Commission on Limits of Continental Shelf Concludes Forty-Fifth Session
UN PRESS RELEASE ISSUED 12/ 5/ 17https://www.un.org/press/en/2017/sea2064.doc.htm
NEW YORK, 5 December (Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea) — The Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf held its forty‑fifth session at United Nations Headquarters from 16 October to 1 December. There was no plenary part during the session and its seven weeks were devoted entirely to the technical examination of submissions at the geographic information systems laboratories and other technical facilities of the Division.
Nine sub commissions worked during the forty‑fifth session. These were the sub commissions established for consideration of the submissions made by the Russian Federation in respect of the Arctic Ocean (partial revised submission); Brazil in respect of the Brazilian Southern Region (partial revised submission); France and South Africa jointly in respect of the area of the Crozet Archipelago and the Prince Edward Islands; Kenya; Nigeria; France in respect of La Réunion Island and Saint‑Paul and Amsterdam Islands; Côte d’Ivoire; Sri Lanka and Portugal. Also, as decided at the previous session, two meetings of all members of the Commission were held to discuss the application of various elements of the Statement of Understanding annexed to the Final Act of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea.
In 2018, the Commission will hold three sessions as follows: the forty‑sixth session from 29 January to 16 March 2018, with plenary sessions from 5 to 9 February 2018 and from 5 to 9 March 2018; the forty‑seventh session from 16 July to 31 August 2018, with plenary sessions from 6 to 10 August 2018 and 27 to 31 August 2018; and the forty‑eighth session from 15 October to 30 November 2018, without plenary sessions.
Background
The Commission is a body of 21 experts in the field of geology, geophysics or hydrography, which was established pursuant to article 2, annex II to the Convention. Members of the Commission are elected for a term of five years by the Meeting of States Parties to the Convention from among their nationals, having due regard to the need to ensure equitable geographical representation. They serve in their personal capacities.
The Convention provides that the State party which submitted the nomination of a member of the Commission shall defray the expenses of that member while in performance of Commission duties. However, the participation of several members of the Commission from developing countries has been facilitated by financial assistance from a voluntary trust fund for the purpose of defraying their participation costs.
Under rule 23 of its Rules of Procedure (public and private meetings), the meetings of the Commission, its subcommissions and subsidiary bodies are held in private, unless the Commission decides otherwise.
The Commission makes recommendations to coastal States on matters related to the establishment of the outer limits of their continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured, based on information submitted to it by coastal States. Those recommendations are based on the scientific and technical data and other material provided by States in relation to the implementation of article 76 of the Convention. The recommendations do not prejudice matters relating to the delimitation of boundaries between States with opposite or adjacent coasts, or prejudice the position of States that are parties to a land or maritime dispute, or application of other parts of the Convention or any other treaties. The limits of the continental shelf established by a coastal State on the basis of those recommendations shall be final and binding. In the case of disagreement by the coastal State with the recommendations of the Commission, the coastal State shall, within a reasonable time, make a revised or new submission to the Commission.
As required under the Rules of Procedure of the Commission, the executive summaries of all the submissions, including all charts and coordinates, have been made public by the Secretary‑General through continental shelf notifications circulated to United Nations Member States, as well as States parties to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The executive summaries and summaries of recommendations adopted by the Commission are available on the Division’s website at www.un.org/depts/los/clcs_new/clcs_home.htm.
NEWS FLASH!
President Trump Statement on Jerusalem
President Trump signed an executive order officially recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. In doing so, he is the first president to not issue a waiver
https://www.c-span.org/video/?438214-1/president-trump-jerusalem-israeli-capitalSpeakers Call for Broad Consultation, Applying Lessons of Past Reform Initiatives, as Secretary-General Proposes Sweeping Management Changes to Fifth Committee
UN press release issued 12/ 4/ 17https://www.un.org/press/en/2017/gaab4259.doc.htm
Welcoming the Secretary-General’s proposals aimed at reforming the United Nations programme planning and budget process, as well as increasing transparency and accountability, delegates in the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today stressed that management reform must employ lessons learned from past efforts, and could not be an isolated endeavour.
Delegates also called for ample time to review the Secretary-General’s proposals given their wide-ranging scope.
Reform could only succeed if there was active participation and true ownership by all Member States and the Secretariat, and if it strengthened implementation of the Organization’s mandates, particularly concerning the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, said the representative of Ecuador, speaking on behalf of the “Group of 77” developing countries and China. “Previous reform initiatives focused on cost‑saving and staff reductions, but failed to deliver on hollow promises to redirect savings towards development and mandate delivery,” he said.
Increasing transparency and accountability to Member States must be a guiding principle, he said, stressing that proposals for the delegation of authority and changes in reporting lines must be matched by effective accountability proposals. Like other speakers, he underscored the importance of ensuring equitable geographical representation and gender parity at all levels throughout the Organization, adding that the Group looked forward to a strategy that would identify inherent biases that allowed certain regional groups to dominate particular departments and senior management posts.
The representative of Ghana, speaking on behalf of the African Group, welcomed the ongoing evaluation of the impact of previous reforms, calling on the Secretary-General to build on best practices and develop risk management in his refined proposals. “Management reform is not a static one-off process,” she pointed out. The Group would also examine the proposals in terms of how they addressed Africa as one of the Organization’s eight priorities, paying special attention to how reformed delegation of authority, programme planning and budgetary proposals, as well as new organizational structures would align with United Nations and African Union cooperation.
Several delegates took the opportunity to request additional clarification from the Secretary-General on his reform proposals, with the representative of the United States asking how he would use the authorities he had requested to make strategic decisions on resources. She also requested to hear more about his efforts to develop a reform-minded senior leadership and to ensure buy-in by staff members.
The representative of Australia, also speaking on behalf of Canada and New Zealand, said the Secretary-General was right to point towards a better budget process focused on results, but asked why Member States should expand flexibility for him to redeploy resources and how that would help people on the ground.
The Secretary-General’s proposal to move from an biennial to an annual budget was supported by several speakers, with the representative of Morocco saying it would lead to a more precise and credible budget, while also helping Member States shoulder their financial obligations better. The representative of Russian Federation, however, opposed the change, emphasizing that the Secretary‑General’s report failed to present clear advantages of doing so.
Presenting his reports on shifting the United Nations management paradigm, Secretary-General Antonió Guterres, highlighted that his three strategic priorities for reform focused on the Organization’s work for peace, its support for sustainable development and its internal management. “Reform is not an end in itself. The purpose of reform is simple and clear: to best position the United Nations to do the work that Member States ask us to do,” he said.
With 90 per cent of its personnel serving in the field, the United Nations must bring decision-making closer to the people it served, empower managers to deliver on mandates, reform cumbersome and costly budgetary procedures, and eliminate duplicative structures, he said. In the past seven months, he and his team had conducted extensive consultations and outreach with Member States, and shared their findings at the first-ever retreat with Member States on the subject, held in July.
In addition to having the Organization move from a biennial to an annual budget, he proposed that planning and budgetary cycle be shortened from five to three years, as a way simplify and streamline the process. The Secretary-General also asked Member States to broaden his authority to commit funding for unforeseen events such as natural disasters in order to respond quickly to emergencies, and to give him additional authority to redeploy resources within budget parts to ensure that resources allocated for a particular area, such as development, were used only for that area and not diverted elsewhere.
Achieving gender parity and increasing geographical diversity were other important aspects of his reform, as was his proposal for a Department of Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance and Department of Operational Support to eliminate duplication and hold programme managers accountable for mandate delivery. “These are ambitious reforms,” he stressed, highlighting that he would present concrete proposals on the various elements in May and October 2018.
Carlos Ruiz Massieu, Chair of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), presenting that entity’s corresponding report, backed the proposal to shorten the budget cycle and replace the biennial budget with an annual budget. It also supported streamlining the planning and budgeting process, including the proposed elimination of the budget outline, as well as efforts to improve the clarity and presentation of budget documents, among other things.
At the end of the meeting, Michel Tommo Monthe (Cameroon), Chair of the Fifth Committee, made closing remarks.
Also speaking today were the representatives of Singapore (on behalf of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations), Switzerland (also on behalf of Liechtenstein), Mexico, Chile, Cuba, South Africa, Pakistan, Algeria, Japan, Argentina, Norway, Brazil, Indonesia, Côte d’Ivoire, China, Republic of Korea, Thailand, Colombia and Tunisia.
The Fifth Committee will next meet at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 5 December, to discuss the administrative expenses of the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund and progress in the construction and property management project at the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).
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Adopting 57 First Committee Texts, General Assembly Addresses Myriad Security Issues, from Use of Chemical Weapons in Syria to Nuclear-Arms-Ban Treaty
Press release issued 12/ 4/ 17https://www.un.org/press/en/2017/ga11984.doc.htm
Heeding the recommendation of its First Committee (Disarmament and International Security), the General Assembly adopted 53 draft resolutions and 4 draft decisions today, including one that would, with renewed determination, seek concerted action towards the total elimination of nuclear weapons.
Adopting that text by a recorded vote of 156 in favour to 4 against (China, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Syria), with 24 abstentions, the Assembly called upon all States to take further practical steps and measures towards the total elimination of nuclear weapons, based on the principle of undiminished and increased security for all.
Welcoming the new Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, the Assembly adopted a related draft resolution on ethical imperatives for a nuclear‑weapon‑free world. Adopting that text by a vote of 130 in favour to 36 against, with 15 abstentions, the Assembly called upon all States to acknowledge the catastrophic humanitarian consequences and risks posed by a nuclear weapon detonation, and noted that all responsible States had a solemn duty to take decisions that served to protect their people and each other from the ravages of such activities.
Reaffirming its condemnation of the use of chemical weapons by anyone under any circumstances, the Assembly adopted the draft resolution “Implementation of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction” by a recorded vote of 159 in favour 7 against (Burundi, China, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Iran, Russian Federation, Syria, Zimbabwe), with 14 abstentions. In doing so, it expressed its strong conviction that those individuals responsible for their use must be held accountable.
Prior to the passage of that text as a whole, the Assembly decided, by separate recorded votes, to retain several paragraphs, which included provisions whereby it condemned in the strongest possible terms the use of chemical weapons in Syria, as indicated in reports by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons‑United Nations Joint Investigative Mechanism.
Highlighting the importance of addressing regional concerns, the Assembly adopted the draft resolution “Conventional arms control at the regional and subregional levels”, by a vote of 184 in favour to 1 against (India), with 2 abstentions (Bhutan, Russian Federation). Before adopting that text as a whole, the Assembly decided, by a recorded vote of 140 in favour to 1 against (India), with 39 abstentions, to retain operative paragraph 2, which requested the Conference on Disarmament to consider the formulation of principles that could serve as a framework for regional agreements on conventional arms control.
Acting without a vote, the Assembly adopted draft resolutions on regional disarmament, confidence‑building measures in the regional and subregional context, activities of the United Nations Standing Advisory Committee on Security Questions in Central Africa and strengthening of security and cooperation in the Mediterranean region.
The Assembly also took action on measures to curb the proliferation of next‑generation armaments, adopting the draft resolution “Prohibition of the development and manufacture of new types of weapons of mass destruction and new systems of such weapons: report of the Conference on Disarmament” by a recorded vote of 180 in favour to 3 against (Israel, United Kingdom, United States), with no abstentions. By the terms of that text, the Assembly reaffirmed that effective measures be taken to prevent the emergence of such weapons.
Countering the threat posed by improvised explosive devices, the Assembly adopted a draft resolution of the same name without a vote, urging Member States to comply fully with all relevant United Nations resolutions, including those related to preventing terrorist groups from using and accessing materials that could be used in making such weapons.
Addressing new challenges arising from fast‑moving developments in the information communication technology arena, the Assembly adopted, by a recorded vote of 185 in favour to none against, with 1 abstention (Ukraine), a draft resolution on developments in the field of information and telecommunications in the context of international security.
The Assembly also adopted, without a vote, two annual draft resolutions containing reports on the work of the Conference on Disarmament and on the Disarmament Commission. It also adopted a draft decision on its 2018 programme of work and took note of a report on programme planning.
Due to budget implications, the Assembly deferred action on draft resolutions on follow‑up to the 2013 high‑level meeting of the General Assembly on nuclear disarmament and on further practical measures for the prevention of an arms race in outer space.
Over the course of the meeting, the Assembly adopted, without a vote, draft resolutions relating to transparency of military expenditures; African Nuclear‑Weapon‑Free Zone Treaty; establishing a nuclear‑weapon‑free zone in the Middle East; and the role of science and technology in the context of international security and disarmament.
Taking up texts contained in its First Committee report on general and complete disarmament, the Assembly adopted, by separate recorded vote, draft resolutions on: follow‑up to nuclear disarmament obligations agreed to at the 1995, 2000 and 2010 Review Conferences of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons; humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons; taking forward multilateral nuclear disarmament negotiations; and compliance with non‑proliferation, arms limitation and disarmament agreements and commitments.
Also by separate recorded votes, it adopted draft resolutions on a nuclear‑weapon‑free world; reducing nuclear danger; nuclear disarmament; Arms Trade Treaty; nuclear‑weapon‑free southern hemisphere and adjacent areas; and promoting multilateralism in disarmament and non‑proliferation. The Assembly also adopted by separate recorded votes draft resolutions on convening of the fourth special session of the General Assembly devoted to disarmament; and on follow‑up to the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the legality of the threat or use of nuclear weapons.
It also approved three draft decisions; one, by recorded vote, on a treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices; and two, without a vote, on nuclear disarmament verification and on the Treaty on the South‑East Asia Nuclear‑Weapon‑Free Zone.
With regard to related instruments, the Assembly adopted, by separate recorded votes, draft resolutions on the Comprehensive Nuclear‑Test‑Ban Treaty and on the implementation of Convention on Cluster Munitions and of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti‑Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction. Acting without a vote, it adopted draft resolutions on the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May Be Deemed to Be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects and on the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction.
Also under the general and complete disarmament category, the following draft resolutions were adopted without a vote: assistance to States for curbing the illicit traffic in small arms and light weapons and collecting them; measures to prevent terrorists from acquiring weapons of mass destruction; relationship between disarmament and development; observance of environmental norms in the drafting and implementation of agreements on disarmament and arms control; International Day against Nuclear Tests; and on the prohibition of dumping radioactive wastes. Also without a vote, the Assembly adopted draft resolutions on problems arising from the accumulation of conventional ammunition stockpiles in surplus; transparency and confidence‑building measures in outer space activities; and the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons in all its aspects.
Turning to other First Committee reports, the Assembly adopted, without a vote, draft resolutions pertaining to the work of United Nations regional centres for peace and disarmament as well as the Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa, Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean and the Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific. It also adopted draft resolutions, by recorded vote, on the risk of nuclear proliferation in the Middle East; Comprehensive Nuclear‑Test‑Ban Treaty; and the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use of Nuclear Weapons.
The General Assembly will meet again on Tuesday, 5 December to consider draft resolutions and reports related to oceans and sustainable fisheries.
NEWS FROM THE UN NEWS CENTER
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5 December 2017 – The United Nations human rights chief on Tuesday called for an international criminal probe into the perpetrators of the widespread and brutal attacks that have driven more than 600,000 Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar since August, noting that “elements of genocide” against the minority could not be ruled out.
https://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=58223
West and Central Africa lagging far behind world in HIV response, warns UNICEF
5 December 2017 – Four in five children living with HIV in West and Central Africa are still not receiving life-saving antiretroviral therapy and AIDS-related deaths among adolescents aged 15-19 are on the rise, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has warned.
https://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=58222
Caring for the planet starts with ‘the ground we walk on;’ UN says on World Soil Day
5 December 2017 – Soil is a major carbon storage system, essential for sustainable agriculture and climate change mitigation, the United Nations agriculture agency said Tuesday, launching on World Soil Day a comprehensive global map showing the amount of carbon stocks contained in soil.
https://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=58224
Urgent action needed to address rising global hunger, says UN agency head
4 December 2017 – Immediate action is needed to address the rise in global hunger, the head of the United Nations food security agency has urged, highlighting the need to build resilience in poor and vulnerable communities.
https://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=58213
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FROM THE US MISSION TO THE UN
Remarks at a UN Human Rights Council Special Session on Burma
Press release issued 12/ 5/ 17https://usun.state.gov/remarks/8199
The United States is pleased to cosponsor today’s special session in order to shine an urgent light on the grave human rights abuses occurring in Burma. We appreciate the information shared by the High Commissioner, the Special Rapporteur, Pak Marzuki Darusman, and SRSG Patten and others who have brought to light shocking new details about the nature and scale of the violence. We again call on the Government of Myanmar to provide access for the Fact Finding Mission and other UN mechanisms. We thank Bangladesh for organizing this session and for its generosity in receiving so many refugees fleeing for their lives.
The United States again condemns the August 25 attacks. However, no provocation can justify the widespread and horrendous atrocities that have been perpetrated by Burma’s security forces against the Rohingya population. The United States and other countries have deemed this to be a calculated campaign of ethnic cleansing. As we have heard today, facts continue to come to light describing the events of recent months as possibly premeditated – including actions taken well before August 25.
These are neither isolated nor unprecedented behaviors by the Tatmadaw. UN bodies have documented decades of similar, systemic abuses against ethnic communities across Myanmar. Today in Kachin and Northern Shan State, tens of thousands of IDPs are suffering yet another winter of fear and deprivation. These ethnic groups have been virtually alone within Burma in speaking out against the treatment of the Rohingya because they know this brutality so well from their own experience.
The United States again calls on Myanmar authorities to respect the rights of its entire population, provide unhindered UN, humanitarian and media access throughout Burma, especially in Rakhine State, ensure justice for victims and accountability for those responsible for human rights violations and abuses, and take all necessary measures so that all persons can safely and voluntarily return to their places of origin. We share the concerns raised by SR Lee regarding the repatriation agreement.
The United States welcomes the government’s commitment to implement the Annan commission report, including with respect to access to citizenship and reform of the discriminatory 1982 Citizenship law. It is incumbent upon the security forces to respect these commitments, and to assist the civilian government in implementing them instead of undermining them. It is also essential that the hate speech, dehumanization and incitement to violence against the Rohingya come to an end. The lack of citizenship status and associated civil and political rights is the fundamental root cause of this crisis. Addressing this is an urgent imperative for the government of Myanmar in order to create conditions allowing safe, voluntary and dignified return. The first step in this is also to stop denying the seriousness of the current situation.---Ambassador Kelley Currie
U.S. Representative for Economic and Social Affairs
Remarks at a Fifth Committee Meeting on Agenda Item 134: Management Reform
Press release issued 12/ 4/ 17https://usun.state.gov/remarks/8198
On behalf of the United States, I would like to thank the Secretary-General for presenting his management reform proposals "Shifting the Management Paradigm." Mr. Secretary-General, my delegation applauds your steadfast leadership, as well as your personal engagement on reforming the United Nations so that it better serves the people we all represent. I would also like to thank Mr. Carlos Ruiz Massieu, Chairman of ACABQ, for the Committee’s related report.
Mr. Secretary-General, as we focus on these management reform proposals in the coming weeks, we continue to support your efforts to look across the entire system to find ways the United Nations can better deliver in development, management, and peace and security. With more focused, efficient and effective UN operations, the UN will be better able to perform the mission that we have charged you and your team to undertake.
The United States seeks a United Nations that maintains the trust of the people around the world. In order to realize a truly effective UN that remains relevant, we agree that the UN must change the way it does business, including by focusing more on delivering results in the field. We must also strive for enhanced accountability and oversight in conjunction with giving you the tools necessary to do the job. The management framework, structures and procedures must enable and support more dynamic action on peace and security, sustainable development, and the protection of human rights.
We fully support the principles you have outlined which recommend bringing decision-making closer to the point of delivery; improving the fragmentation of delegation of authority; empowering managers; ensuring greater accountability and transparency; reducing duplicative structures and overlapping mandates; increasing support for the field; and reforming the planning and budgetary processes. At the same time, the UN must realize the full benefits of existing initiatives to streamline business processes and provide the critical information needed to make the organization smarter and leaner.
We Member States must also be willing to change business as usual. We note the broad, cross-regional support that was on display at the UN reform event hosted by President Trump in September. With 133 signatories, we hope this translates into timely action to support your management reform proposals. At a minimum, you should be given the opportunity to bring forward detailed proposals in May for further, more extensive consideration by Member States. We look forward to General Assembly endorsement of the vision that your initial report has presented.
Just one question, and this echoes queries from other colleagues this afternoon: with regard to your goal of making the budget a strategic tool and the related ability to account for results, can you share more with us on how you will use the authorities you have requested to make strategic decisions on resources?
We also would like to hear more about your change management efforts on developing a cadre of reform-minded senior leadership who can serve as reform champions, and more about your engagements with UN staff members to ensure their buy-in.
Mr. Secretary-General, Mr. Chairman, we are confident that with strong leadership, reform can be accomplished. We pledge to be good partners in this important work, as we believe that the United Nations can emerge as a stronger and more effective institution.-----Ambassador Michele J. Sison
U.S. Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations
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United States Ends Participation in Global Compact on Migration
Press release issued 12/ 2/ 17https://usun.state.gov/remarks/8197
Today, the U.S. Mission to the United Nations informed the UN Secretary-General that the United States is ending its participation in the Global Compact on Migration.
U.S. participation in the Compact process began in 2016, following the Obama Administration’s decision to join the UN’s New York Declaration on migration. The New York Declaration contains numerous provisions that are inconsistent with U.S. immigration and refugee policies and the Trump Administration’s immigration principles. As a result, President Trump determined that the United States would end its participation in the Compact process that aims to reach international consensus at the UN in 2018.
Ambassador Nikki Haley, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, issued the following statement:
“America is proud of our immigrant heritage and our long-standing moral leadership in providing support to migrant and refugee populations across the globe. No country has done more than the United States, and our generosity will continue. But our decisions on immigration policies must always be made by Americans and Americans alone. We will decide how best to control our borders and who will be allowed to enter our country. The global approach in the New York Declaration is simply not compatible with U.S. sovereignty.”
US STATE DEPT: Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs Release of Foreign Relations of the United States, 1917-1972, Volume VI, Public Diplomacy, 1961-1963
Press release 12/ 5/ 17https://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2017/12/276259.htm
The Department of State released today Foreign Relations of the United States, 1917–1972, Volume VI, Public Diplomacy, 1961–1963.
This volume documents the public diplomacy efforts of the John F. Kennedy administration. A major emphasis of the volume is the role the United States Information Agency (USIA), led by Edward R. Murrow during this period, played in presenting U.S. foreign policy objectives to the world during a time of social change within the United States. The volume illustrates how USIA and the Department of State pursued public diplomacy against the backdrop of crises, including the Bay of Pigs invasion, the construction of the Berlin Wall, Laos, Vietnam, and the Cuban Missile Crisis. Additional documentation chronicles the Kennedy administration’s attempts to develop a national cultural policy, the importance of overseas polling, and the Department of State’s educational exchange activities.
This volume was compiled and edited by Kristin L. Ahlberg and Charles V. Hawley. The volume and this press release are available exclusively on the Office of the Historian website at https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1917-72PubDipv06. For further information, contact history@state.gov.
US STATE DEPT: Announcing the Zoohackathon 2017 Global Winner
Press release issued 12/ 5/ 17https://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2017/12/276260.htm
The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs is pleased to announce the Zoohackathon 2017 global winner, Team ODINN.
This fall, hundreds of participants competed around the world to develop conservation technology solutions at the second-annual Zoohackathon. Teams were comprised of coders, designers, project managers, and conservation specialists. Each team selected a problem statement supplied by U.S. government agencies and their partners to solve.
The Zoohackathon program promotes understanding of the problem of wildlife trafficking and enlists new partners to combat it by developing practical and innovative conservation technology solutions.
Team ODINN is a four-person team that participated in the London Zoohackathon, which was co-hosted by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and U.S. Embassy London.
Team ODINN’s prototype aims to reduce wildlife poaching and illegal trade by improving the effectiveness of field-based camera traps. Currently, wildlife camera traps capture countless images of all kinds of wildlife, limiting their utility for rangers. Team ODINN’s technology acts as an image filter that flags humans and endangered wildlife from the multitude of images, thus enabling rangers to rapidly identify poaching sites. The prototype reduces the number of images that the rangers must examine by 98 percent and can be retro-fitted to existing camera traps, eliminating the need for additional equipment.
US DEFENSE DEPT:
Mattis, Malaysian Counterpart Confer on Regional Security Issues
WASHINGTON, Dec. 5, 2017 — A discussion of regional security issues highlighted a phone call yesterday between Defense Secretary James N. Mattis and Malaysian Defense Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, chief Pentagon spokesperson Dana W. White said today.NATO Seeks Increased Cooperation With European Union
WASHINGTON, Dec. 5, 2017 — Foreign ministers from Europe and North America will examine new ways to increase the interoperability between NATO and the European Union as they meet in Brussels this week.
Secretary Recognizes Pakistan’s Sacrifices, Role in Counterterrorism Fight
WASHINGTON, Dec. 4, 2017 — Speaking to senior Pakistani officials in Islamabad today, Defense Secretary James N. Mattis recognized Pakistan’s sacrifices in the war on terrorism, chief Pentagon spokesperson Dana W. White said in a statement.
WORLD NEWS FLASH!
Palestinians seethe at Trump's 'insane' Jerusalem move
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John 10:14-15 NKJV
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