area, remains below its potential. These actions have been struggling to lead to the creation of common practices which may contribute to the effective integration of French Departments of America (DFA). One explanation for this struggle lies in a lack of mutual knowledge and difficulty in identifying the actors and initiatives at different levels of the French public sector, especially in the prevention and management of natural hazards. This article will succinctly present some of the predominant actors and tools of the French approach to the prevention of major risks, before discussing some projects supported under the European inter-regional (INTERREG) program.

The French public management structures for major natural hazards cover different levels of decision and intervention. Thus the prevention of major risks is an activity that involves several ministries, local authorities, and various government agencies. The Ministries of Sustainable Development, Agriculture, Education, and Research intervene under the areas of safety information, monitoring, public education, risk mitigation and management, while the Ministry of the Interior handles preparation and crisis management. Under these components, and within the territorial levels corresponding to each DFA, the two main actors in the disaster response arena are the County Prefects with responsibility for local implementation of state policies and the Mayors of each of the 32, 34 and 22 municipalities in Guadeloupe, Martinique and French Guiana respectively.

Each County Prefect establishes a Departmental File for Hazards Risks, which informs the cities about the existing risks and their consequences for people, property and the environment and also lists the specific plan for the prevention of foreseeable hazards as well as for intervention for industries. The County Prefect is also responsible for a civil defence response which determines the general organisation of any rescue effort and identifies all public and private bodies capable of being deployed given the hazards that exist in each provincial department. An inter-service defence and civil protection team responsible for assisting in the management of risk and crisis throughout all three phases (prevention, operational and post-crisis) supports the actions of the County Prefect in conjunction with the armed forces, local authorities, and other agencies.

At the local level, the mayor, responsible for urban planning and security, informs the population about disaster risks and organises emergency first aid actions in case of a crisis. To this end, he establishes tools such as the City Information File about hazard risks plans for the prevention of foreseeable environmental hazards, and a local disaster plan, which lists the local resources available to the city in case of a major event such as rescue services and charitable organisations.

Alongside these actors charged with the power to police, local authorities have a crucial role in the management of resources deployed for disaster prevention. For example, in Martinique, as part of the Caribbean Earthquake Plan (CEP) developed by France, both the Regional Council and the General Council contribute to the resilience of schools in the occurrence of a major geological hazard. The recently approved General Council plan for the seismic strengthening of buildings has resulted in the retrofitting of those colleges most damaged by the 2007 earthquake. Additionally, by establishing investment policies and providing financing for the equipping of selected classrooms with locally developed para-seismic desks, these local authorities make the CEP a tool for both mitigation and economic recovery.

The competence, experience and expertise of the various French actors at all levels of intervention allow for consideration of various forms of sharing and support to neighbouring countries. Regional cooperation instruments, such as the Regional Cooperation Fund or the INTERREG Operational Programmes (OP) for the Amazonia (Brazil, Suriname, and Guyana) and the Caribbean, are aimed at strengthening cooperation and exchange of experiences through joint initiatives at the appropriate territorial levels.

The 2007/2013 INTERREG Caribbean OP identifies the prevention of natural hazards as a priority by supporting actions in hazard identification, risk management and planning, preparation, prevention, public information and education, 

Of these last two components, several entities within the French territories were supported in their preparation for natural disasters; whether through improvement and harmonization of response protocols or through training of persons in vulnerable and isolated communities to act as local intervention teams.

Monitoring is another major component of INTERREG support through the initiatives such as TSUNAHOULE and TSUAREG. The former involves the numerical modelling of Caribbean marine natural hazards, and the latter provides for the acquisition and installation of equipment to provide information on earthquakes and tsunamis from scientific organizations to local authorities. Finally, the CARIB RISK CLUSTER project establishes a solid foundation for technical cooperation based on feedback about best practices and solutions.

One of the projects the ACS is currently pursuing in conjunction with the DFAs, is the establishment of a certified diploma in disaster management and risk prevention, recognised both in the European Union and the Caribbean. This will serve to improve the skill set of regional disaster management professionals while allowing for the sharing of best practices from distinct viewpoints.

Following the 19th Meeting of the Ministerial Council of the ACS, cooperation between the French overseas territories and the rest of the Caribbean has now entered a new era, with approval for the territories of Martinique and Guadeloupe to become Associate Members in their own right. Notwithstanding this change, France will continue to function as an Associate Member representing the interests of St. Martin, French Guiana and St. Bartholomew. 

As part of the regional cooperation agenda, the ACS aims to further build bridges with the French territories that take full advantage of the great potential for collaboration in the area of disaster risk reduction.

About the ACS

The Association of Caribbean States is the organization for consultation, cooperation and concerted action in trade, transport, sustainable tourism and natural disasters in the Greater Caribbean. Its Member States are Antigua & Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Panama, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago and Venezuela. Its Associate Members are Aruba, Curaçao, and France on behalf of Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Saint Barthélemy and Saint Martin

Mobilizing Nuclear Bias: The Fukushima Nuclear Crisis and the Politics of Uncertainty

globalresearch.ca

____________________

The Asia-Pacific Journal 

Vol. 12, Issue 7, No. 4, February 17, 2014. 

Kyle Cleveland 

Abstract 

The nuclear disaster in Fukushima which followed in the wake of the 3/11 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami has given rise to one of the most significant public health crises in modern world history, with profound implications for how nuclear energy is perceived. This paper analyzes the most dire phase of the Fukushima nuclear crisis, showing how the level of risk was assessed by nuclear experts and state-level actors who worked largely out of view of public scrutiny. In addition to examining how the accident progression in the reactors was addressed and conveyed to the general public, the paper addresses how the exclusionary zones were determined by Japanese and foreign governments in Japan. 

As the crisis unfolded and efforts to bring the reactors under control were initially proving ineffective, concerns increased that radiation dispersion was unmitigated, and with radiation monitoring by the U.S. military indicating levels significantly beyond TEPCO’s conservative assessments, the United States broke with Japan, recommending an 80km exclusionary zone, and initiating military assisted departures for embassy staff and Department of Defense dependents from Japan. These actions deviated significantly from Japan’s assessments (which had established a 30km evacuation zone), creating a dynamic where the U.S. provided technical consultation for the nuclear response while striving to maintain a delicate diplomatic balance as they attempted to impose a qualitatively different crisis management response. 

Because this crisis had significant implications for Japan's international relations, diplomatic considerations have helped to suppress the complex, often fractious relations between Japan and foreign governments - especially the United States - whose collective efforts eventually turned the tide from managing the nuclear meltdowns to ameliorating their long-term consequences. Based on interviews with political officials in both the Japanese government and foreign embassies in Japan, and nuclear experts and military officers who worked the crisis, the paper analyzes how technical assessments drove decision making and were translated into political policy. 

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Haitians launch new lawsuit against UN over thousands of cholera deaths

greenwichmeantime.com

Plaintiffs hold UN responsible for outbreak of disease, which they say was carried into Haiti by peacekeepers from Nepal.

The United Nations is facing a huge new lawsuit over the outbreak of cholera in Haiti that has widely been blamed on its peacekeepers, after 1,500 Haitian victims and their family members sued the international body in a federal court in Brooklyn in a class action.

The size of the suit substantially increases the stakes for the UN in this long-running saga. The plaintiffs seek to hold the UN responsible for the health catastrophe, as well as demanding compensation for victims and a UN-sponsored mission to help devastated Haitian communities.

The UN has consistently refused to accept any role in the disaster, and has claimed immunity from legal actions such as the one just lodged in Brooklyn, and a similar class action filed on behalf of a sample group of five Haitians last year. Latest figures suggest that more than 9,000 people have died in the outbreak, which has spread from Haiti to Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Cuba and Puerto Rico, with a total of about 700,000 having been sickened.

There have also been at least confirmed cases of cholera in New York which is home to one of the largest communities of Haitians outside the Caribbean nation.

The lawsuit alleges that the cholera outbreak resulted from “the negligent, reckless, and tortious conduct of the … United Nations; its subsidiary, the United Nations Stablization Mission in Haiti; and its officers… The sickness, death and continual ongoing harm from cholera suffered by Haiti’s citizens are a direct result of the UN’s multiple systematic failures.”

The legal action chronicles the mounting evidence that UN peacekeepers from Nepal carried with them the Asian strain of cholera when they arrived in Haiti after the January 2010 earthquake. The outbreak, which began in October of that year, was the first instance of cholera in Haiti for at least 150 years.

The lawsuit catalogues what it claims were the UN’s negligent actions. UN troops coming from Nepal, where cholera is endemic, were not screened for the disease.

The UN mission hired a private contractor to ensure sanitary conditions for its force in Haiti, but the contractor was poorly managed and failed to provide adequate infrastructure at the UN camp in Mirebalais. As a result, contaminated sewerage was deposited in the Meille river, a tributary of the Artibonite, Haiti’s longest and most important river.

Crucially, the lawsuit argues that the UN is not immune from liability in such cases. It points out that acceptance of liability “was an express condition agreed to by the United Nations when it created Status of Forces Agreements such as the one which permitted it to enter Haiti.”

The first named plaintiff, Marie Laventure, is a Haitian living in Atlanta, Georgia, who has eight siblings still living in Haiti. She lost her father and stepmother to the cholera contagion.

In a statement, she said: “The death and injury caused by the UN cholera contagion in Haiti is heartbreaking. It has taken my parents and is threatening the lives of my young brothers and sisters in Haiti. Justice demands UN accountability for violating the most important human right, the right to live.”