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WHO: Global Cases Rise for Sixth Straight Week; WHO: Benefits of AstraZeneca Vaccine Outweigh Risks; Iranian Ship Attacked in Red Sea; Iraq's Crystal Meth Epidemic; Myanmar Protest Death Toll Rises Wednesday; Russia Denies Navalny's Health Is at Risk; Amnesty International Releases Annual Human Rights Report; UAE Looks to the Future of Energy Production. Aired 8-9a ET
Aired April 07, 2021 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST (voice-over): Tonight, six weeks in a row, coronavirus cases just keep rising. We'll take you to some of the world's
hot spots, up next.
Then --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking foreign language).
ANDERSON (voice-over): How desperation in Iraq is fueling a dangerous drug epidemic. Exclusive CNN reporting is just ahead.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON (voice-over): And you're looking at the Middle East's first and only nuclear power plant, right here in the UAE, an exclusive report from
the facility where atoms are split and what it means for the transition here to a clean energy future.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Abu Dhabi, this is CONNECT THE WORLD with Becky Anderson.
ANDERSON: We begin this hour. It is 4:00 pm in Abu Dhabi, with news the coronavirus pandemic around the world is far from over. Slow vaccine
rollouts, more contagious and deadly variants, COVID-19 again spreading across the globe. Countries again struggling to contain the virus and save
lives.
The numbers, nothing less than sobering; more than 4 million new cases reported globally this past week, a sixth consecutive week of increases and
more people are dying, 71,000 this past week, up more than 10 percent from the week before.
Every region in the world except Africa is reporting an increase in deaths, a startling 46 percent higher in southeast Asia, for example.
Well, some of the world's most populous countries seeing unprecedented numbers, a record 115,000 new cases reported today in India, 13 times
higher than just a few months ago.
In Brazil, daily deaths have topped 4,000, exceeding the worst of the wave from January. A Brazilian doctor based in America calls the situation in
his homeland "a biological Fukushima."
Europe enduring its own struggles to get people vaccinated. Today, we learned only five of the 27 European Union nations met a first quarter
target to vaccinate 80 percent of the continent's elderly and front line health care workers. That is just, of course, one section of society.
The European Commission health spokesman cites slow vaccine deliveries and differing vaccine policies. He is optimistic vaccine rates -- vaccination
rates will increase dramatically as deliveries pick up. Melissa Bell following developments across Europe for us today from Paris.
Melissa, as we report this news, the E.U. drug regulator, the European medicines association, will be holding a briefing today on the AstraZeneca
vaccine. That is in about two hours' time.
What are we expecting to hear from that and what does Europe's vaccine strategy look like at this point?
MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, just first of all, on the question of the EMA, which will report later today, this is the final conclusion,
Becky, of its investigation. You'll remember back in mid-March, in the middle of the crisis that had seen member state after member state announce
they were halting, suspending the distribution of the AstraZeneca vaccine over these fears of blood clots, they ruled they believed the benefits
outweighed the risks and recommended the countries continue.
It then picked up again in European countries. This, though, will be the final conclusion of its actual investigation into what link, if any, it
found between the emergence of blood clots in some patients and the inoculation by the AstraZeneca vaccine. All eyes very much on that.
After that, a European health ministers' meeting to work out and coordinate the continued delivery of the AstraZeneca vaccine or its suspension,
according to what the European Medicines Agency has said, in a way that is more coordinated than we saw back in March.
It's been slow. It's been messy. The European vaccine delivery has not gone to plan so far. But it does appear, leaving aside that question of the
AstraZeneca medical advice and where it might be administered, it does appear to be improving.
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BELL: Take France. So far in April, a million doses have been administered. They managed to ramp things up. A massive site has been
opened, where they intend to give 10,000 injections a week. And this is repeated across Europe.
Really, authorities trying to ramp up their delivery to try to meet some of the targets although, as you say, the first target of getting 80 percent of
the elderly and front line workers by the end of March has fallen short in the vast majority of European countries. Many countries intending to fix
things.
Now remains the question of the shortfall. The health spokesman for the European Commission spoke of the 107 million doses of vaccines overall that
had been delivered to the E.U. in the first quarter.
What he said was, although that was under what they had been promised, it is 360 million that they're now expecting in the second quarter, which
should, he said, help to fix that vaccine rollout and really get things up and running to where they need to be.
And remember the target overall is for 70 percent of all adults in the E.U. to be vaccinated by the end of the summer. So those vaccine supplies are
going to be extremely important.
ANDERSON: All right. That's Melissa Bell in Paris on the story that is Europe at present.
The European Union also dealing with a diplomatic faux pas by Turkey at a meeting in Ankara. The European Commission president Ursula van der Leyen
was not provided a chair alongside European Council president and the Turkish President Erdogan.
This comes at a delicate moment after Turkey withdrew from a global agreement meant to prevent violence against women.
Well, connecting you now to vaccine rollouts around the globe, some of the world's most successful vaccination programs are seeing problems, like the
one in the U.K., while other nations like India are seeing more new cases than ever. Our correspondents following these stories across the globe,
starting off with Salma Abdelaziz for you in London.
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SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN PRODUCER: Becky, it's more bad news for Oxford University. They paused trials of the AstraZeneca pediatric trials until
they get a review from U.K. health regulators as to whether or not there is a link between the use of this vaccine and very rare blood clotting in
adults.
Oxford University's team saying there's no concerns about the trials but they need to await more information from U.K. health officials while the
government tries to reassure the public to use the vaccine, that the benefits of it outweigh the risks.
We also heard that from the World Health Organization. But already steps taken in some countries in the E.U. to ban its use in certain age groups.
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BLAKE ESSIG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Becky, the Summer Olympics have already been delayed once because of COVID-19. And now fears of a fourth wave of
infection believed to be driven by more transmissible variants could create more problems for the games, which remain deeply unpopular here in Japan.
Just this past week, test events and Olympic qualifiers have been postponed or cancelled because of the virus. This comes two weeks after the last
state of emergency orders were lifted. Since then, 39 out of 47 prefectures have reported an increase in infection. As a result, preemergency measures
have been put in place.
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VEDIKA SUD, CNN PRODUCER: Becky, India has reported over 115,000 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, the highest single day rise since the
beginning of the pandemic.
According to India's health ministry, the spread of infection is higher than the first wave last year. Following the state of Maharashtra, the
union territory of Delhi has imposed a night curfew to month's end.
However, movement of essential services will be permitted. One of the world's largest religious festivals is being held in a northern state,
where tens of millions are expected to converge through the month.
The state has reported an average of 530 new cases between April 1 and 6, which is significantly higher than the cases reported in the last week of
March. India has the third highest confirmed total of cases of COVID-19, after the U.S. and Brazil, according to data from the Johns Hopkins
University.
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ANDERSON: We're learning a few details now about an Iranian ship attacked in the Red Sea on Tuesday. This is off the coast of Djibouti in east
Africa. A spokesman for Iran's foreign ministry said it was a civilian cargo ship. But at least two Iranian news outlets say the vessel was being
used by the military to help with anti-piracy missions.
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ANDERSON: This happens just as Iran and U.S. hold indirect talks to try to save the 2015 nuclear deal. Fred Pleitgen joins us in Vienna, where the
talks are taking place.
What sort of progress have we seen where you are?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, there certainly seems to have been some progress. It was interesting, after the
talks yesterday, the Iranian side, the U.S. side and also the E.U. negotiator, the Europeans really leading the negotiations, all have said
that the atmosphere in which all of this was taking place was constructive.
So certainly doesn't seem as though things are going in a bad direction at this point in time. What you have on the one hand is Iranians saying, look,
before anything is going to happen, they want full sanctions relief from the United States. They say that is a prerequisite for the U.S. getting
back into the Iran nuclear agreement.
The U.S., however, for its part, is saying they will not take any sort of unilateral action and have said what they call maximalist approaches will
not work. Let's listen in to what the U.S. had to say.
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NED PRICE, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON: I think what we can essentially rule out are the maximalist demands, that the United States do
everything first and only, in turn, would Iran then act. I don't think anyone is under the impression that that would be a viable proposal.
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PLEITGEN: So what started last night, Becky, and what continues today, we have seen some of the negotiators throughout the day, coming and going here
from one of the venues here in Vienna, is all of this has gone into working groups. It's two groups working parallel.
On one hand, one working on the whole sanctions issue, first and foremost with the United States, what sanctions would the United States be willing
to lift, at what point in time and what would they expect from the Iranians in return.
And then there's the working group dealing with nuclear issues, everything Iran would do to come back into full compliance with the nuclear agreement.
In an ideal world and that's what everybody is working towards right now, both of those working groups would come to a conclusion and then they would
marry those two proposals together and do everything at the same time, bring the U.S. back into the deal and Iran back into compliance.
All that would have to happen simultaneously. It's what the Iranians are saying and the U.S. as well. Needlessly, we're still far away from that.
There's a lot of technical details that need to be worked out.
But one thing that is seen as a pause positive note is both the U.S. and Iran say they want to do everything they can to salvage this nuclear
agreement and bring it back on track, Becky.
ANDERSON: A little patience I think is what is needed at this point. Fred, thank you.
Coming up --
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language).
ANDERSON (voice-over): Some of Iraq's most vulnerable are turning to drugs to forget about the pain of living. And the COVID-19 pandemic has only made
the crisis worse. An exclusive report from Baghdad is up next.
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ANDERSON (voice-over): And a little later, protecting Myanmar's vulnerable civilians from the military crackdown. I'll be talking to the envoy of the
country's ousted government -- just ahead.
And the COVID pandemic used as a cover to crack down on human rights. The leader of the Amnesty International group will be with me to talk about
findings in what is the organization's new report.
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ANDERSON: Iraq is being crippled by deadly epidemics on two separate fronts. Of course, there is COVID-19; the country saw its highest number of
daily cases on Tuesday. But the virus has pushed Iraq's crystal meth crisis to what has been effectively the back burner. It only intensified the drug
trade.
Authorities have been battling the flow of drugs from neighboring countries. Now dealers are using women, it seems, to entice the most
vulnerable into addiction. CNN's Arwa Damon interviewed Iraqis at the center of the drug crisis. CNN agreed to protect their identities, given
the stigma that remains. Have a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The tentacles of a different form of warfare are legion in Iraqi society.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking foreign language).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language).
DAMON (voice-over): Far too many are susceptible. When joy, happiness, a vision for the future is blurred away.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language).
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DAMON (voice-over): Officials say the drug networks here have grown more complex over the last few years and, as of late, recruiting more women.
Thariah (ph), her husband and a man she refers to as their friend, smuggled, sold and used crystal meth.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking foreign language).
DAMON (voice-over): "The front would get it from the Iranian border, from the big dealers," she says.
DAMON: They used her mostly to smuggle their drug stash through checkpoints because she would hide it underneath her clothes. And women
here tend not to get searched.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking foreign language).
DAMON (voice-over): They were all captured in a house they were selling out of, with around $18,000 worth of crystal meth.
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DAMON (voice-over): Iraq's antidrug unit, which officials say is undermanned and underfunded, has yet to make what they would consider a
significant bust. Their biggest seizures are in the country's south, close to the border with Iran, the main transit point for crystal meth.
"The era of COVID-19 has resulted in a surge in demand," the general with the antidrug unit tells us. More unemployment, more frustrated youth idling
in the streets, more targets.
"The drug dealers will give someone a hit or two for free," the general explains. "Once they're hooked, they often start to deal themselves to
finance their own addiction."
The unit has intelligence that dealers are active in this market.
DAMON: They have about five or six wanted people in this neighborhood.
DAMON (voice-over): General Hussein chats with people, giving them the hotline number for tips -- they get hundreds a day -- and tries to ease
some of the distress that exists between the population and the security forces. He compares the booming drug trade to another face of terrorism.
"The era of traditional warfare with two armies facing each other is over," he says.
"The enemies of Iraq are also using drugs to destroy the core of our society, our youth."
The antidrug department prison in Baghdad's western district is full. Each cell is meant to hold 30 but there are more than 50 men here, dealers and
addicts. Up until 2016, Khaled (ph) says he had steady work as a security contractor. Then it all fell apart.
He lost his job, spiraling into depression. Friends pushed him to try crystal meth.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language).
DAMON (voice-over): The love of his life left him. Khaled's (ph) cell mate says he ended up stealing from his elderly mother to fund his crystal meth
habit.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking foreign language).
DAMON (voice-over): Each appeal coming through on this woman's Facebook page is one more person she hopes she can help recover, one more drug
addict she can keep out of prison.
DAMON: This is a message from a teenager in Basra. He writes he's 15 years old, that he wants treatment, that he wants to get better but he doesn't
know what to do.
DAMON (voice-over): Inez (ph), a middle school biology teacher, who realizes some of her students were using, is trying to raise awareness
about the options that exist for addicts. Many users who want to recover are afraid the authorities will just detain them.
What most don't know is that, if they willingly go to rehab, there are no legal repercussions under Iraqi law.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking foreign language).
DAMON (voice-over): The beds at this rehab center are full. The doctors here tell us they have to cycle out patients faster than they would like
to.
This young man says he used to drive a tuk-tuk. One of his passengers offered him crystal met and that was it. He was hooked.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language).
DAMON: His parents found him with a gun to his head because he was having hallucinations that people were coming at him and ordering him to kill
himself.
DAMON (voice-over): He was discharged two days ago but he says he still has cravings. His mother is too afraid to take him back home to southern
Iraq.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking foreign language).
DAMON (voice-over): She's scared, scared he will use again. When high, Ahmed, at times, would beat her, set things on fire.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language).
DAMON (voice-over): Crystal meth, he says, made him feel powerful, like there was no limit to what he could achieve, a tantalizing state of mind in
a country that has repeatedly shackled its own youth and now risks losing more of it to addiction.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: And Arwa joining me now live from Istanbul, where she's currently based.
Some remarkable work there.
And what is being done in the country to help support these victims at this point?
DAMON: That's the key issue, Becky. Not enough is being done. The rehab center is full. Prisons are full. There isn't enough awareness among the
population in terms of where addicts can go to seek help, as you saw in that report.
And at this stage, the Iraqi government is not taking this issue seriously enough and that's one of the many grievances put forward to us by the
antidrug department. They have been trying to push the issue with the Iraqi government, with the various relevant ministries, trying to get more
funding, trying to expand their forces.
But right now, their hands are tied. They're basically doing everything they possibly can with the resources they have. They're also telling us
they're trying to create some sort of cross-border operations communications with the Iranian side.
But that right now has also been a process that has been very slow in developing. And so right now, they're stuck. And that is why they really
feel as if, at this point in time, the Iraqi government doesn't take this more seriously, this is going to escalate even further into something,
whose impact on the population, especially on the youth down the road, could potentially be irreversible.
ANDERSON: Arwa, the U.S. secretary of state Antony Blinken and Iraq's foreign minister, holding a virtual meeting today to discuss economic and
security cooperation.
How does that, what's being discussed today, tie into this drugs epidemic?
DAMON: Well, if you look at what users were telling us, if you look at what the officials were telling us, the main reason why so many of these
youth are turning to drugs, especially crystal meth, in the first place, is because of repeated trauma brought on by Iraq's lack of security, albeit
getting better over the last few years.
But then you also have any number of nefarious groups operating inside the country, outside of the control of the Iraqi government. They are also
presumed to have a hand in the drug distribution.
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DAMON: Especially those with ties to neighboring Iran. And then, let's come to the real issue, the Iraqi economy, which has been on something of a
downward spiral for years right now.
And even when Iraq is able to increase its GDP, that isn't really trickling down to the population. It isn't resulting in the kind of job opportunities
that youth would want to see.
Becky, Iraq is in such a state right now that even someone with a university degree is struggling to find work. Of course, on top of that,
the economic situation has been aggravated by COVID.
But if one really wants to get to the core of trying to fight this crystal meth drug epidemic, as it is being called by the antidrug officials, one
needs to focus not only on breaking up the various drug networks but also on providing youth job opportunities, alternatives to turning to drugs out
of depression and despair.
That is why looking for solutions for the Iraqi economy, sustainable solutions for Iraqi security, are so critical to this entire process.
ANDERSON: Absolutely. Arwa, thank you for that. Arwa Damon reporting.
CNN producer Mohammed Tawfeeq has worked with Arwa as well as other CNN teams in Iraq for years. His work behind the scenes couldn't be more
important to our network's success in being able to bring you the sort of important, compelling stories that you have just seen there from Arwa.
Next week, he takes us back to one of the most iconic coffee shops in Baghdad that was destroyed by a suicide bomber in 2017. You'll see that
report here on this show next week. He's filed it already, though, and here's a quick look at the emotional visit.
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MOHAMMED TAWFEEQ, CNN PRODUCER: We woke up that morning in 2007 and there was such tragic news. We heard that this coffee shop was severely damaged
in a massive suicide car bomb, where we heard dozens were killed.
DAMON (voice-over): Among the dead, four of the coffee shop owners' sons.
TAWFEEQ: Talking to the owner of the coffee shop ...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language).
TAWFEEQ: -- he's telling me that when his wife heard the news that her kids died, she went blind, she went crazy and she passed away.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Mohammed is a terrific guy and a brilliant professional. We'll have that full story next week, Arwa and Mohammed taking us through Iraq
right here on CONNECT THE WORLD. Do join us for that.
Up next, dark days for Myanmar.
What can we done to end the military violence against civilian civilians?
I'll be talking live to the special envoy to the U.N. for Myanmar's now deposed civilian government. That's an important interview and that is up
next.
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ANDERSON: Another bleak day, I'm afraid, in Myanmar, where the civilian death toll is rising. As pro-democracy demonstrations continue, local media
north of Mandalay say at least seven people were killed earlier when security forces opened fire on a roadblock set up by anti-coup protesters.
One advocacy group says at least 580 people have been killed since February's coup began. There's been plenty of international outcry over the
military's violent crackdown against civilians but, so far, not a lot of concerted action.
Dr. Sasa is a special envoy representing Myanmar's deposed civilian government to the United Nations and joins me now from an undisclosed
location.
And, sir, you are in an undisclosed location for your own safety. Your life, the lives of your colleagues, in the now deposed government, are very
much under threat. Thank you for joining us.
What is your message to the world right now on behalf of that government?
DR. SASA, SPECIAL ENVOY FOR MYANMAR'S DEPOSED CIVILIAN GOVERNMENT TO THE UNITED NATIONS: The international community must end now, before it's too
late. There is many more bloody days coming ahead. Many more bloody week coming ahead. Even many more bloody months coming ahead.
How many dead bodies is necessary for the international community to take strong action against the military regime?
We need powerful sanctions, coordinated sanctions, targeted sanctions against the military regime. The world must cut off all finance access by
this military regime. More to get the money, they buy more weapons, they kill more people.
ANDERSON: You have said that Russia and China, which has or have strong ties to the military junta, have the power to stop the violence in your
country by halting all arms sales to the country. China and Russia hold veto power as permanent members of the Security Council and they have
blocked those measures.
Is there any indication that these two countries are likely to change their position?
And if they don't, what happens?
DR. SASA: Russia and China can make just one phone call to these military generals who are terrorizing millions of people in Myanmar. One phone call
can stop these military generals. And of course, they must make the choice to stand with 54 million people of Myanmar or to remain with this handful
of military generals.
If they don't like to stop these military generals killing the people of Myanmar, Russia and China risk future political suicide and relationship
suicide. People of Myanmar will never forget what they have done today.
ANDERSON: The military has tortured and detained thousands of civilians since the start of this coup.
How bad are things likely to get?
I want you to be really specific here.
How bad are things likely to get if the international community doesn't come up with a coordinated response?
You know this place and the military better than most.
DR. SASA: Military generals who are now killing, committing massacres across the country of Myanmar, is known for killing.
[08:35:00]
DR. SASA: They are committing crime against humanity, war crimes, ethnic cleansings. They have been doing that for the last 72 years against ethnic
nationalities of the country.
If the world refuses to stop these military generals, then my country is going to face the greatest civil war that we have never seen before. That
means the bloodbaths are real. It's coming. More people will die. I am afraid.
It is the time for the world to prevent another genocide, another ethnic cleansing, another massacre, so the world has the power to stop it before
it's too late. Otherwise, more people are going to lose more lives on the guns of these military generals.
They bought these weapons by stealing the money of the country of Myanmar (INAUDIBLE) demanding from gas, oil and (INAUDIBLE) and all natural
resources. Now all the company that is working inside of Myanmar is a time for them to stop giving the money to the generals, until these military
generals stop killing the people and release our leaders who are democratically elected.
Otherwise, this is going to become (INAUDIBLE) chaos. It's bad for China. It's bad for India. It will be bad for the whole ASEAN.
ANDERSON: Dr. Sasa, how concerned are you by the involvement of the armed militia now, entering this conflict on the side of the protesters, to all
intents and purposes?
These are groups that are armed and they are potentially violent.
DR. SASA: Our peaceful movement is stronger than that of terrorism. We are of a indeed to go for nonviolence and peaceful movement and we will defeat
these military generals with our peaceful, not violent, movement.
But again, we should not forget the people of Myanmar have the right to defend themselves. These killers, these (INAUDIBLE) military gunman, they
are going from door to door, house to house, village to village, city to city, state to state, killing the people.
ANDERSON: Doctor, I do want to just push you on this point, though, because you say that this is an unarmed, nonviolent democracy protest,
which it is. And we have seen that on the ground.
But we have also seen the emergence of support for those demonstrators by armed militias. So I have to press you on this point.
Just how concerned are you that if this doesn't stop now, that the international community cannot act with concerted action and help stop
what's going on in Myanmar now, that this becomes a much wider bloody conflict?
DR. SASA: Becky, I am afraid, as I speak to you, I also have been speaking to all of the people on the ground. Every hours, I am on the phone, with
people on the ground. They just have no other choice.
They just have no other choice, because the protector, who should be defending the people of Myanmar from any attack, are now being attackers to
the people of Myanmar.
That is going to be very, very bad for the country. I am afraid that this will go and will be -- will blow up civil war if (INAUDIBLE) does not stop.
Now I am asking my people, please, please, don't take any arms to protect yourself.
Also I -- but I don't know how many days I can ask my people not to defend themselves. But it is the world who has failed to defend the people of
Myanmar.
We're calling (INAUDIBLE) and (INAUDIBLE) not coming to us, so we're asking them to come and protect the people of Myanmar who are now being attacked
by the armed forces that should be protecting them.
[08:40:00]
ANDERSON: That's the international envoy for Myanmar's deposed civilian government. You have been a sort of spokesperson for the pro-democracy
movement. Sir, somebody is trying to get a hold of you, so we'll let you go. But we thank you for joining us. Extremely important to get your
analysis and insight as to what's going on on the ground in Myanmar. Thank you.
Still to come, Amnesty International releases its annual human rights report. The group's secretary general will be here with me to talk about
that coming up.
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ANDERSON: Welcome back.
We'll connect you now to a bold act of defiance by jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, despite rising concerns about his health. His lawyer says
Navalny has now been tested for COVID-19 and the results are negative.
He's vowed to continue the hunger strike he began last week, even though he's now said to have a bad cough and high temperature amid a tuberculosis
outbreak among his cellmates.
A new report human rights group Amnesty International said Russia may be slowly killing Navalny. For more on this, we're joined by Agnes Callamard,
who is the new secretary-general of Amnesty International, speaking with us from Paris.
And it's a pleasure having you on. Thank you for spending the time with us today. I want to start with Russia. And you have written to President Putin
personally to lobby for the immediate release from prison of Alexei Navalny.
Amnesty International saying today in a statement that Russia may be slowly killing him by keeping him in conditions that amount to torture.
Can you expand on that?
AGNES CALLAMARD, SECRETARY-GENERAL, AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: Well, Alexei Navalny has been arbitrarily detained, is detained and sentenced to two
years because he's a well known critic of the Russian president, for no other reason. He has been sentenced to two years in a prison colony that is
well known for the harsh conditions.
Over the last months of his detention, he has been sleep deprived. This is a method that we consider to constitute torture. As you know, Alexei was a
victim of a Novichok poisoning and attempted killing, for which the state of Russia is responsible.
As a survivor of Novichok, his medical condition requires specialized medical care, specialized medical attention. So far, he has received quite
the opposite. He has gone on a hunger strike to protest the absence of care.
[08:45:00]
CALLAMARD: Surely, it is now very important, crucial, in fact, for human rights organizations such as Amnesty International to stand up and say
that's enough. He must be protected against torture. He must be freed against arbitrary detention. And he must be given access to the medical
care that he requires.
ANDERSON: Right. And understood. That is the position as far as Amnesty International is concerned. I want to discuss the findings of the group's
annual report on the state of human rights around the world. We'll have time do that during this interview.
But I have to say, human rights, front and center, making headlines around the world, not least, for example, on what is going on in Myanmar and with
the Uyghurs in China. Let's start with Myanmar. We have just been talking to Dr. Sasa on the very issue.
The international community has failed to agree on coherent, coordinated action against the military; more than 500 people dead, including more than
40 children.
What needs to happen now to stop the bloodshed?
CALLAMARD: I have also heard the interview. It was very moving. And it really should be a call to all of us to put pressure on governments. So
far, there has been a couple of actions undertaken in isolation by government.
What we need is all the members of the Security Council to stand firm on the issue of Myanmar. What it requires is, first and foremost, an arm
embargo and, second, sanctions against all military leaders. This must be a global position and a global implementation.
At the moment, China among others is preventing the world toward the global actions. As long as we do not do that, the junta in Myanmar, we see them
emboldened. At the moment, they feel emboldened because they have gone from a very bad situation to a worse kind of repression.
They are targeting children. They are targeting media workers to stop the information from spreading. They are targeting medical workers and, of
course, they are targeting the protesters as a group. The repression is going worse, which means the message is not coming through.
And why?
Because China, among others, is preventing it from reaching the level it should reach. Now is the time to act. That is why China must stand up and
sit with the others on that position.
ANDERSON: That is not happening as of yet. But it is important that we continue to be calling them out. Last month, a group of international legal
experts published a damning paper, which found China had breached every single article of the U.N. genocide convention in its treatment of Uyghurs
in Xinjiang.
Chinese officials have faced coordinated Western sanctions over their involvement. Little has been done to punish the government though at the
highest levels.
Do you believe the world should do more to hold a global superpower like China, which sits at the center of international trade and commerce,
accountable for these alleged crimes against humanity?
CALLAMARD: Of course. In fact, it is particularly important to hold superpowers to account. It's frankly relatively easy to hold countries with
little power. The real test for the international community is a country like China.
And so far, we are not really passing that test. Indeed, the situation is one of the gravest human rights crises of the year. It is a crisis that
requires a very firm reactions. There has been some timid steps taken toward sanctioning individuals. This is far from enough. It is important
for the private sector as well to act resolutely on that question.
The interests are there, of course, but can they trump humanity?
Can they trump human rights?
And what will be the long term outcome of (INAUDIBLE) in this fashion?
We already are living in a world where the ideals of human rights are attacked, including and particularly by China, in the name of national
sovereignty. We have seen in 2020 the result of not caring for human rights, the result of selfish policies, of policies based on inequality and
discrimination. Surely, it is a matter of holding China to account.
[08:50:00]
CALLAMARD: It is a matter of ensuring that we, as a humanity, have a human rights base of the future.
ANDERSON: You are in charge of the U.N.-led investigation into the circumstances surrounding Jamal Khashoggi's murder. In an interview with
"The Guardian," you said recently a U.N. colleague alerted you in January 2020 that a senior Saudi official had twice threatened you in a meeting
with other senior U.N. officials to have you, quote, "taken care of," if you were not reigned in by the U.N.
That accusation has been roundly refuted by the Saudis.
Can you just elaborate, if you will?
CALLAMARD: Well, you know, it has been -- the accusation has been also roundly confirmed by the United Nations, including at the highest level.
And I went public with this information because I wanted the international community to be aware of the fact that the space -- the space which should
be, in many ways, protected from this kind of threat and interference, the space of diplomatic work, of negotiation, the space where U.N. workers,
U.N. officials, U.N. consulate diplomats should be able to speak without fear or favor, that space is also under attack.
That space has not been protected. It's really an important point that we need to take home. It's crucially important for the U.N. at the highest
level to stand for the protection of its workers and its experts. We need to be able to see them work without fear of favor because, if they don't,
there is crucial information that will not reach the people it needs to reach.
ANDERSON: Right. Amnesty International's report 2020 headline, "Global Inequality Brutally Exposed by the Pandemic," is out now. You can find that
at Amnesty's site. For the time being, we need to leave the interview. We thank you very much for joining us from Paris today.
CALLAMARD: Thank you.
ANDERSON: A surprising location for a new nuclear facility. Just ahead, an exclusive look at one oil-rich nation playing the long game in the world's
energy future.
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ANDERSON: This country of the UAE floats on oil. The country has some of the highest hydrocarbon reserves in the world and has for half a century
now been a global player in energy after the original discoveries here.
Yet now, oil is slowly becoming old news and the country -- as the country bets big on a cleaner, more sustainable future. In just the last 24 hours,
the country switching on commercial operations of its new nuclear power plant, sending cleaner power into the homes of some of the most energy-
hungry residents in the world.
Just before the lights went on, as it were, at that nuclear plant, I met with John Kerry, the U.S. special envoy for climate change, here in Abu
Dhabi.
[08:55:00]
ANDERSON: He was here over the weekend and he commended the UAE on its proactive efforts to combat climate change. That's a massive oil producing
country, teaming up with the world's largest economy, that of the U.S.
That is a significant partnership. My colleague here in the Emirates, John Defterios, got exclusive access to the Baraka nuclear power plant, the
first and only one of its kind in the Middle East.
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JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR (voice-over): A graphic rendering depicting Abu Dhabi by drone at night. The image captures the
scale of energy needed to power the capital.
DEFTERIOS: What is unique here is that the UAE is the first Arab country to generate light from its own nuclear power.
MOHAMED AL HAMMADI, EMIRATES NUCLEAR ENERGY CORPORATION: In this building, we have the single biggest generator in the Middle East.
DEFTERIOS (voice-over): Mohamed Al Hammadi has been involved since day one, taking a working model seen here to the launch of commercial
operations.
HAMMADI: Now we're commercially connected to the grid and making revenue and also dispatching clean, reliable, safe, secure (INAUDIBLE) to the grid
and these lights here at (INAUDIBLE) has also some part of that nuclear power plant.
DEFTERIOS (voice-over): It's all generated here at the Baraka nuclear facility about 300 kilometers southwest from Abu Dhabi near the borders of
Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
DEFTERIOS: This facility has four reactors. Number one is now fully operational. Number two is loaded with fuel and three and four will come
online over the next few years. When it's all said and done, it will provide about 25 percent of the nation's electricity.
HAMMADI: Four units of nuclear power plants would provide probably around 21 million tons of CO2 emissions. And (INAUDIBLE) the perspective for the
audience, that's around 3.2 million cars off the road.
DEFTERIOS (voice-over): The UAE took a big leap into this arena, setting the policy framework back in 2008 and spending $24 billion to develop the
sector. More than 3,000 workers are onsite; 60 percent are UAE nationals, like Ehlam Al Nuami, who took her degree five years ago in nuclear
engineering.
EHLAM AL NUAMI, REACTOR OPERATOR IN TRAINING: It's unique. It's new to the UAE and I wanted to be part of this new project that is significant.
MOHAMMAD AL SHEHHI, HEALTH, SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENT MANAGER: When I went to university, this plant didn't exist. So once I graduated, this job offered
me big exposure in all aspects of the environment.
DEFTERIOS: This an exclusive look inside the turbine building and the protected area. I was here in 2017 and it was silent because it was not
operational. That clearly has changed.
And I can feel the heat, with the steam running right into that turbine behind me.
DEFTERIOS (voice-over): The temperature rose to 47 degrees centigrade or 116 degrees Fahrenheit, as the facility crossed the threshold into
commercial operations.
DEFTERIOS: Most people think of the UAE as an oil and gas producer, heavy on hydrocarbons.
Does this change the narrative coming online commercially?
HAMMADI: It would definitely with you and the key point here is that UAE is diversifying its economy and diversifying its resources of energy.
Electrification will be one of the key pillars for decarbonization and also will be a key pillar for the economic growth of the world.
DEFTERIOS (voice-over): As the demand for data and artificial intelligence grows, so, too, will electrification and the need to meet that growth, with
fewer fossil fuels, driven by splitting the atom -- John Defterios, CNN, Abu Dhabi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Clean energy as a huge economic activity opportunity, that is the story here and what John Kerry hopes will move the dial on the world's
efforts on climate change.
I'm speaking later today with the U.S. special presidential envoy for climate. Once again, he's with the managing director of the International
Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva. And you can hear that conversation between the three of us later today on cnn.com.
Thank you for joining us. I'll be back in about an hour's time. First up, though, "FIRST MOVE" with Julia Chatterley.
END
