Newsletter compiled by Dr Alec Gaines

posted 18th October

UNA NEWS
SUNDAY OCTOBER 19TH
11:30AM
ST. GILES CATHEDRAL

UN SERVICE OF RE-DEDICATION

OCTOBER 24TH
ANNIVERSARY OF THE FOUDATION OF THE UN
DARFUR
The attachement (under government letter and replies on this web site) is a letter from the Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, sent to us very courteously by Alistair Darling MP. It is a response to the letter we sent to 80MPs telling them of the problems and tribulattions witnessed by 'our' (Darfur Training Committee) volunteer this summer. The letter recognises UN day by showing the British Government at its best, working objectively with the UN trying to solve one of the world's worst problems.
Perhaps it also shows UNA at its best; sending a volunteer to help the women of darfur realise their full potential, doing all we know to nudge the government towards sweetness and light, .....making a differernce

OCTOBER 29TH
CROSS PARTY INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT GROUP
THE SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT: 1pm
FROM POVERTY TO POWER

All UNA members are welcome at this meeting - just e-mail patricia.ferguson.msp@scottish.parliament.uk<mailto:patricia.ferguson.msp@scottish.parliament.uk> by Octtober 24th to say you are coming so that 'security' at Parliament is straightforward.

and while we are talking about international development, please look at DWTChair@oneworldtrust.org<mailto:DWTChair@oneworldtrust.org> and sign the Petition.

NOVEMBER 1ST
100 PRONCES STRRET: 10AM ONWARDS
NOT YOUR USUAL UNA AGM

The exhilarating programme includes
PROFESSOR ALI ANSARI ((St. Andrews University)
IRAN AT THE CROSSROADS

You will want to bring a friend

(a.f.gaines@strath.ac.uk)

posted 20th September,2008

UNA NEWS

Governance: the process by which revolution occurs peacefully

1. You can now use the Branch website to monitor live debate at the
UN.

2. Darfur: WFUNA (the World Federation of UNAs), concerned at the massacre at Kamala Camp (31 killed including 7 children and 11 women) called on the UNHCR in Geneva. We have yet to hear UNHCR's response.
At the behest of Lord Hannay, UNA-UK urged the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to increase support for the UN Peacekeeping Force in Darfur, UNAMID.
The FCO.s response is attached. Please read it now.

You will agree that the civil servants at the FCO provided an urgent response demonstrating their activity on a modest budget (per head of population £4m for UNAMID is less than the Scottish Government is prepared to provide for Darfur) in a serious situation.
But the response is not urgent enough. Since the massacre at Kamala, Sudanese Security Forces have attacked Ardamata IDP Camp and there is continual sporadic fighting and many civilians are being killed throughout Darfur. People are being bombed; people are again fleeing for their lives, UN Food is not getting through to the camps. There is a war on and UNAMID is quite unable to protect the IDP camps. Civilians are safe only outside the Sudan.
We cannot wait until next year to build up UNAMID. There should be Ministerial action on this now.
Moreover we should do all we can to persuade
- China to support UNAMID wholeheartedly. China's arming of
Sudanese Security Forces decreases the stability of the region.
- the 'rebels' - the Justice and Equality Movement and the Sudanese Liberation Movement - to realise that their armed violence is both immoral and counterproductive. A Darfur stabilised by UNAMID in which there is no excuse for intervention by Sudanese Security Forces is a prerequisite for peace, reconciliation and development in Darfur.

3. Nuclear Non-Proliferation:
" We the Peoples of the United Nations determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war..."
British Governnment policy is to "work towards a safer world in which no country feels the need for nuclear weapons". Despite what you may have heard Britain possesses no nuclear weapons. We possess an expensive and useless nuclear deterrent consisting of 160 nuclear missiles mounted on 4 Vanguard submarines. Unlike those possessed by Russia and the US, these missiles are not weapons in that they need several hours of further work before they can be aimed and then fired (by the Prime Minister). Our missiles are useless as a deterrent. As Professor Wyn Bowen pointed out at our Scottish Parliament Workshop in 2007, during the Cold War deterrence worked because Russia knew there were 'red lines' that she must never cross and Russia imposed 'red lines' that we must never cross. Now, our Government refuses point blank to to describe any circumstances when our missiles might be readied for firing. it requires but a little thought to realise that our possession of a nuclear deterrent has no influence on any of the security problems Britain faces.
Article VI of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons:
" Each of the parties to the Treaty undertakes to pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament and on a treaty on general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control."
The NPT will be reviewed in 2010 and Edinburgh UNA will run a One Day International Conference, "Civil Society and the NPT" on April 16th 2009 in the Scottish Parliament. The Conference is being sponsored by Malcolm Chisholm MSP and Bruce Crawford MSP. As Minister chairing the 'Working Group for Scotland without Nuclear Weapons', Bruce Crawford will welcome the participants. The Conference will be chaired by Senator Doug. Roche. Senator Roche chairs the UN's 'Middle Power's Initiative'. The Middle Powers embrace Brazil, Canada, Germany, ireland, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway and Sweden. They emphasise the International Court's Opinion that it is difficult to conceive of circumstances when the use of nuclear weapons would be legal. Lord Hannay (previously UK Ambassador to the UN), Ambassador Chun, the Korean who chaired the recent, successful multinational conference on nuclear weapons in east Asia, and Professor Wyn Bowen ('Verification') have already agreed to give KeyNote Lectures. We are now seeking, with UNA-Iran's help, a distinguished Iranian and we are also inviting KeyNote lecturers to tell us of the progress being made towards reduction of Russian and US nuclear missiles.
Senator Roche, as Honorary President of WFUNA, will be presenting the Conclusions of the Conference to the Secretary-General of the UN at WFUNA's General Assembly in Seoul in August 2009. Naturally he will confer with the 'Middle Powers' and we expect that subsequently Conference participants will lobby all major European governments.

We are determined that the 2010 NPT Review Conference will make progress in accordance with Article VI. We are working matter-of-factly towards a vision.

(a.f.gaines@strath.ac.uk)

posted 1st September,2008

UNA NEWS

1. CONGRATULATONS to Cameron Pirie, Wally Shaw and the whole company for the Fringe Production of
ADAM SMITH-MAKING POVERTY HISTORY
and showing the UN Flag

2. DARFUR: You will recall that the Edinburgh Branch of UNA set up the

DARFUR TRAINING COMMITTEE
(Registerd Charity SC039333)
(Honorary President: Malcolm Chishholm MSP; Honorary Vice President: Margaret McGregor LD)

with the aim of promoting women in Darfur society. One of the volunteers, Fatima, whom the DTC supported in Darfur this summer has been e-mailing back her daily diary. You may remember Fatima, she spoke of her future n Darfur at the DTC's AGM. The present Darfur is plain nasty. Fatima has been hearing stories of 3 UNICEF workers who were killed; of 20 trucks that just disappeared carrying food from the UN to the Refugee Camps, and of the ineffictiveness of the UN-AU Force. But Fatima has also met dedicated workers who are already helping Darfur women despite the tragic circumstances. This enabled Fatima to hold 3 Workshops in the Refugee Camps around Nyala (southern Darfur)

Then she was hi-jacked. The plane in which she would fly from Nyala back to Khartoum was hi-jacked. It was persuaded to land in Libya. Were this a newspaper you would be reading headling a headline "Volunteer hijacked in Darfur". In fact at 10pm (our time) Wednesday night Fatima was back lying in hospital - she has a cracked leg from having to jump out of the emergency exit of the plane - and phoning us from Khartoum. Yes. she is safe and being looked after.

But that is not what is worrying us. What is of greater concern is what happened last Monday. Fatima was going to the Kalama Refugee Camp near Nyala when she learned that the Camp was being/had been attacked by 'Security Forces'. 80 in the camp were believed shot and some 100 injured (mainly women and children). The UN Forces in Darfur must check this story. There are no circumstances, even in war, even in Darfur, when one is permitted to attack a Refugee Camp. It is contrary to all recognised conventions. It is intolerable.
If the story is true then those responsible for the attack must be put on trial. The UN Forces must act.
Please write or e-mail your MP now.

Our DfID expects to work with the Sudanese Government. From what you are reading you may consider this impractical and unwise. What is the DfID team in Khartoum doing ? Our impression is that those who assess DfID projects have little understanding of Darfur. The need is to give the UN Forces the support they require.
The Scottish Government is generously providing a block grant of £1miilion towards the devlopment of Darfur. It
should be realised that until the UN Forces can guaratee security dedicated Darfurians may be endangering their lives even further should it become known that they are associated with a foreign administration.

Yet in surreal, tragic Darfur the dedicated can nevertheless provide hope and help to build a future society from the bottom-up. Read the attachments. The second is the recent autobiography of a 32 year old widowed mother living in a Refugee Camp; frightened, at her wits end and doing all she can to help feed her children and provide them with a future. The first attachment shows photos of the Camps and of the Workshops Fatima was engaged in.

The Workshops discussed
- child protection against abuse such as rape
- women protection including action against rape and domestic violence
- broad outlines of a strategic plan for the next two decades
- a standard village model
- voluntary return to the original villages

Bless you Fatima; we hope your leg heals straightforwardly.

(a.f.gaines@trath.ac.uk)

posted 13th August,2008

UNA NEWS
1. Georgia: "We the Peoples of the United Nations determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war...."
I was at a Concert in the Queens Hall this morning. During the interval we were discussing how the Georgia Ballet got home. Maybe it was the Chopin; "After all these years, surely the Edinburgh International Festival can phone up and demand that the Ballet be guaranteed safe conduct back to their homes", I found myself saying. (In fact, if I've got it right Lufthansa flew the Ballet back to the Russian side of the border).

After all these years surely the UN Secretary-General can phone up and demand that there be an immediate cease fire. (And the UK Government should recall Parliament. Surely our MPs want to stand up and be counted?).
We are talking about the safety of Georgians but in the long run we are also talking about the safety of Russia and of you and me. This is what the UN is for.

2. Iran, the MOD and 80 MPs: The first attachment is a copy of a significant letter concerning Iran that our Honorary Secretary, Liz Sim sent recently as a private individual to David Miliband. (attachment 1)The second attachment   (attachment 2) is a copy of the letter the Branch sent to 80 MPs last week - each of Scotland's MPs and all the MPs in the House of Commons All Party UN Group. We sent a copy of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights together with our - and UNA-Iran's - comments replying to Ministry of Defence ' views on Iran. The debate continues.

3. Darfur: This summer 'our' Darfur Training Committee is supporting three volunteers, Mariam from Basingstoke and a wife and husband team from Birmingham, running Workshops for women in Darfur.

4. Adam Smith - Making Poverty History:
You can still catch our Festival DocuDrama - its getting excellent reviews - at St Marks ArtSpace, Castle Terrace on August 16 and 24.

Attachment 1
The Rt Hon David Miliband MP
Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Dear Foreign Secretary,

In January we at UNA Edinburgh Branch hosted three members of UNA Iran; I attach a copy of the report I subsequently prepared. Since then I have followed closely developments concerning Iran.

1. Nuclear energy or nuclear weapons?
I believe that Iran does need nuclear energy, is content to work within the NPT as a non-weapon signatory, and absolutely rejects nuclear weapons. I note the IAEA has found no evidence of any weapons programme or intent. However, the two are still frequently conflated, or referred to ambiguously as a ‘nuclear programme’. Also I note that the demands of the (US and) UNSC resolutions go beyond the requirements of the NPT, by demanding that Iran cease all enrichment.
May I suggest a quid pro quo ? Allow Iran to enrich (its own) uranium to a limit of 4% (LEU), adequate for generation of nuclear energy but not for weapons, under the supervision of the IAEA; also encourage (require?) Iran to sign up
to a Nuclear-Weapons-Free-Zone in the Middle East. Iran and Egypt first called for such a Zone at the 1974 UNGA. From the recent SOAS Conference ‘Towards a WMD-Free Zone in the Middle East’ I understand that all Arab states and Iran would welcome such a Zone.
It could be useful for a senior member of the IAEA to participate in future EU/P5 meetings with Iran.

2. Perceptions of current discussions with EU/P5: ultimatum or negotiation?
I note that the US (President Bush; Sean MacCormack State Department) demand that Iran ‘choose between cooperation, or confrontation and isolation’. That sounds like an ultimatum – even ‘submit or be attacked’, given recent Israeli rhetoric and activity. I believe the EU approach is more open to negotiation (and understand that you so convinced the secretary of State). Reports in the Tehran Times certainly indicate that Iran welcomes the opportunity to negotiate resolutions to long-standing issues. Iran has mede several attempts to normalise relationships with the US and the international community –eg May 2003 ‘Grand Bargain’ (conveyed to US State by Swiss Ambassador but dismissed out of hand by D. Rumsfeld); 20 May 2008 letter from FM Mottaki to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon. I believe Iran wants to negotiate on the basis of their proposals and those conveyed by Mr Solana, so as to ‘come in from the cold’ and become accepted as a normal and responsible member of the international community. This would go much further than the nuclear issue alone. I sincerely hope that the UK Government will use well this opportunity for constructive negotiation, and avoid ultimatums.

3. An existential threat to Israel ?
I do not believe that Iran presents a threat to Israel – rather the reverse, given their respective military (and nuclear) capabilities. The only possible ‘threat ‘ may be to Israel’s (and US ?) ambition to be the regional hegemon. (I don’t accept President Ahmadinajad’s excessive rhetoric either). However, I am very concerned that some in Israel and the US would attack Iran to undermine or destroy it (despite the lessons of Iraq and the consequences for the region and the wider world) and use the (false) pretext of an Iranian weapons programme as ‘justification’. I trust the UK will do all it can to prevent any such attack.
I have a particular concern about the risk of a military attack on Iran. UNA Iran have invited us to visit them in October, and we do not wish to experience another ‘shock and awe’ first-hand.

Yours sincerely,
M. Eliizabeth Sim


(a.f.gaines@strath.ac.)

attachment 2

UNITED NATIONS ASSOCIATION
(Edinburgh Branch)

Member of Parliament,                                                        Flat 3,
House of Commons,                                                      91, Henderson Row,
Westminster,                                                                Stockbridge,
London SW1A 0AA                                                        Edinburgh EH3 5BH

Copies to: Dr. G Donn JP., Convenor
The President UNA-Iran 1st August, 2008

Dear Member of Parliament
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Iran
We are pleased to forward you a copy of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in celebration of the 60th Anniversary of its proclamation. Do please spare a little time to reflect on the extent to which it has indeed become universal and the extent to which it remains a vision – even in Britain ?

We have also enclosed copies of recent correspondence on Iran:
a letter that our Honorary Secretary, Liz Sim wrote as a private individual to the
Foreign Secretary ;
a copy of a letter we received from the MOD describing HMG’s position on
’Iran’;
a copy of our recent reply. When we received the MOD’s letter we sent a copy to our
colleagues in UNA Iran. Our delay in replying to the MOD was due to our wish to
incorporate UNA Iran’s response.
Our recognition of Iranians as fellow humans with similar aspirations to ourselves is the difference between Edinburgh UNA and the MOD.

With best wishes for a pleasant summer,


(a.f.gaines@strath.ac.uk Edinburgh UNA Nuclear Non-Proliferation Working Group)

UNITED NATIONS ASSOCIATION
(Edinburgh Branch)

Mr Simon Harfield,                                                                        Flat 3,
Ministry of Defence                                                               91, Henderson Row,
Whitehall,                                                                           Stockbridge,
London                                                                             Edinburgh EH3 5BH

Your Reference: TO01818/2008

Copies to: Dr.G. Donn JP., Convenor
Each of Scotland’s MPs
All MPs in the All Party UN Group
UNA-Iran 1st August, 2008

Dear Mr. Harfield,
IRAN
We greatly appreciated your thoughtful and constructive letter (8 May 2008). As perhaps you expected, we e-mailed a copy (without your address) to our friends in UNA Iran. We have delayed replying to you until they had discussed your letter.

Your thinking appears to make little distinction between the Iranian Government and the diverse 70 million Iranian population. Constructive though your letter undoubtedly is, your thought seems – forgive me – slightly colonialist [Our Iranian friends say, “Western countries should respect Iranian independence”]. Iran was attacked by an Iraq possessing arms from the West. Whose view of ‘regional security’ should we be considering? How are we helping Iran to fell safe? There is no mention in your letter of the natural friendship between Shia communities in the Middle East and no consideration either of Iran’s 20 year request for a nuclear-weapons-free-Middle-East or of the many Iranians who abhor nuclear weapons, including the senior cleric who pronounced a fatwa against their possession.

You are justifiably righteous about Iran’s relationship with the IAEA but what about Britain’s relationship with the NPT? If Britain replaces its Trident Missiles we are conniving with the US to break Article 1 of the NPT. When we, ourselves, go to Iran later this year what evidence can we give that Britain’s Trident missiles are neither aimed nor prepared for firing ? What evidence can we offer that Britain has reduced the numbers of its missiles to ~160 ? Can we tell Iranians that the IAEA inspects Faslane?

Our Iranian friends e-mailed that your letter contained no facts that were not available in their own media (as I expect our Embassy will confirm?). They picked out the reference to human rights and terrorism in your first paragraph as being matters of more consequence in the long run than the nuclear issue. They take human rights very seriously themselves, a concern on which they admit Iran to be “fragile”. They continue, “ By mutual understanding and in a friendly manner based on mutual respect many unsolvable problems can be solved” and they state that the UK and the Iranian Governments “should provide facilities for civil societies and NGOs to work together in order to reduce the risk of war in the Middle East.”“

We, ourselves, hope to visit Tehran in October. We shall discuss holding Model UN General Assemblies involving exchanges of school-children between Tehran and Edinburgh and we shall take the opportunity to invite a distinguished Iranian to be amongst the KeyNote Lecturers at a Conference , “Civil Society and the NPT”, that we are holding in the Scottish Parliament next Spring.



(a.f.gaines@strath.ac.uk Edinburgh UNA, Nuclear Non-Proliferation Working Group) 
 

posted 21st July

UNITED NATIONS ASSOCIATION
(Edinburgh Branch)

UNA NEWS
1. The Edinburgh Festival appraoches when we celebrate the joy of living in one world.
Pick up our own DocuDrama
"ADAM SMITH - MAKING POVERTY HISTORY"
St Marks ArtSpace, 7 Castle Terrace, August 3/10/16/24

We should have a blessing on our lips for every wonder that is provided (Like a traditional Jew; how tragic that Israel denies this heritage)

2. That we live in one world is the reason for the existence of the UN. See the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that Liz Sim forwarded last week and see also the leaflet telling how we strive for peace and development in Darfur - from the bottom - up.

3. Next consider living in one world wirh nuclear weapons. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty that over a hundred countries have signed (not India, Israel or Pakistan) is reviewed every 5 years. Little progress was made at the review conferences in 2000 and 2005. UN Committees are now preparing for the 2010 Review Conference. I attach a Press Release summarising the 2nd session of the Preparatory Committee, held this Spring. It provides a view of One World grappling with problems of its own making.
The Edinburgh Branch (your Branch) will hold a Conference, "Civil Society and the NPT" next April in the Scottish Parliament. The Conference will be chaired by Senator Doug Roche (Canada), the Honorary President of the World Federation of UNAs. We are setting up a mix of KeyNote lectures and Round Table Discussions for everyone. Senator Roche will take our Conference Conclusions to the General Assembly of the Federation and thence to the Secretary-General of the UN (we are determined that the 2010 Review Conference will make progress).
It would seem sensible to invite the Chair of the 3rd session of the UN's Preparatory Conference to give us a KeyNote Lecture describing what has been discussed and what should be discussed to make progress towards disarmament. You will see from the Press Release that the Chair of the 3rd session will be an Ambassador from Zimbabwe. Perhaps it would be better to invite the Chair of the Second Session - an Ambassador from the Ukraine ?? What do you think ? Please e-mail us your advice.

(a.f.gaines@strath.ac.uk)
PS: For those who don't know, I can recommend 'The Ceilidh Place' at Ullapool. An outstanding restaurant; after you have browsed through the bookshop you can read the Preamble to the UN Charter prominently displayed amiongst the days events. The food is good , too.

attachment

9 May 2008
Press Release
DC/3113 
Department of Public Information • News and Media Division • New York

SECOND SESSION OF PREPARATORY COMMITTEE FOR 2010 NON-PROLIFERATION TREATY

REVIEW CONFERENCE CONCLUDES WITH ADOPTION OF REPORT

NEW YORK/GENEVA, 9 May (Office for Disarmament Affairs) -- The Preparatory Committee for the 2010 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non‑Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) held its second session from 28 April to 9 May at the United Nations Office at Geneva, Switzerland. Chaired by Ambassador Volodymyr Yelchenko of Ukraine, this is the second of three sessions of the Preparatory Committee that will be held prior to the 2010 Review Conference.
The Preparatory Committee successfully concluded its work today with the adoption of its report. The Committee decided to hold its third session in New York from 4 to 15 May 2009, and the Review Conference, also in New York, from 26 April to 21 May 2010. The Committee decided to elect Ambassador Boniface Guwa Chidyausiki of Zimbabwe as Chairman of the third session of the Committee.
The Committee held constructive discussions on substantive issues in a positive atmosphere. During a general exchange of views on all aspects of the Treaty, 47 statements were made. Nine meetings were dedicated to discussion on the following three clusters of issues: 1) nuclear non-proliferation, disarmament and international security; 2) nuclear non-proliferation, nuclear-weapon-free zones and safeguards; and 3) the peaceful use of nuclear energy. Also discussed were nuclear disarmament and security assurances; regional issues, including the resolution on the Middle East adopted by the 1995 Review Conference; and other provisions of the Treaty, including the issue of withdrawal.
During the substantive discussions, 175 statements were made. One meeting was dedicated to the presentation of views by non-governmental organizations and 15 statements were made there.
Pursuant to paragraph 7 of “Improving the Effectiveness of the Strengthened Review Process for the Treaty” in the Final Document of the 2000 NPT Review Conference (NPT/CONF.2000/28), the consideration of the issues at the second session of the Preparatory Committee was factually summarized. That summary will be issued as the Chairman’s Working Paper and posted on the website of the Second Session of the 2010 Preparatory Committee.
Representatives from 106 States parties participated in the work of the second session of the Preparatory Committee. Representatives of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) also attended the session. Representatives of the following specialized agencies and international and regional organizations participated in the session as observers: the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), the European Commission, the League of Arab States and the Brazilian-Argentine Agency for Accounting and Control of Nuclear Materials (ABACC). The Office for Disarmament Affairs provided secretariat support. Representatives of 64 non-governmental organizations also attended the meetings of the Committee.

Further information may be found at http://www.un.org/NPT2010/SecondSession, and also by contacting Ewen Buchanan, Information Officer, United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs, New York, at +1 212 963 3022, e-mail: buchanane@un.org. 

For information media • not an official record

posted 9th July

UNA NEWS
In a world where we are troubled that our sons carry knives but smug that we will go around with the world's largest aircraft carriers, the attachments from two of Edinburgh's MPs are very relevant. Nigel Griffiths (Edinburgh South) writes of ongoing efforts to ban cluster bombs. Mark Lazarowicz (Edinburgh North and Leith) provides a lengthy letter from the Foreign Office that details the situation in Burma (Myanmar). When one thinks about it, the Foreign Office letter also makes it clear just how difficult it is to work peacefully for sweetness and light -especially when 'Iraq' means we have little moral authority. Burma (Myanmar) is a poor country where much of the population lives in villages in the jungle. There are several different ways of life. Few of the MDGs will be achieved and those who can often send their children to Thailand for their education. And then on top of it all there are all the problems we know about and the Foreign Office letter describes this.

(a.f.gaines@strath.ac.uk)

posted 17th June,2008

UNITED NATIONS ASSOCIATION
(Edinburgh Branch)

UNA NEWS
If you watched the South Bank Show last Sunday you will have seen a violinist going from cell to cell playing to the prisoners. One of the things UNA does is to provide a vision of what the future could be like.

1. Notice the exciting DocuDrama at this year's 'Fringe' : "Adam Smith: Making Poverty History" At St Marks Art Centre

2. Go online to http:// unricmagazine.org to pick up the special magazine on the 60th Anniversary of UN Peacekeeping Operations.

3. The Darfur Training Committee held its first AGM describing its three phase programme
- Courses to empower the Darfur women in Britain
- Supporting women in running Workshops in the Refugee Camps and in Darfur
- helping to set up an NGO in Nyala, Darfur, the National Sudanese Organisation for the Training of Women.
After he had Chaired the AGM Malcolm Chisholm MSP, the Chair of the Scottish Parliaments Committee on European and External Affairs said, "It was a very good meeting and I was certainly inspired by the various speakers."

4. Our sister organisation, Action for UN Renewal, and the UNYSA students at St Andrews recently held a vibrant and challenging discussion of the effectiveness of the UN in peacekeeping and mediating conflict (Now go back to 2 !).

5. FROM NIDOS, INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ORGANISATIONS OF SCOTLAND,
There are a number of events which you might be interested in:

1. Quick reminder of the Stand Up Against Poverty and Injustice event which I mentioned in the last email – this Saturday 21st June from 10.30am at Kelvingrove Park in Glasgow – major GCAP Scotland event

2. The Centre for Development Studies in the Department of Economics at the University of Glasgow is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2008. To mark this event, the Centre is hosting a two-day conference on Enabling Inclusive Growth, which will take place on 25 and 26 June 2008 in the Sir Charles Wilson Building, Main Lecture Theatre on the University campus.

Sir Muir Russell, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University, will launch the conference and Mr Donald Kaberuka, President of the African Development Bank, and Sir Tom Hunter, Chairman, Hunter Foundation, will deliver keynote addresses. The academic programme will consist of sessions given by:

Professor John Weiss (University of Bradford)
Professor Paul Mosley (University of Sheffield)
Professor Oliver Morrissey (University of Nottingham)
Dr T.G. Srinivasan (The World Bank)
Professor Kunal Sen (University of Manchester)
Professor Dr Tilman Brück (German Institute for Economic Research (DIW), Berlin and Humbold University)
Dr Marco Fugazza (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development)
Professor Robert Lensink (University of Groeningen)
Dr Benu Schneider (United Nations - Department of Economic and Social Affairs).

A round table discussion will then take place with Rt Hon Douglas Alexander MP, Secretary of State for International Development, Professor David Hulme (Chronic Poverty Research Centre, University of Manchester), and Mr Paul Chitnis (Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund).

The conference is free and open to the public, however registration is required as space is limited. Those wishing to attend are asked to complete the registration form which will automatically be forwarded to the event administrator on submission. You may attend individual sessions; please mention which sessions you wish to attend on the registration form. Information about the conference is available at http://www.gla.ac.uk/centres/developmentstudies/conference2008/ including the registration form and programme.

3. Umoja Events Scotland in conjunction with The Scottish Refugee Council, The Mela , Gtown, Gtown Desi and Black and White bring to two UN missable events kicking off with


The Official Refugee Week After Party - Friday 20th June 2008

Come and be entertained with a mix of the best tunes from both worlds by D.j Georges (Awaz FM and Glasgow No1 African D.j ) & Abenna (Glasgow No1 urban female d.j) playing in two rooms with a special performance by Cuban singer and percussionist, Ricardo Fernandez. Entry £3 Students, £5 Normal. Open 10pm till 3am. Dress Code: Smart. Over 18s only



Cameroon Fashion Show & Food Expo 2008: Saturday, 21st June '08

CAMASS is organising a Women Fashion Show and a Food Exposition for 2008 Refugee Week on Saturday, 21st June 2008 at St Mungo Church Hall, McAuslin Street/ Parson Street, Townhead – Glasgow from 3pm. Entrance Fees: £5. Free Food. This is an event to discover the variety of Cameroon Culture.


website : www.camass-info.org

4. The Mela After Party 22ND June 2008

Scotland No1 Afro Caribbean Urban night and Desi promoters bring you the biggest fusion party in Glasgow Combining Glasgow no1 d.j's Naeem (Gtown) Booby B, Vinny, Gully, Jay Jagpal (Gtown Desi) D.j Georges (Awaz FM) & Mickey Ferrari (Umoja Events Scotland). Open 10pm till 3am. Over 18's only. Entry £5

Gillian Wilson

Coordinator

Network Of International Development Organisations in Scotland (NIDOS)

Third Floor, Thorn House

5 Rose Street

Edinburgh EH2 2PR



General: 0131 243 2680

Direct: 0131 243 2681



www.nidos.org.uk

Registered Scottish Charity SC035314

Company Number SC307352

posted 3rd June,2008

UNITED NATIONS ASSOCIATION
(Edinburgh Branch)

UNA NEWS

1. NEW WORLD and UNA POLICIES: You will have read the NEW World that arrived last week and you
will surely have noticed how UNA's Policies cover most of the world's problems. Its great how much
the Branch contributes to these policies, at least locally.

2. DARFUR: This is a good example of what I have just been saying. The Branch created the Darfur Training Committee, a Charity to empower Darfur women and provide them with the confidence to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. Thanks to the efforts of Liz Sim at UNA's Annual General Conference UNA's policy now recognises the importance of women in the future development of Darfur. This summer the DTC plans to send a wife and husband team to Darfur to connect with other NGOs such as Islamic Relief and in addition Mrs Mariam Hashim will spend a few weeks running Workshops in the villages around Nyala. Nyala is the largest town in Darfur where the DTC is helping to set up 'the National Sudanese Organisation for the Training of Women'.

3. NUCLEAR NON-PROLIFERATION: The Rev Dr Alan MacDonald spoke of Britain's WMD last week at the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. In fact the Vanguard/Trident missiles are neither aimed nor - unlike those in Russia and the US - prepared for firing. David Miliband and Des Browne proclaim that the the government works towards a safer world in which no country has need of nuclear weapons. Shirley Williams says much the same thing in New World. HOWEVER an attachment shows the UN's Disarmament Commission reporting how it has more or less wasted its time for the past ten years.
As it always has been, its up to us to ensure that progress is made.
So the second attachment is the response the Ministry of Defence sent us to the report of the visit UNA-IRAN made to Edinburgh at the beginning of the year. It is a thoughful letter. It regrets the distrust between Britain and iran and it talks of diplomatic and not military activity. We have e-mailed the MOD's letter to UNA IRAN and asked them to translate it into Farsi so that we can discuss it in detail when we also discuss their work to create a Nuclear-Weapons-Free-Middle East. We have told the MOD that we shall reply to their letter after our discussions. Probably you noticed that the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland called on both Iran and Britain to give up the idea of possessing nuclear weapons - and Iran's Ambassador was there at the debate.
In association with the World Federation of United Nations Associations, WFUNA, the Branch is planning a one day International Conference "Civil Society and the NPT" at the Scottish Parliament next Spring. There is an official UN Review Conference of the NPT in 2010. The last Review Conference achieved little. 2010 has to be better. As I wrote "its up to us". Watch this space for further details.

4. CLIMATE CHANGE: Next year UNA-UK and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office are promoting a 'Climate Change' Workshop in Scotland.

(a.f.gaines@strath.ac.uk)

posted 21/05.08

1 International Development: I have attached below one of the most important documents the Scottish Government has ever issued: its International Development Policy. In a sense this is how Scotland regards the world's future; do e-mail in your comments.
You will see that Scotland will apparently give more official international aid than anywhere else in Britain. (But don't get too excited, we give an extra £1 a head per year - and you probably give way beyond that yourself - and the total per head is less than that given by Holland and the Scandinavian countries)
Scotland's Aid will be spent on
- A Sub-Saharan Africa Development Programme (Zambia,Tanzania, Rwanda,
Darfur)
- A Malawi Development Programme
- A Fair Trade Scotland Development Programme
- Core funding for Scottish- Based NGOs
- Response to International Humanitarian Crises
- Indian Subcontinent Development

Allow me four comments:
- It would be good to know how much of Scotland's Aid actually gets abroad to
those who need it
- We should recognise that most advances in developing countries spring
from the initiative and hard work of those who live there.
- I note the sentence "The Scottish Government will also seek to encourage
greater partnership within the Scottish science base to enable a stronger
contribution to development and poverty reduction" but I can't find a budget
for this.
- 'Scotland: a Fair Trade Country' should not just be hype. It must be down-to-
earth real. For starters every patient in an NHS hospital should be offered
Fair Trade fruit, fruit juice, tea, coffee, sugar, cereals....This has been
brought to the notice of the Lothian NHS Board but it doesn't happen yet.
We can make it happen; the door is wide open. Please don't merely read
UNA NEWS; this week-end visit a friend in hospital and ask that they be
offered Fair Trade fruit juice. We CAN make it happen.

2. DARFUR: Our own contributors to International Development, the Darfur
Training Committee will hold its AGM on

Monday June 2nd, 7:30-9:30pm, The Quaker Meeting House
Victoria Terrace
All are welcome
The Meeting will be Chaired by the Honorary President of the DTC,
MALCOLM CHISHOLM MSP
and will include up to the minute Keynote Lectures by Darfurians
(there will also be Sudanese Refreshments)

In impossible circumstances, the Darfur Training Committee is making sound progress. It runs a three phase programme: Training Courses for displaced Darfur women; Visits by women to the refugee camps and to Darfur where they run Workshops; the creation of a base for the continued empowerment of Darfur women in Darfur itself, an office in Nyala.
Since it has obtained Charitable Status the Darfur Training Committee has started to apply for real money to build up the programme. There is a wonderful opportunity here for someone looking for a niche where they can make a difference, ..perhaps an assistant treasurer or even a treasurer. This could be the most worthwhile thing you have ever done. Please e-mail.

(a.f.gaines@strath.ac.uk)

attachment 
1
SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT POLICY
Scottish Ministers are committed to advancing Scotland's place in the world as a responsible
nation by building mutually beneficial links with other countries as outlined in the Scottish
Government’s International Framework. As part of that Framework, Scotland has a
distinctive contribution to make in its work with developing countries recognising our global
responsibility to work together to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
1.1 AIMS & OBJECTIVES
The Scottish Government recognises the longstanding commitment of organisations and
individuals in Scotland to international development, building upon both the historical and
contemporary relationships that exist between Scotland and many countries within the
developing world. Scotland already contributes to UK efforts through the Department for
International Development (DFID) and this policy reflects how the Scottish Government, as a
devolved administration, can enhance Scotland’s contribution to the global fight against
poverty.
The International Development Policy outlines our intention to actively engage with this
global agenda and defines the Scottish Government’s distinctive contribution and approach to
international development thereby providing support and solidarity to developing countries.
The overarching aims and objectives of the policy are as follows:
Aims:
• To enhance Scotland’s contribution to the global fight against poverty through activity
which is clearly designed to support the achievement of the MDGs and economic growth
in developing countries.
• To demonstrate Scotland’s commitment to play its role in addressing the challenges faced
by the developing world, recognising Scotland’s identity as a responsible nation.
Objectives:
• To work in a focussed way with a small number of identified developing countries to
provide support to those in greatest need and the most vulnerable, working through
organisations in Scotland and in line with priorities of the respective countries.
• To develop Scotland’s special relationship with Malawi, working with the Government of
Malawi to achieve sustainable outcomes.
• To support and promote Scotland’s contribution to Fair Trade with developing countries
as a responsible nation in the world.
• To support key networking agencies for international development in Scotland
recognising their role in information exchange and the promotion of best practice in
Scotland’s contribution to the achievement of the MDGs.
• To assist with Scotland’s response to international humanitarian crises.
• To recognise and build upon Scotland’s links with the Indian subcontinent by working
together with communities in Scotland to support development, and in turn help support
an inclusive society in Scotland.
• To contribute to relevant in-country development policies and priorities and to
complement the work of the UK Government and other international development
programmes.
2
The Scottish Government will also seek to encourage greater partnership within the Scottish
science base to enable a stronger contribution to development and poverty reduction.
1.2 KEY VALUES & PRINCIPLES
The international development policy has been designed to reflect the following values and
principles:
• The needs and priorities of developing countries are paramount. Inevitably, Scotland
will learn and benefit from the experience of working in partnership with developing
countries, but these benefits will not detract from the development strategies and
priorities identified by developing countries.
• We will focus our efforts to make the best use of limited resources and ensure we make
a sustained and measurable difference. We are alert to the tension between developing a
wider programme alongside a deeper and more focused engagement.
• The Scottish Government is committed to continuing to work with Malawi based on
the unique and historical relationship between our two countries. We have
confirmed our commitment to honour the Co-operation Agreement ring fencing at least
£3 million per annum to support this, within this spending review period. The Scottish
Government will continue to work with the Government of Malawi to develop a focused
programme of engagement and will continue to review and monitor progress through the
Joint Commission process, a mechanism which is strongly supported by the Government
of Malawi.
• The policy will encourage the consideration and adoption of best practice in
development with an emphasis on country-led identification of need, organisational and
institutional capacity building and community-led development. For example, the sharing
of knowledge and transfer of skills, the training of trainers and responding to the
developing countries’ assessment of how we might best support development. The
Scottish Government will also look to the development sector in Scotland, through the
Network of International Development Organisations in Scotland (NIDOS), for their
input regarding their experience of operating different models of development in their
countries of operation.
• The policy, and more detailed funding guidance, will take due consideration of the
impacts of climate change on the developing world.
• The policy will complement the work of others and not duplicate effort or undermine
existing initiatives or government policy. Although international development is a
reserved issue under the Scotland Act (1998), the Scottish Government is operating in
accordance with the Act by “assisting the Crown in relation to foreign affairs” and will
continue to ensure that the policy is developed within those given powers.
• The Scottish Government will continue to support Scotland becoming a Fair Trade
Nation through its support of the Scottish Fairtrade Forum.
• Scottish Ministers have increased the International Development Fund within the life
of this Parliament, to support the delivery of this policy with a commitment to the
operation of transparent and accountable funding processes. The policy will adopt a
deeper and more focused approach to the delivery of the policy, continuing to work
through organisations in Scotland, based on the development strategies and
priorities of developing countries. Whilst the Scottish Government recognises that
working through organisations in Scotland may limit the range of work which can be
funded, this model is essential to ensure that the Scottish Government is focusing its
efforts and working to the stated policy aim of enhancing Scotland’s contribution to
international development.
3
1.3 SCOPE OF POLICY
The following broad criteria have informed the areas of operation:
• The nature of the relationship with Scotland, both historical and contemporary.
• The levels of poverty as defined by the UN Human Development Index for 2007/2008 as
measured through life expectancy, educational attainment and income.
• Relevant activity and expertise within Scotland.
The policy will comprise six distinct elements listed below. This approach will ensure that
all policy activity and funding criteria can closely reflect the needs of each country and/ or
region. It will also enable the Scottish Government to more clearly demonstrate the impact of
the International Development Fund. Further details will be published on the website.
• Sub-Saharan Africa Development Programme - Zambia, Tanzania, Rwanda and
Darfur region of Sudan (block grant funding)
• Malawi Development Programme (maximum of two targeted grant rounds per year and
competitive tendering exercises to commission work in line with priorities developed
with the Government of Malawi as and when required).
• Fair Trade Scotland Programme (support to be channelled through the Scottish Fair
Trade Forum based on formal application and assessment).
• Core Funding for Scottish-Based Networking Organisations (specific applications and
assessment as required).
• Response to International Humanitarian Crises (one-off and short-term allocations
based on a formal proposal and assessment process).
• Indian Subcontinent Development (geographical priorities and operational procedure to
be developed in discussion with key stakeholders).
1.4 INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT FUND (IDF)
The delivery of the policy will be supported by the International Development Fund which
will be dispersed through tailored funding arrangements for each element. Total allocation
per financial year (1st April to 31st March) will be as follows:
2008/09 – £6 million
2009/10 – £6 million
2010/11 – £9 million
Three main funding mechanisms will be adopted as follows:
• Challenge Fund Model – a funding round is announced with pre-defined criteria
outlining broad areas of interest. Any organisation meeting the basic eligibility criteria
may bid for funds. There is no limit to the number of organisations who can bid.
• Targeted Competitive Tendering – a requirement for a specific piece of work is
identified with the developing country. Organisations working in relevant sectors will be
invited to express an interest in bidding and those that meet the basic criteria will be
invited to bid for the required work. Usually 4 or 5 organisations will be invited to bid in
any one exercise.
• Block Grant Funding – a direct grant will be awarded (through a competitive process) to
a key organisation or a consortium of organisations to deliver a strategic programme.
Decisions as to how the grant is spent will be under the direction of the organisation/s
holding the block grant.
4
Eligibility requirements and funding criteria for each scheme will be published on the
Scottish Government website along with available budget, anticipated timescales for funding
decisions and information on the process for decision-making. This information will also be
made available to NIDOS and to the Scotland-Malawi Partnership (in relation to the Malawi
Programme). This will enable both organisations to alert their members. Any contractual
commitments that began prior to the introduction of this policy will be honoured until their
contractual completion.
1.5 FUNDING ASSESSMENT PROCESS
The Scottish Government is committed to fair and transparent processes for all funding
activity. Funding criteria for each funding round and information on the process will be
published on the Scottish Government website. It is anticipated that external assessors will
be contracted to assess bids in the main funding rounds. This excludes individual contracts to
networking agencies in Scotland, support to the Scottish Fair Trade Forum and specifically
commissioned work for the Malawi programme which will undergo internal assessment by
officials, seeking advice where appropriate. The cost of contracting external assessors will
not be drawn from the International Development Fund. Assessment forms will available on
request on completion of each funding exercise.
1.6 PROJECT MONITORING & INDEPENDENT EVALUATION
The Scottish Government is committed to rigorous monitoring and evaluation procedures for
all Scottish Government funded activity. Six monthly and annual reporting for all projects
will continue, with a revised reporting format. Details of reporting requirements will be
published on the Scottish Government website and adherence to these requirements will
remain a condition of the grant contract. A formal evaluation of the policy will also be
developed to support the policy. The cost of this activity will not be drawn from the
International Development Fund. Further information will be provided on the Scottish
Government website.
1.7 MINISTERIAL GROUPS TO SUPPORT THE POLICY
The Scottish Government recognises the important role played by all previous advisory
groups. The new policy will be supported by two distinct groups with clear and focused
remits.
An International Development Advisory Group (IDAG) will be set up, drawn from the
external international development sector and other interested parties, to be chaired by the
Minister. Members will be asked to join the group by invitation of the Minister. This group
will provide support and advice to the Minister across all six elements of the international
development policy including the Malawi programme. It is not proposed that this group take
on the assessment of individual funding applications or funding decisions. It is suggested
that the group meet twice a year. Membership will be published on the Scottish Government
website.
An additional group to provide support on the Malawi programme will also be set up – the
Scotland-Malawi Advisory Group (SMAG). This group will also be chaired by the Minister
but will take a more informal format and provide a mechanism for more informal
brainstorming and discussion. Members will be invited by the Minister to join the group
5
which will meet as and when required. It will also be supported by e-mail discussions. It is
not proposed that this group reports to the main group, but that it remains a standalone group
in recognition of Scotland’s special relationship with Malawi.
Acknowledgements
This policy has been developed following consideration of responses to the public review
(conducted from August to October 2007), and the experience of operating the policy to date.
The Scottish Government is grateful to all individuals and organisations who contributed.
ISBN 978 0 7559 1680 1 (web only publication)

Updated May 10th, 2008

UNITED NATIONS ASSOCIATION
(Edinburgh Branch)

UNA NEWS
1. Water Development and Disaster Relief: The Scottish National Committee for UNESCO is particularly proud of Scotland's international work developing sources of clean water and clarifying international law concerning water supplies that are shared between countries. These subjects are of great concern to the Branch. (You may remember how we prompted the European Commission to make their web-site advertising international 'Water Facility' aid projects user friendly and to hold Workshops in the Commission's African, Caribbean and Pacific offices on how to complete EC application forms.) An attachment tells of an important Conference at Edinburgh University towards the end of May that you may wish to attend.

2. Paying for the UN: The other attachment, provided through UNA-Scotland, tells how (once again) the US is behind with its payments to the UN. The US provides the UN with more money than anyone else; obviously the UN is in great trouble when payment is delayed. There was a time when the US was so late in paying its dues that there was a danger that it would lose its place in the General Assembly - fortunately, Ted Turner gained immortality by very generously paying in sufficient money on behalf of the US. Notice the amounts, though large,are small compared with national domestic budgets. Per head of population, Britain gives two or three times as much official international aid as Americans - but only half the amount given by Scandinavians. On the other hand one might compare how much money the whole European Union pays the UN compared with the US ,,, and how much Brazil, China, India, Russia.. might pay in future (Action for UN renewal ??)

3. UNA-Scotland: UNA-Scotland held its AGM in Perth ten days ago. Our Convener, Gari Donn was elected to represent Scotland on the Board of UNA-UK, Frances Mildmay (Glasgow) was re-elected Convener of UNA-Scotland and Malcolm Savidge - from Aberdeen and formerly an MP distinguished for his support of the UN - was elected Honorary President of UNA-Scotland.

4. Human Rights: 'Aberdeen' brought this subject up at the UNA-Scotland AGM. Edinburgh branch doesn't (as yet ?) have a Working Group on Human Rights but one of our Committee members recently expressed great concern that at a recent UN Conference in Geneva countries from the Middle East, Russia and China adopted a resolution that appeared to diminsh the authority of the UN's Universal Declaration of Huamn Rights. At issue was freedom of speech: the right that enables one to object to insults to Mohammed without being arrested as a terrorist - or to say that some of the principles of AlQaida are worthwhile without fearing that the police will question one for 42 days.
On the other hand,earlier this year our friends in UNA Iran joined with other Middle East UNAs in Geneva to discuss "Torture". A UN Rapporteur on
Torture used to advise countries to ensure their national law ensured
- suspects held by the police were brought before a judge after 24-48 hours
- a confession was insufficient evidence of guilt
(Think about it)
The European Convention on Human Rights is embodied in Scottish Law. Yet whenever I complain to my MSP about the abuse of asylum seekers he replies sympathetically that there is nothing he can do; it is not a devolved matter. I am ashamed. Being human is always a devolved matter.
5. Should you be able to get to Oxford Town Hall on 14th May at 6-30pm 'Action for UN Renewal' will welcome you to a meeting, "Five years of war in Iraq : what role can the UN play in building Peace and Security ?" . The Speakers include Tony Benn and the Mayor of Oxford

(a.f.gaines@strath.ac.uk)

Posted April 20th,2008

UNITED NATIONS ASSOCIATION
(Edinburgh Branch)

UNA NEWS

1. Annual General Conference: Liz Sim arrived back full of excitement from UNA's Annual General Conference in Exeter.As soon as she gets her breath back you will receive a full report. In the meantime you will be pleased to hear that as a result of her eloquence and diligence, for the next twelve months UNA's Policy on 'Darfur', on 'Iran', on 'Nuclear Non-Proliferation' and on 'Peace in the Middle East will be entirely in keeping with what our Working Groups have been asking for. The leaflets the 'Darfur' and ' Nuclear Non-Proliferation' Working Groups preparped were taken up like hot cakes!

2. Working Groups seek new members: Talking of Working Groups, they all need additional members. Here is your chance to help us spread the word and change the world.(YES!) This is particularly true of the Working Group for Model United Nations General Assemblies, MUNGAs. Next year we will be holding a MUNGA jointly with UNA-Iran. We will be exchanging schoolchildren and educating them so that they understand how it feels to be part of a national delegation engaged in formulating a resolution that other countries can agree upon. As you probably know we are used to running MUNGAs with the participation of some 15 schools. Now the Working Group is going international. If you would like to be part of it - especially if you are a teacher - please e-mail Gari Donn
(g.donn@ed.ac.uk).
AND a new Working Group: Climate Change - please contact Hugh Drummond (HughDrummond1@activemail.co.uk)

3. From the Foreign Minister: The first letter in the attachment, very courteously obtained for us by Alistair Darling is directly from David Miliband. It describes positively, if slighlty blandly, our Government's recent work towards a safer world, free of nuclear weapons. We have sent the letter to New York and asked the World Federation of UNAs and the President, Dr Hans Blix, in particular, to use it to provoke similar letters from the Foreign Ministers of the other nuclear powers. (This is what we mean by changing the world)
We hear through the grapevine that the Minister for Defence, Des Browne went to Norway a couple of months ago and spoke of Britain as a 'laboratory for disarmament'. If only it were true. If it were true we should invite the other nuclear powers to carry out random inspections of the Vanguard submarines at Faslane and assure themselves that the Trident missiles really aren't aimed and are really not ready for firing.

4. From Michael Moore MP: The second letter in the attachment is a fuller discussion of our dialogue with Iran, sent us especially by Michael Moore, the Borders MP who is the Lib Dem spokesperson for International Development. We had previously sent Michael Moore Liz Sim's full report of the visit by UNA-IRAN.It is good to know that the visit continues to improve our understanding of each other.We are continuing the dialogue - both with Michael Moore(see the third letter in the attachment) and with Michael Moore..

5. Darfur: ''Our' Darfur Training Committee were so pleased with the reports from the two young teachers they recently sent to run participatory Workshops in the refugee camps in Chad (Each teacher ran ten or so four-hour Workshops with 50 participants a day). that they are planning to send two more young women to Darfur this summer to test out the possibilities of further Workshops to discuss the future development of the region. The Workshops in the camps staredt by discussing personal hygiene (washing one's hands) and continued by discussing how to find sources of clean water. And during the discussion the women in the camps grew in stature and in confidence.

(a.f.gaines@strath.ac.uk)


Posted 5th April,2008
www.disarmamenthub.org

 The World Federation of United Nations Associations, WFUNA, is running a large-scale campaign throughout the world for disarmament. The red web-site tells you about a major Student Conference in Geneva this summer. It also tells of a student competition that will get you invited to Geneva. Enter now!

DARFUR: The Branch, being political, cannot be a Charity so you will remember it helped set up the Darfur Training Committee to train Darfur women to be able to play a full part in the rural development of Darfur once it is safe for them to return to their villages. Last week the DTC was accepted as a Charity. The DTC provides 'Training' in three stages. In the last twelve months it has provided Training Courses in London, Tripoli and Edinburgh in which some 25 Darfur women have discussed constructively with each other how best to promote human rights (women's rights!), clean water, better health and better education. The DTC provides the knowledge and the inspiration to get the discussions started. Then, selected women - they select themselves, really, expect to spend three weeks continuing the discussion with Darfur women seeking security in the Refugee Camps in Chad and Darfur. As I write, two women from the Training Course in Tripoli, together with 'our' Dr Abdel Adam are in camps in Chad sorting out what is possible. The DTC is endeavouring to raise sufficient money to send two more Darfur women to visit the camps this summer to engage with (empower!) the women there. In the third stage the DTC plans to open a self-supporting office in Nyala (the unofficial capital of Darfur) to continue the work. The DTC is already applying for recognition in Nyala as an official NGO.

Bruce Kent visits Edinburgh on Tuesday , 11th March. You can hear him at the Chaplaincy Centre at Potterow at 5pm and at the Quaker meeting House , Victoria Terrace, at 8pm

The Democratic Imperative
The whole of this major speech by Davis Millibrand, the Foreign Secretary, is written below.
UNA is above Party. We work with everyone and with all governments. This doesn't mean we are uncritical. Our opposition to the government's action in' Suez' some years ago led many Conservatives to leave UNA. I remember a retired Colonel, a pillar of the local Conservative and Unionist Association quoting to a UNA Committee, "My Country, may she always be right; but my Country right or wrong."
Our policy in Iraq was either wicked or criminally stupid. In consequence there are parts of the world, for example Darfur, where official help from the UK is no longer acceptable. I submit that most members of our present government and most members of parliament realise this. But the government lacks the moral fibre to say so. The Foreign Office is, however, thinking through its philosophy for the future. Recently we heard Mark Malloch Brown recall that national governments were no longer capable of carrying out their core duties; global interaction and electronic communication necessitated joint consultation and joint action. At about the same time as Mark Malloch Brown was speaking in Edinburgh David Millibrand was in Oxford talking about democracy.
David Millibrand starts and concludes his speech by honouring Aang San Suu Kyi and her colleagues in Burma who are under arrest for thier devotion to democracy. Edinburgh feels strongly about this. Aang San Suu Kyi is a Freewoman of Edinburgh !
Democracy, David Millibrand believes is a universal desire of all people,everywhere. He suggests we should always promote it and he speaks of hard power and soft power for intervention (This is the part of the speach you may have read in your newspaper). Maybe the Secretary General of the UN should ask the International Court of Justice to advise him of its opinion as to when it is legal to intervene ? And even when we are assured of this maybe Mark Malloch Brown would wish that we carried countries such as Brazil, China, the European Union, India, Japan, Nigeria and South Africa with us ? Does David Millibrand say less about how to encourage democracy ? He mentions how the BBC now broadcasts to Iran in Farsi. Does he think that alienating the Iranian population by the use of economic sanctions is better than discussing with Iran how to solve common problems ?

We are able to provide the complete text of David Millibrand's speech thanks to the kindness of Mark Lazarowicz MP. Mark Lazarowicz writes that he would welcome your opinions on this speech about democracy. If you live in 'Edinburgh North and Leith' you can write or e-mail to Mark Lazarowicz directly - or if you e-mail us, we will collate your thoughts and forward them.

WEB-SITE: On our Web-Site you can read each week of the activities of our 5 'Working Groups' - on Darfur, Nuclear Non-Proliferation, Peace in the Middle East, Model General Assemblies of the UN and Membership. Where do your interests lie ? Each Working Group is anxious to recruit more members.

“The Democratic Imperative”
Aung San Suu Kyi Lecture by David Milliband, Foreign Secretary
12 February 2008

Check Against Delivery
I have called this speech “The Democratic Imperative” because I believe discussion about the Iraq war has clouded the debate about promoting democracy around the world. I understand the doubts about Iraq and Afghanistan, and the deep concerns at the mistakes made. But my plea is that we do not let divisions over those conflicts obscure our national interest never mind our moral impulse in supporting movements for democracy. We must not be glib about what democracy means – it is far more than a five year ballot. We cannot be self satisfied about the state of our own democracy. We cannot impose democratic norms. But we can be clear about the desirability of government by the people and clear that without hubris or sanctimony we can play a role in backing demands for democratic governance and all that goes with it.

Victor Hugo said you can defeat armies but you can’t defeat ideas. Last September when so many people were prepared to risk their lives by coming out onto the streets of Rangoon, in what I would call a ‘civilian surge’, we saw that, for all its brutality and for all its corruption, the Military Junta in Burma has been unable to destroy the hope of a better and freer life. The people of Burma show that the hope of a life lived at liberty extends to all people in all parts of the world.

It is fitting, therefore, that I should make this speech in the Oxford College where Daw Aung San Suu Kyi not only undertook her undergraduate education but also met her late husband , the distinguished scholar, Dr Michael Aris.

But today, although we should be celebrating Burma’s 60th year as an independent nation, we are not. Instead, remind yourself that it is 18 years since Aung san Suu Kyi’s party won 82 per cent of the seats in Parliament, and almost 5 years since she began her latest stint of house arrest.

Thanks to the efforts of many people in this room, and many others around the world, Burma has not and will not be forgotten. The campaigns, the resolutions, the sanctions are in place. And the world community looks closely, with caution rather than expectation but hope as well as scepticism, at suggestions from the regime about how to achieve progress and reconciliation.

The regime has this week called a referendum for May on a new constitution and elections for 2010. For any process to have credibility two things must happen. First Aung san Suu Kyi must be released immediately and allowed to participate along with other political leaders and ethnic groups in drafting the constitution and in the subsequent referendum campaign. Second the UN Special Envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, should be allowed to return immediately to Burma to help facilitate the process.

I believe this is an important time to reflect on the situation in Burma and to think about what the international community can do there – and elsewhere – to help people fulfil their aspirations for democratic rule. There is a paradox here.

On the one hand the last thirty years have witnessed a remarkable “third wave of democracy”. In the 1970s the collapse of authoritarian regimes led to the re-establishment of democracy in Portugal, Greece and Spain. But it was with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the crumbling of the Soviet empire that the tide really turned. By the early 1990s most of the countries of Central and eastern Europe had democratically elected governments and many were seeking reintegration into the European family.

At the same time, several authoritarian regimes in Asia – South Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines and Indonesia – converted to democracy. Much of Africa had also made the transition – the election of Nelson Mandela in 1994 was a defining moment. And by the end of the century, all of Latin America – except for Cuba – had established democratically elected governments. Today there is only one region – the Middle East – where democratic regimes remain the exception. According to Freedom House, in the early 1970s less than a quarter of the world’s countries were democratic. Thirty years later, the figure stood at over 60 Per cent.

At the same time as this dramatic growth in democratic governance, the belief that there is an inevitable tide of history has been discredited. After the end of the cold war it was tempting to believe in “the end of history” – the inevitable progress of liberal democracy and capitalist economics. Now with the economic success of China, we can no longer take the forward march of democracy for granted. Since the millennium, there has been a pause in the democratic advance. The rise in the number of democracies has plateaued. Countries with new democratic systems are struggling to establish roots. Our own democratic institutions struggle to bridge the gap between citizens and government.

This reality makes my argument today all the more important. I will argue that we should back demands among citizens for more freedom and power over their lives – whether that is reforming established democracies, or supporting transitions to democracy. We should be on the side of the civilian surge.

We must resist the arguments on both the left and the right to retreat into a world of realpolitik. The traditional conservative ‘realist position’ is to say that values and interests diverge, and interests should predominate. This will not do. Yet in the 1990s, something strange happened. The neoconservative movement seemed to be the most sure about spreading democracy around the world. The left seemed conflicted between the desirability of the goal and its qualms about the use of military means. In fact, the goal of spreading democracy should be a great progressive project; the means need to combine soft and hard power. We should not let the genuine debate about the ‘how’ of foreign policy obscure the clarity about the ‘what’.

I want to begin by talking about what we mean by democracy and why we should support the spread of democratic ideals and practices. I then want to discuss how we can do so in a way that recognises both the diversity of cultures and the limits of our power and capacity to effect change.

Defining democracy
Democracy is plural not singular. There are many aspects to democracy and some countries are more democratic than others. It also makes sense to talk of the culture of democracy which is both a condition and a consequence of a democratic state.

But that doesn’t mean that nothing can be said. The root of the word is clear: government by the people. We can specify the indispensable conditions of a democracy – that the people choose the government, that they are free from arbitrary control and that the government respects the right of the people to dispense with it.

And I do not believe that this demand for civil recognition to be a curiosity of the modern West. There are very many forms of government by the people that are compatible with the demand for civil recognition. The demand itself I take to be universal. The checks and balances of human rights and democratic governance are important for the security and development of ant society; from established systems like ours to the new democracies of Eastern Europe and Africa to the emerging economies of China and the Middle East.

According to global polling by Gallup, 8 out of 10 people want to live in a democracy, closer to 9 out of 10 in Africa. From Botswana to Indonesia, there are striking examples of successful representative democracies that demonstrate how universal values can be applied to diverse cultural, social and economic contexts.

The belief in the equal worth of each human being, and the desire for people to have sovereignty over their own lives is not only enshrined in the Universal declaration of Human Rights, it is lived out in all corners of the world. Tellingly, even when democracy is absent, dictators seek to describe their rule as ‘democratic ‘ to provide a veil of legitimacy for their regimes.

Universal values
This is a controversial case, I know. The claim that some values are universal is often thought to be a kind of intellectual imperialism. There are three schools of criticism of the case I have made. I want to dwell on each in turn.

First, the Asian values school. Spreading democracy, they say, is an attempt to impose Western values on countries with distinctive traditions and aspirations. Not so much intellectual imperialism as actual imperialism.

Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore’s former Prime Minister once characterised ‘Asian values’ as a certain attitude towards life which raises the interest of the community above that of the individual.

In 1993, the Bangkok declaration of 34 Asian and Middle eastern states supported the universality of human rights, but rejected the “imposition of incompatible values”, emphasising the importance of “national particularities and various historical, cultural and religious backgrounds”.

I have two responses to this. The first I borrow from Amartya Sen who has brilliantly shown, from the Buddhist councils in India to the society of the Ochollo in Southern Ethiopia, that people from all cultures came together to deliberate over their communal affairs centuries before the emergence of the Italain city-republics.

The second response is that it is precisely liberal democracies that are most hospitable to the variety of histories and heritages that are said to make democracy impossible. Indeed, the great variety of cultures and peoples contained in the idea of “Asian values” casts grave doubt on whether it means very much. And even if something like “Asian values” can be adduced, they will find democracy a hospitable place. The kind of place that would welcome the “Asian values” of Aung San Suu Kyi, for example.

Values and interests
The second critique is what we might call the school of realpolitik. This is the charge that
Democracy is not always in the national interest. Sometimes democracy is a luxury that nations cannot afford because either prosperity or security must be achieved first. Trade and investment before democracy; fighting terrorism trumps human rights.

This is dangerously narrow and short term, in my view. Democracy is the best custodian of trade. Free Trade and investment rely on confidence that governments will protect property rights, operate in a transparent way, and avoid hidden subsidies and distortions.

I also believe that established democracies are less likely to fight each other. Their intentions and motives are more transparent. They are better able to build trust with ither states.

But today, the main security threat, from terrorism and conflict, comes not from conflict between states but within states. Local disputes and ethnic divisions escalate into wider regional conflicts. groups that begin with local grievances increasingly become co-opted by Al Qaeda into global terrorism.

In weak states, there are no military solutions to the insecurity and injustice that helps to breed terrorism, only political solutions. Democracy provides a way of resolving competing interests and claims on resources in a peaceful way. Without democratic legitimacy, it is hard to sustain the increase in state capacity needed to maintain law and order.

In my mind there is no doubt ; the rule of law in a democracy is the best long term defence against global terrorism and conflict.

And in countries such as China seeking a stable path to political reform it’s important to recognise that democracy is not a threat to instability but a way to guarantee it. Globalisation, and the increasing complexity of modern societies, has strengthened this truth.

Democracy promotion
The third school of opposition is more pragmatic. It asserts that our ability to promote democracy is limited because the transition to democracy is usually the result of national convulsions. Democracies usually emerge as part of a bargain between citizens and the state. Where the state requires more resources – taxes, or military conscription for war - citizens are granted more accountability over the state. Or a growing middle class demands political representation as a concomitant of its growing purchasing power.

This can involve violent rupture. When powerful political players – the tribal or dynasatic leaders, warlords or the military – jostle for position and try to co-opt the system, the birth pangs of democracy can be anything but democratic. We know this from our own histories in Europe and America.

But however the change comes, it grows in the soil of the nation. The argument is that our capacity to create democracies from here is limited. As Fareed Zakaria has argued, democracy flourishes in societies that are already constitutionally liberal, and based on the rule of law and property rights.

This is a better response than the previous two. We need, of course, to be cautious about our capacity to change the world. But while we have less influence than we might hope, we have more than we might fear.

In an increasingly interdependent world, economic linkages mean countries care more about their external reputation and are increasingly subject to global rules and global institutions, international institutions – form the International Criminal Court and the World trade organisation to the European Union – provide a framework of norms, incentives and sanctions. And the revolution in media and communications enables new forms of global collective action, with government and global non-governmental organisations able to support bottom-up pressure from within countries.

So I am not persuaded that we should take a relativist view. I am quite comfortable asserting, to echo Churchill, that democracy is the least bad system of government we have yet devised. I am unapologetic about a mission to help democracy spread through the world – and by this I mean not just more elections, but the rule of law and economic freedoms which are the basis of liberal democracy. And while we must deploy different tools in different situations, flexibility of means must be combined with consistency in our goals.

The question, which is rightly raised by the pragmatic critique, is how should we promote democracy? In the time I have left I’d like to point to five things we might do.

First, the civilian surge sis being driven by more literate, better educated people, able to access information and communicate with others, technology is playing a crucial role. TheGulf satellite channels, Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiyya are a departure for the region. Al-Jazeera’s motto, roughly translated, is “the opinion and the other opinion”. If it lives up to it, it will make a major contribution to the region. Bloggers in Iran are challenging the conservative order online. Bloggers in Kuwait mobilised popular support for parliamentary reform in 2006.

We can and should support the creation of a free media and free debate. Last year, the BBC World Service broadcast to 183 million people; and this year will see the launch not only of a 24 hour Arabic service but also a Farsi TV service – a source of genuinely independent reporting on world news and events. Through its education and cultural programmes the British Council last year reached out to over 16 million people; that is why we are extending the british Council work in the Middle east as well as Central and Southern Asia. Britain has global reach in its media and through the networks of its NGOs. That is why the Foreign office and DfID continue to invest in national and global NGOs that can open up debate and stimulate pressure from civil society.

Second, we have very important, and potentially influential, financial and economic links. The integration of India and China into the global economy has created unprecedented flows of people, money and ideas across national boundaries.

Economic openess can drive political and social change. For example, as the UAE has become more integrated into the world economy, it has tackled corruption, increased transparency, and improved institutional and legal mechanisms. China’s incorporation into the global economy has brought radical social change.- Chinese society is more mobile, vocal and divers than in the pre-reform period. Arguably more people in China are freer today that have been at any previous time in Chinese history. But people inside China and outside are rightly concerned about the next stages in political development. President Hu’s speech to his Party congress shows that democracy is an issue for China’s leaders as well as its people. I will discuss this for myself during my visit to China the week after next.

Third, as a world leader in aid, we can ensure that aid supports democracy and good governance. We can directly influence the activities of EU and international donors. DfID’s investment in governance has increased markedly in recent years: from £85 million in 1997-98 to £322 million in 2005-06.

Aid has different objectives according to circumstance. In Ethiopia, DfID investment has helped to build the capacity of federal and regional parliaments. In Pakistan and Bangladesh, women have been supported to stand as candidates in local elections. In other countries, where the power of the state threatens to dominate, we need to use aid to support civil society from trade unions to the media. For example, our aid to Nigeria has supported the work of the Economic and Financial Crimes commission, which has led to 150 convictions and the recovery of US$5 billion since 2002.

Fourth, the attraction of becoming members of ‘clubs’ such as the European Union, the World trade organisation, and NATO, can act as a powerful way of establishing democratic norms. As Vaclav Havel said in December 2002, “the vision of becoming part of the EU was….the engine that drove the democratisation and transformation of” Central and Eastern Europe.

Unless the offer of joining the EU remains on the table, and unless we can forge a more attractive Near neighbourhood Policy, the EU will lose its power as a magnet for democratic reform. Nowhere is this more true than in the countries of the Western Balkans, where the prospect of EU membership is encouraging newly democratic regimes to bolster the rule of law and to ensure greater transparency and accountability. But we need to keep the door open to our Eastern Neighbours and continue to deepen our ties with them, supporting those who filled the streets during the Rose revolution in Georgia and the orange revolution in Ukraine in 2004.

I also want the EU to engage more actively in promoting democracy beyond its immediate neighbourhood. EU election monitoring in places like Pakistan and Nepal is a good step. But the EU should be clearer about what it understands by democracy. This would help give real meaning to the commitments to democracy in our partnerships with African, Caribbean and Pacific countries. And it would enable aid and trade more effectively to support democratisation. An agreed EU position on democracy would also give the EU a clear basis for engaging with partner organisations, such as the African Union or ASEAN, and encouraging them to develop similar agreements around democracy and good governance.

Fifht and finally, there will be situations where the hard power of targeted sanctions, international criminal proceedings, security guarantees and military intervention will be necessary. The UN has 13 sanctions regimes; the EU has eight. They are an imperfect instrument. But targeted sanctions can send a powerful signal about the legitimacy of a state’s actions, and offer substantive pressure for changes of behaviour. The most famous example of success is South Africa where they helped persuade the white political establishment of the need to change and dismantle apartheid. In some cases, sanctions are not enough. In extreme cases the failure of states to exercise their responsibility to protect their own civilians from genocide or ethnic cleansing warrant military intervention on humanitarian grounds.

Paul Collier argues in his forthcoming work on ‘ democracy in dangerous places’, that the offer of a security guarantee to a new but fragile government, conditional on them abiding by democratic rules, could create a strong incentive for them to abide by the democratic process. To date, our only experience of security guarantees has been of the sort that NATO provides against external aggression. There are a whole range of reasons why Collier’s idea would be difficult. How would you judge which regimes merit the guarantee for instance? How would you avoid perverse incentives? Who would intervene to put down the coup and how would they avoid complicating or exacerbating p0litical divisions? But it is surely right that we consider carefully how best we can support fledgling, fragile democracies, as we are doing in Afghanistan, Iraq and Sierra Leone.

Democratic Consolidation
Most democracies that fail, do so during the first few electoral cycles. While fragile democracies are safer the year before an election, they are more at risk of violence the year after. Democracy needs to be nursed through its early years.

There is no single blueprint. But there are important lessons, in particular, we must strengthen the capacity of the state to enforce the rule of law, while extending accountability to citizens. Three principles stand out.
First, at a national level, governments must ensure the plural distribution of power, with checks and balances between the executive, judiciary and legislature, and electoral systems that share power. In Kenya for instance, we have seen how the ‘winner takes all’ system has raised the political stakes – all was seen to be lost if you ‘lost; the race for state house.
An arrangement that allows for power to be shared, however, could help to diffuse tensions. That is why w are supporting Kofi Annan’s efforts to mediate a solution. In Pakistan, the path to democracy begins with free and fair elections, but it needs deeper roots; an independent judiciary, a commitment from the army to stay out of politics, and devolution of powers to states and local government. The elections in Sierra Leone last year demonstrated the importance of a powerful and independent election commission. The Commission’s resistance to pressure and its determination to root out fraud and irregularities meant that the elections were amongst the most free and fair the continent has seen. Independent election observation can help to reinforce public confidence in the election process. I regret in this context that Russia has acted to prevent OSCE experts and parliamentarians from observing Presidential elections in March.

Second, fledgling democracies need to build the capacity of local as well as national institutions. As Tocqueville wrote “the stregth of free peoples resides in the local community. Local institutions are to liberty what primary schools are to science; they put it within the people’s reach; they teach people to appreciate its peaceful enjoyment and accustom them to make use of it.”

Iraq is moving towards a new round of provincial elections. The Sunni and Sadrist boycott of the 2005 provincial elections left too many unrepresented and politically disempowered. But as the security situation has improved, former rejectionists accept that they have a stake in Iraq’s future and want their voice to be heard. In places such as Anbar in western Iraq which were previously dominated by Al Qaeda and other extremists, groups called “Concerned Local Citizens” are now conducting joint operations with the multi-national and Iraqi security forces, ousting Al Qaeda and restoring stability. The Iraqi government must seize the opportunity to bind these people firmly into the legitimate state structures – creating legitimate employment opportunities, including by integrating some elements into the Iraqi Security Force and holding provincial elections to give their leadership a chance to play a role in the political mainstream.

Third, while in some countries we need to strengthen the capacity of the state so that militias and other coercive centres of power fall under the control of the state, in others it is the checks and balances of a substantial democracy that need strengthening, and it is the role of civil society to provide a voice for popular will. This is why, for example, we are supporting the international Labour organisation’s work to strengthen national trades Unions, particularly in Africa. It is why the work of NGOs is important. These are not alternatives to effective democracy; but they are essential to democracy’s effectiveness.

Conclusion
There are not many countries where democracy is achieved without a struggle, Nelson Mandela, Lech Walesa, Mahatme Ghandi, Rosa Parks, Shirin Ebadi. Aung San Suu Kyi and many others have risked their lives and their liberty for it. Those are the names we know. Behind them are others, who, because they are not famous, are taking even greater risks.
In Burma:
- Ytin OO, the National League for Democracy’s Vice-Chairman, who, at 80 years old is under house arrest;
- U Win Tin, the 78 year old journalist who is the country’sd longest serving political prisoner, having spent 18 years behind bars;
- Min Ko Naing, Ko Ko Gyi and other student leaders from 1988, who have spent 15 years of their life in prison and are currently serving a third stint in detention;
- Nay Myo Latt, one of Burma’s best known bloggers, who was recently arrested at his home; and,
- U Htin Kyaw, who was arrested last year for protesting against the economic hardship faced by Burma under this leadership.

No one ever knows when the struggle will end. When they begin to crumble authoritarian regimes can collapse overnight. The fight needs uncompromising courage; but when it is over different qualities are needed, reason, patience, calm, a readiness to reconcile and forgive. Qualities that I find easy to associate with the patient suffering of Burmese men and women, and which Ang San Suu Kyi herself embodies.

When it awarded the Nobel Peace prize to Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Committee said in its citation that it wanted “to show its support for the many people through the world who are striving to attain democracy, human rights and ethnic reconciliation by peaceful means.”

I would like to echo that sentiment today. I believe democracy can take root in all societies. I hope and believe that, in time, it will. The equal worth of human beings, their equal rights to independence and self-government, requires no less. And all those brave people who are fighting to gain tomorrow the democracies that we, in the lucky rich nations of the world are blessed with today, deserve our support. Not just in words, but in deeds. 



 
THE IAEA AND THE WHO
AN ASTONISHING ALLEGATION
I have attached below an astonishing statement from a large international group of health professionals. Please consider the attachment carefully. The health professionals allege that for 50 years there has been a Treaty that authorises the IAEA to censor (some of the) results that the WHO wishes to publicise. They state further that data collected after 'Chernobyl' were censored. If this allegation is true it implies that
- some might not have suffered following 'Chernobyl' had the full
extent of the disaster been made known so that commensurate
measures were taken.
- the Treaty should be rescinded as soon as possible
- the Director- Generals of such UN Agencies as WHO, FAO and the
UNEP should formally advise the General Assembly the precise extent
to which they are able to present data openly. (Many of us who
monitor the concentrations and distribution of hazardous materials
and advise governments accordingly often rely on the 'safe levels'
published by UN Agencies as being the nearest thing to objective
truth that is available. If the data possessed by the UN Agencies can
be censored, if the Agencies can be 'pressured' then the world's
health and safety is put at risk.)
- there must be an independent enquiry into the way in which the IAEA
works, the pressures it endures and the pressures it imposes on its
own scientists and on other organisations. Much of the IAEA 's work
is the straightforward facilitation of the use of nuclear energy.
However, there are emergencies (Iraq, Iran) when both the Security
Council and national governments rely on the objectivity of the IAEA
in making their decisions; we rely on the IAEA implicitly.

Make sure you look at our web-site every week (hundreds do!)
(a.f.gaines@strath.ac.uk)

Appeal by health professionals for independence of the
World Health Organization
Initiators:
- Fran Baum, Prof. Dept of Public Health, Flinders Univ. Co-Dir. People’s Health Movement (Australia)
- Susanna Beretta-Piccoli, Pharmacist, Federal Diploma, Federation of Swiss Pharmacist (Switzerland)
- Rosalie Bertell, Ph.D, Epidemiologist, Past Pres. Int. Instit. Concern for Public Health, Regent Int. Physicians for
Humanitarian Medecine Geneva, International Science Oversight Committee, Ass. of Organic Consumers (USA)
- Elena.B. Bourlakova, MD. Prof. Semenov Inst. of Clinical Physics, Acad. of Sciences, Moscow. (Russian Fed.)
- Christelle Braconnot, Nurse, French Diploma (France)
- Marina Carobbio, MD. Member of Parliament (Switzerland)
- Blanche Dubois, Nurse, French Diploma (France)
- Lena-Marie Glaubitz, Medical Student (Germany)
- Liliane Maury Pasquier, Midwife, Senator (Switzerland)
- Maria Roth-Bernasconi, Nurse, Member of Parliament (Switzerland)
- Youri.I. Bandajevsky, MD. Prof, ex-Rector, Faculty of Medicine, Gomel (Belarus)
- Abraham Behar, MD, Pres. As.Française Médecins Prévention Guerre Nucléaire, Past Pres. IPPNW Europe (France)
- Chris Busby, Epidemiologist, Scientific Secretary, European Committee on Radiation Risk, (United Kingdom)
- Denis Fauconnier, MD. General Practitioner, Corsica (France)
- Michel Fernex, MD, Prof. Emeritus, Faculty of Medicine, Basel, Pres. Enfants Tchernobyl Bélarus (France)
- Pierre Flor-Henry, MD, Prof, Dir. Psychiatric Services for Adults, Hospital of Alberta (Canada)
- Claudio Knüesli, MD, Oncologist, Pres. PSR/ IPPNW Switzerland (Switzerland)
- Andreas Nidecker, MD., Prof. Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, Basel (Switzerland)
- Claudio Schuftan, MD. Int. Public Health Consultant for WHO, UNICEF, EC. Co-Dir, PHM (Vietnam)
- Hani Serag,MD, Public Health Researcher, International Coordinator, People’s Health Movement (Egypt)
- Joël Spiroux, MD, Environmental Health Expert, Union Rég. médecins libéraux, Hte Normandie (France)

To Madam Chan, Director-General, WHO
and ____________________ Minister of Health of ___________________ (country).

The World Health Organization (WHO) works towards the resolution of public health problems and to this end, it is mandated “to assist in developing an informed public opinion” (WHO Constitution, 7 April 1948). However, since the WHO/IAEA Agreement (WHA12-40) was signed on 28 May 1959, the WHO appears to be subordinate to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). As health professionals, we support the request that WHO, in line with its constitution, recover its independence in the area of ionising radiation.

In the past, WHO was paralysed in its struggle against passive smoking because it was infiltrated by the tobacco lobby. In the same way, WHO is paralysed by the nuclear lobby, incomparably more powerful, represented by the IAEA, at the top of the UN hierarchy. This agency reports to the UN Security Council where it coordinates the promotion of commercial nuclear energy. The other UN agencies and the WHO report only to the UN Economic and Social Council.

The principal statutory objective of the IAEA is “to accelerate and enlarge the contribution of atomic energy to peace, health and prosperity throughout the world”. The WHO/IAEA Agreement stipulates that “Whenever either organization proposes to initiate a programme or activity on a subject in which the other organization has or may have a substantial interest, the first party shall consult the other with a view to adjusting the matter by mutual agreement”. The Agreement also provides (Article III) for the application of “certain limitations for the safeguarding of confidential information”. This confidentiality led to the non-publication of proceedings of the WHO Conference on Chernobyl, 23-27 November 1995. The 700 participants still await the Proceedings which were promised for March 1996. Dr Nakajima, who was Director General, WHO, at the time of the conference, confirmed in 2001, in an interview with Swiss Italian Television, that censorship of these proceedings was due to the legally defined relations between the WHO and the IAEA.

For research projects, “adjusting the matter by mutual agreement” implies removing all freedom from WHO in the area of nuclear accidents. The annex to the programme of the 1995 Conference in Geneva sets out the chronology of events of the Chernobyl accident, and confirms that WHO’s involvement was too late. The last two points of the annex are noteworthy.
“Beginning of 1990: WHO was invited by the Minister of Health of the Soviet Union to set up an international aid project.
May 1991. Completion of the International Project by the IAEA.”

Thus, it was the IAEA which provided the plans for a project requested by the Minister of Health of the USSR. This explains why genetic damage, known to be a critical measure since the 1957 publication of a WHO “Technical Report on the Genetic Effects of Radiation on Humans”, was omitted, while dental caries were accorded high priority.

As a result, it is the promoters of atomic energy, the IAEA and its spokesman, the UNSCEAR, which depend for their recommendations on the self designated officials of the ICRP ,which provide information to the United Nations on the health problems of Chernobyl. They cited 32 deaths from radiation in 1996. In 2005, they conceded 54 deaths and 4000 thyroid cancers in children - a fact which the IAEA could no longer contest, as it had done until 1995.

It is urgent for WHO to provide assistance to one million children, condemned to live in environments contaminated by radionuclides from Chernobyl. Up to 90% of the contamination is internal; and the rest external. Some internal organs accumulate huge concentrations of radionuclides. The resulting chronic contamination has very serious effects on health. In Belarus today, 85% of the children in contaminated areas are ill; before the explosion, this figure was 15%.2 The Chief Medical Officer of the Russian Federation noted in 2001 that 10% of 184,000 liquidators had died and one third was invalid. The Ukraine provided 260,000 liquidators. According to a press release from the Ukrainian Embassy in Paris, dated 25 April 2005, 94.2% of them were ill in 2004. At the Kiev conference in 2001, we learned that 10% of these workers, half of whom were young military recruits had died, one third was invalid and the situation was deteriorating rapidly. The Ukrainian Embassy stated that 87.85% of the inhabitants of the contaminated territory were ill and that proportion increases every year.

Hundreds of epidemiological studies in Ukraine, Belarus and the Russian Federation, have established that there has been a significant rise in all types of cancer causing thousands of deaths, an increase in infant and perinatal mortality, a large number of spontaneous abortions, a growing number of deformities and genetic anomalies, disturbance and retardation of mental development, neuropsychological illness, blindness, and diseases of the respiratory, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, urogenital and endocrine systems.

The health professionals, undersigned, join with the associations which have denounced this unacceptable situation for more than ten years now. We support those who have held a silent vigil in front of the WHO since April 26, 2007. With them, we demand revision of the Agreement (WHA 12-40) in order to restore independence to WHO in accordance with its constitution.

We request that revision of the agreement be put on the agenda of the next World Health Assembly so that WHO can “act as the directing and coordinating authority on international health work”, “promote and conduct research”, and “provide information, counsel and assistance in the field of health” [Articles 2 a, n and q of the WHO Constitution] in the area of ionising radiation and the health consequences of Chernobyl, and in particular the health effects of chronic, low dose radiation from prolonged ingestion of artificial radionuclides.
_____________________
Name First name. Profession Address Signature







Please send your signed letter to the following address: Independence for WHO - Philippe de Rougemont, 71 rue Liotard, 1203 Geneva, Switzerland.
If time pressures are too great, health professionals may sign on line at the following website :
http://independentwho.info/spip.php?article118
But if possible, we recommend paper and postmail for a stronger statement.
More general informations: www.independentwho.info

Tuesday, 26th February, 8pm
Friends Meeting House, Victoria Terrace
Public Meeting
"WHAT YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT THE UN
AND HAVE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO ASK"

JAN FISCHER
Deputy Director, UN Information Centre, Brussels

Jan Fischer has worked for the UN in many capacities for 14 years. This is the
the first time the UN Information Centre has engaged with Scotland. This is indeed your opportunity to find out what goes on and how it happens and how it works and what it feels like. Ask anything you like - Jan Fischer will have been there! How, in today's world, should the UN be renewed ? Mark Malloch Brown said we must redefine our lives. Book 8pm on Tuesday week for a great discussion.

Two attachments this time. A further letter from the Rt Hon Bob Ainsworth, Minister for the Armed Forces, kindly obtained for us by John Thurso MP and my report of Lord Malloch Brown's eloquent lecture in the Playfair Library (in case you missed it) Bob Ainsworth's letter is similar to his first: there is still little he can report on government progress towards a safer world. (And there is a rather worrying sentence about RAF Flyingdales regularly receiving data of missile launches that needs clarifiacation).

(a.f.gaines@strath.ac.uk)

Posted February 15th, 2008

"WE THE PEOPLES OF THE UNITED NATIONS DETERMINED TO SAVE SUCCEEEDING GENERATIONS FROM THE SCOURGE OF WAR........"

The Preamble to the UN Charter was our inspiration to invite UNA IRAN to Edinburgh. You will already have seen the photos on our web-site; you know the visit was a success! Yadollah Mohammadi, the President of UNA IRAN, and two Founder Members who were also international lawyers, were unfailingly courteous, patient and thoroughly professional. We asked all the hard questions and we moved towards understanding each other and working together. Lest you are wondering, it was reasonably straightforward.
NOW we are looking forward to welcoming Iranian schoolchildren to take part in the Model United Nations General Assmblies we hold in the City Chambers each year. In exchange some of our children will visit Tehran for similar events.
We are also planning a year's collaborative programme to encourage disarmament throughout the Middle East. As you would expect, we have issued a Press Release telling about the visit and our future collaboration. Perhaps spreading the word is the most important thing we can do.

posted January 5th, 2008

UNA NEWS
A Happy and Peaceful New Year

1. DARFUR: Especial greetings to the Darfur Training Committee and to 'our' Dr. Abdel Adam who host a course from January 11-13th to empower 16 Darfur women currently in Britain so that they can participate with other women in the development of Darfur villages when it is safe to return to the Sudan (At long last the UN now appears to be moving into Darfur)

2. Nuclear Non-Proliferation: Two important documents, a letter from the Foreign Office (prompted by questions tabled last autumn by Mark Lazarowicz MP) and a speech given by the US State Department's Special Representative for Nuclear NonProliferation (sent by the US Embassy in London) are attached. Together with the letter John Thurso MP received from the Minister for the Armed Services that we attached last month (its on our web-site) these documents summarise the US and British government's point of view.
-- It is encouraging that the US is already decreasing its numbers of nuclear missiles to the figure of 2200 it agreed with Russia it would reduce to by 2012. We hope that Russia is making similar reductions - and given the terrifying destructive power of each missile how can anyone possibly require 2000 of them. Would that we were shown remote sensing photographs confirming the reduction in missile numbers (such photos exist).
-- The British government increasingly emphasises that it is working towards a safer world where no country requires nuclear weapons. The government appears to have made little progress in 2007 towards achieving this aim. The updating of the Vanguard-Trident system remains a £20 billion irrelevance. We must ensure that the step-by-step objectives outlined in the Foreign Office letter really are promoted in 2008.
-- One welcomes the possibility that Russia will collaborate in the US/EU nuclear defensive shield. The more we all recognise we are on the same side the better. Will we consider inviting the nuclear powers (their Consuls in Edinburgh?) to make spot checks at Faslane to assure themselves that the Trident missiles remain unaimed and unready for firing?

We are copying the three documents (from the Foreign Office, the US State Department and the Minister for the Armed Services) to each of Scotland's MPs and to all the MPs in the Commons' All Party UN Group.

3. IRAN: Last January we held a major Workshop at the Scottish Parliament. This January we are working on a smaller scale to tackle a specific international problem : IRAN. We have invited the President, Professor Yadollah Mohammedi, and two Founder Members of UNA-IRAN to be our guests to discuss future collaboration on
- the education of Scottish and Iranain schoolchildren in the aims and working
of the UN.
- nuclear non-proliferation, especially in the Middle East
We had hoped our guests would have arrived in December but unfortunately they have experienced delay in obtaining passports and visas. The latest news suggests the bureaucracy has been overcome and we anticipate UNA-IRAN will arrive in the third week of this month.
Britain is imposing economic sanctions on Iran. THE IAEA has pronounced that Iran abandoned its nuclear weapons programme three years ago but the IAEA is still concerned about the enrichment of uranium.
It is vital (literally) that we all understand each other. If any organisation you know or represent would like to talk with our guests please e-mail our Convener g.donn@ed.ac.uk or me. We regard such discussion as urgent and we will do everything to make it possible.

4. Just before Christmas your Committee held an invigorating discussion with
LINDA FABIANI MSP, the Minister for External Affairs, about the Scottish Governemtn's interest in all our major activities. The discussion is sketched on our web-site (where you will also find a link to the Darfur Training Committee). Our web-site is updated frequently; you will find that checking it out is as good as attending a Meeting.

(a.f.gaines@strath.ac.uk)

posted 20/12/07

Climate Change: In recent weeks one of Edinburgh's most prominent and distinguished politicians has taken some of our money (yours and mine) to prop up one of the dodgier parts of our Banking System. It would appear that traditional British political philosophy has come to an end. Contrast the recent UN Report on our changing climate (see the UNA-UK web-site) and the UN Conference at Bali - where today three countries, Canada, Japan and the US, are preventing an otherwise unanimous resolution. This is the contemporary politics. We used to be able to make a choice between economic competition and collaboration. Now we all live in one small world whose climate is changing. In this respect we have to collaborate; we have to adapt.

The summer temperature in the eastern Mediterranean has increased by 10C in the past 20 years.The Sahara, where wheat grew in Roman times, is extending.The Nile, like the rivers in Australia, may be drying up. Bangladesh will have to protect itself like Holland if it is not to be under water. It may be inevitable that the ice at the North Pole will disappear. This is the world that we and our children have to live in. Its not all doom and gloom; Iceland is already rediscovering agriculture and Scotland may have more sunshine.

The discussions at Bali emphasise the need for Government action but we (you and I) have to be responsible for our own lives. Would you throw away 3/4 of the food you buy?You do throw away 3/4 of the energy you buy. That's one of the fundamental reasons why the climate is changing.

In Germany and Sweden one can have a family home costing ~ £100 a year to keep warm. The amount your heating bill exceeds this represents money and energy you are wasting. We are being profligate. All new buildings should be designed so that essentially no heat is wasted. The crunch comes when we consider existing buildings. We need new homes not new power stations.

It should be simpler in a developing country. There is no need for them to copy every stupid mistake we have made. They don't have to have the same dirty, filthy, ugly towns we have constructed. In fact we live at the beginning of a new industrial revolution. Its called 'Sustainable Engineering' or 'Green Chemistry'; its about designing processes that are waste free and consume the minimum of energy. Industry loves it - waste means loss of profit. The US and, Glory Be, China and India are world leaders in this revolution. The developing world is starting from scratch, it doesn't have to build a coal-powered station every day. It can use its burgeoning technology to build towns that are comfortable, beautiful and sustainable. Thats where the future should lie.

any comments please send to Alec Gaines at
a.f.gaines@strath.ac.uk