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WFUNA UN Connections No. 97 - October 2009
The World Federation of United Nations Associations Newsletter
Issue No. 97 - October 2009 
Topic for October: Eradicating Poverty
In this issue:
- Who's Who at the UN
- What's Happening at the UN
- UN Partnerships in Action: The Three Pillars
- WFUNA Highlights
- WFUNA-youth News
- Model UN News
Topic people are talking about: Eradicating Poverty
Topic of the Month: Eradicating Poverty
Overview on Eradicating Poverty
Over the years, we have been flooded with dire statistics of poverty around the globe - so much so that people have come to accept it as an unfortunate but irreversible condition. However governments, along with the international community, have made poverty alleviation a top priority in their development strategies. With the adoption of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2000, which set quantitative benchmarks to halve extreme poverty in all its forms by 2015, important progress has been started worldwide.
To read the complete overview on eradicating poverty click here >>
UN Perspectives: Bruce Jenks
In his interview with UN Connections, Bruce Jenks, Assistant Secretary-General and Director of the Bureau for Resources and Strategic Partnerships for the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), talks about achieving the MDGs in a world of interconnected crises, UNDPs partnerships with civil society and the private sector, and the importance of continued North-South cooperation and support.
To read the complete article click here >>
NGOs on the Move
Action Against Hunger is an international network committed to saving the lives of malnourished children and their families while ensuring access to safe water and sustainable solutions to hunger. Action Against Hunger has pursued its vision of a world without hunger for nearly three decades, combating hunger in emergency situations of conflict, natural disaster, and chronic food insecurity. As part of its international network, Action Against Hunger’s 6,000 staff work in over 40 countries carrying out innovative, life-saving programs in nutrition, food security, water and sanitation, public health, and advocacy. Their programs reach some 5 million people each year, restoring dignity, self-sufficiency, and independence to vulnerable populations throughout the world. www.
ActionAid is an international anti-poverty agency whose aim is to fight poverty worldwide. Formed in 1972, for over 30 years they have been growing and expanding to where they are today - helping over 13 million of the world's poorest and most disadvantaged people in 42 countries worldwide. They work with local partners to fight poverty and injustice worldwide, and helping them fight for and gain their rights to food, shelter, work, education, healthcare and a voice in the decisions that affect their lives. www.actionaid.org
Caritas International provides assistance to the most vulnerable on behalf of Catholics around the world. They are committed to combating dehumanizing poverty, which robs people of their dignity and humanity. Caritas provides assistance to the most vulnerable regardless of race or religion. www.caritas.org
Book Recommendations
The Millennium Development Goals Report
More than halfway to the 2015 deadline to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), major advances in the fight against poverty and hunger have begun to slow or even reverse as a result of the global economic and food crises, a progress report by the United Nations has found. The assessment, launched by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in Geneva, warns that, despite many successes, overall progress has been too slow for most of the targets to be met by 2015.
MDG Report 2009 >>
International Development Cooperation Today: Emerging Trends and Debates
UN NGLS, 2008
This book gives a wide variety of development actors, in particular civil society advocates on international development cooperation, a better understanding of up-and-coming trends and debates in development cooperation. In addition, it provides them with entry points to facilitate their engagement and advocacy work on international development cooperation - both in defining international commitments and demonstrating their application - within the UN system.
Link to NGLS website >>
Film Recommendations
The End of Poverty?
Cinema Libre Studio, 2008, 104 minutes
Silent Killer: The Unfinished Campaign against Hunger
KCTS Television, 2005, 60 minutes
Shot on location in South Africa, Kenya, Mexico, Brazil, the United States and Rome, “Silent Killer
Enjoy Poverty
Renzo Martens, The Netherlands, 2009, 90 minutes
For two years, Dutch artist Renzo Martens travelled around Congo, from the capital of Kinshasa to deep into the interior. Employing a casual film style, camera in hand, he makes his way around the poverty-fighting industry in the post-civil war country. Martens investigates the emotional and economic value of Africa's most significant export product: filmed poverty. The film reveals that, as with other raw materials such as cocoa and gold, the suppliers of poverty, that is, the poor being filmed and photographed, hardly profit at all from the huge amounts of money made from their imagery. In response, the filmmaker launches an emancipation programme in which he makes Congo's poor aware of their primary capital resource. To visit the website click here >>
UN Partnerships in Action: The Three Tiers
Peace and Security
UN Security Council Adopts New Non-Proliferation Resolution
President Barack Obama chaired a historic meeting of the Security Council which unanimously adopted resolution 1887
Recent Developments on RtoP
In January 2009, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon released a report entitled Implementing the Responsibility to Protect, the first comprehensive UN document on the Responsibility to Protect (RtoP). The report clarifies how to understand RtoP, and outlines measures and actors involved in rendering the norm operational. In July 2009, the General Assembly had its first plenary debate on RtoP. On 14 September 2009, the General Assembly adopted its first resolution on RtoP
The International Coalition for the Responsibility to Protect (ICRtoP) was founded by a group of NGOs in January 2009 to strengthen normative consensus for RtoP, further the understanding of the norm, help build and fortify a like-minded group of governments in support of RtoP, and to mobilize NGOs to push for action to save lives in RtoP country-specific situations. WFUNA joined the Coalition in September. The Coalition published a detailed analysis of the July General Assembly debate, you can read this by clicking here >>
NGOs Talk Disarmament in Mexico City
Some 1,300 NGO representatives from more than 50 countries attended the sixty-second annual DPI/NGO Conference in Mexico City from 9-11 September 2009 on the theme
“Disarm Now! For peace and development
www.un.org/dpi/ngosection/
www.un.org/Docs/journal/asp/
Second Year of Democracy Video Challenge – Win a US tour!
Create a video short that completes the phrase “Democracy is…” and have the chance to win an all-expense paid trip to Washington DC, New York and Hollywood to screen your video and meet other young filmmakers and social activists. Submission deadline is 31 January 2010, and the seven winners (one from each geographical region and one anonymous winner) will be announced in mid-June.
For details visit: www.videochallenge.america.gov
Development
Outcome of UN Climate Summit
On 22 September 2009, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon convened the largest-ever high-level summit on climate change at UN Headquarters in New York. The meeting demonstrated how climate change—the ‘defining challenge of our time’—has come to the fore of political attention.
The sentiment was one of optimism and determination for sealing an ambitious, comprehensive, fair, and scientifically robust agreement in Copenhagen (COP-15) this December. Leaders have expressed commitments to develop:
1. enhanced action to assist the most vulnerable and the poorest to adapt;
2. ambitious emission reduction targets for industrialized countries;
3. nationally-appropriate mitigation actions by developing countries;
4. significantly scaled-up financial, technological, and capacity-building resources; and
5. an equitable governance structure.
This was the first time that financing had been recognized as a central issue, stressing that funds from both public and private spheres should be made readily available and in addition to ODA. The Secretary-General expressed his intent to set up a High Level Panel after the Copenhagen Conference that will advise on integrating adaptation and mitigation into development
Read the analysis by NGLS: www.un-ngls.org/spip.php?
Preparations for COP-15
COP-15 is the fifteenth Conference of the Parties under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The COP is the highest body of the UNFCCC and consists of Environmental Ministers who meet once a year to discuss the convention’s developments. All major decisions of significance to the UNFCCC are taken at these conferences. This year’s conference will convene from 7-18 December in Copenhagen, Denmark. The current international climate change agreement, the Kyoto Protocol, is scheduled to expire in 2012. In order to establish its successor, a new round of negotiations was launched in 2007 at COP-13 in Bali, Indonesia, known as the Bali Action Plan, or the Bali Roadmap. The negotiations will culminate at the conference in Copenhagen as participants look beyond Kyoto with the intention of establishing a more effective, lasting and binding accord. For details about COP-15, go to http://en.cop15.dk
The 39th WFUNA Plenary Assembly issued a resolution outlining the organization’s hopes for COP-15 outcomes. To read this resolution, click here >>
“Seal the Deal” on Climate Change and Preparations for UN High-level Event
WFUNA has given its full support to the UN Secretary-General’s call for countries to “seal the deal” on climate change at COP-15. The "Seal the Deal!
UNEP Launches 2009 Climate Change Science Compendium
The Climate Change Science Compendium
Human Rights
GA Adopts Resolution to Establish a New Women’s Entity
After three years of discussion, the UN General Assembly, on 14 September, adopted a resolution that takes the next step in the process that seeks to establish a new women’s rights entity
Read more: www.un-ngls.org/spip.php?
The achievement of this important step towards gender mainstreaming at the UN must in part be accredited to the Gender Equality Architecture Reform
WFUNA Human Rights Nexus Launches Newsletter
WFUNA has recently released its first newsletter entirely focused on Human Rights. The Human Rights Nexus newsletter will be published bi-monthly and will feature human rights-related events at the UN, feature interviews with different people working in Human Rights, cover current civil society activities and offer suggestions on how UNAs can increase their involvement in the human rights area. It highlights the work done on the Humanrightsnexus.org website and aims to promote better understanding of what is going on at the UN and in civil society regarding Human Rights. Subscribe to our human rights newsletter here: http://humanrightsnexus.org
WFUNA Highlights
The 39th Plenary Assembly of WFUNA was successfully held in Seoul, hosted by the UNA-Republic of Korea, from 10-12 August 2009 under the theme “Global Citizens for the United Nations”. 122 participants from 49 UNAs, representing every region of the world, attended. At the Opening Ceremony, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was the keynote speaker, and addresses were made by the President of the UNA-Republic of Korea, Kim Seung Youn, the outgoing President of WFUNA Hans Blix, and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea Han Seung-soo. Dr. Hans Blix chaired the Plenary Assembly. Outcomes of the Plenary include the election of a new President, Park Soo Gil and Secretary-General, Bonian Golmohammadi, the proclamation of the Seoul Declaration, and a set of Resolutions focused on a wide scope of policy issues.
To read a summary of all the Plenary Assembly outcomes, click here >>
For the Seoul Declaration, click here >>
For the Resolutions, click here >>
To view the photo album, go to
Read an article about WFUNA and the Plenary Assembly
Swedish Olympic Gold Medalist athlete and Goodwill Ambassador of UNA-Sweden, Carolina Klüft visited the New York office and toured the United Nations in September 2009. Ms. Kluft is a proponent of the School Feeding Campaign of UNA-Sweden, and works closely with the UNA to promote and harness support for its programs.
The “Youth against Trafficking” Campaign
Michael Platzer from UNA-Austria, who is the ACUNS Liaison Officer in Vienna, organized the publication of “Can the United Nations be Thought?
UNA-USA created an initiative dedicated to President Obama's address to the UN's 64th General Assembly on 23 September. Find in-depth analysis, opportunities for you to join the global discussion by sharing your thoughts, and links to other useful interactive resources:
Obama Speaks to the World initiative
Don’t miss anything important! Follow WFUNA on Twitter
WFUNA-youth News
The 2nd WFUNA-youth Plenary Meeting took place from 10-12 August in Seoul, Republic of Korea in conjunction with WFUNA’s 39th Plenary Assembly. 43 Youth Delegates from 24 UN Youth Associations from all around the world participated in the meeting. WFUNA-youth´s work plan for the next three years was sketched out, project ideas were shared and changes were made to the draft Rules of Procedures. Most importantly, however, WFUNA-youth members were able to meet each other and exchange best practices and ideas on projects and organization. To visit the Wfuna-youth click here >>
The Plenary Meeting elected the new Coordinating Committee of WFUNA-youth. Nine members were elected with due regard to regional representation: Martina Guarnaschelli (Argentina), Alex Rafalowicz (Australia), Markus Leick (Germany), Maya Marquez (Guatemala), Paul Gathara (Kenya), Seong-mi Cho (Republic of Korea), Summit Ghimiray (Nepal), Eirene Nuño (Spain), Daniel Hardegger (Switzerland). The new Coordinating Committee will serve until the next Plenary Meeting in 2012. Please do not hesitate to contact the Coordinating Committee for further information regarding the work of WFUNA -youth
The new Youth Program Coordinator at the New York office of the WFUNA Secretariat is Divya Mansukhani from India. She will be liaising with and supporting the work of the new WFUNA-youth Coordinating Committee. Divya’s email is:
mansukhani@wfuna.org
Model UN News
The first Global Model UN Conference (GMUN) hosted by the United Nations Department of Public Information in August 2009 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva was attended by delegations from several UNAs, including Armenia, Dominican Republic, Germany, Republic of Korea, Russia, and Tanzania.
As an example of some follow-up activities implemented by UNAs, on 16 September 2009 the UNA-Armenia, in collaboration with the UN DPI Armenia office, organized a press conference in the UN Conference hall in Yerevan dedicated to the Armenian delegation’s participation in GMUN. The press conference included statements from the UN Resident Coordinator in Armenia, the leadership of UNA-Armenia, and the students who participated in the Model UN. It was widely broadcast by the leading TV stations in the country, as well as covered by other mass media.
13-16 October
The Youth section of UNA-Cuba is organizing the third Matanzas Model United Nations (PUENTES 2009). www.acnu.org.cu
26-29 October
UNA-Colombia and partners are arranging the First Colombia Model UN in Colombia’s capital city Bogota. The official languages will be English and Spanish. www.acnu.org.cu
6-8 November
UNA-China in cooperation with the Beijing Normal University will be organizing the 2009 China National Model UN conference that will be held in Beijing.
24-27 November
The Youth section of UNA-Cuba is organizing the first Santiago de Cuba Model UN. www.acnu.org.cu
1-4 December
The Youth section of UNA-Cuba is organizing the second Pinar del RÃo Model United Nations (ONUPINAR 2009). www.acnu.org.cu
10-17 January
NMUN Latin America
Please send information about your UNAs upcoming Model UN conferences for inclusion in our calendar to mansukhani@wfuna.org
New Faces at the Secretariat
Park Soo Gil: prior to his election as President of WFUNA on 11 August at WFUNA’s 39th Plenary Assembly, served as the Republic of Korea’s ambassador in the Kingdom of Morocco, Canada, to the European Office of the United Nations in Geneva and the UN in New York, from 1984 to 1998. At the Ministry of Foreign Affaires and Trade, in which he served from 1963 to 1998, Mr. Park has held such positions as Director-General of Treaty Affairs, Deputy Minister for Political Affairs, and Chancellor, the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security. Mr. Park served as a member of the Sub Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, an affiliate body of the former Commission on Human Rights from 1999 to 2003. He is currently teaching at the Graduate School of International Studies, Korea University as distinguished professor on the subject of international organization and the United Nations. Mr. Park graduated in 1959 from the Korea University College of Law, and obtained a MIA degree in 1971 from the school of International Affairs and Public Administration, Columbia University. Mr. Park is married with two sons and one daughter.
Bonian Golmohammadi was elected Secretary-General at WFUNA’s 39th Plenary Assembly in August 2009. Previously, Mr. Golmohammadi served as Secretary-General of the UNA-Sweden for eight years. Under his leadership, UNA-Sweden increased its budget from $1 million to $5 million, and expanded its staff from 10 to 30 full-time employees. During his tenure, Mr. Golmohammadi introduced several new programmatic initiatives, such as a bilateral international project with ten UNAs including China, Georgia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. In addition to programmatic initiatives, Mr. Golmohammadi guided UNA-Sweden to increase its marketing and public relations capacity. As a result, UNA-Sweden was awarded a Gold Medal at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival 2009 for True Evidence of War, a media campaign to support war victims of Georgia.
Since 2005, Mr. Golmohammadi has served as President of the UNA Europe Network. He serves on various advisory boards for Swedish Ministers for Development, international development corporations, and civil society organizations. He is a member of the Swedish UNESCO Board and participates in the United Nations Development Programme for the Millennium Development Goals in the Nordic countries. Prior to joining UNA-Sweden, Mr. Golmohammadi worked with private businesses in the Czech Republic, including a publishing trust and a real estate firm. He is fluent in Swedish, English, German and Farsi.
Nicole Catenazzi interning at the Geneva office, is a recent graduate of the University of Western Ontario (London, Canada). She specialized in Media and the Public Interest and received a Minor in Political Science. She is interested in the ways in which activist movements appropriate various types of media and how social justice issues are represented by mainstream media. She is interested as well in the political economic aspects of globalization, and how information communication technologies influence civil society. Catenazzi@wfuna.org
Tiffany Ellis interning at the Geneva office, is originally from London, England, however grew up in both Europe and North America. She completed her Bachelor of Arts degree in International Development Studies and Political Science from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec in 2008. She has a strong interest in human rights, and has volunteered with WFUNA in New York, as well as with UNDP Jordan, UNDP-Poverty Centre, and The List Project. She completed internships with SAHRDC and IPCS, both in New Delhi, as well as with The Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C. Ellis@wfuna.org
Jacob Standerfer, the Sustainable Development Issues Coordinator in the New York office, is a post-graduate student at Staffordshire University, UK and Fuller School of Intercultural Studies, USA, pursuing degrees in Governance and Sustainable Development and Intercultural Studies/International Development. His personal interests are in the MDGs (especially poverty reduction/eradication), sustainable development and climate change issues, and the import of civil society in influencing policy. Standerfer@wfuna.org
28.9.09
East Africa faces a 'perfect storm' as humanitarian disasters combine
Africa | 23.09.2009
East Africa faces a 'perfect storm' as humanitarian disasters combine
The African continent is no stranger to humanitarian disasters. Climatic changes, war, financial hardship and infrastructural chaos seem to regularly take turns in plunging one region or another into desperation. The latest crisis is centered on East Africa, where countries such as Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia are currently experiencing a 'perfect storm' of suffering.
These countries and others in the Horn of Africa are facing a combination of below-average rainfall, the prospect of serious crop failures, increased instability through regional and civil wars, and the overburdening of less severely hit areas through the displacement of populations.
A report by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) also warns that an already serious food insecurity situation in the region could worsen. The FAO report ominously predicts that if El Nino, the oscillation in ocean temperature which usually brings heavy rains towards the end of the year, delivers as expected, floods and mudslides could add to the misery by wiping out existing food stocks, killing livestock, damaging infrastructure and making thousands homeless.
Bildunterschrift: Climatic conditions and failed crops have plunged Ethiopia into a growing crisis
Aid agencies are understandably concerned that the already desperate situation of many people in the East Africa region - where nearly 20 million people currently depend on food assistance - could become exacerbated by the growing problems not only spreading between countries but within their own borders.
"Large parts of Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia and Somalia are affected by drought and food shortages," Tony Durham, from the emergencies department at Action Aid, told Deutsche Welle. "There are also longstanding conflicts in Somalia and northern Uganda. Many refugees from Somalia are living in crowded camps in eastern Kenya.
"The problems vary not just between countries but within countries," he added. "In Kenya for example, there are agricultural areas where crops have failed, and pastoral areas where livestock are dying. Meanwhile the urban population in Nairobi experiences the crisis mainly through power outages and high food prices."
Failing crops and rising prices increase need for aid
Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Villages in Uganda have been abandoned as food dwindles
The food security situation is driving prices up across the region with staple crops like maize and sorghum in Uganda, Kenya, Sudan and Somalia at double the price they were two years ago. The crops are likely to become even scarcer as predictions suggest many East African nations will see well below average levels for their staple crops in 2009, with the hardest hit areas of Ethiopia seeing a 75 percent loss.
The escalating food crisis in Ethiopia is expected to dramatically increase the number of people in need of emergency assistance to 6.2 million from 1.3 million at present, while in Uganda, a country racked by years of violence between government forces and the rebel Lord's Resistance Army, a 50 percent drop in crop levels is likely to increase the number of people in need of aid beyond a current estimate of one million.
Aid agencies find themselves dealing with a potentially huge humanitarian disaster and are struggling to cope with the realities on the ground. But it didn't need to be like this, according to Sara Pantuliano, head of the humanitarian policy group at the Overseas Development Institute in London.
"This is not an unexpected or unprecedented crisis," she told Deutsche Welle. "There is research into the cycles of drought which affect this region every 3-4 years but the problem is that there are no real mechanisms in place. There are contingencies plans and funds in place but these are insufficient. These plans are often put into operation once the crisis hits and then it’s already too late, the damage has been done. Failed crops can be replanted but will yield in a year from now while dead livestock will take a generation to replace. We need new systems in place. We can’t react to the crisis when it happens."
Somalia's civil war and drought threaten disaster
Conflict-torn Somalia is suffering the most among the striken East African nations with the FAO's Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit stating that the food security situation is so dire that the country faces its worst humanitarian crisis in 18 years.
Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Violence in Somalia has caused many people to flee
The current severe drought and escalating violence between radical Islamist rebels, African Union troops and local clan militia has led to an estimated 3.6 million people - approximately half the population - in need of emergency aid. An estimated 1.4 million rural people have been affected by the climatic conditions while 1.3 million have been internally displaced by the civil war.
"Conflict is occurring over water and other resources, and in Kenya several dozen people have been killed in armed clashes," Action Aid's Tony Durham said. "Somalia is so dangerous that aid agency operations are severely limited."
Iris Krebber, the regional director for German aid agency Welthungerhilfe in Kenya, told Deutsche Welle that the increased instability across many countries in the region would exacerbate the current crisis.
"Somalia is just not safe," she said. "Most of the country is a no-go area for aid agencies and not even Somali aid workers can get in. In other places we have the risk of kidnappings and the aid actually being hijacked and not getting to those who need it that way. But it isn't just a problem in Somalia. We see this phenomenon of conflict exacerbating a natural disaster in Kenya and Uganda where the drought emergency is turning previously peaceful regions into conflict zones."
Aid agencies under-fire and under-funded
It is not just the conditions and dangers on the ground in places like Somalia that are hindering aid efforts. Durham believes that a lack of funding for agencies and organizations is severely limiting the impact which can be made in East Africa.
"Action Aid and other humanitarian agencies are distributing food provided by the World Food Program (WFP)," Durham said. "However, the WFP is severely under-funded as a result of the global recession, and has warned that it will have to reduce food aid to East Africa unless donor countries act to fill the funding gap."
Iris Krebber agreed: "We have never seen such a shortfall in aid and funding for East Africa as we have now," she said. "Food relief is less than 50 percent of what is needed, and usually it's non-food items that suffer in a funding shortfall. But what is needed more is water, and we have just 10 percent of the funding we needed to provide enough drinking water. It's not just western governments who should do more but those functioning governments in East Africa must help themselves by contributing more."
Asked whether it was too late to avoid a wide-scale humanitarian disaster, Krebber replied: "This is already a wide-scale crisis. But if we can save just one life then it is never too late."
Author: Nick Amies
Editor: Rob Mudge
21.8.09
Exclusive Interview with FBI Whistleblower Sibel Edmonds | Armenian Weekly
Sibel Edmonds
On April 23, 2007, I sat down in Washington, D.C. with FBI whistleblower Sibel Edmonds for an extensive interview, which was published in the Armenian Weekly and on ZNet and widely circulated. On Aug. 18, 2009, I conducted a follow-up phone interview with Edmonds, who was visiting New Zealand. The interview is an overview of what has transpired in her case since 2007, with emphasis on her deposition in the Schmidt vs. Krikorian case in Ohio earlier this month.
Edmonds, an FBI language specialist, was fired from her job with the FBI’s Washington Field Office in March 2002. Her crime was reporting security breaches, cover-ups, blocking of intelligence, and the bribery of U.S. individuals including high-ranking officials. The “state secrets privilege” has often been invoked to block court proceedings on her case, and the U.S. Congress has even been gagged to prevent further discussion.Edmonds uncovered, for example, a covert relationship between Turkish groups and former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), who reportedly received tens of thousands of dollars in bribes in return for withdrawing the Armenian Genocide Resolution from the House floor in 2000.
Born in Iran in 1970, Edmonds received her BA in criminal justice and psychology from George Washington University, and her MA in public policy and international commerce from George Mason University. She is the founder and director of the National Security Whistleblowers Coalition (NSWBC) and in 2006 received the PEN/Newman’s Own First Amendment Award. She speaks Turkish, Farsi, and Azerbaijani.
Below is the full transcript of the follow-up interview.
***
Khatchig Mouradian—I asked you in 2007 what had changed during the five years since 2002, when you first contacted the Senate Judiciary Committee to reveal the story on Turkish bribery of high-level U.S. officials. You said, “There has been no hearing and nobody has been held accountable. We are basically where we started…” Two more years have passed, we have a new president, and I have to ask the same question again. Has there been any change?
Sibel Edmonds—Nothing has changed. As far as the Congress is concerned, the Democrats have been the majority since November 2006 and I have had zero interest from Congress on having hearings—any hearings—on this issue, whether it’s the states secrets privilege portion of it or the involved corruption cases. The current majority has been at least as bad as the previous one. At least the Republicans were gutsy enough to come and say, We’re not going to touch this. But the new majority is not saying anything!
The Obama Administration is pretty new. For what I see, they are continuing the previous administration’s state secrets privilege policies. As far as the whistleblower protection and related legislations are concerned, the new White House has already made it clear that they do not want to provide any protection for national security whistleblowers—these are the whistleblowers from the FBI, CIA, and all the other intelligence and law enforcement agencies and, of course, the Defense Department.
As far as the mainstream media is concerned, at least from what I have seen, the situation has actually gotten worse. To me that seems to be the major reason behind the Congress’ and the White House’s inaction and lack of desire to pursue accountability. As long as the pressure from the mainstream media is not there, of course they aren’t going to act. They are driven by that pressure, and the mainstream media in the U.S. today does not fulfill its role and responsibility by providing that pressure.
Of the three—Congress, the executive branch, and the media—I would say the biggest culprit here is the mainstream media.
K.M.—The most recent example of the deafening silence of the mainstream media was your deposition during the Schmidt vs. Krikorian case on Aug. 8. There, you spoke, under oath, about how the Turkish government and a network of lobby groups and high-ranking U.S. officials and Congressmen have engaged in treason and blackmail. A big story by any standards, it was only covered by Armenian newspapers and a few blogs. How do you explain this silence?
S.E.—I know field reporters who are so excited and want to chase the story. But when they went to their papers—and I’m talking about mainstream media and very good investigative journalists—their editors are refusing to touch it. When you watch the video or read the transcript, you will see how explosive the deposition was. And remember, I was speaking under oath. If by any standard, if I were to lie or be untruthful in any way, I would go to jail. I am answering these questions under oath, and yet, the mainstream media is refusing to touch it. And this is very similar to what we saw with the AIPAC/Larry Franklin case.
I have emphasized the fact that the American Turkish Council [ATC], the Turkish lobby, and these Turkish networks, they work together, in partnership with AIPAC [American Israel Public Affairs Committee] and JINSA [Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs]. So not only is there pressure on media outlets from the Turkish lobby and the corrupt U.S. persons involved, but they also have this pressure placed on the media via their partners from the Israel lobby—and the latter’s influence on the mainstream media in the U.S. is undeniable.
The irony is that my deposition has made it to the front page of Turkish newspapers—and Turkey doesn’t even pride itself with freedom of the media—yet the mainstream media has not written a single word about it.
K.M.—In an article you wrote about the 4th of July titled, “It Ain’t about Hot Dogs and Fireworks,” you say: “Recall the words of the Constitution Oath that all federal employees, all federal judges, all military personnel, all new citizens are required to take, step back, and pay special attention to these lines: ‘support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies—foreign and domestic.’ Now ask yourself who is meant by ‘domestic’ enemies.”
Talk about these “domestic enemies.”
S.E.—The domestic enemies I refer to are the U.S. officials, whether elected or appointed, who do not represent the interest of the American people—whether they are national security or foreign policy-related interests—and instead, they represent their own greed, their own financial benefit and/or foreign interests. A good example here is Dennis Hastert.
Less than three years after Vanity Fair ran a story about Hastert’s covert relationship with Turkish groups, Hastert’s group announced that it’s the registered lobbyist for the government of Turkey receiving, $35,000 a month from the Turkish interests. How much more vindication does the American mainstream media want? This man, for years, cashed in while he was under oath to be loyal and represent American interests and the Constitution. While in Congress, this man was not only representing foreign governments, but also foreign criminal entities. As soon as this man got out of Congress, he came out of the closet and officially became a representative of foreign interests. Bob Livingston [a former Republican Congressman from Louisiana] is another example. As soon as he got out of Congress, he registered under FARA [Foreign Agents Registration Act] to represent foreign interests. Steven Solarz [a former Democratic Congressman from New York] is yet another example.
Another prominent example is Mark Grossman at the State Department. For years, he has been representing foreign entities. In fact, he’s been violating criminal laws in the U.S. And guess what? He leaves the State Department in 2005 and he’s immediately placed on the payroll by a company in Turkey called Ihlas Holding, and he goes and joins a lobby and starts representing Turkish entities’ interests.
These opportunities do not come when these people leave their offices. In order for these people to secure these jobs and lucrative payments, they have to serve these foreign entities while they are in office. And they have done just that!
The victims here are the American people, their national security, and the integrity of this government. And in many cases that I know about, it is about our national security-related, intelligence-related information that is being easily provided to foreign entities by these individuals. Based on the laws we have since the beginning of this nation, these people should be prosecuted criminally.
K.M.—I am reminded of the saying, “God protect me from my friends, and I’ll take care of my enemies.” Isn’t Turkey supposed to be an ally of the U.S.?
S.E.—If you were to go and see our government’s own latest report, under the espionage section, the top countries are Israel, China, with Turkey coming third or fourth. You are looking at two ally countries here, Israel and Turkey, penetrating and stealing our intelligence, military, and classified technology information. Why would your allies penetrate your State Department, Department of Defense, and get away with it? Why would your allies want to steal from you?
K.M.—Let’s talk about the Krikorian vs. Schmidt case. Specifically, why did you decide to testify and what can you say about the efforts to block your testimony?
S.E.—I was contacted by Mr. Krikorian’s attorneys, who said they wanted to receive my sworn testimony and also depose me as a witness on the case they had in court. I went and checked out their case, and I saw that it involves the Turkish lobby and certain Turkish interest groups, and also, a Representative, Jean Schmidt [R-Ohio], who was receiving campaign donations from these groups. I saw, based on the publicly available information from their case that there was a pattern, and decided that my testimony would be directly relevant and extremely important to this case, despite the fact that I did not have any information specifically about Schmidt (I left the FBI in 2002). So I said yes, if they were to subpoena me and officially ask for my deposition under oath, I would provide it for them.
And then I fulfilled my obligation, as a former FBI contractor who has signed various non-disclosure agreements, to inform the FBI and the Department of Justice that I have been requested to provide my testimony and I am supposed to let you know. They had a day or so to respond. They passed the deadline. And after the deadline, they came back with some whimsical unconstitutional warning saying that under the non-disclose agreement, the FBI and the Department of Justice needed 30 days to review what I was about to testify. I had the attorneys check that and it turned out this is not legal, because oral testimony cannot be submitted—you don’t know what is going to be asked in court. Therefore, the warning they gave me was unconstitutional and not legal. They didn’t have any legal grounds to stop me from testifying, so I went and, under oath, during this five-hour long deposition, answered all the questions, and talked about everything I knew that had to do with Congressional corruption cases that involved various Turkish entities.
K.M.—For years now, this has been a very frustrating issue for you. Have you given up at this point? Is there any hope for change?
S.E.—On the micro level, I have given up. I have done everything anybody could possibly think of, whether it’s approaching the Congress, the court, the Inspector General’s office, the mainstream media, or providing testimony under oath. There’s nothing left to do. It is what it is. It’s being blocked.
On the macro level, I am a U.S. citizen and I am a mother. I have the obligation, the responsibility, to defend the Constitution when it’s my part, my role, to make a difference. And for that, I will never give up. In the U.S., we are witnessing many elements of what we consider a police state. I expect that in countries like Iran, Turkey, Egypt, or Saudi Arabia. But we’re looking at these elements in the U.S., a nation that prides itself at being at the forefront of freedom, democracy, and civil liberties. What happened to that nation?
As a mother, I want to raise my daughter in a place where she feels free to express her opinion. She is right now in a country where her mother has been silenced with gag orders and state secrets privilege.
I grew up with these and I don’t want my daughter to grow up with these.
5.8.09
Remarks AT The 8th Forum of the African Growth and Opportunity Act
Good morning. Let me thank the trade minister for those welcoming words, and tell you what a privilege it is for me to join you here today. I am very grateful to the people and Government of Kenya for hosting this AGOA Forum, and particularly to the president, the prime minister, and the entire Kenyan Government.
The presence of so many distinguished leaders from across Africa reflects our shared aspirations for greater economic growth and prosperity on this continent. This was a very important trip for me to make in order to underscore the significance that President Obama and I place on enhancing the trade and commerce both between Africa and the United States, but also within Africa.
And I am delighted to have two other representatives of the Obama Administration with me: Secretary Tom Vilsack, who, for eight years, was one of the most successful governors in our country, and responsible for the state of Iowa, a very important agricultural state, but also recognizing the connection between agriculture and energy production; and Ambassador Ron Kirk, our U.S. Trade Representative, a mayor of one of our large cities in Texas – Dallas, Texas – someone who understands the significance of economic development for the well-being of people.
We’re also pleased to have three representatives of Congress with us: Congressman Donald Payne, Congressman Jim McDermott, and Congresswoman Nita Lowey. Each of them has a particular interest in Africa, and the development of the people of this continent.
So, let me begin with greetings and good wishes from President Obama to the people of his ancestral homeland – (applause) – and with a message from the President and from his Administration: We believe in Africa’s promise. We are committed to Africa’s future. And we will be partners with Africa’s people. (Applause.) I hope all of you have had a chance to either see or read President Obama’s speech last month in Ghana. He said there what we believe: Progress in Africa requires partnerships built on shared responsibility.
The flip side of responsibility is opportunity – shared opportunity. And that is what I wish to speak about this morning, how we can work together to help realize the God-given potential of 800 million people who make their homes and find their livelihoods in the valleys of the Great Rift, across the plains of the Serengeti, in vibrant urban centers from Nairobi to Johannesburg to Dakar, and why seizing the opportunities of Africa’s future matters not only to Africans, but to all of us.
You know that too often, the story of Africa is told in stereotypes and clichés about poverty, disease, and conflict. We can’t seem to get past the idea that the continent has enormous potential for progress. Too often, the media’s portrayal is so much less than that. But such notions are not only stale and outdated; they are wrong. Africa is capable, and is making economic progress. In fact, one doesn’t have to look far to see that Africa is ripe with opportunities, some already realized, and others waiting to be seized together if we determine to do so.
Now to be sure, progress is not apparent everywhere on the continent. Even with the accelerated growth of recent years, the economies of many countries have slowed or stagnated under the weight of the global recession. Others face looming crises when their young people who constitute half the population in some countries reach adulthood and need jobs. And we cannot ignore the fact that there are still African nations where some workers earn less than a dollar a day, where mothers and fathers die of preventable diseases, where children are too often schooled with guns instead of books, and where women and girls are mistreated, even raped as a tactic of war, and greed and graft are the dominant currency.
But the story we also need to tell, and tell it over and over again, is that many parts of Africa are rising to 21st century challenges and following a road map that will turn Africa into a regional and global hub for progress and prosperity. We have seen the changes, and we know what is happening right now.
I will visit six other countries on this trip, and I will see the results of the research of African scientists who are modernizing agricultural tools, and I will meet those who are devising new models for development assistance. I’ll meet the young entrepreneurs and professionals who are helping to build open markets, and the civil servants who are working hand-in-hand with them. There is so much that is going on that needs to be lifted up and spotlighted.
Today, we look to nearby Rwanda. Progress sometimes comes so slowly. But in a country that had been ravaged by genocidal conflict, the progress is amazing. It has one of the fastest growing economies in Africa, even in the midst of the global recession. Health indicators are improving. The Rwandan people believed in themselves. And their leaders, led by President Kagame, believed in policies based on evidence and measurable results, including a nationwide emphasis on family planning, cross-cutting partnerships with donors and NGOs, a greater premium on professionalism in the government and the health sector.
You all know the story of Dr. Mo Ibrahim, a visionary and a pioneer willing to invest in the untapped potential of Africa when others were not. Why? Because he understood that new technologies could unleash local entrepreneurship, create jobs, expand prosperity, and build economies. But in return for his investments, he demanded good governance, adherence to the rule of law. And his achievement in African leadership prize celebrates exemplars of his philosophy.
There are so many that already have invested and stand ready to do so, and who see the potential for leapfrogging the technologies of the past. With wireless technology, Africa doesn’t need to lay all of the wires or build the infrastructure. It could take advantage of what technology offers. New innovations are already transforming lives and fueling economic growth. Farmers in both East and West Africa can click a button on their cell phone to check prices on dozens of crops. Pineapple farmers in Ghana are using PDAs and bar coding technology to facilitate transport and increase crop yields. The new underwater fiber optic cable along Africa’s east coast will enable hundreds of millions of people to have access to the internet.
Although Africa missed the first green revolution, it now has the opportunity to create its own. Technology and innovation make it possible for nations to bypass the dirty stages of development and become more quickly integrated. Right now, Africa suffers from a severe shortage of electric power, and too many countries rely on oil as virtually their only source of revenue. But the capacity for producing renewable and clean energy is far and wide. From the geothermal resources of the Great Rift Valley, to the potential hydropower of the Congo River, to wind and solar options, new projects are beginning to come online.
So there are so many concrete examples of the opportunities to be seized. And with that in mind, I’d like to focus on four areas that warrant special attention: trade, development, good governance, and women.
Some of you may have seen the op-ed that Ambassador Ron Kirk wrote and was placed in newspapers here in Kenya and across the continent. He laid out some of the potential opportunities to work with in order to maximize the promise of AGOA. As Africa’s largest trading partners, we are committed to trade policies that support prosperity and stability. To echo President Obama’s words, we want to be your partner, not your patron.
Because trade is a critical platform for Africa’s economic growth, we’re exploring ways to lower global trade barriers to ease the burdens on African farmers and producers. Today, Africa accounts for two percent of global trade. If Sub-Saharan Africa were to increase that share by only one percent, it would generate additional export revenues each year greater than the total amount of annual assistance that Africa currently receives. We will strive to meet the G-20 leaders pledge in London to complete the Doha Round and make it a success. And we’re committed to working with our African partners to maximize the opportunities created by our trade preference programs. That is why we’re here today.
AGOA is a bipartisan commitment. As you know, it began under my husband when he was President, but it continued under President Bush. It has achieved demonstrable results, but not yet enough. We know it has not met its full potential. And we intend to roll up our sleeves and work with you to try to make that potential real.
Market access alone is not sufficient. In too many cases, African countries do not yet have the capacity to meet the needs of the U.S. market. They cannot compete for the kind of exporting of thousands of products that can be sent duty-free to the United States under AGOA. There are 6,999 items that can be sent from Africa to the United States duty-free.
Now, a number of AGOA countries are in the early stages of supplying the American market with products they had not supplied in the past. And although the global crisis has slowed products, there are new products being exported, from footwear in Ethiopia, to cut flowers in Tanzania, to eyewear in Mauritius, to processed fruits and jams in Swaziland. We’re seeing real potential. We’re also seeing some countries take advantage of the fact that they can produce industrial products in partnership with international firms, and then export them duty-free to the United States.
We need more product diversification. This is an area that Ambassador Kirk – Ambassador Ron Kirk will focus on with you to enhance competitiveness, to improve the utilization of AGOA, and to look for more ways that you can take advantage of this market access. You can make trade a greater priority in development strategies, and to leverage the economic power that comes from trade.
But the single biggest opportunity that you have right now is to open up trade with each other. The market of the United States is 300 million people. The market of Africa is 700 million-plus. The nations of Africa trade the least with each other than any region of the world. That makes it very difficult to compete effectively. Of course, keep focused on markets like the United States and Europe, but simultaneously work to tear down trade barriers among yourselves.
Regional trade organizations offer signs of hope, but more must be done. And of course, progress depends on good governance and adherence to the rule of law. That is critical to creating positive, predictable investment climates and inclusive economic growth. I know there are problems sometimes between countries and borders that are difficult to traverse. But focusing on this coming out of the 8th AGOA Forum would be a tremendous commitment.
Now, the United States has responsibilities, too. We will enhance ongoing efforts to build trade capacity across Africa. We want to provide assistance to help new industries take advantage of access to our markets. We will pursue public-private partnerships, leveraging the efforts of our export-import bank and OPEC and organizations like the Corporate Council on Africa that identify and invest in young entrepreneurs with innovative ideas. We will work to expand the number of bilateral investment treaties with African nations, one of which Ambassador Kirk and I will be signing this afternoon. Above all, we will create stronger and more sensible links between our trade policies and our development strategies.
In the past three decades, African agricultural exports have declined, even as the vast majority of employment on the continent still depends on income from the agricultural sector. This is due, in part, to inadequate infrastructure. Lack of roads, lack of irrigation, poor storage facilities jeopardize the hard work of farmers in the field, undermine the discoveries of researchers in the lab and depressed markets eagerly waiting for products to buy.
So the United States will pursue strategies to improve infrastructure so that farmers have better access to information, capital, and training. We intend to develop the kind of partnerships that will integrate assistance as a core pillar of our foreign policy, because we believe that helping to improve the material conditions of people’s lives is not only an expression of American values, but a foundation for greater security and stability on the continent.
The Obama Administration is on a path to double foreign assistance by 2014, but we will spend the money differently. While our past assistance has yielded gains, we have spent too many dollars and too many decades on efforts that have not delivered the desired long-term results. Too much money, for example, has stayed in America, paid salaries to Americans, furnished overhead to the contractors that were used. Too little has reached the intended target or contributed to lasting progress.
So at the State Department and USAID, we are actively exploring how we can fund, design, implement development and foreign assistance that produces measurable, lasting results, while also helping people in the short run. Development assistance linked to trade policy will, we believe, fuel dynamic market-led growth rather than perpetuating dependency.
In Africa and elsewhere, we seek more agile, effective, and creative partnerships. We will focus on country-driven solutions that give responsible governments more information, capacity, and control as they tailor strategies to meet their needs. This will require greater coordination within our own government and with the donor community. And it will also require a broader use of measurements to assess whether we are achieving results. Agricultural development is a case in point. President Obama asked me to head a government-wide and comprehensive effort to advance agricultural-led growth, and to reduce hunger, where the opportunity exists to provide more food, raise incomes, and create new jobs.
Now of course, we have no control over the weather. And the devastating drought that has afflicted Kenya and other countries for four years is a deeply troubling challenge. But we can begin to try to even deal with nature’s difficulties. With most of the world’s remaining arable land spread across the African continent, Africa has a responsibility and an opportunity to maximize agricultural promise and provide food for your own people and the world as well. Building on the G-8 discussions in Italy last month, I am pleased to announce that I will convene a meeting next month on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly to advance the global partnership for agriculture and food security.
True economic progress – (applause) – depends not only on the hard work of millions of people who get up every day and do the best they can, often under overwhelming circumstances; it also depends on responsible governments that reject corruption, enforce the rule of law, and deliver results for their people. This is not just about good governance; this is about good business. Investors will be attracted to states that do this, and they will not be attracted to states with failed or weak leadership, or crime and civil unrest or corruption that taints every transaction and decision.
The private sector and civil society are playing an increasingly important role across Africa in holding governments accountable and demanding fairer, more open, more just economies and societies. Leaders have to lead. They have to demonstrate to their people that democracy does deliver. Sustainable progress is not possible in countries that fail to be good stewards of their natural resources, where the profits from oil and minerals line the pockets of oligarchs who are corporations a world away, but do little to promote long-term growth and prosperity.
The solution starts with transparency. A famous judge in my country once said that sunlight is the best disinfectant, and there’s a lot of sunlight in Africa. African countries are starting to embrace this view through participation in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. Creating a favorable investment climate requires countries to translate politics into governing. A famous American politician, Mario Cuomo, once said you campaign in politics, in poetry, but you have to govern in prose – the hard work of explaining what you’re doing and getting the results that you promise.
It is important that we recognize that progress has been made when elections are held. And many people believe that democracy is alive and well because an election has taken place. But as important as elections are, democracy is not just about the ballot box. Citizens and governments need to work together to build and sustain strong democratic institutions. From an independent and confident judiciary, to a professional and dedicated civil service, to a free press and vibrant civil society, we’ve learned this in my own country. We are still working to improve our democracy after 230 years, and we want to give you some of the benefit of the mistakes that we’ve made and the lessons we’ve learned along the way. And we stand ready to serve as partners to citizens and leaders looking to improve governance and transparency.
Let me conclude with an issue of economic and strategic importance to Africa, to the United States, and I believe to the world, and it is of great personal importance to me – the future of Africa’s women. The social, political – (applause) – the social, political, and economic marginalization of women across Africa has left a void in this continent that undermines progress and prosperity every day. Yet we know across Africa women are doing the work of a whole continent – gathering firewood, hauling water, washing clothes, preparing meals, raising children, in the fields planting and harvesting, and when given the opportunity of economic empowerment, transforming communities and local economies.
There are many African women who have made a great and lasting imprint on the world. Kenya’s own Wangari Maathai has spawned an international movement on behalf of environmental stewardship. (Applause.) Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has taken the reins of a nation once gripped by civil war, ensuring that the rights of women are respected and protected, and that women have the opportunity to help drive social and economic progress, as they are now doing in many parts of the world. It is not only a moral imperative; it is an economic one as well. Everywhere I go, I see the hard work and the progress that women can make if unleashed, if given just a chance.
In a few days, I will be in Cape Town and I will visit, for the third time, the Victoria Mxenge cooperative. I first visited there in 1997. It was a location where women who had been displaced for many reasons – husbands had died, economic problems – had come together in a small group and they were squatting. They didn’t own this desolate piece of land that was off one of the highways. But they had nowhere else to go with their children. And they began building a community. And they pooled small microloans, which I still believe is one of the greatest ways of lifting individuals out of poverty. And they began to build their homes.
Today, a whole village stands on what was once a dusty and empty patch of land. Like those women, women and men across this continent are taking responsibility. They want partners. They want partners with their governments, they want partners with the private sector, they want partners with countries like my own. There is no reason to wait. The ingredients are all here for an extraordinary explosion of growth, prosperity, and progress. This is a storyline of opportunity that I want to tell, because I know how important it is to translate legislation like AGOA, the efforts of governments like Kenya’s into daily changes that people can look to.
This morning, I had the chance to meet two women living here in Nairobi because I had to get my hair done. The women in this audience know that. (Laughter.) I think they did a good job too. My hairdos are like the subject of Ph.D. theses, so – (laughter) – I want everybody to know I got a good one in Nairobi. And I was talking to these two women who came to see me, and I said, “Well, what’s it like living in Nairobi,” and they said, “It’s a wonderful place, and it’s a great place to raise children.”
I want to hear that everywhere, from every family, from every mother and father who can say, truthfully, it’s a great place to raise children from the east, to the west, from the north, to the south. Because after all, what we do should only be about the next generation. In public or private life, there is no greater obligation to see what we are doing to further the lives of those children who are close to us, but to all the children.
So as we go forward at this 8th AGOA Forum, I hope we will all keep in mind that we are called upon to act to make it possible for the children of this great continent to have the kind of future that all children deserve. Thank you very much. (Applause.)
