The Foreign Service Journal, January-February 2019

18 JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2019 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Climate change is running faster thanwe are and wemust catch up sooner rather than later, before it is too late. For many people, regions, even countries, this is already amatter of life and death. It is hard to overstate the urgency of our situation. Even as we witness devastating climate impacts causing havoc across the world, we are still not doing enough, nor moving fast enough, to prevent irreversible and catastrophic climate disruption. Governments and investors need to bet on the green economy, not the grey. That means embracing carbon pricing, eliminating harmful fossil fuel subsi- dies and investing in clean technologies. It alsomeans providing a fair tran- sition for those workers in traditional sectors that face disruption, including through retraining and social safety nets. We also have a collective responsibility to assist the most vulnerable com- munities and countries—such as small island nations and the least developed countries—by supporting adaptation and resilience. Cities, regions, civil society and the business community around the world are moving ahead. What we need is more political will andmore far-sighted leadership. This is the challenge on which this generation’s leaders will be judged. Climate action is not just the right thing to do—it makes social and economic sense. Climate change is the single most important issue we face. It affects all our plans for sustainable development and a safe, secure and prosperous world. —United Nations Secretary General António Guterres speaking at the Dec. 3 opening of the 24th annual U.N. climate conference (COP24) in Katowice, Poland. Contemporary Quote Canadian Diplomats Speak Out on “Havana Syndrome” A group of Canadian diplomats is speaking out about the mysterious illness that struck them in Cuba. A dozen embassy staff members and their children—about a third of Canada’s embassy population in Havana, suf- fered from the same mysterious ailment that caused the United States to draw down its embassy in Havana. Dubbed the “Havana Syndrome,” the cause of the illness has still not been determined, and the Canadians have thus far been largely silent on the topic. On Nov. 18 the Canadian diplomats spoke to The Globe and Mail about wha t happened to them—and the symptoms they continue to endure. The group is “especially outraged at the implication that they are overreacting or exaggerat- ing—or the suggestion, made by some neurologists critical of the official U.S. diagnosis, that the brain injuries could have been caused by stress or emotional trauma.” Like their U.S. counterparts, many have served multiple times in war-torn countries and places prone to diseases and political violence, and say they are “not the overly reactive type.” “You’re talking about people who have been through military coups, states of emergency, hurricanes, cyclones, who have evacuated large number of people in crisis,” one of the diplomats told The Globe and Mail. “We understand foreign policy is not always about transparency. We get that everything doesn’t need to be in the pub- lic because that may not suit our national interests,” said one unnamed diplomat. “But not when it comes to the detriment of our family, our health and our safety. That is where we have to draw the line. It’s not acceptable to be the sacrificed sheep. That’s just not an acceptable solution.” Call to Halt Support for War in Yemen M ore than two dozen senior former Obama administration officials issued a statement on Nov. 11 calling on the Trump administration to cease all support for the Saudi Arabia-led coalition fighting the Houthi rebellion in Yemen. “We unsuccessfully tried conditional support to the coalition,” the officials wrote, and called instead for a diplo- matic solution to the conflict, which has become a major humanitarian crisis resulting in an official death toll of more than 57,000 people. Signatories include well-known former diplomats such as Tony Blinken, Anne Patterson, Samantha Power, Susan Rice, Wendy Sherman and Linda Thomas-Greenfield. The conflict in Yemen has received more international attention since the Oct. 2 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul. On Nov. 28 the Senate voted 62 to 37 to advance a resolution demanding an end to U.S. support for the coalition. Foreign Policy noted that the vote reflects “growing anger among lawmakers” over the administration’s continuing support for Saudi Arabia following Khashoggi’s murder. The Hill reported on Nov. 28 that Sec- retary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense