Latest news with #Convention
Cision Canada
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Cision Canada
Minister Guilbeault defends Canada's cultural sovereignty in the digital age and calls for international cooperation during UNESCO conference Français
As UNESCO celebrates the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, the Government of Canada stresses the growing importance of protecting Canadian culture and identity in a digital environment PARIS, June 20, 2025 /CNW/ - The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture and Minister responsible for Official Languages, made the following statement at the 10th session of the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, held at UNESCO headquarters in Paris from June 18 to 20, 2025: "We are proud to mark the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. Canada is deeply attached to the values of this Convention and is proud to be one of its founding countries. For 20 years, it has guided us in the development of innovative cultural policies that serve our artists and creative sectors. The world has changed a great deal since 2005. We are facing new challenges everywhere, but also new opportunities as the digital shift—particularly the phenomenal rise of artificial intelligence—revolutionizes our societies, including our cultural and media sectors. Canada will always strongly defend the right of states to protect their culture. Today we are making a call to strengthen international cooperation to ensure digital governance in accordance with the principles of the 2005 Convention. In the past few days, we have worked with a number of countries in order to move forward collectively in a context where the urgency to act is clear: the digital world must evolve in a way that fully supports our cultural diversity. Canada has already taken several steps to ensure that our laws and cultural programs reflect digital reality. We have acted to promote local content, while requiring Web giants to contribute fairly and support our artists, creative professionals and media—because we firmly believe that strong cultural and media sectors are essential for a strong Canada. In light of the discussions that took place during this conference, we hear the plea of Canadian civil society and of our partner of choice at UNESCO, the Government of Quebec. We are continuing our close collaboration with Quebec, civil society and several Parties to the Convention to implement the recommendations to protect cultural diversity in the digital environment that were presented to UNESCO in February 2025 by a group of international experts. Canada supports the decisions made during the Conference today by the 160 signatory countries, which will support the ongoing implementation of the Convention in the digital age. The updating of digital operational guidelines and ongoing reflection on an additional protocol to the Convention will make it possible to take action now while considering other long-term solutions. This is why I applaud the ongoing, important work of the countries signatory to the Convention, the Government of Quebec, other provinces and territories, Indigenous communities and civil society. Canada will continue to be a strong voice at the international level to protect and promote creative and cultural industries, both at home and abroad, so that they can take full advantage of the opportunities offered by the digital shift."
Express Tribune
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Water — not a bargaining chip
Listen to article In international diplomacy, some agreements are too foundational to tamper with. The Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), signed in 1960, is one such rare pillar of stability between Pakistan and India. It has stood wars, diplomatic tensions and political changes. Now, however, with an alarming twist, India has unilaterally "held it in abeyance", an expression of elasticity with potentially disastrous results. This is not just a bureaucratic manoeuvre. It is an affront to legal norms, a threat to regional peace, and most gravely, a dangerous suggestion that water, the source of life, is now a bargaining chip. Water is not optional for Pakistan. With more than 80% of its agricultural output relying on the Indus River system, and with already dwindling per capita water availability, any disruption to this flow is an existential threat. The provinces of Punjab and Sindh, which form the country's breadbasket, would face drought, economic paralysis and civil unrest. The consequences would not be limited to economic losses as it would increase inequalities, fuel provincial tensions and make an already unstable situation in the political arena much more complex. The legal basis of the Indian claim of the treaty being in abeyance is weak and the first in history. There is no provision in the IWT allowing a suspension and anyway what due process has been adopted by India in its regard under the Vienna Convention on Law of Treaties. Under Article 57 of the Convention, a treaty may be suspended only by mutual consent or within the framework of the treaty itself and neither of these applies here. Article 60 does allow for suspension if a material breach occurs which India has no proof of. In essence, India has invented a legal grey area to justify a political decision. It is a breach not only of treaty obligations but of the basic principles of international law. To turn water into a pressure tactic is to reduce a humanitarian and ecological concern into a geopolitical lever. And once that precedent is set, it becomes dangerously difficult to undo. If water is fair game in power politics, what comes next? This is why the global community cannot afford to stay neutral. South Asia is already one of the most water-stressed regions. Climate change is causing shrinking glaciers and monsoons slackening, and has been speeding the dearth of platforms. The IWT despite all its shortcomings was a paradigm of collaboration on common resources. Such an undermining not only destabilises Pakistan, but also sends the signal to other riparian basins in Africa, Latin America and Central Asia that a unilateral weaponisation of water security is possible. Pakistan must act, but not recklessly. Although there is nothing wrong with citing India's shift as a possible casus belli, it has to first make all the diplomatic attempts. That involves appealing to the Security Council of the UN under Chapter VII of the UN Charter that specifically provides the possibility of interfering when there is a threat of peace. Water, especially when controlled by one nuclear power over another, constitutes exactly that kind of threat. The P5 states must be reminded of their 1998 commitment to intervene if South Asia's stability is at risk. That moment is now. This is not merely about sovereignty or national pride. It is about redefining what should be off-limits in conflict. Civilian water access cannot be a pawn in strategic calculus. Pakistan's response must reinforce this principle, legally and morally. Because if this treaty falls, the damage will go far beyond the Indus Basin — it will corrode the very idea of principled diplomacy. Water sustains life; it should never be used to choke it. The IWT is not a perfect document, but it is a symbol of what diplomacy can achieve even between enemies. To treat it as a bargaining chip is to abandon that legacy and to gamble with peace itself.
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Liver-Assessment Tool Hepatoscope® Steadily Expands Installed-Base Validating Its Clinical and Commercial Viability
E-Scopics' Ultraportable, Software-Based Hepatoscope In Use Across Leading Institutions and Clinics AIX-EN-PROVENCE, France, June 20, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--After successfully exhibiting its unique software-based liver assessment tool Hepatascope at the DDW Convention in San Diego and the EASL Conference in Amsterdam, the France-based medical ultrasound company E-Scopics will demonstrate the technology at the June 2025 American Diabetes Association Conference in Chicago. The technology is seeing expanded adoption, with the company reporting that it has established the technology in a number of important sites in the US and Europe, validating its clinical and commercial viability. In the span of a few short years, the company has successfully adapted its premium ultrafast imaging point-of-care systems into GI and primary care, putting the system into the hands of a growing number of users who recognize its clinical value and importance in improving the standard of care for patients. In the process, E-Scopics has completely disrupted the field of portable ultrasound by leveraging proprietary technology using software-based image reconstruction. In 2023 E-Scopics began to commercialize its first product, Hepatoscope, both in the USA and in EMEA countries. The company's mid-term goal is to increase its footprint globally, starting its expansion to most European countries, where patients at risk of chronic liver diseases are. Hepatoscope continues to gain recognition as an alternative to legacy technology, from major institutions and all-size healthcare institutions across the USA. E-Scopics Founder and CEO Claude Cohen-Bacrie, who brings deep experience developing and taking to market cutting-edge ultrasound technologies, commented, "Our ambition is to bring premium quantitative ultrasound modalities and tools at the point-of-care, in the hands of non-ultrasound expert users, for the benefit of healthcare systems and patients. Making patients' journey and care pathways simpler and more efficient is our priority. We are so pleased that our backers- both leading users who understand the clinical and business partners who get the commercial potential, are in it for the long haul- and really excited about it." The company recognized MASLD was on the rise globally, and the need to bring the healthcare community a less expensive, more portable, and easier-to-use tool to accurately screen for the disease. It was very deliberate, developing a tool that was simple to use and reducing costs. The Hepatoscope application can easily be loaded onto a consumer laptop or tablet and rapidly deployed in the field. In addition to ease-of-use, the company saw Ultrasound-as-a-Service model as means to open access to any clinic via an affordable monthly or pay-per-use subscription, innovating on the business side. Cohen-Bacrie continued, "We see a healthier patient population coming out of a world where there is healthy business competition which drives innovation. We would not be talking about elastography outside of this important competitive environment. Especially where liver assessment is concerned, patients really need it, clinicians are asking for better and more affordable tools, and the FDA and payers endorse it." The numbers bear the need out. Approximately 1.5 million patients have been diagnosed with metabolic dysfunction associated steatohepatitis (MASH) in the U.S., and it is estimated that the precursor to MASH—metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease or MASLD—will affect more than half of all American adults by 2040. The MASLD spectrum ranges from a simple, generally nonprogressive fat buildup in the liver all the way to MASH, which can lead to cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, and death. The economic burden attributed to effects of MASLD in the U.S. exceeds $100 billion annually. Therefore, it is crucial to identify these patients and take care of them as early as possible. "As consumers we've become conditioned to expect the latest and greatest personal computing and communications tools, they simply make us more efficient in day-to-day tasks, said Dr. Julio Gutierrez, Associate Professor of Medicine at Scripps Center for Organ Transplant in La Jolla, CA and an early adopter of Hepatoscope. "I think of E-Scopics like Apple and have come to expect continuous innovation, and the clinical impact has been significant." Dr. Cyrielle Caussy MD, PhD, Professor of Nutrition and an Endocrinologist-Diabetologist at Lyon 1 University and Lyon South Hospital in France, asserted, "In the endocrine and diabetology practice, approximately 80% of patients screened show low liver stiffness, which means they can be reassured without further referral or testing. By reducing the time between initial screening and specialty care, the Hepatoscope improves both the efficiency and quality of patient management. For high-risk patients, we can initiate care pathways much earlier, potentially slowing or halting the progression of liver disease. At the same time, for low-risk individuals, we avoid unnecessary referrals, which frees up resources and improves overall healthcare system efficiency. Importantly, patients appreciate the immediate feedback they receive, which encourages compliance with treatment plans and lifestyle modifications." E-Scopics will demonstrate Hepatoscope at the American Diabetes Association annual conference in Chicago in Booth #3527. Visitors may walk in and also book a time by emailing About E-Scopics: E-Scopics S.A.S is a MedTech company headquartered in France. The company advances the accessibility, affordability, and ease of use of premium ultrasound tools at the point of care. Its agile software platform has dematerialized and automated ultrasound imaging technologies. Ultrasound-as-a-Service products derived from this platform are specific Apps commercialized with pay-per-use or subscription business models. The company's first product, the Hepatoscope, leverages quantitative imaging capabilities to help any clinician assess liver fibrosis and steatosis—important markers of MASLD-MASH—non-invasively at the bedside. To learn more, visit View source version on Contacts Dan ConleyBeacon Communicationsdconley@ 312-593-8461 Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
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Business Standard
a day ago
- Health
- Business Standard
India flags concerns on ILO's biological hazard pact for informal sector
India has cautioned the International Labour Organisation (ILO) that the 'universal' coverage envisaged under the recently adopted convention on protecting workers from the devastating impact of uncontrolled biological hazards in the workplace may be challenging—particularly for the informal sector and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). India also expressed concern about the applicability of the convention beyond the workplace setting. "We understand the importance of labour safety, but it is also important to ensure that the definitions of the proposed instrument are not so broad that they apply beyond the workplace setting. The [Convention's] universal coverage approach may be challenging, particularly for informal sectors and MSMEs," said Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya in his address at the International Labour Conference (ILC). Virat Jaiswal, general secretary of the National Front of Indian Trade Unions (NFITU), said the government is concerned that the definitions used in the instrument are too broad, potentially resulting in its application outside the workplace and leading to over-regulation. Last week, during the annual ILC in Geneva, the United Nations body adopted the Biological Hazards in the Working Environment Convention—the first-ever international instrument specifically addressing biological hazards in the workplace at a global level. The convention aims to safeguard workers who may come into contact with microbes, DNA material, bodily fluids, parasites, toxins, allergens and other biological agents during the course of their work. It applies to all workers in all branches of economic activity but requires countries to take specific measures in high-risk sectors and occupations. B Surendran, organising secretary of the Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), said the need for such a convention was reinforced by the COVID-19 pandemic, which killed millions globally, disrupted economies and crippled health systems. 'A lot of people contracted COVID-19 at the workplace. Hence, the convention sets out mechanisms and frameworks to deal with such eventualities. It has always been important to address biological hazards in workplaces, but now it's becoming even more critical,' he added. The ILO's 187 member states—equally represented by governments, employers and trade unions in the ILC—are now required to ratify the convention.
Maroc
2 days ago
- Politics
- Maroc
Morocco Elected Vice-President of UNESCO's Scientific, Technical Advisory Body for Underwater Cultural Heritage
The Kingdom of Morocco has been elected Vice-President of UNESCO's Scientific and Technical Advisory Body (STAB) for Underwater Cultural Heritage, represented by Professor Azzeddine Karra, during elections held this Wednesday. According to Morocco's representation at the UN organization, the election took place during the 16th meeting of the STAB under the 2001 Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage, held as part of the 10th Meeting of the States Parties to the Convention. The STAB, composed of 14 international experts, is the advisory body that provides technical guidance to the Meeting of States Parties for the implementation of the 2001 Convention. Its missions include evaluating the adherence to the Rules of the Convention's Annex in all activities related to underwater cultural heritage, building capacities, developing national action plans, and supporting States Parties in the implementation process. Professor Azzeddine Karra, Morocco's focal point at UNESCO for underwater cultural heritage since 2013, is internationally recognized for his expertise in this field. He previously chaired the STAB in 2017, reflecting his significant contribution to the protection of global underwater heritage. This election confirms Morocco's firm and ongoing commitment to the preservation of underwater cultural heritage while strengthening its active and influential presence within UNESCO's specialized international bodies. It also reflects the international community's trust in Morocco's expertise and the Kingdom's ability to effectively contribute to global efforts to safeguard this invaluable heritage for humanity. MAP: 18 June 2025
