BP is Defended by UN, “Accidents Happen, Nature of Modern Life,” Global Compact.

UNITED NATIONS, June 15, 2010

As BP continues gushing oil for over 50 days into the Gulf of Mexico, at the UN on June 14, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s main adviser on corporate social responsibility defended the company.

“Big accidents happen all the time, it’s the nature of modern life,” said Georg Kell, Executive Director of the UN Global Compact. Video here, from Minute 42:20.

Kell was promoting an upcoming CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) event slated for New York on June 24, featuring Ban and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Inner City Press asked about several participating and donating corporation, including a tobacco distributor and a company of mercenaries or soldiers of fortune.

Then Inner City Press asked about BP, a long time Global Compact member. Video here, from Minute 33:11.

Kell claimed that BP has not been active in the Compact for two years. “I think their current status is non communicating,” he said. But even as he said it, on the Global Compact website BP was listed as fully in compliance, with its next “communication of progress” not due until June 9, 2011.

One can only imagine what “progress” BP will communicate to the UN at that time.

The reality is that the UN has no substantive standards for membership in the Global Compact.

UN’s Ban listen to Kell, BP’s gusher not shown.

Despite receiving numerous detailed complaints, the UN Global Compact has for example kept as a member PetroChina and its investment in Darfur with the Sudanese government of Omar al Bashir, indicted by the International Criminal Court.

That Kell would try to misrepresent the status of BP with the Global Compact, and so quickly try to distance the Compact from BP before defending it, reflects that BP’s image is now worse than PetroChina’s.

But that Kell would then dismissively say of BP’s still gushing undersea pipeline, “Big accidents happen all the time, it’s the nature of modern life,” shows either that Kell is not the right person to lead the UN’s Global Compact, or that the UN is not what it claims to be – or both.

Diplomatic footnote: “It seems that Kell is more responsive to the UK than the US,” opined one senior UN official, who requested anonymity due to Ban Ki-moon’s anti whistleblower policies. “But where is [US Ambassador] Susan Rice on this, given Obama’s new public attacks on Tony Hayward and BP?”

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Please read also: http://www.sustainabilitank.info/2010/06/18/16114/

As Libya Ejects UN Refugee Agency, Libyan PGA Treki Does Nothing, Withholds UNHCR Letter.

UNITED NATIONS, June 10 — As Libya moves to expel the UN’s refugee agency, Inner City Press has asked the office of UN General Assembly President Ali Treki, former foreign minister and senior adviser to the country’s longtime leader, if Treki is doing anything to avoid a cut of in assistance to refugees and involuntary migrants in Libya.

Rather than describe any efforts, his spokesman said that Treki “is not representing the Government of Libya. He is in his capacity as President of the sixty-fourth session of the General Assembly.” But UNHCR is a organ of the General Assembly. Shouldn’t Treki try something?

Many in the UN system feel that Treki should try. Others say that Treki gets along so badly with Libya’s Mission to the UN that his intervention might be counterproductive.

Ali Treki at UN, action on Libya expulsion of UNHCR not shown

On June 8 Inner City Press asked Treki’s spokesman Jean Victor Nkolo:

Inner City Press: On this question of Libya expelling the UN refugee agency, I just wonder if the President, given that he was Foreign Minister of Libya and a special or senior adviser to Muammar Gaddafi, does he see any role for himself in trying to ensure that the country for which he served in both those functions doesn’t expel the UN system in this way?

Spokesperson: Well, the President, in this whole matter, is not representing the Government of Libya. He is in his capacity as President of the sixty-fourth session of the General Assembly. I can confirm that the Office of the President of the General Assembly received a letter from the Head of UNHCR, Mr. [António] Guterres on this subject. But I really cannot say more at this stage.

Inner City Press: As PGA, but do you think, in particular, as a former Libyan senior diplomat with an ability to somehow solve this important issue?

Spokesperson: Well, that’s a conclusion that you may be drawing, but…

Inner City Press: Can you release the letter?

Spokesperson: For the time being, the President has not even seen the letter yet. He is resting; he is in Turkey. I think we’ll have to get there when he has seen the letter and we ask him if he has a statement or an opinion to make. He received the letter in his capacity as President of the General Assembly. As you know, UNHCR is a subsidiary body that reports to the General Assembly, and it is in the capacity of Dr. Treki as President of the GA that this letter was received.

Inner City Press: [inaudible] ask him to take some action with regard to his former senior advisee, Muammar Gaddafi?

Spokesperson: You will understand that I cannot comment on the content of the letter for the time being.

Two days later, still nothing has been said, or done.

—————————————-

UN DAILY NEWS from the
UNITED NATIONS NEWS SERVICE
11 June, 2010 =========================================================================

FORMER SWISS LEADER ELECTED AS NEXT PRESIDENT OF GENERAL ASSEMBLY

A former leader of Switzerland who was instrumental in his country joining the United Nations eight years ago was today chosen by the world body’s 192 Member States to serve as the next President of the General Assembly.

Joseph Deiss, 64, who was elected this morning by acclamation, will succeed Ali Treki when he takes over the presidency in mid-September as the General Assembly’s 65th session begins.

Accepting the post “with great hope and solid conviction,” Mr. Deiss told the Assembly that the world has entered an era of increasing interdependence.

“Everything is moving faster and coming closer,” he said. “New global challenges have also emerged – climate change, economic and financial crises, terrorism and global crime, extremism of all kinds – in addition to the perennial problems of war and poverty. They all require collective and urgent responses. More than ever before, we need to act together to be effective.”

The President-elect later called on Member States today to return to the goals set out in the UN Charter and guide their work by the principles of peace, friendship and cooperation.

“I was struck by the importance that we give in the Charter to the idea of friendship that goes much further than just defending the interests of our countries,” he told journalists at a press conference at UN Headquarters in New York.

Mr. Deiss’ first major event as President will be the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) summit in September, where world leaders will be asked to accelerate progress to reach the anti-poverty goals by their target date of 2015.

As a former economics professor, the President-elect said he would focus the Assembly’s agenda in 2010-11 on global governance in general and economic governance, as well as Security Council reform, climate change and biodiversity, and food security.

Earlier today, Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro spoke on behalf of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in conveying congratulations to Mr. Deiss.

“The President-elect brings great experience to the job – as a scholar, as a parliamentarian, and as a government minister,” she said. “He knows the immense value of the United Nations, having led Switzerland’s accession campaign to the Organization.”

Despite having a UN office in Geneva, Switzerland did not sign on as a UN Member State until 2002 for fear that membership would tarnish its long-standing neutrality.

While serving as Swiss foreign minister between 1999 and 2002, Mr. Deiss worked to allay such concerns as headed of the accession bid. In 2004 he served as president of the Swiss Confederation for a year.

———————————

The Swiss and Gaddafi had some hand wrestling in the past but the UN DPI announcement ,with diplomacy, does not touch upon any of that.

UNelections Monitor, Issue # 141 – General Assembly Expected to Elect Joseph Deiss as President on June 11

New York, May 27, 2010 – The UN General Assembly will meet on Friday, June 11, to elect the President of its 65^th Session. Joseph Deiss of Switzerland is expected to be elected. Deiss was chosen as the candidate of the Group of Western European and Other States (WEOG) in December 2009.

Deiss has served as the Federal Councillor for Switzerland’s Department of Foreign Affairs, during which time he led the accession of Switzerland to the UN.

The post of GA President rotates between the five UN regional groups. The region whose turn it is identifies a nominee, putting forward just one name to the General Assembly. The GA, then, elects the person, typically by acclamation (i.e. without a vote).

This is the second time in a row that WEOG’s selection of a candidate for GA President has been competitive. In 2009, two members of WEOG put forward candidates – in addition to Switzerland’s nomination of Mr. Deiss, Belgium nominated Mr. Louis Michel, its former foreign minister.

The GA’s 65^th Session will run from September 14, 2010 until September 13, 2011.

Mr. Deiss will succeed Dr. Ali Abdussalam Treki of Libya, elected last year after endorsement by the Group of African States.

This will be the first time for a national of Switzerland to hold the Presidency.

About Joseph Deiss

Deiss has served on the Swiss Federal Council in several key positions. He was the Federal Councillor for the Department of Foreign Affairs (Minister of Foreign Affairs) from 1999-2002.

(The Federal Council of Switzerland is the seven-member executive council which constitutes the government of Switzerland and serves as the collective head of state. The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs serves as Switzerland’s ministry of foreign affairs.)

While at the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Deiss “led the successful campaign on Switzerland’s accession to the United Nations,” said the government’s press release. The country joined the UN in late 2002.

From 2003-2006 Deiss headed the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, and he was named President of the Swiss Confederation in 2004.

- – - – -

Selection Process

The GA elects its President (PGA) on an annual basis.

Regional Rotation

The GA’s Rules of Procedure stipulate that the body elects its President with “regard…for equitable geographical rotation of [the] office among the regions.” Accordingly, the selection process follows regional rotation, in the following order:

• Eastern Europe
• Latin America and the Caribbean (GRULAC)
• Africa
• Western Europe and Others (WEOG)
• Asia

As a matter of practice (but not formal rule), the President may not be a national of any of the Permanent Five members of the Security Council.

With Africa having selected the current PGA, it was WEOG’s turn to select a President.

Nomination

The election of the GA President is typically non-competitive, as most regions operate on a “first come, first served” basis.

WEOG is an exception to that rule, however. After one country announces interest in a post, others may still come forward. This practice means that the Group may have a competitive process to select its nominee. The last time WEOG held the post was during the GA’s 60^th Session (2005-2006). Canada, Liechtenstein, and Sweden all nominated candidates, with Jan Eliasson of Sweden being elected.

An unwritten agreement says that that GA Presidents from WEOG will alternate between EU members and the others. Of WEOG’s 28 members, 16 are members of the European Union. The others include the U.S. and Canada, Israel, Australia and New Zealand, and several smaller European countries.

As the previous WEOG President was from Sweden, an EU member, some considered it the turn of a non-EU member this year.

Belgium, a European Union member, announced its interest in the position in early 2007 but did not name a nominee. Then on September 17, 2009, Switzerland announced Deiss’ candidacy. The next day, former Belgian foreign minister Louis Michel told a reporter that he was the candidate for his country, thus giving WEOG two candidates between whom to choose a nominee.

WEOG’s agreement to nominate Deiss was reached after a round of informal straw polling during the month of December 2009. The Group then met in a closed meeting for a group straw poll December 14, during which Deiss secured more votes than Michel.

The results were confirmed by Switzerland’s delegation as well as the spokesperson for the GA president.

Election

The election of the President of the General Assembly is governed by the GA’s rules of procedure (Rule 30, as amended by Assembly resolution 56/509 of 8 July 2002 and 58/126 of 19 December 2003).

It is an election by a simple majority of Member States. Whereas there is traditionally only one name presented to the GA for election, however, the decision is taken by acclamation (an announcement followed by clapping) rather than a vote.

When a regional group does not select a single nominee before the GA election (as occurred in the Asian Group in 1991), the GA takes a vote to elect its next President.

Transition

Following GA Resolutions from 2002 and 2003, adopted as part of “revitalizing” the GA, the election must take place at least three months ahead of the start of Session over which the candidate will preside. This timing allows for informal overlap between the outgoing and incoming Presidents.

Treki will hand over the Presidency to his successor on September 14, 2010.

Role of President

The General Assembly’s official four-month agenda is presided over by the President, who also oversees any remaining issues to be dealt with in the remainder of the session. The powers of the President are set out in the Rules of Procedure of the General Assembly (Rules 35-37).

The President does not vote on General Assembly decisions but has control over all other aspects of the discussions including time limitations for speakers, closure of the list of speakers, suspension and adjournment of debate, and ruling on points of order. In addition to these formal duties the President also has an informal facilitative role to play by consulting bilaterally with delegations to assess differences in position, propose solutions, and build consensus for proposals.

No formal criteria for the President exist in the Charter or the Assembly’s Rules of Procedure.

Compensation for the President of the General Assembly is determined by the home Member State, which pays the person a salary. This salary is in addition to the privileges granted to all persons acting in the service of the UN or its member states (per Convention of the Privileges and Immunities of the UN (A/Res/22A (1)) of 13 February 1946).

Coming Up

The expected nominations for the next five years are as follows:

• 66^th GA – Asian States (2011-2012)
• 67^th GA – Eastern Europe (2012-2013)
• 68^th GA – Latin American and Caribbean States (2013-2014)
• 69^th GA – African States (2014-2015)
• 70^th GA – Western European and Other States (2015-2016)

Solar Plane Completes First Flight

SustainableBusiness.com News, April 8, 2010.

The first, fully-solar-powered plane completed its maiden flight yesterday, flying for 87 minutes in the skies over Switzerland.

Solar Impulse HB-SIA, which has an enormous, 63-meter wingspan covered with solar cells,  slowly climbed up to 1200 meters where German test pilot Markus Scherdel executed several maneuvers to familiarize himself with the controls before attempting the planes first landing.

“This first flight was for me a very intense moment!” Scherdel said. “The HB-SIA behaved just as the flight simulator told us! Despite its immense size and feather weight, the aircraft’s controllability matches our expectations!”

The short-term mission of Solar Impulse is to validate the selected construction technologies and procedures. If the results are conclusive, it could make a 36-hour flight–the equivalent of a complete day-night-day cycle–in 2010 without any fuel.

The goal is to eventually fly Solar Impulse around the world, with stopovers along the way to exhibit the plane and its technology.

“We still have a long way to go until the night flights and an even longer way before flying round the world, but today, thanks to the extraordinary work of an entire team, an essential step towards achieving our vision has been taken”, adds Solar Impulse Chairman and initiator Bertrand Piccard. “Our future depends on our ability to convert rapidly to the use of renewable energies. Solar Impulse is intended to demonstrate what can be done already today by using these energies and applying new technologies that can save natural resources.”

A similar project–a solar boat–is also being built by a Swiss team called Planet Solar. The boat was launched last week and is expected to make its maiden voyage in the next few months.

Read additional coverage of Solar Impulse at the link below.

Website: www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36220361/ns/us_news-environment/

UNEP NEWS: Greening the Global Economy-the Role of Environmental Impact Assessments.

Geneva,  8  April  2010  –  More  than 600 experts from 75 countries gather in Geneva today to
consider the social and environmental impacts of transitioning to a green economy.

Delegates to the 30th Annual Conference of the International Association for Impact Assessment
(IAIA),  hosted  by  the  United  Nations  Environment Programme (UNEP), will look at the five
sectors  that  have  been  identified  as  key  green  investment  opportunities: agriculture,
industry, tourism, cities and transportation.

“When  they  met in Bali two months ago, the world’s environment ministers emphasized that the
full impacts of green economy policies should be assessed, including environmental, social and
economic aspects”, said Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director.

“Professionals  involved  in  impact  assessments  thus  have  an  important  role  to play in
delivering  more  intelligent and sustainable choices to their customers and clients including
Governments,   business,  local  authorities  and  civil  society:  choices  that  can  direct
investments to fit local, national and regional needs while addressing the broad agenda of low
carbon,  resource  efficient  development,  poverty  eradication  and  higher levels of decent
employment”, he added.

One  of  the  key  goals  of the Conference – hosted for the first time by a UN agency – is to
present  the  tools  and  methods  that will help countries to assess and identify which green
investments to make.

Speaking  in Geneva, Nick Taylor, President of the IAIA, said delegates at the six-day meeting
would  share  their ideas and insights on how impact assessment can address a complex range of
global issues.

“A growing field of expertise, impact assessment can evaluate the linkages between investments
and  the  environment,  health,  job creation, economic diversification and poverty reduction.
This  forum  comes  at  a  time  when  there’s  heightened interest in the potential of impact
assessments,  so  it’s  vital experts exchange information and contribute to a growing body of
knowledge”, Mr Taylor said.

UNEP’s  flagship Green Economy Report, to be released later in the year, will present in-depth
assessments  of  10  sectors  based  on economic analysis and modelling. Three of the report’s
chapter  authors  will  be on hand at the Conference to share some of the report’s preliminary
analysis.

Speakers  at  the  Conference include Mr Steiner; Mrs Michèle Künzler, State Council, Republic
and  State  of  Geneva;  Mr  Gérard  Poffet,  Vice-Director,  Swiss  Federal  office  for  the
Environment,  and  Mr  Taylor. Keynote addresses will be given by Dr Lars Lundquist, who leads
research  and  development  activities  related  to  environmental  assessment  of packing and
products at the Nestle Research Centre, and Dr Per Sandberg, a managing director and leader of
the Vision 2050 project at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.

The Conference, held at the International Conference Centre Geneva (CICG), will be attended by
impact  assessment  practitioners,  international  experts  and  policymakers  from  industry,
governments,  consultancies,  donor  agencies,  NGOs  and  academia.  The Conference closes on
Sunday.

————————————-
UNEP’s Green Economy Initiative: Led by UNEP, the Green Economy Initiative (GEI) of the UN is
designed  to  assist  Governments  in  ”greening”  their economies by reshaping and refocusing
policies,  investments  and  spending  towards a range of sectors, such as clean technologies,
renewable  energies,  water  services,  green  transport,  waste  management  and  sustainable
agriculture and forests.

As  the  Governments  around  the  world  are  devising  responses  to the challenges posed by
financial,  economic,  food,  fuel and climate crises, the GEI offers convincing macroeconomic
evidence  and  technical  advice  for  focusing policy and investment packages on key economic
sectors  as a means of stimulating economic development, creating jobs and addressing poverty,
while  reducing  greenhouse  gas  emissions,  extracting  and using less natural resources and
creating less waste.   See: www.unep.org/greeneconomy

———————————–
International  Association  for  Impact  Assessment: The International Association for Impact
Assessment  (IAIA)  is  a global network for best practice in the use of impact assessment for
informed decision making regarding policies, programs, plans and projects.
IAIA  was organized in 1980 to bring together researchers, practitioners, and users of various
types  of  impact assessment from around the world. IAIA has more than 1,600 members from over
120  countries  representing  many  disciplines and professions. Its members include corporate
planners  and  managers,  public  interest  advocates, government planners and administrators,
private consultants and policy analysts, university and college teachers and their students.
IAIA  activities seek to (1) develop approaches and practices for comprehensive and integrated
impact  assessment;  (2)  improve assessment procedures and methods for practical application;
(3)  promote  training of impact assessment and public understanding of the field; (4) provide
professional  quality  assurance  by  peer  review  and other means, and (5) share information
networks, timely publications, and professional meetings.  See: www.iaia.org

———————————-
Nick  Nuttall,  UNEP  Spokesperson  and  Head  of Media, +41 795 965 737 or +254 733632755, or
nick.nuttall@unep.org

Moira  O’Brien-Malone,  Head,  DTIE  Communications,  UNEP  Paris,  Tel:  +33 1 44 37 76 12 or
moira.obrien-malone@unep.org

Nick Taylor, President, IAIA, n.taylor@tba.co.nz

Press Conference at the UN

World Water Day

Monday, 22 March, 2010
12:30 p.m.
Dag Hammarskjöld Library Auditorium

H.E. President of the UN General Assembly , H.E. Prime Minister of Tajikistan

H.E. Jan Eliasson
Chair of WaterAid Sweden, Former President of the UN General Assembly,
Former Foreign Minister of Sweden

With almost 884 million people lacking access to safe drinking water, and over 2.6 billion people, or almost 39 per cent of the world’s population, living without improved sanitation facilities, the issue of water is critical for tackling today’s challenges related to health, food security, and sustainable development.

To promote the International Decade for Action, “Water for Life 2005 – 2015”, the United Nations General Assembly is holding a special high-level interactive dialogue on water and its implications for the Millennium Development Goals, climate change, disasters, peace and security.

This high-level dialogue provides an important input to the preparatory process for the Summit on the Millennium Development Goals to be held on 20-22 September 2010, and feeds into the High-Level International Conference on water to be hosted by Tajikistan in June 2010.

General Assembly President Ali Treki, General Assembly President Ali Treki, Prime Minister Oqilov, and WaterAid Sweden Chair Jan Eliasson will brief the press on the significance of water-related issues and highlight the urgent need for action to fulfill international commitments on water by 2015.

————————-

The problem with the above press conference, which is part of the daily UN Spokesperson’s Briefing to the Press, is that the UN General Assembly President is Ali Treki, the Foreign Minister of Libya who was declared practically non-person by the Schengen countries, so he is unwelcome to Europe {a President of the UNGA – mind you – no less}, and Oqil Ghaybulloyevich Oqilov, Prime Minister of Tajikistan, just recently host to Ahmedi-Nejad of Iran,  and whose country is turning  into a pro-Iranian satellite. The fact that the UN water conference will be held in Tajikistan must have to do something with the push for legitimization by some of the world’s less palatable regimes.

That leaves the Honorable Jan Eliason, a friend from the days he served at the UN, and a friend of humanity, the only person worthwhile on that UN panel. We say this with full knowledge that water and climate change are indeed main problems for Libya and Tajikistan, but we just do not believe that the other two speakers on that dais have shown politically real interest in this topic.

We are curious what journalists will show up and how far can questioning be allowed by the UN,  and by the UN General Assembly,  Spokesmen.

————————-

Monday 04 January 2010
President Ahmadinejad lays wreath at Ismail Samani’s statue

Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad laid wreath at the statue of Ismail Samani a former king here on Monday.
President Ahmadinejad arrived in Dushanbe Monday morning for a two-day stay in Tajikistan.

After welcome ceremony held by Tajikistan’s Prime Minister Oqil Oqilov, Ahmadinejad started talks with his Tajik counterpart Imomali Rakhmon.

During the talks, the two presidents signed three memoranda of understanding, two documents on cooperation and a statement on expansion of bilateral relations.

Later in the day, Ahmadinejad is planned to deliver speech to a group of resident Iranians at Ibn Sina Hospital, built by Iran’s private sector in the country. He is also due to inaugurate an Iranology center in the Tajikistan’s medical university.

——

Saturday 09 January 2010
President Ahmadinejad ends Central Asian tour

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad left Turkmenistan for Iran Wednesday afternoon at the end of his two-nation tour to the Central Asia region.

The Iranian president was officially seen off by his Turkmen counterpart Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov.

He was in Turkmenistan to attend the inaugural ceremony of the first phase of Iran-Turkmenistan’s second gas pipeline project.

The 182-km pipeline was inaugurated by the Iranian and Turkmen presidents earlier on Wednesday.

President Ahmadinejad was in the region on a three-day visit which had brought him earlier to Tajikistan.

He discussed major bilateral, regional and international developments with senior Tajik and Turkmen officials.

A number of agreements were also signed by Iranian officials and their Tajik and Turkmen counterparts for promotion of bilateral cooperation between Tehran and the two Central Asian capitals.

—–

Saturday 09 January 2010
President Ahmadinejad returns home

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad concluded his two-nation tour to the Central Asian region and arrived in Tehran on Wednesday afternoon.

Upon his arrival, the Iranian president was welcomed by Supreme Leader’s Advisor for International Affairs Ali Akbar Velayati, 1st Vice-President Mohammad Reza Rahimi as well as a number of high ranking officials and ministers.

Speaking to reporters at the airport, President Ahmadinejad described his visits to Tajikistan and Turkmenistan as very fruitful and promising.

He discussed major bilateral, regional and international developments with senior Tajik and Turkmen officials.

A number of agreements were also signed by Iranian officials and their Tajik and Turkmen counterparts for promotion of bilateral cooperation between Tehran and the two Central Asian capital cities.

—–

Saturday 09 January 2010
President:
World’s fate to be decided in Middle East.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said here Thursday that world’s destiny will be decided in the Middle East.

“Iran and Syria should in a joint mission establish new world order based on monotheism, justice and humanity,” President Ahmadinejad told Syrian parliament Speaker Mahmoud al-Abrash.

He said the world is on verge of big developments and the tyrannical systems are fading.

“Iran and Syria shoulder a crucial role in present juncture and their cooperation should further expand,” he added.

The 30-year resistance of Iran and Syria is almost close to the victory stage, said the President, adding, “Resistance of nations, including Iran and Syria, has thwarted all the conspiracies of the imperialistic system in the political, economic, military and ideological domains.”

The President went on to say that construction of the wall of separation in the occupied lands and of the steel war in Gaza all show the Zionist regime’s vulnerability. “The US government too will have to end up its interventions in the region and get its forces out of there.”

Al-Abrash said in return that expansion of relations and cooperation among Muslim states, including Iran and Syria, has nullified enemy conspiracies.
He said that Iran and Syria will as before move in the front of perseverance and campaign against global arrogance.

————————————

For more information and the full programme of the day, please see: www.un.org

Jonathan Rich, WaterAid, Tel.: +1 347 262 9115, Email:  jonathan at jcrcommunications.com

————————————-

Let the clean water flow

from Romy Sato <romy.sato@pluto.uni-freiburg.de> date: Fri, Mar 19, 2010 subject Invitation: Freiburg Forum on Environmental Governance 2010

The Freiburg Forum on Environmental Governance 2010 will be held on 16th April in Freiburg, Germany. This year the forum will focus on “The Role of New Media in Environmental Governance”. Speakers from different continents will share their experiences on the potentials and challenges of new media tools to help address pressing environmental problems such as climate change. The forum is organized by students of the Master in Environmental Governance of Freiburg University.

Participation is free of charge, but there are limited places. For registration and further information about the forum, please access: https://www.megforum.uni-freiburg.de

Romy Sato
MSc candidate – Environmental Governance
Albert-Ludwigs Universität Freiburg
DAAD fellow

Futures of the Obama Administration:

Dan Rather says the President must show resolve and steel. This was echoed by Helene Cooper (He must start showing his accomplishments) and Joe Klein (people want to see him crack the whip). Despite this 11 said he must play to the center and only one said he must play to the left.

There is no contradiction here – all agreed that the Democratic base is a varied coalition while the Republican base is the Republican idiosyncratic right (a much less flattering word was used).

So what do the Democrats need now? The answer in the TV and Internet age is that you must be authentic and have a conversation with the broad constituency that is the country.

——–

Helene Cooper reminded us that in Foreign countries Obama did very well – now he will have a huge welcome in Indonesia and the Tea Party folks will say that this proves he is not from here. But they may overplay because again the President will show he can raise in the world the essence of an ideal. Indonesia is a poor country in recession and a probable breeding ground for Al Qaeda with a war going on in nearby Philippines.

Joe Klein kept repeating that even in the US people rank Obama’s foreign policy much more then his economic policy – so some will say that when he goes overseas to take of the news the needed US internal economic policy – he does not face the economy.

But above is not correct – he actually goes to the energy markets – Indonesia, then India, and probably after that South Africa. This follows the trip he made to China. So there is a pattern here.

Also – we were reminded that Iran has an operation to extract Uranium in a remote location in Venezuela – and yes – there is now a daily flight from Tehran to Caracas while there is only a weekly flight from Caracas to Bogota. AHA – is this not what we say all the time since Copenhagen? Obama needs to have in the White House a clear Western Hemisphere desk in order to be able to do all these other needed activities that are mainly Asia oriented.

We learned that Rahm Emanuel – the White House pragmatist – said all the time – the futures are ENERGY and JOBS. That should have been the laser guided policy from day one.

On the Israeli Palestinian issue, with the latest misery for all to see and a consensus building that the killing in Dubai and the slap to Vice President Biden, were “botched-on-purpose” events. Simply – they are so botched that they must have been on purpose and the purpose was that Israel wanted the world to know that they are ready to take responsibility for their future because they do not want to have to pay for complicated world policies that may treat them as collateral.

The two issues with most impact on the Middle East are clearly the global look into the maze of State-to State energy policies and what seems to emerge – a border set between Israel and the West Bank run by the Palestinian Authority. This as a “what-can-be-done” approach to get us out of this impasse. With the AIPAC meeting coming up in Washington – March 21-23, 2010, President Obama out of town, and Vice President Biden having been pushed aside by the Israelis, it remains now for Secretary Hillary Clinton to try to build such an approach for the only two direct factors in the dispute, and the Arab States the US has friendly relationship with. If this is not accepted by the two sides, the best the US can do is to drop this topic from its agenda all together, and wait the sides come back begging for new mediation.

Karl Rove is making the rounds of the TV stations in order to sell his book “Courage and Consequences.” It is him, former VP Cheney, the daughter Liz Cheney (Chris Matthews Calls Liz Cheney ‘Daughter of Dracula’), and pundist Bill Krystal that try to reinvent history. Of interest to US foreign policy is the mention now that the mismanagement of the war in Iraq under the Bush-Cheney Administration was the fault of Turkey – because of their reluctance to allow NATO overflights. Quite true – but did not one look into such things when planning a war?

Gillian Tett of the Financial Times, declared that  US President Obama is liked in the world but not feared. Russia and China are not going to allow greater restrictions on Iran. She also said that Israel is probably not as fearful of Iran as it is assumed because had they had Iran in mind they would not have turned against the US and the UK the way they did. She thinks the events in Dubai were a clear provocation to the UK. France and the UK will go along with the US grudgingly on Iran but others at the UN Security Council, like Lebanon and Brazil will not.

Candy Crowley’s program was underlined with the idea that the gridlock in Washington on health-care has signaled to the world that it also carries no power overseasand that Obama will now stress in his relations to Congress what he already said: “Ignore the Washington Eco Chamber!”

————-

Pakistan turns into a US Administration’s Show-case: At least something that showed some changes for the better.

On Farred Zakaria with Ambassador Richard Holbrooke – “Pakistan is looking up – A victory for Obama. It helped by dangling of showers of aid – so the Hakami faction of the Taliban that was previously tolerated by the military is now being attacked.

Holbrooke finds that the Afghans in Khandahar and Marja in general, want a conservative society but no corruption. They want education including for girls and are mad at the Taliban. The district leader in Marja is an Afghan who returned from Germany. There are returnees and the US encourages also afghans in the US to return and participate in the rebuilding.

———–

With Fareed – The Jeffrey Sachs, Amity Schlaes (conservative formerly with The Wall Street Journal and presently Council of Foreign Relations specialist), and Christa Freeland (global editor-at-large, The Financial Times – middle of the road, right leaning):

The underlying Jeff Sachs dictum: “EVERY DECENT SOCIETY ENSURES CITIZENS HAVE ACCESS TO HEALTH-CARE.” Without reforms of the health-care delivery system we will get nowhere – this was really not discussed yet he said.

The problem is that we have no cost controls so we use four times more Cat-Scans then Switzerland or France.

Freeland concurred  and said THE SYSTEM ENCOURAGES DOCTORS TO DO TOO MUCH! She had found that in the American system you have to fight excessive treatment more then anywhere else. She herself gave birth in Toronto, Paris, New York and the US was worse. She asked why all those Cesarean treatments for first birth in the US? She concluded that it was not only a problem of greed – which it is – but also a problem of the legal system, the high insurance of the profession, that makes doctors more worried and pushes them to prescribe unnecessary treatments. SO – WE ARE BACK TO THE INSURANCE AND TO THE HEALTH-CARE IMPASSE. She also pointed out that 80% of the health-care cost is in the last years of life and this should be something to be looked at also.

The two seemed to agree that with 10% unemployment it is wrong to tie-in health-care to a job – and Freeland suggested HELP RATHER PEOPLE TO BUY AN INSURANCE.

Talking about the economy at large, Jeff Sachs said we were in a panic situation last year – that was removed – but we are out of control with the budget and a burdened debt consumer is no consumer. We risk a downward spiral as for two and a half years we really did nothing on the economy. He predicts that the US is out for a double recession.

Amity Schlaes in all of this was a parody of the Wall Street Journal – “A person who gets a job – not the happy consumer that goes to the mall – is who saves the economy. Which she is obviously right but nowhere in the discussion did we see an indication of how to get there. Cut spending? From where? She brings up Indiana State tax cuts as an example, but Professor Sachs cuts her short by saying the US is already the lowest taxed country in the developed world and we are paralyzed because we cannot do what a civilized country must do. Can we have a value added tax Fareed asks Schlaes and she gives a clear NO!. We read her stuff in the WSJ many times and wonder now what she can do for the Council on Foreign Relations. We thank Fareed Zakaria for having brought her in to the panel so we understand better what US institutions of long-standing have done to split America.

With a 10% of GNP budget gap while the entitlement amount to a total of 15% for Social Security and existing Health-Care, there is just no way that the US can cut itself out of the coming recession without falling back into the ranks of a third world country – whatever the meaning of that term which we clearly do not accept as part of our own parlance. Clearly – Presidential leadership is needed here and plain conversation with the electorate is the way to honestly explain the situation to the public. Do not expect the media to be able to do this public relations job.

David Axelrod on all channels, kept saying that Illinois got 60% insurance increases this year and the President will speak in Ohio where a woman wrote to him that she had to chose between health insurance and her home – so she stopped her insurance. Then when cancer struck – now she will lose her home. This is the biggest driving force of the economy that the Federal Government must take into consideration first. We say power to him.

Further, on Fareed Zakaria’s program, we learned that March 9th was a year since the Wall Street Dow Index hit bottom from which it climbs up again. Banks have recapitalized with new $150 billion to a safe position, managers make fabulous pay again, Timothy Geithner who took the country on a middle road has shown success, refusing to nationalize the banks, but what did this do to the person on main street who will be voting in November?

———-

Intricacies of the Arab and Islamic world:

On the Amanpour program we started with Sheikh Dr. Tahir Ul-Qadri – an Islamic Theologian from London who started the JIHAD-AGAINST-JIHAD movement. He was a former special advisor on Islamic Law to the Pakistani Supreme Court.

He says – No ifs – No buts – Terrorism is Terrorism. Any good intentions cannot allow terrorism.

A terrorist does not reach Shihada (martyrdom) or in lay language – he does not go to heaven – he rather goes to hell!

He was questioned about “Khawarij” in the “Hadit” – the words of the Prophet as reported by men that wrote them down – “whoever fights against the people (that is the believers) has more rights to Allah then others.”

Sheikh Ul Qadri answered that the ideology that says those that are not Muslims – their blood is allowed – he does no accept. He fights for peace and when asked if his life is in danger he said he is not afraid “one has to live for truth and die for truth” – he is thus a jihadist-against jihad.

Elias Khouri is an Arab lawyer living on the West Bank near Jerusalem. Both – his father and his son were killed by other Palestinians as part of their war against Jews. The father back in the pre-Israel days, the son, George Khouri, who went to the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, in March 2004, when he was mistaken for a Jew.

Elias Khouri paid from his money for the translation into Arabic of the book “A Tale of Love and Darkness” by the famed Israeli author Amos Oz, and had it published in Beiruth so that Arab readers can learn something about the Israelis. This bereaved person wants to help remove prevailing stereotypes in the Middle East.

Amos Oz who can be defined as an Israeli who clearly wants to live in a Middle East mixed environment, depicted in this book the non-heroic ways of the first settlers who lead to the foundation of the State. Elias Khouri says that knowledge is needed to be able to understand if we want to fight them or go along. Since the offer to translate the book, the two families – the Khouri and the Oz families became close friends and visit each other. Amos Oz says that he tried always to put himself in the other’s shoes. Anyone in the Arab world who reads the book will understand the historical events better. Oz says – Imaging the other is a moral thing.

 http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/03/11/15…

Posted on Thursday, March 11, 2010 in THE OPPENHEIMER REPORT.

The Miami Herald’s Andres Oppenheimer shares his opinion on Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva’s consideration to run for secretary general of the UN.

BY ANDRES OPPENHEIMER
 AOPPENHEIMER at MIAMIHERALD.COM
A short news item in Brazil’s news magazine Veja this week suggested that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is considering running for United Nations secretary general after he leaves office at the end of this year. If true, that would explain a lot of things.

Until now, the conventional wisdom was that Brazil’s recent foreign policy of open support to the world’s most ruthless dictatorships – IRAN – is tied to the country’s emergence as a new power in the world economy, and its desire to flex its muscle as a new — and fiercely independent — player in international affairs.

That’s probably true. But the Veja report — stating that Lula “has been sounded out by more than one person to be a candidate for U.N. Secretary General in 2011” — is adding a new element to the puzzle of what’s behind Brazil’s foreign policy. The Brazilian government says it will not comment on the magazine’s report.

Diego Arria, a former chairman of the U.N. Security Council, told me that “Lula would be a very strong candidate because of Brazil’s weight as an increasingly independent power, and because of his international prestige.” He added that Lula may be catering to an anti-U.S. climate at the United Nations “to position himself as a strong candidate for Secretary General.”

In recent days, Lula has made some shocking statements that are hard to understand coming from a former union leader who opposed military dictatorships. In an interview with The Associated Press, he compared Cuba’s peaceful oppositionists who are waging hunger strikes with “bandits.”

Lula, who recently visited Cuba and posed smiling with that country’s military dictator Gen. Raúl Castro shortly after political prisoner Orlando Zapata died from a hunger strike, said that hunger strikes should not be used “as a pretext” to defend human rights. Lula added, “Imagine if all bandits who are imprisoned in Sao Paulo went on a hunger strike and demanded freedom.”

Days earlier, Lula had reiterated his decision to visit Iran in May, despite international efforts to impose sanctions on that country amid growing evidence that its regime is building nuclear weapons in defiance of international rules.

Does Lula have a chance of becoming U.N. Secretary General? Most diplomats say current Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, a South Korean diplomat whose term expires Dec. 31, 2011, is expected to run for reelection. Most of the recent U.N. chiefs serve two consecutive terms.

“Lula’s name would be an honor to Latin America, but it’s a tradition for Secretary Generals to run for reelection, and I don’t see a reason why Secretary General Ban Ki-moon would not go for a second term,” Chile’s U.N. Ambassador Heraldo Muñoz told me.

Others noted that, if for some reason Ban decided not to run, Asian countries may want to have one of their own diplomats at the job for another five years, in keeping with the tradition that each region gets a two-term mandate. And many point out that Lula doesn’t speak English or French, a major obstacle for a candidate to the top U.N. job.

My Opinion: Most likely, Ban will get a second term, even if many countries would want a higher-profile U.N. chief. Lula is more likely to be offered the job of head of the Rome-based U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, whose current director Jacques Diouf of Senegal has been on the job since 1994 and is on his way out.

Lula would be a perfect candidate for that position because of his successful “Bolsa Familia” anti-hunger program in Brazil and the international recognition it has given him. In addition, the FAO has never had a Latin American chief.

Granted, Lula may find that job too small, but — considering his awful human rights stands — it would be the perfect place for him.

———————-

Matthew Russell Lee of The Inner City Press at the UN points out another interesting angle that might explain the Munoz position:

“Meanwhile, press in Latin America and even Chilean Ambassador to the UN Munoz have been speaking of Brazil’s Lula as a possible UN Secretary General in 2012. While many in the UN might wish that this would happen, it is considered impolitic for Munoz, currently seeking an Assistant Secretary General post from Ban Ki-moon, to talk up a competing Lula candidacy.

Others say “ah ha” about the Lula story, thinking this might explain Lula’s schmoozing with Iran and other non favored regimes. What’s next, Lula praising Sri Lanka’s Rajapaksa and his blood bath on the beach? Pro Rajapaksa Sri Lankans are expected to demonstrate Friday at noon in front of the UN, echoing the Non Aligned Movements letter claiming that the UN has no human rights mandate.”

———————

Interesting stuff – the Miami Cubans might not like the idea so they try to preemt the trial baloon that was lauched by the Brazilian Veja – and then, if there is a change at the UN in 2012, it can be assumed that the Asians will claim a repeat of what happened when the US has helped ease out Egyptian Boutros Boutros-Ghali, who was elected as an African, and brought in then Kofi Annan for a full two terms for Africa. If the UN decides that the MENA group – North Africa and Arab Asia – is indeed a separate region – so above example is not precedent – then there would be no opposition to a prominent Latin American to get the nod. The former East European UN region has pretty much dissolved, so the new MENA or OIC structure will be able to put forward its candidate in due time.

——————

Also, what will be the Obama Administration’s position?

For one thing, the March 21, 2010 trip of the US President to Indonesia and Australia might produce a US backing for an Indonesian to head the UNFCCC – the present opening for Dirctor General under the Climate Change Convention. As of now, the countries that have voiced they will put forward their candidates are South Africa, India, and Indonesia. Brazil has not done so – and above information may indeed allow for this more complicated play with Lula getting in the New York picture later.

Fiancé of Neda, Iran’s Slain ‘Angel of Freedom,’ Heading to Geneva Rights Summit.

THE UPDATE:   www.unwatch.org

02 March 2010

Fiancé of Neda, Iran’s Slain ‘Angel of Freedom,’ Heading to Geneva Rights Summit – Caspian Makan to protest Iranian government brutality.

GENEVA, March 2, 2010 – One day after Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told the UN in Geneva that President Ahmadinejad’s June election was “an exemplary exhibition of democracy and freedom,” Caspian Makan, the fiancé of slain Iranian icon Neda Agha Soltan, announced today that he will join other world-famous dissidents as a speaker at next Monday’s Geneva Summit for Human Rights, Tolerance and Democracy, co-organized by UN Watch, Freedom House, Ibuka and more than 20 other human rights NGOs.

Images of Neda’s bloody killing in June at the hand of the Basij paramilitary force turned an international spotlight on the brutality of the Iranian government crackdown against peaceful protesters.

The Tehran regime banned prayers for Neda in the country’s mosques, arresting anyone who held a vigil for her. Mr. Makan was then arrested and detained at Evin Prison in Tehran. He was beaten and pressured to sign a false confession.

Since his release, Mr. Makan has been an outspoken dissident for freedom in Iran, spreading Neda’s story and message around the world.

The Geneva conference is organized by a global civil society coalition of 25 human rights groups, including Burmese, Tibetan and Zimbabwean organizations (see list below), with support from the Canton of Geneva.

The two-day schedule features more than 20 action-oriented presentations and skills-building workshops, with the objective of advancing internet freedom, the struggle of dissidents against state repression, and reform of the 47-nation UN Human Rights Council.

Speakers will include former political prisoners from around the world, including Rebiya Kadeer, champion of China’s Uighur minority and Nobel Peace Prize nominee; Nestor Rodriguez Lobaina, Cuban dissident; Bo Kyi, Burmese dissident, winner of the 2008 Human Rights Watch Award; Donghyuk Shin, survivor of North Korean prison camps; and Phuntsok Nyidron, the Buddhist nun from Tibet who served 15 years in jail for recording songs of freedom.

The Geneva Summit will also feature eminent governmental and intergovernmental advocates for human rights, including Massouda Jalal, the former Afghan Minister of Women Affairs and first female presidential candidate; MP Irwin Cotler, Canadian human rights hero and former counsel to Nelson Mandela; Italian MP Matteo Mecacci, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Rapporteur for democracy and human rights; and Jan Pronk, former Special Representative in Sudan of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Last year’s summit, covered by CNN, AP, Reuters, and the Wall Street Journal, brought together former political prisoners Saad Eddin Ibrahim of Egypt, Ahmad Batebi of Iran, José Gabriel Ramón Castillo of Cuba and Soe Aung of Burma, along with many other well-known rights activists and scholars. (See videos at http://genevasummit.org/videos.)

Admission to the March 8-9, 2010 conference is free, and the public and media are invited to attend. For accreditation, program and schedule information, please visit http://genevasummit.org/.

Visit the site during the conference to follow the live webcast, blog and Twitter feed.

Global Civil Society Coalition

Assistance Association for Political Prisoners in Burma

Centro para la Apertura y el Desarrollo de América Latina (CADAL)

Darfur Peace and Development Center

Directorio Democratico Cubano

Fondation Genereuse Development

Freedom House

Freedom Now

Genocide Watch

Global Zimbabwe Forum

Human Rights Activists in Iran

Human Rights Without Frontiers Int’l

IBUKA

Ingénieurs du monde

Inter-African Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children

International Federation of Liberal Youth (IFLRY)

International Campaign to End Genocide

International Association of Genocide Scholars

Ligue Internationale Contre le Racisme

LiNK

Respekt Institut

Stop Child Executions

Tibetan Women’s Association

UN Watch

Zimbabwe Advocacy Office

###

“Giving Iran Seat on U.N. Rights Council Would Legitimize Its Brutality,” Says Boyfriend of Killed Protest Icon

Patrick Goodenough
March 10, 2010

An Iranian whose fiancée’s death by gunfire became a symbol of opposition to the regime during post-election protests last year made an impassioned appeal Tuesday for Tehran to be denied a seat on the U.N. Human Rights Council in elections this spring.

Caspian Makan addresses the Geneva Summit for Human Rights, Tolerance and Democracy, co-organized by UN Watch and 24 other human rights NGOs, Tuesday, March 9, 2010. Click here for full transcript of his remarks Click here to watch video

Addressing a gathering of dissidents and human rights advocates in Geneva, Caspian Makan, a photojournalist who fled Iran late last year after being detained for more than 60 days, said Iranian membership in the U.N.’s top human rights body would be a “slap in the face” of other members.

It would encourage other countries that have a tendency to flout human rights and undermine the credibility of the U.N. and the council, he said, according to a translation provided by event organizers.

“I feel furthermore that if the Iranian regime became a member, that would legitimize the inhuman and cruel acts the regime has perpetuated against its population,” Makan added. “Giving it legitimacy would encourage them to go further still.”

The U.N. has confirmed that Iran has submitted in writing its candidacy to become a member of the HRC.

On May 13, the General Assembly will vote by secret ballot to fill 14 of the Geneva-based council’s 47 seats. Iran and four other countries – Thailand, Qatar, Malaysia and the Maldives – will compete to fill four available seats set aside for the Asian regional group.

Makan was speaking Tuesday at the Geneva Summit for Human Rights, Tolerance and Democracy, a two-day event that brought together some 500 people from more than 60 countries, to discuss issues organizers say are mostly neglected by the HRC.

He told the gathering about Neda Agha Soltan, the 26-year old “deep thinker” and “artist at heart” with whom he had fallen in love after meeting her on a trip.

Makan, 38, said they had tended in the past not to vote in elections because they were seen as a charade, and taking part would be seen as “participating in the regime to some extent.”

But the 2009 election had seemed to offer in the shape of opposition candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi a “lesser evil” for young Iranians who “above all else wanted to get rid of Mr. [Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad.”

Once it became clear that the election was rigged in favor of the incumbent, he said, Soltan had joined the protests.

Makan said that while trying to do his job he was an eyewitness to the violent clampdown by “the mercenaries of the regime” and “saw firsthand that the army of the revolution was shooting and killing the demonstrators from a helicopter.”

Four days before she died, he had urged Soltan to keep away from the demonstrations. “She said, ‘You know Caspian, I love you, I love being with you, but what is most important to me is the freedom of our people.”

On June 20, Soltan was shot in the chest on a Tehran street, apparently by a Basij militia sniper. Amateur video footage capturing the moments after the shooting was posted online and seen around the world.

“We have seen many people who have been wounded and killed, but this struck the world particularly hard,” Makan said of his fiancee’s death.

“We were able to see in the footage how good and kind she was and admire her attitude when faced with death, to admire her courage as a symbol of liberty, as she died hoping for a better life for the millions of Iranians who remained behind.”

Human rights researchers say at least 40 Iranians died during June and that the number more than doubled in the months that followed. The official figure stands at 44.

Last month, Mahmoud Abbaszadeh Meshkini, director-general of Iran’s Interior Ministry – whose functions including policing and overseeing elections – told the HRC that the June 2009 presidential election had been “an exemplary exhibition of democracy and freedom.”

from:    Cecilia Serin <cserin@bhforum.org>
date:     Mon, Mar 1, 2010
subject:    Workshop on First Steps after Copenhagen: The Private Sector’s Role in Dealing with Climate Change

Following the December 2009 UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, the Business Humanitarian Forum (BHF) is organizing jointly with the International Chamber of Commerce Switzerland (ICC), the UN-mandated University for Peace (UPEACE), and the UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) a workshop on :

First Steps after Copenhagen: The Private Sector’s Role in Dealing with Climate Change, on March 23 at the BHF in Geneva and on March 25 at economiesuisse in Zurich.

The workshop is intended to showcase the role which the private sector can and should have in dealing with climate change both in terms of the post-Copenhagen process and policy framework but also in terms of its ability to address challenges and lead the way toward a low-carbon economy.

The workshop will consist of four main sessions and starts with an overview of the Copenhagen agreement and finance issues and what implications the latter have for business. The second session will provide different perspectives on the private sector’s role in the ongoing process to reach a more wide-ranging international accord.

The next session will give attendees an insightful perspective on the various steps which the private sector can undertake to help the transition to a low-carbon economy and end with a presentation on the respective technological changes we can expect in the not so distant future.

The final session will feature presentations of climate change related business leadership as well as challenges from climate change adaptation and mitigation.

While this workshop is mostly geared toward businesses, which will also receive invitations via the ICC, we also encourage participation by a few key international organizations, NGOs and academics, in consonance with the BHF mandate.

Enclosed you will find agenda for both the events in Geneva and Zurich. For the registration form please email  bhforum.org

We invite you to send the completed registration form to the BHF (+ 41 22 795 18 09) or to the ICC (+ 41 44 421 34 88) at your earliest convenience and no later than March 15.

Best regards,
Roberto Dotta

Deputy Director
The Business Humanitarian Forum
Maison Internationale de l’Environnement II
7-9 Chemin de Balexert
1219, Châteleine, Geneva, Switzerland
Tel:  +41 (0) 22 795 1808
Fax:  +41 (0) 22 795 1809
Email:  rdotta at bhforum.org
Website: http://www.bhforum.org

The Programs: