After being sworn in on February 16 before the Constitutional Council of Burkina Faso, Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba was again sworn in as president on Wednesday, the day after the adoption of a transition charter.
The new president of Burkina, in camouflage uniform and red beret, did not make a speech during this sober ceremony in front of the representatives of the constituted bodies, the army, the diplomatic corps and the " forces vives " of the country.
This investiture came after the adoption on Tuesday of a transition charter, drawn up during national meetings in consultation between the ruling junta and the " living forces " including parties, unions, civil society organizations, youth , women and people displaced by the jihadist attacks that have hit Burkina Faso since 2015.
The transition period before a return to constitutional order has been set at 36 months, according to this charter signed by Lieutenant-Colonel Damiba, which prohibits him from standing in the elections scheduled for the end of the transition. A ban that also applies to the president of the 71-member legislative body that will be put in place during the transition. The charter further provides for the formation of a 25-member government headed by a civilian prime minister.
The investiture was held in the same room as that where the trial of the alleged assassins in 1987 of former Burkinabe President Thomas Sankara has been held since October 2021. For the occasion, the trial interrupted on February 8, which was to resume on Tuesday, will not resume until Thursday.
Environment: towards a global charter against plastic?
UN officials meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, decided on Wednesday to start negotiations for a first global treaty to fight plastic pollution.
Representatives of nearly 200 nations have agreed to the creation of an intergovernmental committee to finalize a treaty by 2024.
"It's fair to say that what we did today was to bring nature into the room and we managed to get no less than 14 substantive resolutions, a ministerial declaration, a formal decision and a political declaration which were all passed unanimously today." said Espen Barthe Eide, President of UNEA.
Proponents of the initiative have described the pledge as the most important environmental decision taken by the UN in years.
Less than 10% of plastic is recycled. Most of the 460 million tonnes of plastic produced in 2019 ended up in landfills and the oceans.
“The success of the current assembly speaks to the value of multilateralism. As the world reels from conflict, Covid-19, multiple humanitarian crises around the world, multilateralism has been tested but it is still alive, we can see that today." explained Leila Benali, President of UNEA 6 and Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development of Morocco.
Experts say the amount of plastic entering the oceans is set to triple by 2040, and governments have been under pressure to unite against what some describe as an "epidemic".