Podcasts about political declaration

The widespread use of heavy explosive weapons has reached alarming levels, exacting a staggering toll on civilian lives. From Gaza to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan to Syria, and Ukraine to Yemen and Myanmar, the suffering of civilians and destruction is immense, scarring communities long after the bombing stops – but it is also preventable. The Political Declaration on Strengthening the Protection of Civilians from the Humanitarian Consequences Arising from the Use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas, endorsed by 86 states worldwide, brings hope of long-term change for civilians caught in conflict. Yet if it is to bring about meaningful impact, it demands resolute action from endorsing states. In this post, a group of experts from organizations gathering alongside the global community of states to assess progress and challenges and discuss future prospects at the first international follow-up conference hosted by the Norwegian government in Oslo urgently call on states to faithfully implement their commitments and broaden the support for the Political Declaration. They argue that the success of the Declaration hinges on translating political will into meaningful action among endorsing states, including comprehensive policy reforms, enhanced training for military personnel, improved operational planning processes, and robust exchanges of experience and best practices to ensure better protection of civilians and compliance with international humanitarian law (IHL).

On this week's Technology Report, John CoFrancesco, the founder of Applied AI Company, discusses the Biden administration's new executive order to ensure safe, secure and trustworthy artificial intelligence, efforts to use the“Political Declaration on the Responsible Use of Artificial Intelligence and Autonomy” as a foundation for a global standard, why fear of the technology is misplaced, the implications of the SEC's suit against SolarWinds' CISO, countering cyber and social efforts by Iran as well as its allies China and Russia, and outlook for constraining irresponsibility of social media firms with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian.

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Researcher and activist James Roguski returns to SGT Report with an urgent warning about the 4-Tiered agenda of the World Health Organization to enslave humanity under the guise of "health" and climate change. TAKE ACTION NOW!! https://jamesroguski.substack.com/p/stop-the-global-agenda?utm_source=profile&utm_medium=reader2 TIME IS RUNNING OUT - MULTIPLE DEADLINES ARE RAPIDLY APPROACHING: September 20, 2023 - The United Nations plans to adopt a “Political Declaration of the United Nations General Assembly High-level Meeting on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response” December 1, 2023 - Deadline to REJECT the amendments to the International Health Regulations that were adopted on May 27, 2022. Mid-January, 2024 - Deadline for input to the 300+ amendments to the International Health Regulations that are currently being negotiated in secret. May 2024 - Scheduled date for adoption of the 300+ amendments and the WHO CA+ Framework Convention (AKA: “Pandemic Treaty”)

The bombing of towns and cities, or the use of explosive weapons in populated areas, leads to vast civilian harm, destruction of civilian infrastructure, and long-term humanitarian consequences. In this episode, we take you behind the scenes of the signing of a landmark political declaration on explosive weapons in populated areas (EWIPA), signed by over 80 nations in Dublin last month.Guests:Hajer Naili, Director of Communications, CIVIC Sahr Muhammedally, Director for MENA & South Asia, CIVICRoos Boer, Project Lead Humanitarian Disarmament, PAX This podcast is brought to you by CIVIC and PAX. This episode was written by Annie Shiel and Hajer Naili, with assistance from Marc Garlasco, Tate Musinahama and Selma van Oostwaard.To learn more about explosive weapons in populated areas and the EWIPA Declaration, see:The website of the International Network on Explosive Weapons (INEW)Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas, PAXCIVIC's EWIPA ExplainerPAX report on the Impact on healthcare from bombing and shelling in Ukraine CIVIC's Implementation Brief: Political Declaration on the Use of Explosive Weapons in Populated AreasMwatana & PAX report Continuing civilian harm from the use of explosive weapons in YemenThis episode includes live recordings of the November 2022 Dublin Conference to Adopt the Political Declaration on Strengthening the Protection of Civilians from the Humanitarian Consequences Arising from the Use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas.You can find a full transcript of this episode here.

South Africa's Just Energy Transition Partnership Investment Plan, or JETP-IP, should be geared towards projects that will support the country in meeting the lower end of its new Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), a senior US Treasury official has indicated. Ahead of the 2021 COP26 climate talks in Glasgow, Scotland, South Africa made a material update to its NDC target range for 2030, which was improved to between 420- and 350-million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt CO2-eq) from an initial NDC pledge to lower its carbon emissions to between 614 Mt CO2-eq and 398 Mt CO2-eq by 2030. This more “ambitious” NDC created the basis for the so-called International Partners Group (IPG) of France, Germany, the UK, the US, and the European Union to sign a Political Declaration with South Africa that included an offer of $8.5-billion in climate finance to support the transition from coal to renewables while protecting workers and communities currently reliant on the coal value chain. The release of the financing – which IPG participants have indicated is likely to involve a combination of concessional loans, grants, technical support and debt guarantees – is dependent on the finalisation of the JETP-IP ahead of COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, in November. The JETP-IP will include a South Africa-developed portfolio of projects that will be funded initially from public financiers in the IPG countries, but could be broadened to include funds from other governments, as well as private financiers and philanthropists, given that South Africa will require far more than $8.5-billion to implement a transition to a low-carbon economy. A recent study by the Blended Finance Taskforce and the Centre for Sustainable Transitions at Stellenbosch University calculated that transitioning South Africa's energy system will require $250-billion in climate finance over the coming three decades. The Treasury official indicated that JETP-IP should include projects that were aligned with the lower end of South Africa's NDC, which he described as the “North Star” of South Africa's JETP, which the IPG hoped to use as a template for similar partnerships in other high-emission developing countries. He added that, while the building of new coal in South Africa was not a “red line” for the IPG it would make it harder for South Africa to achieve the lower end of the NDC, which is said to be compatible with a transition to net-zero by 2050. Earlier, COP president Alok Sharma, of the UK, who visited South Africa partly to receive a six-month progress report on the JETP since COP26, acknowledged that some European countries were resuming coal operations to reduce reliance on Russian gas, but emphasised that these where short-term measures and that the main thrust in Europe currently was the acceleration of the energy transition away from fossil fuels. Sharma also questioned whether it was possible to finance new coal and cautioned that it was likely that such assets would become commercially and environmentally “stranded” as the world sought to hasten decarbonisation efforts. The US Treasury official welcomed South Africa's decision to update its Integrated Resource Plan for electricity as it would offer an opportunity to integrate the country's new NDC commitments into the plan, as well as other changes under way in the electricity market. He added that until the JETP-IP was finalised, it would be premature to state how each IPG partner would seek to honour their funding commitments or to indicate what funding mechanisms would be used. Asked by Engineering News to define how concessional loans might be priced under the JETP he said one way would be pricing such loans at levels below the “current carrying cost of Eskom debt”. “That's not a pure definition of concessionality but certainly from a South African Treasury standpoint, if you can lower the cost of Eskom's current debt, that is a direct saving to the country. “So, as we think about types of capita...

A Just Energy Transition Partnership Investment Plan (JETP-IP), which will seek to unlock $8.5-billion in concessional climate finance to accelerate South Africa's transition from coal to renewables and support workers and communities currently reliant on the coal value chain, is expected to be finalised by October for sign-off during the COP27 climate talks in Egypt in November. The JETP-IP, a first draft and revision of which are expected in July and September respectively, is viewed as the crucial next step in the conversion of a Political Declaration signed at the COP26 climate talks in Glasgow, Scotland, last year between South Africa, and the International Partners Group (IPG) of France, Germany, the UK, the US, and the European Union. An indicative work plan and timetable was released following a meeting on June 21, between COP president Alok Sharma and a delegation of Ministers from the South African government including Mondli Gungubele, Dr Naledi Pandor; Enoch Godongwana, Barbara Creecy, Pravin Gordhan, Gwede Mantashe and Ebrahim Patel. Prior to the meeting Sharma also held discussions with the head of the Presidential Climate Finance Task Team, Daniel Mminele, the JETP secretariat, led by Ms Joanne Yawitch, as well as with trade union leaders, including representative of the National Union of Mineworkers. Sharma said that the meeting reinforced the commitment of both the IPG and the South African government to the JETP, which has been held up as a possible blueprint for similar partnerships with other developing countries. “We had over two-and-a-half hours of detailed discussions with the Ministers in terms of the way forward and I think that's given me a lot of confidence that, firstly, there is a real desire on the part of the South African government to progress this and also to use this to further the energy transition in South Africa. “But I was also able to reiterate the commitment from the IPG to make sure that we progress this and we're able to show concrete progress by the time we get to COP27.” Sharma also stressed that the JETP-IP, which would identify the actual projects to be funded over the coming three to five years, was being developed from “the South African side” and that he was optimistic that the plan would also catalyse other financial support, given that the $8.5-billion would be insufficient to fund the country's multidecade transition. No details have yet been provided as to what projects will be included in the JETP-IP, but both Eskom and Mminele have indicated that the load-shedding-prone and carbon-heavy electricity sector would be prioritised, with Eskom proposing that repowering and repurposing initiatives at its decommissioned coal plants be included along with the grid investment needed to unlock more renewables. Some of the funding will also be directed towards supporting the development of local electric vehicle and green hydrogen industries. The JETP will also build on existing work relevant to the partnership, including existing bilateral and multilateral initiatives. For instance, the Eskom Just Energy Transition Project at Komati power station, in Mpumalanga, will likely be presented to the World Bank board for approval before COP27. Sharma reported that he toured the Komati site during his visit to South Africa. A joint statement released following the meetings also underlined the importance of the JETP-IP, which was described as key to realising the finance for projects and activities required to achieve a just transition. The statement included a six-month update since COP26, which indicated that the Presidential Climate Finance Task Team and the National Treasury were currently analysing the finance instruments proposed by the IPG with a view to ensuring that they meet South Africa's investment needs and fiscal realities. The IPG proposal has also reportedly opened the way for more detailed engagements, including with key development finance institutions and multilateral d...

South Africa aims to pursue a financing solution that embraces a “different paradigm” with regard to the allocation of risk, as well as return expectations and investment horizons, when negotiating the terms and conditions of an $8.5-billion climate finance offer made in November by several developed countries. A ‘Political Declaration on the Just Energy Transition in South Africa', which incorporates the financing offer, was signed with the European Union, France, Germany, the UK and the US on the side-lines of the COP26 climate talks, in Glasgow, Scotland. Processes are now under way to translate the pledge into firm transactions that will support the transition from coal to renewables in the electricity sector, while supporting coal workers and communities, as well as to lay the basis for the domestic production of electric vehicles and green hydrogen. Presidential Climate Finance Task Team head Daniel Mminele argued during an event hosted by the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection that innovation would be required if the declaration is to be translated into financial products and services that could meet the objectives of justice and inclusion. While it was premature to speculate on the nature of the financial instruments or the balance between concessional loans and grants, Mminele stressed that it could not be “business as usual”. “We need to appreciate that a different paradigm may be required, [with] a different approach to issues such as risk allocation and return expectations, or investment horizons.” Any debt, he added, should be extended on terms that were more attractive than could be secured in the capital markets and without “unduly onerous reporting requirements”. The financing instruments should also reflect South Africa's unique needs and fiscal challenges and incorporate appropriate and equitable risk-sharing arrangements. “These include, for example, risk-mitigation instruments, grants, concessional loans, and other appropriate tools, be they financial or otherwise, that contribute towards the cost of the country's transition, but without inhibiting or negatively impacting the country's national priority programmes and budgets.” The former central banker and Absa CEO also unpacked the principles that would govern South Africa's approach to the upcoming negotiations, including: a recognition of the urgent need to invest in energy and transport solutions that will lower the country's carbon emissions to help reduce the risk of climate change, which was already negatively affecting the country, as well as future trade-related risks; the need to translate the offer made by the international partnership group (IPG) and multilateral development finance institutions into “tangible financial support, on terms and conditions that positively contribute towards South Africa's objectives and don't create unintended consequences”; that the funding be used to build greater resilience by supporting the country's growth and job creation efforts, while emissions are reduced, with a particular emphasis on supporting the livelihoods of workers and communities that will be affected by the shift to greener energy; that country-specific conditions are fully recognised so that South Africans are able to take ownership of and leadership in the transition; that the pace and extent of decarbonisation is premised on available resources, which would require the IPG to offer long-term cooperation commensurate with the timeline of South Africa's transition, which is likely to endure for 30 years; that pragmatic short-term actions be prioritised, particularly ahead of COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, at the end of the year, while a longer-term programme is finalised; that the package supported South Africa in its ambition to raise gross fixed capital formation from about 15% of gross domestic product to 30%, in line with the country's National Development Plan; that investment be sequenced such that the issue of electricity ...

It's up to the UK to break the Brexit deadlock, despite the potential economic hit to France and the EU from a no-deal outcome when the transition period ends on December 31. So says France's newly-appointed Secretary of State for European Affairs, Clément Beaune. He tells FRANCE 24's Europe editor Catherine Nicholson that neither France nor the EU as a whole is prepared to depart from the commitments of the Political Declaration agreed between Brussels and Boris Johnson in 2019.

As Europe focuses on reopening its economies after the peak of the Covid-19 crisis, there are other dark clouds on the horizon as the UK and the EU look ever more divergent over the type of relationship they want in future. We speak to the prime minister of the EU's wealthiest member state, Luxembourg. Xavier Bettel tells FRANCE 24 he sees the British government as going back on agreements it put into the Political Declaration, which was meant to form a basis for the final deal.

We're back! For one episode. Maybe more, we don't know. But we had a lot of interest in this talk from people who couldn't make it for whatever reason (mostly the novel coronavirus, as it turns out). So we popped a C90 in, hit record and play, and we're happy to bring you it just in time to kill 69 minutes-worth of lockdown. After its victory in the December 2019 election, Johnson’s radicalised Conservative Party succeeded in implementing the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union. But leaving the EU was the easy part. Now, a large number of complex and controversial policy choices, international negotiations and domestic challenges have to be addressed. And so far, the evidence suggests that the Johnson Government is committed to an extreme form of Brexit far removed from the original promises of the Leave campaign, the “deep and special partnership” model of Theresa May or even the revised Political Declaration signed off by Johnson himself in October 2019. So what will the next stage of Brexit really look like? Michael Dougan is Professor of European Law at the University of Liverpool and Joint Editor of Common Market Law Review - the world’s leading scientific journal for European legal studies. Twitter - @mdouganlpool https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/law/staff/michael-dougan/

President Higgins attended the opening segment of the SmaLl Island Developing States (SIDS) Summit, together with the UN Secretary-General (UNSG), António Guterres, the President of the General Assembly (PGA) and senior representatives of UNMember States. The President addressed the opening segment of the summit, which serves as a high level review of the progress made in addressing the priorities of SIDS through the implementation of “the SAMOA Pathway”. Over the past few months Ireland and Fiji have been central, as co-facilitators, to the negotiation of the Political Declaration to result from the summit. The Declaration seeks to retain the separate identity of the SAMOA Pathway to the Sustainable Development Goals and ensure that SIDS-specific concerns remain on the United Nations’ development agenda. The special case for SIDS is based on their very particular vulnerability and the combined challenges they face from their geographical remoteness, the small scale of their economies, high costs and crucially the devastating impact of climate change, inter alia; extreme weather events, slow onset events, and the increasing frequency, scale and intensity of disasters. Ireland’s Strategy for partnership with Small Island Developing States builds on and strengthens existing diplomacy and international cooperation with our island brethren. The strategy was launched by the Tánaiste at the Our Ocean Wealth Summit in Ireland in June 2019, and was the subject of discussions at a meeting for the SIDS representatives, hosted by President Higgins at Áras an Uachtaráin. https://president.ie/en/diary/details/president-addresses-high-level-review-of-samoa-pathway

Three defeats for UK PM Theresa May in one day  - what hope now for the  Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration passing muster next week? RTÉ Europe Editor Tony Connelly and Deputy Foreign Editor Colm Ó Mongáin look at the week that was and talk to Labour party MP and chair of the House of Commons Brexit committee Hilary Benn

Christopher Hunt and Michael McErlaine discuss the draft Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration that were published last week, the next steps to avoid a no-deal Brexit, and how it might affect companies in Asia and beyond.

Catherine Barnard, Professor of EU Law at the University of Cambridge, and a Senior Fellow of the UK in a Changing Europe, talks to reporter Boni Sones about the publication of the 26 page political declaration that accompanies the 585 page Withdrawal Agreement. #CatherineBarnard #EUWithdrawalBill #PoliticalDeclaration #Brexit #WithdrawalAgreement

For this special Brexit summit edition, the Brexit Republic team unites in Brussels for the summit at which the wording of the Withdrawal Treaty and Political Declaration were endorsed. RTÉ's Europe Editor Tony Connelly and Deputy Foreign Editor Colm Ó Mongáin look back at the summit and ahead to the choppy waters that await the texts.

Tuberculosis (TB) is a long-standing, urgent threat to global public health, yet it has never been discussed at the highest level of the world stage. That changes this week, as heads of state gather in New York for the UN General Assembly, where they will convene the first-ever UNGA high-level meeting on tuberculosis. After three years of dialogue in advance of this historic event, the meeting will aim to accelerate efforts in ending TB, and it should result in a Political Declaration on TB endorsed by heads of state. On this episode of Take as Directedwe are joined by Dr. Eric Goosby, the current UN Special Envoy on Tuberculosis, to share his hopes and expectations for the meeting, and its potential as an important step towards realizing the WHO global end TB strategy.  Hosted by J. Stephen Morrison.

How do you overcome years of sexual slavery, despite scars which will always remain? Grizelda Grootboom knows the answer, and in September, she joined the Secretary-General at the UN's main podium, to tell her story. She came to urge the General Assembly to adopt a Political Declaration to end the scourge of human trafficking, telling delegates that they had to put victims' needs first. UN chief António Guterres called for trafficking to become a “real priority for international cooperation”. “It's so important to hear the voices of survivors,” said Grizelda. Afterwards, she spoke at length to Cristina Silveiro, for this latest edition of our podcast series, The Lid Is On. Duration: 39'55" Music credits: Ketsa: “Sad Moments” and “Catch me Falling”