15 January 2014

SHARES News Items Overview: 16 December 2013-15 January 2014

This is our News Items Overview of 16 December 2013-15 January 2014, a summary of recent news relating to shared responsibility. (more…)

14 January 2014

China publicly destroyed confiscated ivory in effort to combat illegal trade

On 6 January 2014, six tonnes of confiscated ivory (ornaments, tusks and carvings) were publicly destroyed by Chinese authorities in the city of Dongguan, in an effort to combat the illegal trade in elephant tusks.

UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Achim Steiner said: “[t]he largest remaining land mammal on the planet is facing one of the greatest crises to hit the species in decades (…) Yet, there is reason for optimism. International cooperation is paving the way towards improved law enforcement and increased efforts to reduce demand. These efforts need to be stepped up and strengthened to produce the desired results (…) We have also seen the destruction of ivory stockpiles across range, transit and demand states: in the Philippines, the Gabon, the United States and China among others. As well as create critical public awareness, such actions send a clear message that wildlife crime will not be tolerated.” (more…)

Source: UN News Centre | UN agency praises China’s destruction of ivory stockpile
Source: UNEP News Centre | UN Applauds China Efforts to Combat Illegal Ivory Trade

13 January 2014

World Bank’s loan to company engaged in violent conflict in Honduras is criticised

The World Bank ombudsman criticised the International Finance Corporation, which provides loans to companies in developing countries, for failing to follow requirements when it approved a loan to Corporación Dinant, a Honduran palm-oil company, in 2009 and inadequate supervision afterward. Dinant is in violent conflict with farm workers over land tenure of the Bajo Aguán Valley, where Dinant is the largest single landowner. Almost 100 people have been killed since 2009 in Bajo Aguán, according to the country’s human rights commissioner, Ramón Custodio. (more…)

Source: The New York Times | World Bank Is Criticized for Honduran Loan

13 January 2014

U.S. deploys military advisers to Somalia to assist in the fight against Shabab

The United States deployed a small team of military advisers to Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital, last month to assist Somali and African forces in combating the Shabab, an Islamic militant group. Col. Tom Davis, a spokesman for the military’s Africa Command, stated ‘[t]he U.S. has established a military coordination cell in Somalia to provide planning and advisory support to the African Union Mission in Somalia and Somali security forces to increase their capabilities and promote peace and security throughout Somalia and the region.’

While the U.S. has been cautious in deploying its forces to Somalia, as seen by the small deployment of three advisers, the Obama administration has come closer to reversing the decades old policy that bars American ‘boots on the ground.’ The U.S. has officially recognised the new federal government in Somalia and although the U.S. embassy has not yet reopened, officials from the U.S. embassy in Nairobi visit Mogadishu frequently.

Source: The New York Times | U.S. Advisers Sent to Help Somalia Fight the Shabab

9 January 2014

Chemical weapons removal from Syria has started

The removal of the most critical material for destruction began on 7 January 2014, a week after the deadline for its completion set by an agreement brokered by Russia and the United States under which Syria renounced its chemical weapons material and joined the 1992 Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons. ‘This movement is very important because it’s the first important step in an expected process of continued movement for the onward destruction out of country’ Sigrid Kaag, head of the Joint Mission of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and the United Nations told reporters after updating the Security Council on the accord, which set 30 June for the elimination of all materials. (more…)

Source: UN News Centre | Security Council expects Syria to meet June deadline for chemical weapons removal, official says