Tag Archives: Tanzania
19 November 2013
A piece in the New York Times draws attention to the risks raised by the decision of the Security Council to authorise the United Nations Force Intervention Brigade in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to ‘neutralize armed groups’, contrary to prior passive peacekeeping forces. This brigade is comprised of 3,000 soldiers from South Africa, Tanzania, and Malawi.
It notes that the Congolese government walked out on peace talks with rebels, as a result of such one-sided support from the UN. Additionally, this authorisation could affect peacekeeping operations worldwide, as there are almost 100,000 peacekeepers stationed from the Western Sahara and Haiti, to Cyprus and Kashmir. Humanitarian aid organisations are considered such operations will put their workers at risk because armed groups will no longer distinguish soldiers and those that provide food and shelter to civilians during war. Furthermore, countries which traditionally send many troops to serve as peacekeepers, such as India and Uruguay, feel uneasy about this new direction, as prior peacekeeping posed little risk of casualties. A UN official, speaking anonymously, was concerned about the precedent which would be set by this authorisation and stated that the Security Council was ‘careful to say it was not a precedent, but every time you say that that’s exactly what you’re making.’
Source: New York Times | New U.N. Brigade’s Aggressive Stance in Africa Brings Success, and Risks
7 March 2013
At the Conference of the Parties of the of the Convention on the Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), eight states (Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Vietnam, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and China) were identified as key to the trade in ivory and were threatened with trade sanctions if they do not address failures in protection against poaching, and failures in seizing illegal ivory trade.
Six of these states are states which most ivory passes through (Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Malaysia, Philippines and Vietnam), the other two are the states were most ivory is bought (China and Thailand).
The news of threat of trade sanctions coincides with the publication of a report that details the increase in levels of poaching. The report concludes that illicit ivory trade activity and the weight of ivory behind this trade has more than doubled since 2007, and is over three times greater than it was in 1998.
Source: The Guardian | Two-thirds of forest elephants killed by ivory poachers in past decade
Source: UNEP, CITES, IUCN, TRAFFIC | Elephants in the Dust - The African Elephant Crisis | A Rapid Response Assessment
Source: The Miami Herald | Ivory trade nations face threat of sanctions
28 January 2013
The United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has submitted a Congressionally mandated report identifying ten nations whose fishing vessels engaged in illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing in 2011 or 2012. The 10 states are Colombia, Ecuador, Ghana, Italy, Mexico, Panama, the Republic of Korea, Spain, Tanzania, and Venezuela. All ten nations identified in this year’s report had vessels that did not comply in 2011 and/or 2012 with conservation and management measures required under a regional fishery management organisation to which the US is a party. The report is part of the efforts of the United States to ensure that the US fishing industry is not undermined by unsustainable or illegal activities. The US will soon start consultations with each of the 10 nations to encourage them to take action to address IUU fishing and by-catch by their fishermen.
Source: Merco Press | US NOAA identifies 10 countries that conducted IUU fishing in 2011-12