diplomacy&development

China and European Union Flags The EU and China have today concluded in principle the negotiations for a Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI).   This deal follows a call between Chinese President Xi Jinping and European Commission President von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on behalf of the Presidency of the EU Council, as well as French President Emmanuel Macron. China has committed to a greater level of market access for EU investors than ever before, including some new important market openings.  China is also making commitments to ensure fair treatment for EU companies so they can compete on a better level playing field in China, including in terms of disciplines for state owned enterprises, transparency of subsidies and rules against the forced transfer of technologies.  For the first time, China has also agreed to ambitious provisions on sustainable development, including commitments on forced labour and the ratifi

Following a memorandum of understanding signed in August, Marvel Gold has lifted the conditions precedent to the takeover of the Tabakorole, Yanfolila and Kolondieba projects in Mali.  This is yet another opportunity to record an important gold discovery in the region for this junior mining junior.  Junior mining company Marvel Gold announced on December 24 that it had acquired an 80% interest in the Tabakorole, Yanfolila and Kolondieba gold projects in southern Mali.  These three assets are part of a memorandum of understanding signed last August with Oklo Resources, which now owns a 20% interest. With this purchase, Marvel is expanding its footprint in the Malian gold sector and is targeting in particular an increase in resources for the Tabakorole project. The latter, which covers 275 km², in fact represents an extension of the Tabakorole gold project, another joint venture with Altus Strategies.  “We recently started a 6,300m drill program to extend the 910,000 ounce resource [for

Senator Dr. Rasha Kelej CEO of Merck Foundation, Member of Egyptian Senate ( 2020-2025), Most Influential African (2019& 2020) and African Woman of The Year 2020 Senator Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation, has been nominated this year as the “African Woman of the Year 2020” by the New African Woman Magazine UK, and most influential African woman 2020, by Avance Media. ● Senator Dr. Rasha Kelej, is truly a force of nature and one of Africa’s unsung ‘sheroes’ of women’s empowerment and health advocates. Here at the NAW, we will be right behind this inspirational woman, all the way. ● SENATE APPOINTMENT in December 2020: Dr Rasha Kelej appointed as a Senator, member of the Egyptian Senate (2020-2025) by President of Egypt, H.E. Mr. ABDEL FATTAH AL-SISI. Senator Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation and Member of Egyptian Senate (2020-2025) has been named one of the most influential African women in the world for 2020, for the third time. She has been nominated this year as t

In a ground-breaking decision, the Human Rights Committee has found that the Netherlands violated a child’s rights by registering “nationality unknown” in his civil records as this left him unable under Dutch law to be registered as stateless and therefore be given international protection as a stateless child. This is the Committee’s first decision on the right of a child to acquire a nationality. It relates to a petition by a child named Denny, who was born in the city of Utrecht in the Netherlands in 2010 to a 21 year-old mother from China. Denny’s mother was trafficked to the Netherlands in 2004 when she was 15 and forced into prostitution. She eventually managed to escape in 2008, and reported what had happened to her to the Dutch police. However, the police closed the investigation as they could not identify her traffickers. Her residency status is currently classified as an “illegal alien”. As Denny’s mother was herself abandoned by her parents and her birth was not recorded in

Ambassador Salih Boğaç Güldere met with Professor Alphonse Ntumba Luaba, Coordinator of the Democratic Republic of Congo African Union (AfB) Presidency Panel on 28 December 2020. Ambassador Güldere, the Turkish Ambassador in the Democratic Republic of Congo to which the Republic of Turkey act with the desire to encourage in every area the government, gave to Professor Luaba means to strengthen the infrastructure of the panel office he is leading and thus to contribute to the success of the African Union and the Democratic Republic of Congo Presidency with an amount of 50,000 US Dollars given by the Turkish Diplomatic Representation in DRC. Turkey, attaches great importance to the Democratic Republic of Congo and is willing to perform 3 major projects, including the Africa-Turkey Summit. Cassien Tribunal Aungane, Editor

The EU has disbursed the first EUR 16 million to the Government of Mongolia which is part of the EUR 50.8 million Budget Support programme signed by the EU and Government of Mongolia in May 2020.  As part of this programme, a new project, “SDG-aligned Budgeting to Transform Employment in Mongolia” is launched to complement the Government of Mongolia’s efforts to tackle COVID-19 socio-economic challenges. The project aims to support employment and promotion of decent work and improved public finance management systems through results-oriented budget initiatives as direct contribution to the attainment (of the Sustainable Development Goals). The project will work with the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry. It will be implemented by UNDP Mongolia in partnership with UN Food and Agriculture Organization and the International Labour Organization with a duration of 3.5 years. H.E. Mr. Traian Hristea, EU Amb

On 18 December 2020, the Office of the Prosecutor (the "Office") of the International Criminal Court ("ICC" or the "Court") hosted its annual meeting of the Scientific Advisory Board (the "Board"); this year in a virtual setting, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Board provides updates and advice to the Prosecutor on developments in technologies and scientific methods and procedures that can further reinforce the Office's capabilities in the collection, management and analysis of scientific evidence. Science and technology are important aspects of the Office’s work, and adapting to the changing scientific and technological environment in which it operates remains a significant consideration and priority at the Office. In her opening remarks, the Prosecutor, Mrs Fatou Bensouda, expressed her appreciation to  Board members for their contribution to the work of the Office. She emphasised her commitment, in line with the Office’s strategic p

The First Lady of the DRC, Denise Nyakeru Tshisekedi presented during the ceremony at the Denise Nyakeru Tshisekedi Foundation (FDNT) to the winners of the Merck Foundation's 2020 “Stay at Home” media recognition award, their certificates for the media work that has helped raise public awareness of the coronavirus, indicates a press release from its Foundation that reached the ACP on Friday. According to the statement, a total of nine media professionals from several provinces of the DRC won the award. These are for the multimedia category: Jessy Nzengu (Lualaba), Muemba wa Muemba Donat (Kinshasa) and Kazadi Lukusa Nicolas (Kasai Oriental); for the Radio category: Aly Bukasa Kabambi (Lomami) and Jody Nkashama (Kinshasa). For the Written Press category: Mathy Musau (Kinshasa); for the online media category: Cassien Tribunal Aungane (Kinshasa), Mukania Kafuata André (Kinshasa), Stephie Manza Mukinzi (Kinshasa).  "To encourage them, I decided to involve them in awareness campaign

The Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court ("the Assembly") held its nineteenth session from 14 to 16 December 2020 at the World Forum Convention Center in The Hague.  The session was attended by States Parties, Observer States, invited States, international and regional organizations and representatives of civil society. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, measures were implemented to diminish the risk to participants of exposure to the virus. Additional measures were taken to allow for virtual participation during the session. The session was chaired by the President of the Assembly, H.E. Mr. O-Gon Kwon. The Assembly held its General debate, which was enriched by a keynote speech by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, H.E. Mr. Stef Blok. A statement was also delivered on behalf of the President of the Democratic Republic of the Conge, H.E. Mr Félix Tshisekedi. A number of online side events, including many organized by c

The European Commission has put forward today its proposal for a Brexit Adjustment Reserve, as agreed by the European Council in July, to help counter the adverse economic and social consequences – at the end of the transition period on 31 December 2020 - in the Member States and sectors that are worst affected.  It will have an overall budget of €5 billion. The Reserve will support businesses and employment in affected sectors. It will assist regions and local communities, including those dependent on fishing activities in UK waters. It can also assist public administrations for the proper functioning of border, customs, sanitary and phytosanitary controls and to ensure essential services to the citizens and companies affected. Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms Elisa Ferreira said: “The end of the transition period on 31 December 2020 will have an important economic and social impact on regions and local communities that are most linked to the UK's economy and trade. By propos

After intensive negotiations, the European Commission has reached today an agreement with the United Kingdom on the terms of its future cooperation with the European Union. President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen said: “It was worth fighting for this deal because we now have a fair and balanced agreement with the UK, which will protect our European interests, ensure fair competition, and provide much needed predictability for our fishing communities. Finally, we can leave Brexit behind us and look to the future. Europe is now moving on.” The European Commission's Chief Negotiator, Michel Barnier, said: “We have now come to the end of a very intensive four-year period, particularly over the past nine months, during which we negotiated the UK's orderly withdrawal from the EU and a brand new partnership, which we have finally agreed today. The protection of our interests has been front and centre throughout these negotiations and I am pleased that we have manage

"Just days before elections in the Central African Republic (CAR) scheduled for 27 December, armed violence presents serious risks to the safety of civilians and the exercise of the right to vote. We are deeply alarmed by reports of escalating violence stoked by political grievances and hate speech, resulting in the forced displacement of civilians, including to neighbouring countries. There have been numerous reports in recent days of attacks against security forces, political candidates and election officials. Reportedly, clashes between armed groups and security forces have taken place across a wide area, including neighbourhoods close to the capital, Bangui.  The UN Human Rights Office joins UN Secretary-General António Guterres in calling for all parties in the Central African Republic to put an end to the violence. We also remind all parties, including security forces and armed groups, as well as international and foreign forces, that they are bound to respect international

"This year, courageously, a number of women denounced reprehensible behavior of sexual exploitation and abuse that allegedly occurred during the response to the 10th Ebola epidemic in eastern DRC. The Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) - the global humanitarian coordinating body - deployed a mission to the DRC, from October 20 to November 14, 2020, to better understand why, despite existing efforts, these abuses could have taken place. The mission has just shared its report with the Humanitarian Country Team and representatives of humanitarian organizations in the DRC. The IASC mission found that a large cash input as well as a disproportionate male workforce from outside local communities increased the risk of misconduct, including sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA). She also noted the lack of easily accessible and secure mechanisms to report abuse in the response to the Ebola epidemic.   The United Nations has announced the launch of investigations into the specific allegat

Julian Assange,  Wikileaks founder A UN human rights expert issued on the 22nd December 2020, an open letter to U.S. President Donald Trump, asking him to pardon Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, who has been held in Belmarsh high security prison since his arrest by British authorities inside the Embassy of Ecuador in London in April 2019. A British court is set to rule on 4 January whether Assange should be extradited to the U.S. to face criminal prosecution and, if convicted, up to 175 years in prison for the publication of secret documents through the whistleblower platform WikiLeaks in 2010. This is the text of the letter from Nils Melzer, Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment: “Mr. President,   Today, I respectfully request that you pardon Mr. Julian Assange. Mr. Assange has been arbitrarily deprived of his liberty for the past ten years. This is a high price to pay for the courage to publish true information about government m

DRC President, Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilbo discussing with the  Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Italy in the DRC,  Mr. Luca Attanasio Félix Tshisekedi is invited to the next G20 Summit to be held in Italy during the last quarter of 2021.  The invitation was officially handed to him on Tuesday 22 December 2020, as President of the African Union, by Mr. Luca Attanasio, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Italy in the DRC on behalf of Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.  The next G20 Summit bringing together the 20 richest countries in the world will focus on three main themes: Planet, Population and Prosperity. It will be an opportunity for Félix Tshisekedi Tshilombo to defend the cause of the African continent before the leaders of the most developed countries.  This face-to-face meeting of the leaders of the 20 richest countries in the world will focus, among other things, on the revival of the post-COVID-19 global economy. Scheduled for October 2021

The European Commission has granted this 21 December 2020, a conditional marketing authorisation (CMA) for the COVID‑19 vaccine developed by BioNTech and Pfizer, making it the first COVID-19 vaccine authorised in the EU.  This authorisation follows a positive scientific recommendation based on a thorough assessment of the safety, effectiveness and quality of the vaccine by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and is endorsed by the Member States. The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said: “Today we add an important chapter to a European success story. We approved the first safe and effective vaccine against COVID-19. More vaccines will come soon. Doses of the vaccine approved today will be available for all EU countries, at the same time, on the same conditions. The upcoming European vaccination days will also be a great moment of unity. This is a good way to end this difficult year, and to start turning the page on this pandemic. We are all in this together.”