Månad: december 2022

The Security Council today decided to provide a “humanitarian carve-out” — a standing humanitarian exemption — to the asset freeze measures imposed by United Nations sanctions regimes.

Adopting resolution 2664 (2022) (to be issued as document S/RES/2664(2022)) by a vote of 14 in favour to none against, with 1 abstention (India), the 15-member organ decided that the provision, processing or payment of funds, other financial assets or economic resources or the provision of goods and services necessary to ensure the timely delivery of humanitarian assistance or to support other activities that support basic human needs are permitted and are not a violation of the asset freezes imposed by that organ or its sanctions committees. […]

Joao Genesio de Almeida Filho (Brazil), noting the deleterious effects of sanctions, said it was high time to improve the way the Council makes use of its coercive power to address threats to international peace and security.  “Brazil is proud to be a member of the Security Council at this moment when it decides to take action to help those in need,” he emphasized, noting that the resolution will allow humanitarian providers to carry out their essential activities in more predictable conditions.  Above all, it will benefit millions of civilians who have had the misfortune to live under sanctions regimes, he added. […]

Geng Shuang (China) noted that sanctions are a unique tool of the Council, which should approach the issue in a prudent and responsible manner and avoid abuses that could have negative humanitarian implications.  In February, his delegation called for a standing sanction mechanism for certain humanitarian agencies and assistance.  Ireland and the United States responded with the proposed resolution and his delegation participated in improving the text.  The text should dispel the worries of providers of assistance, he said, also expressing hope that countries will scale up humanitarian assistance. […]

Anna M. Evstigneeva (Russian Federation), noting her delegation’s vote in favour of today’s resolution, said Council-imposed sanctions should be applied very carefully.  Their use as a punitive weapon is unacceptable, she said, adding that the Council must make decisions on humanitarian issues, then those decisions must be free from the politicized attitudes of individual States. Läs mötesprotokollet

States must apply effective arms-control measures to prevent the diversion of weapons supplied to Ukraine, a senior United Nations official told the Security Council today, as some Council members defended their decision to continue providing military support to Kyiv while others detailed the danger of doing so. […]

France’s representative, taking a different view, urged those present not to “confuse the attacker and the attacked”, adding that the Russian Federation bears sole responsibility for the deteriorating situation in Ukraine.  […]

Trine Skarboevik Heimerback (Norway), condemning the Russian Federation’s war in the strongest terms, said that her country will continue to stand by Ukraine.  Moscow must abide by international law and stop its war of aggression now.  Massive waves of missile and drone strikes demonstrate the Russian Federation’s disregard for the suffering it is causing to millions of people, she said, adding that children, persons with disabilities and the elderly must be protected.  On the transfer of lethal weapons from Iran by the Russian Federation, she recalled that all States must respect the restrictions set out in resolution 2231 (2015).  […]

Ronaldo Costa Filho (Brazil) said that weapons now being used in Ukraine will possibly, in the future, fuel other conflicts in other parts of the world.  Supplying arms and ammunition to the parties to the conflict in Ukraine might prolong the fighting and create more civilian suffering, but it is also undeniable that a State has a right to self-defence as enshrined in the United Nations Charter.  Such a discussion, however, distracts the Council from its mandate to maintain peace and security, he said, adding that more than nine months into the conflict, it has yet to call upon the parties to resolve their dispute peacefully, as it is supposed to do under Article 33 of the Charter.  Calling for an immediate ceasefire without preconditions, he said that the world is looking to the Council to exercise its responsibility and stop this spiral of violence. […]

Geng Shuang(China) said that over the past 10 months, a large amount of weapons and ammunition have poured into Ukraine, adding:  “Human lives seem so fragile when faced with gun barrels.”  Both sides have suffered losses and trauma, with ordinary people bearing the brunt of the conflict.  Recalling the High Representative’s statement in September about the risk of the potential diversion of weapons, as well as the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) warning in June that weapons destined for Ukraine could end up on the black market and in the hands of criminals, he said that such warnings have unfortunately materialized, with weapons landing in the hands of armed groups and terrorists in the Middle East and Africa.  He called for a cessation of hostilities and emphasized the need for a political solution to end the crisis, rather than flooding the battlefield with weapons and prolonging the conflict.  The international community must support efforts to bring about a peaceful settlement and all parties must exercise restraint and bring about conditions to relaunch negotiations.  The use or threat of use of nuclear weapons must be rejected, he said, adding that efforts must be made to stabilize the global supply chain and preserve the stability of developing countries. Läs mötesprotokollet

The Turkish army has assumed the lead of NATO’s Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) on Friday (1 January 2021), placing thousands of soldiers on standby, ready to deploy within days.

Turkey takes over from Poland, which provided the core of the force in 2020. Built around Turkey’s 66th Mechanised Infantry Brigade of around 4,200 troops, a total of around 6,400 soldiers will serve on the VJTF. Units from Albania, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, the UK, and the United States will also serve on the force, which is part of the Alliance’s larger NATO Response Force. Turkey has made substantial investments into the unit – amongst the most mobile in NATO – particularly in its logistics and ammunition requirements planning. The latest models of Turkish armed vehicles, anti-tank missiles and howitzers have been allocated to the force. Läs artikel

Nansen er kanskje den mest kjente nordmann gjennom tidene. Han var polfarer, oppdager, vitenskapsmann, nasjonsbygger og diplomat. De siste ti årene av livet sitt brukte han til å bygge opp de virkelig store internasjonale institusjonene for internasjonalt samarbeid og humanitært arbeid.

Han reiste ut i 1905 og ble gang på gang hanket inn for å løse nye oppgaver for Norge og senere for det internasjonale samfunnet.

– Nansen er den mest innflytelsesrike diplomaten Norge noen gang har hatt, sier Iver B. Neumann.

Han er direktør ved Fridtjof Nansens Institutt og forsker på diplomatiets historie. Han argumenterer for at begrunnelsen for å gi Nansen Nobels fredspris står like støtt i dag som for hundre år siden. Nansen er kanskje den mest kjente nordmann gjennom tidene. Han var polfarer, oppdager, vitenskapsmann, nasjonsbygger og diplomat. De siste ti årene av livet sitt brukte han til å bygge opp de virkelig store internasjonale institusjonene for internasjonalt samarbeid og humanitært arbeid.

Han reiste ut i 1905 og ble gang på gang hanket inn for å løse nye oppgaver for Norge og senere for det internasjonale samfunnet.

– Nansen er den mest innflytelsesrike diplomaten Norge noen gang har hatt, sier Iver B. Neumann.

Han er direktør ved Fridtjof Nansens Institutt og forsker på diplomatiets historie. Han argumenterer for at begrunnelsen for å gi Nansen Nobels fredspris står like støtt i dag som for hundre år siden. Läs artikel

Åklagaren yrkar på nio års fängelse för Jasjin för att medvetet ha spridit ”lögnaktig information” om den ryska armén. Enligt åklagaren har Jasjin orsakat stor skada för Ryssland och ökat de politiska spänningarna i landet, medan ryska trupper kämpar i Ukraina. […]

Den 27 juni blev Jasjin gripen och han har suttit häktad sedan dess. Redan före det hade han bötfällts flera gånger för sina uttalanden om Ukrainakriget.

Han gav intervjuer till utländska medier där han sa sig vara väl medveten om att han riskerade att gripas när som helst. Enligt honom önskade de ryska myndigheterna sannolikt att han skulle emigrera, men han hade valt att stanna i Ryssland.

Efter att han häktats gav han skriftliga svar på frågor från Sveriges radio nu i oktober. Där skriver han att det skulle bryta ner honom att lämna Ryssland. Ryssland är hans land och han har sina närmaste där och han har valt att fortsätta sitt motstånd i hemlandet, skrev han. […]

Jasjin, 39, har verkat inom den ryska oppositionen i ett tjugotal år. Han har samarbetat med både med den mördade oppositionsledaren Boris Nemtsov och med den fängslade oppositionsledaren Aleksej Navalnyj. Tillsammans med dem var Jasjin en av de mest framträdande oppositionspolitikerna under protestvågen mot Putin 2011-12. Läs artikel

A U.S. KC-46A Pegasus refueled Finnish F/A-18s for the first time in Finland airspace, Dec. 7, as part of a U.S. Air Forces in Europe partnership exercise called Copper Arrow.

Copper Arrow is a U.S. Air Force total force exercise, specific to U.S. tanker aircraft, which enhances readiness and operational relationships with NATO Allies and Partners, critical to maintaining a postured and ready U.S. force in the region. U.S.-based tankers have been supporting Copper Arrow on a rotational basis since 2016.

“This iteration of Copper Arrow will go a long way in increasing overall USAFE-AFAFRICA readiness,” said Gen. James Hecker, USAFE-AFAFRICA commander. “Our ability to seamlessly train and exercise with our NATO Allies and Partners is not only a testament to our ready and postured U.S. forces in Europe, but also a statement of our strong and cooperative relationships with those valued Allies and Partners.” Läs artikel

Under veckorna 34 och 35 genomför Försvarsmakten flera övningar i Göteborg.

Bland annat tränar marinen på att skydda hamnarna och transportlederna till havs och vid Göteborgs garnison i Älvsborg genomförs ett flertal landningar och lyft med helikopter. Därför syns just nu sannolikt mer militär personal, fartyg, båtar och helikopter än normalt i området.

I samband med marinens övning i inloppet till Göteborgs hamn har man även påbörjat arbetet med att röja 26 skarpa minor som hittades söder om Vinga tidigare år. […]

– Det är lätt att koppla det uppväxlade försvaret till det som nu sker i Ukraina, men man ska komma ihåg att beslutet bygger på en utveckling som sträcker sig många år tillbaka, säger Johanna Frejme, kommunikationschef på Älvsborgs amfibieregemente. Läs artikel

With European Union sanctions on Russian oil coming into force earlier this week, the huge tankers loaded at terminals in the Kola Bay are forced to find new markets. Like the “Surgut”, a Suezmax 120,000 tons Sovcomflot tanker currently sailing south along the coast of Norway.

Instead of heading to Rotterdam, the Liberian-flagged Russian-owned tanker has Mumbai, India as final destination. Sailing distance is more than 9,100 nautical miles and will take about 38 days. But first the supertanker heads to the Suez Canal. […]

India, China and Turkey are now the biggest buyers of displaced Russian crude oil.

India has since the start of the war imported oil from Russia at discounted rates. New Delhi has also declared intentions to boost bilateral trade with Russia and Rosneft’s huge Arctic Vostok Oil project could see investments by India. According to vessel tracking data monitored by Bloomberg, India has since March, April boosted its oil import from Russia up to about one million barrels a day, nearly the same amount as the EU’s pre-war import. […]

As previously reported by the Barents Observer, the Russian ice-classed oil tanker “Vasily Dinkov” this autumn made a test voyage along the Northern Sea Route to the Chinese port of Rizhao.

With Asia as the main market, it will be interesting to see how Russia will take advantage of the short-cut Arctic route next summer instead of sailing the more than 9,000 nautical miles detour via Suez. Läs artikel

[…] I ett möte om den svenska Natoansökan i Ankara den 5 oktober upprepade Turkiet sitt krav avseende ett antal av de utpekade terroristerna. Det rapporterade bland andra regeringstrogna turkiska tidningen Daily Sabah. Den svenska Riksåklagaren har nu yttrat sig till Högsta domstolen om två av de män som ska ha nämnts vid mötet.

Båda anklagas av Turkiet för samröre med Gülenrörelsen, som givits skulden för försöket till statskupp sommaren 2016. Den ene är i 40-årsåldern och bosatt i Dalarna. I Turkiet är han häktad i sin utevaro, misstänkt för att ha varit med i en väpnad terroristorganisation med brottsdatum den 1 december 2016.

Han uppges ha laddat ner den krypterade mobilappen Bylock, som också ska ha använts av ledande företrädare för Gülenrörelsen. Han ska också ha deltagit i nätverkets möten. Mannen förnekar brott. I Sverige har han fått permanent uppehållstillstånd och status som flykting.

Enligt Riksåklagaren är de handlingar som mannen anklagas för inte brottsliga enligt svensk lag. Dessutom riskerar han förföljelse vid ett återvändande till Turkiet på grund av att han där tillskrivs en politisk uppfattning som oppositionell. […]

Den andre mannen är i 45-årsåldern och bor i Stockholmstrakten. Även han pekas ut som Gülenanhängare. Mannen dömdes år 2016 i Turkiet för medlemskap i en väpnad terroristorganisation. Hans brott var att ha använt mobilappen Bylock och därigenom ingått i ett kommunikationsnätverk i Gülenrörelsen.  Domen vann laga kraft år 2019.

Av den svenska utredningen i ärendet framgår att han förnekar brott. Han har varken varit medlem eller sympatiserat med Gülenrörelsen, utan bara tyckt att deras skolor har varit bra för hans barn, säger han.[…]

Riksåklagaren konstaterar även i hans fall att användningen av en mobilapp inte är ett brott i Sverige, även om appen skulle ha kopplingar till en viss organisation. Läs artikel

Norway will take over the chairmanship of the Arctic Council from Russia on the 11th of May 2023. This was stated by State Secretary Eivind Vad Petersson (Labor) in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs during the Nansen High North Seminar at the Fridtjof Nansen Institute last week.

On that occasion, Russia has invited to a Ministerial Meeting in Siberia. Although neither the Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Anniken Huitfeldt (Labor) nor State Secretary Petersson will be participating from the political management, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is now working hard to ensure an orderly handover of the chairmanship – and to preserve the council as the most important international forum in the Arctic.

The State Secretary’s speech inspires optimism in one of Norway’s leading experts on the Arctic Council.[…]

”Preserving the Arctic Council as the most important international forum for handling Arctic issues is one of the main tasks of Norwegian foreign policy. This requires intensive High North diplomacy,” the State Secretary points out. […]

”Any form of political cooperation with Russia is now out of the question. But there are still opportunities to continue the work in the Arctic at a lower level. Intensive work is now being done to achieve sufficient agreement and understanding around this.” […]

”Without Russia, which possesses large parts of the Arctic coastline, the cooperation is amputated. A number of researchers, especially in the climate and environmental field, have warned that we will understand much less of how to ’save the Arctic’ without Russia,” the researcher points out.

”The practical cooperation and information exchange is only an illustrating example of something we need to keep going, even if it involves some Russian actors as well,” states Petersson. Läs artikel