WORLD NEWS FLASH
UNITED STATES
The Justice Department, Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), and Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) have issued a joint compliance note focusing on the voluntary self-disclosure policies that apply to U.S. sanctions, export controls and other national security laws, including recent updates to certain of those policies.
The note marks the second collective effort by the three agencies to inform the private sector about enforcement trends and provide guidance to the business community on compliance with U.S. sanctions and export laws.
“American businesses play a vital role in defending our national security because they are gatekeepers for sensitive technologies and key participants in the financial system,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “Responsible companies that come forward as soon as they learn of potential sanctions and export control violations will benefit from the protections of these self-disclosure policies.”
“When it comes to protecting our cutting-edge technology from falling into the wrong hands, industry is our first line of defense,” said Assistant Secretary Matthew S. Axelrod of the Department of Commerce’s Office of Export Enforcement. “As this joint compliance note makes clear, we need companies to tell us when they have potentially violated our rules and offer them concrete benefits for doing so.”
The compliance note describes the voluntary self-disclosure policies of BIS, the Justice Department’s National Security Division, and OFAC, and highlights recent updates related to these policies. Additionally, the compliance note highlights the Financial Crime Enforcement Network (FinCEN)’s Anti-Money Laundering and Sanctions Whistleblower Program, which incentivizes individuals in the United States and abroad to provide information to the government about violations of U.S. trade and economic sanctions, in addition to violations of the Bank Secrecy Act.
“As adversaries leverage increasingly sophisticated efforts to evade international sanctions and export controls, it’s more important than ever to maintain open communication between the public and private sectors,” said Director Andrea Gacki of the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. “By taking advantage of our voluntary self-disclosure policy, companies can both help themselves and help us protect our financial system.”
The note underscores the importance of an effective and robust compliance program. If a company discovers a potential violation, whether it is an administrative or criminal violation, that company must promptly disclose and remediate. Not only does such reporting make the disclosing company potentially eligible for significant mitigation, but it also alerts national security agencies to activities that may pose a threat to the national security and foreign policy objectives of the U.S. government.
MASS SHOOTING UPDATE
Information recent as of 8-1-2023 at 12 p.m.
2023 Mass Shooting Stats: (Source: Mass Shooting Tracker – https://www.massshootingtracker.site/data/?year=2023)
Total Mass Shootings: 484
Total Dead: 601
Total Wounded: 1943
Shootings Per Day: 2.27
Days Reached in Year 2023 as of August 1: 213
Latest High Profile Incident (See above)
Location: Large Party – Muncie, IN
Time: Around 1:15 a.m. local time, July 30.
Deceased: One.
Injured: 19.
Shooter(s): Unknown.
Weapon(s): Unknown.
Motive: Unknown.
Status: At-large.
Notes: Delaware County Prosecutor Eric Hoffman provided the following statement on social media:
“It is too early in the investigation for me to say much. I can say that I have been in contact with the Muncie Chief of Police and I continue to get updates on the investigation. There are far too many guns on the street and I certainly question the wisdom of someone having a huge outdoor party with several hundred people, including juveniles, carrying on into the early morning hours. Let’s take a dose of reality. This is not the Vegas strip or Times Square. This is a residential neighborhood.”
WORLD
NO SMOKING PLEASE
A new World Health Organization (WHO) report highlights that 5.6 billion people – 71% of the world’s population – are now protected with at least one best practice policy to help save lives from deadly tobacco – five times more than in 2007.
In the last 15 years since WHO’s MPOWER tobacco control measures were introduced globally, smoking rates have fallen. Without this decline there would be an estimated 300 million more smokers in the world today.
This WHO Report on the global tobacco epidemic, supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, is focused on protecting the public from second-hand smoke, highlighting that almost 40% of countries now have completely smoke-free indoor public places.
The report rates country progress in tobacco control and shows that two more countries, Mauritius and the Netherlands, have achieved best-practice level in all MPOWER measures, a feat that only Brazil and Türkiye had accomplished until now.
“These data show that slowly but surely, more and more people are being protected from the harms of tobacco by WHO’s evidence-based best-practice policies,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “I congratulate Mauritius on becoming the first country in Africa, and the Netherlands on becoming the first in the European Union to implement the full package of WHO tobacco control policies at the highest level. WHO stands ready to support all countries to follow their example and protect their people from this deadly scourge.”
“With a strong political commitment, we have made great progress in tobacco control policies in Mauritius. Our country has adopted the MPOWER strategy and is moving resolutely towards a smoke-free country.” stated the Hon Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, Prime Minister, Republic of Mauritius.
Maarten van Ooijen, State Secretary for Health, Welfare and Sports for the Netherlands said, “Civil society organizations, health experts and medical professionals are strong driving forces behind everything that we are achieving with regard to tobacco control in the Netherlands. They deserve the primary credits for the praise that our country receives from the World Health Organization. Although we are making progress in reducing smoking prevalence and improving our tobacco control policy we also still have a long way to go. Together we will keep fighting for a smoke free generation by 2040!”
Smoke-free public spaces is just one policy in the set of effective tobacco control measures, MPOWER, to help countries implement the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and curb the tobacco epidemic.
Smoke-free environments help people breathe clean air, shield the public from deadly second-hand smoke, motivate people to quit, denormalize smoking and help prevent young people from ever starting to smoke or use e-cigarettes.
Eight countries are just one MPOWER policy away from joining the leaders in tobacco control: Ethiopia, Iran, Ireland, Jordan, Madagascar, Mexico, New Zealand, and Spain.
There is still much work to be done, 44 countries remain unprotected by any of WHO’s MPOWER measures and 53 countries still do not have complete smoking bans in healthcare facilities. Meanwhile, only about half of countries have smoke-free private workplaces and restaurants.
“WHO urges all countries to put in place all of the MPOWER measures at best-practice level to fight the tobacco epidemic, which kills 8.7 million people globally, and push back against the tobacco and nicotine industries, who lobby against these public health measures,” said Dr Ruediger Krech, WHO, Director for Health Promotion.
Around 1.3 million people die from second-hand smoke every year. All of these deaths are entirely preventable. People exposed to second-hand tobacco smoke are at risk of dying from heart disease, stroke, respiratory diseases, type 2 diabetes and cancers.
This report demonstrates that all countries irrespective of income levels can drive down the demand for deadly tobacco, achieve major wins for public health and save economies billions of dollars in health care and productivity costs.
MIDDLE EAST
REFUGEE CAMP REELING FROM VIOLENCE
More than two days of armed violence at the Ein El Hilweh Palestine Refugee camp in southern Lebanon continues to impact civilians, including children, a senior UN official in the country said on July 31.
Eleven people were killed and another 40 were injured, including a staff member with the UN agency that assists Palestine refugees, UNRWA, said Dorothee Klaus, Director of UNRWA Affairs in Lebanon, citing reports.
Two schools operated by the agency sustained damage, and more than 2,000 people were forced to flee in search of safety.
“In response to the urgent needs for shelter, UNRWA with volunteers opened its schools to accommodate displaced families and is providing basic humanitarian assistance,” said Ms. Klaus, adding that all UNRWA services in the camp have been temporarily suspended due to the violence.
UNRWA called on all parties to immediately return to calm and take all measures necessary to protect civilians, including children. Armed actors are urged to respect all the agency’s premises and facilities in accordance with international law.
Ein El Hilweh, the largest Palestine Refugee camp in Lebanon, is located south of the city of Saida. Its inhabitants originally came in 1948, mostly from coastal Palestinian towns. The site also hosts a large number of Palestine Refugees displaced from other parts of Lebanon, particularly from Tripoli, who found shelter there during the Lebanese civil war and in the aftermath of the Nahr el-Bared conflict in 2007.
Security and governance in the camp are the responsibility of Popular Committees and Palestinian Factions. The camp is surrounded by a wall and access for people and building materials is controlled by the Lebanese Armed Forces through checkpoints.
