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Artikel - Panama Papers-Enthüllungen: Aussprache mit Joseph E. Stiglitz - Untersuchungsausschuss zur Prüfung von behaupteten Verstößen gegen das Unionsrecht und Missständen bei der Anwendung desselben im Zusammenhang mit Geldwäsche, Steuervermeidung...

Europäisches Parlament (Nachrichten) - Thu, 17/11/2016 - 15:15
"80 Prozent der Tätigkeiten, die in den Panama Papieren beschrieben sind, haben garnicht in Panama stattgefunden. Das wiederum zeigt, dass wir es hier mit einem globalen Problem zu tun haben“, sagte der Wirtschaftswissenschaftler und Nobelpreisträger Joseph E. Stiglitz am Mittwoch (16.11.) zu den Abgeordneten. Stiglitz, der nach den Enthüllungen für die Regierung Panamas als Berater tätig war, nahm an einer Sitzung des Panama Papers-Untersuchungsausschusses teil. Sehen Sie dazu unser Video.
Untersuchungsausschuss zur Prüfung von behaupteten Verstößen gegen das Unionsrecht und Missständen bei der Anwendung desselben im Zusammenhang mit Geldwäsche, Steuervermeidung und Steuerhinterziehung

Quelle : © Europäische Union, 2016 - EP
Categories: Europäische Union

Chodorkowski für den Dialog zwischen Europa und Russland

EuroNews (DE) - Thu, 17/11/2016 - 15:08
Der russische Dissident Michail Chodorkowski spricht sich für den Dialog zwischen der EU und Russland aus.
Categories: Europäische Union

Mideast: ‘Climate Change Will Make a Difficult Situation Much Worse’

Africa - INTER PRESS SERVICE - Thu, 17/11/2016 - 14:56

Men from the Koloma IDP camp in Goz Beida, Eastern Chad, build a shelter for a generator that the community has purchased in order to pump water through a water system built by Oxfam and handed over to the IDP committee in 2012. Credit: OCHA/Pierre Peron

By IPS Correspondents
MARRAKECH, Morocco, Nov 17 2016 (IPS)

“Climate change will make a difficult situation much worse, and will affect millions of people in the Middle East and North Africa region,” World Bank MENA Vice-President Hafez Ghanem stated at the 22nd Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Marrakech, Morocco on 7-18 November.

Aware of their vulnerabilities to the impacts of climate change, countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region have begun taking action to confront the phenomenon and today, several highlighted their initiatives at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Marrakech, Morocco, known as COP 22.

Agriculture in the MENA region is especially vulnerable to changes in temperature and precipitation. As global temperatures rise, they will rise even faster in MENA, causing more frequent and severe droughts.

The 2015 drought in Morocco destroyed more than half the wheat harvest and led to a 1.5 per cent drop in the country’s Gross Domestic Output.

During a panel discussion on UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Initiative on Climate Resilience at COP 22 on November 11, Saudi Arabia’s Chief Climate Negotiator, Khalid Abuleif, said that the region “is going to see a lot of challenges from an ecosystem point of view and from a socio-economic point of view.” The challenge is not only about reducing gas emissions but also about raising “our resilience.”

Abuleif stressed that as Saudi Arabia is diversifying its economy, any new sector will be put under regulations that will address sustainability and climate resilience.

He added that his country is focusing especially on water management, “making sure we are using water in a sustainable manner,” and on the protection of coastal zones.

Tunisia has announced a 41 per cent emission reduction by 2030. Most importantly, 13 per cent will be based on national efforts, while the rest will come from support provided by the international community.

Country Flags outside the UN COP22 venue in Marrakech, Morocco. Photo: UNFCCC


A week after COP 22 concludes, Tunisia will host an international investment conference (29-30 November) to mobilize 2.4 billion dollars, 40 per cent of which will be allocated to projects pertaining to the ‘green economy,’ with a focus on renewable energy.

In Morocco, to meet the country’s commitments on climate action, the “Bank Al Maghrib” (Central Bank of Morocco) recently unveiled the road map of the Moroccan financial sector in climate financing.

The country has also taken steps to adapt its agriculture, with better water management and more climate-resistant crops, while also lowering its emissions by eliminating most energy subsidies and with the construction of the large solar plant in Ouarzazate, World Bank senior official Hafez Ghanem noted.

“This is the kind of comprehensive climate action we will support across the region, with a special focus on the poorest and most vulnerable,” he added.

The World Bank Group announced on November 15 a new plan to ramp up support for countries in the MENA region by nearly doubling the portion of Bank financing dedicated to climate action, taking it to around 1.5 billion dollars per year by 2020.

The plan focuses on four priorities: food and water security; sustainable cities adapted to new climate conditions; the transition to low-carbon energy; and the protection of the poorest that are most exposed to the impacts of climate change.

The Marrakech Conference follows the adoption by 196 UNFCCC States Parties last December, of the Paris Agreement, so-named after the French capital where it was approved, which aims to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping the global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

The Agreement entered into force in time for COP 22, which has been under way since 7 November. Before the meeting wraps up on18 November, parties hope to define the rules of implementation of the Paris Agreement and establish a viable plan to provide financial support to developing countries to support climate action.

Categories: Africa

Mezőgazdasági kisüzemek fejlesztése / VP2-6.3.1-16

PAFI - Thu, 17/11/2016 - 14:49
Jelen felhívás célja a mezőgazdasági kisüzemek fejlesztését célzó tevékenységek támogatása. A támogatás különösen az adottságaik és ambícióik alapján fejlődőképes kis méretű mezőgazdasági termelők jövedelemszerzését és stabilitását segíti elő.
Categories: Pályázatok

Tavasztündér meséi

PAFI - Thu, 17/11/2016 - 14:48
A kiírók TAVASZTÜNDÉR MESÉI címmel színes mesekönyvben történő megjelenésre pályázatot hirdetnek.
Categories: Pályázatok

Kukta Ami szem-szájnak ingere

PAFI - Thu, 17/11/2016 - 14:48
Pályázat témája: saját karácsonyi és újévi ételreceptek. Ami szem-szájnak ingere!
Categories: Pályázatok

Himnusz

PAFI - Thu, 17/11/2016 - 14:48
A kiírók meghirdetik a "Himnusz" ILLUSZTRÁCIÓS PÁLYÁZATOT 4.-10.évfolyamos diákoknak
Categories: Pályázatok

Pályázat a szihalmi Magyar-Tár-Ház kabalafigurájára és elnevezésére

PAFI - Thu, 17/11/2016 - 14:48
Pályázat a szihalmi Magyar-Tár-Ház kabalafigurájára és elnevezésére
Categories: Pályázatok

Topolya: Épül a művésztelephez vezető út

VajdaságMA (Szerbia/Vajdaság) - Thu, 17/11/2016 - 14:46
A 2014-ben felújított Topolyai Művésztelep épülete és a mezőgazdasági középiskola közötti útszakasz kiépítése néhány nappal ezelőtt vette kezdetét.

Egyedülálló hangárkomplexum épült Pápán

JetFly - Thu, 17/11/2016 - 14:46
Ünnepélyes keretek között adták át november 17-én az MH Pápa Bázisrepülőtéren települő Nehéz Légiszállító Ezred hangárkomplexumának utolsó darabját. A létesítmény világviszonylatban is egyedülállónak számít.
Categories: Biztonságpolitika

One Step Closer to War Crime Trials? New ICC report on Afghanistan

The Afghanistan Analysts Network (AAN) - Thu, 17/11/2016 - 14:45

The International Criminal Court’s Office of the Prosecutor has said it will “imminently” be taking a decision on whether to request authorisation from judges to commence an investigation into war crimes in Afghanistan. The Taleban could be investigated, among other offences, for murder and intentionally attacking civilians, while Afghan government forces, and the US military and CIA could be investigated for torturing security detainees. As Kate Clark and Ehsan Qaane report, this next step towards US citizens possibly being called to trial in The Hague has arisen just as Donald Trump, a man who believes in torture, has been voted into the White House.

The ICC’s Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) released its 2016 Preliminary Examination Report on Afghanistan (released annually) on 14 November 2016. The report says that the OTP had determined there was a reasonable basis to believe that, at a minimum, the following crimes within the Court’s jurisdiction had occurred:

  • Crimes against humanity and war crimes by the Taliban and their affiliated Haqqani Network;
  • War crimes of torture and related ill-treatment by Afghan government forces, in particular the intelligence agency (National Directorate for Security) and the Afghan National Police;
  • War crimes of torture and related ill-treatment, by US military forces deployed to Afghanistan and in secret detention facilities operated by the Central Intelligence Agency, principally in the 2003-2004 period, although allegedly continuing in some cases until 2014.

The Preliminary Examination also said that thresholds of admissibility had been reached, ie the alleged crimes are under ICC jurisdiction, are sufficiently grave, are not being addressed by domestic or other legal bodies (although this is “subject to further information that could be provided by the relevant national authorities in the course of the preliminary examination or any subsequent investigation”) and there are “no substantial reasons to believe that the opening of an investigation would not be in the interests of justice.”

The Taleban

There is a reasonable basis, the OTP said, to believe that the Taleban and the Haqqani network have committed war crimes (murder; intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population, humanitarian personnel and protected objects; conscripting children; and killing or wounding treacherously a combatant adversary – all of which, it said, “were committed on a large scale and as part of a plan or policy”) and crimes against humanity (murder; imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty and persecution against any identifiable group or collectivity on political grounds and on gender grounds, all “allegedly committed as part of a widespread and/or systematic attack…” – for full quote, see paragraphs 206 and 207 of the report.)

In terms of admissibility, the Taleban and Haqqani network’s crimes passed the gravity threshold. As to whether domestic courts are dealing with suspected war criminals, the OTP pointed to the almost complete lack of any investigation or trial of alleged war criminals in Afghanistan (1) and to the 2009 Amnesty Law which provides amnesty to everyone who committed war crimes, including those who, in the future, reconcile with the Afghan government (see also this AAN report). It was noticeable, in this respect, that the government recently also granted immunity to Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and his armed men in the context of the peace agreement signed with Hezb-e Islami on 29 September 2016. (2) Amnesty for war crimes in domestic legislation can be interpreted as unwillingness by the state to prosecute.

The NDS and Afghan police

Multiple sources, the OTP said, including the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), UNAMA and a presidential fact-finding commission in 2013 have reported on the prevalence of torture in Afghan government detention facilities. The OTP estimates 35 to 50 per cent of conflict-related detainees “may be subjected to torture” and says there is a “state of total impunity.”

There is a reasonable basis to believe, the OTP said, that Afghan authorities have committed the war crimes of torture and cruel treatment; outrages upon personal dignity pursuant to article; and (this is new in the OTP’s reports) sexual violence. Naming the Afghan intelligence agency the National Directorate of Security (NDS), the Afghan National Police, Afghan National Army, Afghan Border Police and the Afghan Local Police (ALP), it says available information suggests the alleged crimes were committed on a “large scale.” Although there is no indication that they were committed “as part of any plans or policies at the national level,” in some cases, it said, there were plans or policies at the level of facility, district or province.

The US military and CIA

The information available, says the OTP, provides a reasonable basis to believe that during interrogations of security detainees and in conduct supporting those interrogations, members of the US armed forces and the CIA:

… resorted to techniques amounting to the commission of the war crimes of torture, cruel treatment, outrages upon personal dignity, and rape… Specifically:

Members of US armed forces appear to have subjected at least 61 detained persons to torture, cruel treatment, outrages upon personal dignity on the territory of Afghanistan between 1 May 2003 and 31 December 2014. The majority of the abuses are alleged to have occurred in 2003-2004.

Members of the CIA appear to have subjected at least 27 detained persons to torture, cruel treatment, outrages upon personal dignity and/or rape on the territory of Afghanistan and other States Parties to the Statute (namely Poland, Romania and Lithuania) between December 2002 and March 2008. The majority of the abuses are alleged to have occurred in 2003-2004.

Crucially, the OTP says these “alleged crimes were not the abuses of a few isolated individuals,” but rather were part of a policy:

The Office considers that there is a reasonable basis to believe these alleged crimes were committed in furtherance of a policy or policies aimed at eliciting information through the use of interrogation techniques involving cruel or violent methods which would support US objectives in the conflict in Afghanistan.

It notes their use ended when the authorities decided to stop using them, indicating the alleged crimes were ordered, rather than being the work of random individuals.

Unlike the 2015 Preliminary Examination report, for both US and Afghan forces, rape is mentioned in the sections on the use of torture in the interrogation of security detainees.

As to civilian casualties caused by the international military, something which many survivors and the families of those killed hoped would be taken up by the ICC, this now looks unlikely. Civilians can be lawfully killed during conflict. (3) As the OTP said, “[A]lthough these operations resulted in incidental loss of civilian life and harm to civilians, in most incidents the information available does not provide a reasonable basis to believe that the military forces intended the civilian population as such or individual civilians not taking direct part in hostilities to be the object of the attack.”

There were a few incidents where lack of information meant the OTP could not determine whether harm done to civilians amounted to war crimes. If the judges (the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber) authorised an investigation, it said, and depending on whether this matter passed selection and prioritisation criteria, they could be looked into further. However, it is unclear if even these incidents of civilian casualties, if investigated, would be considered potential war crimes or whether they would meet the gravity threshold of admissibility.

The evidence 

The OTP does not go into the evidence, so the following is very much the authors’ initial take on possible investigations.

The Taleban regularly and publically claim to have committed what are, in effect, war crimes, as in a recent example, the deliberate attack on the German Consulate (a civilian target) in Mazar-e Sharif last week. (The attack killed four and injured more than one hundred civilians living nearby.) UNAMA routinely reports such incidents in its Protection of Civilians reports. In the first six months of this year, for example, it found the Taleban had claimed 51 attacks which deliberately targeted civilians or civilian locations. AAN has itself investigated such incidents claimed by the Taleban (see for example, here and here). Both in their codes of conduct (layhas) and public declarations, the Taleban allow or have ordered the commission of war crimes; these include the targeting of Afghan civilians working with the government and foreign organisations, justice sector workers and journalists with certain media organisations (see here and here) and in the early days of the insurgency also schools, teachers and NGO workers.(4)

There have been multiple reports on the use of torture by NDS, in particular, but also by the Afghan police and ALP (see here and here). The Afghan government has acknowledged the use of torture in government facilities, but as UNAMA has reported, has failed to take criminal or even administrative action against torturers, creating effective impunity. AAN has also reported regularly on this issue (dispatches also contain links to the major investigations by UNAMA and AIHRC: see for instance here, here and here). (5)

In 2001/2002, the US administration of George Bush decided, in its handling of ‘war on terror’ detainees, to forgo the Geneva Conventions, including common article 3 which, among other things, bans torture and “degrading and humiliating treatment.” The president claimed the ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’ he authorised did not amount to torture, although the OTP clearly believes otherwise.

The US’s use of torture against security detainees was systemic (although not every detainee was tortured) and there is a wealth of documentation about how decisions were taken and the misgivings of many in the military and the CIA about its use. The torture has been detailed by human rights organisations; the US government (see a list of investigations up to 2008 put together by the International Center for Transitional Justice); Congress, looking at both the military and the
 CIA; journalists (for example, here and here) and former detainees. Methods used included being deprived of sleep for days, waterboarding, food deprivation, being continuously shackled, being forced to kneel or stand in painful ‘stress positions’ for extended periods, being beaten, kicked, soaked in cold water, being stripped and sexually humiliated, and being forced to listen to music loud enough to deafen for hours at a time.

Media headlines (for example, here and here) about the ICC report have mainly focussed on the possibility of Americans being in the dock for war crimes. The US is not a member of the ICC. Bill Clinton signed the Rome treaty that established the court in December 2000, but George W Bush renounced the signature in May 2002 saying he feared Americans would be unfairly prosecuted for political reasons. However, Americans could still be prosecuted for alleged crimes committed in Afghanistan because it is a member. The Rome Treaty came into force in Afghanistan in May 2003 and only crimes committed after then are admissible (some of the most egregious and best-documented US torture cases, including three deaths in custody took place before then). However, there could be investigations into earlier alleged of torture by the CIA of detainees in Poland, Romania and Lithuania, given, the OTP said, there was a nexus to the Afghanistan conflict. The Rome Statue entered into force in Poland and Romania on 1 July 2002 and Lithuania on 1 August 2003.

Trump-era practices?

The interrogation practices which could now be investigated by the ICC as incidents of torture were eventually outlawed in the US. In 2005, Congress banned the techniques which Bush had authorised and, in 2009, Obama passed an executive order restricting interrogators to using only techniques authorised in the Army Field Manual; that order was codified into law by the Senate in 2015. Obama called waterboarding torture and his attorney general, Eric H Holder, said the country was owed “a reckoning” for torture carried out after the September 11th attacks. However, in the end, Obama decided not to conduct a broad criminal investigation into Bush-era officials saying, “We need to look forward, as opposed to looking backward.”

However, the new US president-elect is again officially championing those techniques. Like Bush, Trump believes torture ‘works’. As AAN has reported, he has praised waterboarding, saying, “I like it a lot. I don’t think it’s tough enough.” Even if it did not work, he said, he would authorise it because “they deserve it anyway for what they do to us.”

There may be other supporters of torture in the new Trump administration. Two men being suggested as possible secretaries of state are Newt Gingrich, former Senate speaker, who said of waterboarding, “under the normal rules internationally it’s not torture” and John Bolton, former Bush-era ambassador to the United Nations, who criticised Obama for saying the US state had used torture as it would be “aiding an effort to establish liability for the top political leaders up to and including President Bush and [former] Secretary [of Defense Donald] Rumsfeld.”

The name of Jose Rodrigues has also come up as a future director of the CIA. Just after the 9/11 attacks, he was appointed chief of staff of the CIA’s Counterterrorism Centre and was later promoted to director of the CIA’s National Clandestine Service. He was a key player in creating the CIA’s torture and rendition programme and in trying to cover up it up; in November 2010, after photographs showing detainees being abused at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq were published, he ordered the destruction of video tapes showing detainees being water-boarded. Rodrigues could have been charged with misleading investigators or obstructing justice, but in 2010, the Department of Justice decided not to put him on trial.

Like Trump, Rodrigues has spoken of the need to go beyond the methods of torture signed off by Bush. “Enhanced interrogation techniques are well known to the enemy and we would have to come up with something else,” he told The Daily Beast, although he declined to tell the paper what that might entail. As anti-torture laws were passed during the Obama years, practicing torture again may not be as easy as it looks, although see here and here for legal analysis of what the new president’s options might be.

Trump has also said he wants to expand the ‘war on terror’ detention camp at Guantánamo Bay (with five remaining Afghan inmates, along with 55 others). Such a move would increase the potential for abuses to take place as inmates do not enjoy the same legal protections as those on mainland America and it is far more difficult for lawyers and journalists to scrutinise.

Conclusion

The ICC has been under fire for ‘only investigating Africans’ (that was the reason, said three countries, South Africa, Burundi and Gambia, why they were withdrawing from the ICC earlier this month. (6) In January of this year, Georgia became the first non-African country that the OTP received Pre-trial Chamber authorisation for to investigate – in this case, alleged war crimes committed during the 2008 Russian-Georgian conflict over South Ossetia. Afghanistan could be the second. Even if it does, however, building cases against specific individuals, especially in a war zone, will be difficult. With its new report, the ICC may be one step closer, but it is still many steps away, from bringing Americans or Afghans accused of committing war crimes in Afghanistan to trial.

 

(1) The OTP mentions two possible exceptions: the pre-Amnesty Law conviction of Abdullah Shah, an Ettehad-e Islami commander for murders committed during the civil war in Kabul and “reportedly two senior members of the Haqqani Network… prosecuted and convicted by a national primary court in August 2016 for an unknown alleged conduct.”

(2) The OTP mentions Hezb-e Islami only in the context of the list of groups fighting the Afghan government.

(3) Civilians can lawfully be killed as ‘collateral damage’ during conflict. However, they cannot be targeted, combatants must take precautions to avoid causing civilian harm and if civilian harm is expected from an attack on a military objective, this must be proportional to the military gain.

(4) In the Taleban’s 2006 code of conduct, teaching in government schools was deemed illegal and punishments were harsh. Teachers were to be warned and if necessary beaten: “…if a teacher or mullah continues to instruct contrary to the principles of Islam, the district commander or group leader must kill him.” Education was allowed, but only in a mosque or similar institution, using jihad or Emirate-era textbooks and by someone with religious training. Schools were to be closed and if necessary burned. Any contract with an NGO, in exchange for money or materials, had to be authorised at the highest level, by the leadership shura. The 2006 code of conduct described NGOs as “tools of the infidels.” These instructions and descriptions were dropped in the subsequent codes of conduct of 2009 and 2010 (more on this here).

(5) A day after the OTP released its 2016 Preliminary Examination Report on Afghanistan, the Afghan National Security Council, led by President Ghani, finally publically announced its commitment to the Rome Statute and other related matters, including prohibiting the recruitment of child soldiers into the Afghan National Security Forces, prohibiting civilian casualties, eliminating torture and bringing reform to the judiciary so that it can adjudicate international crimes. Additionally, the National Security Council stressed its commitment to cooperate with the ICC. Prior to this, in in January 2016, Afghanistan had established an inter-ministerial committee to look into how the country could interact with the ICC. The committee was tasked with developing a regulation to manage Afghanistan’s interaction with the ICC. That regulation is now in operation with the AIHRC in charge. A year ago, the OTP complained about the lack of Afghan government cooperation. In this month’s report, it said Afghanistan was preparing to share the “required information” with it.

(6) South Africa, Burundi and Gambia were joined on 16 November 2016 by Russia which said it was formally withdrawing its signature from the Rome Treaty, a day after the ICC published a report classifying the Russian annexation of Crimea in March 2014 as an occupation.

Categories: Defence`s Feeds

MESTER-M DÍJ

PAFI - Thu, 17/11/2016 - 14:42
A MESTER-M DÍJ azoknak az áldozatkész tanároknak, edzőknek a munkáját ismeri el, akik kiemelkedően ösztönzik a tehetséges gyerekeket a sport, a művészet és a tudomány területén és szakmailag tanítványaik példaképei.
Categories: Pályázatok

Mit mondhattam akkor?

PAFI - Thu, 17/11/2016 - 14:40
Az online Liget folyóirat MIT MONDHATTAM AKKOR? címmel hirdet alkotói pályázatot.
Categories: Pályázatok

Színes dzsungel

PAFI - Thu, 17/11/2016 - 14:40
Szeretnél nyerni egy kirakós játékot? Szeretsz színezni? Ha igen, itt a lehetőség!
Categories: Pályázatok

Bosnian Serb Soldier Jailed for Strpci Train Abductions

Balkaninsight.com - Thu, 17/11/2016 - 14:40
After striking a plea bargain and admitting guilt, Bosnian Serb ex-soldier Mico Jovicic was jailed for five years for his involvement in the abduction of 20 passengers from a train in Strpci in 1993.
Categories: Balkan News

#LaRéplique : ces initiatives citoyennes qui défendent les valeurs européennes

EU-Logos Blog - Thu, 17/11/2016 - 14:36
   Le projet d’EU-logos est de donner la Réplique aux populistes européens qui prétendent que seul le rejet de l’autre et le repli sur soi, au niveau national comme au niveau individuel, peuvent nous sortir de la situation délicate dans laquelle l’Europe se trouve. Pour ce faire, nous avons décidé de leur donner la Réplique par nos mots ; d’écrire des articles déconstruisant leur discours, en recherchant la vérité et en ne laissant passer aucune narrative raciste et clivante. (plus d’informations sur http://bit.ly/2ggylfH)

Cependant, nous voulons également aller plus loin. Nous voulons leur donner tort, pas seulement théoriquement mais aussi empiriquement ; par nos actions, par les actions des citoyens européens. Ainsi, nous avons décidé de mettre en lumière des initiatives citoyennes européennes portées par des individus de différents pays membres. Ces personnes n’ont pas baissé les bras devant les discours populistes qui envahissent la scène politique et agissent tous les jours pour construire l’Europe de leurs valeurs. En voici deux :

Mercredi 12 octobre 2016 se déroulait la cérémonie de remise du Prix du citoyen au parlement européen à Bruxelles. Depuis 2008, ce Prix vise à saluer le travail de citoyens pour leur initiative facilitant la promotion de valeurs communes au sein de l’Union Européenne (UE). Chaque député européen peut nominer un individu ou une organisation par an, les lauréats sont ensuite retenus par la Chancellerie du Prix sous la présidence de Sylvie Guillaume, Vice-Présidente du Parlement européen. Cette année, une cinquantaine de personnes originaires de 26 États membres ont été récompensée a été récompensée pour leurs actions.

Ces projets ont retenu notre attention car ils étaient portés par des valeurs européennes communes. Pendant la cérémonie, Sylvie Guillaume a réitéré l’importance des actions citoyennes au sein de l’Union : « L’Europe vit des heures particulièrement difficiles et paraît parfois se désagréger sous nos yeux. Pourtant des citoyens européens nous montrent que cette Europe est bien vivante et incarnent dans leur quotidien les valeurs européennes. C’est à eux que le Parlement européen rend hommage au travers du Prix du citoyen européen ».

Voici deux des lauréats les plus inspirants. Paul Galles, lauréat du Luxembourg, a reçu le prix pour son engagement en faveur de l’accueil des réfugiés. En effet, il organise depuis plusieurs années des rencontres entre jeunes locaux et réfugiés au travers de Young Caritas au Luxembourg. Grâce à ces rencontres, un réel dialogue a été engagé au sein de la société. Paul s’est également rendu, il y a quelques mois, dans la « Jungle de Calais » pour montrer à ses compatriotes l’aspect transfrontalier de la crise et le besoin urgent de solidarité européenne. Après avoir été nominé, il a déclaré: « Je crois en la force et l’avenir de l’Europe, en la puissance de nos valeurs, de notre solidarité et dans la dignité et la beauté de chaque personne!« 

Young Caritas est présente partout en Europe. Pour plus d’informations et pour vous investir, rendez-vous sur http://www.youngcaritas.com/

L’association « Citoyennes pour l’Europe » a également reçu ce Prix. Les fondatrices, dont Martine Méheut, présente à la remise des prix, sont parties du constat que de nombreuses voix s’élevaient pour ou contre la construction de l’UE, mais que l’on entendait trop rarement la voix des femmes. Elles ont alors décidé de créer un réseau de citoyennes européennes pour se faire entendre afin de contribuer à faire vivre davantage une « Europe humaine, pluraliste et démocratique ». Par l’organisation de rencontres et de débats en Europe, l’association a pour objectif d’éveiller l’intérêt pour la culture citoyenne européenne et d’être une force de proposition pour le futur de l’Union.

C’est Pervenche Bérès, députée européenne (S&D, France), qui a proposé la candidature de l’association. Pour elle, « la société civile dans tout son maillage doit être porteuse de la citoyenneté européenne, faisant naître des droits de citoyenneté européenne en Europe au-delà des frontières ». Martine Méheut a ajouté « la démocratie requiert une éducation, or l’Europe manque grandement d’éducation citoyenne, ce qui est très dangereux ».

Elle espère que l’association aidera à développer la citoyenneté, par sa dimension culturelle. « On y travaille« , dit-elle, notamment par les cafés citoyennes pour l’Europe, les saisons au théâtre de l’Odéon ou encore la mise en valeur du patrimoine européen.

Pour plus d’informations et pour vous investir : http://www.citoyennes-pour-leurope.eu/

Ces individus, ces associations soutiennent les valeurs européennes par leurs actions. Ils nous redonnent du courage quant au futur de l’UE et promeuvent une citoyenneté européenne active plutôt que de se laisser décourager par un environnement politique souvent détaché des réalités. Ils nous rappellent que nous sommes tous acteurs du changement, et que la réalité européenne sera celle que nous déciderons de modeler.

Les initiatives présentées, ne sont que deux projets parmi tant d’autres. EU-logos écrira cette année un article par semaine pour saluer les individus qui agissent et inciter d’autres à s’engager. N’hésitez donc pas à nous contacter à communicationeulogosmail.com si vous voulez que nous écrivions un article sur un projet qui vous tiens à cœur.


Classé dans:#LaReplique, ActionsCitoyennes, Uncategorized Tagged: citoyennes pour l'Europe, Europe, France, Initiative citoyenne européenne, La Réplique, luxembourg, Martine Méheut, Parlement européen, Paul Galles, Pervenche Bérès, populisme, prix du citoyen, Sylvie guillaume, valeures européennes, Young caritas
Categories: Union européenne

En Tunisie, des victimes des dictatures vont s’exprimer en direct à la télévision

RFI /Afrique - Thu, 17/11/2016 - 14:34
Ce jeudi et vendredi soir, à 20h30, en direct à la télévision et à la radio, les Tunisiens vont entendre des récits douloureux : une dizaine de victimes des dictatures de Bourguiba et de Ben Ali vont prendre la parole publiquement pour témoigner. Il s'agit des premières auditions publiques en Tunisie, organisée par l'IVD, l'Instance vérité et dignité, en charge de la justice transitionnelle. Cette instance enquête sur les crimes commis dans le pays entre le 1er juillet 1955 et le 31 décembre 2013.
Categories: Afrique

Décès surprenant de la jeune capitaine Chamberland à Kingston

Aumilitaire.com - Thu, 17/11/2016 - 14:34
La crème de la relève militaire canadienne est à nouveau endeuillée par la mort soudaine, lundi, d’une jeune officière des Forces armées rattachée au Collège militaire royal de Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu. La capitaine Vanessa Chamberland, originaire de Québec, avait 27 ans. À Saint-Jean, elle dirigeait un escadron d’élèves officiers. Lire la suite sur lapresse.ca
Categories: Défense

Les sirènes du port militaire de Toulon seront déclenchées vendredi 18 novembre

Aumilitaire.com - Thu, 17/11/2016 - 14:29
Les sirène retentiront deux fois vendredi 18 novembre dans le cadre d’un exercice de sécurité nucléaire qui concerne également le public. Vendredi 18 novembre, à 9 heures puis 11h15, les sirènes du port militaire de Toulon seront déclenchées dans le cadre d’un exercice de sécurité nucléaire à dominante sécurité civile dominante sécurité civile. Lire la ...
Categories: Défense

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