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CITES COP 16: What is your country doing?

guest March 4, 2013 0 Comments

by guest blogger What are people doing here, anyway? Day 2 of CITES COP 16 was *eventful*. I'm going to try to make more targeted posts from now on, and I got a great idea for one this morning when I was chatting with one of my friends from the USA, who had some questions for me: Friend: "Are delegates deciding what to bring back to their countries in these meetings?" Me: "What do you mean?"...

CITES COP 16: Opening and Plenary, Happy 40th, CITES!

guest March 3, 2013 0 Comments

by guest blogger The opening ceremony was quite a spectacle. To summarize very briefly and quite paraphrased: Prince William: "We can reverse these trends. We can make a difference" (via video chat) Oystein Stokersen (Chair of CITES Standing Committee): "Must involve communities dependent on resources being managed in a sustainable manner" Achim Steiner (UNEP Executive Director): "It is easy...

CITES COP 16: Shark Press Conference

guest March 3, 2013 0 Comments

by guest blogger This morning, the European Union held a press conference to discuss the marine proposals to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES)--recommendations to list a number of shark species and manta rays under Appendix II. What is CITES? The primary goal of CITES is to regulate international wildlife trade of species and to protect them...

Towards a New Abolitionism

guest November 5, 2012 0 Comments

Crossposted from The GC Advocate (http://opencuny.org/gcadvocate/). By guest contributor Jesse A. Myerson, writer, activist and author of the forthcoming 'Onward: An Occupier's Guide to Understanding the Current Crisis When I began to write this essay, there were cars floating on Wall Street. It sounds like some sort of trader lingo, perhaps describing General...

Africa: Do not bow down to pressure, A Bullet Proof Arms Trade Treaty or no Treaty

guest July 25, 2012 0 Comments

By Alyne Cistone I woke up this morning feeling sad and disfranchised. Yesterday was a defining moment in the Arms Trade Treaty Negotiation process. The first draft of the ATT was finally tabled in plenary and for the first time, we all had a chance to get a sense of whether a comprehensive ATT was within reach by Friday. The item that struck a painful code for not just me but most African...