Lawyer discusses disability rights
Erick Acuña Pereda delivered a presentation yesterday in the Eck Hall of Law discussing the challenges and obstacles facing regional human rights systems to incorporate the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), a treaty adopted in 2006. Acuña is currently a researcher for the Peruvian Working Group of the Ibero-American Network of Experts on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. His lecture was sponsored by the Notre Dame Law School’s Center for Civil and Human Rights. Acuña started by explaining the importance of having certain laws to protect the rights of those with disabilities. “According to a report by the World Health Organization this year, there are more than 4 million people with mental disabilities throughout the world, and seven percent of these people live in developing countries,” Acuña said. “I think it is so important to discuss this topic because whether you work in a public institution or a civil society we should always try to take into account the disability approach either by public policy, litigation or workshops, and know that people with disabilities should have a voice and should be part of it and be included.” While in law school, Acuña said he first became interested in the issue while choosing his thesis topic. “I wanted to research about certain groups that are in a situation of vulnerability, but I wanted it to be a new topic that hadn’t been talked about before,” he said. “After talking with my professor and researching, I ran into indigenous people, African American people, migrants, and women and children, but then I read about people with disabilities.” Acuña said he was struck by the lack of literature on the topic. “What struck me the most was that there is almost nothing written on it,” he said. “They are suffering a lot and there are injustices regarding their disabilities, so that’s why I thought it was a really important topic to write about.” Acuña said there is a major difference between the medical approach and social approach to the CRPD. Prior to the CRPD, the medical approach defined disabled people as mental patients with abnormalities of body structure, appearance or function of an organ or system. However, after the CRPD the entire dynamic and climate of the discussion of the rights of those with disabilities changed, he said. “Before the adoption of the CRPD, people with mental disabilities were considered very ill and therefore needed to be cured be medical care,” Acuña said. “The old definition of those who are mentally disabled has a very negative connotation and made it seem like these people were different from everyone else and needed protection.” Acuña also discussed the right to legal capacity that he said is, “the most important pillar of the CRPD treaty.” The right to legal capacity bans the practice of guardianship for those with mental disabilities. Under the CRPD, it says there shouldn’t be substitution of decisions, he said, but instead there should be support in helping those with mental disabilities make decisions. “With this right to legal capacity, they can make their own decisions and their own mistakes, just like everyone else does,” Acuña said. Finally, Acuña analyzed the approaches of the Inter-American, European, and African legal systems to those with mental disabilities. He said under the CRPD, “states have the moral obligation to make everything that they can to actually create a situation where people with mental disabilities can fulfill or exercise their right of any convenience.” Contact Shannon O’Brien at sobrie12@nd.edu
By Eduardo Szklarz/Diálogo September 21, 2017 Nearly 300 marines from Argentina and Chile participated in the INALAF 2017 combined exercise, held July 12th to 14th at Baterías Naval Infantry Base in the province of Buenos Aires. Participants noted the exercise’s importance for bilateral exchanges and regional security. “The core objective of INALAF 2017 was to deepen relations between both navies,” Captain Luis Mariano Giorgi, the commander of Argentina’s Sea Fleet Naval Infantry Force (FAIF, per its Spanish acronym), told Diálogo. The training involved members of the Chilean Navy’s 312th Rifle Company and marines from Argentina’s 2nd Naval Infantry Battalion (BIM2, per its Spanish acronym). Rescue and transfer Prior to the exercise, the service members conducted meticulous planning on the ground. “As in any amphibious operation, detailed planning was required to include embarking and disembarking troops, ground operations, and support for those operations from the sea until finally re-embarking,” Capt. Giorgi stated. Later, with naval support from the Argentine ship ARA Puerto Argentino, the marines simulated a crisis situation in which they had to make an amphibious incursion onto Baterías Beach to defend the coast. “That mock situation consisted of conducting a mission that required rescuing United Nations staff who were held hostage by an enemy force,” Capt. Giorgi said. “To achieve that objective, marine troops with capacity for personnel rescue had to make a landing and transfer them to a safe location.” The incursion consisted of a coordinated landing of marine troops by land and by helicopter. The service members rescued the hostages and transferred them to a secure zone. “The operation was conducted within the time frames planned, and the mission was completed,” Capt. Giorgi assessed. Evacuation drills The Argentine and Chilean marines also conducted air evacuation drills using Sea King helicopters from the Argentine Navy’s 2nd Naval Air Helicopter Squadron. “Among other onboard activities, members of BIM2 conducted fast rope descent [from the aircraft] over the deck of the ARA Olivieri in a suspended fashion,” the Argentine Ministry of Defense reported in a July 20th press release. “These techniques are tailored to each marine,” Capt. Giorgi concluded. The training ended with exercises at the Marine Corps Training and Instruction Center’s Urban Combat Training Ground, where the service members practiced individual movement techniques both inside and outside buildings. Full integration The annual INALAF exercise has become a symbol of cooperation between the Argentine and Chilean militaries. “Inalaf” means “by the sea” in the Mapuche language (also known as Mapudungún), which is spoken by indigenous peoples who live in both of these South American nations. “This is, without a doubt, an unforgettable experience,” Chilean Marine Corps Second Lieutenant Eduardo Rioseco Carvallo stated in comments published in the Argentine Navy’s Gaceta Marinera website. “You learn a little more each day. As we say in Chile, ‘we’re stuffing things into our backpack,’” said 2nd Lt. Carvallo. For Capt. Giorgi, the 2017 edition of the exercise was also quite positive. “Full integration of the participating Chilean Marine Corps detachment was achieved through planned drills on a set of common techniques,” he stated. In his opinion, this initiative is exceedingly important for the military exchange between Argentina and Chile. “The INALAF exercise, in its various editions, has allowed for mutual understanding and teamwork between the sailors and marines of both navies,” he indicated. “This is a valuable tool for bringing our militaries closer, while at the same time allowing for an exchange of valuable operational experiences and providing an overview of challenging operational situations from various perspectives.” “These exercises have given rise to a common language, and the first approach is to work with people who face those same challenges. In short, this makes integration and fostering empathetic communication inevitable,” Capt. Giorgi added. Likewise, he recalled that this exercise is just one of many training opportunities on the annual agenda for the Argentine and Chilean armed forces. “Another area in which this cooperation is repeated is in the Cruz Del Sur combined operation,” he stressed. For its part, the Argentine Ministry of Defense emphasized the relevance of the initiative. “In addition to their great importance at the operational level, these combined exercises with the navies of neighboring nations serve as cultural and social exchanges which strengthen the bonds of friendship among our sister nations,” the Ministry concluded.
By Myriam Ortega/Diálogo April 10, 2019 In a combined U.S.-Colombia operation, authorities seized nearly 2 tons of cocaine in the Pacific coast of Colombia, curbing the operations of a transnational criminal organization. Two Colombian Navy operations, conducted with the support of the Colombian Air Force (FAC), the National Police, the Colombian Army Intelligence Brigade, and U.S. Southern Command’s Joint Interagency Task Force South (JIATF South), led to the seizures carried out February 27, in Nariño department. “It’s impossible to fight the scourge of narcotrafficking on our own,” Colombian Navy Lieutenant Commander Juan Camilo Ocaña Báez, commander of the Tumaco Coast Guard Station in Nariño, told Diálogo. “We work remarkably well with the different intelligence agencies. During the two operations we conducted in the area, we had to switch between the FAC platform and JIATF South’s P-3C Orion.” According to the Navy, the 1,718 kilograms of cocaine bound for the United States had an approximate value of $55 million in the international market. Operations, the Navy indicated, were conducted in areas where the Residual Organized Armed Group Guerrillas Unidas del Pacífico is active. “It’s not easy to identify what group it is [that owns the drugs] because all these organizations work within a network,” Colombian Navy Rear Admiral Hernando Enrique Mattos Dager, commander of the Anti-Drug Trafficking Task Force Poseidon, told Diálogo. “These are groups coming from northern Nariño that manage to grow and process this drug, and then they move it to a different sector, where other groups work together to collect it and take it out.” Maritime pursuit Following intelligence work based on information coming from several security institutions, the Navy identified a suspicious vessel sailing on the Naya River, Valle del Cauca department. The Navy initiated the pursuit of the speedboat named Chaigón with coast guard units. “We have an intelligence fusion center in Cali [Valle del Cauca department],” Lt. Cmdr. Ocaña said. “The head of Pacific naval intelligence is in charge of gathering information from different entities, the Army, JIATF South, human sources […] and delivering a final product to us, so that we can carry out successful naval operations based on that analysis.” The operation took more than 12 hours and ended when authorities intercepted the speedboat 240 nautical miles off Tumaco municipality, Nariño department. Navy reinforcements, as well as FAC and JIATF South aircraft, made the maritime pursuit possible. “We use Apostle- and Defender-type vessels, and FAC’s SR-560air platforms, which are aircraft with detection equipment for interdiction. These were crucial to detect the vessels and lead naval units to them,” said Lt. Cmdr. Ocaña. “We also used surface units from the Pacific Naval Force, sea patrol boats that were in the area.” Cornered, the crew crashed the vessel against the Navy boats to get rid of the evidence. The mission shifted from an interdiction operation to a rescue mission to save the three Colombian crew members and recover the 1,037 kg of cocaine onboard. “We brought them aboard, we secured the drug packages, and in parallel we pulled in units to support the logistics of it [the rescue] from Tumaco,” Lt. Cmdr. Ocaña said. “We brought [Marine Corps] divers, because unfortunately when the vessel overturned, a great deal of the stash sunk into the sea.” Parallel operation On the same day, the Navy received information about a possible drug delivery between a speedboat and a fishing vessel at some 120 nautical miles off Sanquianga National Natural Park in Nariño. With air support from FAC and JIATF South, the Navy led an operation to curb the transaction. “The plane overflew the area and detected the speedboat jettisoning the drug,” Rear Adm. Mattos said. “They put a sonar buoy with the drug, in other words, floating buoys equipped with a technology to send signals that special equipment can detect to identify the position and then recover the drug.” Authorities failed to capture the speedboat crew, but Navy units were able to recover 17 drug packages and the sonar buoy. Security forces brought the 681 kg of cocaine before the National Police Counternarcotics Directorate. “At this time [mid-March] the Pacific Naval Force seized more than 17 tons of cocaine hydrochloride in the Pacific coast of Colombia,” said Lt. Cmdr. Ocaña, who attributed the success to combined and interagency efforts. “We are starting the year, and we will keep improving […]. It’s a problem in which we all need to make a contribution to form bonds and combat narcotrafficking.”
French energy giant and LNG player Total reported an adjusted net income of $3.17 billion in the fourth quarter of 2019. The company noted that the net income remained stable despite a lower price environment. For the year 2019, Total reported an adjusted net income of $11.83 billion, 13 percent below the $13.56 billion reported in 2018.Commenting on the results, Total’s chairman and CEO Patrick Pouyanné said, “in 2019, the group generated cash flow of $28.5 billion, strong growth of $2.4 billion compared to 2018, thanks to a positive contribution from all segments. This performance was achieved despite the drop in oil prices of 10 percent and European gas prices of 38 percent, or a price environment down on average by about 20 percent.”He further noted that net investments rose to $17.4 billion and reflect in particular the strategy to strengthen LNG and deep offshore, as shown by the acquisition of Mozambique LNG and the launching of Arctic LNG 2 in Russia and Mero 2 in Brazil.In the fourth quarter of 2019, LNG sales increased by 35 percent year-on-year thanks to the ramp-up of Yamal LNG and Ichthys plus the start-up of the first Cameron LNG train in the US. LNG sales reached 10.6 Mt during the quarter under reviews, which compares to 7.9 Mt in the corresponding quarter last year.In 2019, LNG sales increased by 57 percent compared to 2018 for the same reasons and also due to the acquisition of the Engie portfolio of LNG contracts in the third quarter of 2018.For the full year, LNG sales reached 34.3 Mt which compares to 21.8 Mt in 2018.Total’s production was 3.11 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe/d) in the fourth quarter of 2019, an increase of 8 percent compared to last year. Production for the year was at 3.01 boe/d for the, an increase of 9 percent compared to 2018.Production growth over the year was essentially linked to the start-up of Ichthys in Australia in the third quarter of 2018 and the successive start-ups of Yamal LNG trains in Russia.Total added that the environment remains volatile, given the uncertainty about hydrocarbon demand related to the outlook for global economic growth and the context of geopolitical instability.LNG sales are expected to benefit notably in 2020 from the start-ups of Yamal LNG train 4 as well as Cameron LNG train 3 and be more than 30 Mt/y.
Rafael Nadal coped with an on-court intruder and the Paris rain to beat fellow Spaniard David Ferrer and win his eighth French Open title.Nadal, 27, came through 6-3 6-2 6-3 to reaffirm his dominance on clay, and further elevate himself among the greats of the sport.However, the final was marred by a brief protest high in the stands during the second set that was quickly followed by an intruder leaping onto the court while brandishing a flare.Security guards managed to bundle the man to the ground as he approached Nadal, and the player even took care to shake an official’s hand before returning to the action.Nadal immediately dropped his serve, but within an hour he had wrapped up the victory that makes him the first man to win a Grand Slam singles tournament eight times. His 59th match win also takes him past Roger Federer and Guillermo Vilas at Roland Garros, while his 12th major title moves him above Bjorn Borg and Rod Laver on the all-time list. Ferrer, playing in his first major final at the age of 31, was a worthy adversary and pushed his compatriot harder than the score might suggest, but he never threatened an upset.Both men appeared edgy in the early stages, with breaks of serve exchanged in games three and four, but Nadal fired a brilliant cross-court backhand winner to move ahead again at 4-3 and took the set with a third break.Ferrer was making his illustrious compatriot work for his service games and missed an early chance in the second set, before Nadal made him pay with a forehand winner for 2-0.A routine afternoon looked on the cards, but the calm was shattered by chanting from protesters high in the stands during the sixth game of the set.The players paused while the incident was dealt with only for another, potentially more serious, disturbance to follow before the next game when a shirtless man wearing a mask vaulted the flower bed surrounding the court, waving a burning flare above his head. When play resumed, two unsurprisingly distracted service games followed, but Nadal moved two sets clear and looked razor sharp again when a volley put him 2-0 ahead in the third.The increasingly heavy rain now appeared the biggest threat to his ambitions, but Ferrer was not done and got back on level terms before blowing an opportunity to move ahead with a backhand error at 3-3.It was to be Ferrer’s last chance as a double-fault gave up his serve for the seventh time.Nadal moved to match point and cracked a magnificent forehand winner before falling back onto the clay in celebration for an incredible eighth time at Roland Garros.