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28 January 2015
On 21 January, Sir Mark Lyall Grant, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the UK Mission to the UN, stated at the UN Special event to mark the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the German Nazi extermination camp in Auschwitz-Birkenau that: ‘Where a state is failing to act to protect its own citizens or, worse, is actively persecuting and killing them, the international community has an equal and shared responsibility to do all it can to protect populations at risk.’
Source: Statement by Ambassador Lyall Grant of the UK Mission to the UN, at the UN Special event to mark the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the German Nazi extermination camp in Auschwitz-Birkenau | 21 January 2015
28 January 2015
On 19 January, the UN Security Council urged central African countries to step up plans for a multinational force to fight Boko Haram (this is the first time that the UNSC gave an overall response on this issue).
On 21 January, the Nigerian foreign minister said that African nations threatened by the group will seek UN Security Council authorisation for a multinational force to take on the militants.
Source: Time | A Multinational Task Force Must Fight Boko Haram, Says U.N. Security Council
Source: Raw Story| UN Security Council backs plan for African coalition to join forces against Boko Haram
Source: World Bulletin | African states to seek U.N. mandate to fight Boko Haram
28 January 2015
On 23 January, Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby stated that US troops will soon be dispatched in order to establish training sites for the Syrian opposition. He is quoted as stating that: ‘We’ve said, though, we know how to do this and we’re not going to do it just alone (…) We’re going to do it with our interagency and international partners, people who know these groups.’
Pentagon spokeswomen Elisa Smith said: ‘Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar have agreed to host training sites, and we anticipate the program to train and equip the moderate Syrian opposition will take approximately 400 U.S. trainers, with the caveat that this number could fluctuate based on course load, course requirements and other variables.’
Source: U.S. Department of Defense | U.S. Troops to Begin Establishing Syrian Opposition Training Sites
Source: The Washington Times | U.S. is sending 400 troops to train Syrian fighters against Islamic State
22 January 2015
According to whistleblower Edward Snowden, the Dutch security agencies AIVD and MIVD do whatever the United States security agency NSA tells them to do. Snowden, who worked for both the NSA and CIA, said that the Dutch agencies are regarded as ‘subordinate’. ‘The Dutch work for the Americans. They do what they are told,’ he said, and ‘[t]hey are not valued in terms of their capacities but for the access they offer. The NSA uses this.’ (more…)
Source: DutchNews.nl | Dutch security services ‘work for the US’, says whistleblower Snowden
21 January 2015
The United Nations has reported progress in the fight against Ebola, one year since the outbreak of the virus in West Africa. On Tuesday 20 January, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced dramatic improvements in three of the most affected states. According to data from the UN World Health Organization (WHO) the three most affected countries – Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia – reported their lowest weekly numbers of confirmed cases in months. However, Mr. Ban urged the international community for continued support. (more…)
Source: UN News Centre | ‘No room for complacency’ UN says, urging vigilance in Ebola fight as West Africa marks progress