Wednesday, April 25, 2012
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE TO UN SUSAN E. RICE TALKS ABOUT ATROCITIES PREVENTION BOARD
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Statement by Ambassador Susan E. Rice, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, on the Launch of the Atrocities Prevention Board
Susan E. Rice
U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations
U.S. Mission to the United Nations New York, NYApril 23, 2012
Nearly nine months ago, President Obama declared the prevention of mass atrocities and genocide “a core national security interest and core moral responsibility” of the United States in the 21st century and set in motion an unprecedented review of our national capacity to foresee, prevent, and respond to them. In doing so, the President expressed his determination to ensure an end to history’s bitter succession of mass killings and to make “never again” not just a reminder to future generations, but a hallmark of American policy.
Today, at the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC, an institution dedicated to the imperatives of memory and action, President Obama announced sweeping initiatives generated by his directive. The President ordered steps—including the establishment of an Atrocity Prevention Board—that will lay the foundation for a stronger, better-organized U.S. and international response to early warnings of mass atrocities and genocide, presenting policymakers with better prevention options before the costs of action rise.
Atrocities are not inevitable. They are perpetrated by those who choose cruelty, preach hate, and seek power through division and death. They need not—and should not—happen anywhere. Not in Cote d’Ivoire, nor Libya, nor Syria. Yet, as the President has said, “History has taught us that our pursuit of a world where states do not systematically slaughter civilians will not come to fruition without concerted and coordinated effort.” Today and every day, let us work together to apply the lessons of the past and to strengthen the world’s will and capacity to make “never again” an enduring reality.
U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FEARS SPREAD OF EXTREMISM IN LATIN AMERICA
Panetta: Violent Extremism Threatens Latin America
By Cheryl Pellerin
RIO DE JANEIRO, April 24, 2012 - Even in a region where some of the United States' closest military partners are steadily improving national stability and security, the threat of violent extremism is spreading, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said here yesterday.
During a weeklong trip that includes stops in Bogota, Colombia; Brasilia and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and Santiago, Chile, the secretary is meeting with military and political leaders to reaffirm the U.S. commitment to help with common defense challenges.
Increasingly, one of those challenges involves violent extremist organizations and the growing engagement of Iran in the region.
"We always have a concern about, in particular, the [Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps] and efforts by the IRGC to expand their influence, not only throughout the Middle East but also into this region," Panetta said during a briefing en route to Colombia.
"In my book," he added, "that relates to expanding terrorism."
Last month, in written testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Air Force Gen. Douglas M. Fraser, commander of the U.S. Southern Command, detailed the regional activities of Hezbollah, the Lebanon-based Shi'a Muslim militant group and political party, and Iran.
Southcom's area of responsibility includes Central America, South America and the Caribbean.
"We do see evidence of international terrorist groups benefitting from the intertwined systems of illicit trafficking and money laundering in our AOR," Fraser said.
In South America, funding for Hezbollah is raised through charitable donations as well as through drug trafficking and dealing in counterfeit and pirated goods, he said.
In 2011, the U.S. Treasury Department identified the Lebanese Canadian Bank as a "primary money laundering concern" for its role in facilitating money laundering activities of Ayman Joumaa and his Lebanon-based drug trafficking network, which also channeled financial support to Hezbollah.
Joumaa also is accused of smuggling U.S.-bound cocaine through Central America and Mexico and laundering money for a group called Los Zetas, and many Colombian and Venezuelan suppliers.
"In addition to Hezbollah supporters throughout South America, the region is home to a small number of violent extremist organizations, Fraser said.
"We remain vigilant for the potential radicalization of homegrown extremists," the general added.
For example, a small number of Sunni extremists are involved in the radicalization of converts and other Muslims, Fraser told the panel.
"These efforts can be seen through the influence of public personalities like Jamaica's Shaykh Abdullah al-Faisal, who was convicted in the United Kingdom for inciting terrorism," the general said.
Al-Qaida senior operative Adnan el-Shukrijumah has held valid passports for the United States, as well as Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago, where he has family and associates, Fraser added.
Despite recent convictions in a 2007 plot to attack the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, one alleged co-conspirator remains at large in Guyana, he said.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has visited the region six times in six years, and Iran continues its overtures to countries there to try to circumvent international sanctions, Fraser said.
Iran has established modest economic, cultural and security ties, the general added, mostly with nations aligned with a group known as the Bolivarian Alliance for the People of our Americas, called ALBA. These include Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Nicaragua and Cuba.
Iran also has established 36 Shi'a cultural centers in the region, Fraser said.
The Fundacion Cultural Oriente is an Iranian outreach center dedicated to strengthening Iran's ties to Latin America, Fraser said.
The center is run by radical cleric Moshen Rabbani, who is on the Interpol Red List for involvement in the 1994 bombings of a Jewish cultural center in Buenos Aires, the general said, adding that Rabbani oversees several media outlets and has recruited students from the region to study in Iran.
"We take Iranian activity in the hemisphere seriously and we monitor its activities closely," Fraser said.
"The U.S. government's successful detection and thwarting of the plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the United States," he added, "reinforces the importance of that monitoring and the effectiveness of U.S. countermeasures."
The expansion of terrorism is an area of concern for the region and its partners, Panetta said.
"I hope we can work together," the secretary added, "to make sure that all the steps are taken to ensure that anything that encourages terrorism can be fought against."
FORMER BP ENGINEER ARRESTED IN CONNECTION WITH DEEPWATER HORIZON INVESTIGATION
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Former BP Engineer Arrested for Obstruction of Justice in Connection with the Deepwater Horizon Criminal Investigation First Criminal Charges to Result from the Deepwater Horizon Task Force Investigation
WASHINGTON – Kurt Mix, a former engineer for BP plc, was arrested today on charges of intentionally destroying evidence requested by federal criminal authorities investigating the April 20, 2010, Deepwater Horizon disaster, announced Attorney General Eric Holder, Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Jim Letten of the Eastern District of Louisiana and Kevin Perkins, Acting Executive Assistant Director for the FBI’s Criminal Cyber Response and Services Branch.
Mix, 50, of Katy, Texas, was charged with two counts of obstruction of justice in a criminal complaint filed in the Eastern District of Louisiana and unsealed today.
“The department has filed initial charges in its investigation into the Deepwater Horizon disaster against an individual for allegedly deleting records relating to the amount of oil flowing from the Macondo well after the explosion that led to the devastating tragedy in the Gulf of Mexico,” said Attorney General Holder. “The Deepwater Horizon Task Force is continuing its investigation into the explosion and will hold accountable those who violated the law in connection with the largest environmental disaster in U.S. history.”
According to the affidavit in support of a criminal complaint and arrest warrant, on April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon rig experienced an uncontrolled blowout and related explosions while finishing the Macondo well. The catastrophe killed 11 men on board and resulted in the largest environmental disaster in U.S. history.
According to court documents, Mix was a drilling and completions project engineer for BP. Following the blowout, Mix worked on internal BP efforts to estimate the amount of oil leaking from the well and was involved in various efforts to stop the leak. Those efforts included, among others, Top Kill, the failed BP effort to pump heavy mud into the blown out wellhead to try to stop the oil flow. BP sent numerous notices to Mix requiring him to retain all information concerning Macondo, including his text messages.
On or about Oct. 4, 2010, after Mix learned that his electronic files were to be collected by a vendor working for BP’s lawyers, Mix allegedly deleted on his iPhone a text string containing more than 200 text messages with a BP supervisor. The deleted texts, some of which were recovered forensically, included sensitive internal BP information collected in real-time as the Top Kill operation was occurring, which indicated that Top Kill was failing. Court documents allege that, among other things, Mix deleted a text he had sent on the evening of May 26, 2010, at the end of the first day of Top Kill. In the text, Mix stated, among other things, “Too much flowrate – over 15,000.” Before Top Kill commenced, Mix and other engineers had concluded internally that Top Kill was unlikely to succeed if the flow rate was greater than 15,000 barrels of oil per day (BOPD). At the time, BP’s public estimate of the flow rate was 5,000 BOPD – three times lower than the minimum flow rate indicated in Mix’s text.
In addition, on or about Aug. 19, 2011, after learning that his iPhone was about to be imaged by a vendor working for BP’s outside counsel, Mix allegedly deleted a text string containing more than 100 text messages with a BP contractor with whom Mix had worked on various issues concerning how much oil was flowing from the Macondo well after the blowout. By the time Mix deleted those texts, he had received numerous legal hold notices requiring him to preserve such data and had been communicating with a criminal defense lawyer in connection with the pending grand jury investigation of the Deepwater Horizon disaster.
A complaint is merely a charge and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
If convicted, Mix faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 as to each count.?
The Deepwater Horizon Task Force, based in New Orleans, is supervised by Assistant Attorney General Breuer and led by Deputy Assistant Attorney General John D. Buretta, who serves as the Director of the task force. The task force includes prosecutors from the Criminal Division and the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana and other U.S. Attorney’s Offices, and investigating agents from the FBI, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Interior, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other federal law enforcement agencies.
The task force’s investigation of this and other matters concerning the Deepwater Horizon disaster is ongoing.
The case is being pros
ecuted by task force Deputy Directors Derek Cohen and Avi Gesser of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and task force prosecutors Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Pickens II of the Eastern District of Louisiana and Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Cullen of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
EXPPORT-IMPORT BANK WORKS TO EXTEND REAUTHORIZATION WITH $140 BILLION CAP
FROM: EXPORT-IMPORT BANK
As you know, the Ex-Im Bank charter expires on May 31st, and we are close to our exposure limit of $100 billion. Our efforts to achieve the President’s request for a four-year reauthorization with a $140 billion lending cap have been steady over these past few months. But an effort in March to pass such a measure in the Senate fell short on procedural grounds.
Ex-Im Bank increases U.S. jobs, pays for itself and earns money for the U.S. Treasury -- $1.9 billion over the past five years. That is why we continue to enjoy strong, broad support. Members on both sides of the aisle, along with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Small Business Exporters Association, National Association of Manufacturers, Machinists and Aerospace Workers Unions, and others have been advocating for our reauthorization.
The world wants to buy what America makes, and this is no time to back away from export financing of United States equipment and services. In particular, our Nation’s small business owners are operating in a brutally competitive marketplace, and we need to be there so our companies and workers can conduct business on a level playing field. Ex-Im FY’11 financing supported 290,000 jobs, more than 1,000 jobs per working day.
Government-backed credit from other nations to help their companies export is growing, especially in emerging markets. Therefore, Ex-Im Bank plays a key role when foreign buyers are in need of high-quality products or services. We increase the opportunities for U.S. businesses to win the deals.
The next few weeks are critical. We are continuing to work with the House and Senate for support for our reauthorization, and we urge them to act promptly before serious damage is done to American competitiveness.
At our recent 37th annual conference, Ex-Im’s reauthorization received tremendous support. This newsletter includes highlights from the very successful two-day event.
SEC OBTAINS AN ASSET FREEZE AND OTHER RELIEF AGAINST ALLEN WEINTRAUB
FROM: SEC
April 24, 2012
On April 4, 2012, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in Miami issued an Order to Show Cause and Other Emergency Relief (Order) to halt Allen Weintraub’s ongoing fraudulent scheme of selling securities of an investment vehicle that he falsely represented owned pre-IPO shares of Facebook, Inc. The Court’s Order temporarily freezes the assets of Weintraub and certain shell companies through which he apparently operates. The order also directed Weintraub to demonstrate, among other things, why he should not be held in contempt for violating the Court’s Final Judgment in SEC v. Allen E. Weintraub and AWMS Acquisition, Inc., d/b/a Sterling Global Holdings, Case No. 11-21549-CIV-HUCK/BANDSTRA (S.D.Fla.), which was entered on January 10, 2012 (Final Judgment). The Final Judgment enjoined Weintraub from violating, among other things, Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder.
The Commission’s motion for an order to show cause alleges that in February 2012, Weintraub, acting through an alias, William Lewis, and through entities named Private Stock Transfer, Inc., PST Investments III, Inc. (PST Investments), and World Financial Solutions, defrauded investors by selling them worthless shares in PST Investments. Weintraub had falsely represented that he would sell the investors pre-IPO shares of Facebook, Inc., and that PST Investments had an ownership interest in Facebook stock. The Commission’s motion also alleges that Weintraub was utilizing the website privatestocktransfer.com to perpetrate his scheme. The Court’s Order directed that this website be deactivated.
On December 30, 2011, the Court entered an order granting the Commission’s motion for summary judgment against Weintraub and his shell company, Sterling Global. In its Order, the Court found that Weintraub deceived the public by making false and misleading statements regarding Sterling Global’s ability to purchase and operate Eastman Kodak Company and AMR Corporation. The Court’s January 2012 Final Judgment permanently enjoined Weintraub and Sterling Global from future violations of Sections 10(b) and 14(e) of the Exchange Act and Rules 10b-5 and 14e-8 thereunder, and ordered them to each pay a civil money penalty in the amount of $200,000.
SEC CHARGES FORMER CALPERS CEO IN $20 MILLION PLACEMENT AGENT FEE SCHEME
FROM: U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
April 23, 2011
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged the former CEO of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) and his close personal friend with scheming to defraud an investment firm into paying $20 million in fees to the friend’s placement agent firms.
The SEC alleges that former CalPERS CEO Federico R. Buenrostro and his friend Alfred J.R. Villalobos fabricated documents given to New York-based private equity firm Apollo Global Management. Those documents gave Apollo the false impression that CalPERS had reviewed and signed placement agent fee disclosure letters in accordance with its established procedures. In fact, Buenrostro and Villalobos intentionally bypassed those procedures to induce Apollo to pay placement agent fees to Villalobos’s firms. The false letters bearing a fake CalPERS logo and Buenrostro’s signature were provided to Apollo, which then went ahead with the payments.
“Buenrostro and Villalobos not only tricked Apollo into paying more than $20 million in placement agent fees it would not otherwise have paid, but also undermined procedures designed to ensure that investors like CalPERS have full disclosure of such fees,” said John M. McCoy III, Associate Regional Director of the SEC’s Los Angeles Regional Office.
According to the SEC’s complaint, Apollo began requiring signed investor disclosure letters in 2007 from investors such as CalPERS before it would pay fees to a placement agent that assisted in raising funds. Villalobos’s firm ARVCO Capital Research LLC (which later became ARVCO Financial Ventures LLC) agreed to this contractual provision in a placement agent agreement with Apollo related to CalPERS’s investment in Apollo Fund VII. However, when ARVCO requested an investor disclosure letter from CalPERS’s Investment Office to provide Apollo, it was informed that CalPERS’s Legal Office had advised it not to sign a disclosure letter. ARVCO never again contacted CalPERS’s Investment Office for an investor disclosure letter.
The SEC alleges that in January 2008, Villalobos instead fabricated a letter using a phony CalPERS logo. At Villalobos’s request, Buenrostro then signed what appeared to be a CalPERS disclosure letter. Upon receipt of the fake disclosure letter for Apollo Fund VII, Apollo paid ARVCO about $3.5 million in placement agent fees.
The SEC’s complaint further alleges that less than two weeks later, Villalobos and Buenrostro created false CalPERS disclosure letters for at least four more Apollo funds under similarly suspicious circumstances. As part of the scheme, Buenrostro signed blank sheets of fake CalPERS letterhead that Villalobos and ARVCO then used to generate additional investor disclosure letters as they needed them. Based on these false documents, Apollo was induced to pay ARVCO more than $20 million in placement agent fees it would not have paid without the disclosure letters.
The SEC seeks an order requiring Buenrostro, Villalobos, and ARVCO to disgorge any ill-gotten gains, pay financial penalties, and be permanently enjoined from violating the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws.
As alleged in the SEC’s complaint, the defendants violated Section 17(a)(1) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rules 10b-5(a) and 10b-5(c) thereunder.
SEC CHARGES OPTION ONE MORTGAGE CORPORATION WITH MISLEADING INVESTORS ON RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGE-BACKED SECURITIES
FROM: SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C., April 24, 2012 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged H&R Block subsidiary Option One Mortgage Corporation with misleading investors in several offerings of subprime residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) by failing to disclose that its financial condition was significantly deteriorating.
Option One, which is now known as Sand Canyon Corporation, agreed to pay $28.2 million to settle the SEC’s charges.
The SEC alleges that Option One promised investors in more than $4 billion worth of RMBS offerings that it sponsored in early 2007 that it would repurchase or replace mortgages that breached representations and warranties. But Option One did not tell investors about its deteriorating financial condition and that it could not meet its repurchase obligations on its own.
“Option One’s financial condition deteriorated significantly as its large subprime mortgage lending business suffered from the collapse of the U.S. housing market,” said Robert Khuzami, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. “The company nonetheless concealed from investors that its perilous finances created risk that it would not be able to fulfill its duties to repurchase or replace faulty mortgages in its RMBS portfolios.”
Kenneth Lench, Chief of the SEC Division of Enforcement’s Structured and New Products Unit, added, “We will take action against those who fail to disclose or downplay important facts that make an investment riskier, even if those risks do not materialize. We remain committed to uncovering misconduct involving complex financial instruments including RMBS.”
According to the SEC’s complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Option One was one of the nation’s largest subprime mortgage lenders with originations of $40 billion in its 2006 fiscal year. Option One originated subprime loans and sold them in the secondary market through RMBS securitizations or whole loan pool sales.
According to the SEC’s complaint, Option One was generally profitable prior to its 2007 fiscal year. However, when the subprime mortgage market started to decline in the summer of 2006, Option One experienced a decline in revenues and significant losses, and faced hundreds of millions of dollars in margin calls from its creditors. At the time Option One offered and sold the RMBS, it needed H&R Block, through a subsidiary, to provide it with financing under a line of credit in order to meet its margin calls and repurchase obligations. But Block was under no obligation to provide that funding. Option One did not disclose this information to investors. The SEC further alleges that Block never guaranteed Option One’s loan repurchase obligations and that Option One’s mounting losses threatened Block’s credit rating at a time when Block was negotiating a sale of Option One.
Without admitting or denying the SEC’s allegations, Option One consented to the entry of an order permanently enjoining it from violating Sections 17(a)(2) and 17(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933 and requiring it to pay disgorgement of $14,250,558, prejudgment interest of $3,982,027, and a penalty of $10 million. The proposed settlement is subject to court approval.
The SEC has now charged 102 individuals and entities in financial crisis-related enforcement actions, including 55 CEOs, CFOs, and other senior corporate officers. These enforcement actions have resulted in more than $1.98 billion in penalties, disgorgement, and other monetary relief for investors.
The SEC also is a co-chair of the Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities Working Group formed under the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force in January 2012. The Working Group is marshaling parallel efforts on the state and federal levels to collaborate on current and future investigations, pooling resources and streamlining processes to investigate in a comprehensive way those responsible for misconduct in the RMBS market. In addition to the SEC, other co-chairs of the Working Group include representatives from the Civil and Criminal Divisions of the U.S. Department of Justice, the Attorney General of the State of New York, and the United States Attorney’s Office.
The SEC’s investigation of Option One was conducted by the Enforcement Division’s Structured and New Products Unit led by Kenneth Lench and Reid Muoio and the Chicago Regional Office. The investigative attorneys were Daniel Ryan, Michael Wells, Anne McKinley, and Robert Burson along with litigation counsel Jonathan Polish and John Birkenheier in the Chicago Regional Office.
HUBBLE CELEBRATES 22 YEARS IN ORBIT
To celebrate its 22nd anniversary in orbit, the Hubble Space Telescope released a dramatic new image of the star-forming region 30 Doradus, also known as the Tarantula Nebula because its glowing filaments resemble spider legs. A new image from all three of NASA's Great Observatories--Chandra, Hubble, and Spitzer--has also been created to mark the event. The nebula is located in the neighboring galaxy called the Large Magellanic Cloud, and is one of the largest star-forming regions located close to the Milky Way. At the center of 30 Doradus, thousands of massive stars are blowing off material and producing intense radiation along with powerful winds. The Chandra X-ray Observatory detects gas that has been heated to millions of degrees by these stellar winds and also by supernova explosions. These X-rays, colored blue in this composite image, come from shock fronts--similar to sonic booms--formed by this high-energy stellar activity. The Hubble data in the composite image, colored green, reveals the light from these massive stars along with different stages of star birth, including embryonic stars a few thousand years old still wrapped in cocoons of dark gas. Infrared emission data from Spitzer, seen in red, shows cooler gas and dust that have giant bubbles carved into them. These bubbles are sculpted by the same searing radiation and strong winds that comes from the massive stars at the center of 30 Doradus. Image Credits: X-ray: NASA/CXC/PSU/L.Townsley et al.; Optical: NASA/STScI; Infrared: NASA/JPL/PSU/L.Townsley et al.
KEEPING ILLEGAL RESIDUES OUT OF MEAT
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
WASHINGTON, April 23, 2012 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) today announced two steps designed to prevent meat products that contain illegal residues from reaching consumers: the issuance of a compliance guide that will help livestock slaughter establishments avoid purchasing animals with illegal drug or other chemical residues; and increased testing of animals from producers with a history of residue violations.
"This new residue guidance will help industry to prevent certain animals from entering the marketplace and will contribute significantly toward our goal of protecting consumers," USDA Under Secretary for Food Safety Dr. Elisabeth Hagen said. "Coupled with increased testing of those with a history of violations, we are providing a pathway for those producers to correct deficient practices."
The residue compliance guide is intended for all livestock slaughter establishments, particularly those for dairy cows and bob veal calves, which account for the majority of residue violations. The guide outlines basic measures that slaughter establishments can employ to prevent or reduce residues in livestock.
FSIS administers the U.S. National Residue Program (NRP) to keep products with illegal residues from reaching consumers. As part of today's announcement, FSIS stated that a key part of the NRP, the Residue Repeat Violator List, has been revised and streamlined to be more user-friendly. The list now includes only producers who have supplied more than one animal with an illegal residue level in the past year. FSIS is interested in receiving comments on the list, including how to improve its usefulness, and whether the Agency should provide additional information on producers who supply animals with violative residues.
The Agency's increased testing applies to animals from producers who have been identified by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as producing livestock with residue violations. Since 2008, FSIS has increased testing of animals from producers whose practices have resulted in residue violations. FSIS also recently increased residue testing of carcasses in establishments that fail to apply adequate residue control measures.
FSIS will post the compliance guide, which can be utilized immediately, on April 25 on its Web page athttp://www.fsis.usda.gov/Regulations_&_Policies/
Compliance_Guides_Index/. The Agency is inviting interested persons to submit comments on both the notice, which will be published in the Federal Register on April 25, 2012, and the compliance guide, by June 25, 2012 athttp://www.regulations.gov.
In the past two years, FSIS has announced several new measures to safeguard the food supply, prevent foodborne illness, and improve consumers' knowledge about the food they eat. These initiatives support the three core principles developed by the President's Food Safety Working Group: prioritizing prevention; strengthening surveillance and enforcement; and improving response and recovery. Some of these actions include:
Poultry inspection modernization that will reduce the risk of foodborne illness by focusing FSIS inspection activities on tasks that advance its core mission of food safety and removing outdated regulatory requirements that do not help combat foodborne illness.
Performance standards for poultry establishments for continued reductions in the occurrence of pathogens. After two years of enforcing the new standards, FSIS estimates that approximately 5,000 illnesses will be prevented each year under the new Campylobacterstandards, and approximately 20,000 illnesses will be prevented under the revised Salmonella standards each year.
Zero tolerance policy for six Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) serogroups. Raw ground beef, its components, and tenderized steaks found to contain E. coli O26, O103, O45, O111, O121 or O145 will be prohibited from sale to consumers. USDA will launch a testing program to detect these dangerous pathogens and prevent them from reaching consumers.
Test and hold policy that will significantly reduce consumer exposure to unsafe meat products, should the policy become final, because products cannot be released into commerce until Agency test results for dangerous contaminants are known.
Labeling requirements that provide better information to consumers about their food by requiring nutrition information for single-ingredient raw meat and poultry products and ground or chopped products.
Public Health Information System, a modernized, comprehensive database about public health trends and food safety violations at the nearly 6,100 plants FSIS regulates.
MILITARY FLARE MAKER PAYS NEARLY $37 MILLION TO SETTLE FALSE CLAIMS ACT
FROM: U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Monday, April 23, 2012
Atk Launch Systems Inc. Settles False Claims Product Substitution Case for Nearly $37 Million Allegedly Delivered Unsafe Illuminating Para-flares Under Department of Defense Contracts
ATK Launch Systems Inc. has agreed to a $36,967,160 settlement with the United States to resolve allegations that ATK sold dangerous and defective illumination flares to the Army and the Air Force. According to the government’s allegations, from 2000 to 2006, ATK delivered LUU-2 and LUU-19 illuminating para-flares to the Defense Department. These flares, which burn in excess of 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit for over five minutes, are used for nighttime combat, covert and search and rescue operations and have been used extensively by American forces in Iraq and Afghanistan in the global war on terror. The government alleged that the flares delivered by ATK were incapable of withstanding a 10-foot drop test without exploding or igniting, as required by specifications, and that ATK was aware of this when it submitted claims for payment.
ATK has agreed to pay the United States $21 million in cash and provide necessary in-kind services worth $15,967,160 to fix the 76,000 unsafe para-flares remaining in the government’s inventory. The settlement resolves a False Claims Act suit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah.
The lawsuit was initially filed by an ATK employee under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private individuals, called “relators” to bring lawsuits on behalf of the United States and receiv e a portion of the proceeds of a settlement or judgment awarded against a defendant.
“Our men and women in combat deserve equipment that meets critical safety and performance requirements,” said Stuart F. Delery, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division. “This case demonstrates that the Department of Justice will pursue cases where contractors knowingly provide defective equipment that puts the safety of American military service members at risk.”
“This settlement demonstrates our commitment to aggressively go after contractors who recklessly disregard and deliberately ignore critical safety defects in munitions used by America’s uniformed fighting men and women on the front lines of the war on terror,” said David B. Barlow, U.S. Attorney for the District of Utah. “This office fully supported the federal investigators in their efforts to uncover these fraudulent claims and recover the ill-gotten gains for the American taxpayers.”
The investigation team, which was led by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, included the Air Force Office of Special Investigation, the Navy Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the Army Criminal Investigative Command and auditors from the Defense Contract Audit Agency and the Defense Contract Management Agency. Additional technical support was provided by the Army Research Laboratory in Aberdeen, Md., the Army Aviation and Missile Command in Huntsville, Ala., the Naval Sea Systems Command at Crane, Ind. and Portsmouth, R.I., the Defense Standardization Program Office at Fort Belvoir, Va., the Air Force Materiel Command at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio and Hill Air Force Base, Utah, and the Army Materiel Command at Rock Island Arsenal, Ill.
U.S. NAVY AND COAST GUARD RESCUE TAIWANESE FISHERMEN
FROM: U.S. NAVYPACIFIC OCEAN (April 21, 2012) A fire burns aboard the Taiwanese fishing vessel Shin Maan Chun in the Pacific Ocean. The fire forced the crew of nine to abandon ship and through a coordinated effort between the U.S. 7th Fleet and U.S. Coast Guard Sector Guam, all of the fishermen were safely rescued and brought aboard the Marshallese-flagged bulk carrier Semirio. (U.S. Navy photo/Released)
VP-1 Assists in Taiwanese Fishing Vessel Rescue
From Commander, U.S. 7th Fleet Public Affairs
USS BLUE RIDGE, At Sea (NNS) -- A P-3 Orion from Patrol Squadron (VP) 1, in conjunction with the U.S. Coast Guard's District 14, assisted in the rescue of 10 Taiwanese fishermen April 21, 700 miles off the west coast of Guam.
At approximately 4:30 p.m., local time, Coast Guard Sector Guam received an initial alert from an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon from the Hsin Man Chun, the 70-foot Taiwanese fishing vessel. After a request for assistance from the Coast Guard, VP-1's P-3 located 10 crew members from the fishing vessel that was reported to be on fire.
VP-1 spotted eight crew members in a life raft with two crew members still on the burning vessel's bridge. The P-3 deployed two life rafts to assist crew members in distress.
At the time of the request for assistance, the Semirio was only 40 miles away from the distressed vessel. Once on scene, the 980-foot bulk carrier launched a small boat and successfully rescued all 10 crew members.
The Semirio is one of many foreign flagged vessels operating in the Pacific that voluntarily participate in the Automated Mutual-Assistance Vessel Rescue System (AMVER).
AMVER, sponsored by the U.S. Coast Guard, is a unique, computer-based, and voluntary global ship reporting system used worldwide by search and rescue authorities to arrange for assistance to persons in distress at sea. With AMVER, rescue coordinators can identify participating ships in the area of distress and divert the best-suited ship or ships to respond.
JUSTICE LAWSUIT OVER RESERVIST'S RIGHTS SETTLED WITH PITTSFIELD, MASS
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Monday, April 23, 2012
Justice Department Settles Lawsuit Against City of Pittsfield, Mass., to Enforce the Employment Rights of a U.S. Navy Reservist
The Justice Department announced today that it has reached a settlement with the city of Pittsfield, Mass., to resolve allegations that the city violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) by failing to promote a navy reservist and Pittsfield firefighter, and by retaliating against him after he invoked his rights.
The Justice Department’s complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, alleges that the city violated Pittsfield firefighter Jeffrey Rawson’s rights by passing him over for promotion to lieutenant in the Pittsfield Fire Department because of his military service obligations. In 2009, Rawson took a promotional exam for lieutenant. Based on the results of the examination, Rawson was ranked second on the promotional list. In July 2010, the city informed Rawson that he was being skipped for promotion and that a firefighter ranked lower on the promotional list was instead being promoted to lieutenant. The lower ranked firefighter was promoted in September 2010.
The lawsuit further alleges that, after Rawson filed a USERRA complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service, the city retaliated against him by refusing to reinstate him to the list of firefighters eligible to serve as an acting lieutenant.
Under the terms of the settlement, embodied in a consent decree that has been submitted for approval to the federal district court, the city will promote Rawson to lieutenant retroactive to September 2010. The settlement also requires the city to provide Rawson with over $22,000 in back pay, pension contributions and interest. The settlement further mandates the city to provide USERRA training to city department heads and supervisors on the rights and obligations of covered employees and their employers.
“Our military servicemembers sacrifice tremendously to serve our country,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “This settlement demonstrates our vigilant protection of the employment opportunities of our servicemembers, and our commitment to vigorous enforcement of the laws that protect them.”
“Employers face incredible challenges when an employee leaves his position temporarily to serve our country. However, our servicemembers endure much greater challenges to protect our precious freedom,” said U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz for the District of Massachusetts. “We are pleased that the city of Pittsfield agreed to restore Mr. Rawson’s rights and provide him with the promotion to which he was entitled.”
This case was litigated by the Employment Litigation Section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.
Monday, April 23, 2012
Justice Department Settles Lawsuit Against City of Pittsfield, Mass., to Enforce the Employment Rights of a U.S. Navy Reservist
The Justice Department announced today that it has reached a settlement with the city of Pittsfield, Mass., to resolve allegations that the city violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) by failing to promote a navy reservist and Pittsfield firefighter, and by retaliating against him after he invoked his rights.
The Justice Department’s complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, alleges that the city violated Pittsfield firefighter Jeffrey Rawson’s rights by passing him over for promotion to lieutenant in the Pittsfield Fire Department because of his military service obligations. In 2009, Rawson took a promotional exam for lieutenant. Based on the results of the examination, Rawson was ranked second on the promotional list. In July 2010, the city informed Rawson that he was being skipped for promotion and that a firefighter ranked lower on the promotional list was instead being promoted to lieutenant. The lower ranked firefighter was promoted in September 2010.
The lawsuit further alleges that, after Rawson filed a USERRA complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service, the city retaliated against him by refusing to reinstate him to the list of firefighters eligible to serve as an acting lieutenant.
Under the terms of the settlement, embodied in a consent decree that has been submitted for approval to the federal district court, the city will promote Rawson to lieutenant retroactive to September 2010. The settlement also requires the city to provide Rawson with over $22,000 in back pay, pension contributions and interest. The settlement further mandates the city to provide USERRA training to city department heads and supervisors on the rights and obligations of covered employees and their employers.
“Our military servicemembers sacrifice tremendously to serve our country,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “This settlement demonstrates our vigilant protection of the employment opportunities of our servicemembers, and our commitment to vigorous enforcement of the laws that protect them.”
“Employers face incredible challenges when an employee leaves his position temporarily to serve our country. However, our servicemembers endure much greater challenges to protect our precious freedom,” said U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz for the District of Massachusetts. “We are pleased that the city of Pittsfield agreed to restore Mr. Rawson’s rights and provide him with the promotion to which he was entitled.”
This case was litigated by the Employment Litigation Section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.
UN COMMISSION ON CRIME PREVENTION AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
21st UN Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice
Remarks Brian A. Nichols
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement AffairsOpening Statement
Vienna, Austria
April 23, 2012
Madam Chairperson, thank you for the floor. We are pleased to see you leading our work today and during the coming week, and pledge our assistance as you help make this Crime Commission a productive one.
Since the genesis of this Commission, we – its member states – have collectively identified new and emerging crime trends in order to develop appropriate tools, harness resources and work collaboratively to target, penetrate, and dismantle the threats they represent to security and development. During this time, we have also witnessed the impressive adaptability of criminal organizations to both law enforcement actions and to new opportunities for profit. Today, most criminal organizations bear no resemblance to the hierarchical organized crime family groups of the past. Instead, they consist of loose and informal networks that often converge when it is convenient and engage in a diverse array of criminal activities, including the smuggling of counterfeit goods, firearms, drugs, humans, and even wildlife to amass their illicit profits.
At the same time, largely due to pressure from committed countries, terrorist organizations in some cases are turning to crime and criminal networks for both resources and facilitation in order to sustain their networks and fund their operations. We have seen that terrorist organizations can overcome differences in motivation and ideology to use criminal organizations to launder their money, acquire funds, and move people and materials across borders. There are even instances where terrorists are evolving into criminal entrepreneurs in their own right, engaging in illicit activities to finance their operations.
In order to explore these evolving partnerships of convenience further, the United States will host a side-event tomorrow at 9:00 am. This side-event will serve as an opportunity to analyze crime-terror interaction and explain why it is expanding. We welcome participation and attendance from all interested Crime Commission delegates.
Madam Chairperson, I would now like to turn my remarks to this year’s thematic debate topic. The United States believes that violence against migrants, migrant workers and their families, including violence perpetrated by organized criminal groups, poses a serious challenge to states and requires multilateral cooperation among all countries towards its eradication. Migrants, especially women and children, who attempt to cross international borders in an irregular fashion, are highly vulnerable to abuse and crime, including human trafficking, and the United States recognizes that states have an obligation to treat them humanely with full protection of their rights.
To this end, the thematic debate should serve as an opportunity to explore the range of measures within the context of the crime prevention and criminal justice system to prevent, to investigate and to prosecute crimes against migrants and their families, including violations of their legal rights. In particular, some of these measures can be found in the application of the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its Protocols on Migrant Smuggling and on Trafficking in Persons. These legally binding instruments contain the agreed upon tools to facilitate international cooperation and to afford protections to migrant witnesses who testify in criminal proceedings or become victims of trafficking. In addition, the Migrant Smuggling Protocol includes provisions aimed at deterring the endangerment of migrants and the infliction of inhuman or degrading treatment upon migrants. The Migrant Smuggling Protocol also requires states parties to take appropriate measures to prevent the infliction of violence against smuggled migrants.
In support of the thematic debate, the United States has submitted a draft resolution on promoting cooperation in preventing violent crime against migrants, migrant workers and their families. We are very pleased and honored to be working in close collaboration with Turkey in this regard. In the coming days, we welcome further discussions on this draft resolution with all Crime Commission partners.
In closing, I would like also to give special mention to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the technical assistance and capacity building that it undertakes on a global basis. The United States provided a record $41 million toward UNODC’s assistance efforts in 2011, including in support of the anti-crime legal framework. We continue to view the organization as an important force multiplier for bilateral assistance efforts and look forward to continuing our partnership in 2012 and beyond.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak, and we look forward to a productive week.
MAJOR GENERAL JOHN A. TOOLAN RATES AFGHAN FORCES
FROM: AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE
Commander Rates Afghan Army, Police Progress
By Jim Garamone
WASHINGTON, April 24, 2012 - The Afghan national security forces have made tremendous progress, but still require U.S. aid, instruction and capabilities, said Marine Corps Maj. Gen. John A. Toolan, the commander of the 2nd Marine Division and former commander in Afghanistan's Regional Command—South West.
Toolan told the Defense Writers' Group here today that by the end of his command the Afghan security forces were shouldering more of the security burden.
The Afghan army did well in the province, but there weren't enough of them at the beginning of the year. That changed when the Afghan 215th Corps arrived. But even that was problematic. The 215th Corps did not have many Pashtus -- the largest ethnic group in Regional Command—South West. Part of this was because the people didn't trust the national army. Another part of it was Taliban intimidation.
Today, more than 15 percent of the 215th Corps is native Pashtu and local men are enlisting.
A scarcity of uniformed police presented another issue for the general. "We weren't able to bring in a whole lot of police officers at the beginning of the year," Toolan said. "We relied heavily on the Afghan local police."
The local police, he said, were the key to success in Marja and Sangin.
"What we don't want to have is to continue to work through ALP for the next couple of years," Toolan said. "We want the ALP to morph into the uniformed police." Working against this is that Afghans in the local police want to stay local. They have no desire even to move to the next town.
The capacity of the uniformed police is picking up, the general said, but while the Afghan army has good credibility among the public, the police do not. "We need to understand the Afghans have a design for the future," Toolan said. "They have a force lay-down in their minds. Early on, we were trying to use them in places based on our ideas of what was an important district to seize, clear, hold and rebuild."
But the Afghan army wants to be on the borders protecting the nation as armies are supposed to do. "But we have to be careful because I don't think the police are entirely ready yet to take full responsibility for the population centers along the Helmand River Valley," the general said. "The police are the key to success in the province, but they haven't gotten past being a paramilitary [organization] yet."
The police need to become beat cops and not military units, Toolan said. They need time to become police who investigate crimes, collect evidence, interview witnesses -- do all the things that police do to establish the rule of law for the benefit of the citizens they protect.
"The challenge for us is to put the training programs into place for the police," the general said. "From a military perspective, we have taken it pretty far. But we need to start handing it off to the law enforcement professional. Very similar to what we did in Bosnia in 1997, 1998. That's a model that people are looking at as we head into the Chicago Summit."
The Afghan security forces "are moving along fine," Toolan said.
"From a capability perspective," he added, "we're good with the army, ... and the police need the most work."
PRESIDENT GIVES PRAISE FOR DEFENSE DEPARTMENTS SEXUAL ASSAULT POLICIES
FROM: AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE
President Praises Defense Leaders for Department's New Sexual Assault Policies
By John Valceanu
WASHINGTON, April 23, 2012 - President Barack Obama released a statement today praising the Defense Department's senior leaders for issuing new policies designed to combat sexual assault in the military.
"I applaud the initiatives that Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta and [Army] Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have announced to further combat sexual assault in the military," Obama said in the statement.
Under new policy guidance issued by Panetta on April 20, unit commanders at the company or squadron level no longer have authority to decide whether to take further action in reported cases of attempted rape, forcible sodomy or sexual assault.
Defense officials said the new policy will allow more experienced and less partial officers to make the initial decision on whether a sexual assault case goes to trial, and it will add consistency to how such cases are handled.
"Elevating these cases to a higher level of command review is a very important step," Obama said.
The president said he believes sexual assault has no place and in the military, and service members "deserve an environment that is free from the threat of sexual assault, and in which allegations of sexual assault are thoroughly investigated, offenders are held appropriately accountable, and victims are given the care and support they need."
Obama expressed his appreciation for the senior leaders' attention to the issue.
"I thank Secretary Panetta and Chairman Dempsey and look forward to seeing continued progress on this important issue," the president said.
"I applaud the initiatives that Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta and [Army] Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have announced to further combat sexual assault in the military," Obama said in the statement.
Under new policy guidance issued by Panetta on April 20, unit commanders at the company or squadron level no longer have authority to decide whether to take further action in reported cases of attempted rape, forcible sodomy or sexual assault.
Defense officials said the new policy will allow more experienced and less partial officers to make the initial decision on whether a sexual assault case goes to trial, and it will add consistency to how such cases are handled.
"Elevating these cases to a higher level of command review is a very important step," Obama said.
The president said he believes sexual assault has no place and in the military, and service members "deserve an environment that is free from the threat of sexual assault, and in which allegations of sexual assault are thoroughly investigated, offenders are held appropriately accountable, and victims are given the care and support they need."
Obama expressed his appreciation for the senior leaders' attention to the issue.
"I thank Secretary Panetta and Chairman Dempsey and look forward to seeing continued progress on this important issue," the president said.
REMARKS BY AMBASSADOR SUSAN E. RICE ON SYRIA, DARFUR, SUDAN AND SOUTH SUDAN
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Remarks by Ambassador Susan E. Rice, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, at the Security Council Stakeout, April 24, 2012
Susan E. Rice
U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations
U.S. Mission to the United Nations New York, NY April 24, 2012
AS DELIVERED
What a full day. I have a press statement to read and then I will provide a readout of our discussions on Sudan and South Sudan, as well as on Syria, and take a few questions, obviously this morning we had a full discussion in the Council with Under-Secretary-General Bachelet and Under-Secretary-General Ladsous on women peace and security, our semi-annual discussion of that topic, and I won’t dwell on that since you heard their briefings in the open chamber. Let me begin with the press statement.
The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms the attack on an African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) patrol in West Darfur on 20 April, in which four peacekeepers were wounded, one of whom subsequently died as a result of injuries sustained in the attack.
The members of the Security Council expressed their condolences to the family of the peacekeeper killed in the attack, as well as to the Government of Togo. They called on the Government of Sudan to bring the perpetrators to justice and stressed that there must be an end to impunity for those who attack peacekeepers.
The members of the Security Council reiterated their full support for UNAMID and called on all parties in Darfur to co-operate with the mission.
Turning now to Sudan and South Sudan. We heard a briefing from Under-Secretary-General Ladsous, Special Envoy Menkerios, and SRSG Hilde Johnson on the deteriorating situation on the border between Sudan and South Sudan.
They noted that the withdrawal of the SPLA from Heglig was initially encouraging but has since resulted in increased bombing by Sudanese Armed Forces into South Sudanese territory.
UNMISS confirmed that at least 16 civilians have been killed and 34 injured in Unity State from aerial bombardments, in addition to significant damage to infrastructure. We were told there have also been SAF incursions into Unity State.
Council members welcomed the withdrawal from Heglig by the SPLA, demanded an immediate halt to aerial bombardments by the Sudanese Armed Forces, and urged an immediate ceasefire and a return to the negotiating table. This is a general characterization of the national comments that were made.
Many delegations expressed concern about reports of extensive damage to oil infrastructure in Heglig. They also acknowledged the constructive contribution of the African Union Peace and Security Council and its communiqué adopted earlier today, which will of course inform our consultations on further action.
Finally, several members of the Council mentioned the importance of Sudan and the SPLM-North engaging in a political solution to the problem in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile and the need for urgent humanitarian assistance there.
In my national capacity, let me just reiterate that the United States welcomes the withdrawal of the SPLA from Heglig. We strongly condemn Sudan’s incursion into South Sudan and in particular its heavy aerial bombardments of civilian areas and infrastructure and we call for the immediate cessation of hostilities. We recognize the right of South Sudan to defend itself and urge South Sudan to exercise maximal restraint in its reaction to Sudan’s attacks.
Turning now finally to Syria. The Security Council received a briefing, as you know, via video teleconference, from Joint Special Envoy Annan and an in-person briefing by Under-Secretary-General Ladsous earlier this afternoon. Mr. Annan stated that the situation in Syria, and I quote, “continues to be unacceptable.”
Mr. Annan expressed his concerns at reports that attacks have resumed in locations directly following the departure of members of the observer team, calling them, and I quote, “unacceptable and reprehensible, if true.” Mr. Annan emphasized that, and I quote again, “the only promises that count are the promises that are kept.”
Under-Secretary-General Ladsous confirmed that to date there are 11 military observers in Syria, two of whom are stationed in Homs and two at present in Hama. Under-Secretary-General Ladsous relayed that the chief military observer will be deployed by the end of the week at which time UNSMIS will be operational and the Advance Team will have concluded its work. Thirty observers, he predicted, will be in country by April 30th, and 100 total observers within a month.
Mr. Ladsous reported that the Syrian Government has refused at least one observer based on his nationality, and that Syrian authorities have stated they will not accept UNSMIS staff members from any nations that are members of the Friends of Democratic Syria. He underscored that from the UN’s point of view this is entirely unacceptable.
Several Council members expressed their skepticism of the Syrian Government’s intentions and the veracity of statements contained in the Syrian Foreign Minister’s recent letter to the Joint Special Envoy. All Council members underscored the need for more rapid deployment of observers and stressed the importance of full and immediate implementation of all aspects of the Six-Point Plan.
I’m happy to take a few questions.
Reporter: Madame President, in the words of Mr. Kofi Annan, the situation continues to be “unacceptable.” Yet the Security Council is going ahead with the deployment, as we understand, of the observers. If it’s unacceptable, I mean, how – how can you – my words fail me here. If the situation is unacceptable, why is the Security Council going ahead with the deployment?
Ambassador Rice: I believe – the Security Council voted on Saturday to give the Secretary General the authority to dispatch the full complement of monitors. On the basis of his recommendation and that of Joint Special Envoy Annan. I believe the underlying logic of that recommendation was that the presence of monitors as sought and desired to a substantial extent by the Syrian people themselves; even though they are not in a position to prevent violence, can by their presence not only provide better information and reporting on what’s happening on the ground, but have, at least in the time that they’re present in a place, the salutary impact of a diminution of violence. And we have in fact seen that in Homs and Hama and elsewhere. The problem is, and this is what Joint Special Envoy in part was referring to, is that, once they have left, their violence and number of instances has resumed. Now, the way they have tried to deal with that is to leave observers in Homs now and again now in Hama. The problem is, obviously there’re not sufficient observers deployed at present to leave in everyplace that the observer team might visit after which there may be, if the pattern holds, an intensification of violence. Hence, the Council’s very unanimous and strong view, that having made the decision to deploy these monitors, let’s get them out as swiftly as possible.
Reporter: According to one of your colleagues on Council, he said that it appears that the Syrians are playing a cat-and-mouse game with the Council on this. And he also thought it was an unacceptable situation, in your national capacity, how long do you think this can go on? Because you can have, like, a hundred observers for the next two, three months—at what point will the Council decide to say, you know, this is really unacceptable and it’s sort of is going against what you voted for.
Ambassador Rice: Well, I will speak for the United States, as I have been saying over the course of the last several days—our patience is exhausted. The fact that the violence continues despite the so-called ceasefire of April 12, is in our view, not only unacceptable, but reprehensible. And we’ve been very clear in supporting the dispatch of the balance of the monitoring mission, that the onus remains on the Syrian government to halt the violence. And then subsequently on both sides to maintain a cessation of violence and allow the observers to move freely and do their work without any obstruction. If that does not occur, we have said that we’re prepared to work towards consequences for the Syrian government, and further action out of the Security Council. I’ve said that repeatedly. You heard Secretary Clinton’s statements in Paris. So there’s no ambiguity or secret about that. But obviously, we need to get the beginnings of a critical mass of observers on the ground to be able to test the proposition as to whether they can in fact have, if not a perfect impact, then a beneficial impact that we decide is worth maintaining.
Reporter: On Sudan, this PSC Communiqué seems to ask the Security Council to endorse at least parts of it under Chapter VII. I wonder, I mean, I guess as the U.S.—what do you think of the Communiqué? Is that something that you support? And it’s—some are wondering whether, even though it’s Chapter VII, this would require the prior approval of Khartoum and Juba or could be—you know—could be endorsed by the Council without their approval—and some, one member at least was talking about some either reparations or in some way compensation to Sudan for the damage to Heglig—what does the U.S. think of that?
Ambassador Rice: Well first of all, we think that the African Union statement, speaking for the United States, is a positive and constructive contribution. We are obviously going to study it carefully in Washington. I think most members of the Council saw it for the first time as we were sitting there in consultations, and have not had the opportunity to get reactions from their capital. But I can say from the U.S. point of view, that we view it as a constructive contribution, and we’ll be consulting with Council members about their readiness and willingness to contemplate next steps that reflect the thrust of the AU Communiqué. I can’t prejudge what other Council members will come back with.
With respect to whether the Council could act under Chapter VII without the agreement of either of both capitals, of course the answer to that is yes, at least in theory, whether—if Council members choose to do so. There’s nothing from a legal point of view that prevents that. And with respect to Heglig, I think most Council members expressed, as I mentioned in my opening remarks, concern about the damage that has occurred in the Heglig oil area. We asked this question of the UN’s personnel, and while some people are quick to say reparations, it’s hardly clear how that damage occurred. It’s not clear whether it was a result of the fighting on the ground, aerial bombardment, sabotage by the SPLA or retreating forces as some in Khartoum have alleged—we just don’t know. And obviously, there are many who will be interested in the answer to that question—but until there’s an independent assessment of what actually happened, its premature to talk about compensation or responsibility.
Reporter: One on Syria, I saw that General Mood seemed to at least, go into the—at the beginning of the meeting, Major General Robert Mood, is he the Chief Military Observer or did he stay for the meeting, and if so, in what capacity?
Ambassador Rice: He was in the room. He didn’t speak. And I can’t get ahead of what the Secretary-General is going to decide. Nothing has been announced to my knowledge.
Reporter: Madame President, given that Ayman al-Zawahiri, the Chief of Al-Qaeda, has given order to his men go and fight in Syria, how concerned are you that Syria will not develop into another Iraq in the region especially if you are curbing the authority of the Syrian government?
Ambassador Rice: Well, I’m not aware of the statement you’re referring to, but obviously, the thrust of what is happening in Syria is that a popular uprising that began very peacefully has been met with brutal force by the Assad government and the aspirations, the legitimate aspirations, of the Syrian people to determine their own future, had been thwarted with massive bloodshed. And now, many on the opposition side have taken up arms in self-defense. And we have what is a widening conflict. Obviously, in that region, anytime you have a conflict situation, one has reason to be concerned that it may provide some fertile ground for extremists to take advantage of. But, I’m not prepared to predict that that will be the fate of Syria. I think what we’re dealing with, first and foremost, are a people who have been repressed, who need and deserve to choose their own future, and that’s what this is about. Thank you.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
STATE DEPARTMENT ARTICLE ON WOMEN'S GLOBAL ISSUES
FROM: E-MAIL U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Why Women Are a Foreign Policy Issue
Article Melanne Verveer
Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues Foreign Policy Magazine
Washington, DC
April 23, 2012
May/June Issue 2012
The most pressing global problems simply won't be solved without the participation of women. Seriously, guys.
On a trip to Afghanistan in the summer of 2009, not long after my appointment as the U.S. State Department's ambassador at large for global women's issues, I stopped for dinner with a group of Afghan women activists in Kabul. One woman opened our conversation with a plea: "Please don't see us as victims, but look to us as the leaders we are."
Those words have stuck with me as President Barack Obama's administration has endeavored to put women at the heart of its foreign policy. For generations, the United States too often viewed the world's women as victims of poverty and illiteracy, of violence and seemingly unbreakable cultural traditions -- essentially, as beneficiaries of aid. Women's issues existed on the margins, segregated from the more "strategic" issues of war, peace, and economic stability. Now, in a time of transformative change -- from the rise of new economic powers to a growing chorus of voices against repressive regimes in the Arab world -- promoting the status of women is not just a moral imperative but a strategic one; it's essential to economic prosperity and to global peace and security. It is, in other words, a strategy for a smarter foreign policy.
In the past, U.S. diplomacy and development efforts were conducted in a manner that was gender neutral at best. The United States regularly supported peace talks that left women out of negotiating rooms and treaty documents, an omission that weakened the chances of forging durable peace agreements. The country designed development programs without consulting women or considering the crucial role they played, whether it was agricultural training initiatives that targeted men even though women often represented the majority of small farmers, or building wells in areas where women could not go, never mind that women were the ones responsible for fetching water.
As a growing body of research shows, however, the world's most pressing economic and political problems simply cannot be solved without the participation of women. That's why Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is working to ensure that advancing the status of women and girls around the world is fully integrated into every aspect of U.S. foreign policy. As of this spring, with the release of a first-ever secretarial policy directive on gender, advancing the status of women and girls worldwide is officially a requirement in every U.S. diplomat's job description. As Clinton said in March, the United States will use "every tool at our disposal" to support this crucial cause.
Why? This is, as Clinton has called it, a "Full Participation Age," an era when information transcends borders, opinions and ideas scale firewalls, and the world can no longer afford to leave millions of women out of the global community. It's no coincidence that those countries that deny women basic human rights are some of the poorest and least stable. According to the World Economic Forum, countries where men and women are closer to enjoying equal rights are far more economically competitive than those where the gender gap has left women and girls with limited or no access to medical care, education, elected office, and the marketplace.
As much of the world struggles to climb out of recession, the economic participation of women and their enhanced efficiency and productivity are essential to recovery and growth. Goldman Sachs researchers, for example, found that closing the gender gap between male and female employment would be a powerful engine for global growth, even in the United States and the eurozone, where it could boost GDP by billions of dollars. In fact, the Economist has reported that the increase in employment among women in developed countries contributed more to global GDP growth than China as a whole in recent years. Yet many women still lack access to capital, credit, and training. Laws prevent them from inheriting or owning land. Cultural traditions inhibit women's participation in the formal economy. In the agriculture industry, to take one example, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that if women farmers were provided the same access to seeds, fertilizer, and technology as men, they could improve their yields by 20 to 30 percent and reduce the number of undernourished people in the world by 100 million to 150 million.
This is not just about the economy, though; it's also about global security. In the 1990s, nearly half of all peace agreements failed within the first five years, according to the Human Security Report Project. These deals are generally struck by a small number of male military and political leaders shielded from war's impact on daily life. Women, meanwhile, endure much of the residual violence and poverty caused by armed conflicts, and they bear much of the burden of rebuilding families and communities. They are often excluded, however, from both the negotiating table and the governments charged with sustaining peace. Less than 8 percent of the hundreds of peace treaties signed in the last 20 years were negotiated by delegations that included women, and according to the World Economic Forum, women hold less than 20 percent of all national decision-making positions.
Excluding women from these negotiations exacts a measurable cost. In 1994, for instance, women were far from the minds of the men who, with U.S. support, signed the Lusaka Protocol that ended two decades of civil war in Angola. The commission established to implement the protocol consisted of 40 men -- and not one woman. Women were also left out of demobilization programs for ex-combatants because the definition of "combatant" did not consider the thousands of women who had been kidnapped and forced to work as military cooks, messengers, or sex slaves. Demining efforts focused on roads and failed to target the fields, wells, and forests where women grew crops, fetched water, and gathered firewood. And following a conflict in which rape was used as a weapon of war, the male negotiators granted each other amnesty for the crimes they had committed against women. Just four years later, war began anew.
We do not want to see history repeating itself. Last December, the administration launched a national action plan on women, peace, and security, which expands U.S. efforts to include women in conflict prevention, peace negotations, and reconstruction. Still, the exclusion of half the world's population continues to threaten many countries. In Egypt last year, women marched on the front lines of the protests, often leading their fathers, brothers, and husbands into Tahrir Square. A year later, the courageous women of the Arab Spring fear not just that progress on women's rights will halt, but that the rights they currently enjoy will be rolled back.
Or consider Afghanistan. Although the number of women attending school and serving in parliament and on local peace councils has increased dramatically over the past decade, the country remains the world's most dangerous for women in terms of health, violence, and lack of economic resources. The United States must continue to insist that insurgents who want to reconcile must commit to protecting the rights embedded in the Afghan constitution -- including those for women. There may be some who, in the interests of getting a deal done, consider women's rights negotiable. But this is a red line that cannot be crossed; any peace that is made by excluding more than half the population is no peace at all and will not last.
In all circumstances, and especially in the most challenging ones like those in Afghanistan, the United States must remain a vital voice for women and girls not just because it is the right thing to do but because it is the smart thing to do. Give a small-businesswoman access to capital and training, and she can become a powerful contributor to GDP growth. Include women in governments and peace talks, and they can help ensure that ministries are better run and peace agreements are sustained. Educate a girl, and she will be more likely to raise healthier and more educated children -- and end the cycle of poverty.
Secretary Clinton has championed the use of "smart power": deploying all the tools at America's disposal to advance national interests -- not just military might, but also diplomacy, development, and America's enduring values. Advocating for women's full economic, social, and political participation around the world is one of the most potent weapons in America's smart-power arsenal. And it's one we shouldn't even hesitate to unleash.
AMBASSADOR DONALD YAMAMOTO STATEMENT ON THE LORD'S RESISTANCE ARMY
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Testimony for Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs
“Countering the Lord’s Resistance Army”
Ambassador Donald Yamamoto,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs
Mr. Chairman, thank you for this opportunity to update the committee about
our ongoing efforts to help end the threat posed by the Lord’s Resistance Army
(LRA). Over the last several years, the governments of the region have made
progress dispersing the LRA and reducing its numbers. However, despite this
progress, the LRA continues to abduct, terrorize, and uproot communities across
three countries – the Central African Republic (CAR), the Democratic Republic of
the Congo (DRC), and South Sudan. The LRA is a weakened force, but its
humanitarian impact remains disproportionate. The UN Office of Coordination for
Humanitarian Affairs estimated that more than 465,000 people were displaced or
living as refugees during 2011 as a result of the LRA threat.
Mr. Chairman, we believe that the LRA’s actions are an affront to human
dignity and a threat to regional stability. Joseph Kony and the LRA’s top leaders
should be brought to justice.
We appreciate Congress’ strong interest and longstanding concern about the
LRA, especially the attention given by this Committee over the years. We view
Congress as a critical partner in our ongoing efforts. The United States has worked
for many years to help address the suffering caused by the LRA. Consistent with
the legislation passed in 2010, we continue to pursue a multi-faceted strategy to
help the governments and people of this region in their efforts to end the threat
posed by the LRA and address the human consequences of the LRA’s atrocities.
Let me stress that the governments of Uganda, CAR, DRC, and South Sudan
are in the lead. Their troops are making the most important sacrifices, and their
people are confronting the LRA’s terror. These governments are the ones that are
ultimately responsible for ending this threat and protecting local communities. The
United States is trying to help them fulfill that responsibility. We have a strong
interest in enhancing the capacity and cooperation of our partners in Africa to
address threats to peace and security, such as the LRA, and to better protect their
citizens.
Continued leadership and cooperation by these governments is essential to
keep the pressure on the LRA. As we have seen in the past, the LRA can exploit
any reduction in military or diplomatic pressure to regroup and rebuild its forces.
Over recent years, the State Department has provided support to enable counterLRA operations by our regional partners. Since 2008, we have obligated
approximately $50 million in logistical support to help the Ugandan military
sustain its operations and increase its mobility. We continue to provide this
support.
In the DRC, the State Department funded training and equipment for a light
infantry battalion of the Congolese army that is now operating in LRA-affected
areas of the DRC. This battalion is engaged in targeted military operations against
the LRA in coordination with the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the
DRC (MONUSCO). The State Department continues to fund two mentors who are
working with this battalion. We are also engaging with the militaries of CAR and
South Sudan as they increase their efforts to counter the LRA and protect their
populations.
Mr. Chairman, we continue to look at ways that we can improve our security
assistance and enhance the capacity of these militaries to succeed in their mission.
Last October, President Obama authorized the deployment of a small number of
U.S. military forces to serve as advisors to the national military forces pursuing the
LRA and seeking to protect local populations. The President announced yesterday
that the United States will continue the deployment. My colleague from the
Department of Defense will go into more detail on the work of these advisors. We
believe they are helping the partner forces to enhance their cooperation,
intelligence-sharing and fusion, and operational planning.
The U.S. military advisors are coordinating closely with the UN
peacekeeping missions in the region, especially to promote civilian protection.
MONUSCO, in particular, has stepped up its efforts to address the LRA in the
DRC. MONUSCO conducts targeted military operations unilaterally as well as
jointly with the Congolese military to help protect civilians. We have encouraged
the UN to scale up its efforts, when possible, to help address the LRA threat in
CAR and South Sudan. The new UN Regional Office for Central Africa is
overseeing the developing of a regional UN strategy for addressing the LRA,
which will be presented to the UN Security Council next month. We have been
working with the UN to develop this strategy and look forward to helping the UN
implement it.
We are also working closely with the African Union as it increases its efforts
to address the LRA. Last month, the AU officially launched its Regional 3
Cooperation Initiative for the Elimination of the LRA. Although many operational
details are still being worked out, we believe the AU’s involvement can strengthen
coordination, information-sharing, and trust among the four militaries pursuing the
LRA. We also believe the AU can help the governments in the region to develop a
common approach to encouraging LRA defections and ensuring effective
repatriation and reintegration of those who defect. Our military advisors in the
field are coordinating with the AU staff as they stand up this initiative on the
ground, and our embassies are working closely with the AU’s Special Envoy on
the LRA issue, Francisco Madeira.
These new initiatives, united together, offer real promise. However, as
Chairman Kerry wrote in The Huffington Post earlier this month, we have to level
with the American public that ending the LRA threat is not an easy mission. The
LRA operates in very small groups across vast territory roughly the size of
California, much of it densely-forested. Regional forces have had success in
tracking down LRA groups, but the LRA’s leaders are savvy. They exploit
communal conflicts and attack remote communities, which lack basic road,
telecommunications and governance infrastructure. Moreover, the governments in
this region have limited capabilities and numerous security challenges.
Mr. Chairman, effectively ending the LRA threat requires simultaneously
removing the top leadership from the battlefield and addressing the conditions that
leave communities so vulnerable to predatory groups such as the LRA. This is
precisely why the United States is seeking to pursue a multi-faceted strategy to
enhance both military and civilian capacity in the region. In partnership with
USAID, the State Department is supporting projects to increase civilian protection,
enhance early warning capabilities, deliver humanitarian relief, and strengthen the
overall resiliency of communities. We also continue to encourage other
international donors to increase their efforts in these areas. As we have seen in
northern Uganda and parts of South Sudan, development can play a critical role in
pushing out the LRA and keeping it from returning.
We also believe that targeted efforts, in coordination with increased military
pressure, to encourage LRA fighters to peacefully surrender can have a great effect
on reducing the LRA’s numbers. Since 2000, more than 12,000 fighters and
abductees have left the group and been reintegrated and reunited with their families
through Uganda’s Amnesty Commission. The successful rehabilitation and
reintegration of those who leave the LRA creates a positive feedback cycle that
encourages others to defect.
MONUSCO is undertaking critical efforts in the DRC to encourage LRA
defections, including by setting up assembly points where LRA fighters and
associated persons can safely surrender. The Mission is publicizing the locations
of these assembly points through targeted radio broadcasts and leaflets. We
strongly support these efforts and have encouraged the UN to initiate similar,
coordinated activities in CAR and South Sudan. We are also looking at ways that
we can augment these activities through our programs and presence on the ground.
The State Department has deployed a civilian officer to the region who is working
with our military advisors and embassies to identify critical gaps and opportunities
for further U.S. support. We plan to deploy a second officer soon.
Mr. Chairman, we believe there is an opportunity for further U.S. support to
the counter-LRA effort using the State Department’s War Crimes Rewards
Program. This program allows the Secretary of State to publicize and pay rewards
for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of targeted war criminals.
This program has been very effective in bringing fugitives to justice, but the
present statutory authority is limited to fugitives indicted by the International
Criminal Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda and the Special Court
for Sierra Leone.
We welcome legislation that would expand the authority for the War Crimes
Reward Program so it could be used to target foreign nationals accused of war
crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide by any international criminal
tribunal, including hybrid or mixed courts. This would shift the program from
being court-specific to crime-specific. Fugitives would only be added to the
program after careful review and approval by an interagency committee, and
ultimately the Secretary of State.
Under this expanded authority, we could use the program to target Joseph
Kony and other top LRA commanders. We could publicize rewards for
information about LRA leaders using leaflets, radio broadcasts, and other
communications mechanisms. We believe, and our colleagues at the Defense
Department agree, that this would provide an important tool to generate
information about the whereabouts of top LRA leaders, especially to encourage
non-indicted LRA fighters to defect and provide such information.
In closing, let me reiterate that it is our partners in the region – governments and
civil society organizations – who are in the lead in countering the LRA threat and
its impacts. But the United States can provide critical capabilities and support to help them succeed in their efforts. We believe doing so puts us on the right side of
history, on the right side of our values, and on the right side of our strategic
interests. We appreciate Congress’ strong commitment to countering the LRA,
and we look forward to working with you in the months ahead.
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