Amal Clooney owns a Lilli Jahilo classic, a black dress named after her, the ‘Amal’ dress and many others; Princess Sofia of Sweden and the President of Estonia, KerstiKaljulaid also possess Lilli Jahilo dresses, just to name a few personalities dressed up by Lilli. Her brand has penetrated various markets, and is linked through collaborations with brands across the globe – from Finland and Sweden, to the US and Dubai.
Lilli Jahilo is the daughter of an Estonian diplomat father and mother working in the field of media; she grew up in different countries in a cosmopolitan family of four kids, being constantly surrounded by changes, influenced by new languages, and cultures. In fact, she discovered her tailoring talent living abroad at early age, and that her destiny would be linked to pulchritude and quality.
Lilli Jahilo Pictures by Tallinn Design House
“I’ve never really seen myself as a ‘diplomatic kid’ – does anyone?” she declared. “As a child, you follow your parents and that can take you to different places. This journey teaches you a lot, makes you lose fear of new places and gives you confidence that you can tackle anything.
As eldest out of four kids, I’ve lived abroad during two of my father’s postings. The first time, it was quite a shock moving from the newly independent Estonia to London in 1995. Literally everything was like in the movies – even cereals and orange juice for breakfast!
Lilli Jahilo design. Pictures by Riina Varol
Lilli Jahilo’s memories from London are still fresh and her school at that time made her discovered art at early age. “For some reason, the smell of chrysanthemums and eucalyptus will always remind me of our life in London. School was so different, and because of the language, was also a struggle at first. My school’s art class was really well equipped and it was during this time that my talent in art started to stand out more. When I returned to my homeland, I took up additional art classes and I guess this was the beginning in laying the foundation for my later studies in design. By the time we moved to Norway three years later and I was in high school, I had already fully decided to pursue studies in Fashion Design.
What I think back to the most in London was definitely the retail scene. We lived in the vicinity to Kensington High Street, and it was blooming with great stores in the 90s. I still remember how classy Jigsaw’s store looked liked, and how good the service everywhere was. It also introduced me to the concept of quality, the woollen suits my mum bought and sense of classic aesthetic. As a kid you absorb life around you and you only see the influences later in life. The studies in Norway taught me the idea of well thought out design, that form follows function. And their love of nature and the outdoors definitely stuck with me. Like Norwegians, I’m convinced that there is no bad weather, only inappropriate clothes! Clothes should be always there to support and bring the best out of you.”
Her decision to go after a career in fashion was natural and for Lilli it was not another possible option; she spent teen years building a strong portfolio.
Lilli Jahilo Pictures by Tallinn Design House
“I was sure by the time I was in high-school that I wanted to pursue studies in fashion design. Hence I dedicated all of this time to perfecting my portfolio, as I had heard so many stories of how impossible it is to enrol in fashion design, as it’s always been a popular choice at art academies. Yet so it happened that I was accepted to all four universities to which I applied, and decided to go Oslo National Academy of the Arts. I didn’t have a plan B, this was the only thing I wanted to do.”
“The world of fashion is a tough one to be in, so you need maximum motivation and inner drive to do it. Already when I was a kid, I loved drawing and making things, sewing with my grandmothers, working with all sorts of materials, and I’ve always been organising things, so fashion in a way brings together everything that I love doing. There’s a saying there are two type of artists in the world, those who destruct and those who build. I’m definitely the latter – I love creating harmony. All of our products are made with attention to detail and the perfection of fit which have become the hallmarks of my design together with modern and feminine style. We don’t only create the most beautiful dresses in the world, we empower women.
Lilli Jahilo Pictures by Tallinn Design House
I set up my fashion brand two years after graduating from Fashion MA in Tallinn, prior to that I had interned with numerous brands and designers to learn about the craft and trade. I won the best young designer award with my graduate collection and that brought attention and opened doors for me. I also started getting requests from private clients and so setting up my studio to do those things was sort of inevitable. I still worked a full-time job at the Art Academy when I started with my studio. At one point it was all too much, and then decided to fully dedicate on my brand.
My cousin Tene joined me in working with the brand so that I could focus more on the creative work. It’s been ten years now. My family was always there to support me which I’m very thankful for, because being an entrepreneur and artist at once and running a team is a tough journey full of challenges. Out of all the four siblings I’m the only one living in Estonia, my twin sisters are finalising their master studies in Mathematics and Aerospace Engineering, one of them lives in the UK, the other in The Netherlands, and my brother who is an environmental specialist lives in Belgium.
My studio is like a creative hub that includes an atelier, studio for creative work and showroom with fitting rooms that also acts as a store. We are very proud of our in-house atelier with the best tailors so that we can truly guarantee the best quality in our pieces, we also alter dresses quite a lot according to the clients’ measurements and needs and this goes for orders placed either in-store or online. Online business has really grown a lot during this Covid-year as customers are mainly shopping online – and this is true for both small items such as face masks and made-to-order dresses. Therefore managing the online store and shipping is an important part of our management side. I love working on collections but also on creative collaborations – Volvo is our long-term partner, as well as Saaremaa Opera Festival, our latest two collections are done in partnership with the National Art Museum of Estonia and our anniversary event this year was held in partnership with Samsung. Design is a universal language that crosses all borders and cultures and, like politics, everybody has an opinion about it.
Lilli Jahilo design. PIctures by Riina Varol
We truly have clients across the globe. We are currently working on developing the first menswear collection which I’m very excited about. And a very special Ramadan and Eid Collection is also in the works which will hopefully be launched in Dubai next year.
In the picture H. E. Ms. Erika Mouynes, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Panama.
By H.E. Ms. Elizabeth Ward Neiman, Ambassador of the Republic of Panama.
In the 1960’s, a cigarette company launched a marketing campaign tapping into the beginning of the women empowerment movement. Sixty years later, the shift against cigarette smoking has come a long way, but so has the empowerment of women and gender equality shifted remarkably as well. This shift is especially recognizable within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Panama.
The Republic of Panama is a State Party of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), adopted in 1979 by the United Nations General Assembly and has ratified the Equal Remuneration Convention of the International Labour Organization (ILO) of 1951 (Convention No. 100), as well as actively participating in several regional and international forums.
Palacio Bolivar.
In 2012, the World Economic Forum (WEF) created the Initiatives of Gender Parity (IPG) with the objective of accelerating women’s equality integration in the work force combining public and private sector initiatives. The WEF initiated the awareness of the IPG and implementation in 2012. However, it was not until 2016 that the efforts moved to Latin America with Panama as a frontrunner along with Chile and Argentina.
In constituting public-private alliances including people from public institutions, multilateral organizations and public and private organizations, the goal of Panama’s Initiatives of Gender Parity (IPG Panama) was directed towards promoting best practices to close the economic gender gap by increasing the number of women in the labor force, reduce the wage gap and promote women in leadership positions.
One of the leaders of the nine institutions that form part of the Panamanian alliance is the governmental National Institute for Women (INAMU). By creating the program, “Mujer, Cambia tu Vida” (Woman, Change your Life), INAMU has provided the necessary environment and opportunities for women to achieve economic independence aimed at an integral economy and a sustainable social environment in a competitive means that is in line with the current Government Action Plan.
In order to measure achievements aimed towards the international and national gender parity goals, Panama created a system of indicators with focus on gender in Panama (SIEGPA). Data is collected systematically from both the private and public sectors to facilitate the formulation, implementation and follow up of public policies regarding gender parity. The data is divided by sex, age, ethnic background, health measures as well as other relevant factors that affect women.
Panama aims to accelerate Gender Equality in the Public Sector in accordance with the Sustainable Development Goals 2030. Through INAMU the government proposed a Gender Parity Certificate, as an initiative within the framework of the Institutional Strengthening Project of the United Nations Program for Development (UNDP) within the public institutions. The objective of granting this certificate is to support and recognize the effort taking place to achieve gender parity moving forward on the construction of an inclusive State.
In order to achieve the proposed goals, Panama has conscientiously taken important steps in this matter such as training more women to enter the task force as well as employing more qualified women for leadership roles within the government, in addition to creating awareness of gender parity by enforcing the private sector to follow suit.
Although there is a clear shift in gender parity among the labor force in all public institutions as well as in the private sector, nowhere is this as obvious as in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs!
Appointed in December 2020, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MIRE) is currently led by HE Erika Mouynes. It is selected women who accompany Minister Mouynes; HE Dayra Carrizo Castillero and HE Ana Luisa Castro as Vice Chancellor and Vice Minister for Multilateral Affairs and Cooperation, respectively. In addition to the three highest authority positions being occupied by outstanding internationally experienced women, 57% of the 14 appointed Department directors in the Ministry are highly qualified professional women.
The Minister Mouynes promotes the agenda of gender equality and the empowerment of all women with her participation in the campaign “#YoAlzoMiVoz” supporting the generation of equality as part of the collective call to action of the UN Women Decade of Action. She is also committed to the EPIC initiative (Equal Pay International Coalition) as a member of the steering committee, representing 1 of the 8 countries that globally leads actions for equal pay between men and women.
The Foreign Service forms part of the Ministry personnel and great effort has also been made to reach gender parity in this area. Nowadays, approximately 40% of the heads of Diplomatic Missions, whether ambassadors, general or honorary consuls, as well as others, are women.
In addition to this, Panama is represented in several multilateral organizations by women holding commendable positions. Ambassador María Roquebert is Permanent Representative of Panama to the Organization of American States (OAS), where she has emphasized that women must be represented in all areas equally, including politics. Just recently, Vivian Fernández de Torrijos was elected to the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at the Conference of State Parties.
Out of over 1,580 women participating, All About Shipping selected HE Natalia Royo de Hagerman, Ambassador of Panama to the United Kingdom, as one of the 100 Most Influential Women in the global shipping industry. Not forming part of a multilateral organization, nor part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Panama, but equally relevant on the international scene is Ilya Espino de Marotta, Deputy Administrator of the Panama Canal and Vice President of Operations, who is of influence in almost all international trade.
And last, but not least, I have recently joined the prestigious organization, International Gender Champions, a leadership network that brings together high-level women and men decision-makers determined to break down gender barriers and make gender equality a working reality.
It is with great honor and pride that we, as women, represent our country, the Republic of Panama, around the world as an example to other nations of the importance of gender parity.
A unique opportunity for European governments to reaffirm and strengthen their commitment to transparency
By Lola Servary.
Accessing quality information has never been so challenging, despite or maybe, because of our exposure to tremendous amount of information. The entry into force of the Council of Europe (CoE) Convention on Access to Official Documents (Tromsø Convention) on 1 December 2020, in a context of concerning deficit of transparency in the management of the Covid-19 pandemic, appears as an opportunity for governments to reinforce transparency culture and restore citizens trust and legitimacy in their institutions, in democracy.
Increasing recognition of the right of access to official documents
The Nordic European States pioneered the development of the right of access to official documents, with the world’s first law on access to information adopted by Sweden in 1766. It then spread progressively to many other West European countries, before reaching its peak in the 1990s with the creation of legal tools in the new democracies of Eastern and Central Europe. Today, various legal instruments (constitutions, national laws and jurisprudence) across Europe recognize the right of access to official documents. At the international level as well, this right has been increasingly recognized[1].
The CoE Convention on Access to Official Documents, signed on 18 June 2009 in Tromsø, Norway, is the first binding international legal instrument to recognize a general right of access to official documents held by public authorities. More than ten years later, on 1 December 2020, the Convention entered into force, following the ratification by Ukraine, tenth State to ratify it[2].
The Convention considers that all official documents are in principle public and provides a minimum legal framework for the prompt and fair processing of requests for access to official documents. Only the protection of other rights and legitimate interests can justify the rejection of requests. When requests are denied, it obliges the States to provide “access to a review procedure before a court or another independent and impartial body established by law” (Article 8).
This development could give a fresh impetus to European efforts towards greater transparency and reinforce democracy in general. It is particularly much welcome in the midst of the Covid-19 crisis and the “infodemic” accompanying the pandemic. However, observers stress that much remains to be done to make this ambitious initiative a reality and to bring together all European countries to ratify it.
Making access to official documents a reality
In her comment on the Convention, CoE Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović stresses the importance of access to official documents for “transparency, good governance and participatory democracy and a key means of facilitating the exercise of other human rights and fundamental freedoms” and calls on CoE member states and non-member states to ratify the Tromsø Convention as soon as possible. On the same note, Access Info Europe group called on 17 November all member states of the CoE to sign and ratify, with a special call on France, German, Italy and Great Britain, in order to ensure that Europe’s largest countries are taking part in this European effort towards greater transparency of public authorities.
Today, virtually all countries of the Council of Europe have freedom of information laws and some “good models” exist[3]. But the level of transparency varies between the countries and even across the institutions of each country. In some legal provision, the lack of clarity jeopardizes the enforcement.
In such context of profusion of legal provision, the Tromsø Convention could help build a stronger, harmonized and more comprehensive legal framework, create a common understanding of access to official documents and guarantee that all European citizens enjoy the same right to information and hold their authorities accountable.
In addition to ratification, promoting and disseminating the legal instruments must be a priority, as states Article 9 of the Convention: “Parties shall inform the public about its right of access to official documents”. Signatory states must promote this legal instrument and avoid that such a crucial initiative goes unnoticed. It would be paradoxical if such an ambitious initiative on transparency is not truly made public.
Transparency often denied when it is most needed
Access to information is even more vital in times of crisis. In the current Covid-19 pandemic, access to reliable information is not only a matter of public health but also of public trust in health management systems and authorities. Fighting misinformation should be part of the crisis management plans, to fight the “infodemic” parallel to the pandemic.
Unfortunately, it is precisely in times of crisis that freedom of information is often denied, on the grounds of national security arguments. The secrecy around the EU vaccines contracts is a blatant illustration of such ambivalent attitude to transparency when it is most needed. On Friday 29 January, five months after the signature and after renewed requests from various European politicians and civil society groups, the European commission finally published the vaccine contract signed on 27 August 2020 with Astrazeneca.
Although the publication of such an important document could have been a great move for the Commission to regain legitimacy, the actual outcome, a redacted document with price and accountability terms kept secret, raises more questions than it answers, contributing to more mistrust. Why is the Commission holding such crucial public health information, denying citizens right to know on issues that directly affect them?
About the author:
Lola Servary is an Information Officer at the Intl Institute IFIMES and was previously attached with the international developmental FORAs in Europe and overseas. She holds a BA in political science and an MA in international development from prestigious French universities.
[2] after Sweden, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Estonia, Finland, Norway, Moldova, Croatia, Montenegro, Hungary and Lithuania. Eight additional countries have already signed the Convention: Armenia, Belgium, Georgia, Iceland, North Macedonia, San Marino, Serbia, Slovenia.
[3] In her call on CoE members states to ratify the Convention, Dunja Mijatović names for example Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia which have an independent oversight body responsible for monitoring and enforcing the right to information.
Smaller than Belgium, Albania lies with its 400 kilometers of gorgeous beaches just opposite the Southern tip of Italy on the Adriatic sea. It is a young country with an ancient population that is descended from the Illyrians, who built major cities during the heydays of the Greek civilisation.
It’s current language, an independent branch of the Indo-European family, is directly descended from the language of the Illyrians. Conquered or dominated by the Greeks, the Romans, the Byzantines, the Ottomans, and the Italians, Albanians can be Orthodox, Catholic, Shia, Sunni or atheist.
In all their differences, what binds them is their language. Religion has always been less important than the traditional laws and values of the Kanun, an ancient set of twelve books that includes the concept of ‘Besa’. Besa is Albanian for the word or promise of an honourable person. These values of the Kanun also contain the Albanian’s extremely important sense of hospitality. Living in a multi religious environment, sharing one language and a strong set of mores, has made Albanians very tolerant of each other’s religion.
It also meant that when all of Europe had become antisemitic in the extreme, Albania was a safe haven for its small Jewish population, as well as for the three times larger group of Jewish refugees from Nazi occupied lands. As guests they deserved their protection.
Following World War two, Albania entered half a century of strict communism with a regime as strict as that of North Korea today. During the five and a half centuries of Ottoman occupation the country had missed out on development and the building of infrastructure. Now it entered another half century under the glass bowl of dictatorship, separated from the rest of the world and the post war boom. Its dictator Enver Hoxha even refused the help of the Marshall Plan. When in 1990 President Ramiz Alia changed the constitution and allowed Albanians to travel abroad and, among other things, own a private car, the country was impoverished, its industry small and primitive and democratic institutions non-existent.
The current Albanian ambassador to The Netherlands, Ms. Adia Sakiqi (please pronounce this as Sakichy) vividly remembers her bewilderment when in high school, literally from one day to another, the history books were totally changed. All she had learned was now shown to be false and dogma’s drilled into every child shown as wrong and different.
She finished her high school and got a scholarship for the University of Leuven, Belgium, where she studied philosophy and specialized in EU politics and policies and met her husband. While talking to me, calmly like a docent, in relating the history and geography of her beautiful country, she became fiery and enthusiastic when talking about current developments.
”We are currently an official candidate for EU membership and working very hard to build our administrative and judicial systems in order to comply with the rules for full membership. We have changed about two thirds of the hastily drafted post communist constitution and are building new administrative systems with the help of EU and American experts. For example with the guidance of the American Department of Justice as well as EU expertise, we are building a new judicial machinery. Judges, prosecutors, and police officers are vetted (on professionalism, ethics and physical condition) and trained in the US.”
She explains that while she’d like the development to go faster, from her philosophical point of view, it is the movement that counts, not the speed. The country has gorgeous mountains and lakes, lovely beaches, organic Mediterranean fruit and plenty of natural resources. The ingredients for prosperity for its three million plus people are there. All the country needs is good government, good institutions and integration of its economy with Europe.
Ambassador Sakiqi beams with pride when talking about current developments in her country. When asked about what she sees as its future, she is very firm.
“Albania’s future is European. Albanians are Europeans, we are wedged between Greece and Italy with their millennia old civilisations. We are an integral part of Europe’s history and will be proud to be part of its future.”
Trump’s second Senate trial went without conviction. The US president, Joe Biden, after the trial, that “This sad chapter in our history has reminded us that democracy is fragile. That it must always be defended. That we must be ever vigilant.” US institutions, once a model for the whole world, were tested to their limits. A sitting president not only refuses to conceded defeat but also incited mob violence against the most revered US institutions, the US Congress, and the duly process of transition of power. One can dismiss all of these as one individual who lost the capacity to distinguish right from wrong!
Some called it the first coup attempt in the US. A coup or not, it certainly shows American democracy backsliding, Harvard Professor Pippa Norris averred! Long before the incident at the Capitol Hill, the US is designated as a flawed democracy by Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index.
The unfolding events in the US, however, betray serious flaws underlying the structures of modern societies. Societies’ strength reflects the development of their institutions. The more the institutions are durable the more they can cope with crises. Alas, institutions decay and underperform. Today the problem of decaying institutions is on full display in the US. The US is a very important example of the quintessential modern society. Its institutions long developed and withstood the test of time. The US is an immigrant society, which makes it is an interesting case because it assimilates new groups and perhaps overloads the political system once new groups assert their rights.
The COVID 19 pandemic crisis is a material representation of overloading the system. When hundreds of thousands fell victim to the pestilence, the health system could not manage the waves of patients and modern societies, advanced in medicine and all, dilapidated under the weight of the virus. Health systems of advanced countries like China, the US, Italy, Spain, South Korea, and the UK teetered on the brink.
The historical context of each society matters and the development of institutions takes place within this context. That was the subject taken by the late political scientist Samuel Huntington when he wrote his book American Politics: The Promise of Disharmony published in 1981.
Huntington made the argument that the US society, unlike other societies, was founded on ideals. Those ideals—individualism, liberty, constitutionalism, democracy— are in direct conflict with institutions of power that are the antithesis of the ideals. The Ideal vs. Institution gap, according to Huntington, engenders “creedal passion”.
Huntington saw US history as a sequence of creedal passions that occurs in sixty-year intervals to rectify the country’s bearing. The first was the American Revolution in 1776, which led the country to independence. The second, sixty years later, was the Bank War in the 1830s. A movement led by President Andrew Jackson to break the economic power of the Second Bank of the United States (B.U.S.).
The Progressive-era that spanned the years of 1890-1920 was the third attempt to restore the ideals to the institutions. The movement was led by President Theodore Roosevelt to curb the power of the elites and restore direct democracy to the people. The reforms carried by the movement were intended to curtail the political power of local bosses. Finally, it was sixty years later when the last creedal passion outpoured into the open in the streets of America. The Civil Rights Movement and the anti-Vietnam war in the 1960s was the last case Huntington cites to support his claim. Huntington predicted the next creedal passion outburst in the second decade of the 21st century, i.e., 2020.
The idea of American decay comes from non-other than Huntington’s protégé, Francis Fukuyama. The erstwhile neoconservative Fukuyama penned an article titled “America in Decay: The Sources of Political Dysfunction,” in which he argued, “Institutions are created to meet the demands of specific circumstances, but then circumstances change and institutions fail to adapt.”
The adaptability of institutions makes them more robust and persistent. You have only to remember that Lebanon, once hailed as the Switzerland of the Middle East, succumbed to civil strife because its institutions could not adapt to the new circumstances of the day. Persistence and adaptability are not necessarily contradictory but contrapuntal. The two are dialectically interrelated.
What is important for societies is the degree of the autonomy of institutions to discharge their functions unencumbered by narrow interests. A point made poignantly by Fukuyama who bemoaned the fact that “institutions create favored classes of insiders who develop a stake in the status quo and resist pressures to reform.”
Interest groups are built-in in the American political system. The system encourages those groups to compete to influence the government. Lobbyists are legally registered and hold Congress’s feet to the fire over various legislations. Representatives of different interest groups are very contentious and target defying politicians in elections.
The National Rifle Association (NRA), for example, represents such a powerful lobby that hampers any gun control reforms. Despite tragedies of gun violence, mass shooting, crimes, suicide, the American government is ineffectual in curbing such phenomena. The NRA armed with the Second Amendment of the US Constitution, which protects the right to bear arms, fought legislation that will instate major firearm reforms like gun registration and banning semiautomatic weapons.
Besides, over the decades, American society has been afflicted by high levels of income inequality. A study by Pew Research Center has shown that over the past five decades “the highest-earning 20% of U.S. households have steadily brought in a larger share of the country’s total income.” According to the study, in 2018 twenty percent of high-income households claimed 52% of all US income. This makes the US the highest in income inequality among the Group of Seven (G7). Moreover, the gap between whites and African Americans is consistent over time: in 2018, the average black household income is a mere 61% of median white household income.
These are the underlying causes of the current societal crisis in the US. For how long the US can overcome the recurring crises before yielding to deeper fissure remains to be seen. “A house divided against itself cannot stand,” the Good Book says!
About the author:
Mr. Albadr SS Alshateri, Ph.D. is a retired professor from the National Defence College, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
An Analysis into the Legal Classification, Security and Environmental Concerns, Geopolitics and Energy Flow Impact of the Caspian Plateau
How has the world’s largest inland body of (salty) water escaped the economic and political notice for so long? And it is for a resource-rich area of a unique locality that connects Europe and Asia in more than just geography. Simply, the Caspian Basin is an underrated and underexplored topic with scarce literature on its geomorphology, mineral deposits and marine biota, its legal disputes, pipeline diplomacy, environmental concerns and overall geopolitical and geo-economic interplays.
As the former Minister of the Canadian government and Secretary General of the OECD – Honorable Donald J Johnston – states in the foreword, Caspian – Status, Challenges, Prospects “is a fitting title for a book that masterfully gives an objective, comprehensive overview of the region. The authors have compiled an analysis of Caspian’s legal classification, security and environmental concerns, geopolitical scenarios, and energy flow impacts as they affect the world’s largest continental landmass – Eurasia.”
From comprehensive but content intensive insights on Caspian littoral states Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Iran, Russia and Turkmenistan, to external actors like Turkey, EU, China and the United States, readers are presented how separate actors and factors interact in this unique theater. The book elaborates on the legal classification of the Caspian plateau including the recent ‘Convention on Legal Status of the Caspian,’ to the numerous territorial and environmental security concerns.
Prof. Anis H. Bajrektarevic and his co-authors present Caspian as the most recent, fresh and novel way, in one stop-shop offering broad analysis on the Caspian region. It is a single volume book for which extensive information is exceptionally rare to find elsewhere. Following the read, authors are confident that a new expanse of scholarly conversation and actions of practitioners will unfold, not only focused on Caspian’s unique geography, but its overall socio-economic, politico-security and environmental scene.
Welcoming the book, following words of endorsements have been said:
The Caspian basin and adjacent Central Asian region (all being OSCE member states, apart from Iran) have, since the early Middle ages, acted as a crossroads between different civilizations and geopolitical spaces. In an increasingly interconnected world, growing geopolitical competition, economic interdependence and the emergence of new global challenges, particularly those related to water, energy and the climate emergency, have highlighted the relevance of this region, making it of increasing interest to researchers and academics. This book presents a thorough analytical compendium of historical factors, political dynamics, economic trends, legal frameworks and geopolitical interests which underpin, but also affect, the stability and development of this complex, diverse and strategically significant region.
H.E. Mr. Lamberto Zanier,Secretary-General, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (2011-2017). OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities (2017-2020).
A thoughtful, comprehensive and balanced analysis of the complex interplay between geopolitics and geo-economics in Central Eurasia, and pivotal energy plateau – that of Caspian. We finally have an all-in reader that was otherwise chronically missing in international literature, which will hopefully reverse the trend of underreporting on such a prime world’s spot.
Hence, this is a must-read book for those wondering about the future of one of the most dynamic and most promising regions of the world and what it could entail for both reginal and external players.
Mr. Andrey Kortunov, Director General, Russian International Affairs Council
Although of pivotal geopolitical and geo-economic importance, Caspian energy plateau represents one of the most underreported subjects in the western literature. Interdisciplinary research on the topic is simply missing.
Therefore, this book of professor Bajrektarevic and his team – unbiased, multidisciplinary, accurate and timely – is a much-needed and long-awaited reader: A must read for scholars and practitioners, be it from Eurasia or beyond.
It is truly a remarkable piece of work!
Authors were able to tackle a challenging subject with a passion, knowledge and precision, and turn it into a compelling, comprehensive yet concise read which I highly recommend.
Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Kazakhstan, H.E. Mr. Erzhan Kazykhanov, Ambassador. Embassy of Kazakhstan, Washington dc, USA
ARTNeT secretariat is pleased to see how our initial invitation to Prof. Anis H. Bajrektarevic to present at the ARTNeT Seminar Series in 2015 evolved. The talk was initially published as a working paper for ARTNeT (AWP 149). Now Prof. Bajrektarevic, in collaboration with another two co-authors, offers a comprehensive study on a nexus of legal, security, and environmental issues all emanating from and linked to energy cooperation (or lack thereof) in the subregion. This volume’s value extends beyond the education of readers on the Caspian Basin’s legal status (e.g., is it a sea or a lake?). It is just as relevant for those who want a more in-depth understanding of an interplay of economic, security, and political interest of players in the region and outside. With the global institutions increasingly less capable of dealing with rising geopolitics and geo-economic tensions, more clarity – even if only about some aspects of those problematic issues – should be appreciated. This volume offers such clarity.
Ms. Mia Mikic, Director, UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP). ARTNeT coordinator
It is my honor to reflect on this work on Caspian. Comprehensive and content rich, this book of professor Anis H. Bajrektarevic and his co-authors brings up comprehensively all the useful information on Caspian, with the geographical and historical background and cultural, economic as well as security aspects related to it.
Authors’ novel and unbiased approach shall certainly help decision makers in their bettered understanding of the region that has centuries-long history of peace and cordial neighbourly relations. Long needed and timely coming, I warmly recommend this reader to those who want to know, but more importantly to all those who want to understand, this pivotal region of the world.
Mr. Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Former Ambassador of Islamic Republic of Iran to United Nations and other International Organizations in Geneva & Vienna
The book by Professor Bajrektarevic and his co-authors embodies a wide-ranging overview of the intertwined interests pursued by the young democracies of the Caspian basin, battling with inherited land and water disputes, and their interplay with regional and global powers. Apparently, supporting political independence of the formers and promoting their integration into the latter’s markets requires adequate analyses, timely outreach policies and consistent engagement. In this sense the publication serves as one of the scarce handbooks to understand diverse interests of stakeholders, dynamically changing security architecture of the region and emerging opportunities of cooperation around the Caspian Sea.
Ambassador Galib Israfilov, Permanent Representative to the UN Vienna and to the OSCE. Embassy of Azerbaijan to Austria
A response to Dunja MijatovicCouncil of Europe, Commissioner for Human Rights.
By Eugene Matos De Lara and Audrey Beaulieu.
“People have the right to know what those in power are doing” Dunja Mijatovic Council of Europe, Commissioner for Human Rights.
Access to information legislation was first seen in 1766 in Sweden, with parliamentary interest to access information held by the King. Finland in 1951, the United States in 1966, and Norway in 1970 also adopted similar legislation. Today there are 98 states with access laws; of these, more than 50 incorporated in their constitution. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights 2006 and the European Court of Human Rights 2009 both ruled that access to information is a human right, confirmed in July 2011 by the United Nations Human Rights Committee, a sine qua non of 21st-century democracy.
Global civil society movements have been promoting transparency, with activists and journalists reporting daily on successes in obtaining information and denouncing obstacles and frustrations in the implementation of this right. To this end, the Council of Europe was inspired by pluralistic and democratic ideals for greater European unity, adopted the Council of Europe Convention on Access to Official Documents recognizing a general right of access to official documents held by public authorities.
It brings a minimum standard for the fair processing of requests for access to official documents with the obligation for member states to secure independent review for restricted documents unless withheld if the protection of the documents is considered legitimate.
The right to freedom of information
Access to information is a government scrutiny tool. Without it, human rights violations, corruption cases, and anti-democratic practices would never be uncovered. Besides exposing demerits, the policy is also known to improve the quality of public debates while increasing participation in the decision making process. Indeed, transparency of authorities should be regarded as a fundamental precondition for the enjoyment of fundamental rights, as guaranteed by Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The policy equips citizens and NGOs with the necessary tool to counter refusal from authorities to provide information. The European Court of Human Rights recognized that withheld documents could be accessed in specific circumstances. In principle, all information should be available, and those upheld can also be accessed, particularly when access to that particular information is crucial for the individual or group to exercise their freedoms unless of course, the information is of national security or of private nature.
Access to information in times of crisis a first line weapon against fake news
The COVID pandemic has enabled us to test access policies and benchmark the effectiveness of the right to know during trivial times, as Dunja Mijatovic mentioned. In fact, having easy access to reliable information protects the population from being misled and misinformed, a first-line weapon dismantling popular fake news and conspiracies.
Instead, during COVID, access to information has supported citizens in responding adequately to the crisis. Ultimately, transparency is also a trust-building exercise.
Corruption and environmental issues
Information is a weapon against corruption. The Council of Europe Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) is looking at the specific issue of access to official documents in the context of its Fifth Evaluation Round, which focuses on preventing corruption and promoting integrity in central governments and law enforcement agencies.
In about a third of the reports published so far, GRECO has recommended the state to improve access to official documents. In regards to the environment, the United Nations Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters, commonly referred to as the Aarhus Convention, expands the right of access to information on environmental matters thus complementing the Tromsø Convention.
Declaring these policies as the primary tools that empower citizens and defenders to protect the environment we live in.
Good models exist
Most Council of Europe member states have adequate mechanisms regarding the right to information. For example, in Estonia, “the Public Information Act provides for broad disclosure of public information” states Mijatovic. Moreover, “in Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia and several other countries there is an independent oversight body – such as an Information Commissioner – responsible for monitoring and enforcing the right to information, while some other countries entrust Parliamentary Ombudsmen with supervision of the right of access to information”.
Finally, “the constitutions of several European countries do indeed guarantee the fundamental right to information.” Nonetheless, there are still inconsistent levels of transparency among state institutions or a failure to meet the requirement for proactive disclosure. The entry into force of the Tromso Convention will be an opportunity to bring back to the table the importance of the right to information and to readjust European States practices regarding the enhancement.
Barriers and Challenges
Digitization is still recent, and authorities are not accustomed to dealing openly. There is a sentiment of reservation and caution. Before the advent of the internet, governments enjoyed a level of political efficiency and practical obscurity. Viewing public records required the time and effort of a visit to the records’ physical location and prevented easy access to details of individual files. Openness has made the policy cycle longer, with a more thorough consultation process and debates. The availability of digital documents has caused an unavoidable conflict.
One of the conflicts is a privacy protection and policy safeguards invoked against freedom of information requests. Requirements to provide transparency of activities must be mitigated with national security, individuals’ safety, corporate interests, and citizens’ right to privacy. Finding the right balance is essential to understand how local governments manage the dichotomy between providing open access to their records by maintaining the public’s privacy rights.
Several governments think twice before pursuing transparency policies. Access to information hasn’t been a priority for some of the European States. Mijatovic reported that “filtering of information and delays in responses to freedom of information requests have been observed in several member states”. Although there is a growth in these laws’ popularity, we are always a step behind meeting the supply and demand of information objectives in an era of digitization.
Legal perspectives
Tromso Convention has only been ratified by eleven countries, which are mostly located in Scandinavia (Finland, Norway and Sweden) or in Eastern Europe (Bosnia, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Moldavia and Ukraine). Reading this statement, three questions should come to our minds:
1. Why not all European states have ratified Tromso Convention?
2. Why do Scandinavian countries have chosen to ratify the Convention?
3. Why are most of the Member States from Eastern Europe?
Regarding the first question, the answer resides in the fact that the ones who haven’t taken part in the Convention already have strong national laws protecting freedom of information and don’t need to bother with extra protection and external surveillance. For instance, Germany passed a law in 2005, promoting the unconditional right to access information. Many other European states such as Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, France & Poland have similar national law.
Regarding the second question, considering that all Scandinavian countries already have national laws assessing freedom of information, the most likely reason behind their ratification would be symbolic support to the cause or because the Convention’s framework is less restrictive than their national laws.
Finally, concerning the last question, we could suppose that most Eastern countries have an interest in demonstrating themselves as more transparent and more following the rule of law. For example, if we examine Montenegro’s case, we could assume that taking part in the Tromso Convention is a step closer to their accession to the European Union in 2025.
As for the reservations that have been made, only Finland, Norway and Sweden have made some noticeable. Regarding Norway, the country declared that “communication with the reigning Family and its Household” will remain private in accordance with Article 3, paragraph 1 of the Convention.
This limitation covers something interesting, considering that, as mentioned earlier, access to the data type of legislation was first adopted in order to get access to information held by the King. In parallel, Finland declared that “the provisions of Article 8 of the Convention concerning the review procedure [will] not apply to a decision made by the President of the Republic in response to a request for access to a document. Article 8 provides protection against arbitrary decisions and allows members of the population to assert their right to information.
Sweden has made a similar reservation on Article 8 paragraph 1 regarding “decisions taken by the Government, ministers and the Parliamentary Ombudsmen”.
Thoughts towards better implementation
For smoother data access implementation, governments can act on transparency without waiting for legislation through internal bureaucratic policy. These voluntary provisions for openness can be an exercise towards a more organic cultural transformation.
Lengthy debates on open access are entertained by exceptions to access. To be sure, governments have enough legal and political tools to withhold information, regardless of how exemptions have been drafted. Instead, a more productive and efficient process is possible if we concentrate on positive implementation and enforcement, including the procedures for challenges on legal exemptions.
The implementation phase of access laws is challenging due to a lack of leadership motivation, inadequate support for those implementing these requests, especially since they require a long term social and political commitment. To do so, an overall dedication and government bureaucratic cultural shift should take place.
Although the implementation of access to information should be included internally in all departments, considering a standardized centralized approach to lead the new regime with authority could send an important message. Record keeping and archiving should be updated to respond to requests with improved information management systems. As such, the goal would be to make a plethora of information immediately and unconditionally available.
About the authors:
Eugene Matos De Lara
Eugene Matos De Lara, publisher of the academic journal Border Crossing, he is an International Private Law specialist of the University of Ottawa, Canada.
Audrey Beaulieu.
Audrey Beaulieu of the University of Ottawa (Globalization and Intl Development Department), specialized in Public and Private International law, international development and global politics.
Photo by E. Dos Santos-Duisenberg : Labirinto de David, Búzios, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
After a century, the world population faced a new pandemic that fast spread globally, affecting individuals both physically and mentally. Covid-19 started in late 2019 in Asia, spreading so fast that despite the global connectivity and highly sophisticated information technology and communication systems, the interconnected society of the 21st century was incapable to fast react in order to avoid contagion and prevent the worst. Gradually, the pandemic is making a tour around the globe contaminating citizens even in rural communities from all continents. Worldwide, there have been 32 million confirmed cases with over 1 million deaths during the first 9 months of this year[1].
From this universal pandemic we learned that the interdependent globalized world of 2020 is connected but not synchronized – or as earlier in crisis, prof. Anis H. Bajrektarevic well-noted ‘world on autopilot’[2]. All scientific, technological and digital knowledge accumulated over centuries remains inept to protect our civilization from an invisible virus that, ironically, can be eliminated with just soap and water. Obviously, the magnitude and the economic, social and cultural impact of this pandemic took humanity by surprise.
Society was already undergoing a deep process of transformation on all fronts. Debates were focused on the fragility of democracy, climate change and sustainability, inequality and inclusion, gender and race, social media and fake news, virtual payments and crypto currencies, artificial intelligence and blockchain. Science, knowledge and technology were advancing at a fast rate in all fields including genetics, neuroscience and biotechnology. Nevertheless, health-care was not a top priority for public investments or national budgets. Yet, with the eruption of the pandemic, priorities had to be immediately revisited. A human-centred and inclusive approach became imperative in every corner of the planet. Incontestably, the 2020s is bringing irreversible disruptions.
Lockdown measures and social isolation deprived individuals of free movements, restricting social gatherings and citizen’s mobility. The home-office dismantled solid organizational structures of daily work conviviality. Closure of schools prevented children from accessing formal in-person education, creating a childcare crisis for working parents. Crowded metropolis became empty urban centres, no shopping, no restaurants and no city life. Cultural festivities and spaces such as theatres, cinemas, and museums had their activities suspended leaving artists, cultural and creative professionals as well as street-vendors out of jobs. Parks and sportive centres became inactive and international tourism ceased.
Conversely, family life became the heart of social order. Parents that were extremely busy with their jobs had to juggle between work and the education of their children. People became less egocentric and started showing more empathy with the needed ones. Solidarity has been manifested in donations and collective assistance by civil society. Companies engaged with social responsibility. Artists, cultural and creative workers were defied to work even harder at home to find new niches in the virtual domain. The confined society had to rediscover its ethical values, principles and priorities.
Free-time and leisure at present
Paradoxically, this shift in human behaviour brought us back to a theory of economics that emerged a century ago (Ruskin, 1900) “There is no wealth but life”. In this new-old context, free-time, leisure, well-being and culture are closely associated. Usually, we use our free-time to carry out activities that are not directly related to work, duties or domestic occupations. May be free-time is an illusion because only in exceptional occasions our time is completely free. Leisure, however, is a subjective concept which varies depending on the society which we belong. It is connected with our participation in cultural life, reflecting the values and characteristics of a nation. Thus, it can be considered a human right according to the UN Declaration of Human Rights (1948), and in particular the International Convention on the Economic, Social and Cultural rights (1967).
Despite some divergent definitions of leisure there is convergence around three distinctions: (i) leisure as time; (ii) leisure as activity; and (iii) leisure as a state of mind. Firstly, it is defined as the constructive use of available time. Leisure as a variety of activities includes the practice of sports or actions related to intellectual and human development like reading, painting, gardening etc. and those can be leisure for ones and work for others. Understanding leisure as a state of mind is complex since it depends on individual perceptions about concepts such as freedom, motivation, competency etc. Certain skills can be considered leisure depending on the degree of satisfaction, emotion or happiness it causes. Yet, the most important is the possibility of free will.
Time available for leisure also varies according to cultural, social and even climate considerations. The notion of time can be different in Africa, Asia, Latin America or Europe. Usually people who live in areas of hot climate enjoy outdoor activities and sports while Nordic people whose habitat is in cold weather prefer indoors socialization and hobbies like playing chess, classic music etc. Social leisure embraces communitarian happenings such as going to the beach, practicing sports in a club etc. Behavioural studies indicate the benefits of social leisure for the well-being of individuals, self-esteem and cultural identity[3].
Moments of leisure are essential in all phases of our life. During childhood and adolescence most of our time is devoted to study and sports while at adulthood our time is mostly consumed with work and family. Indeed, it is at senior age that retired people generally have extra free-time to enjoy cultural events, leisure and tourism. Globally people are living longer and a new age structure is taking shape: the young senior (65-74 years), the middle senior (75-84 years) and the older senior as from 85 years old. According to the United Nations,[4] in 2018 for the first time in history, persons aged 65 years or over outnumbered children under age five. This partially explains the vast number of people in the group of risk requiring quarantine protection throughout the pandemic period.
Well-being and spirituality in pandemic times
Photo by E. Dos Santos-Duisenberg : Pirâmide Sinética, Búzios, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
During the pandemic, reflections about well-being and spirituality gained space in our minds. It is undeniable that the constraints brought about by lock-down measures and social distancing, offered us more free-time but very limited leisure options. We gained additional time to be closer to loved ones and to do things we like most at home. Enjoying family life, including eating and even cooking together became a shared pleasure and a new leisure style. Individuals had to optimize the quality of their temporarily sedentary lives.
Global pandemics affect our collective mental health. Given the prevailing health and economic insecurity, the focus of our attention has been on well-being, strengthening friendships, expanding social network, practicing solidarity, improving self-esteem as well as reflecting on spirituality and religion. Suddenly the exuberant society of 2020 is afraid of the unknown virus and its long-term harmful consequences on day-to-day life. Well-being and happiness became the essence of achievable goals.
People are emotionally fragile in this moment of anxiety. Individuals are suffering losses that will persist long after the pandemic will be over. Some feel stressed or depressed while others react by searching for relief in exercising, relaxation, meditation, yoga or mindfulness training. Individuals are finding new ways to overcome solitude and boost mental resilience. Current philosophical thinking (Harari, 2018) is reminding us that homo sapiens have bodies but technology is distancing us from our bodies[5].
Inspirational talks in likeminded groups have been helpful for reconnecting people dealing with an uncertain future. Social engagement and advocacy for health causes are used for promoting social change. Thus, besides upgrading healthcare systems and putting in place special measures for accelerating economic and cultural recovery, targeted governmental support will be needed to improve mental well-being and raise the overall level of satisfaction and happiness of citizens in the post-crisis.
Culture and e-learning nowadays
In a short period of time, many went from an exciting social and cultural lifestyle to a simple life. People had to assume the role of protagonists of their actions. Due to open-air limitations, free-time activities had to be less physically-intensive (no bike, tennis, jogging etc.), and more creative-oriented such as designing, playing music, writing. Much time has also been spent watching TV series, surfing the internet, viewing live music concerts, video-gaming, attending video-conferences as well as socializing in virtual chats. Equally, there are growing concerns about the ethics of consumer technology and internet addiction “time well spent” (Tristan, 2015)[6].
A recent study[7] carried out in the UK to track digital cultural consumption during the pandemic, indicates that the median time spent daily watching TV are 4 hours, while listening to music, watching films and playing video games each day are 3 hours respectively. Understanding human behaviour, in particular youth habits can help to indicate new cultural trends and consolidate social cohesion in post-pandemic times. Moreover, policy-makers could consider engaging cultural institutions and employing artists and creatives to help facilitate a collective healing process and kick-start recovery.
It is widely recognized that the arts, culture and creative sectors were hit hard by the pandemic. Whist digital cultural and creative products for home consumption were in high demand, others tangible creative goods like arts, crafts, fashion and design products sharply contracted. Many artists and creatives had no option than to experiment on work in digital spaces, since they had to go global from home.
Despite the fact that 4.5 billion people (60% the global population) use internet[8], the availability of affordable broadband access is a pre-condition to use and benefit from the opportunities provided by digital tools. This applies to both producers and consumers of cultural and creative digital content. Currently, videos account for 80-90% of global digital data circulation, but at the same time Latin America, the Middle East and Africa together represent only around 10% of world data traffic[9]. This evidence points to digital asymmetries that are being aggravated. Creativity only is not enough to transform ideas into marketable creative goods or services if digital tools and infrastructure will not be available.
The pandemic also had a strong impact on education and learning. Re-thinking education was already a topic on the agenda of many countries in order to respond to the realities of the jobs market in the 2020s. Besides the need to adapt methodology and pedagogical practices, many believe it is necessary to bring an interdisciplinary and applied approach to curricula with focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)[10], preferably also integrating arts (STEAM). In any case, the education system has been forced to quickly adjust to remote learning. Globally over 1.2 billion children are out of the classroom in 186 countries[11]. In Latin America schools are closed and around 154 million children between the ages of 5 and 18 are at home instead of in class[12]. Furthermore, access to school-related inputs is distributed in an unbalanced manner; wealthier students have access to internet and home-schooling while the poorer have not. Young people are losing months of learning and this will have long-lasting effects. The loss for human capital is enormous.
On the positive side, continuous e-learning became a trend and a necessity. Innovation and digital adaption gave rise to a wide-range of on-line courses. Millions of learners are upgrading their knowledge and skills in different domains through distance learning, whether through language and music apps, video conferences or software learning. Some are free others have to be paid for, but what is absolutely transformative is that access to knowledge became more democratic. Independently of age or field of interest, learners from different parts of the world can have access to prestigious universities or practical training. E-learning, where teaching is undertaken remotely and on digital platforms already existed, but demand has sharply increased during pandemic and this might be a point of no return.
Over these critical 9 months, there are growing signs that the 2020s will face a new set of challenges and life will not be back as usual. The future will be very different when compared to the recent past. Hope and fear are likely to co-exist for a certain time. There are new values, new lifestyles, new social behaviour, new consumption standards, and new ways of working and studying. The pandemic has imposed a deep ethical and moral re-assessment on society. This turning point is leading to a deep socio-economic renovation and hopefully to a more inclusive and sustainable society.
About the author:
Edna dos Santos-Duisenberg
*Edna dos Santos-Duisenberg is an economist renowned for her pioneering work in research and international policies on creative economy and its development dimension. She set-up and leaded the UNCTAD Creative Economy Program launching the UN Creative Economy Reports (2008 and 2010). Advisor associated with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR). Member of the International Council of the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre (PEC, London) led by NESTA (UK National Endowment for Science, Technology and Arts). She also serves as Vice President of the International Federation of Internet and Multimedia (FIAM, Montreal). Advises governments and international institutions and collaborates with universities in Europe, Latin America, Asia and the United States.
L’ambassade à Libreville n’existe pas encore. En octobre 1974 le Ministère y envoie « le groupe d’avant-garde », qui a la tâche de préparer le terrain pour l’arrivée de l’ambassadeur et du reste du personnel. Ce groupe est composé du conseiller Nikolaï Kotov, du troisième secrétaire Alexandre Konouzine, de sa femme Marina, qui est le chef de la chancellerie, et de l’économe Victor Martynov.
En novembre 1974 sonne l’heure du départ. Je connais déjà mon ambassadeur ; à l’aéroport je fais connaissance avec sa femme, qui me paraît très douce et décontractée. Comme ils voyagent en première, je ne les revois qu’à Paris. Un employé de l’ambassade, qui vient nous chercher à l’aéroport, nous conduit à l’hôtel. Je me rappelle encore très bien son nom – Hôtel de l’UNESCO. C’est là que ça se gâte. Tout d’un coup, l’ambassadeur s’indigne : « Vous êtes tous devenus fous, ici ? Moi, l’Ambassadeur de l’Union soviétique, je ne peux pas loger dans cet hôtel, qui est moche comme tout ! Emmenez-moi à l’hôtel Montalembert ! » Comme il a travaillé lui-même à Paris, il s’y connait, l’ambassadeur. L’employé de l’ambassade obéit. À l’hôtel Montalembert, où on est arrivé tous ensemble, l’ambassadeur reçoit la clé de sa chambre tout de suite. Je dois patienter près de deux heures, avant qu’on m’en trouve une.
Maintenant, il s’agit de faire une randonnée. En plus, le problème de subsistance se pose et grandit à la minute. J’ai faim ! Bien, je suis à Paris, où il y a plein de cafés et de bistrots, je pourrai me ravitailler sans tarder, me dis-je. Pourtant, il y a une petite complication. Nous sommes samedi. Le département des finances du ministère, généreux comme il est, m’a délivré la somme fantastique de 15 (quinze !) dollars. Tu touches le reste de tes per diem à l’ambassade, m’ont-ils dit. C’est le règlement. En Union soviétique, une fois que c’est le règlement, on ne discute pas. Le problème, c’est que l’ambassade est fermée jusqu’à lundi.
Ayant converti mes dollars en francs français à l’hôtel, je casse la croûte dans un bistro d’à côté. Il devient évident qu’avec l’équivalent de 15 dollars je ne survivrai pas jusqu’à lundi. Une bière et un sandwich jambon-fromage ont presque épuisé mes ressources. Mourir de faim à Paris, quelle perspective ! Heureusement, je me souviens que deux étudiants de mon groupe de langue sont assignés à l’ambassade à Paris. Je réussis à les trouver (l’ambassade est fermée, mais il y a un service de permanence), ils m’invitent à tour de rôle à diner chez eux.
Lundi matin je me rends à l’ambassade pour toucher mes per diem. On me pose une question au sujet de mon hôtel. En toute innocence, je dis que je loge à l’hôtel Montalembert. À ce moment-là, la chef-comptable, une dame dans la cinquantaine et plutôt corpulente, ouvre les yeux tout grand et commence à suffoquer. Quand elle reprend son souffle, elle s’écrie : « Comment, Montalembert ? Qui vous a permis ça ? C’est contre le règlement, c’est trop cher pour votre niveau ! » J’explique, honnête, que je n’y suis pour rien, c’est mon ambassadeur qui prend les décisions, moi, j’obéis. Mais le scandale continue, elle me menace de sanctions en tous genres.
L’atmosphère ne s’apaise qu’avec l’arrivée de mon ambassadeur qui se met d’accord avec l’ambassadeur d’URSS en France, son ancien chef, pour qu’on me laisse tranquille, mais je dois déménager dans un autre hôtel. Pour compenser les dépenses causées par mon logement de luxe, on me place dans un hôtel qui se trouve quelque part à côté du métro « Solférino ».
Je parie qu’on ne trouve rien de moins cher à Paris ! Ma chambre coûte 22 (oui, vingt-deux !) francs par nuit. Il y a bien un lavabo, mais la douche se trouve à l’étage au-dessus, et les toilettes à l’étage dessous. Une vraie taule, dont les pensionnaires lui correspondent à plein titre. Je passe dans l’escalier le plus vite possible, en rasant le mur.
Je découvre Paris. Le pavillon des impressionnistes que j’adore, les jardins des Tuileries, parc Monceau, le jardin du Luxembourg, place Trocadéro… Mais en fin de compte, Paris me déplaît. Il pleut toute la journée, tout est gris – le ciel, les nuages déchirés, il fait un vent froid. Le métro me paraît déprimant, comparé aux palais souterrains de Moscou. Des années plus tard, je découvrirai l’âme de cette ville merveilleuse, où je viendrai des dizaines de fois, seul, avec ma femme, la famille, des amis…
Entretemps on embarque dans un avion qui part à destination de Libreville.
Huit heures de vol passent vite. Je fais connaissance avec un couple français, tous les deux dans la cinquantaine, très bienveillants. Ils passent leurs congés en France et puis retournent au Gabon. Plus tard, j’apprends qu’ils sont nombreux, les gens qui s’attachent à l’Afrique au point qu’ils sont réticents à revenir en Europe, ou même incapables de s’y réadapter. Les relations que j’ai nouées dans l’avion joueront plus tard un rôle inattendu.
ASP President, Ms. Silvia Fernandez de Gurmendi, welcomes US announcement to revoke sanctions against the ICC
“As President of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute, I wish to express my deep appreciation for today’s decision by the Government of the United States of America to revoke Executive Order 13928 and to lift the unfortunate sanctions against the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court and a senior staff member in her office, as well as the termination of the separate 2019 policy on visa restrictions on certain ICC personnel.” She expressed.
“I welcome this decision which contributes to strengthening the work of the Court and, more generally, to promoting a rules-based international order. I note that the decision comes at a fundamental juncture in which the Assembly of States Parties and the Court have embarked on a wide-ranging review process to enhance the Rome Statute system in the pursuit of accountability for the gravest crimes of international concern. I trust this decision signals the start of a new phase of our common undertaking to fight against impunity for such crimes.”
The Assembly and its subsidiary bodies have always welcomed the participation of the United States, and indeed of all States, in their work as well as encouraged a fruitful cooperation with the Court’s activities.
