ASSOCIATION NEWS
News snippets from around the world effort to restore government’s integrity, credibility and capability. But will it happen? Can South Africans really expect a different outcome this time? https://www.thesouthafrican.com/
Time to make ecocide an international crime
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South Africa holds state funeral for Archbishop Desmond Tutu
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson fighting to save job over Covid party scandal
The funeral mass for South African anti-apartheid campaigner Archbishop Desmond Tutu has taken place at the Anglican Cathedral in Cape Town. Tutu, a Nobel Peace Prize winner who helped end the racist regime in South Africa, died on 26 December 2021 aged 90. In his eulogy, President Cyril Ramaphosa described Tutu as “the spiritual father of our new nation”. Tutu had insisted there should be no ‘lavish spending’ on the funeral and that he wanted ‘the cheapest available coffin’. https://www.bbc.com/
Despite the country being under a strict coronavirus lockdown in 2020, Prime Minister Boris Johnson attended a ‘bring your own booze’ party with dozens of staff members in the garden of his No. 10 Downing Street residence and office. Johnson apologised last Wednesday in the House of Commons as he fought to save his leadership from a growing scandal around a number of reported parties he and his staff held during Covid lockdown. https://www.nbcnews.com/
State collapse and other risks threatening South Africa over the next two years: WEF
It’s imperative that South Africa moves fast on state capture prosecutions
The World Economic Forum (WEF) has published its global risks report, detailing some of the key risks facing South Africa over the coming years. The forum said that Covid-19 and its economic and societal consequences continue to pose a critical threat to the world at the start of 2022. “Vaccine inequality and a resultant uneven economic recovery, risk compounding social fractures and geopolitical tensions. In the poorest 52 countries – home to 20 percent of the world’s people – only six percent of the population had been vaccinated at the time of writing. https://businesstech.co.za/
South Africans now face another moment of accountability. This follows the release of part 1 of the report of the Judicial Commission into State Capture led by deputy chief Justice Raymond Zondo. Media reports suggest overwhelming agreement that the well-detailed and comprehensive report must be followed up to hold accountable those linked in the report to rampant corruption during the reign of former President Jacob Zuma. Indeed, President Cyril Ramaphosa has described the first part of the Zondo Commission’s report as a ‘defining moment’ in the country’s
SECURITY FOCUS AFRICA DECEMBER 2021/JANUARY 2022
In December 2021 in The Hague, the governing body of the International Criminal Court (ICC) held its annual meeting. The most substantial development, however, was not on the official agenda and did not involve the U.S., China, or other major powers. It happened instead at a designated ‘side event’ hosted by the Republic of Vanuatu and the Independent State of Samoa. There, a new international crime was defined: ecocide. “The time is right to harness the power of international criminal law to protect our global environment,” argued Philippe Sands, cochair of the expert panel that drafted a legal definition of ecocide. The panel defines ecocide as ‘unlawful or wanton acts committed with knowledge that there is a substantial likelihood of severe and either widespread or long-term damage to the environment being caused by those acts.’ If enacted, this law would be a substantial preventative measure in stopping some of the world’s worst climate abuse. https://www.openglobalrights.org/
SANDF members to continue patrols President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced that the SANDF (South African National Defence Force) deployment across the country will continue until March this year. Despite 2,700 soldiers continuing their deployment across the country, however, Cape Flats residents say they won’t make much of a difference. Murder and other violent crime increased over the Festive Season, and residents say much more needs to be done, especially regarding witness protection after they have testified. https://www.enca.com/news/
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