18, September 2020
Southern Cameroon Crisis: Coalition for Dialogue and Negotiations Supports Draft U.S. Senate Resolution 0
After months of diligent work by U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee staffers, the Coalition for Dialogue and Negotiations welcomes this very strong draft Senate Resolution calling on the United States Government (USG) and the international community to leverage their influence on Cameroon to bring a negotiated end to the escalating civil war between Cameroonian Government forces and armed separatists(restorationists) groups.
The Coalition applauds all thirteen Senators for introducing this carefully worded bipartisan Resolution. Special thanks go to Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), for their extraordinary leadership and commitment towards ending the ongoing armed conflict.
The Coalition appeals to many more members of the U.S. Senate, across the political spectrum, to sponsor and support this milestone Resolution. We equally call on the Senate membership to pass the resolution overwhelmingly as a demonstration of the Senate’s commitment to uphold international human rights, including that of children and women; to hold perpetrators of international human rights abuse accountable, and to reaffirm Congress’s legislative role in directing the peaceful resolution of conflicts.
This resolution complements H.R. 358 and S.R. 292 introduced in the House and Senate in July 2019 and further highlights the ongoing and escalating situation on the ground, including the international human rights abuses, putting millions of lives at risk.
We are particularly thankful this resolution addresses the major stakeholders of this civil war, denounces France’s limited response, joins the European Union Parliament’s call for the conflict to be brought before the United Nations Security Council, calls for an immediate ceasefire, and enjoins parties to negotiate through an independent mediator.
The Coalition for Dialogue and Negotiations will continue to work with the United States Congress to further strengthen this Resolution and other endeavors, and is committed to continue its engagement with relevant international stakeholders to ensure the achievement of a durable, mediated, and negotiated end to the war.
The conflict, since 2017 has reportedly resulted in more than 12,000 Southern Cameroonians arbitrarily arrested, detained, imprisoned, summarily executed, massacred, and killed. The Government of Cameroon reported the killing of at least 700 of its security forces and administrative personnel. Over 300 villages have been razed by Government forces, forcing the displacement of more than 900,000 and over 70,000 seeking refuge in other countries including Nigeria and the United States. An estimated one million children have been unable to attend school for the past three years, and approximately 1.9 million face severe hunger.



















19, September 2020
Football: FIFA head visits White House amid corruption investigation in Switzerland 0
FIFA president Gianni Infantino met President Donald Trump at the White House this week to discuss preparations for the 2026 World Cup in his third visit since the US was named co-host and amid an ongoing probe by the Swiss into corruption allegations in international football.
Infantino attended Tuesday’s signing ceremony for a diplomatic deal to improve relations between Israel, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, FIFA said Thursday.
Infantino also met Trump the following day at the White House, the federation said. It was their first meeting since a special prosecutor in Switzerland opened a criminal proceeding against the FIFA president in July as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged corruption in international football.
Infantino is a suspect in regard to meetings he had with Swiss attorney general Michael Lauber, who has since resigned in the fallout from the case.
The Swiss proceeding relates to Infantino potentially inciting Lauber to commit abuse of public office and breach of official secrecy. Infantino has denied wrongdoing and called the allegations absurd.
Also while in Washington, Infantino spoke with US Attorney General William Barr, FIFA said in a statement.
Their meeting on Wednesday appeared to seek the effect of normalising the right of FIFA officials to meet prosecutors overseeing investigations of soccer.
“I have had similar meetings in Switzerland, and FIFA’s lawyers are also in regular contact with prosecutors and law enforcement agencies wherever and whenever needed,” Infantino said in the FIFA statement. “In this way, I am fully convinced that the credibility and reputation of FIFA is being restored at the highest level.”
The Infantino-Barr meeting at the Department of Justice offices was “using the opportunity to personally thank the US authorities, and especially the DoJ, for their work in the fight against corruption in football,” FIFA said.
More than 40 soccer and marketing officials have been indicted, made guilty pleas or have been convicted in a sprawling US case unsealed in 2015 under the leadership of one of Barr’s predecessors, Loretta Lynch.
The fallout from the American and Swiss cases rocked FIFA and removed a swath of soccer leaders, including its then-president Sepp Blatter. It opened a path for Infantino to win election in February 2016.
Infantino’s visit to the US came ahead of hosting FIFA’s online annual meeting of 211 member federations on Friday. He previously first visited the White House in August 2018 — two months after the US, Canada and Mexico were picked as the 2026 World Cup co-hosts — and again last September.
He and Trump also had lunch together in Davos, Switzerland, in January at this year’s World Economic Forum.
Former FIFA officials on trial
Infantino’s US visit came just after former FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke and the chairman of Qatar-based media group BeIN Sports, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, went on trial in Switzerland over the awarding of television rights for the World Cup and Confederations Cup.
The 59-year-old Valcke, already banned by FIFA’s ethics committee for 10 years for ethics violations, has been charged with accepting bribes, aggravated criminal mismanagement and falsification of documents.
Al-Khelaifi, who is also president of French champions Paris St Germain and sits on the executive committee of European soccer body UEFA, has been charged with inciting Valcke to commit aggravated criminal mismanagement.
The trial in Switzerland, which is where FIFA is based, began on Monday, September 14, and is expected to last until September 25. Three Swiss federal judges are expected to deliver a verdict by the end of October.
Also on Monday, FIFA and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at fighting crime and corruption in sport.
Infantino and UNODC Executive Director Ghada Waly signed the agreement during an event dubbed ‘Tackling Corruption and Crime in and through Sport’ in Vienna where the UNODC is headquartered.
A FIFA press release said the agreement was to foster cooperation to “address threats posed by crime to sport”.
FIFA also said the agreement meant the two bodies would “fight against corruption and crime in and through sport” while also providing a positive influence for youth.
(FRANCE 24 with AP and REUTERS)