UNITED NATIONS, August 15, updated with transcript -- Asked about an editorial accusing UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon of being "lax" on countries such as Sri Lanka, Ban's acting deputy spokesman Farhan Haq on Monday countered that Ban had "on his own authority appointed a Panel of Experts" on Sri Lanka.
Inner City Press asked if Ban had even transmitted the Panel's report to the Human Rights Council, and if he finds it unfortunate that the Human Rights Council did not take up or act on the detailed report.
Ban & his Special Adviser Nambiar, Report to Geneva not shown
============================================
Obama is upstaging Canada on the human rights front
OTTAWA CITIZENAUGUST 15, 2011
With all eyes focused on Washington's debt ceiling crisis and the game of political brinkmanship between the Republicans and Democrats, President Barack Obama recently made history by announcing important strategic steps to make "never again" a reality. The White House announced it will make the prevention of genocide and other mass atrocity crimes a foreign policy priority through the establishment of a new Atrocities Prevention Board.
The Presidential Study Directive, released on Aug. 4 2011, stresses that "preventing mass atrocities and genocide is a core national security interest and a core moral responsibility of the United States."
The new Atrocities Prevention Board will bring together senior officials from the White House, the State Department, the Pentagon, and myriad other agencies to coordinate a whole of government approach to engage "early, proactively, and decisively" to prevent and interdict mass atrocity crimes. The board will identify the economic, diplomatic and other tools already available to U.S. policy-makers, and will also have the authority to develop those tools and strategies that are missing.
Read more: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Obama+upstaging+Canada+human+rights+front/5254903/story.html#ixzz1V9TDGtfP
With all eyes focused on Washington's debt ceiling crisis and the game of political brinkmanship between the Republicans and Democrats, President Barack Obama recently made history by announcing important strategic steps to make "never again" a reality. The White House announced it will make the prevention of genocide and other mass atrocity crimes a foreign policy priority through the establishment of a new Atrocities Prevention Board.
The Presidential Study Directive, released on Aug. 4 2011, stresses that "preventing mass atrocities and genocide is a core national security interest and a core moral responsibility of the United States."
The new Atrocities Prevention Board will bring together senior officials from the White House, the State Department, the Pentagon, and myriad other agencies to coordinate a whole of government approach to engage "early, proactively, and decisively" to prevent and interdict mass atrocity crimes. The board will identify the economic, diplomatic and other tools already available to U.S. policy-makers, and will also have the authority to develop those tools and strategies that are missing.
Read more: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Obama+upstaging+Canada+human+rights+front/5254903/story.html#ixzz1V9TDGtfP