UN climate funding draft narrows options, but obstacles remain

A fresh draft of a UN climate deal released Wednesday proposes concrete options to raise funding for poorer countries. (AP)
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Updated 13 November 2024
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UN climate funding draft narrows options, but obstacles remain

  • A fresh draft of a UN climate deal released Wednesday proposes concrete options to raise funding for poorer countries

BAKU: A fresh draft of a UN climate deal released Wednesday proposes concrete options to raise funding for poorer countries, but leaves unresolved sticking points that have long delayed an agreement.
Landing a new accord to boost money for climate action in developing countries is the top priority of negotiators at the UN COP29 summit in Azerbaijan.
But it is deeply contentious, and consensus has eluded negotiators from nearly 200 nations for the better part of a year.
Most developing countries favor an annual commitment from wealthy countries of at least $1.3 trillion, according to the latest draft of the long-sought climate finance pact.
This figure is more than 10 times the $100 billion annually that a small pool of developed countries — among them the United States, the European Union and Japan — currently pay.
Some donors are reluctant to promise large new amounts of public money from their budgets at a time when they face economic and political pressure at home.
An earlier version of the draft was rejected outright by developing countries, which considered the proposed terms weighted too heavily toward wealthy nations.

Fresh submissions were called, and the new document summarises three broad positions.
The first argues that rich, industrialized nations most responsible for climate change to date pay from their budgets.
The second option calls for other countries to share the burden, a key demand of developed countries, while the third puts forward a mix of the two.
A bloc of least-developed nations, mostly from Africa, are asking for $220 billion while small-island states at threat from rising seas want $39 billion.
“The new text proposes more concrete options for reaching an agreement on the total amount, as well as specific objectives for the least developed or most vulnerable countries,” said Friederike Roder from Global Citizen, a non-government organization.
“Unfortunately, this search for precision stops there. The proposals aimed at clearly defining what constitutes climate finance, and ensuring close and transparent monitoring, remain insufficient,” she told AFP.
The latest 34-page draft reflects all the options on the table, said David Waskow, director at the World Resources Institute, a think tank.
“Negotiators now need to work to boil it down to some key decisions for the ministers to wrestle with next week,” he said.
COP29 runs until November 22 but climate talks often run into overtime.


Their labor in demand, Germany’s Syrians are in no rush to leave

Updated 11 sec ago
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Their labor in demand, Germany’s Syrians are in no rush to leave

  • Former chancellor Angela Merkel’s 2015 decision to welcome over one million asylum seekers predominantly from Syria was immediately controversial
  • Migration now ranks as Germans’ second most pressing concern ahead of federal elections in February 2025, behind the economy
BERLIN: It took only a few hours after the fall of Bashar Assad for some German politicians to begin suggesting it was time for Germany’s million Syrians – many of them refugees from the 2015 war – to consider returning home.
But many of those same Syrians have built lives in Germany and have no intention of returning. Employers, trade unions and business associations are now speaking up to stress how much they are needed in a German economy facing deep labor shortages.
“Telling people who are employed that they should go back to Syria is absolutely incomprehensible to me,” said Ulrich Temps, managing director of a painting and varnishing company.
“We have taken on the task of training and turning them into skilled workers,” Temps told Reuters of the 12 Syrians he has hired within his nationwide workforce of 530.
One of those is Mohammed Redatotonji, who came to Germany in November of 2015 as a Syrian refugee. He now lives in the northern city of Hanover with his wife, who joined him later via a family reunification program, and their three children.
“I am integrated here in Germany and I have completed my training here,” said Redatotonji, who was just out of high school when he left Syria. “I see my future here.”
Former chancellor Angela Merkel’s 2015 decision to welcome over one million asylum seekers predominantly from Syria was immediately controversial in Germany and has been blamed by some for contributing to the rise of the far-right AfD party.
Since then, Germany has also accepted more than 1.2 million refugees from Ukraine, while its economy is expected to contract in 2024 for the second consecutive year, being the worst performer among G7 countries.
Migration now ranks as Germans’ second most pressing concern ahead of federal elections in February 2025, behind the economy.
With an eye to stunting the appeal of the far-right, some mainstream German politicians have even proposed paying for Syrians’ flights back home. In the meantime, asylum applications from Syrians are on hold.
Germany’s likely next chancellor, conservative Friedrich Merz, has said the fall of Assad could be an opportunity for Syrians to return, but it is too early to make any decision.
While around 500,000 remain unemployed — among them mothers with children — Syrians have helped ease labor pressures which, according to the DIHK Chamber of Commerce and Industry, have left half of companies struggling to fill vacancies.
Around 43,000 Syrians are employed in a manufacturing sector which, until a recent slowdown, was long a key driver of growth. One is Salah Sadek, a firmware developer at automotive and industrial supplier Continental.
Sadek, whose wife did a doctorate in Germany, said his children would have to switch language and education system if they returned.
He did not rule out ever returning to his home city Damascus but added: “We need five years at least to wait to get more clarity on the situation in Syria.”
Data from the Institute for Employment Research think tank shows that the longer someone has been in Germany, the more likely they are to have a job, with an employment rate of over 60 percent for those present for over six years.
They are also less likely to want to leave, and the role they play in the local economy and community is more visible.
“We must not gamble away these integration successes,” said Susi Moebbeck, integration commissioner in the northeastern state of Saxony-Anhalt. “Businesses, clinics, and care facilities depend on Syrian workers.”
Around 10,000 Syrians work in German hospitals, making them the largest group of foreign doctors in Germany, according to Syrian Society for Doctors and Pharmacists in Germany.
“If large numbers were to leave the country, care provision would not collapse, but there would be noticeable gaps,” said Gerald Gass, chairman of German Hospital Federation (DKG).
On a Facebook group for Syrian doctors in Germany, a snap poll on the day of Assad’s fall showed 74 percent of 1,200 respondents said they were considering a permanent return. A poll three days later showed 65 percent of 1,159 said a return would depend on conditions in the country.
When Sandy Issa, a 36-year-old gynaecologist at a Berlin clinic, heard of Assad’s fall, she wished she could celebrate in Homs, her home city.
“We want to be in our country, but thinking about permanently returning... I believe is too early,” she said.

Prominent human rights attorney quits international court over failure to prosecute Venezuela

Updated 16 min 45 sec ago
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Prominent human rights attorney quits international court over failure to prosecute Venezuela

  • Grossman said his ethical standards no longer allow him to stand by silently as Maduro’s government

MIAMI: A prominent human rights attorney has quietly parted ways with the International Criminal Court to protest what he sees as an unjustified failure of its chief prosecutor to indict members of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro ‘s government for crimes against humanity, The Associated Press has learned.
The Chilean-born Claudio Grossman, a former law school dean at American University in Washington and past president of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, was appointed special adviser to ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan in November 2021. In that unpaid position, he advised Khan on the deteriorating human rights situation in Venezuela.
In a harshly worded email last month to Khan, Grossman said his ethical standards no longer allow him to stand by silently as Maduro’s government continues to commit abuses, expel foreign diplomats and obstruct the work of human rights monitors from the United Nations — without any action from the ICC.
“I can no longer justify the choice not to take correspondingly serious action against the perpetrators of the grave violations,” Grossman wrote in an email rejecting an offer by Khan’s office in September to renew his contract.
A copy of the email, which has not been made public, was provided to the AP by someone familiar with the ICC investigation into Venezuela. A phone call by Khan asking Grossman to reconsider also failed, according to the person on the condition of anonymity to discuss the politically sensitive investigation.
Following AP’s inquiries with Khan’s office, Grossman’s name was removed from the court’s website listing him as a special adviser.
“The Prosecutor is extremely grateful to Professor Grossman for the expertise and work he has rendered,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement without addressing Grossman’s stated reasons for cutting ties with the court based in The Hague, Netherlands. Grossman declined to comment.
The pressure on Khan to indict Venezuelan officials, including Maduro himself, comes as he battles allegations of misconduct with a female aide and the threat of US sanctions over his decision to seek the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for alleged war crimes in Gaza.
The Rome Statute that established the court took effect in 2002, with a mandate to prosecute war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide — but only when domestic courts fail to initiate their own investigations.
Calls for faster progress in the court’s only ever investigation in Latin America have grown louder as Maduro tightens his grip on power, preparing to be sworn in for a third term Jan. 10 following an election marred by serious allegations of ballot box fraud and a post-election crackdown. More than 2,000 people were arrested and 20 killed following the vote.
The US and even some fellow leftist leaders in Latin America have demanded authorities present voting records, as they have in the past, to refute tally sheets presented by Maduro’s opponents showing their candidate, Edmundo González, prevailed by a two-to-one margin.
Many in Venezuela’s opposition have complained that the ICC is applying a double standard, moving aggressively to seek the arrest of Netanyahu and Russia’s Vladimir Putin for atrocities in Gaza and Ukraine while showing undue leniency with Venezuelan officials Khan has been investigating for more than three years.
“There is no justification whatsoever for the inaction,” González and opposition leader María Corina Machado wrote in a recent letter to Grossman and 18 other special advisers to the court appealing for their help.
“What is at stake is the life and well-being of Venezuelans,” they added in the letter, which was also provided to the AP by the person familiar with the ICC investigation. “This unjustifiable delay will cast legitimate doubts about the integrity of a system of accountability that has been an aspiration for the whole world.”
At the request of several Latin American governments, Khan three years ago opened an investigation into Venezuelan security forces’ jailing, torture and killing of anti-government demonstrators. At the same time, he promised technical assistance to give local authorities an opportunity to take action before the ICC, a tribunal of last resort.
Earlier this month, Khan delivered some of his harshest comments to date about the human rights situation in Venezuela, warning that officials’ repeated promises to investigate alleged abuses “cannot be a never-ending story.”
“I have not seen the concrete implementation of laws and practices in Venezuela that I hoped for,” he said in a speech at ICC headquarters. “The ball is in Venezuela’s court. The track of complementarity is running out of road.”
Maduro’s government, in response, said in a statement that it “deeply regrets that the prosecutor is being led astray by campaigns that have emerged on social networks promoted by the extreme right, Zionism and Western powers seeking to apply legal colonialism against Venezuela.”
Some Venezuelan critics have linked what they view as foot-dragging to a potential conflict of interest involving Khan’s sister-in-law, international criminal lawyer Venkateswari Alagendra, who has appeared on behalf of the Venezuelan government in two hearings before the court.
An ICC code of conduct directs prosecutors to abstain from any conflicts that may arise from “personal interest in the case, including a spousal, parental or other close family, personal or professional relationship with any of the parties.” Alagendra has previously worked with Khan and his wife defending Seif Al-Islam Qaddafi, the son of the Libyan dictator, at the ICC.
Khan’s office declined to comment about the relationship. But in a filing this month seeking dismissal of a request for recusal filed by the Washington-based Arcadia Foundation, he said a sister-in-law is not a close enough personal relationship requiring automatic disqualification and that he doesn’t recall ever discussing the Venezuela probe with Alagendra, who is just one of several attorneys defending the South American government.
“No fair minded and informed observer would conclude that there is a real possibility of bias,” Khan wrote, adding that he continues to actively and independently investigate the situation in Venezuela.
Those claiming to be victims of the Maduro government have pushed for the court to wrap up its investigation without taking a position on whether Khan should be recused.
After millions of Venezuelans have fled Maduro’s rule, many for neighboring countries, regional governments are also anxiously awaiting progress.
“Many in Latin America expect the ICC prosecutor to have a more muscular response,” said Juan Papier, deputy director for the Americas at Human Rights Watch. “The prosecutor’s office has spent too much time, so far fruitlessly, trying to work with Venezuela authorities to push for domestic investigations. Widespread impunity and lack of judicial independence in Venezuela make the ICC the most viable path for justice.”


US grand jury charges former Syrian prison official with torture

Updated 33 min 6 sec ago
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US grand jury charges former Syrian prison official with torture

  • Samir Ousman Alsheikh headed Damascus Central Prison from 2005 to 2008, colloquially known as Adra prison
  • He allegedly ordering subordinates to inflict severe physical and mental pain and suffering on political and other prisoners

WASHINGTON: A federal grand jury in Los Angeles charged a former Syrian government official who headed the Damascus Central Prison from 2005 to 2008 with torture, the US Justice Department said on Thursday.
Samir Ousman Alsheikh, 72, headed the Adra prison, as it is colloquially known, during that period, allegedly ordering subordinates to inflict severe physical and mental pain and suffering on political and other prisoners, the department said.
He was sometimes personally involved in such incidents, the department added in its statement.
Reuters could not immediately contact Alsheikh to seek comment.
The torture aimed to deter opposition to the regime of ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad, the department said, adding that Alsheikh later allegedly lied about his crimes to obtain a US “green card,” or residence permit.
Alsheikh, who allegedly held positions in the Syrian police and the state security apparatus, was associated with the ruling Syrian Ba’ath Party, and was appointed governor of the province of Deir Ez-Zour by Assad in 2011.
A superseding indictment returned on Thursday alleged that Alsheikh immigrated to the United States in 2020 and applied for citizenship in 2023.
The indictment added three counts of torture and one count of conspiracy to commit torture to charges of visa fraud and attempted naturalization fraud that figured in an initial indictment against Alsheikh in August.
In a separate US indictment unsealed on Monday, two former high-ranking Syrian intelligence officials under Assad were charged with war crimes.
These included conspiracy to mete out cruel and inhuman treatment to civilian detainees, including US citizens, during the Syrian civil war that began in 2011.
Syrian rebels put an end to more than 50 years of rule by the Assad family over the weekend following a lightning advance.
The 13-year civil war killed hundreds of thousands, unleashed a refugee crisis and left cities bombed to rubble, the countryside depopulated and the Syrian economy hollowed out by global sanctions.


Thousands attend funeral of Afghan minister killed in Daesh attack 

Updated 13 December 2024
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Thousands attend funeral of Afghan minister killed in Daesh attack 

  • Minister for Refugees Khalil Ur-Rahman Haqqani killed on Wednesday in suicide bombing 
  • Haqqani was the brother of Jalaluddin Haqqani, founder of the feared Haqqani network 

SARANA, Afghanistan: Thousands of Afghans on Thursday attended the funeral of the refugees minister, AFP journalists saw, after he was killed in a suicide bombing in Kabul the day before in an attack claimed by the Daesh group.

The Minister for Refugees and Repatriation, Khalil Ur-Rahman Haqqani, was killed on Wednesday afternoon in a suicide bombing at the ministry’s offices in the Afghan capital.

Thousands of men, many of them armed, gathered for Haqqani’s funeral in his home village of Sarana, in a mountainous area of Paktia province, south of Kabul.

The funeral included heavy security, with armored vehicles, snipers and personnel manning the area and the road from Kabul, which was jammed with hundreds of cars as mourners traveled from surrounding provinces.

Senior Taliban officials, including the Chief of Army Staff Qari Fasihuddin Fitrat, and Maulawi Abdul Kabir, political deputy of the prime minister’s office, attended the funeral, according to an AFP team on site.

The deceased’s nephew, the powerful interior minister, Sirajuddin Haqqani, also attended, along with foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.

In a speech there, Muttaqi said the latest attacks had been planned “abroad,” denouncing, without naming them, “countries harboring” the organization.

“We call on all nations to work together to stop the common enemy, which does not recognize any kind of morality.”

Sirajuddin Haqqani (C), the Taliban interior minister, attends the funeral ceremony of Khalil Ur-Rahman Haqqani, the Minister for Refugees and Repatriation, in Sarana of Paktia province, south of Kabul, on December 12, 2024. (AFP)

In September, the Taliban authorities said Daesh had training camps in Balochistan province of Pakistan, which also regularly faces attacks.

Haqqani, the highest ranked member of the Taliban government to be killed in an attack since their return to power, “was a big loss for us, the system and the nation,” said Paktia resident Hedayatullah, 22.

“May God protect our other leaders and keep them victorious.”

“Our leader... who had his life brutally taken away, achieved martyrdom,” said Bostan, 53, haranguing the “cowardly attack” that killed Haqqani.

The United Nations mission in Afghanistan condemned the attack on Thursday, offering condolences to the victims’ families.

“There can be no place for terrorism in the quest for stability,” the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said on X.

The European Union and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation also condemned the attack, along with Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Iran.

Haqqani — who is on US and UN sanctions lists and never appeared without an automatic weapon in his hand — was the brother of Jalaluddin Haqqani, founder of the feared Haqqani network responsible for some of the most violent attacks during the Taliban’s two-decade insurgency.

The Daesh group claimed responsibility for the attack, saying a bomber detonated an explosive vest inside the ministry, according to a statement on its Amaq news agency, as translated by the SITE Intelligence Group.

Taliban authorities had already blamed Daesh for the “cowardly attack” — the first targeting a minister since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.

Violence has waned in Afghanistan since the Taliban forces took over the country that year, ending their war against US-led NATO coalition forces.

However, the regional chapter of Daesh is active in Afghanistan and has regularly targeted civilians, foreigners and Taliban officials with gun and bomb attacks.


Senior Ukraine official says Kyiv not yet ready for talks with Russia

Updated 55 min 34 sec ago
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Senior Ukraine official says Kyiv not yet ready for talks with Russia

  • Ukraine lacks the weapons, security guarantees and international status that it seeks

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff said in an interview broadcast late on Thursday that Kyiv was not yet ready to start talks with Russia as it lacked the weapons, security guarantees and international status that it sought.
Andriy Yermak’s comments to public broadcaster Suspilne come as Zelensky publicly considers the possibility of a negotiated settlement to the war with Russia, launched by Moscow’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor in February 2022.
“Not just yet today,” Yermak told Suspilne, when asked whether Ukraine was ready to embark on talks.
“We don’t have the weapons, we don’t have the status that we are talking about. And that means an invitation to NATO and an understanding of clear guarantees that would provide for us, so that we could be sure that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin won’t be coming back in two-three years.”
In comments this week alongside German opposition leader Friedrich Merz, Zelensky said Ukraine wanted an end to the war and efforts were needed to make his country stronger and oblige the Kremlin to work toward peace.
In recent public pronouncements, the president has also said talks could take place with Russia still holding on to territory it has seized in the invasion.
But Ukraine, he said, needed an invitation issued to the entire country to join NATO, though the Alliance’s status would apply to the territory controlled by Kyiv authorities and real security guarantees had to be put in place.
While in Paris last week, Zelensky met US President-elect Donald Trump, who has said, without giving details, that he wants the war to end quickly.
Russia has long rejected any notion of Ukraine becoming a NATO member, with Putin saying Kyiv had to accept the Kremlin’s annexation of four Ukrainian regions it only partly controls.