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Donald J. Trump, President of the United States of America, addresses the high-level segment of the General Assembly in September 2020. Credit: UN Photo/Rick Bajornas

By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS, Nov 11 2020 (IPS)

The ouster of Donald Trump from the US presidency last week may well be the dawn of a new era for multilateralism – and perhaps for a besieged United Nations— after nearly four years of misguided political rhetoric emerging from the White House.

As a hard-core unilateralist, Trump was openly antagonistic towards multilateral institutions and contemptuous of the world body.

In a front-page story November 10, the New York Times said President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. “makes no secret of the speed with which he plans to bury ‘America First’ as a guiding principle of the nation’s foreign policy.”

The proposed reversal of Trump’s edicts—largely against all norms of international diplomacy– is being described as “The Great Undoing.”

Phyllis Bennis, who directs the New Internationalism Project at the Washington-based Institute for Policy Studies (IPS), focusing on the Middle East, U.S. wars and UN issues, told IPS there is no doubt that Biden will return to active engagement with the United Nations.

She said Biden has committed to re-joining the World Health Organization (WHO) on his first day in office, though whether he will commit the U.S. to the WHO-backed COVAX vaccine coalition, that aims to ensure access to any future globally-equitable Covid vaccines, remains a big question.

Activists are already organizing campaigns to challenge potential Biden cabinet and other picks that reflect the longstanding “revolving door” between major corporations and the federal agencies tasked with overseeing them, said Bennis, author of ‘Calling the Shots: How Washington Dominates Today’s UN’.

Since he took office back in January 2017, Trump either de-funded, withdrew from, or denigrated several UN agencies and affiliated institutions, including the WHO, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), the World Trade Organization (WTO), the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the UN Human Rights Council, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and the International Criminal Court (ICC), among others.

Dr. Simon Adams, Executive Director of the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect (R2P), told IPS: “I suspect the first thing Joe Biden will do as soon as he sits down at his Presidential desk in the oval office next January is rejoin the Paris Agreement (on Climate Change)”

Biden understands that climate change is a conflict multiplier and poses an existential threat to humanity. “As for the JCPOA (the Iranian nuclear deal), he might wait a week or two for that one, but I suspect that will happen too”.

The election of Biden is good news for the ICC, Dr Adams said.

“President Trump has tried to destroy the ICC and took the unprecedented step of imposing sanctions on Court officials simply for doing their jobs and investigating war crimes and torture allegedly perpetrated by American forces in Afghanistan”.

But the United States, he predicted, is still unlikely to become a State Party to the Rome Statute, “but I hope Biden will get the US government back to constructively cooperating with the Court.”

That’s bad news for any war criminals and other atrocity perpetrators – wherever they may be in the world – who were sleeping a little more soundly with Donald Trump in the White House. declared Dr Adams, a former member of the international anti-apartheid movement and of the African National Congress in South Africa.

Despite the mostly empty threats of legal challenges against the President-elect, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres congratulated the American people for “a vibrant exercise of democracy in their country’s elections last week”.

Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for Guterres, said the Secretary-General specifically congratulated the President-elect and Vice President-elect and reaffirmed that the partnership between the United States and the United Nations is an essential pillar of the international cooperation needed to address the dramatic challenges facing the world today.

On Twitter, the President of the General Assembly Volkan Bozkir sent his warmest congratulations to the President-elect of the United States, Joe Biden, who he said “has a long history of supporting the United Nations, and to Kamala Harris, whose historic election as the United States’ first woman Vice-President is a milestone for gender equality”.

He said he looks forward to deepening UN-US ties and working together towards a safer and more prosperous world.

Bennis, of the Institute for Policy Studies, said making sure the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the new head, for instance, does not come out of, and view themselves, as accountable to Big Pharma, will be a crucial but difficult struggle for social movements.

It might be possible to persuade the Biden administration to restore its funding to UNRWA, the UN agency that supports Palestinian refugees, given the staggering level of uncritical pro-Israel largesse Trump provided to Tel Aviv, and the exclusion of Palestinian rights from any Trumpian “diplomacy” in the Middle East, she noted.

But it is unlikely, Bennis pointed out, that there will be any serious shifts in substantive support for Palestinian rights at the UN (or elsewhere) – unless Biden’s team agrees to model themselves after the last months of Obama’s second term, in which the U.S. abstained on a Security Council resolution criticizing Israeli settlements, allowing it to pass.

“As to UNESCO, while the Biden administration might decide to return to the UN’s cultural organization, it is unlikely to agree to repay the almost $600 million in unpaid dues Washington has accrued since it stopped paying dues in 2011,” she said.

Meanwhile, under Biden, Dr Adams predicted, the US will systematically re-engage with the multilateral system, rather than seeking to undermine, withdraw or destroy it.

“I, for one, would like to see the US quickly rejoin the Human Rights Council and stop denigrating organizations like UNESCO who are the guardians of humanity’s shared cultural heritage”.

“I think Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are acutely conscious of past injustices in US history and the human rights challenges their country has faced over the last four years,” he added.

“I hope they will carry that awareness onto the global stage and become consistent champions for human rights and international justice everywhere. We need them to strengthen the international norms and laws that Trump tried so hard to ignore or undermine during his Presidency,” Dr Adams declared.

The writer can be contacted at thalifdeen@aol.com

  

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Thailand’s COVID-19 response an example of resilience and solidarity: a UN Resident Coordinator’s Blog

By Asoka Bandarage
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Nov 10 2020 (IPS)

SARS-CoV-2, the corona virus that causes COVID-19, has been spreading exponentially across the world over the last ten or so months. As of November 6th, according to the Center for Systems Science at Johns Hopkins University, there have been 49,195,581 cases of COVID-19, including 1,241,031 deaths.

More than a third of the global population has been placed on lockdown. The global economy is experiencing the deepest global recession since World War 2 and massive numbers of people are losing livelihoods and suffering serious effects on their physical and mental health.

The pandemic has allowed states and corporations to tighten technological surveillance and authoritarianism, curtailing privacy and democratic protest. As virulent second and even third waves of the pandemic speed across countries, people are gripped with fear and despair over their own survival and what the future holds for humanity.

The origin and prevention of the virus are mired in controversy and conflict between conventional and ‘conspiracy’ theories.

This unprecedented, multi-faceted global crisis, however, calls for deeper exploration and broader discourse on its causes and long-term solutions. Biomedical science, social science and ecological and ethical perspectives need to be integrated to overcome this pandemic as well as other pandemics predicted in the years ahead.

Controversy over Origin and Prevention

Given the lack of media coverage, there is scarce public awareness of the likely laboratory origins of previous pandemics like the H1N1 outbreak of 1977-78. The global scientific and media establishments attribute the origin of COVID-19 to an animal-to-human (i.e. zoonotic) transmission at a seafood market in Wuhan, China, in December 2019.

While US intelligence sources also originally asserted this, they conceded in March 2020 that the pandemic may have originated in a leak from the lab at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China.

The Wuhan Institute is linked to the US army’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which does research and testing involving bats and coronaviruses and gene editing ‘bioweapons’.

The Wuhan Institute also has a close, decades-old partnership with the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) in Maryland, the leading US military laboratory for ‘biological defense’ research. USAMRID is known for periodic shutdowns due to its problematic record on safety procedure.

Gain-of-Function Research (GOF) involves “manipulating viruses in the lab to explore their potential for infecting humans.” This type of research is criticized by many scientists on ethical grounds because of the risks GOF viruses pose for human health from accidental release. Due to public health concerns, in October 2014, the US government banned all federal funding for efforts to ‘weaponize three viruses’: influenza, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

In the face of this ban in the US, Dr Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), reportedly “outsourced in 2015 the GOF research on bat coronaviruses to China’s Wuhan lab and licensed the lab to continue receiving US government funding.”

In early 2018, US embassy officials in China raised concerns about “inadequate safety” at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. US science diplomats warned that, due in part to a lack of adequate safety personnel, the research that the lab was conducting in relation to bats “represented a risk of a new SARS-like pandemic.”

Yet, action was not taken and despite the controversies, Dr. Fauci was appointed as the leading doctor in the US Coronavirus Task Force and continues to function in that position.

Hollywood films, such as 2011’s Contagion presented eerie premonitions of the COVID-19. In 2015, billionaire and global population control proponent, Bill Gates warned of a huge threat of a global pandemic.

A pandemic simulation called Event 201 was conducted in October 2019 by the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security in partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the World Economic Forum projected up to 65 million deaths due to a coronavirus.

However, the global biomedical, political and business leaders who were well aware of the impending Covid pandemic did not take the precautionary action needed to safeguard people. The United States, Europe and other countries found themselves without adequate testing kits, respirators, hospital beds and medical personnel when the virus started to spread.

A failure of leadership lies behind the massive destruction of human life, livelihoods and social life that we are experiencing today.

Controversy over Mitigation

While lockdowns, curfews and the isolation of entire communities and regions seem to be the norm, the effectiveness of this approach and its enormous negative consequences on the economy, society and mental health are coming into question.

The success of the mainstream approach depends on a host of local socio-economic factors, such as the age of the population, health infrastructure, leadership, mobilization of people as well as just, uniform and compassionate enforcement of preventative measures.

Double standards in enforcing Covid health protocols can contribute to resentment and weaken overall conformity jeopardizing the health and safety of entire populations. Apparently, under strict Covid guidelines in Australia, some individuals have been prevented from visiting with dying family members while at the same time, VIPS and celebrities have been exempt from strict quarantine measures.

Likewise, in Sri Lanka, high powered delegations from China and the United States (led by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo) arrived in the midst of the worsening second wave in October 2020, seemingly foregoing national Covid guidelines.

Many countries in the global south, such as, Vietnam, Cambodia, Senegal and Rwanda have contained the pandemic more successfully than the United States and the rich European countries.

As of November 1, Rwanda and Senegal, reported 0.28 and 2.04 Covid deaths per 100,000 people respectively, whereas the corresponding number for the US is a staggering 70.4.

The vast majority of those infected recover easily and only the elderly and those with other pre-existing illnesses are the most vulnerable. Thus far, on November 6th, of the total confirmed 49,195,581 cases, 32,368,883 have recovered.

Given this reality, many epidemiologists are suggesting ‘focused protection’ of the most vulnerable groups, allowing the rest of the population to develop ‘herd immunity;’ the point at which the majority of a population becomes immune and limits the spread to those that are not immune.

Sweden is the leading example of a country that went against the global norm of mandatory lockdowns, social distancing and use of face masks. Sweden experienced much higher numbers of cases and deaths than its Scandinavian neighbors during the first wave of the pandemic.

However, Sweden has had relatively fewer deaths during the current second wave while other Scandinavian and European countries which imposed strict lockdowns early in the pandemic are facing massive spikes in infections and deaths.

Given the relative failures of the mainstream lockdown approach and its negative socio-economic and psychological impacts, alternative long-term approaches like that of Sweden warrant consideration.

A May 2020 report from the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy in the US suggested that the COVID-19 outbreak will not end until 60% to 70% of the human population becomes immune to the virus, which could take anywhere from 18 to 24 months.

Meanwhile, many virologists and global leaders argue that the only way to eradicate the virus would be with a vaccine ‘delivered to every human being’ as quickly as possible. Pharmaceutical companies are now racing to provide a vaccine, the magic bullet to end the pandemic, and a highly profitable one at that.

However, there is no certainty that a vaccine against COVID-19 would act as effectively as previous vaccines against viruses such as smallpox.

The Gates Foundation, which has funded the UK’s Pirbright Institute that is currently working on a vaccine against COVID-19, stands to benefit from vaccine marketing. Bill Gates is calling for a ‘digital certificate’ to identify individuals receiving the upcoming COVID-19 vaccine.

Backed by a massive organization called ID2020, these certificates are expected to grant access to other social and economic rights and services. Mass vaccination to eradicate COVID-19 is seen as the opportunity to introduce a worldwide digital ID, and ID2020 is already testing one in Bangladesh that is ‘biometrically-linked’ to fingerprints.

Reportedly, a ‘covert way to embed the record of a vaccination directly in a patient’s skin’ – called a ‘quantum dot tattoo’ – is also being researched at MIT with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

What would happen to those who refuse to get vaccinated for COVID-19, or other mandatory, possibly gene-altering, vaccines in the future? Will they be denied access to essential services and cast off from society?

Do the kind of research and practices introduced in the name of disease prevention, such as Gain-of-Function Research and bioweapons development, pose greater threats than they provide protection of human and planetary life?

And how do the unprecedented shifts in human behavior seen this year, with increasing reliance on artificial intelligence, undermine age-old patterns of human connectedness to nature and to each other?

Moving Forward

Notwithstanding political and cultural differences, the rising economic power of China is pursuing the same growth driven developmental model as the declining Euro-American alliance. The pandemic has brought to light the dangers inherent in this technology- and market-driven system.

While conventions against biological weapons and bans of Gain-of-Function Research and the like are necessary, the multifaceted Covid crisis calls for a fundamental change of the global military-industrial system.

It is said that a crisis is a turning point, an opportunity to change. To understand where and how to turn, it is necessary for more and more people to question the values of the dominant globalization paradigm, including the management of the Covid crisis.

How has prioritizing unbridled economic growth over environmental sustainability and human wellbeing contributed to the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic? How have deforestation, climate change and human expansion into the habitats of other animals contributed to easier transmission of viruses between species?

How has the pollution of the earth’s water, air and soil by industrialized agriculture and militarism, led to the depletion of human immunity and increase susceptibility to new viruses and diseases?

How has the reliance on the globalized import and export economy resulted in massive losses of employment and shortages of essential food and medicine during the Covid crisis?

It is time to fashion a more balanced, ecological way of living that respects the environment, upholds bioregionalism and local communities. More and more people are questioning the prevailing notions of success and development and shifting to agroecology, community-based and healthier ways of living.

These developments need to be complemented with demands for greater transparency, ethics and accountability in the use of technology, especially biotechnology and vaccines against COVID-19 and other viruses.

The unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic is making people more sensitive to the fragility and insecurity of life and our physical and emotional interconnectedness to each other and the rest of nature.

The crisis can teach us to overcome fear, excessive greed and individualism and develop compassion for the suffering of humanity and other species of life. It offers an opportunity to overcome despair and powerlessness and to collectively challenge oppressive political and economic structures and turn the world in a more equitable, ecological and healthier direction.

* Asoka Bandarage’s new book ‘Colonialism in Sri Lanka” examines the political economy of 19th century British Ceylon and includes a discussion of the neocolonialism that has followed and continues. It is available as an ebook or paperback here from September 14th

 

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The post The Covid Pandemic: Broadening the Discourse appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Excerpt:

Dr Asoka Bandarage*, a scholar and practitioner, has taught at Yale, Brandeis, Mount Holyoke (where she received tenure), Georgetown, American and other universities and colleges in the U.S. and abroad. Her research interests include social philosophy and consciousness; environmental sustainability, human well-being and health, global political-economy, ethnicity, gender, population, social movements and South Asia.

The post The Covid Pandemic: Broadening the Discourse appeared first on Inter Press Service.

By Anis Chowdhury and Jomo Kwame Sundaram
SYDNEY and KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 10 2020 (IPS)

The World Bank has finally given up defending its controversial, but influential Doing Business Report (DBR). In August, the Bank “paused” publication of the DBR due to a “number of irregularities” after its much criticized ranking system was exposed as fraudulent.

Anis Chowdhury

Apparently, data from four countries – China, Azerbaijan, the UAE and Saudi Arabia – was “inappropriately altered”, according to the Wall Street Journal. Exposure of these irregularities was the final straw: now, it is uncertain whether the DBR will return after its suspension.

Exposing the lie
After Chief Economist Paul Romer told the Wall Street Journal two years ago that he had lost faith in the “integrity” of the DBR, and apologized to Chile for possibly politically motivated data manipulation, he was forced to resign. The Economist commented then, “His resignation may not end the controversy”.

Romer later received the so-called Economics Nobel Prize following his resignation. Almost two decades ago, Joseph Stiglitz also received the Prize after being forced to resign following differences with US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers following the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis.

When Justin Sandefur and Divyanshi Wadhwa of the Center for Global Development (CGD) exposed how ostensibly methodological tweaking changed Chile’s and India’s DBR rankings to bolster “market-friendly” Piñera and Modi vis-à-vis their more centrist opponents. Simeon Djankov, founder of the Bank’s Doing Business index, dismissed the CGD and the two authors as “reformed Marxist”.

Doing Business vs SDGs
Djankov insisted that the DBR is about the costs of doing business, not “the benefits of running a society”. He contemptuously told those who criticised the DBR for failing to consider social or environmental impacts, to create their own “index that says the benefits of …regulation”.

Jomo Kwame Sundaram

For the DBR, it did not matter if reducing regulations harmed the environment or employment conditions, or if lowering taxes constrained governmental capacity to fund public investment and provide decent public health or social protection as long as such “reforms” lowered the costs of doing business.

Singlehandedly, Djankov exposed the shallowness of the Bank’s commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). By undermining social and environmental dimensions, Djankov exposed the Bank’s actual attitude to sustainable development.

Hence, the Bank had little choice but to ditch the DBR, which has already done enormous damage to development by encouraging harmful tax competition and ‘races to the bottom’ with regard to the protection of the environment and labour rights.

Racing to the bottom for nothing
Governments seek improvements in their country’s DBR ranking believing that it will increase growth via increased investment, especially foreign direct investment (FDI). However, the evidence has been disappointing.

For example, a World Bank Policy Research Working Paper found that, “on average, countries that undertake large-scale reforms relative to other countries do not necessarily attract greater [foreign direct investment] inflows”. For developing countries, it found an insignificant statistical relationship. Another study concluded, “the various studies do not provide guidance on which of the wide range of possible [investment climate (IC)] reforms are most strongly correlated with increased growth”.

Such ranking competition has encouraged debilitating investor-friendly government behaviour. The index has become a tool for governments to formulate, evaluate and legitimize their economic policies. Some now game the system to notch up their countries’ ranking with essentially cosmetic reforms.

Indonesia’s recent “Omnibus Bill” ostensibly for job creation includes many market-friendly reforms that would most certainly boost Indonesia’s DBR ranking. The bill, from a government increasingly influenced by the Bank, is now widely criticised for heavily favouring powerful business interests at the expense of workers, human rights and the environment.

Agrarian counter-revolution
Ditching the DBR may be a good start, but is far from enough. The Bank must also end other similar ‘ideologically driven’ exercises, such as its Enabling the Business of Agriculture (EBA) and Investing Across Borders (IAB) indicators, which prioritise FDI, typically at the expense of some SDGs.

The Bank’s EBA indicators project is an extension of its Benchmarking the Business of Agriculture (BBA) programme, first launched in 2013. BBA, partly based on the DBI methodology, was created after the G8 asked the Bank in 2012 to develop such an index for the G8’s controversial New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition programme.

The Bank claimed, “The indicators provide a tangible measure of progress and identify regulatory obstacles to market integration and entrepreneurship in agriculture”, leading to a more modern commercial agriculture sector. Private agribusiness investors will be the main beneficiaries of its proposed land policies and environmental protection deregulation.

But the Bank does not bother to explain how farmers, especially smallholder or peasant farmers, will benefit from the proposed reforms or from large-scale commercial agriculture. Our Land; Our Business highlighted that the EBA will encourage corporate land grabs and undermine smallholder farmers who produce 80% of food consumed in the developing world.

In January 2017, over 158 organizations and academics from around the world denounced the EBA to the WB President and its five Western donors (USAID, DFID, DANIDA, the Netherlands, and the Gates Foundation), demanding its immediate end.

In response, the Bank made some cosmetic changes and dropped its controversial land indicator. However, its latest (2019) EBA still reflects its strong bias for commercial agricultural inputs and mono-cropping, undermining food security, sustainability as well as customary land holdings.

Favouring Foreign Direct Investment
The Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) introduced its Investing Across Borders (IAB) indicators in 2010. Heavily influenced by Hernando de Soto, the IAB indicators were designed to complement the Bank’s DB indicators.

The IAB indicators claim to help accelerate economic growth by giving primacy to FDI as a driver for job creation, technology transfer, upgrading skills, fostering competition and fiscal consolidation. In fact, IAB indicators encourage frameworks that limit benefits for host countries besides enhancing the harmful effects of cross-border investment deals.

The indicators also violate the letter and spirit of the IFC’s Performance Standards for Environmental and Social Sustainability; Principles for Responsible Agricultural Investment respecting rights, livelihoods and resources; Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests; and various other international instruments.

One size never fits all
The rise and fall of the DBR expose the dangers of using and exaggerating the significance of standardised rankings for very different countries and business environments. An IC is typically complex and difficult to reduce to a few key indicators, let alone a meaningful composite index.

Reforming only certain aspects of business regulation because of the influence of Doing Business cannot possibly be optimal, especially when government capacity is constrained. Academic literature reviews conclude, “while there is empirical evidence that institutional reform can promote growth, it is less clear which reforms matter most, how to prioritise possible IC reforms, and what kinds of institutional frameworks and functions are needed”.

Growth drivers and constraints are very context specific, so reform priorities should also be context specific. Therefore, a one-size-fits-all approach to measuring and understanding complex investment environment issues is very problematic, especially one based on the interests and priorities of particular institutions and powers.

The Bank should stop doing harm by concentrating on its original mandate of intermediating finance at the lowest possible cost for sustainable development, relief and recovery in our extraordinary times. It should stop misleading the world, especially developing countries, with its highly biased supposed knowledge products.

 

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Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed shrugged off concerns that Ethiopia could descend into civil war, even as reports of clashes between federal soldiers and those loyal to the Tigray region’s governing party continued. Courtesy: GCIS

By Alison Kentish
UNITED NATIONS, Nov 10 2020 (IPS)

Already reeling from conflict, extreme weather events and growing displacement due to the COVID-19 pandemic, escalating tensions in Ethiopia’s Tigray region have placed the country on the brink of civil war and many are looking to Nobel Peace Prize-winning Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to avert a potential humanitarian disaster.

The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) has called the Prime Minister an ‘illegitimate leader,’ after Abiy announced that he would postpone elections due to the pandemic. The country’s parliament has in turn declared the Tigray administration illegitimate and last week voted for its dissolution. Prime Minister Abiy confirmed that air strikes had been carried out in the region and warned of further action against military targets.

In a social media post on Nov. 9, the Prime Minister however shrugged off concerns that Ethiopia could descend into civil war, even as reports of clashes between federal soldiers and those loyal to the Tigray region’s governing party continued.

Abiy’s statement came less than a week after United Nations Secretary General António Guterres expressed ‘grave concern’ over the reports of violence and attacks on civilians, while calling for ‘inclusive dialogue’ to diffuse tensions.

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) has joined the growing number of agencies calling for dialogue to end the conflict. The NRC operates in seven regions in Ethiopia, including the northern Tigray region. The Council’s Regional Director for East Africa and Yemen, Nigel Tricks, spoke to IPS about the current refugee situation in Ethiopia and why the country can ill afford further escalation in violence.

Excerpts of the interview follow:

Inter Press Service (IPS): In your statement you noted that the escalating tensions in Ethiopia are adding to an already tenuous situation that includes mass displacement. What are some of the current humanitarian needs in Ethiopia?

Nigel Tricks (NT): Ethiopia has been a centre for humanitarian response for some time; a situation driven by conflict and erratic weather that have caused cyclical droughts and floods. In 2020 alone, over 19 million people across the country are in need of humanitarian assistance, a situation that has been compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of recurring food crises, the U.N. estimates 687,000 children will require treatment for severe acute malnutrition. On top of that, Ethiopia is home to 792,000 refugees mainly from Somalia and South Sudan as well as close to two million internally displaced people. The country has also been affected by the recent desert locust infestation, which risks further aggravating the food situation for millions of people. 

More specifically to Tigray and according to the U.N., more than two million people in the region need some form of humanitarian assistance, including 400,000 people who are food insecure, or unable to meet their food needs. The region is also home to 96,000 refugees, approximately 12 percent of the total number of refugees in Ethiopia.

IPS: What would heightened tensions mean for the people of the Tigray region?

NT: Escalating tensions that could result in conflict threaten the safety of thousands of people. Both local communities and displaced people and refugees hosted in the area, are at the risk of being caught up in violence. Conflict would also make it more difficult for vulnerable families, who already rely on aid, to safely exercise their right to access humanitarian assistance like food, health and education especially in the context of a global pandemic. As a result, more people will be forced to migrate, putting them at different risks and making them dependent on humanitarian aid.

IPS: You called for an end to military action. What do you think it would take now to diffuse this situation?

NT: Concerted efforts between the national government as well as leaders in the Tigray region will be paramount in de-escalating tensions. Given the country’s influence across the region, actors such as the African Union can also play a role in helping Ethiopia find a lasting solution to the crisis and enhance greater regional stability.  We would also like to see Ethiopia’s many friends in the wider international community offer their help in finding satisfactory outcomes for all parties.

IPS: Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is a Nobel Peace Prize winner. Do you think that this situation presents an opportunity for him to live up to the ideals of this award and prove that a peaceful resolution is possible?

NT: Ethiopia, in general, has been perceived as a beacon of reconciliation since Prime Minster Abiy Ahmed initiated reforms in the country in 2018. Regionally, the country has also been an important regional influence for good, for example in South Sudan’s peace processes. Ethiopian leaders, including regional and national authorities, have the opportunity now to focus efforts towards a peaceful resolution to the crisis and avoid more violence.

IPS: The eyes of the world are on the United States’ elections, but is it time for world leaders to address the ongoing conflict in Ethiopia?

 NT: World leaders, including international governments, have played their part in supporting Ethiopia both in responding to the current humanitarian situation as well as in their nation-wide development efforts. However, the international community including African regional leaders should step up the involvement in helping Ethiopia find peaceful solutions before there is widespread conflict. The U.S. can make a difference.  How it communicates on the conflict in the coming days could contribute to or reduce tension. 

IPS: The NRC has spoken out on the Ethiopian humanitarian situation. Going forward, how do you proceed? Is it a case of monitoring the situation and continuing to provide shelter and assistance on the ground or does it also mean preparing for a possible influx of refugees?

NT: NRC will continue to monitor the situation while delivering its humanitarian mandate across the country including in the Tigray region where we have been working for several years. We will also work closely with government authorities as well as local and community organisations to ensure that aid reaches those that need it the most in an efficient manner and ensure that, should the situation call for it, we are sufficiently prepared to increase our response.

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In this Reuters file photo taken on September 11, 2017, smoke is seen on the Myanmar border as Rohingya refugees walk on the shore after crossing the Bangladesh-Myanmar border by boat through the Bay of Bengal, in Shah Porir Dwip, Bangladesh.

By UNB, Dhaka
Nov 9 2020 (IPS-Partners)

The United Kingdom wants the new government in Myanmar to take steps towards safe, voluntary and dignified return of the Rohingyas to their place of origin in Rakhine State.

“The new government must work to address the valid concerns of people across Rakhine,” Lord Tariq Ahmad, Minister for South Asia and the Commonwealth at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), told UNB while exclusively responding to a few questions.

Millions voted in Myanmar’s general polls on November 8 — with election cancelled in Rakhine and the Rohingya disenfranchised — just the second since military rule ended in 2011.

Aung San Suu Kyi remains hugely popular in Myanmar and is expected to win.

The UK minister reminded that the solution lies in Myanmar, and the UK is working tirelessly for accountability and justice. “We’ll also provide the political support needed to resolve this crisis in the long-term.”

He said they also want the Rakhine Advisory Commission recommendations to be implemented, including recognising the Rohingyas as citizens of Myanmar and allowing them freedom of movement, as well as making sure they can access essential services, like schooling and jobs.

The government of Bangladesh has planned to relocate 100,000 Rohingyas to Bhasan Char, to ease the burden on Cox’s Bazar camps and avoid the risk of deaths due to landslides during the rainy season.

Several Bangladeshi media outlets have recently visited Bhasan Char and found the facilities there far better than that of Cox’s Bazar camps.

Asked about the relocation plan, Minister Ahmad said the UK is absolutely clear that the relocation of Rohingya refugees to Bhasan Char must be “safe, voluntary and dignified”.

“We’re extremely concerned to hear of reports of alleged abuse, including sexual abuse, taking place on the island,” he said.

Bangladesh, however, ruled out such allegations terming those reports completely false.

“We support calls by the UN for a protection mission to the island to assess whether it’s safe for people to live there. Full and detailed assessments are needed to determine this,” said the UK minister.

CONCERNED OVER CLASHES IN CAMPS

There are incidents of clashes and killings at Cox’s Bazar Rohingya camps and Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen recently said the regional and international security will certainly be jeopardised if the Rohingya issue remains unresolved.

Asked how Bangladesh can avert such security threats, the UK minister said they are “extremely concerned” by the recent escalation of violence in Cox’s Bazar and they are relieved to see the situation has calmed for now.

“We’re grateful to our humanitarian partners for their work to help those facing this in the camps,” said Minister Ahmad.

Unfortunately, he said, the trauma and violence the Rohingya people have suffered, and the prolonged crisis, have led to fears of a lost generation within the camps.

“This sense of hopelessness is likely contributing to worsening tensions and increased crime. That’s why our UK aid programmes support access to education, jobs and skills development opportunities for Rohingya people and host communities, to help people see a meaningful future for themselves,” said the UK minister.

He said their programmes also promote the rule of law and access to justice, to help keep people safe.

REPATRIATION OR LONG-TERM SUPPORT

Bangladesh wants to repatriate Rohingyas to Myanmar without further delay while a conference on sustaining support for the Rohingya Refugee Response was held on October 22.

When asked if this conference was conflicting with Bangladesh’s repatriation plan, the UK minister said they welcome the government of Bangladesh’s longstanding commitment to voluntary, safe and dignified returns and share this aim.

He said they are pressing Myanmar to address the root causes of the crisis so that this can become possible.

However, Minister Ahmad said, the continued violence and threat to Rohingya people’s lives in Rakhine State mean this is not possible right now.

“Until that can happen, we’ll help refugees and Bangladeshi families, and take steps that will give the Rohingyas the confidence to return home,” said the UK minister.

“The UK is raising these issues with Myanmar and at the UN, and we’ve convened the UN Security Council three times this year with a focus on the situation in Rakhine and Chin States,” said minister Ahmad.

He said they have sanctioned two generals in the Myanmar military, as recommended by a UN independent investigation, which found them responsible for atrocities, amounting to ethnic cleansing.

UK’S SUPPORT

Minister Ahmad said the UK is extremely grateful to Bangladesh for hosting the Rohingya in their time of need and will continue to help the country until the crisis is resolved.

“Last month we announced £10 million to support Bangladesh’s coronavirus response and preparations for natural disasters such as cyclones and monsoon flooding,” he said.

The UK also announced a further £37.5 million of new support to alleviate the suffering of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshi people in Cox’s Bazar, said minister Ahmad.

He said this UK aid will provide food, water and sanitation, as well as care and counselling for those traumatised by the horrific violence they have experienced.

“It’ll also improve access to education for 50,000 young people, as well as support isolation and treatment centres for people suffering with coronavirus,” he said.

Minister Ahmad said they remain committed to supporting host communities in Cox’s Bazar.

“Our new funding will support more than 10,000 people from local Bangladeshi communities to cope with the economic impact of the pandemic, including through providing training and supporting business start-up funds,” he said.

The UK minister said they are also currently providing 50,000 people with food assistance to help the Bangladeshi communities living around the camps.

To date, minister Ahmad said, the UK aid has helped get more than 20,000 Bangladeshi women into better-paid jobs, more than 120,000 children and teenagers into quality education and helped over 110,000 people to access clean water.

NOT FORGOTTEN

The UK minister said last month’s conference demonstrates that the world has not forgotten the plight of the Rohingya people and the burden that Bangladesh in particular is shouldering in providing refuge and protection.

As a force for good in the world, he said, the UK is proud to have co-hosted the conference and will continue to work with Bangladesh.

“It’s been more than three years since the latest crisis in August 2017 but the Rohingyas’ suffering continues, and we must not abandon them,” said Minister Ahmad.

Along with their co-hosts, the United States, the European Union and the UN Refugee Agency, the UK urged countries to pledge new support for Rohingya refugees, host communities such as those in Cox’s Bazar, and internally displaced Rohingyas in Myanmar.

Bangladesh is now hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas in Cox’s Bazar district.

This story was originally published by The Daily Star, Bangladesh

The post New Myanmar govt must ensure Rohingya repatriation: UK appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Nuno21/Shutterstock / The Conversation

By Joaquín Roy
MIAMI, Nov 9 2020 (IPS)

To believe that Biden’s triumph is the end of the drama that has unfolded since January 2016 is an example of a mirage with fatal consequences. Pretending that those more than 70 million voters who have followed Trump to the end will disappear from the map on January 20 with the inauguration of Biden and Harris reveals a blindness to how much America has changed in recent generations.

But what is even more worrisome is not the survival of the ideology of those who elevated Trump. The enigma is how did that long third of the electorate occupy a vital territory?

Numerous observers of the evolution of the American political soul raised voices of alarm in recent months. They wondered about the dangerous conversion of the United States political system into an unusual imitation of the fabric existing in other countries that had fallen into the nets of authoritarianism.

Worse still is they had been swallowed up by the extreme ideologies that appeared in Europe in the 1930s. These drove countries with a long cultural tradition to turn into totalitarian dictatorships. These voices advanced the comparison of what was happening by applying Trump’s whims, turned into policies that resembled the practical programs of the Hitler regime since 1933.

In the society of the United States at the beginning of the new century, the existence of broad sectors that felt cornered, disappointed, and isolated began to be detected. They were not the traditional enclaves of racial minorities or remnants of European immigrants who had not fully fitted into the social and economic fabric.

Joaquín Roy

They were, so to speak, “full-blooded Americans.” They saw that the American dream was beginning to turn into a hurtful nightmare, from which they could not wake up despite having faithfully complied with the report card that the system had given to their parents or grandparents.

Wages were not keeping up with the rising cost of living. Mortgages ate much of the income. If they were inhabitants of rural areas, they felt trapped by invisible borders. If they grew up with a basic education, access to college was limited by their income or the stratospheric cost of private institutions. An explanation had to be found for this apparent scam.

That was not the America, in short, that they had been promised. It was urgent to find the culprits for this fraud. In addition, it was necessary to detect the existence of new leaders who would not be that hateful and corrupt establishment in Washington.

Suddenly, they were orphans from another direction, whose space was occupied by an “outsider”, Donald Trump. He arrived pristine, without the blemish of traditional politics. It guaranteed the decontamination of the Washington swamp.

In a reasonably educated nation, it would truly be a feat to have followed the tunes of a flute player, who had revealed the causes of their misfortune. As Hitler enthralled a cultured people like the troubled interwar Germans, Trump fascinated the Americans with his simplistic solutions.

In Germany of 1930s, urban decay was attributed to the alleged capture of certain businesses by Jews. The solution began with the breaking up of the shop windows, the prohibition of certain professions, and finally imprisonment. The German people, educated and disciplined, swallowed the lie without question.

The regime accurately sold the supposed need to expand the territory by the call of the Lebensraum. The simple solution was the Anschluss of Austria, and then the bite into the ethnically German territories in Czechoslovakia. The people applauded, but did not seem satisfied: Poland had to be invaded and then respond to the Anglo-French protest with the forceful Blitzkrieg. The German people cheered, as Hitler paraded triumphantly around the Arc de Triomphe.

As Trump ascended the throne, many Americans who had been drawn to urban areas found that the neat neighborhoods of the suburbs ended up being contaminated by the invasion of racial minorities, previously hardly detected. They felt uncomfortable sharing the space with blacks and, what was more hurtful, with Hispanics, who also spoke an incomprehensible language. And most of them were accused of being drug traffickers.

The remedy from the White House was to close the border to the invaders with a wall. Trump also promised that the Mexicans themselves would pay for it. He continued by dividing the families of those who had already entered, making it difficult for them to attend university, and delaying their citizenship to the maximum.

The “lifelong Americans” were enthralled. And the Republican Party was satisfied with the renewal of its positions in the Senate. Arbitrary measures bordered on unconstitutionality. But the goal of “making America great again” became the central watchword.

In the Germany of Hitler’s rise, everything was subordinated to the very end of reestablishing or inventing the glories of the past, to the chords of a Wagner opera. The absence of questioning the sovereignty of the Fuhrer guaranteed the fulfillment of the script.

Believing itself to be the best nation in Europe justified the madness of the invasion of the Soviet Union, without realizing that such an operation caused the downfall of Napoleon. The National Socialist Party guaranteed order and the SS inherited the role of the Brown Shirts to tame the Wehrmacht that swallowed up the professional military, who had not digested the defeat of 1918 well.

The disaster that began in Stalingrad and culminated with Russian troops raising the flag at the top of the Reichstag, was riveted by Allied bombardments that left Dresden and Hamburg in ruins, populated by millions of wandering soldiers, while the furnaces were still smoking in the death camps and a million German women of all ages were raped. The sentence was so forceful that only in this way did the Germans learn their lesson and became a model of cooperation in Europe and the world.

But it is unknown how the application of the same strategy could have ended if Trump’s misrule plan had followed the same path. Now only the seventy million who have voted him to “make America great again” have remained silent. But the SS in the Republican Senate and the recent infiltrators in the Supreme Court also remain unscathed. It’s a gigantic denazification task for Biden, without Nuremberg-style trials.

The post How Did Trump Get this Far? appeared first on Inter Press Service.

A dust story in El Fasher, North Darfur. This is a natural weather phenomenon in Darfur which occurs regularly between March and July every year. It affects all aspects of daily life in the region, including airline flights. Scientists say these storms have a range of affects that are not clearly understood. Courtesy: CC By 2.0/ Mohamad Almahady, UNAMID.

By Samira Sadeque
UNITED NATIONS, Nov 9 2020 (IPS)

When sand and dust storms (SDS) rage in the Sahara Desert, more than 10,000 km away in the Caribbean Sea the very same storms have a range of effects on the 1,360 species of shorefish that populate the waters there.

According to a report released last week by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), each year about half a billion tonnes of nutrients, minerals, and organic inorganic matter is transferred to the oceans through SDS.

But as Dr. Nick Middleton, a fellow in physical geography at St Anne’s College at the University of Oxford and author of the UNEP report titled “Impacts of Sand and Dust Storms on Oceans”, told IPS, “our understanding of how dust affects marine waters is far from complete”. 

Though he added that the upcoming U.N. Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development will be an exciting opportunity to help scientists gain a better understanding of issues such as how much dust from SDS reaches the oceans. In his interview, Middleton said that this decade is an important time to consider the ways in which SDS affect issues such as biodiversity, the climate, and food systems.

“The U.N. Decade offers exciting opportunities to improve our understanding of some of these basic issues. Nobody lives permanently in the open oceans, so historically we have had to rely on scientists on ships to take measurements when and where they are able.

“Hence, the data we have on dust in the atmosphere and deposited over the oceans is patchy and sporadic at best. The use of geostationary satellites is improving our capacity to monitor dust, but there is no substitute for taking real samples at sea,” Middleton told IPS.

And as Jian Lu, Director of the Science Division at UNEP, said in the report: “Desert dust is a principal driver of oceanic primary productivity, which forms the base of the marine food web and fuels the global carbon cycle.” 

“One of the clear messages from this report is the simple fact that many aspects of the impacts of SDS on the oceans are only partially understood,” Lu said. “Despite the limited knowledge, the impacts of SDS on oceans—their ecosystem functions, goods and services—are potentially numerous and wide-ranging, thus warranting continued careful monitoring and research.”

“Many scientists predict that as our climate warms dust storms will become more frequent in certain parts of the world where the climate becomes drier and soils will be protected by less vegetation,” Middleton added. “More dust in these places will inevitably have complex feedback effects on climate and what happens in the oceans.”

Excerpts of the interview below.

Inter Press Service (IPS): Jian Liu said in the report the impacts of sand and dust storms on the oceans are only partially understood. What are some under-reported issues about the impact of sand and dust storms on oceans?

Dr Nick Middleton (NM): One aspect that needs more accurate assessment is the amount of desert dust transported to the world’s oceans each year. When they occur, we can see great plumes of dust above the oceans on satellite imagery, but we only have a rough idea of how much dust is involved. We estimate that anything between one billion and five billion tonnes of desert dust are emitted into the atmosphere by SDS every year on average. Two billion tonnes is the current best estimate, and 25 percent of that reaches the oceans, with all sorts of effects on marine ecosystems. However, most of these estimates come from computer models which are imperfect at simulating all the numerous processes involved in lifting, transporting and depositing dust to the sea.

We know that desert dust delivers some vital nutrients to the oceans, but our understanding of how dust affects marine waters is far from complete. For instance, dust probably has an impact on the energy balance in several oceans, affecting the circulation of heat and salt. These circulation regimes have implications for marine life, but our understanding of the details is hazy at best.

IPS: The U.N.  Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021–2030) is scheduled to start in 2021. What are some issues that you believe should be addressed during this time?

NM: The U.N. Decade could initiate a great leap forward in our understanding if it presided over the establishment of a network of study sites across different oceans to take long-term measurements of dust in the atmosphere and as it is deposited on the ocean surface. Buoys can be used as platforms for autonomous sampling of dust and other weather variables, and their data transmitted to researchers.

Long-term datasets are vitally important, but they cannot replace experiments conducted from ships at sea. The U.N. Decade can also promote coordinated experiments involving both atmospheric and marine measurements to address some of the processes in which desert dust is important. One such role is how iron and phosphorus carried with desert dust helps to fertilise large areas of ocean surface, and may also impact local climate.

IPS: The report establishes a link between desert dust and coral reef systems; it also suggests a potential link between disease arising from microorganisms and a decline in coral reefs worldwide. What kind of impact do sand and dust storms have on biological diversity overall, and on human life?

NM: Dust raised in SDS and transported to the oceans helps to sustain the biodiversity of large marine areas. One of the most direct effects is the incorporation of tiny dust particles into coral skeletons as they grow. Nutrients carried on desert dust particles also fuel the growth of marine microorganisms such as phytoplankton, which form the base of the marine food web.

Human society relies on fish and other products from the sea, but the fertilising effect of desert dust is also thought to have an impact on algal blooms, some of which are detrimental to economic activity and human health. Certain harmful algal blooms contain species that produce strong toxins which become concentrated up the food chain, becoming harmful to people who eat contaminated seafood.

IPS: Dust has significant impacts on weather and climate in several ways. In what ways are sand and dust storms linked to issues such as climate change? 

NM: Dust in the atmosphere affects the energy balance of the Earth system because these fine particles scatter, absorb and re-emit radiation in the atmosphere. Dust particles also serve as nuclei on which water vapour condenses, helping to form clouds, and the chemical composition of dust affects the acidity of rainfall. Dust from the Sahara is regularly transported through the atmosphere over the tropical North Atlantic Ocean where it can have a cooling effect on sea surface temperatures. In turn, the cooler sea surface changes wind fields and the development of hurricanes. A year with more Saharan dust usually translates into fewer hurricanes over the North Atlantic.

Future trends in desert dust emissions are uncertain. They will depend on changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation – how much falls, when and where.

IPS: Are there ways in which sand and dust storms have an impact (direct or indirect) on the coronavirus pandemic? 

NM: Links between sand and dust storms and the coronavirus pandemic are quite possible, but inevitably work on such potential links at an early stage. We know that SDS are a risk factor for a range of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, so someone exposed to both COVID-19 and air pollution from dust storms may experience particularly harmful effects. For instance, one recent study in Northern Italy established an association between higher mortality rates due to COVID-19 and peaks of atmospheric concentrations of small particulate matter. Saharan dust frequently contributes to poor air quality in Italy, but a direct causal link between desert dust and suffering from COVID-19 has not been established to date. There are numerous other factors to take into account.

We also know that many SDS source areas contribute many types of microorganisms (such as fungi, bacteria and viruses) to desert dust, and that these microorganisms are very resilient. SDS can also transport viruses over great distances (greater than 1,000 km), sometimes between continents. Long-range transport of desert dust has been linked to some historical dispersal/outbreak events of several diseases, including Avian influenza outbreaks in areas downwind of Asian dust storms.

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Jose Luis Coral, a farmer practicing family agriculture in Colombia. Credit: Bibbi Abruzzini, Both Nomads, a multimedia studio based in Brussels

By Bibbi Abruzzini
BRUSSELS, Nov 9 2020 (IPS)

I am speaking with Gladys and Raúl about civic space in Paraguay, when Raúl suddenly tells me about the fires. Thick smoke has reached the capital Asunción where he is based. In October, Paraguay became Dante’s Inferno.

Wildfires broke out across the country, with drought and record high temperatures drying its rivers and lands. Most of the fires concentrated in the vulnerable Chaco region in the west of the country. Though the Amazon gets most of the attention, other irreplaceable forests in Latin America are also under great threat.

According to Earthside, the dry forests of the Gran Chaco are disappearing faster than any other forests on Earth. By 2016, Paraguay had lost an area of forest larger than Switzerland. This trend accelerated again in 2019. That year, every two minutes, a patch of forest the size of a football pitch was bulldozed.

Raúl sends me a video on WhatsApp of a man burning land to clear it for cattle ranching. Studies have shown that no commodities in the world are more responsible for deforestation than Paraguayan beef and leather. And what is the main destination for leather? Some of Europe’s largest tanneries in Italy.

During undercover visits, Paraguayan tanneries bragged of supplying leather to several famous car manufacturers, including BMW models and the Range Rover Evoque.

“Everything in Paraguay has to do with the climate crisis. At the moment, the middle-class doesn’t seem to suffer as much from it, but the reality is that whether you live in the big residential area or in the countryside, just like covid, the climate crisis doesn’t discriminate, it’s going to affect us all”

“We are seeing it now in Paraguay with the fires and the extreme droughts. Some of these phenomena were cyclical and normal but now they are increasingly anomalous and profound,” says Gladys. She works at POJOAJU, the platform for NGOs in Paraguay, along with Raul.

“GDP growth doesn’t equal with sustainable development. POJOAJU the name of our organization means manos juntas (hands together). We want a horizontal cooperation, a responsible cooperation, with sustainable development at its core. We don’t need to reactivate the economy, we need to deconstruct it.”

Land-grabbing and “development done wrong”, are increasing inequalities, having disastrous effects on biodiversity, and impacting negatively on Paraguay’s indigenous peoples, the Ayoreo Totobiegosode, whose numbers include the last ‘uncontacted’ peoples in Latin America outside the Amazon.

“Indigenous people are basically being wiped out; their lands usurped. We are going backwards in terms of the environment, our mountains are burning, we are aggressing nature,” Raúl explains.

But this triggers even bigger questions: who is benefiting from the current economic and development model? If it’s difficult to influence businesses operating in Paraguay, there are some critical institutions that need to hear our voices: public development banks.

From Europe to the Americas, from Asia and Africa, these financial institutions play a crucial role. Nearly 450 public development banks controlling approximately $2 trillion in public money will convene at the Finance in Common Summit, held in Paris from November 10-12.

Activists, civil society and environmental campaigners are calling for a radical transformation, and a much less “Westernised” approach to financing for development. Public development banks must not repeat the errors of the past, they can be part of the solution.

Development at All Costs

But let’ start from the very beginning. Here’s the definition from the Cambridge Dictionary. Development: defined as the process in which someone or something grows or changes and becomes more advanced. Yet, how many of us seriously question the terms and practices linked to “development”?

Growing up in Brussels, it was a buzzword that I would often hear, moving smoothly from mouths to ears, finding a righteous place in the meeting rooms of the European bubble. “Development projects”, “development finance”, “development agency”.

Always associated with the idea of progress, of things moving inevitably forward. It echoes evolution, and the natural progression of humans towards higher goals, higher dimensions. It’s linked to expansion, to exploration, to wanting more. The term itself promises something good, something superior. Development at all costs.

Talking to communities around the world we see a dichotomy between the Development Dream, its definition, and its impact. Imagine if your house had to be destroyed for a new road to be built. Wouldn’t you and your community want to have a say before it’s too late?

This issue is linked to power, democracy and transparency and it’s a matter that touches every single one of us as citizens – whether we want to admit it or not. We don’t have to look too far. Think of the thousands of people in Italy fiercely opposing a high-speed train project to the French city of Lyon, as they see it as a waste of public funds. You probably have a development project that is affecting – maybe positively, maybe negatively – your community as you read these words.

Questions need to be asked: Where does public money go? Who decides what development looks like and why? And finally, what are the alternatives to our current development models?

“The most important thing is to get close to the reality of the people, of communities. It’s not about technological innovation or about progress, it’s about knowledge,” says Pina Huaman, from ANC, the national platform of NGOs in Peru.

“I remember being in Lima at the International Monetary Fund meeting and the presenter from Mexico was telling all participants about the Peruvian miracle of economic growth. And the first reflex we had as civil society working in the field was to ask, “what miracle are you talking about?”

In the words of Teresa, from Fundación Otras Voces in Argentina, “we need to shift from ego to eco, from power over people, to power with the people”. We cannot talk about financing for development if it’s not responsive to the needs and demands of climate, gender equality, human rights, indigenous communities and biodiversity.

Being part of the development history of a country, whether in Paraguay, Peru or Italy, comes with great responsibility. We need dialogue with communities, not impositions. Few injustices have so far-stretched repercussions as development gone wrong.

The Other Side of Development

CODE-NGO, a network of NGOs in the Philippines, has a message for public development banks meeting in Paris in a couple of days: to put “social development” first.

“Financing economic development projects is not enough; it is only one side of the coin. Financing infrastructure projects may result in economic growth, but at what cost to the only planet we live on, or to people who can be adversely affected by such projects? We can look at practices that both drive economic growth and help our planet and people live at the same time.

We can build roads that do not damage ecosystems, and we can harness sources of energy such as wind and solar power instead of burning fossil fuels that are near depletion,” says Deanie Lyn Ocampo, Deputy Executive Director at CODE-NGO.

In the Philippines, asking for different models of development is risky, many human rights defenders, journalists, civil society organisations and even local residents are stigmatized and attacked for speaking up. At least 272 environmental defenders were killed between 2001 and 2019, according to the Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment, a network of Philippine environmental organizations.

At global level, a recent Forus study conducted in 18 different countries, shows the disturbing reality of civil society facing increasingly serious restrictions on its freedom to engage, express itself and be heard.

To highlight often objectionable development approaches and insist on positive alternatives, civil society organisations published a joint statement calling on public development banks to incorporate human rights, disinvestment from fossil fuels and community-led development in the agenda and outcomes of the Finance in Common summit. Let’s start meaningfully engaging with those most affected by development activities.

If you could ask something of public development banks, what would that be? How can we promote new approaches to economic development that prioritise human rights and planetary well-being over financial interests and economic growth? How can public-private partnerships trigger the multiplying effects needed in communities? How can we create a more robust, just, ethical and equitable social-ecological economies?

We might not have all the answers, but we should at least ask these important questions.

 

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Excerpt:

Bibbi Abruzzini is communication officer at Forus International, Brussels

The post From Paraguay to Italy: Development at All Costs appeared first on Inter Press Service.

By Raghbendra Jha
CANBERRA, Australia, Nov 6 2020 (IPS)

Remittances are an essential part of economic activity in low and middle-income countries (LMIC), including those in South Asia. Because of the pandemic remittances to LMIC are expected to drop from $548 billion on 2019 to $508 billion in 2020 and $470 billion in 2021. The implied growth rates for 2020 and 2021 are -7.2% and -7.5%. For South Asia the drop will be from $140 billion in 2019 to $135 billion in 2020 and $ 120 billion in 2021 with implied growth rates of -3.6% and -10.9%.
https://www.knomad.org/publication/migration-and-development-brief-33

Raghbendra Jha

For smaller South Asian countries, remittances are an even more significant part of their economic activity. For instance, remittances account for nearly 28% of Nepal’s GDP and 8 % of Pakistan’s.
https://www.livemint.com/opinion/online-views/a-remittances-crisis-facing-south-asia-11596799996817.html

Even for India, remittances have accounted for nearly 3% of GDP in recent times. Remittances thus serve the triple purpose of augmenting resources available to households to which these transfers are made, increasing funds for investment to the extent that remittances finance investment and support the current account balances of these countries. There are large deficits in the balance of trade of most South Asian countries.

In the absence of remittances and other invisible flows, the deficits would continue to be very large, thus threatening a perpetuation of macroeconomic imbalances in these countries. The drop in remittances would thus disadvantage these economies in all these areas. At the same time, FDI flows to South Asia have dropped significantly during the first half of 2020. Short-term economic prospects do not appear sanguine for the region.

The reasons for the drop in remittances are rather straightforward. For one, economic growth has been negative for most economies (both developed and developing). The earlier optimism about a V-shaped economic recovery has all but dissipated. This has sharply increased unemployment (with no end in sight) in most of the countries that have traditionally hosted migrants. Secondly, the drop in oil prices has led to a sharp reduction in economic activity in the Gulf and other Middle-east countries where many workers from South Asia traditionally work. Accompanying this is a pandemic induced shift in labour demand in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Cooperation Council countries towards domestic workers since employment opportunities have sharply fallen. Even in OECD countries (e.g. Australia) net migration has become negative. Third, some exchange rate movements (e.g. the depreciation of the rouble against the US dollar) have led to a drop in the dollar value of remittances from Russia. These factors will be ameliorated only gradually and, even when economic activity picks up, jobs will continue to be offered first and foremost to domestic workers in most of the host countries.

The pandemic induced downturn has led to a large return of migrants to their own countries. This has caused severe disruption in the lives of these people as well as those of the families they had held behind. The World Economic Forum and other agencies have warned that this revers migration and spinoff effects have the potential of increasing poverty, under-nutrition and deprivation in most of these countries.
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/08/4-critical-steps-for-fighting-a-historic-remittance-decline-in-south-asia/

Thus, human development indicators will be badly affected in these countries.

The corona pandemic presents a complex challenge wherein the economic and public health effects of the crisis interact with each other to worsen both economic and public health outcomes. The public health crisis worsens economic outcomes, which, in turn, reduce the resources to combat the public health challenge. Addressing the challenges thrown up with respect to remittances must, therefore, wait until the incidence of the economic and public health challenges has been restrained. Once this has happened policy can intervene to improve the return flow of workers to former host countries. This can happen if migration policy and remittance policy are integrated to some extent. First, all migrants must have dual registration in the domicile and host countries. For policy purposes, a continuous record of in-migration and outward remittances should be maintained. An insurance policy to protect such workers from unscrupulous migration agents and dodgy avenues for transferring remittances should be enacted. Following from these costs of sending money through remittances should be lowered.

Although the Sustainable Development Goal (Indicator 10.c.1) is that average cost of sending $200 through remittances should be 3.8% the average cost in Q3 2020 was 6.8%. Costs are low in high traffic areas such as Middle-east to India but very high in low traffic areas such as Pakistan to Afghanistan. Furthermore, costs of sending remittances vary considerably across regions and the means used to make these transfers with bank transfers being the most expensive. Steps should be taken to harmonise these methods of transfers and to reduce the costs, if necessary by making compensating transfers to the bank accounts of intended recipients.

Raghbendra Jha, Professor of Economics and Executive Director, Australia South Asia Research Centre, Australian National University

 

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Credit: Greenpeace

By Joaquín Roy
MIAMI, Nov 6 2020 (IPS)

The election tie, whatever the end result, that has been revealed is not a temporary phenomenon. The protagonist of Trump’s resistance is not the tenant of the White House of the last four years. The real agent, although the constitutional winner is Biden, is that sector that for decades was considered an abnormality.

The harsh reality is that the general perception outside of the United States did not understand the message of 2016. And perhaps it still does not understand it now. And, worse, it will never understand it, if one does not pay attention to the peculiarities of this society, dramatized by Trump.

As soon as the glory of winning World War II faded, America’s apparent national cohesion disappeared. Some continued to believe that they had monopolized the soul of the country, founded on exceptionalism, “the light of the beacon on the hill.” But some alarm signals began to sound with the repression of the so-called Hollywood Communists.

Dissidents silenced themselves as early as the 1960s, Kennedy’s assassination was not seen as a danger to the national consensus. But an underground feeling demanded to come out of the closet. Nixon called it the silent majority. It was speechless during the Vietnam tragedy. It conveniently drugged itself with the satisfaction of the end of the Cold War… and of history.

Just then a handful of novelists had wondered as Zavalita, the secondary character in the novel by Mario Vargas Llosa “Conversation in‘ La Catedral ’”: “at what point did Peru get screwed”. Some daring commentators would try too late to allude to the reaction to the sinking of the Maine in Havana, which prompted the United States to invade further Latin America, irritating Cuban patriots. The consequence half a century later this produced the Castro Revolution.

Joaquín Roy

The Washington establishment barely flinched and believed it would recover with the end of the Cold War and also “of history”, according to the myth of Fukuyama. But that ephemeral glory failed to hide the internal problems that successive US presidents was impotent to correct. Imbalances, discrimination, marginalization, discomfort, and basic grief over the appearance of defects in the American dream were detected.

The problem was that the victims were no longer exclusively the traditional losers (black, Hispanic, native), but also components of the formerly middle layers of society. In addition, the components of the economic elite had been added.

They seemed not to be content with the tax advantages they had enjoyed. They also tried to control the political evolution without getting involved in the electoral contests, an ordinary function that they left in the hands of professionals.

The result of recent presidential elections is a clear portrait of three Americas, each in its own way believing that it has the right to be “great again,” according to Trump’s slogan. It was already noticed with Obama’s double election: the potential electorate had been sharply divided into three.

A third has stayed home, always. Another third has voted for the various Democratic Party options. The final rest has historically taken refuge in the Republicans, sheltered by that sector that does not seem to respond to specific party lines. Now it has equipped himself with all the paraphernalia that has captured half the vote in the recent elections.

But the novelty of the last decade, after the defenestration of the traditionalism of the Bushes, is not the appearance of Trump. The news is the consolidation of the leadership of the third sector that Trump has awakened. It is not a temporary phenomenon. In reality, it existed since the founding myth of the United States was questioned by that third that has remained latent, timid of prominence.

Like a sleeping princess, she lacked only the kiss of a daring prince, who was not tied to partisan conventions. It does not matter that the princess behaved like a witch to the other two-thirds of the electorate. That quirk hasn’t mattered to Trump, who has captured the role of the prince.

Whatever the official result of the elections, the truth is that the previously hidden America will continue to lurk (with more determination if Trump wins). It will press for the abandonment of the traditional alliances of the United States, it will reject any regional integration scheme (barely reduced to a functional NAFTA), it will continue to reject re-entry into UNESCO, the World Trade Organization (WTO), the World Health Organization (OMS), and it will not even pragmatically take advantage of its privileged place at the UN.

In the defense field, it will not know how to use wisely the “soft” power of military superiority, it will play dangerously with the abandonment of NATO, it could get involved in dangerous operations in the Middle East, fatally mistaking his useful allies. Continuing the bet of unconditional support for the current Israeli government would be a zero-pay bet.

Any miscalculation with China and Russia could render a high cost, especially in the face of an American society that is fed up with warlike excuses that do not reverse social returns and only fill the graves available in Arlington.

But, in the event of an effective final victory for Biden, the agenda that the new president will have to face would precisely include the latent and permanent presence of an America hitherto silent by the grace of Trump.

In this scenario, the new president will not be able to avoid the spectacle of social destruction, the division into irreconcilable factions, the urgent installation (with a residence permit tending to sublimate oneself in citizenship) of the huge groups of recent immigrants.

And in general, abroad it should be coldly understood that the new US government will not going to be radically different from what is considered essential to the practically immovable US interests. Biden will have to respond to the demands not only of his voters, but also of the reasonable interests of the country and the consequent pressures of his society.

Europe, for example, must understand that the demand for the involvement of its governments in continental defense does not respond simply to a whim of the current leader, but not to a reconstitution of the military fabric. The American society will continue to pressure its government to obtain legitimate benefits in terms of the results of the trade agreements. Therefore, it will be necessary to achieve a beneficial harmony for both parties.

Finally, Latin America must strive to present a minimum common front if it wants to obtain new advantages, not based on arbitrary decisions of temporary origin. When dealing with the United States, whether with Biden or Trump, the division will always be detrimental, especially for the interests of Latin American citizens.

 

Joaquín Roy is Jean Monnet Professor and Director of the European Union Center of the European Union at the University of Miami.

The post The Problem Is Not Trump appeared first on Inter Press Service.

As the pandemic evolves, it will be critical to ensure that young people have access to quality services for counselling and other tools for psychosocial support. | Picture courtesy: Sanlaap

By External Source
Nov 6 2020 (IPS)

COVID-19 has developed into an unprecedented public health crisis, the impact of which has been seen across global health systems and services. As the crisis continues to evolve in India, there is a need to examine the impact of the pandemic and ensuing nation-wide shutdown on young people’s lives, particularly, their experience of mental ill health.

The Dasra Adolescents Collaborative conducted a survey of 111 youth-serving organisations, working with more than 3,200,000 young people, to better understand their perspectives on the experiences of the people they serve.

One hundred and eleven youth-serving organisations shared their experiences with reported health-related concerns and challenges during the pandemic

The survey asked organisations about whether one or more of the boys and girls they work with had reported health-related concerns, challenges in obtaining services, and the variations in the incidences of these challenges, both before and after the onset of the pandemic. It also asked about actions taken, if any, to improve the situation.

This article draws on the findings from the survey, with a focus on programme implications relating to health and access to care during the lockdown.

 

Mental ill health

The United Nations has reported a rapid global rise in mental ill-health since the pandemic began. Additionally, research has indicated that prolonged quarantine periods can have a lasting negative impact on psychological well-being and, for adolescents and young people, an increased risk of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), as well as anxious and depressive symptoms. Our study concurs with these trends:

• Panic and anxiety: Sixty-seven to seventy-four percent of surveyed organisations reported that adolescent boys and girls had approached them with feelings of panic and anxiety. Forty-six percent of organisations reported that they had been approached for the first time during the lockdown by young people experiencing these symptoms.
• Sadness and depression: Seventy-four percent of organisations that worked with girls and 67 percent of those working with boys reported that young people had experienced sadness and depression for a prolonged period. Moreover, 43 percent of organisations working with girls and 36 percent of those working with boys reported that mental health concerns had only emerged among adolescents during the lockdown period.
• Suicidal ideation: As many as five to six percent of organisations reported that an incident of suicidal thought or attempted suicide had come to their attention for the first time during the lockdown. In comparison, 2-3 percent reported having been approached by a young person contemplating or attempting suicide both before and during the lockdown period.

 

To respond to young people’s need for mental health counselling, surveyed organisations undertook a variety of actions:

• Referral to a professional: Seventy-five percent ensured that field staff provided counselling and appropriate referrals to young people in need; 48 percent referred the young person to a mental health helpline operated by themselves or a partner; and 26 percent referred the young person to another facility. Only three percent of organisations reported that no action could be taken.
• Prevention and stress management: Sixty-eight percent supported the peer educators/leaders from their community to provide relevant information to, and conduct activities with, groups of young people. Additionally, 51 percent sought to build the capacities of frontline workers to better recognise and address young people’s concerns. Other interventions included preparing and distributing written material (35 percent) or apps (25 percent) on stress management and other mental health matters for the young.
• Other strategies: Seven percent of organisations adopted other strategies, such as establishing a mentoring programme, chatbot, or information centre, making referrals, and raising awareness with Panchayati Raj Institutions and community stakeholders. Responding organisations also elaborated on the usage of various COVID-19-specific toolkits for children and youth, such as this one, created by UNICEF and ChildLine India.

 

Access to health services

Large proportions of responding organisations indicated that young people experienced challenges accessing healthcare during the lockdown:

• Illnesses unrelated to COVID-19: Sixty-one percent found that young people had experienced challenges in accessing healthcare for injuries and illnesses unrelated to COVID-19 (89 percent of these organisations were able to support those in need to access timely care or reach a facility or a frontline worker).
• Menstrual health and Iron and Folic Acid (IFA) tablets: Seventy-four percent indicated that young people were unable to access, or experienced difficulties in accessing sanitary napkins. Additionally, between 35-54 percent indicated a shortage in supplies of weekly iron and folic acid supplements (WIFS). Several of these organisations observed that such shortages were experienced by young people for the first time during the lockdown.
• Contraceptives and pregnancy-related healthcare: Twenty-six to thirty percent received reports that young people were not able to access contraceptives during the lockdown period, while 52 percent reported that pregnant youth had experienced difficulty in accessing antenatal, delivery and/or post-partum care. What is notable is that many organisations reported that difficulty obtaining these services had been experienced only in the post-lockdown period and not earlier. Access to safe abortions was particularly challenging, with 12 percent of organisations receiving reports of difficulty in obtaining pregnancy termination services during the lockdown.

 

Organisations undertook various actions to combat the above-mentioned challenges.

1. Of the 81 organisations that received reports of limited access to sanitary napkins or IFA tablets:

• Forty-two percent were able to alert the authorities to provide the supplies, and 27 percent assisted functionaries in distributing the supplies.
• Forty-three percent trained youth to hygienically use cloth for menstruation and 40 percent sought to procure and distribute these supplies themselves. One responding organisation also succeeded in obtaining a free supply of sanitary napkins from the manufacturer for distribution.
• Fourteen percent of organisations however, were unable to take any action to support in obtaining sanitary napkins or IFA tablets.

2. Of those receiving reports of limited access to contraceptives or pregnancy-related services:

• Forty-nine percent alerted the authorities, 30 percent assisted healthcare providers to distribute contraceptives at the community-level, and 15 percent procured contraceptives and distributed them to young people they served.
• Ninety-five percent took action to expedite the provision of maternal and pregnancy-related care and 37 percent alerted frontline workers and other healthcare providers to take action.
• Finally, every organisation that received reports of a girl having difficulty accessing a safe abortion was able to facilitate the provision of appropriate services.

 

What needs to be done going forward

As civil society organisations continue to grapple with this crisis, some key recommendations include:

• Restore the provision of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) supplies and services: It is critical to expand service delivery mechanisms for young people, including identifying alternative routes to deliver health services. This includes allowing health services to piggyback on to private supply chains, and empowering peer educators to identify young people in need and coordinate access to supplies and services for them.
• Strengthen existing platforms for healthcare provision: Existing platforms, such as Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram’s (RKSK) community-based activities and linkages with Adolescent Friendly Health Centres (AFHCs) need to be strengthened in order to ensure that frontline workers are able to continue providing SRH information, make referrals, and distribute supplies.
• Create and implement emotional resilience programmes: As the pandemic evolves, it will be critical to ensure that young people have access to quality services for counselling and other tools for psychosocial support, as well as virtual peer group and social interactions. The RKSK’s AFHC network and trained counsellors are also a key resource in this respect.
• Provide training and capacity building for professionals: There is an urgent need to train healthcare professionals, including counsellors and frontline workers, as well as school and college teachers, to use technology to provide services digitally, and identify early warning signs for at-risk youth.
• Engage and train peer educators: Training peer educators already engaged under schemes such as Ayushman Bharat and the RKSK , as well as the organisations’ own networks of youth champions, can play a critical role in identifying early warning signs for physical and mental health issues among their peer groups, and can make referrals to relevant facilities or providers.
• Invest resources into digital or telephonic interventions: Developing new tools and maintaining existing accessible resources, such as helplines, tele-medicine resources, ‘Find A Clinic’ services, and other similar tools will ensure that young people and their families are able to access services as required.
• Build awareness of and sensitise parents: Training and sensitising parents about the needs of adolescents is essential, ensuring that they are able to communicate openly and non-judgementally, thereby supporting young people to fulfil their sexual and reproductive health and mental health needs.

Insights gathered from this study indicate that young people’s health has been severely affected by the pandemic and is in need of urgent attention from all stakeholders. There is a critical need to act upon these recommendations, ensuring that we work towards protecting and addressing the needs of the young, to ensure that adolescents and youth across the country meet and live up to their full potential.

 

Sucharita Iyer works at Dasra’s Knowledge Creation and Dissemination team.

Shireen Jejeebhoy is Director at Aksha Centre for Equity and Wellbeing.

Nitya Daryanani is part of Dasra’s Adolescents Collaborative team, where she drives efforts on thought leadership by bringing together a range of perspectives around adolescents in India.

 

This story was originally published by India Development Review (IDR)

The post India: How Did Young People Access Care During the Lockdown? appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Zimbabwe’s political parties are engaged in internal processes to choose representatives for positions that range from district coordinating committees to local councils and by-elections for vacant legislative seats. But the process has been marred by violence and verbal attacks by competing candidates. This dated photos show voters queuing to cast ballots. Credit: Taurai Maduna/IPS

By Ignatius Banda
BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe, Nov 6 2020 (IPS)

“I have long given up on active politics,” Gertrude Sidambe, a 36-year-old member of one of Zimbabwe’s opposition parties, tells IPS.

When female members of the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front complained last month about political violence as male members chose brawn over brains to solicit for positions, the party’s National Secretary for Women’s Affairs Mabel Chinomona advised that they enter the punch-and-insult battlefield and “fight” like everyone else. 

The violence has pushed women further away from the bruising contests. Yet it has become another reminder of the country’s commitments – or lack thereof – toward gender inclusivity and parity and the conditions women face in their aspirations for political office.

“At one time I was confident my many years in the forefront would culminate in running for public office but that never happened, and that’s not because I did not try. Everyone appeared to think men could do a better job,” Sidambe says.

She made the comments at a time when Zimbabwe’s political parties are engaged choosing representatives for positions that range from district coordinating committees to local councils and by-elections for vacant legislative seats.

Sidambe’s disillusion with party politics is not unusual or isolated.

The main opposition Movement for Democratic Change Alliance (MDC-A) has also not been spared.

The party has put in motion internal processes to elect representatives who will contest for vacant parliamentary and local council positions once the government lifts the moratorium on by-elections because of coronavirus fears.

Last month, government was taken to court by female aspiring candidates challenging the indefinite suspension of the by-elections.

The court action is being supported by the Women’s Academy for Leadership and Political Excellence (WALPE), a local NGO lobbying for the equal representation of women in public leadership positions.

According to WALPE, there are 35 vacant parliamentary seats, while 55 local council wards are yet to be filled and the suspension of the by-elections “violates people’s rights to be represented whoever they want”.

Meanwhile, MDC-A prospective female candidates have complained of being sidelined, amid developments that male candidates were running in positions that had previously been agreed to be reserved for a female candidate.    

“It has been normalised that women are mobilisers for male candidates, but there comes a time when you become tired and just quit after you ask yourself ‘what’s in it for me?’” Sidambe says, highlighting a recurring motif each time the Zimbabwe’s political parties prepare for elections.

Priscilla Misihairambwi-Mushonga, an opposition legislator in Zimbabwe, says there are no binding codes of conduct within political parties regarding gender parity and this has allowed the pushing of women to the periphery of political participation.

“There are simply no internal party rules that ensure political parties live up to their proclamations for women to be part of leadership,” Misihairambwi-Mushonga tells IPS.

“Political parties are operating without rules. It is a law of the jungle, there are no codes of conduct that are sanctionable. It’s just words and they are not accountable to anybody,” she says.

The internal processes of Zimbabwe’s main political parties reflect the skewed balance in national political leadership where in 2018 elections, out of 210 parliamentary seats, 26 were taken by women.

This is despite Zimbabwe’s commitment to the Southern African Development Community’s Declaration on Gender and Development which seeks 50-50 representation of men and women in parliament.

A 2018 report by the International Foundation for Electoral Systems titled Violence Against Women in Elections in Zimbabwe, found that women “fear both profound physical violence in their relation to their electoral participation”.

The report further notes that women who make it to parliament are not safe either.

“Even once elected to parliament, women cannot escape degrading commentary; ‘a woman still cannot question an MP without being told [her] thighs are too big.’ If she is unmarried, she is accused of entering politics to find a husband. ‘If she can’t run a household, how can she run a constituency?’” the report says, citing interviews from respondents. 

Smart Mabweazara, a researcher and academic at the University of the Western Cape in South Africa, believes perceptions about political participation of women need to change.

“Women are typically afraid of this male dominated playground where some perceive their participation as a waste time,” he tells IPS, echoing sentiments of young political hopefuls such as Sidambe.

However, Misihairambwi-Mushonga notes that this has been perpetuated by a lack of hard and fast rules that would impose punishment on political political parties.

“There is no recourse for women who have such complaints within those political parties.

“As it is, it not surprising that political parties are doing what they are doing because they know there are no hurtful sanctions for that kind behaviour,” Misihairambwi-Mushonga tells IPS.

One way to balance the scales and protect women in Zimbabwe from exclusion in political positions is to create stiffer penalties for political parties, Misihairambwi-Mushonga says.

“Parties already in parliament can be punished through political party financing by giving more to political parties that have more women candidates and punish the party with few women. There must be a reason for good behaviour and pay dearly for bad behaviour,” she says.

In February this year, the United Nation’s Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women “called on Zimbabwe to improve implementation of laws and compliance with the U.N. conventions,” while pointing to the “huge gap between the excellent text (of the country’s Constitution) and its application”.

As part of efforts to highlight the dearth of women in public office, the Women’s Academy for Leadership and Political Excellence (WALPE) launched a web drama series titled “All Female Parliament” on Oct. 13.

The drama’s brief says among other things, it aims to encourage “women and girls to be bold and take up leadership positions. It brings out how against all odds women came together, resisted patriarchy and worked together for the betterment of the country”.

“Political parties are insincere about the inclusion and participation of women. They make is hard for women,” Batanai Gwangwawa, WALPE programme manager, tells IPS.

“The electoral environment is also very violent which makes women shy away from political participation. Where a woman defies the system, she will still have face other challenges men do not face. Women aspiring candidates are subjected to verbal abuse at the highest level, and more now misogyny,” she says.

Zimbabwe’s holds national general elections in 2023 but with political jostling coming early with the internal elections within political parties, there is little to show that the scales will be tipped in favour of women. 

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The post Punches & Insults: Why Zimbabwe’s Women Candidates Want to Change the Political Playing Field appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Africa has made some great strides in food production over the last decade even though it continues to be a huge net food importer. Credit: Busani Bafana/IPS .

By Mavis Mavis Owureku-Asare
ACCRA, Nov 6 2020 (IPS)

When it comes to food security, the challenge is not always about producing more – it’s also about quality: producing food that is wholesome and preserved safely.

About 690 million people go hungry each year. The COVID-19 pandemic is expected to add between 83-132 million people to this number based on socio-economic factors. Even before the pandemic, about half of Africa’s citizens were food insecure. And much of Africa’s food is of low quality or lost before it even reaches the consumer.

Africa has made some great strides in food production over the last decade even though it continues to be a huge net food importer to the tune of $47 billion in 2018. But this pandemic has halted successes chalked in fighting poverty and disease and progress towards reaching the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

COVID-19 is not the only challenge. In the past year, Africa has grappled with locust swarms, droughts, flooding and conflicts which have slashed livelihoods and brought hunger to many in the region.

Resilient systems need efficient storage and production processes. Post-COVID-19 Africa must invest in appropriate  storage technology which  is lacking in most developing nations and this causes unnecessary waste and considerable loss to their economies

Restrictions on movement during lockdown also impact on commodities like seeds, fertilizers and farming implements which has, in turn, led to decreased food production. Many crops were not readily accessible and farmers struggled to get their produce to markets. And then, adding to the crisis, the continent’s poor storage facilities were not up to scratch.

COVID-19 showed the fault lines in our food production systems and this has compromised the livelihoods of millions of farmers. Food systems on the continent – including production, storage and processing, distribution and transportation, retailing and promotion – are dominated by traditional methods which are vulnerable to unexpected crises.

The Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP), one of African Union’s continental frameworks under Agenda 2063, urges African governments to increase investment for agriculture by allocating at least 10% of national budgets to achieve agricultural growth rates of at least 6% per annum.

Also in the declaration on Food security and Nutrition during the Covid-19 pandemic, African ministers of agriculture committed to putting in place measures that will reduce food post-harvest losses and make more food available in the markets.

Now, as countries struggle to recover from the impact of the pandemic, there is the need for an action plan to consolidate efforts at these policies.

Past interventions for Africa have focused on food production through improvement on crop varieties and yield. But we are not living in normal times. We must do more than simply look at production.

Dr Mavis Owureku-Asare

Resilient systems need efficient storage and production processes. Post-COVID-19 Africa must invest in appropriate storage technology which is lacking in most developing nations and this causes unnecessary waste and considerable loss to their economies.

For example, it is estimated that 60–70% of food grains produced in developing nations are stored in traditional structures either in threshed or unthreshed at the home. However, most traditional methods of grain storage practices are peculiar to certain cultures or societies.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation, 30% of food is lost in the supply chain every year and this figure can go as high as 50% for Africa. In Ghana the government is aiming at building silos in various farming communities and providing technologies such as irradiation that will be used to manage, process and store food for future use.

We can increase food security by ensuring that most of what we produce is well preserved and reaches the consumer instead of being spoiled or dumped.

The world’s population is estimated to grow to 9 billion by 2050, with Africa contributing more than half of that increase. Food availability must increase by up to 70% if we want to feed that population. However, instead of producing more, we could strengthen our supply chain to ensure that we preserve most of what we grow to meet the needs of our people.

The primary problem of sub-saharan Africa, for example, is not insufficient production levels. A 2011 World Bank report estimated Africa grain losses at USD$4 billion – a loss which could feed 1.6 billion people each year.

These losses are as a result of improper post harvest handling including drying where farmers rely on traditional sun drying. Using this method can facilitate the growth of the fungi which produces aflatoxin that compromises the quality of our foods. High aflatoxins are associated with cancer, especially liver cancer which has been widely reported in some African countries and Southeast Asia. Complimenting agronomic practices, rapid and proper drying, sorting, and grain processing reduces aflatoxin contamination to some extent.

This year’s World Food Day under the theme “Grow, nourish, sustain together” was a reminder that African governments should strive to build future food systems that provide affordable and healthy diets for all.

In order for Africa to position itself to handle another epidemic, we must begin to put in place robust and modernized storage systems, promote food processing and stockpiling food reserves to ensure stability in demand and supply.

As Africa strives for food security, we should not let food safety be bargained for food accessibility.

The post Growing Resilient Food Systems Post Covid Is Key for Africa appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Excerpt:

Dr Mavis Owureku-Asare is a food scientist in Ghana and a 2020 Aspen New Voices fellow

The post Growing Resilient Food Systems Post Covid Is Key for Africa appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Masked UN officials at the General Assembly podium. Credit: United Nations

By Antonio Guterres
UNITED NATIONS, Nov 6 2020 (IPS)

As we navigate the COVID-19 pandemic response, I would like to assure you once again that the health and safety of personnel and delegates continues to be our number one priority.

Numerous measures have been taken to protect personnel and delegates in the workplace environment. These measures are comprehensive and strong and are regularly monitored.

However, efforts to prevent the spread of the virus and to mitigate the risks within the premises of the United Nations will require the cooperation of everyone.

In light of the COVID-19 cases reported last week at United Nations Headquarters in New York, I would like to outline the standard operating procedures that we followed and will continue to follow should we have positive cases among delegates or personnel who have been on the premises.

In circumstances where we receive information that United Nations personnel or delegates have tested positive for COVID-19 and might have accessed the United Nations premises on the day or days leading up to the diagnosis, the United Nations Medical Services will immediately initiate contact tracing to arrange testing and provide necessary support.

All personnel and delegates who may have found themselves in the vicinity of the infected individual(s) on the United Nations premises will be provided with medical advice and a viral PCR test under the United Nations Headquarters testing programme.

If required, a recommendation will be made for in-person meetings to be suspended until such time as the extent of the exposure becomes clear.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have recorded 5,660 lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases among the United Nations system civilian and military personnel and their dependents across all duty stations and locations.

A number of medical and other support measures have been put in place to protect our personnel in the field as they continue our critical operations. To date, we have registered 132 lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases among United Nations personnel and their dependents in New York.

None of the personnel had been in the building during the exposure period and therefore could not have infected other individuals at the workplace. We therefore have no reported cases of workplace transmission in New York.

As part of our reintegration plan, the United Nations Headquarters complex in New York has a range of cleaning protocols in place to ensure strict hygiene standards. These measures include the regular cleaning of all areas of the building, the cleaning and disinfection of frequently touched surfaces on a daily basis, the availability of hand sanitizers on every floor and in common areas, as well as the cleaning and sanitizing of conference rooms and interpretation booths, including earphones and other equipment before and after usage.

The ventilation system has been reconfigured to include the maximum amount of fresh air intake possible, and to increase air turnover. This includes extended periods of “flushing” the HVAC system twice a day and the installation of additional filtering capability.

Major entry/exit doors and hallway doors will be kept open, subject to fire and security restrictions. Where possible, larger areas and corridors have been marked for traffic flow.

We will continue to assess all in-person meeting requests and be guided by medical advice to minimize the potential risk to all participants. It is our individual and collective responsibility to respect and abide by the risk mitigation procedures.

For meetings taking place on site, and in order to minimize risks associated with indoor gatherings, all personnel and delegates are expected to wear face coverings at all times when in public spaces and common areas, as well as to maintain physical distancing in order to keep themselves and others as safe as possible.

Additionally, by swiping their valid United Nations identification cards upon entering the United Nations Headquarters premises, personnel and delegates will be confirming that they meet the following requirements:

• no COVID-19 symptoms in the past 14 days;
• no positive COVID-19 test in the past 14 days; and
• no close contact with a confirmed or suspected COVID-19 case in the past 14 days.

As we enter the flu season, it is even more important to stay vigilant and to protect ourselves, our communities, and each other. Influenza and COVID-19 have similar symptoms, such as fever, chills, cough, fatigue, and muscle aches. Both pose a risk to our health.

Any individuals who have symptoms, feel unwell or have been in contact with individuals who have shown symptoms, are advised to stay at home and not come to the United Nations premises until a primary care physician has confirmed that it is safe to do so.

Any individuals who start feeling unwell with flu or COVID-19-like symptoms while at the United Nations premises, are advised to immediately return to their residence, self-isolate in accordance with local requirements, and seek medical care from a primary health-care provider.

Personnel and delegates are encouraged to contact the United Nations COVID-19 helpline (212 963 9999) for assistance.

Testing for COVID-19 can be arranged by contacting the United Nations Headquarters Clinic (212 963 7090 or unhqclinic@un.org) or the Division of Health-care Management and Occupational Safety and Health (DHMOSH) at osh@un.org.

All such approaches will be handled with full confidentiality and privacy. DHMOSH has access to its own mobile COVID-19 testing capacity, enabling samples to be taken in the home, usually with results within 48-72 hours.

This service is also available to delegates and personnel, as well as to their household members. Additionally, testing locations are available to the general public.

Thank you for your continued support and flexibility during these challenging times as we work together to keep each other safe and well.

 

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The post UN Takes Preventive Measures Following 5,660 Lab-Confirmed COVID-19 Cases System-Wide appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Excerpt:

Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, in a message to UN staffers worldwide

The post UN Takes Preventive Measures Following 5,660 Lab-Confirmed COVID-19 Cases System-Wide appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Work and reforms of the UN ‘at risk’, Antonio Guterres warned Member States, amidst ‘record-level’ cash crisis, October 2020. Credit: UN Photo/Rick Bajornas. The UN Secretariat building in New York

By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS, Nov 5 2020 (IPS)

When the United Nations was struggling to cope with a cash crisis back in April 1996, one of the many drastic measures it undertook was to cut down on its staff.

So, it took the path of corporate America, and ironically, for a cash-strapped institution, it offered a “golden handshake”—a severance pay of about $80,000 dollars each — to those who would voluntarily leave the near-bankrupt Organization.

And as immortalized in the title of Woody Allen’s 1969 Hollywood comedy hit: about 400 staffers decided to “take the money and run”.

Fast forward to October 2020.

In today’s context, says one Asian diplomat, the UN is not in a position to offer such hefty golden handshakes even to some of the highest-ranking officials –if they do volunteer to quit.

A “liquidity crisis” triggered by late or non-payment of assessed contributions by 61 member states—amounting to a staggering $5.1 billion shortfall — is now threatening to undermine both the mandate and world-wide operations of the Organization.

As of 2 November 2020, only 132 Member States (out of 193), have paid their regular budget assessments in full, according to the latest UN figures.
https://www.un.org/en/ga/contributions/honourroll.shtml

The warnings about the current cash crisis have come from three directions: from Secretary-General Antonio Guterres; from the President of the General Assembly Volkan Bozkir; and from the 134-member Group of 77, the largest single coalition of developing countries in the world body.

When he introduced a proposed programme budget for 2021 in mid-October, Guterres warned that “the liquidity crisis has not abated and severely hampers the Organization’s ability to fulfil its obligations to the people we serve”.

“At this crucial time for our work, it bears repeating that the Organization can only deliver on its mandates if Member States meet their financial obligations in full and on time”, he declared.

The responsibility for day-to-day operations, currently under threat, falls squarely on the shoulders of an estimated global staff of about 32,417, according to the latest figures from the Chief Executives Board for Coordination, while the Secretariat staff in New York is estimated at over 3,000.

Prisca Chaoui, Executive Secretary of the 3,500-strong Staff Coordinating Council at the UN Office at Geneva (UNOG), told IPS: “Indeed management informed us they won’t allow extensions of contracts for more than two years, whereas the current rules allow for an extension up to 5 years.”

They have clearly indicated they wanted to reduce the liability of the organization, she said, pointing out there is a current “recruitment freeze which means nobody can be recruited and nobody can be promoted because of the liquidity crisis.”

“What we know is that there is an acute liquidity crisis but nobody has spoken yet about a financial crisis but we feel it is coming,” she added.

All this is due to the fact that member states are facing economic turmoil, and it goes without saying that paying the UN won’t be their priority, she argued.

She also complained: “We regret that the budget cycle has moved from two years to one year making the organization negotiate the budget on a yearly basis. Before, we had two-year budget cycles, and this was more secure than the current situation, whereby the budget has to be negotiated every year”.

“While we understand the difficulties the Organization is facing, we don’t agree on the attempts to make UN staff become like corporate employees. This goes against the principles of how independent civil servants function”, declared Chaoui.

Guy Candusso, a former First Vice-President of the New York UN Staff Union, told IPS “with all the uncertainty in the world now, I am not optimistic in the near term.”

In the long term, he said, the financial crisis will most likely work itself out. “In the meantime, I believe all staff will suffer and bear the burden of the cuts when the money runs out,” he noted.

When he introduced the “buy-out” early retirement programme back in 1996, Joseph Connor, Under-Secretary-General for Administration and Management, said “there are too many people in this Organization doing the same job for 20 years.”

Connors told reporters the United Nations had set aside about 15 million dollars for the buyout programme, under which the Secretariat had said goodbye to 400 employees. With more staffers expected to leave, he said, another 15 million dollars would be sought through savings in the budget to allow for “early separation.”

The severance pay, averaging about 80,000 dollars each, was based mostly on the number of years put in by staffers.

Asked whether he was concerned that some of the best staffers might be the ones accepting voluntary severance, Connor said that in such cases, then Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali would use his discretion and reject requests, as he has done in the past.

Speaking on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, Megayla Austin of Guyana told the UN’s Administrative and Budgetary Committee (also known as the Fifth Committee) last month, the G-77 notes the efforts of Member States in fulfilling their financial obligations while overcoming the economic and financial difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, “the Group also notes that the total amount of outstanding contributions and peacekeeping assessments exceeds 5.1 billion US dollars, as of September 30, with the majority from one single Member State”.

That single member state has been identified as the United States, the biggest single contributor to the UN budget.

Volkan Bozkir, President of the 75th Session of the General Assembly said October 28: “I could not address you today without touching on the important issue of the UN’s financial situation”.

The Secretary-General has, “on several occasions, expressed to me concern about the financial situation of the UN and its ability to meet its ongoing financial obligations. I share these concerns and urge all Member States to pay their dues in full and on time”.

During the high-level fortnight, he pointed out, the message from world leaders was clear: “International cooperation and effective multilateral action is essential to confront the pandemic. So, the United Nations needs a predictable financial basis to do that.”

Besides day-to-day operations, the UN may also lack funds for the implementation of its mandates.

When Guterres presented the proposed 2021 budget, he said: “to fully implement the mandates entrusted to us, the UN will require a total of $2.99 billion, which represents a net reduction of 2.8 per cent compared to last year, despite additional initiatives and mandated activities”. This includes a net decrease of 25 posts.

Richard Ponzio, Senior Fellow and Director of the Stimson Center’s Just Security 2020 Program, told IPS Member States have a legal responsibility to pay their mutually agreed, assessed dues on time and in full each year.

“The world body’s severe financial crisis of recent years hampers its urgent, life-saving work, which has only intensified with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic”.

The United States and other countries that fail in their international treaty responsibilities are also failing to demonstrate leadership beyond their borders at a time of acute international need, he added.

Barbara Adams, chair of the board of Global Policy Forum, told IPS: “As you know this is not the first time the UN has been held hostage to over-dependence on one contributor.”

She said sustainable funding is essential if the other propositions and system-wide reform proposals are to have any success. However, the current patterns of funding are insufficient both in quantity and in quality.

“Sustainable funding is crucial for the ability of the UN to do what it was set up to do, but more pertinently, it is necessary to disconnect and break the current patterns that are dominated by a few large donors, and the way in which they are influencing decision-making, agenda setting and shaping priorities and skewing implementation across the system,” said Adams, a former Associate Director of the Quaker United Nations Office in New York (1981–1988).

Meanwhile, four member states have requested– and granted– exemptions under Article 19 of the Charter for the inability to pay their dues because of financial constraints.

The General Assembly agreed to the exempt Comoros, Sao Tome and Principe and Somalia from paying the full minimum amount necessary to avoid the application of Article 19 of the Charter because of “conditions beyond their control”.

As a result, all four countries will not be penalized, and permitted to vote in the General Assembly, until the end of its 75th session next year.

The writer can be contacted at thalifdeen@aol.com

 

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By External Source
Nov 5 2020 (IPS)

The COVID-19 pandemic has precipitated a migration from physical work spaces in many sectors of the economy to online, digital services, supported by staff working from home. Parts of the economy such as mining, manufacturing and hospitality still require workers to be physically present. But other sectors have discovered that virtual platforms are effective substitutes for offices.

Online, however, requires digital infrastructure and services in information and communication technology (ICT). Digital infrastructure is essential to meet the new demand for virtual services as quickly and cheaply as possible. On top of this the potential of digital technologies to support economic growth is apparent. Many developing countries have comprehensive national strategies and initiatives to foster data mining, digital intelligence, e-government and e-commerce. These include India and China.

For South Africa, the focus must be on the development of a universally accessible data and digital public infrastructure. This should include high speed broadband (more than 100 Mbytes per second), and support for domestic digital firms and entrepreneurs. This should be done through public procurement processes aimed at improving government services

A number of countries have successfully harnessed the digital revolution to enable broader socio-economic development. But South Africa has fallen behind. It has slid down the International Telecommunications Union’s Information Society Index. The index measures countries’ evolution towards becoming information societies based on three measures: readiness, intensity and impact. For instance, readiness is measured through indicators of access and skills. The 2018 index places South Africa 104th out of 144 countries in terms of access to fixed broadband, down from 77th in 2002.

So what’s gone wrong?

The “managed” liberalisation of the incumbent telecommunications provider, Telkom, has been ill-fated. The idea was that this would accelerate the development of the sector and enable affordable access to communication services. But broadband speeds are 10% of those in countries such as South Korea and Singapore.

South Africa has a suitable policy framework and the skills necessary for a digital transformation. But instead of opening the fixed line market, the privatisation of Telkom resulted in a listed company with a protected monopoly. Together with a weak and ineffectual regulator, Telkom successfully prevented the licensing of a second network operator. It also blocked steps towards healthy competition. This included refusing to support local loop unbundling and the sharing of the fixed line infrastructure.

In a recent policy research paper we set out how the local digital industry can be stimulated. We address the question: does South Africa need new instruments, or can traditional policies suffice?

 

Failures and successes

The 2013 National Broadband Policy, known as “South Africa Connect”, is seen as a competent guide for South Africa’s digital development. For instance, the World Bank’s Broadband Commission for Digital Development remarked that

South Africa Connect provides an excellent example of a policy which focuses on both supply-side and demand-side considerations.

But a number of factors have got in the way of digital transformation.

One was lack of continuity in the political and administrative leadership of the national ICT portfolio. Between 2009 and 2018 South Africa had 11 different ministers responsible for telecommunications. In the same time, it had only four presidents.

Another was the ill-considered splitting of the ICT portfolio over two departments under the previous administration. This caused divergence between telecommunication, broadcasting and information technology and hindered the progress of South Africa Connect.

A third factor was a conflict of interest between the regulator and the state as the major shareholder of Telkom. The Department of Communication was the custodian of the state’s share in the privatised Telkom. But it was also responsible for the policy and regulatory environment in which the company operated.

And finally, it is reported that political appointments in key agencies such as ICASA (the regulator) and the Universal Service and Access Agency of South Africa have limited capacity.

Despite the governance issues, South Africa has achieved some notable successes.

For example, it has created a world class research and education network. The South African National Research Network provides gigabit per second networking to all South African institutions of higher learning as well as science councils and national research facilities.

The model is based on aggregating demand from similar users and buying long term high capacity leased line or dark fibre network capacity on a competitive basis from network operators. It combines this with a policy of always buying bandwidth levels based on future and unanticipated requirement levels.

This has been key to its success. The network has been central to the digitalisation of higher education. It now plays a vital role in the sector’s migration to online platforms. The graphs below show how the lockdown disrupted the network’s usual support for internet traffic, leading to a massive migration to commercial networks.

SANReN’s support for Internet Traffic

Screenshot

 

Screenshot.

 

What’s needed

The key is to have a policy that is a mixture of supply- and demand-side interventions. Supply-side measures reduce costs for firms. Demand-side refers to policies that stimulate demand.

On the supply side, the state needs to invest in a low-cost, high-speed and universally accessible data transmission infrastructure. This should be coupled with support for domestic digital firms and entrepreneurs through public procurement processes aimed at improving government services.

Estonia is a good example of how a combination of policies can enable an advanced digital economy. On the demand side, the government has ensured decentralisation, interconnectivity, integrity, open platform, once-only and transparency. The open platform principle ensures that any institution can use the infrastructure. Once-only ensures that users are never asked to enter the same information twice.

Estonia’s approach resulted in a different architecture from the US. There the emphasis has been on personalisation, anonymity, information privatisation, and competitive efficiency.

Aspects of the Estonian model rely on high levels of trust between private individuals and digital firms. It is also underpinned by an advanced capable state and a highly skilled workforce. These factors make it difficult for other countries to replicate.

 

Way forward

Developing countries need to be highly strategic in the development of their domestic digital industry. For example, developed countries like the US are capable of forcing an agenda on developing countries that permits the appropriation of local data, allows unrestricted repatriation of profits and prevents technology transfer.

Another important factor is that governments’ interventions in the digital space must be proportional to their technological capability. A capable state can be intimately involved and direct digital development. But where there is limited technological capability the focus should be on creating an enabling environment. This would include ensuring a level playing field, creating an open market, promoting healthy competition and providing the appropriate regulatory framework.

For South Africa, the focus must be on the development of a universally accessible data and digital public infrastructure. This should include high speed broadband (more than 100 Mbytes per second), and support for domestic digital firms and entrepreneurs. This should be done through public procurement processes aimed at improving government services.

A number of other steps should be taken too. The first is to develop the skills for data mining and digital intelligence. The second is to put in place the regulatory framework to support systems for secure but low-cost e-transactions. The final step is to prevent the private appropriation of public data by global corporations.

David Richard Walwyn, Professor of Technology Management, University of Pretoria and Laurens Cloete, PhD candidate, University of Pretoria

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

The post South Africa Has Failed to Harness the Digital Revolution: How It Can Fix the Problem appeared first on Inter Press Service.

A family runs across a dusty street in Herat, Afghanistan. Credit: UNAMA/Fraidoon Poya

By Zarqa Yaftali
KABUL, Afghanistan, Nov 5 2020 (IPS)

Bullets, bombs, tyranny and torture. Children crying for food, civilians struggling to survive, women unable to walk out of their homes freely. When we are not under siege from bombs and landmines, ordinary Afghans suffer from hunger, natural hazards and poverty.

Every day is a war and every day people lose their lives. This is Afghanistan today – and a reality too many around the world can relate to.

The conflict in Afghanistan has taken a particular toll on women and girls. Over half the population lives below the poverty line and this has hit women the hardest. 70% of Afghan women are illiterate, 87% of Afghan women have already experienced at least one form of gender-based violence, 35% of girls are forced to marry before the age of 18, and women and girls are less likely to have access to quality health services and treatment, particularly in rural areas.

Women and children make up the majority of four million internally displaced people. All these issues have only worsened with the spread of COVID-19.

In addition, our civil society is threatened, harassed and attacked and no measures exist for their protection. In mid-September, the US Embassy in Kabul reported an increased risk for women, including human rights activists and women in government.

Despite these challenges, my people have also worked tirelessly to change this country for the better. Today, many of our girls can go to school without fear. We have heroes like Shamsia, the daughter of a coal miner, who came first in Afghanistan’s national university entrance exam.

We have a free media and a constitution that protects the rights of women and ethnic and religious minorities. Women are no longer publicly shot or stoned in Kabul stadiums, imprisoned in their homes or forced to wear burqas or shoes that make no noise, like they were 20 years ago.

Today, Afghan women are gaining respect and recognition as they begin to flourish in all walks of life, as doctors, taxi drivers and film-makers. Women in Afghanistan are also ministers, women who, under the Taliban regime, were deprived of the most basic rights to education, employment and freedom of movement. Today, they are in a position to influence policy and shape the future of our nation.

Much of this change is only due to the role women played in advocating for their rights over the past two decades. Women’s increasing participation in public and political life has changed harmful social norms and expectations around our role in Afghanistan. Afghan society today is ready to see women lead this country into the future.

Despite the great strides we have made, we know our hard-won gains can be snatched away without warning. The bitter memories of Taliban rule haunt us daily. These experiences are still a reality for many women and girls living in areas controlled by the Taliban, where few girls are allowed to attend school past puberty, access to information is limited and freedom of expression is severely curtailed.

After extensive delays to the Intra-Afghan talks, the official start in September is indeed a milestone. The presence of four women on the government’s negotiation team is a positive development, but it is not enough. Afghanistan’s track record for including women is dismal — between 2005 and 2020, women were excluded from almost 80% of peace process meetings and negotiations.

Given the deep-rooted resistance by the Taliban to women’s formal inclusion in past processes, and the recent attack targeting one of the women on the government’s negotiating team, we are deeply concerned that women’s rights will be used as a bargaining chip between the Taliban and the Government of Afghanistan. This would undermine our fundamental rights and ignore our important contributions to the future of this country.

Peace cannot come at the cost of women’s rights. All we have achieved hangs in the balance in the current negotiations between the Taliban and the Afghan government.

We are urging the international community, including global and regional institutions, UN Member States and donor countries, to exercise your responsibility to ensure that none of the parties involved, including the Taliban, restrict women’s human rights, civil liberties or citizenship in any way.

Political pressure from the international community can be effectively used to promote the protection of women’s rights and our formal and direct participation in the talks and the subsequent state-building processes. The widespread and meaningful participation of women in the peace process is essential both for peace and for the fate of Afghan women.

At the UN Security Council this week, I, on behalf of the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security made specific demands – for leaders to use their influence in this key decision-making space to emphasize and complement the work women leaders are doing on the frontlines around the globe.

We asked them to demand an immediate ceasefire, insist on women’s rights and participation as part of inclusive peace talks, ensure the safety of women’s rights defenders – and more.

20 years of commitments and resolutions by the Security Council have not substantially changed the reality for women in Afghanistan – or in Yemen, Syria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan — in fact, in every country on the Security Council’s agenda.

Even the modest gains over the last 20 years are under attack. We are watching as women’s rights, health, equality and inclusion are being dangerously undermined. We must hold the line – and our leaders accountable to do the same.

Just last week, civil society and defenders of women’s rights were able to avert an unnecessary and potentially dangerous Security Council resolution led by Russia. Women leaders and our allies watch closely how leaders act in these moments to see what support we can expect as we face challenges to equality and inclusion in our own countries.

We were once again forced to hope that those in positions of power will wield it for good and demonstrate they are in lock step with the women who have earned the power to lead and push for peace in their communities. Our rights shouldn’t still be up for debate, but we were relieved to see our community and the majority of Member States on the Security Council hold the line against the erosion of women’s rights, inclusion and equality.

Although women have long suffered from war, violence, and exclusion, we are not victims — we have fought back for decades for our rights, and we will not sit by and watch our achievements be thrown away. It is equally the responsibility of the international community to stand with the women of Afghanistan and around the world as we demand our seat at the table, and a future that is safe, equal, and just.

 

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Excerpt:

Zarqa Yaftali is a women’s rights advocate from Afghanistan and Executive Director of the Women and Children Legal Research Foundation. She represented the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security at the recent UN Security Council Open Debate on Women, Peace and Security.

The post Women in War-Ravaged Afghanistan Fight Back for Their Rights appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Rita Raja, pictured here with her children, holds up photos of her 13-year-old who had allegedly been abducted and forced to covert her religion and marry her 44-year-old Muslim neighbour. Credit: Zofeen T. Ebrahim/IPS

By Zofeen Ebrahim
KARACHI, Pakistan, Nov 4 2020 (IPS)

October 13 began like any other day at the Lal house as Raja Lal and his wife Rita Raja left for work at 7:30 am.

“I made the usual breakfast of anda paratha (egg and flat bread) and told my eldest to lock the door from inside,” Raja, who works as an ayah in a school, told IPS. Their 13-year old daughter, the youngest of their four children, did not go to school that day as her school shoes no longer fit and her parents hadn’t bought her a new pair yet.

Little did they know that that day was the beginning of a nightmare for the Lal household. Their daughter would then allegedly be “abducted, forcefully converted and married in just one day”, Lal, a Christian, told IPS.

“My other two daughters saw [her] leave the house and thought she had taken the dog out at around 9:00 am,” narrated Raja. “But when she still hadn’t returned an hour later, they got anxious and called nearby relatives. They looked everywhere and then called us.”

Lal went to the police to report his daughter missing. According to Raja, “they did nothing” and two days later they handed Lal his daughter’s marriage certificate.

In a video shared over social media, the teenager claimed she converted to Islam of her free will and consented to marriage to her 44-year-old Muslim neighbour Azhar Ali.

Forced conversion of young girls has been going on for decades, Safina Javed, Vice President Pakistan Minority Rights Commission, Sindh chapter, told IPS. “Every year nearly a thousand young girls are forcefully coerced or lured to convert to Islam,” she said.

“The minorities feel very insecure because the religious extremists have made these conversions their business and see it as a path to heaven,” she said.

Javed wants a law that can control this practice.

An anti-conversion law was first tabled in the Sindh Assembly back in 2016 but was rejected. A second attempt of the same bill with amendments was brought forward in 2019 after a surge in conversion of Hindu girls was reported in various districts of Sindh. It was rejected again. 

Maliha Lari, a lawyer and rights activist, told IPS the bill was “scrapped” as parliamentarians started to receive threats and religious parties launched protests, pressurising the government to repeal it. They contended that the bill was against the basic principles of Islam as there could not be an age limit on converting to Islam.

Raja Lal and his wife Rita Raja say their 13-year-old daughter was abducted, forcefully converted and married in just one day to her 44-year-old neighbour. The young girl has been moved to a women’s shelter in Karachi while her age is being determined through medical investigation as documents had been reportedly submitted to court that stated her legal age was 18. Courtesy: Safina Javed

Saroop Ijaz, senior counsel for Human Rights Watch Asia, told IPS societal attitudes and institutional responses and encouragement enables this practice to continue with impunity.

“It is an unhappy mix of socio-economic marginalisation, misogyny and religious intolerance. The victims are girls belonging to poor households and the conversion in most cases is followed by a forced marriage with a man who has greater socio-economic power,” he explained.

Lal took the matter to the courts where his daughter and Azhar Ali were summoned. The judge accepted the girl’s statement that she was 18 and had consented to the marriage. Documents were submitted to show her age to be 18. The judge allowed the 13-year-old to leave with her husband.

“She is just 13 and we have given proof,” said her mother, claiming the other side had produced fake documents in court. According to the Sindh Child Marriages Restraint Act, 2013, marriage of any child under the age of eighteen is a criminal offence.

The case stirred a public outcry. Consequently, forced to review its decision, the court ordered the girl to be moved to a women’s shelter in Karachi while her age is being determined through medical investigation. A hearing is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 5.

Ijaz was not surprised by the initial court order to allow the girl to remain with her husband. “The response of the criminal justice system at all three levels of investigation, prosecution and adjudication oscillates between indifference and complicity,” he said, adding that it was this impunity that was leading to more cases.

The Lal’s lawyer, Jibran Nasir, hoped for a more “proactive approach” from the court. “I hope the evidence of the child’s age as given in her school records and more importantly with the government’s National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) should be enough to prove her age,” he told IPS. Determining that she is a minor will declare the marriage void.

For Lari, “it’s black and white” and there are three laws under which the complainants can get relief: abduction of children below the age of 14, child marriage and rape (if there has been intercourse).

“Those involved should be charged with either abduction if she was abducted or incitement for purposes of illicit intercourse,” she told IPS, adding: “The law says the age of marriage is 18 and she is 13; everyone involved should be punished.”

“The court should declare a minor cannot be considered to have changed her religion and protection for the girl and a long-term plan for where the child should be placed should be discussed and planned out and re-visited regularly,” Lari concluded.

However, Justice Majida Rizvi, former judge of the Sindh High Court who now heads the  Sindh Human Rights Commission, told IPS that things are not so simple.

“[While] we have two parallel laws, the Shariah law and the secular law, one allows marriage at 16 for girls or when she attains puberty, the other at 18, there will always be a problem,” said Rizvi. On top of that, she added, the constitution says “all laws have to be in accordance with the Shariah”.

This is precisely why Ijaz hopes this case “results in an honest public conversation on the issue followed by a comprehensive reform of the system.”

For this, he said, the government and the state machinery have to inspire confidence for the victim to fight this battle. “In the past high profile examples, victims have had to back down because of the unequal power relations between the victims and perpetrators,” he said.    

Local rights activist Tahira Abdullah told IPS that the reason for increased incidences of forced conversions of young girls from minority communities was because the police and judiciary were “neither sensitive enough nor courageous enough to withstand the visible and invisible pressure exerted by the religio-political groups/gangs who perpetuate these crimes:.

“Thus, there is an increasing impunity from prosecution for the following multiple crimes against minority girls: abduction, forced conversion to Islam, faked documents (eg. birth certificates), forced marriage of a legal minor usually to a much older Muslim man, and, most heinous, rape – under the false guise of ‘conjugal sexual relations,'” Abdullah said.

Meanwhile, many of the experts IPS spoke to feel this case may not come to a conclusion anytime soon. For now, her father finds solace in the fact that his daughter is away from her abductor.

“At least she is safe,” said Lal, speaking to IPS inside the residential premises of the Holy Trinity Cathedral, the seat of the Church of Pakistan, where Pastor Ghazala Shafiq, the only woman ordained pastor in Karachi, has provided refuge to the Lals. “These people are powerful and we are poor but we have received much support from the church,” said Raja, looking around the new abode gratefully.

“Azhar’s side had come to us with as many as 15 to 20 women accompanied by their menfolk and asked for reconciliation,” said Raja. She added that they threatened the Lal family if they didn’t acquiesce.

“They are definitely not safe there!” concluded Shafiq, who spent a night in the Lal home. “They were continuously getting threats from the abductor’s side.”

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The post Forced Child Marriage & Conversion: Public Discussion & Legal Reforms Called for in Pakistan appeared first on Inter Press Service.

By External Source
Nov 4 2020 (IPS-Partners)

John Goodwin joined the LEGO Foundation as CEO in April 2017 to pursue a career where he could combine his business skills with his passion for philanthropy and driving positive social impact.

The LEGO Foundation is dedicated to influencing parents, teachers and policy makers to adopt learning through play as the most powerful means for children to acquire the broad suite of skills needed to thrive in today’s world – and to provide the evidence and advocacy to support it. The LEGO Foundation is Education Cannot Wait’s largest private sector donor. With a US$27.5 million contribution to date, it is paving the way for public-private partnerships “to promote quality learning, holistic skills, and protection of children who are the most marginalized and need support.”

Prior to being appointed CEO of the LEGO Foundation, Mr. Goodwin held a position as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the LEGO Group with responsibilities comprising finance, corporate IT, corporate social responsibility, external relations, corporate business services, legal affairs and procurement.

Before joining the LEGO Group, John served as a President in Procter & Gamble where he was responsible for leading a variety of global businesses covering pet nutrition, electrical appliances and food snacks. Earlier in his career, he conducted a wide range of finance leadership positions in the company, including mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, new business ventures, investor relations and strategic development.

Education Cannot Wait: The LEGO Foundation decided to invest in education for those left furthest behind in emergencies and protracted crisis. ECW’s uncompromising commitment to speed, quality and results very much resembles the attitude of private sector mentality and approach. Why did you decide to support and invest in ECW’s global movement?

John Goodwin: The LEGO Foundation forged our partnership with Education Cannot Wait (ECW) to ensure that children in conflicts and crises get psychosocial and developmental support, by securing Learning Through Play in the classrooms of refugees and their host communities. Through this partnership, we aim to promote quality learning, holistic skills, and protection of children who are the most marginalised and need support.

Through the partnership with ECW, we are investing in capacity building on learning through play pedagogies of their staff and/or grantees, inspiring other donors who are interested in prioritising quality early childhood development and primary education for children, and supporting a research agenda and knowledge sharing around learning through play.

This partnership also enables us to raise the agenda in public platforms by talking about the importance of early learning – which is currently massively underfunded in the humanitarian sector – that includes Learning through Play for broader skills development, promoting it with other actors and host country governments.

The LEGO Foundation has been supporting early childhood development programmes of governments of countries such as Colombia.

Education Cannot Wait: What is your advice to private sector or philanthropic foundations who also want to help prioritize education for the 75 million children and youth in conflicts and forced displacement? What advice would you give to private sector partners or foundations who are still concerned about how their funding can make the greatest impact?

John Goodwin: The private sector has the resources and influence to positively impact lives of children in difficult situations. My advice is to work with partners to leverage the collective power of influence, reach and knowledge. At the LEGO Foundation we believe that we are stronger together and if we can leverage each other’s resources and expertise, we can deliver a higher impact for children around the world.

I would also advise to prioritise quality learning outcomes and developing breadth of skills in children. While the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in some challenges with access to education opportunities, we should not take a step back from the current efforts to improve the quality of education that is provided to these children. We should avoid falling into the trap of pushing narrow traditional education outcomes for the sake of hitting targets, but instead to think about how we support these children’s well-being through a holistic approach that can help them deal with trauma stressors caused by crisis situations AND set them on a learning trajectory for the future.

Education Cannot Wait: The LEGO Foundation is a strong driver of early childhood education and learning through play. What do you think are the most important achievements so far in the LEGO Foundation’s relentless advocacy for early childhood education and learning through play in emergency and crisis settings?

John Goodwin: In the last few years, the LEGO Foundation has built its humanitarian portfolio, with our first humanitarian grant Play to Learn, to a consortium of partners led by Sesame Workshop. This was followed by the second grant, PlayMatters, to a consortium of partners led by International Rescue Committee (IRC). Play to Learn seeks to establish play-based, early childhood development (ECD) programming as an essential component of all humanitarian responses, and validating this through the specific contexts of the Rohingya and Syrian refugee crises in Bangladesh, and Jordan and Lebanon respectively. PlayMatters will improve education outcomes for approximately 800,000 children and reach approximately 10,000 pre-primary and primary school teachers and education personnel and 170,000 primary caregivers in Ethiopia, Uganda and Tanzania, who will receive training to engage in learning through play with children who have faced adversities. Over the course of both projects, we can see some concrete outcomes such as direct ECD interventions for parents and children in three different countries, and the initial learnings from the implementation.

The LEGO Foundation is working in close collaboration with key partners to advocate for more investments and actions towards early childhood development and education in emergencies. We have been engaging with Moving Minds Alliance, other philanthropic organisations, and governments to scale up coverage, quality and financing to support young children and families affected by crisis and displacement, where we bring the important elements of learning through play into the efforts of this alliance. We took a similar approach with our recent grant to INEE to scale up their activities. We also learn from the collaborative efforts from other programmes of the LEGO Foundation and other partners that are developing and researching quality ECD interventions in non-crisis settings.

We know that resilience building and socio-emotional learning are key for children in this world of uncertainty, and even more for those affected by conflicts and crises. We believe that learning through play is one of the answers to help them develop these skills. We are launching the Socio-Emotional Learning Massive Open Online Course with Future Learn to explore how adults can support children to cope with change, stress and anxiety. Even though its approach is broader, it is applicable to humanitarian contexts. These are some important achievements for the LEGO Foundation that certainly encourage us to deepen our efforts towards our humanitarian portfolio.

John Goodwin, CEO of the LEGO Foundation at a Play Lab in Cox’s Bazaar, Bangladesh, one of the many set-up through the Play to Learn partnership.

Education Cannot Wait: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a global impact on all areas of virtually everyone’s life. How does the LEGO Foundation see the long-term effect on education by the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly for crisis-affected children and youth who were already impacted by armed conflicts, forced displacement and climate-induced disasters prior to the pandemic?

John Goodwin: The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the risk of donors and governments deprioritising investment in education. Underfunded areas like early learning could be even more affected. This has the potential of severely impacting all children, but children who have been impacted by conflicts and crises are even more vulnerable. Children in crisis settings not only need quality education opportunities but also ways to address their own stress and socio-emotional wellbeing. The LEGO Foundation strongly believes that learning through play-based pedagogy can help to address these challenges.

Education Cannot Wait: The LEGO Foundation recently announced memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with both USAID and the government of Denmark. Can you explain the role of these strategic partnership in realizing the vision of the LEGO Foundation?

John Goodwin: The LEGO Foundation firmly believes that the only way to achieve significant positive impact for children at scale is to engage in strategic partnerships with NGOs, civil society, academic institutions, and more importantly partnerships with governments. We work with, and support governments who are keen on improving the delivery of child-centred play-based quality education. Partners such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark and USAID are working very closely with education systems around the world, and with our support they can reach even more children with the power of learning through play, and help strengthen local systems to deliver quality play-based education to children. Working together and leveraging each other’s networks and expertise can secure a higher impact for children around the world.

But this is not the first time the LEGO Foundation has entered into partnerships with governments, and not all our public-private partnerships are with high income/donor countries. Back in 2010, the LEGO Foundation started a collaboration with the Ukrainian Ministry of Education, with a focus on bringing learning through play to young children in kindergartens across Ukraine. By training teachers and donating play materials, practice towards early learning has shifted from a traditional chalk-and-talk approach to one where children benefit from play-based learning tapping into their innate ability to learn. At our 10th anniversary of collaboration in Ukraine, we can celebrate that learning through play is now part of everyday life for around 1 million children between 2-10 years old and 50,000 teachers in 16,000 public primary schools and 250 kindergartens.

We have similar partnerships with the Ministry of Basic Education of South Africa, Secretariat of Public Health and the Secretariat of Public Education of Education of Mexico, the Government of Colombia, and the Ministry of Education in Ghana.

Education Cannot Wait: Where do you see the LEGO Foundation’s commitment to education, especially pre-primary education, for children affected by conflicts and forced displacement in 10 years from now?

John Goodwin: In 10 years, we would like to see a better understanding by the key stakeholders of the complete “learning journey” of a child – from birth to adulthood. The investments currently being made by the LEGO Foundation are geared to make programmes scalable and sustainable. We believe that in 10 years these programmes and the learning from them, would help other governments and organisations to reach even more children who might find themselves in difficult situations with development interventions that will help the children get back on a positive learning journey. Although, we hope that in 10 years, there would be no child if a crisis situation and therefore there will not be a need for such programmes.

Education Cannot Wait: We’d love to learn a bit more about you on a personal level. Learning through play is crucial, and learning to read is also key to one’s continual growth throughout life. Could you tell us what are the three books that have influenced you the most (or that you’d recommend to others to read), and why?

John Goodwin: ‘Influence the most’ is tricky as it is somewhat time/life-stage dependent. I also read a lot. So let me go down the path of three books I would recommend in light of what I am currently doing at the LEGO Foundation

• All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.’ Robert Fulghum. Great read to remind everyone of what is most important in life and the essential nature of early childhood development. One quote that I think is really pertinent today is “It doesn’t matter what you say you believe – it only matters what you do.” In the LEGO Foundation we are nurturing a bias to doing (while constantly learning).
• ‘Range.’ David Epstein. Wonderful research into the power of diversity of thought, both at the individual and the collective level. Has been a strong influencer in my own thinking on how to make better decisions and how to not get locked into a narrow agenda.
• ‘Lean Impact.’ Ann Mei Chang. I love seeing how breakthrough approaches in one area of life can be transferred across into different areas to achieve new breakthroughs. This book has helped me think through how the LEGO Foundation can fundamentally rethink its approach to achieving more systemic impact in the areas of early childhood development and primary education. We are still working on it, and with it!

Education Cannot Wait: Any final words of advice as we work together and move forward to reach Sustainable Development Goal 4 – inclusive quality education – for those left furthest behind?

John Goodwin: There is an urgent need to rethink education, by adopting a more child-centered rather than a teacher-centered approach. And this change is possible by adopting a learning through play approach to education which addresses the individual needs of each learner, and keep our focus on life-long skills, and not just on access to education. We have to build education systems around the agency of the child and make sure we close the inequality gaps, which is unfortunately growing right now, and more so for the most difficult to reach children. I would stress again that partnerships are key to drive this change at scale.

Mr. Goodwin holds a 1St class degree in Mathematical Engineering from the University of Loughborough and is a Fellow of the Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. He resides in York, England and is married to Elizabeth Goodwin, a former primary school teacher, with whom he has three grown children.

 

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