Africa - INTER PRESS SERVICE

Credit: Foreign Policy

By Nadia Kanji
UNITED NATIONS, Jan 6 2020 (IPS)

“Fire bullets at the traitors of the country,” chanted mobs of Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP, supporters wrapped in Indian flags in Delhi last week.

It’s been less than a month since protests emerged against the BJP’s Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), a new law to redefine and restrict who is considered an Indian citizen. In a violent crackdown, 27 peaceful protesters have been killed and police have detained 1500 others. BJP vigilante mobs continue to threaten and beat people protesting this controversial bill.

The CAA became law on December 11th, 2019 to provide a path to citizenship for minorities that fled from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan prior to 2014, but its most controversial point is that it specifically excludes Muslims. Critics call it discriminatory and say it threatens the secular nature of India’s constitution by trying to establish a Hindu religious state, or a “Hindu Rashtra,” akin to other religious states like Saudi Arabia or Israel’s attempt for a Jewish nation state.

In addition to the CAA, the Indian government is also planning to implement a National Register of Citizens, also known as the NRC, across the whole nation by 2021. The most recent NRC was implemented by the Indian government in the state of Assam in 2015 forcing Indians to provide documented proof of their citizenship to be considered Indian citizens. The result was the disenfranchisement of 1.9 million mostly Muslim residents who now risk being sent to illegal detention camps as they do not have what the government considers sufficient documentation or “legacy documents” which must date back to the 1970s. People fear that its extension to the rest of the country will not only affect Muslims who are not safeguarded by the CAA, but also the poorest, unlettered parts of society.

According to Indian historian and executive-director of the Tricontinental Institute for Social Research, Vijay Prashad, the BJP has couched the CAA as a progressive refugee policy which is redundant given that India is already a signatory of the Global Compact for Migration as well as other international treaties on migration and refugees.

“Why not bring these treaties to be ratified by India, why bother to create your own bizarre thing if there’s already an international framework to say that we accept refugees and migration?” he asked rhetorically. “Well it’s because they’ve used the question of migration not for migration itself but to define what is an Indian citizen, which is a very chilling thing because now they are making the claim that Muslims are not citizens in India,” Prashad told IPS News.

Prashad says this is a core part of the BJP’s right-wing ideology. India’s home minister Amit Shah even referred to undocumented Muslim migrants coming from Bangladesh to India as “termites” and “infiltrators” and threatened to throw them into the Bay of Bengal.

India is currently the world’s largest democracy which historically has not used religion as a prerequisite for citizenship. According to Ramya Reddy, human rights lawyer from Georgetown University Law Center, the CAA puts India’s democracy at risk by violating Articles 14 and 21 of the Indian constitution, which deal with equality and liberty.

Protests

Daily protests have been met with extreme violence by the police who have fired stun grenades, smoke bombs, tear gas, and even used live ammunition to shoot and kill protestors. Police have attempted to stop protests by imposing Section 144 of the Penal Code, a draconian law from the British Raj historically used to crush freedom fighters by prohibiting the assembly of more than 4 people. The section of this law, however, is being applied selectively.

“When the radical Hindutva supporters gather, this is not considered an unlawful gathering according to the police because they’re pro-government. The police even escort them,” said Aatir Arshad a Bachelor’s student from Jamia Millia University who’s been involved in recent protests.

Jamia Millia Islamia University, a public college in New Delhi with a majority-Muslim student body, became the center of the protest movement in Delhi after police stormed the university campus, dragged out several students, beat them up and arrested them, including those who were not participating in the demonstrations.

“They rushed into the library, where students were not even protesting, they were just studying for their exams and the police beat them up,” Arshad told IPS News. “That moment was apocalyptic for Jamia Milia Islamia. They also harassed students and then claimed they did nothing.”

Arshad adds that police also entered the mosque on the university campus, beat up the Imam, as well as the guards of the university. Protests are still going on because of the events from that day.

Ahla Khan, an alumnus from Jamia Millia and resident of the Jamia Nagar area, explained to IPS News how on the first day of protests her and her sister were just walking to Jamia University when they got caught in the middle of a confrontation between police and protesters. They ran to the sidewalk and watched as police hit students with batons.

“I was watching a guy standing there, just looking at his phone doing nothing. The police ask him ‘where are you going’ and he doesn’t say anything. And just like that the police start beating him up,” says Khan.

She explains how the protesters have been highly organized and peaceful in Delhi. Many have volunteered to distribute tea in the biting cold weather, organized assemblies and facilitated plays and book readings. Chants and slogans have called for repealing the CAA as well as for Azaadi, or freedom. Police have been more restrained than in Uttar Pradesh (UP) where police violence has been lethal. The Chief Minister of UP called a meeting in late December threatening to seize property of those involved in protests “to compensate damage to public property.”

“In UP police and RSS goons have been barging into people’s houses, hitting them, beating people up, thrashing their entire houses, looting them, TVs and fridges broken,” said Khan.

The government has also made several attempts to prevent media outlets from covering police violence and has blocked the internet is several parts of India where there are massive protests. Internet shutdowns have become commonplace, with the shutdown in Kashmir being the longest ever in a democracy.

International Response

While many protesters are still languishing in jail, the United Nations has voiced concern over the CAA with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, calling for “restraint and urg[ing] full respect for the rights of freedom of opinion and expression and peaceful assembly.” UN Human Rights Commissioner Michelle Bachelet’s spokesperson stated that the law “would appear to undermine the commitment to equality before the law enshrined in India’s Constitution.”

Despite this, Reddy says that this doesn’t have any enforcement as domestic law always takes precedence over international law. Even though the UN has criticized the CAA, “[changes have] to happen domestically or with pressure,” she said. And right now, no other major international powers like the UK, the US, and Canada have come out against this because they’re strong allies [of India],” Reddy told IPS News.

In fact, on a recent visit to Washington, D.C. India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar cancelled a meeting with the House Foreign Affairs Committee after the other members of Congress refused to exclude Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), a critic of the CAA, NRC, and India’s actions in Kashmir.

South Asian students in the United States are expressing their dismay with the Indian government by launching a campaign demanding their House of Representatives “express their disapproval through targeted sanctions against Modi government officials until both laws are repealed.” So far, the letter has been signed by the Yale South Asian Society, Harvard College U.S.-India Initiative, Columbia University South Asian Organization, University of Pennsylvania South Asia Society Board, Cornell University South Asian Law Students Association, Brown University South Asian Students Association and Dartmouth University Muslim Students Association Al-Nur, and many other student groups.

Democratic Deficit

Implementing a nationwide National Register of Citizens will cause massive economic disruption, according to a recent report by the Wire. The article states that the NRC in the state of Assam alone, which makes up just 3% of the population, “took almost a decade, required the involvement of over 50,000 government employees and cost more than Rs. 1,200 crore,” or just over 168 million US dollars. While the Indian development dream is flailing with its ranking in hunger slipping annually and unemployment rising, the implications of implementing these exclusionary laws go beyond the marginalization of Muslims to also draining resources from some of the world’s poorest residents.

“This is not about a policy you can really implement,” said Prashad. “You can’t actually, practically expatriate 200 million Muslims.” Prashad also pointed out in his recent article that India’s Muslims form the eighth-largest country in the world.

The point, he adds, is that “this is a marker saying we are redefining citizenship and emboldening the hard-right and mobs on the street to make it clear to Muslims that they are not welcome here and that India is a Hindu country,” Prashad told IPS.

Despite the hard attempt by the government quell any resistance to the CAA, protests have been occurring daily with Muslims, Dalits, Buddhists, Christians, Sikhs, farmers, lawyers, workers, writers, and journalists joining together to prevent what could leave millions stateless in “the largest disenfranchisement in human history.”

When asking Aatir Ashad, who’s been protesting daily, about his experience he tells IPS News that whenever there’s a call for a protest, the police just close all of the metro stations so that no one can reach the protest site.

“Great democratic country we’re living in,” he says sarcastically, distressingly, as he prepares for another day of joining the protests.

The post India’s Citizenship Law Triggered by Rising Right-Wing Ideology appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Protesters demonstrate against direction taken by climate change talks. Credit: Ana Libisch/IPS

By Farhana Haque Rahman
ROME, Jan 6 2020 (IPS)

Let’s face what lies ahead with open eyes: 2020 is going to be a very tough year for the world, and developing countries in particular. The infant decade has already begun with the harbingers of climate disaster as thousands fled to beaches in Australia from raging bush fires, and the Middle East braced for more conflict after a U.S. air strike in Baghdad killed Iran’s top general.

But even as the world needs a concerted and decisive response to its challenges, we risk more of the backsliding and indifference towards humanity that in 2019 characterised the behaviour of many powerful governments, from Australia to the United States, from Brazil to China.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has cited wars, the climate crisis, gender-based violence and persistent inequality in warning that the world is well behind meeting the deadlines of its 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The 2019 SDG report showed momentum for positive change, but also identified several areas that need urgent collective action: the climate crisis, human suffering, quality education, and gender discrimination.

Many countries and stakeholders have indeed responded with pledges of “SDG Acceleration Actions”. But we need to be brutally honest about the gulf between past promises and action.

Warning that the world will still have 500 million people in extreme poverty in 2030, Mr. Guterres has called for this to be a Decade of Action. But he surely didn’t envisage what President Donald Trump had in mind with the drone strike he ordered that killed Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad on January 3. Iran quickly pledged “tough revenge” and “World War III” was trending on Twitter.

Even without further conflict in the region, the proxy war fought in Yemen between Iran and Saudi Arabia is expected by the UN to continue as “the world’s worst humanitarian crisis” in 2020 after nearly five years of fighting. An estimated 24 million people, or 80 per cent of Yemen’s population, will remain in need of aid.

Worldwide 168 million people will need humanitarian aid and protection in crises across more than 50 countries in 2020, according to the UN’s emergency relief coordinator. The UN humanitarian affairs coordination office (OCHA) launched its Global Humanitarian Overview 2020 with an appeal for nearly $29 billion in aid from donors. “It is the highest figure in decades,” Mark Lowcock, head of OCHA, said, blaming climatic shocks, large infectious disease outbreaks and intensifying, protracted conflicts for an increase of some 22 million people in need last year.

Armed conflicts are already killing and maiming a record number of children, with women and girls at higher risk of sexual and gender-based violence than before.

The UN Children’s Fund UNICEF has called for $4.2 billion for its 2020 emergency appeal to reach 59 million children with life-saving support in 64 countries. This is more than triple the funds requested in 2010.

“Around the world today, we’re seeing the largest number of children in need of emergency assistance since we began record-keeping. One in four children lives in a country affected by conflict or disaster,” said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore.

UN risk assessments were blown off course by worse than expected climate crisis-related events, such as drought, flooding and tropical cyclones.

But the world’s efforts to deal with the climate emergency have been dealt a most severe blow by the policies of Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro.

Deforestation of the Amazon, the world’s largest tropical rainforest, soared in 2019 to levels not seen in a decade. Protected areas have been opened to mining and agricultural conversion, and murders of environmentalists have increased. Commenting on the global picture, Rhett Butler, founder of the Mongabay non-profit environment website, says: “After a decade of increased deforestation, broken commitments, and hundreds of murders of rainforest defenders, the 2020s open as a dark moment for the world’s rainforests.”

Farhana Haque Rahman

Agronomists such as Carlos Nobre and Thomas Lovejoy warn that the Amazon is reaching a critical tipping point as it shows signs of shifting from humid tropical forest towards degraded wooded savanna which would result in releasing massive amounts of carbon into the atmosphere. It is urgent that Brazil move away from unsustainable agribusiness monocultures of cattle, soy and sugarcane, and launch a major reforestation project on already degraded lands.

But Mr Bolsonaro is also joined by Mr Trump, who will seek re-election this year, in abandoning climate leadership and damaging global conservation efforts.

The latest mantra for climate scientists and UN envoys seeking to broker global agreements is that “2020 is the last best chance” to turn the tide of the climate emergency. Under the 2015 Paris Agreement countries pledged to review and, hopefully, ramp up their efforts to cut greenhouse gases by this year, meaning that a lot of effort is needed ahead of the crucial UN climate conference, COP26, to be held in Glasgow in November.

As noted by climate news site Carbon Brief, with key emitters such as the US, Australia and Brazil hostile towards international climate action, a lot now hangs on China and the EU acting as one to maintain the Paris Agreement’s momentum.

But China, along with Brazil and India, have been called out by the Association of Small Island States as actively blocking ambitious outcomes in discussions on carbon credit discussions.

Last month’s COP (Conference of the Parties) in Madrid was widely viewed by climate activists as a flop.

Protestors outside the conference hall, including Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg, demonstrated the yawning gulf between their aspirations and those inside of procrastinating governments.

The diplomatic Mr Guterres said he was “disappointed” at the outcome and said the major emitters of greenhouse gases need to “do much more” in 2020.

Indeed. Much, much more.

The post 2020: a Year Full of Danger appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Excerpt:

Farhana Haque Rahman is Senior Vice President of IPS Inter Press Service; a journalist and communications expert, she is a former senior official of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and the International Fund for Agricultural Development.

The post 2020: a Year Full of Danger appeared first on Inter Press Service.

By Roberto Savio
ROME, Jan 3 2020 (IPS)

In a world shaken by so many problems, it is difficult to look at 2020 and not make some kind of holistic analysis. While enormous progress has been made on many fronts, it is clear that the tide has turned, and we are now entering – or have already entered – a new low point in the history of humankind..

Roberto Savio

Today, we face an unprecedented existential threat brought about by the climate crisis. According to scientists, we have until 2030 to stop climate change, after which human conditions will be under several threats. Yet, we have just had a world conference in Madrid on climate change, which ended in nothing. Not only that, but since the beginning of the last decade, there has been a singular change of the relations of politicians with climate. Climate has become not a scientific but a political issue, with a number of politicians of not minor weight, like Donald Trump, Jair Bolsonaro, Viktor Orban, Matteo Salvini and Vladimir Putin arguing that there is no climate crisis. Some of them, like Australia prime minister Scott Morrison, take holidays in Hawaii even as fires have destroyed an area large as Belgium.

Since the end of the last decade, we have seen also another change in a vital environment: democracy. With the fall of Berlin Wall in 1989, everybody was told that the threat of communism had now gone. As Francis Fukuyama famously wrote, it was the end of history. Capitalism and market would unify the world, and lift all boats, it was said at the time.

Then came the big financial crisis of 2008-2009 which cost governments (and therefore people) 12 trillion dollars and it became clear that only some boats were being lifted. Budget trimmings affected especially welfare, education and health, while at the same time some people were becoming fabulously rich. World debt doubled, (it now stands at 325 trillion dollars), and suddenly nationalistic, xenophobic and right-wing parties sprouted everywhere. Before the crisis of 2009, there was only one, in France. Even Nordic countries, long-time symbol of civism and tolerance saw the arrival of extreme right-wing governments.

The thirty years between the fall of Berlin Wall and the financial crisis, left a culture of competition, individualism and loss of values – a culture of greed. And the ten years between that crisis of and our incoming decade saw the rise of a culture of fear. Immigration became the catalyst We were being invaded, Islam was not compatible with our society, our jobs were being stolen, crime and drugs were coming in and the same leaders who do not believe in climate change became the guardians of Christianity, enacting restrictive laws to the applause of citizens, regardless of human rights. In the last two decades, trade unions have become irrelevant, and laws have been introduced that support the making of jobs precarious and reductions in social protection. People started having fear, looking at the uncertain future of their children.

Historians affirm that the two main engines of change in history are greed and fear. We enter the decade of the 2020s with both. Worse, many analysts believe we do so with hate.

The fact is that two flags that we thought had been discarded by history are making a comeback.

One is the flag ‘in the name of God’. We think of ISIS and Al Qaeda, but this is the basis of the image of Putin, Orban, Trump, Bolsonaro and Salvini. The use of religion by the right wing has been able to rally the poor. Theologian Juan Josè Tamayo has called politicians with bible in hand the Christo-neo-fascist alliance. In the last elections in Costa Rica, evangelical pastor Fabricio Alvarado won with a campaign based on the defence of Christian values and neoliberalism, against abortion and the paganism coming from Europe. This is precisely the electoral theme of Orban in Hungary, Kacynsky in Poland and Putin in Russia.

In Brazil, the evangelical church was vital in getting Bolsonaro elected. In El Salvador, the new president Nayib Bukele asked an extreme right-wing evangelical pastor to offer a prayer during his inaugural ceremony, and there is a draft law that would make the Bible compulsory reading in all schools. You will all remember how, after the overthrow of Eva Morales by the army, the new president of Bolivia Jeanine Áñez and her supporters went around with a bible in their hands at all ceremonies.

And let us not forget that Trump was elected because of the support of the evangelical church, which has 40 million faithful. He moved the US embassy to Jerusalem to get their support. Evangelicals believe that when Israel will recover all the territory of the biblical time, Christ will come to earth for a second time, and they will be the only ones that will be rewarded. The other country which moved its embassy to Jerusalem, Guatemala, was also the result of the move of an evangelical president.

Theologian Tamayo speaks of an international of hate: hate against gender equality, against LGTBs, against abortion, against immigrants. Those who propagate hate defend reinforcement of the patriarchal family, the submission of women, they despise what is not traditional, they mistrust science and statistics, they deny climate change, and they hate Muslims, Jews and blacks. What is being totally ignored in all this is the problem of social inequalities, the growing economic gap for reasons of ethnicity, culture, gender, social class, sexual identity, and so on.

Tamayo observes that this is becoming a new international movement, which is now coming to Europe, as the recent Spanish elections show. Vox, the extreme right-wing party, created just four years ago, now has 52 seats in the Parliament, and is the third largest party, like AFD in Germany. The party of Italy’s Salvini, with his rosary beads, has become the number one party, and he could become prime minister at any moment. And we know well of the very large conservative front against the Pope in the Catholic Church which also wants to save traditions, is against LGBTs, is for a patriarchal family, etc., etc. All this is about using religion, fear and hate for political gains.

And what about the flag ‘in the name of the nation’? Well, the best example is Benjamin Netanyahu who has passed a law which makes being a Jew the requisite for Israeli citizenship. This is how Narendra Modi in India is trying to deprive Muslims (170 million) of Indian citizenship; it is how the government in Myanmar is treating over one million Rohingyas. Those cases join religion with the fight against minorities and different religions in the name of the nation. China has now launched a campaign for a Chinese dream (also persecuting Uighur Muslim minorities). This is exactly the same strategy as that of Trump, who calls for the American dream. The United States has no allies, and anybody who makes money in trade with the United States is an adversary, be it Canada or Germany. “America First”, which in fact means “America Alone”.

So, the flags “in the name of God” and “in the name of the Nation” frequently overlap. Italian political scientist and economist Riccardo Petrella observes that in recent decades, a third flag has appeared with a large audience: ‘in the name of money”, and also that in the last two decades corruption has become another universal countervalue.

In its last report, Transparency International, the organisation which fights and denounces corruption, analyses how corruption is weakening democracy. Freedom House, a conservative US foundation, found that since 2006, 113 countries have seen a net decline in their freedom score, while only 62 have seen some improvement. The Economist says that democracy was stagnating in 2018, after three consecutive years of deterioration. Of the 62 countries which transitioned from authoritarian rule to some form of democracy, in the last quarter of the 20th century, half of them have seen their level of democracy stagnate or even falter. Transparency international highlights that while fight against corruption is high on the populists’ platform, when in power they tend to weaken democratic institutions, and engage into corruption like their predecessors. It cites the cases of various country, from Guatemala to Turkey, from the United States to Poland and Hungary. When corruption seeps into the democratic system it corrupts leaders. Economic corruption has increased in the last forty years, after the “greed is good” campaign, as the market has substituted man as the centre of society. It reaches the entire public sector, besides obviously the private sector.

Two-thirds of humankind now have no trust in police and other public services, because they are considered corrupt, and they believe that corruption is so diffuse that it cannot be eliminated.

We have become accustomed to hearing about corruption in the last two decades, because it is in the news every day. We have slowly become trained to look as natural things that are at all no natural: a good sign of the extent to which we have lost a moral compass.

If you ask children today if wars and poverty are natural, they will probably answer yes. And, as adolescents, they will also probably consider corruption as natural.

It is therefore evident that two fundamental environments for humankind are in danger. One in the short term is the natural environment. The conditions of life on the planet can worsen dramatically, and we have all the forecasts. We have only the coming decade to try to reverse the trend of climate change, be it natural (some say) or man-made (all scientists). But then the question is: how long do we have to protect our political environment, which runs our economic, social and cultural life, before that also goes into an irreversible decline?

Of course, a bloody dictatorship is less dramatic than seas rising seven metres, temperatures 3 degrees, or l0osing all our glaciers, and many rivers and water sources. Now that we have all the data, why do citizens not act for the survival of their environment?

On the other hand, 2019 will remain in history the year of mass demonstrations. In 21 countries, in Latin America, Africa, Asia, Europe, millions of people went out on the street to protest against corruption, social injustice, the gap between political institutions and citizens, the fear and decline of social welfare as a political priority, Young people, who have deserted political parties and elections, have been frequently at the forefront. They are at the head of the campaign for a sustainable world, where an adolescent, Greta Thunberg, has brought together young people from all over the world. But the system does not appear to be really listening to them, unless they become violent as in Chile, Paris, Baghdad or Hong Kong.

These reflections bring us to three conclusions.

The first is that, not by accident, the enemies of the fight to defend our natural environment are also the enemies of our political environment. they do not care if the first is destroyed, because they are intertwined with corporations, gas and oil companies, farmers who want to take over land (like the case of Brazil and Amazonia), or coal companies, like in Poland and Australia. But they want to twist the political environment in their favour, for their power. Orban of Hungary has campaigned for am illiberal democracy. Bolsonaro has gone further, talking about the good old days of the military dictatorship. And all of them, from Trump to Salvini, look on international cooperation, multilateral agreements and any initiative that reduces the freedom of a country for peace and justice (like the United Nations or the European Union) as enemies. They are all in favour of building walls, forgetting that the Second World War taught us to abolish them.

The second is that democracy is in danger, for the same reasons that the environment is also in danger. There is no ability and will among populists to reach any internal agreement. Would it be possible today to create the United Nations, or sign the Declaration on Human Rights? Certainly not just as there is no will to fight climate change.

The third, therefore, is what is going to happen in the new decade we are now entering. It looks like it will be a decisive decade. In just a few years, we must take action on how we will deal with two existential issues: how to remain in our present environment, and how we will live together.

All this will be decided by voters. And this raises an issue: is it legitimate to believe that fascism, xenophobia and nationalism are the answer to our problems? Humans should learn from their mistakes (like all other animals do). And we should have learnt from the two world wars that those beliefs are not an answer but the roots of war and confrontation.

So, here a final reflection. According to Steven Pinker, the Canadian cognitive scientist, writing in The Economist, in the last seven years humans have become healthier, live longer, are more secure, richer, freer, more intelligent and educated. This trend should continue. But humans have evolved, because they have dedicated themselves mainly to the advantages of reproduction, survival and material growth not because of wisdom or happiness.

The first urgent step is to reconcile progress with human nature. We have cognitive abilities, and also the ability to cooperate and be emphatic, unlike other animals. Between the Age of Enlightenment and the Second World War, we made important progress on science, democracy, human rights, free information, market rules and the creation of institutions for international cooperation. This trend cannot be stopped, argues Pinker; it is now in our genes.

Well, in ten years we will know if all this is in the human genes or is just one of the many passages of history. Also, because in 2022, Bolsonaro and Orban should leave office: Erdogan in 2023; Netanyahu, Modi, Putin and Trump in 2024. So, in just four years (a microsecond in human history), we will know how the world is, and what damages are irreversible or not, and if we have made any progress in halting the climate crisis. But Trump, etc, have been elected…

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Credit: United Nations

By Nayema Nusrat
UNITED NATIONS, Jan 3 2020 (IPS)

“Right now, I don’t want to get married. I have a long life and a dream in front of me”, a 14-year-old young girl from Bangladesh told her parents as she was just not ready to get married.

The UN’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 5.3) has targeted to end child marriage by 2030. According to a report published last June by the UN children’s agency UNICEF, 12 million girls are married before they turn 18 every year, 650 million girls and women alive today were married before they were 18.

Nankali Maksud, Senior Advisor and Coordinator, Prevention of Harmful Cultural Practices at UNICEF, told IPS that evidence shows child marriage is not limited to particular groups or cultural norms, rather a broad combination of structural and socio-cultural drivers.

“These include poverty, lack of educational and economic opportunities, social expectations, discrimination against girls and women and restrictive gender roles, beliefs about protection of girls and low awareness of and access to alternatives”.

He also added, “In many settings, girls are perceived as a burden on household expenses, with child marriage often viewed as the best option out of a menu of poor choices.”

“In some contexts, child marriage is viewed as a path that unburdens the family and preserves its honor while protecting girls. Evidence suggests that when such structural and socio-cultural underlying causes—the drivers of child marriage—are eliminated, the practice will decline and, ultimately end”.

A spokesperson for UN Women (UNW), the United Nations entity dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women, told IPS, child marriages may be further exacerbated by increased insecurity in settings where there is a humanitarian crisis.

“For example, the prevalence of child marriage in the Middle East and North Africa region is near the global average, with around one in five young women married before they turn 18 years of age. This marks progress in the last 25 years, though the rate of decline appears to have stalled within the past decade”.

And in certain conflict areas, progress has reversed, “such as in Syria and Yemen, (where it has) been reversed substantially as conflict often produces negative coping mechanisms particularly in dire economic situations that can increase the rate of child marriage”.

Credit: United Nations

UNICEF saw worldwide progress in child marriage reduction rates in recent years, while South Asia has witnessed the largest decline, from nearly 50 per cent to 30 per cent, in large part due to progress in India.

UNICEF’s Maksud said: “The proportion of women who were married as children decreased by 15 per cent, from one in four to one in five, in the last decade”.

Globally, “The total number of girls married in childhood is now estimated at 12 million a year. This points to an accumulated global reduction of 25 million fewer marriages than would have been anticipated under global levels 10 years ago” UNICEF and UN Women pointed out.

While talking about the progress in child bride rate in Africa, Maksud noted “Data also points to the possibility of progress on the African continent. For example, in Ethiopia – once among the top five countries for child marriage in sub-Saharan Africa – the prevalence has dropped by a third in the last 10 years”.

Countries with such harmful practices like child marriage need to prioritize their responsibilities in order to be aligned with SDG target (SDG 5.3) to end child marriage by 2030.

According to Maksud, “the accountability for achieving the SDGs lies with countries and their responsibility to prioritize ending harmful practices such as child marriage. With the right investments and accelerated progress, the SDG target is achievable”.

On the contrary, Heather Barr of Human Rights Watch (HRW) told IPS that it’s probably unlikely that the UN goal of ending all child marriages by 2030 can be achieved.

She said, “I think this target has already contributed significantly to reducing child marriage and will continue to do so. But it’s goal of ending all child marriages by 2030 probably will not be fully achieved. There is just too far to go and too many countries that continue to—legally or illegally—tolerate child marriage”.

The spokesperson from UN Women told IPS about their view on the feasibility of reaching SDG goal- despite a significant progress seen in the past decade, no region seems to be on track to eliminate the practice by 2030.

“A substantial acceleration is needed because the current rate of decline in child marriage is insufficient to meet the ambitious SDG target”.

“The annual rate of decline in child marriage has been 1.9 per cent over the past 10 years but would have to be 23 per cent to achieve the SDG target on ending child marriage by 2030. If the rate of progress since 1990 does not improve, it will take nearly a century to eliminate child marriage worldwide, and more than 150 million more girls will marry by 2030”.

“Even at the faster rate of decline in the past decade, it would take 50 years to end child marriage. Therefore, progress must be accelerated significantly”.

Maksud also pointed out, “However, to end the practice by 2030 – the target set out in the Sustainable Development Goals – progress must be accelerated 12 times faster than in the past decade. Without acceleration of progress, more than 150 million additional girls will marry before their 18th birthday by 2030 due to population growth”.

UN Women lays emphasis on the importance of improving gender equality which is one of the biggest drives according to various research. “Among the main challenges that remain is the lack of a gender-transformative approach in tackling this harmful practice. Evidence shows that delaying the age of marriage alone is insufficient.”

“Gender equality needs to be promoted holistically, including by placing stronger emphasis on promoting girls and women’s agency, addressing the inherit power dynamics in marriages and society, and shifting attitudes, norms and behaviors around gender roles”.

Barr concurs about the importance of promoting gender equality. “Our research on child marriage, in countries around the world, has left us convinced that the main cause of child marriage is simply gender inequality”.

UN Women spokesperson pointed out additional important factors “there are increasing changing marriage patterns that show that peer marriages, cohabitation and adolescent pregnancy leading to marriages exist alongside the traditional understanding of child marriage or forced marriage.”

“A proper gender approach requires that we recognize that early marriages and voluntary marriages also constitute harmful practices given the disproportionate impact it has on girls and the barriers it creates to their educational and economic opportunities”.

According to UNW, itis crucial to integrate women’s economic empowerment approaches to educational interventions responding to child marriage. Although poverty is not the only driver, poverty remains a key driver of child, early and forced marriage, which disproportionately impacts girls and young women and continues to be a deeply gendered practice.

“In order to empower girls and young women to use their voice, make their own choices and exercise their agency, it is crucial to ensure that a whole system and life-cycle approach is implemented to support the broadening of economic opportunities for young women by promoting skills and social protection for girls and young women who are at risk of child, early and forced marriages”.

UNICEF found strong correlation between the length of time a girl stays in school and the biggest reductions in child marriage. “And for adolescent girls, emerging evidence indicates that having a secondary education is much more beneficial for ending child marriage than having just a primary education”.

It is estimated that there would be 14 per cent fewer marriages if all girls had just a primary education, compared with 64 per cent fewer if girls also had secondary education.

“While just being in school can protect against child marriage, evidence shows that the quality of education has important implications. Adolescent girls who do poorly in school, do not learn well and fall behind are sometimes pulled out of school by their parents to marry”.

Ending child marriage will only be a reality if we address it through a comprehensive gender-transformative approach that tackles the root causes of gender inequality.

UNICEF’s Maksud sees potential in achieving SDG goal by 2030 if certain key steps are taken to accelerate the progress, which include “increasing girls’ access to education and particularly secondary education, proactive government investments in adolescent girls’ protection programmes as well as strong public messaging around the illegality of child marriage and the harm it causes”.

The post Child Marriages Unlikely to End by UN’s 2030 Deadline appeared first on Inter Press Service.

At the radio station in Selibabi, Mauritania. Credit: World Bank/Vincent Tremeau

By External Source
SELIBABI, Mauritania, Jan 2 2020 (IPS)

“I refused to marry off my daughter for a simple, good reason: I want my daughter to be empowered,” said Lemeima mint El Hadrami, 49. “I don’t want her to go through the same difficulties I did when I was young.” El Hadrami was married when she was only 13.

As is often the case for child brides, she became pregnant in adolescence and was forced to drop out of school. She had two daughters, both following difficult pregnancies. Then her husband left them.

“Back then, people didn’t know that child marriage was harmful to a girl’s health. It was a common practice for us,” she recalled. El Hadrami is from Selibabi in southeastern Mauritania, a country where 37 per cent of girls are married off by age 18.

Ending child marriage in Mauritania and other countries in the Sahel, where the median age women and girls marry is 16.6, calls for a change in society’s unwritten rules governing the practice. This means getting buy-in from religious and community leaders on a whole host of related issues, including gender discrimination and ending gender-based violence.

The UN Population(fund (UNFPA) is working with partners to help raise awareness of the cascading harms caused by child marriage – from school discontinuation to higher maternal health risks and poorer long-term outcomes for girls and their families.

“An immature girl cannot bear a child because she herself is still a child whose body is not ready to carry a baby,” said Telmidy, the imam of the Kuba Mosque in Selibabi, stressing that many adolescent girls in his communities have died for that reason alone.

El Hadrami (centre) with her daughters and sister. Credit: World Bank/Vincent Tremeau

Telmidy is one of 200 religious and community leaders mobilized across Mauritania by the Sahel Women’s Empowerment and Demographic Dividend (SWEDD) project, a collaboration between UNFPA and others, to show that child marriage is in fact haram, or forbidden by Islam.

“Early marriage is a complex issue and we have addressed it in a manner that respects Islam,” he said. “Islam protects the dignity of men and women.”

Telmidy and his fellow imams want to be agents of change. “We discuss and share our knowledge of Islam and our experience by going door to door or during Friday prayers and people are starting to understand and respond.”

The SWEDD project is financed by the World Bank and implemented by the governments of Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Mauritania and Niger, with technical support from UNFPA.

In addition to working with religious leaders, the project shares messages on girls’ empowerment through a popular radio programme.

“I was really moved by the messages on the radio,” El Hadrami said. “I do not want my daughter to experience the same difficulties that I did. I would like her to go as far as possible in her studies, to have a good job – a job that will allow her to enjoy a decent standard of living. She could become a minister, a doctor or a midwife.”

The radio messages work in concert with the faith-based outreach efforts.

Imam Telmidy raises awareness about the dangers of child marriage to women. Credit: World Bank/Vincent Tremeau

“The recommendations and guidelines broadcast on the radio are very important, especially because they are supported by religious beliefs,” said Telmidy. “People must listen to the radio to be informed.”

The imams have reached around 370,000 people in rural Mauritania with training sessions on the dangers of child marriage. UNFPA is also helping the national network of Islamic scholars to learn about sexual and reproductive health issues, including not only related child marriage concerns, but also the benefits of birth spacing, and the importance of ending gender-based violence and female genital mutilation.

“Islam is a religion that honours human beings. Any action that harms an individual’s physical or mental health is therefore forbidden,” said Hademine Saleck Ely, an imam from the Central Mosque of Nouakchott. “But some people are wedded to traditional practices and do not understand the danger of these customs.”

Telmidy pointed out that acquiring knowledge is compulsory for all Muslims: “The Qur’an shows that a father has a responsibility to educate his daughters and protect them, and that he must delay their marriage until they turn 18… He must also allow them to earn a living, that is their right.”

“We must assume our responsibilities and fulfill our mission to share our knowledge with the community,” he added.

A version of this story was first published at www.worldbank.org.

The post In Mauritania, Imams take to Radio Waves to say Child Marriage is Against Islam appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Hosted by the governments of Kenya, Denmark and UNFPA, world leaders gather for the 3-day Nairobi Summit on ICPD25 to advance sexual, reproductive health & rights for all. November 12, 2019. Photo Courtesy: Redhouse Public Relations

By Siddharth Chatterjee
NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 31 2019 (IPS)

Happy New Year, Kenya. 2020 marks a decade of action towards the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

Peace and development are inextricably linked, with each making the achievement of the other far more likely. This puts the conflict-prevention and development work of the UN at the heart of the agenda in East Africa, but in a multi-agency and programme environment, making meaningful progress is challenging.

Aware of this, the UN began a process of structural reforms led by the UN Secretary-General António Guterres who made reforms of the United Nations, a priority at the very beginning of his term in January 2017. The aim being to deliver better results through cooperation, collaboration and integration. 2019 was the year that the impact of these reforms became real and nowhere more than in the peace, conflict-prevention and development pillars of the UN’s work.

At the country level, that shift towards a nimble, 21st century UN challenges deeply entrenched practices and operations. In a country team with over 23 individual agencies, funds and programmes, the reform process can be complicated, even messy.

To the credit of the Kenya country team, we overcame the challenges of ceding long-held agency interests for the collective good and achieved some ground-breaking milestones in our partnership with governments, civic organizations and the private sector.

The most outstanding was our venturing out to confront challenges that transcend borders. East Africa faces major threats to peace and development across multiple fronts, and respective UN country teams have, in a remarkable show of teamwork, sought to harmonize their responses to these threats. Internecine border conflicts and the effects of climate change together make a formidable challenge that brought together UN teams from Kenya and Uganda, in a pact that seeks to bring sustainable development to the Karamoja triangle.

This pact follows from another successful regional collaboration project on the Kenya-Ethiopia border where communities accustomed to recurrent hostilities are now reaching out to each other to find solutions to common socio-economic challenges.

We believe that our regional surge towards prevention, peacemaking and diplomacy will have a particular impact on the youth, who suffer an enduring sense of being neglected and ignored. This narrative is a breeding ground for extremism and radicalization, so addressing such concerns was a key point of deliberation during last July’s African Regional High-Level Conference on Counter-Terrorism and the Prevention of Violent Extremism in Nairobi.

The same regional approach was behind the initiative by Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Somalia to sign the Declaration and Action Plan to End Cross-border FGM in April 2019. This was the first time multiple countries had come together to tackle this pernicious cross-border crime.

But there remain many in the region still left behind by development, and we continue to stand up for them through our UN Development Assistance Framework 2018-2022. The framework’s gender equality and rights focus is unmistakable, because in too many communities, the simple fact of being born female shatters one’s chances of living in full human dignity.

Our focus on giving a leg-up to those left farthest behind has attracted a positive response from our partners in national and county governments. By staying in lockstep with national priorities on issues such as health, agriculture and housing, the common thread of messages from our partners is that we are staying effective and responsive to the ambitions of Kenyans.

As 2020 beckons, the decade of action starts and it has to be a sprint to deliver on the SDGs, the UN team in Kenya is rolling up its sleeves with greater urgency, ambition and innovation. We will enhance regional cooperation and private-public partnerships as we work with the Government towards lifting millions of the citizens of this region out of poverty and upholding their human rights.

We are re-imagining ways of delivering development in ways such as the co-creation of an SDG innovation lab between the Government of Kenya, the Centre for Effective Global Action at the University of California in Berkeley, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the UN. The SDG Lab will kick off with support for the delivery of Kenya’s Big Four agenda by harnessing, big data, technology and innovation to achieve scale and impact.

As a UN country team, we got off the blocks in 2019 in pursuit of UN Deputy Secretary General Amina Mohammed’s challenge to “flip the orthodoxy” for the repositioning of the UN. We have dared to go beyond the typical and will do whatever it takes to respond effectively to the challenges faced by Kenya’s people, now and in the future.

Siddharth Chatterjee is the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Kenya.

The post 2020 Is the Decade of Action & It Has to Be a Sprint appeared first on Inter Press Service.

By External Source
Dec 23 2019 (IPS-Partners)

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has endorsed the candidacy of African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina for a second term at the helm of the institution.

The decision was announced at the end of the fifty-sixth ordinary session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS, held on Saturday in Abuja, Nigeria.

“In recognition of the sterling performance of Dr. Akinwumi Adesina during his first term of office as President of the African Development Bank, the Authority endorses his candidacy for a second term as the President of the bank,” ECOWAS said in a communique issued after the meeting.

Adesina is the eighth elected President of the African Development Bank Group. He was elected to the five-year term on 28 May 2015 by the Bank’s Board of Governors at its Annual Meetings in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, where the same electoral process will play out next year.

Adesina is a renowned development economist and the first Nigerian to serve as President of the Bank Group. He has served in a number of high-profile positions internationally, including with the Rockefeller Foundation, and was Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development from 2011 to 2015, a career stint that was widely praised for his reforms in the agricultural sector. The former minister brought the same drive to the Bank, making agriculture one of the organization’s priority areas.

Speaking earlier at the opening ceremony, Adesina reminded the group of the African Development Bank’s investments in the region.

“You can always count on the African Development Bank – your Bank,” Adesina told delegates.

ECOWAS President Jean-Claude Kassi Brou commended the Bank’s involvement in West Africa and said it had provided “invaluable technical and financial interventions…in the implementation of numerous projects and programmes”.

The ECOWAS summit included a progress report on the region’s economic performance. It noted the role of the African Development Bank in the continent’s transformation and called for greater cooperation in order to fund projects in West Africa.

“The Authority takes note of the region’s improved economic performance, with ECOWAS real GDP growing by 3.3% in 2019 against 3.0% in 2018, in a context characterised by a decline in inflationary pressures and sound public finances,” the statement said.

“It urges the Member States to continue economic reforms and ensure a sound macroeconomic environment in Member States, with a view to accelerating the structural transformation of ECOWAS economies and facilitating the achievement of the monetary union by 2020.”

The Authority commended efforts made on currency and monetary policy convergence in ECOWAS and laid out plans to advance the movement. These efforts are a key part of the regional integration agenda championed by the African Development Bank, as exemplified by the African Continental Free Trade Area, which aims to become the world’s largest free trade zone.

 

Media contact:  Emeka Anuforo, Communication and External Relations Department, email: e.anuforo@afdb.org.

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By External Source
Dec 23 2019 (IPS-Partners)

The year 2019 was a year of exciting firsts for the African Development Bank Group. The year was marked by innovation and several new milestones that brought us closer to the “Africa we want.”

The Bank pushed its High 5 strategy forward in tandem with the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

We saw continuing progress in Africa’s structural transformation, due in large part to projects financed and supported by the African Development Bank. An increase in the Bank’s capital, completed at the end of October, demonstrated shareholders’ high level of confidence in the institution.

The second Africa Investment Forum, held in November in Johannesburg, attests to continuing investor interest in African infrastructure and development projects.

Looking back at 2019’s key moments:

 

January

On 17 January, the African Development Bank released its 2019 African Economic Outlook report. The theme: ‘Regional Integration for Africa’s Economic Prosperity’ provided short- and medium-term projections on critical socio-economic issues such as employment, and highlighted challenges encountered, and progress made.

Launch of the AEO : https://flic.kr/s/aHsmx6C92x

 

February

On 10 and 11 February in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Bank President Akinwumi Adesina and Lesotho’s King Letsie III co-chaired the official launch of the ‘African Leaders for Nutrition’ scorecard. The continental Nutrition Accountability Scorecard reinforces commitments by African governments to end malnutrition and promote healthy children. The event took place as part of the 32nd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union.

Also, the Bank held its second annual consultative meetings with Governors of the Bank to exchange views and ideas on accelerated engagement in the region. During consultations, the Governors called for a greater focus on women to close Africa’s gender gap, climate change, and development in fragile states.

ALN addis – African Leaders for Nutrition : https://flic.kr/s/aHskSL7HQE

 

March

The Bank hosted the third African Forum for Resilience at its headquarters in Abidjan, under the theme ‘Fragility, Migration, and Resilience.’ 300 participants including heads of government, international organizations, leaders of civil society, academics, and the business community, discussed several challenges resulting from migration: security, youth unemployment, gender issues, and the effects of climate change.

Forum for resilience : https://flic.kr/s/aHskPrCmMV

 

April

The Ivoirian minister for tourism, Siandou Fofana, in conjunction with the Bank, presented a government strategy, entitled ‘Sublime Côte d’Ivoire.’ The country’s stated objective is to become the continent’s fifth-leading tourism destination.

Delegations from the Congo, DRC, Chad, and the Central African Republic also met with the Bank to prepare the lenders roundtable. The goal was to mobilize $2.2 billion to finance two comprehensive projects in central Africa’s transport sector.

 

May

The Portuguese minister of foreign affairs, Augusto Santos Silva, led a high-level delegation to the African Development Bank headquarters and met with Senior Vice President Charles Boamah. A few days later, the president of Burkina Faso, Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, received his mission roadmap as a champion of the African Leaders for Nutrition.

 

June

The Bank’s Annual Meetings returned to the continent after being held in Ahmedabad, India in 2017 and in Busan, South Korea in 2018. The highly successful and productive meetings took place in Malabo, capital of Equatorial Guinea, and brought together some 3,000 participants. The theme was strengthening regional integration in Africa.

Best of video : https://vimeo.com/343230079

 

July

The agreement to establish the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which took effect at the end of May, began its operational phase. It opens the way for the most significant common market created in recent history. A year earlier, 49 African countries signed the agreement in Kigali, Rwanda, the last step in a vast economic project to integrate 55 African countries and create a common market with a combined GDP of $2.5 trillion.

 

August

Eleven new directors joined the Bank’s Board of Directors.

African heads of states and key business leaders from around the world attended TICAD 7 in Yokohama, Japan, under the theme ‘Advancing Africa’s Development through People, Technology and Innovation.’ The Japan-Africa summit provides an opportunity to explore investment opportunities and learn from Japan’s technological, industrial, economic, and development experiences.  TICAD is held every three years alternately in Japan and Africa since 2016.

African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina called on Japanese companies to be “bolder” about making investments in Africa.

In Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron and the G7 heads of state provided $251 million in loan support to the Bank’s Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) initiative for women entrepreneurs in Africa.

TICAD: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmGyTx4x Biarritz AFAWA : https://vimeo.com/380775965

 

September

The Bank’s president presented the transformational ‘Desert to Power’ initiative to heads of state at the G5 Sahel Summit in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. The initiative’s goal is to produce 10GW of solar energy to bring 250 million people out of energy-deprived darkness.

Also, in September, the general secretaries of international financial institutions met for the first time in Africa, at the Bank’s headquarters in Abidjan.

At the UN General Assembly in New York, the African Development Bank and the United Nations held a first-of-its-kind meeting between both institutions to discuss the accelerated and collaborative delivery of the SDGs and the Bank’s High 5 development goals. Seven African presidents attended the meeting.

G5 Desert to power sahel picture : https://flic.kr/s/aHsmGYGnnm UNGA: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmHi1xjK

 

October

During an extraordinary meeting of shareholders on 31 October in Abidjan, the Bank’s governors, representing shareholders from 80 countries, approved a historic capital increase of $115 billion. The institution’s capital more than doubled to $208 billion, which solidified the Bank’s leadership in financing development in Africa. The increase, the largest since the Bank’s creation in 1964, provided clear evidence of shareholders’ trust. Aside from significant opportunities to do more for Africa, the increase in capital will allow the Bank to maintain its AAA rating, with a stable outlook, from the top rating agencies.

GCC picture: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmJ4McrV

 

November

Once again, Johannesburg hosted the Africa Investment Forum.

The Forum ended on a high note with 56 boardroom deals valued at $67.6 billion tabled – a 44% increase from last year. Of these, fifty-two deals worth $40.1 billion secured investor interest.

The Africa Investment Forum is championed by the Bank in partnership with Africa50, Afrexim Bank, the Trade Development Bank, the Development Bank of Southern Africa, the Islamic Development Bank, the Africa Finance Corporation, and the European Investment Bank.

Abidjan welcomed the third Conference on Land Policy in Africa, co-sponsored by the Bank.

Also, the Bank co-hosted delegations from around the world for the 1st Global Gender Summit held on the African continent, in Kigali, Rwanda. The gathering, attended by the presidents of Ethiopia – Sahle-Work Zewde, and Rwanda, Paul Kagame – moved the needle forward on gender equality and women’s empowerment in Africa and around the world.

Several agreements were signed as part of the Bank’s AFAWA initiative to facilitate project financing for women entrepreneurs in Africa.

On 5 November, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Senior Minister of Singapore, was hosted at the Bank’s headquarters as the guest speaker at the third Kofi Annan Eminent Speakers Series.

AIF best of video: https://vimeo.com/373188656 Gender family picture: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmJDsy5D

 

December

Three key events closed out the year. First, the African Economic Conference held in Sharm-El-Sheikh, Egypt, where the future of African youth was the focus of discussions. The same week, Johannesburg hosted the fifteenth replenishment of the African Development Fund (ADF-15), during which donors announced $7.6 billion in financing for low-income African countries.

The United Nations World Climate Change Conference (COP25), held in Madrid from 2 to 14 December, was attended by a Bank delegation led by Anthony Nyong, Director for Climate Change and Green Growth. Nyong was nominated earlier this year as one of the ‘100 Most Influential People in Climate Policy 2019’ by Apolitical, a peer-to-peer learning platform for governments.

African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina received the All Africa Business Leaders 2019 African of the Year award in recognition of his bold and innovative leadership in helping shape the development of Africa’s economies. The AABLA award recognizes remarkable leadership and salutes game changers of business on the continent.

All in all, it has been a fast-paced and productive year for the African Development Bank Group.

Our message as we move into 2020, remains loud and clear: The African Development Bank will continue to stand alongside regional member countries to accelerate sustainable development, economic growth, and social progress, and … to make a transformational difference.

AEC best of video: https://vimeo.com/377400840 ADF picture: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmJNciUp

The post Looking back at 2019: Key moments appeared first on Inter Press Service.

By Nayema Nusrat
NEW YORK, Dec 23 2019 (IPS)

“When I think about Bangladesh, I think about everybody. Not everybody is enjoying Rabindranath and the great literature and culture that Bangladesh has. But I think everybody has got the right to have this experience”, deeply felt by late Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, founder of BRAC (Building Resources Across Communities), a unique, integrated development organization that many have hailed as the most effective anti-poverty organization in the world; who passed away December 20, 2019at the age of 83.

Sir Fazle Hasan Abed. Credit: The Daily Star

Sir Fazle, who was knighted by the British Crown in 2009, grew BRAC into the world’s largest non-governmental organization. BRAC has provided the opportunity for nearly 150 million people worldwide to improve their lives, have enhanced food security and follow a pathway out of poverty. The scale and impact of BRAC’s work in Bangladesh and ten other countries is unprecedented.

He pioneered a new approach to development that has effectively and sustainably addressed the interconnectedness between hunger and poverty. In this regard, Sir Fazle broke new ground by melding scalable development models, scientific innovation, and local participation to confront the complex causes of poverty, hunger and powerlessness among the poor.

Sir Fazle was honored with scores of awards in his lifetime for his significant contributions in developing world; he was named as 2015 World Food Prize Laureate for his unparalleled achievements in building BRAC.

Among many of the other distinguished awards he received are, Spanish order of Civil Merit; Leo Tolstoy International Gold Medal; Lego Prize; Thomas Francis, Jr Medal in Global Public Health; Trust Women Hero Award; Inaugural WISE Prize for Education; Palli Karma Shahayak Foundation (PKSF) Lifetime Achievement in Social Development and Poverty Alleviation; David Rockefeller Bridging Leadership Award; GleitsmanFoundation International Activist Award; Olof Palme Prize; and Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership.

United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Executive Director Henrietta H Fore expressed his condolence, “All of us at UNICEF will miss his ideas and advice. We will never forget the example he set”.

Sir Fazle, founded numerous projects, including health, agriculture, and education with a vision to pull the poor out of poverty in every way. “Everything we did in Bangladesh we did with one focus: getting poor people out of poverty because we feel that poverty is dehumanising”, Sir Fazle had said to The Guardian.

For anyone growing up in Bangladesh, BRAC is a common name, almost every village kid you will meet inevitably goes to BRAC schools. BRAC’s Early Childhood Development (ECD) and Centre for Play programmes are designed to provide learning opportunities to children, especially in the early years. The play-based programmes are designed for refugee/displaced children who need help to recover from trauma. BRAC’s pre and primary schools have more than 12 million children graduated.

Dr. Muhammad Yunus, noble prize laureate, Chairman of Yunus Center noted in his tribute to Sir Fazle that how his contributions have positively touched almost everyone growing up or living in Bangladesh – “It is certainly not an exaggeration to say that there is hardly anyone among the 170 million people of Bangladesh who do not benefit in some way from Abed’s programs or enjoy products and services provided by his organizations. If she is a poor person or a village woman, then she is in contact with Abed’s activities at every step of her life – In education, health, income generation, self-Awareness and many more”.

Sir Fazle believed in gender equality, women empowerment and their role in poverty alleviation; in 1978, BRAC established ‘Aarong’, one of the biggest ethical lifestyle retail chains in the country,primarily by engaging rural artisan women who producedhandcrafts aiming at pulling them out of poverty. Today, ‘Aarong’ supports approximately 65,000 artisans impacting lives of more than 325,000 people through ‘Ayesha Abed Foundation’ and 850 entrepreneurs with fair terms of trade; giving them access to BRAC’s holistic support including mental health care, hygiene awareness and subsidized latrines, micro credit, legal aid, day care and education for their children.

Melinda Gates, co-founder of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, recalled Sir Fazle’s contribution in her message saying, “We were saddened to hear of his passing and will forever draw inspiration from his work, as will the rest of the world, which he left so much better than he found”.

The first ever Sexuality and Rights conference in Bangladesh was held by BRAC School of Public Health, in 2007. It created an inclusive space for both men and women in Bangladesh. There are so many women with successful careers locally and internationally, who would not be where they are today without BRAC School of Public Health.

Nobel Prize-awarded couple Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo, in their message, said, “How often do we see people like Sir Fazle Hasan Abed? His absence has left a great sense of loss in all of us”.

BRAC has distributed USD 1.5 billion in micro loans as one of many of its projects to help the poorest people in Bangladesh graduate out of extreme poverty. In order to make micro finance sustainable for the poorest, BRAC built an effective business model around micro financing which included grants known as transfer of assets which could be a cow or half a dozen of goats, or any resources that would generate an income for them; a stipend system until they start earning income utilizing the resources, and one on one counselling sessions which taught them strategies on how to best use the loans and resources to maintain sustainable flow of income and build a habit of saving money.

Former World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said, “The scale and impact of what he has done, and yet the utter humility with which he has done everything, is a lesson for every single one of us.”

Another of many of his greatest initiatives was to combat the increasing child and infant mortality rate. During the 1980’s diarrheal diseases became one of the top reasons of the premature mortality of children under 5 years in Bangladesh. BRAC introduced home-made oral saline to the mothers through various campaigning, and started immunization program for infants in village, which were revolutionary steps decreasing the rate of child death. “We went to every household in Bangladesh teaching mothers how to make oral rehydration fluid at home to combat diarrheal deaths”, the pioneer recalled as stated by The Guardian.

WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Sir Fazle Abed’s passion and work in alleviating poverty and empowering the poor inspired many. “My thoughts are with him and his family and friends,” he added.

BRAC now has extended its operations in 14 more countries, touching the lives of many more helpless people globally.

“His nearly 50 years of visionary leadership at BRACtransformed millions of lives in Bangladesh and beyond and changed the way the world thinks about development. Driven by an unwavering belief in the inherent dignity of all people, he empowered those in extreme poverty to build better futures for themselves and their families”, said former US President Bill Clinton in remembrance of Sir Fazle.

There are just a handful of people who change the world and impact millions of lives, Sir Fazle Hasan Abed was one of them who will continue to live on globally through his remarkable contributions. Dr. Yunus has articulated it perfectly, “Abed has left behind a confident Bangladesh. The story of his immense courage, self-confidence, and creativity will continue to inspire all generations to come. Abed will live as an icon of Bangladesh for posterity”.

The post A Tribute to Sir Fazle Hasan Abed (1936 – 2019) appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Dr. Rehman Sobhan with Sir Abed. Photo: Courtesy

By Rehman Sobhan
Dec 20 2019 (IPS-Partners)

(The Daily Star) – I can think of few people who have done more for the world’s deprived population than Fazle Hasan Abed. His contribution spans Bangladesh where BRAC, the organisation he founded in 1972, services close to 10 million of the country’s underprivileged households. Through Abed’s commitment to serve the world’s deprived, BRAC has now extended its reach across the globe. It has invested its experience in rehabilitating the tsunami victims in Sri Lanka and the war-ravaged population in Afghanistan where two of its officials, working in high risk areas, were held hostage by the Taliban. BRAC is now reaching out on a large scale to serve the underprivileged populations in various regions of Africa. It has been actively engaged in Pakistan, Philippines, Tanzania, Uganda, South Sudan, Liberia and Sierra Leone. BRAC has even extended its reach across the Atlantic to Haiti.

BRAC’s extraordinary engagement with the deprived has transformed it into the largest NGO in the world, with an annual budget which is approaching a billion dollars and a staff of over 111,000. BRAC’s singular contribution to the world of serving its deprived communities has been its ability to take its programmes to scale so that they graduate from micro-welfare projects to the transformation of entire communities. It is now more than an NGO. Its scale of operations would suggest that it is now a corporation for the deprived. Its organisational capacity as well as its market recognition are comparable to any of the top international NGOs such as Oxfam, and have been recognised as management case studies in the best business schools. BRAC is now in a position to underwrite over 80 percent of its budget through operating one of the world’s largest microfinance programmes. Its investments in a variety of socially-oriented commercial ventures, such as BRAC Bank, have further enhanced its internal income generating capacity, which has enabled it to expand its programmes to reach even larger numbers of the deprived.

The remarkable growth and reach of BRAC owes in large measure to the herculean endeavours of Fazle Hasan Abed, its founder. Abed has combined extraordinary entrepreneurial and management skills with a genuine passion for public service which began with a commitment to the dispossessed of his own country, but has now extended to the deprived across the world. Abed, who began his professional life as a highly paid executive of a multilateral institution, went through the life-changing experience of direct involvement, first in one of history’s most devastating natural calamities, and then through his response to the genocide inflicted on the Bangalis in 1971. Abed’s exposure to the human consequences of such acts of violence by man and nature persuaded him to invest the rest of his life in helping not just the victims of devastation but those whose entire life is engaged in coping with the uncertainties of nature and the injustices of society.

In responding to the challenge of deprivation, Abed has demonstrated a renaissance vision, which equipped him to recognise its holistic nature in Bangladesh. He constructed a multi-faceted agenda for change which incorporated credit, healthcare, education and skill development so as to empower the excluded to stand on their own feet. His approach of transforming the poor from victims into masters of their own fate encouraged him to build an organisation which could graduate from aid dependence to fiscal self-reliance through building up the market competitiveness of its income-generating programmes. The growth and transformation of BRAC has made it a role model for other NGOs not just in Bangladesh but across the world. These achievements have been recognised in a plethora of awards and prizes which have been showered on Abed and BRAC, and given Abed access to global political leaders, heads of international institutions and CEOs of the corporate world.

Abed has invested 45 years of his life in serving the deprived at home and abroad. His humility and understated projection of his remarkable achievements conceal a quiet determination to let his actions speak louder than his words. As he enters the eighth decade of his life, his commitment to public service remains undiminished. Within Bangladesh, he continues to broaden and deepen his engagement with the deprived. But Abed will not rest until he has brought about genuine change in the lives of the deprived not just at home but across the world. May he continue in his quest to serve the deprived as long as he has the strength and will to do so.

The writer is the Chairman of Centre for Policy Dialogue.

This story was originally published by The Daily Star, Bangladesh

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By Crystal Orderson
DHAKA, Bangladesh, Dec 20 2019 (IPS)

From Dec 11-12 the plight of people with Leprosy took centre stage during the National Conference on Zero Leprosy Initiative 2030 and at the historic and the first-ever the Conference of Organizations of persons affected by Leprosy- in partnership with the Nippon Foundation.

Participants engaged and discussed issues impacting on the lives of people with leprosy.

In another first for the country, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina addressed the National Conference on Dec 11thand said that the discrimination against leprosy sufferers should end and committed her government to ensure a leprosy-free Bangladesh before 2030.

IPS had a team of three senior journalists, led by Crystal Orderson, Stella Paul and Rafiqul Islam at the conference filing daily multimedia reports on the discussions and talks on one of the world’s neglected diseases.

The post A Leprosy-Free World Is Possible appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Plastics are increasingly polluting the seas and oceans and threatening marine ecosystems. Credit: Busani Bafana/IPS

By Janaya Wilkins
LONDON, Dec 20 2019 (IPS)

Plastic pollution is currently the largest global threat to marine life. Each year, 10-20 million tonnes of plastic ends up in our oceans, killing approximately 100,000 marine mammals and over a million seabirds.

Whilst the media has certainly helped raise awareness and inspire a change of attitude towards plastics, the amount of plastic in our oceans is still rising. As a result, vast numbers of sea species are now critically endangered, and the need for urgent action has never been stronger.

Marine Debris

So, where does all this plastic come from? Well, around 80% of all marine debris, derives from from land-based sources. This includes littering, illegal waste dumping, and the improper disposal of products such as wet wipes, sanitary products and cotton buds.

And although more parts of the world are now turning their attention towards the issue, the amount of rubbish entering the ocean is rising, with one truckload of plastic entering the ocean every single minute.

The remaining 20% of marine debris is the result of ocean based activity. This is mainly from the fishing industry, but also caused by boats that collect trash and dump it out at sea.

Dwindling Populations

Currently, there are more than 5 trillion plastic particles floating around the world’s oceans and this number is continuing to rise fast. According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and the World Economic Forum, there could be more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2050 if we don’t act now.

But what exactly would this mean for marine life?

The WWF states as many as 700 marine species are currently threatened by plastics. But whilst large numbers die from choking on shards of plastic, the chemicals in plastic such as petroleum and bisphenol, are proving just as deadly.

Credit: UN Environment

Recent studies have revealed that 50% of the world’s coral reefs have already been destroyed, and another 40% could be lost over the next 30 years.

When plastic is ingested, these toxic chemicals are released and absorbed into the body tissue. Overtime, this can impact fertility and weaken the immune system. As a result, those feeding on plastic are breeding less and becoming increasingly vulnerable to diseases and infections, resulting in population decline.

This is particularly concerning for top marine predators such as dolphins, polar bears and whales, with studies revealing higher contamination levels among predators at the top of the food chain. Yet this isn’t caused by ingesting plastic directly.

Instead, pollutants are accumulating in their bodies through a process called trophic transfer. This is where toxins consumed by smaller creatures such as plankton and krill are stored into their body tissue. Over time, these toxins are passed up through the food chain. In most cases, these toxins come from microplastics.

The Rise of Microplastics

Microplastic are small plastic particles (less than 5mm) and it’s estimated there are between 15-51 trillion of these individual individual plastic pieces floating in our oceans.

In a recent UK study, scientists examined 50 stranded sea creatures including porpoises, dolphins, grey seals and a pygmy sperm whale, and microplastics were found in the gut of every single animal.

And it’s not just ocean creatures that are at risk. Microplastics have also been discovered in seafood, with research suggesting that each seafood consumer in Europe ingests an average of 11,000 plastic particles each year.

How Can We Beat It?

Plastic pollution is a man-made disaster, and it won’t go away by itself. To end plastic pollution, we must start by reducing our plastic consumption, particularly single-use plastics.

Much of the power lies with the large corporations and manufacturers, and they desperately need to realise their responsibility, and find other alternatives to plastic.

But you can still make an impact on a smaller scale, by reducing your own plastic consumption and encouraging others around you.

It won’t be easy, since almost everything we buy is packaged in plastic. In fact, UK supermarkets alone produce 800,000 tonnes of plastic every year. But start by making small changes wherever possible.

Look for zero waste products like shampoo bars and deoderant sticks, or products made from plastic alternatives such as bamboo toothbrushes and glass milk bottles. Participate in a beach clean every time you visit a body of water.

There are also plenty of great charities working to help combat plastic pollution. Plastic Oceans, Project Aware and Changing Tides Foundation are just a few examples but there are many more out there to choose from!

*SLO active are an exciting new social enterprise dedicated to cleaning up and protecting our ocean. They are cause-led, focusing on oceanwear and activism. For every piece bought, SLO active will donate to one of their ocean charity partners of your choice. They call it ‘Earth to Ocean’. Learn more at https://sloactive.com/.

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Excerpt:

Janaya Wilkins is the founder and CEO of SLO* active, the lifestyle brand dedicated to protecting the ocean by selling sustainable luxury ocean wear.

The post Plastic: The Largest Predator in Our Oceans appeared first on Inter Press Service.

By Haider A. Khan
DENVER, Colorado, Dec 20 2019 (IPS)

When I decided to become a US citizen in 1990s, it was a deliberate decision to spend my life fighting for preserving and deepening democratic freedoms at a place where I have spent all my adult life. Having struggled against a brutal military dictatorship while I was a teenager, I knew that democracy is something you have to fight hard for. Therefore, when I became a citizen, for the swearing in event I took with me key documents of US democratic heritage. These included the constitution, the federalist papers and related documents from the 1780s. Since that ceremony I have tried to learn as much as I could about the crucial idea of democratic checks and balances among the executive, legislative and judiciary branches of our government. I have come to realize how prescient some of the revolutionaries from the 1770s and 1780s were in identifying the potential sources of tyranny and corruption of democracy. I have always looked at the impeachment provisions in this light.

Haider A. Khan

As we know, George Mason, the author of Virginia’s Declaration of Rights, over the course of the constitutional convention, realized the threat to democracy from the powerful executive branch of the new government he and his fellow revolutionaries were creating. Mason rightly concluded that the president of the republic could become a tyrant as oppressive as any absolute monarch. We also know that this line of thinking led to Mason’s intervention in the debates on September 8, 1787, when he asked why were treason and bribery the only grounds in the draft Constitution for impeaching the president? His fear was that treason would not include “attempts to subvert the Constitution.”And he was right.

It was his fellow revolutionary from Virginia, James Madison who helped Mason to develop a separate class of impeachable offenses. This was what by now should be familiar to us from the House Judiciary Committee hearings— “other high crimes and misdemeanors.” It was clear also from the seeming lack of understanding of the Republican house members why this phrase has been so contentious. It also underlined how the inclusion and interpretation can offer people fighting against tyranny of a dangerous executive power as the one at present some crucial assistance.

We have to thank the foresight and insight of three Virginians—Mason, Madison and delegate Edmund Randolph for this inclusion. These three men had very different positions on the Constitution; but their arguments in the debates in Philadelphia and at Virginia’s ratifying convention in Richmond produced crucial definitions of an impeachable offense. Ultimately, the delegates agreed that a president could and should be impeached for abuses of power that subvert the Constitution, the integrity of government, or the rule of law.

These three Virginians—Mason, Madison, and Randolph— all defended vigorously the rights of the legislative branch to carry on procedures of impeachment if the evidence pointed towards abuses of power that subvert the Constitution, the integrity of government, or the rule of law. Thus on July 20, they opposed the arguments of Charles Pinckney of South Carolina and Gouverneur Morris of Pennsylvania who had moved to strike the impeachment clause. The argumens of Charles Pinckney of South Carolina and Gouverneur Morris of Pennsylvania were remarkably similar to what many Republican members of the House said during the debate on Dec. 18, 2019. In 1787 Morris had argued: “[If the president] should be re-elected, that will be sufficient proof of his innocence,”. “[Impeachment] will render the Executive dependent on those who are to impeach.” Mason’s response was forthright :“Shall any man be above justice? Shall that man be above it who can commit the most extensive injustice? Shall the man who has practiced corruption, and by that means procured his appointment in the first instance, be suffered to escape punishment by repeating his guilt?”

Consistently, James Madison argued that the Constitution must provide “for defending the community against the incapacity, negligence, or perfidy of the Chief Magistrate.” “He might pervert his administration into a scheme of peculation or oppression.” Furthermore, Madison presciently warned. “He might betray his trust to foreign powers.” This has turned out to be the key issue in the recent impeachment investigations and hearings dividing the pro- and anti-impeachment house members. At the end, as we also know, the delegates voted, 8 states to 2, to make the executive removable by impeachment thus following up on the English parliamentary model of impeachment.

We may debate whether the Founders got the balance on impeachment just right or settled for a vague standard that is often too weak to stop abuse of power by the president. This is clearly an issue in the current situation. Johnson’s acquittal—in spite of Kennedy’s defense of it in his 1955 book— may have enabled him to disable progressive legislation during the reconstruction.

But when as an ordinary citizen I look back on these debates and further practices in the US history, the brighter side of our historic legacy stands out. There have always been sincere and serious fighters for institutionalizing checks and balances to guarantee freedom. But the application is a complex process. The current situation looks bleak because of the more than usual dose of lies, half truths and plain ignorance of our constitution by some of our law makers. However, the constitutional arguments offered defending the right of the ordinary citizens’ representatives to take the task of impeachment seriously shows that the spirit and wisdom of Mason, Madison and Randolph are still alive among the majority of the house members.

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Tanzanian ICT entrepreneur, Rose Funja, shows off one of the drones she uses as a key tool in her data mapping business. Credit: Busani Bafana/IPS

By Quratulain Fatima
ISLABAMAD, Dec 20 2019 (IPS)

It will take around 100 years for the world to reach gander parity according to the Global Gender Gap Report 2020 just published by World Economic Forum.

Evidence indicates that climate change and inequality are directly related. This link manifests itself in increased poverty and food insecurity through rising number of droughts and water related problems.

Water and ICT’s seemed like world apart from in 2017 when  I discovered first hand how technology can be used to facilitate water disputes in Pakistan. The community I work with had long standing water disputes.

Facilitators for dispute resolution at most times had no data on what worked and did not work in resolving conflicts in the area. Tech helped us to bring women and men to the table and learn from their stories to act as better dispute resolution facilitators.

That intervention led to the establishment of Women4PeaceTech, a platform that aims to decrease gender in equality and empower women through technology based trainings for economic empowerment while contributing towards sustainable peace.

While I was researching models for a women and tech platform , I came across very few such organizations or platforms available to women – especially in developing countries. This situation reflects the existing absence of women in the tech field.

When men and women have the same level of digital fluency — defined as the extent to which they embrace and use digital technologies to become more knowledgeable, connected, and effective — women are better at using those digital skills to gain more education and to find work

According to the ITU, the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies (ICTs), ICT Facts and Figures 2017 , the proportion of women using the Internet is 12% lower than the proportion of men using the Internet worldwide. In least developed countries this drops to only 5% women compared to 7% of men.

Statistics show that the number of tech based jobs has increased but the number of women in tech has decreased since 1980. All over the world the number of women in tech is low, so much so women ratio is only one in five of global startup founders. Women lag behind in jobs in almost all ICT industries all over the world.

In developing countries like Pakistan where gender inequality is already pronounced, women in tech remain a very small percentage. Although the Pakistan government has put in place programs like ICT for Girls and women entrepreneurs their reach and access is still very limited to urban areas only.

Yet the potential impact of women in tech is great: Evidence from the International Peace Institute suggests that economically empowered women lead to more peaceful societies. In developing countries, where women mobility is somewhat restricted due to gender inequality issues, working in tech and online platforms can provide women a source of income from the safety of their homes.

Research conducted in 31 countries by Accenture found that when men and women have the same level of digital fluency — defined as the extent to which they embrace and use digital technologies to become more knowledgeable, connected, and effective — women are better at using those digital skills to gain more education and to find work. Findings also suggest that digital fluency help women find and stay in their jobs, it also improves their chances to excel at education.

When women get the opportunities to change their perspectives and access to avenues through ICTs, their economic empowerment impact a whole set of factors even in informal settings. For example, in Rwanda, some 3,500 women farmers are now connected through mobile technology to information, markets and finance.

In India women are creating businesses with impact from their homes using digital platforms. Movements against harassment and violence have started from the internet and have empowered women to speak their truth impacting societal change.

However, to improve gender equality in tech and entrepreneurship, we need to plan and design for it. Men still continue to use digital technologies more frequently than women and are more proactive in learning new digital skills.

This can be partly attributed to how our education systems are designed that discourage women from STEM as well as to access to opportunities to learn digital skills for women. Women must be encouraged to improve their digital skill set. Training and online courses can be a very good avenue for learning new digital skills.

Programmes that are designed to attract startups must specifically target women inclusion in them. Tech initiatives should aim at creating more and more spaces for women where they can develop digital skills especially for economic empowerment, identify their own potential to lead and learn about available opportunities.

Especially in developing countries, governments should take lead in creating digital training platforms for women that not only reach urban women but also empower rural women. This should be complemented by gender inclusive ICT policies at the government level that ensure women and girls affordable access to digital technologies.

Women startups should be encouraged and financed for success on priority.  Women mentors in digital world must be made visible and accessible to women learning digital skills.

Local initiatives can play a very important role in digital training of women. Local campaigns to create awareness and interest of available digital literacy opportunities can go a long way in empowering women.

Despite its promise of vast opportunities , the tech world remains a male arena. If we want to create a peaceful and equal world for all then we need to open the arena to all.

Flight Lieutenant Quratulain Fatima is Cofounder Women4PeaceTech and a policy practitioner working extensively in rural and conflict-ridden areas of Pakistan with a focus on gender inclusive development and conflict prevention. She is a 2018 Aspen New Voices Fellow.

Follow her on Twitter, @moodee_q.

The post More Women in Tech Will Lead to Peaceful Gender Equal World appeared first on Inter Press Service.

By Jan Lundius
STOCKHOLM / ROME, Dec 19 2019 (IPS)

Around 3 pm on 16 October 2017, Daphne Caruana Aruna Galizia was returning home when her Peugeot suddenly exploded 80 metres from her house outside of Bidnjia, a small town 15 km from Malta´s capital Valletta. Her son Matthew heard the violent blast and rushed out to find the smoldering wreck of the car on a field by the road: “I looked down and there were my mother’s body parts all around me”. Her scattered body had hit the ground 10 metres from the demolished vehicle.1

Ever Since she in 1990 became a regular columnist in Malta´s two biggest newspapers, Daphne and her family had lived under a constant threat, being harassed by phone calls, letters, and e-mails, as well as notes pinned to the front door of their house, which furthermore had suffered two arson attacks. Their neighbour´s car had been set on fire, probably mistaken for being Daphne´s. Rufus, their collie, had been shot, a terrier called Zulu poisoned and when the dog they bought to replace them was found lying outside the main entrance with its throat slit, they did not acquire any more dogs.

At the time of her death, Daphne was facing 48 libel suits. Conditions had worsened considerably after Daphne in March 2008 began a blog called Running Commentary, which included commentaries on current affairs and public figures, providing information far too controversial for Malta´s established media outlets. The blog occasionally attracted over 400,000 views, more than the combined circulation of the country’s newspapers.2

During 2016 and 2017, Daphne divulged sensitive information related to the Panama Papers Scandal. This concerned 11.5 million documents detailing financial and attorney-client information for more than 214,488 offshore corporate service entities, created by and taken from a Panamanian law firm.3 The leaked documents contained financial information about wealthy individuals and public officials that hitherto had been kept outside the public view.

In 2016, Daphne´s Running Commentary reported that Malta´s tourism minister Konrad Mizzi was involved in shady businesses and he was compelled to reveal the existence of a New Zealand-registered trust, which he claimed was set up to manage his family’s assets. However, the affair continued to be unraveled and Daphne´s further revelations forced Prime Minister Joseph Muscat´s chief of staff, Keith Schembri, to admit that he owned a similar trust in New Zealand, which in turn held a Panama company.

The cat was out of the bag. Daphne intensified her reporting on Government corruption, nepotism, patronage, allegations of money laundering, links between Malta’s online gambling industry and organized crime, surreptitious payments to politicians from the government of Azerbaijan and skullduggery connected with Malta’s citizenship-by-investment scheme. Her accusations came dangerously close to Prime Minister Joseph Muscat when she alleged that Egrant, a Panama company related to the scheme involving Mizzi and Schembri, was owned by Muscat´s wife Michelle. However, the threatening scandal sizzled out after Joseph Muscat had called for and obtained support for an early general election that resulted in the consolidation of his Labour Party.

Sometime during the summer of 2017 at the posh bar Busy Bee, a hang-out for yacht owners in Valletta´s Msida Marina, the taxi driver and cocaine dealer Melvin Theuma met with three shady characters. Theuma was a well-known “errand-boy” for the prominent businessman Yorgen Fenech. This extremely wealthy man controls casinos and hotels in Valletta, is the director of the Maltese-Azerbaijan-German company Electrogas and owner of the Dubai-registered company 17 Black, which facilitated Mizzi´s and Schembri´s contacts with economic hiding places and money-laundering facilities in New Zealand and Panama. According to one of the men who met with Theuma, Vincent Muscat, he and the two brothers Alfred and George De Giorgio were offered 30 thousand euros in advance for planning the death of Daphne Caruana and an additional payment of 120 thousand euros ten days after a successfully committed murder. Vincent Muscat and the Giorgio brothers were referred to the Sicilian Mafia to obtain high precision guns and planned shooting Daphne from a building opposite her workplace, where she occasionally approached a window to improve her make up. However, it was difficult to get a clean shot and they abandoned the plan as being too risky. Instead, they used material and technique provided by the Sicilians to blow up her car. Vincent Muscat´s confession was confined to police reports but leaked to Reuters and the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, though it was suppressed by the Maltese Government, which instead of having the three murderers convicted kept them in custody, with DVDs, computer games and dinners provided by restaurants outside of the jail, awaiting that the 20 months custody time would expire.4

Several Maltese citizens have been extremely upset by the murder of Daphne Caruana, though people are generally reluctant to talk about politics and Prime Minister Muscat seems to be generally appreciated. He has been in office since 2013 and few imagined his tenure would be ending anytime soon. Muscat´s Labour Party has been praised for eliminating Malta’s national deficit, decreasing unemployment to historic lows, and presiding over an unprecedented period of economic growth. The island´s annual growth rates have for several years been between 6 and 7 percent. Large-scale changes to welfare have taken place, accompanied by increases in minimum wages and the introduction of a successful private sector involvement in healthcare. At the same time online casinos, financial service providers and real estate developers have been unencumbered by strict regulations and overzealous government officials.

Already two years ago, a European Commission observed a blatant shortage of personnel responsible for investigating white-collar crimes, while politicians all-too-frequently interfered with the judiciary and the police. During his six years tenure, Joseph Muscat has suddenly replaced the chief of police no less than five times and he frequently replaces judges and public prosecutors. He has also personally appointed the members of a Permanent Commission against Corruption. Sale of passports to wealthy clients has become one of the country’s most important sources of income. Since Muscat in 2013 approved such passport sales it is estimated that Malta has earned 2.5 billion euros from the practice. Buyers are frequently Russian oligarchs, Arab sheiks or Chinese businessmen, eager to attain the advantages of an EU citizenship.5

On 11 February 2019, the European Parliament’s Special Committee on Financial Crimes, Tax Evasion and Tax Avoidance (TAX 3) conducted a public hearing on alleged financial crimes in Malta, while linking them to the assassination of Daphne Caruana and highlighting a lack of cooperation between Maltese security institutions and the judiciary system.6 On 28 November, EU´s Democracy, Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights Monitoring Group received an update from Europol regarding ”clarity and justice in the Daphne Caruana murder case”. Pressured by the EU, Maltese police had finally reacted and arrested Melvin Theuma, intermediary between executors and originators of the Carauna murder. The Prime Minister provided Theuma with a presidential pardon in exchange for information and the ”errand-boy” began to talk. The day after Theuma’s arrest, Yorgen Fenech attempted to leave Malta on his private yacht, but the Armed Forces of Malta boarded the boat and arrested him.

In a court statement, Fenech accused Keith Schembri as being the mastermind behind Daphne´s murder. Schembri resigned from his post as Joseph Muscat´s Chief of Staff and was subsequently questioned by the police. His confessions have so far not been made public. However, Schembri apparently admitted that he shortly after the assassination of Daphne Caruana provided Melvin Theuma with a government job through which he was paid regularly without doing any work. During court proceedings Yorgen Fenech stated that Shembri had warned him that his phone was tapped and kept him informed of progress in the Caruana murder investigation. After being interrogated, Schembri was released on police bail. His present whereabouts are unknown.

As a reaction to the alarming 28 November report the EU sent an ”ad hoc” delegation to Malta, which between the 3rd and 4th of December ”took stock of the situation on the ground”. The delegation concluded that Prime Minister Muscat’s failure to resign immediately constituted a serious risk for the murder investigation and that connected probes would be compromised, adding that the murder investigation had arrived at a crucial point and any risk of political or other interference must be categorically excluded.7

These days when political leaders implicate that investigative journalism is “fake news” and journalists are murdered on behalf of criminals and corrupt politicians, the courageous efforts of Daphne Caruana prove how important an independent press is and thus underscores our obligation to safeguard free speech around the world.

1 “Murder in paradise:The death of a crusading journalist rocks Malta.” The Economist, October 21, 2017
2 In October 2019 Malta´s population was approximated at 493,560.
3 https://www.webcitation.org/6gVXG3LvI?url=https://www.occrp.org/en/panamapapers/overview/intro/
4 Bonini, Carlo (2019) “I masnadieri di Malta,” La Repubblica, November 29
5 Hornung, Frank and Juan Moreno (2019) ”Die Mafia-Insel,” Der Spiegel, December 6.
6 http://www.europarl.europa.eu/cmsdata/162000/TAX3%20Newsletter_Issue%203.pdf
7 https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20191204IPR68278/malta-meps-conclude-fact-finding-visit-to-assess-caruana-galizia-murder-inquiry and https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/take-a-stance-on-malta-european-parliament-president-urges-eu-leaders.756580?fbclid=IwAR0936r0_mS-bbZVFmJI4_De1d9LwZpi-ci0TxtkcSaTd1FDHOX-clZlpRM

Jan Lundius holds a PhD. on History of Religion from Lund University and has served as a development expert, researcher and advisor at SIDA, UNESCO, FAO and other international organisations.

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Credit: United Nations

By Antonio Guterres
ROME, Dec 19 2019 (IPS)

As we prepare to bid farewell to 2019, we must take a clearsighted look at the global situation and the new challenges we face.

Our world is undergoing a shift. It is no longer bipolar or unipolar. But it is not yet truly multipolar. Balances of power are changing, creating new and dangerous risks.

Around the globe – and just a few hundred kilometres from here – national and regional tensions are spreading.

The Sahel, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan – these conflicts are causing terrible suffering and uprooting millions of people.

Rather than wars between sovereign States, we now see asymmetric conflicts between States and non-State groups. With the growing interference of third parties, these conflicts rapidly take on a regional dimension and are linked to new forms of global instability and terrorism.

The impact of the Libyan conflict on the Sahel and the Lake Chad regions shows how national conflicts can draw in neighbouring states and global powers, creating regional insecurity with implications across continents.

It is particularly worrying to see that the Security council has declared an arms embargo and that we have several member states providing weapons.

In the background to these conflicts is the renewed threat of nuclear proliferation, which is making a worrying comeback.

If we hope to make our world more peaceful and secure, we must start by addressing the underlying causes of tension and conflict.

Prevention is more essential than ever; and prevention on the scale we need is only possible through multilateralism.

That is why all the work of the United Nations is based on crisis prevention and mediation; combating violent extremism and strengthening peace and security; advancing sustainable, inclusive development; and protecting the human rights and dignity of all people, everywhere.

We are pursuing all these efforts in cooperation with regional organizations, including the European Union, a long-standing and essential partner.

I want to focus on five areas in which we face new risks and widening fault lines – and suggest some ways of solutions.

The first area is a failure of global solidarity with the most vulnerable.

I arrived in Rome from Geneva, where I attended the Global Refugee Forum. This forum aims to turn the Global Compact on Refugees, agreed by governments last year, into action, by sharing responsibility for refugees between members of the international community.

I commend the openness, care and compassion the Italians have shown towards tens of thousands of refugees who have arrived on your shores in recent years.

It is deeply troubling that refugees and migrants continue to die as they cross seas and deserts. We must do everything we can to prevent it, by taking action in countries of origin, transit countries and countries of destination.

Above all, we need collective responses, including development programmes that target young people with opportunities and jobs in regions of origin. We must investigate and prosecute the human traffickers and criminal networks that profit from people’s misery.

We must strengthen regular pathways for migration and the resettlement of refugees.

And honour the integrity of the international refugee protection regime, not just in words, but in deeds.

European Mediterranean countries that receive refugees and migrants like Greece and Italy are entitled to solidarity and support from their European partners. Unfortunately, until now, we have not seen that solidarity and support fully materialized.

It is unacceptable that people who fear for their lives are being blamed for societies’ problems. We must all support each other.

We are seeing a troubling pushback against human rights around the world, including rising misogyny, xenophobia, discrimination, racism and hate speech of all kinds.

Populists try to exploit discontent and division to win and keep power.

We must challenge them with leadership and political courage, based on reason and facts. That is why I have initiated two new strategies at the United Nations: to safeguard religious sites, and to combat hate speech in all its forms.

Diversity is not a threat but an asset. But it requires investment in social cohesion, so that every community feels that its identity is respected, and every person can participate fully in society as a whole.

The second troubling disconnect is between people and planet.
The climate crisis is no longer a long-term problem. It is here. And it is now.

It is a dangerous reality for many people, especially those living in some of the poorest and most vulnerable countries in the world. While they contribute the least to greenhouse gas emissions, they are suffering most.

I saw this myself last year when I visited the Caribbean and Mozambique in the aftermath of devastating storms. And I have to say, you madame president have spoken about that. My first trip when I got married was to Italy.

And I was so deeply shocked when seeing on television the dramatic impact of climate change and that wonderful pearl of European civilization. I want to express my deep solidarity with Venice and with Italy.

We have fooled ourselves into thinking we can fool nature. But nature is fighting back, with a vengeance.

The last few years have been the hottest ever recorded. Sea levels are the highest in human history. Icecaps are receding and deserts are expanding. Our ecosystems are facing unprecedented threats.

Climate-related natural disasters are becoming more frequent, more deadly and more destructive, with growing human and financial costs.

Drought in some parts of the world is progressing at alarming rates, endangering food security, triggering conflicts, and forcing people from their homes.

Every year, air pollution associated with climate change kills seven million people. The climate crisis is a dramatic threat to human health and human security. And this is just the beginning.

If we fail to act now, history will record that we had all the tools needed to change – but we chose not to. Our children and grandchildren will not forgive us if we sacrifice their future for fake short-term profit.

The emperor Nero is still remembered, rightly or wrongly, for fiddling while Rome burned. Do we want to be remembered as the generation that fiddled while our planet burned?

I am disappointed, as I said in the aftermath of the meeting, with the results of the climate talks, COP25, in Madrid.

The international community missed an opportunity to show increased ambition in mitigation, adaptation and finance in order to be able to tackle the climate crisis.

But as I also said, we will not give up. It was clear at the talks that most countries are still determined to advance more ambitious climate action, and that businesses and financial institutions are moving ahead.

The science is clear: we must reduce greenhouse emissions by 45 per cent by 2030; achieve carbon neutrality by 2050; and limit the global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius by the end of the century.

Even if the Paris commitments are fully respected, they will not be enough to set us on that path. But many countries are not even meeting those commitments. Greenhouse gas emissions are still growing at an alarming rate.

We are currently on target to produce nearly three times as much coal as is safe for our planet and for our future. But having said so, my message remains one of hope, not of despair.

The scientific community tells us that the roadmap to stay below 1.5 degrees is still within reach – if we act now.

The technologies needed are already available. And the signs of hope are multiplying. More and more cities, financial institutions and businesses, civil societies entities are committing to the 1.5 degree pathway.

The most important sign of hope is that young people are mobilizing and taking the lead everywhere – including in Europe. But we need more political will.

It is time to put a price on carbon and stop subsidizing fossil fuels with taxpayers’ money. We must stop rewarding pollution that is killing people and tax carbon rather than income. The polluters – not the people – must pay.

We must stop building coal power plants in the world from 2020 onwards. And stop digging and drilling and take advantage of the vast possibilities offered by renewable energy and nature-based solutions.

The world’s largest emitters must pull their weight. Without them, our goal is unreachable. I welcome the EU’s recent commitment to become carbon neutral by 2050 and to work on a European Green Deal, including a more ambitious mitigation target for 2030, and funds for a just transition to a green economy.

Next year’s conference, COP26, hosted by the United Kingdom in partnership with Italy, will be a defining moment. In the 12 months ahead, we must keep climate ambition at the top of the international agenda.

We must secure more ambitious national commitments – particularly from the countries with the highest emissions – to start reducing greenhouse gas emissions immediately, consistent with reaching carbon neutrality by 2050.

We must also meet the expectations of developing countries for resources and support towards adaptation and mitigation, disaster response and recovery.

We cannot ignore the social dimensions of the transition in energy. National commitments must include a just transition for people whose jobs and livelihoods are affected.

We have no time to waste and we fully trust italy’s leadership in the preparations of COP26. The global solidarity gap and the climate crisis are linked with three other widening fault lines that should concern us all.

First is the risk of an economic, technological and geostrategic fault line dividing the world in two.

The two largest economies, the U.S. and China, could create two separate and competing areas of influence, each with its own dominant currency, trade and financial rules, and military strategies. Each would have its own internet and its own forms of artificial intelligence.

This would dramatically increase the risk of confrontation. We must do everything possible to avert this Great Fracture and preserve a global system: a universal economy with respect for international law; a multipolar world with solid multilateral institutions.

For this, we need a strong Europe, as a fundamental pillar of a multilateral order based on the rule of law and respect for fundamental freedoms. This is not always easy. But successful multilateralism depends on a united and ambitious European Union.

At the national level, we see another widening fault line in the social contract. People feel that economies are not working for them.

We are witnessing a wave of protests across the world. Each situation is unique, but they have two features in common: a growing deficit of trust between people and political establishments, coupled with the negative effects of globalisation and technological progress.

People are suffering and want to be heard. They want equality, social and economic systems that work for everybody. They want their human rights and fundamental freedoms to be respected. And they want to have a say in the decisions that affect their lives.

Governments have a duty to listen to their people, and to respect freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. Everyone must exercise restraint and prioritize dialogue in some of the dramatic crises we are facing today in different parts of the world.

Many of these protests are being led by young people, in particular young women. They are making the links between climate injustice, inequalities and insecurity; and calling for new ways of organizing our political, economic and social systems.

The response to this deep and widespread discontent should be based on a new social contract that is inclusive and fair, for our new age of globalization and hyper-connectivity.

All people should be able to live in dignity. Women should have the same prospects for success as men. People with disabilities should have equal opportunities to realise their potential. The sick and the vulnerable should be protected.

The 2030 Agenda adopted by the General Assembly, with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals, offers exactly that kind of social contract: sustainable, equitable and inclusive development that works for people and planet.

The 2030 Agenda should be at the heart of our thinking on new models for governance. A peaceful and stable society is only possible when there are equal opportunities for all and respect for the rights and freedoms of all.

Finally, these inequalities and fault lines are exacerbated by a growing technological divide.

New technologies hold enormous promise. They are opening up a new world as tools for peace and sustainable development. But at the same time, they pose risks, and they can be misused for nefarious purposes.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution could eradicate entire sectors of the labour market. And while it will also create new opportunities, they might require completely different skills.

This could increase divisions and add to exclusion and inequality. Let’s not forget that half the world is not even connected to the internet.

We must therefore put in place long-term education strategies that integrate lifelong learning of new technologies. It is no longer enough to learn; everyone must learn how to learn to enable people to train for the jobs of the future and that no one is left behind.
At the same time, we need a new generation of social protection with innovative safety nets for those facing the bigger risks.

Technology must be a tool for peace, for social progress and reducing inequalities. And we must also address the misuse of technology to commit crimes, spread hate speech, manipulate information, oppress people or invade their privacy.

We already know the results of these activities. Disinformation campaigns based on lies reach the furthest parts of the globe. Many countries have access to sophisticated cyber capabilities that can paralyze entire nations or companies – but what about those countries and people that cannot defend themselves in cyberspace?

Traditional, rigid regulation, it is true, are no longer possible. Digital technology requires new, multi-stakeholder regulation frameworks that are faster and more flexible. And we must also come together to decide on some limits.

I believe one of these limits should be a total ban on lethal autonomous weapons with the power and discretion to kill without human intervention. They are politically unacceptable and morally despicable.

The United Nations can play the role of a convening platform here. It should be the place where governments, companies, researchers, civil society and others meet, to establish protocols to define red lines and best practices together.

Last year, I convened a High-level Panel on Digital Cooperation co-chaired by Melinda Gates and Jack Ma. Its recommendations show how this multi-stakeholder vision can guide our joint efforts to accelerate global internet connectivity, build capacity, and improve digital governance.

I am encouraged that this report has won support from technology companies, governments and civil society. The European Union has already set an example through the General Data Protection Regulation, inspiring similar measures elsewhere. I urge the EU and its Member States to continue to lead to shape the digital age and to be at the forefront of technological innovation and regulation.

I have set out our response to these five fault lines and gaps, based on strong multilateral institutions, solidarity and mutual respect.

But multilateralism itself needs to adapt to the challenges of today and tomorrow. Governments alone cannot achieve the 2030 Agenda or the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. They call for social and economic transformations that will only be brought about with the inclusion and full participation of all those involved: civil society, including young people, the private sector, academia and more.

Women must be at the forefront. We cannot reduce poverty and inequality without addressing the world’s most pervasive form of discrimination that affects half of humanity: women and girls.

Gender inequality is first and foremost a question of power, and let’s be frank, we still live in a male-dominated world with a male-dominated culture. We will shift the balance when we truly see women’s rights as our common goal.

And this is why immediately after assuming the leadership of the United Nations, I put a strategy in place to achieve gender parity well before 2030.

That goal has already been reached in the areas directly under my control: the Senior Management Group and the leaders of our teams around the world have full parity.

I will not rest until we have reached gender parity at all levels of the United Nations – and full equality for women and girls around the world.

Today’s multilateralism must be networked and inclusive, closer to the people we serve. We need to work hand in hand with regional organisations, international financial institutions, development banks and specialised agencies.

And our cooperation cannot be limited to inter-governmental approaches and official institutions; I am happy to see members of civil society and young people here today.

Legislators have a crucial role to play. As a former parliamentarian, first of all, I feel very much at home here. But I also know very much that your contribution is critical in advancing shared progress.

Parliaments can be defenders of democracy and agents of accountability, bringing the concerns of ordinary people into the international arena.

Today, we need you more than ever as a link between local actions and urgent global priorities. The challenges we face are interlinked and long-term; so must be our response.

Fighting the climate crisis means advancing peace and social cohesion. Expanding access to technology means taking action for gender equality.

Preventing crises means investing in inclusive and sustainable development. Next year, 2020, we will mark the 75th anniversary of the United Nations by convening a global conversation about the future we want and the UN we need. It will be open to all, to gather ideas and encourage collective action.

The results will be presented to world leaders at the seventy-fifth session of the General Assembly next September. I invite all to participate in this dialogue. We want to use this anniversary to shape our future.

As we look ahead, let’s remember that just as all our challenges have been created by humankind, they can be solved by us.

We have proven in the past that we are able to come together. Let’s rise to the occasion and build a better future for all.

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Excerpt:

Antonio Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General, in an address to the Italian Senate

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Mombasa, April 2019, transfer of Kamaz trucks to WFP. Credit: Russian embassy in Kenya

By Dmitry Maksimychev
NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 19 2019 (IPS)

Food security holds a special place among Russia’s priorities in its efforts to achieve sustainable development globally. We believe that this task, which is reflected in Sustainable Development Goal 1, requires a comprehensive and multidimensional approach.

First of all, we believe that it has to be addressed at the level of supplying to the world enough high-quality food to stabilize international markets and make it more accessible and affordable for a maximum number of people. To that end, over the last twenty years, Russia has been steadily and consistently increasing its own production and export of food – grain, cereals, pulses, meats, poultry, oils, milk and dairy products, etc. Russia has become one of the world’s largest exporters of food. As of today, its food export is worth US$26 billion, and by 2024, it is expected to reach US$45 billion.

What is important is that under Russian law, all foods produced in Russia are GMO-free, which makes them more sustainable. The production of organic foods also grows continuously to meet the ever-growing demand of the international markets.

At the same time, the Zero Hunger goal must be addressed as a matter of urgency for those countries that are food insecure (for different reasons), because people need food every day to survive, and in the XXI century no humans should die because of starvation or malnutrition. Apart from our bilateral efforts in that area, since 2001, Russia has embarked upon a long-term strategic partnership with the United Nations system, primarily, the World Food Programme (WFP), the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) that have established themselves as effective and reliable partners.

In 2018-2019, Russia has contributed around US$80 million for the implementation of food aid projects by the above agencies. Apart from direct food aid, we also fund projects aimed at ensuring long-term solutions to sustainability of agriculture, post-conflict rehabilitation of the agricultural sector, and development of school feeding systems.

Since 2003, Russia’s total regular voluntary contributions to WFP have reached US$400 million. In 2019 alone, Russia has contributed to WFP US$36.9 million.

Mombasa, April 2019, transfer of Kamaz trucks to WFP. Credit: Russian embassy in Kenya

In 2010, Russia in partnership with WFP launched the first pilot school feeding project in Armenia. Since then, its positive results were replicated and scaled up in the Middle East (Jordan, Tunisia, and Morocco) and in Central Asia (Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan). In total, US$95.1 million have been allocated for this work for 2010-2023. We pay so much attention to school feeding because our experience shows that this type of interventions is absolutely unique in addressing not only educational and nutritional problems but a wide range of social and economic development issues.

As an important input into WFP’s humanitarian operations, Russia donated 355 KAMAZ trucks (KAMAZ is among the largest and best producers of trucks in Russia) together with the necessary parts, equipment, technical support and training for the drivers and mechanics. 258 trucks were transferred in 2011 and 97 – in 2019. The Russian trucks are being effectively used in key WFP operations in Africa and Afghanistan.

What makes the Russian support to WFP special is the regularity and predictability of our voluntary contributions. As of now, they consist of two annual payments – US$20 million as regular contribution, and US$10 million as additional funding. This year, Kenya became one of the recipients of such an additional contribution (US$1million). Starting from 2020, the additional contribution will double to reach US$20 million annually with US$10 million being reserved exclusively for Africa. It is the first time that Russia assigns a geographic priority for its voluntary contribution to WFP.

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Mental health concerns for Bangladeshi garment workers — especially females — has always been of concern, even before the collapse of Rana Plaza. Credit: Obaidul Arif/IPS

By Samira Sadeque
UNITED NATIONS, Dec 19 2019 (IPS)

Nearly seven years ago, garment workers in Bangladesh were victims of one of the gravest man-made disasters in history — a factory collapse that left more than 1,100 workers dead, and rendered thousands with injuries — in many cases lifelong ones. 

For many of the workers from Rana Plaza, the trauma remains real even to this day.

Bangladesh relies heavily on its garment industry for its rising status in the global economy, with textile being its biggest export revenue. Yet its garment workers remain often poorly treated, and continue working in unsafe conditions for minimum pay. Many survivors of Rana Plaza are still reeling from the physical and mental health trauma they suffered in the incident and the aftermath. According to ActionAid, a locally-based NGO, a large number of workers say they can’t return to work owing to their physical and mental health conditions. 

But mental health concerns for Bangladeshi garment workers — especially females — has always been of concern, even before the collapse. 2017 research shows that female garment workers, often driven to the workforce owing to their financial status, have thoughts of suicide and suffer from “stress, anxiety, restlessness” because of their long hours at work while being away from their family, especially their children. 

A recent initiative might change that. The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exports Association (BGMEA) recently launched the “first ever” mental health initiative in the country for the workers. The project recently held a session with workers of one factory, and will be piloted across 50 factories. It’s working with Moner Bondhu, a mental health service provider in Bangladesh. Tawhida Shiropa, founder and CEO of Moner Bondhu, shared her thoughts with IPS. 

Inter Press Service: What is Moner Bondhu’s role in this initiative? 

Tawhida Shiropa: Moner Bondhu is providing mental health group counselling to garment factory workers. Our counsellors conduct sessions at the factories to address the emotional well-being of the workers so that they can be more peaceful in their personal and professional lives. We work on mind healing, stress management, empathy, being respectful towards others, how to get relief from fatigue and be more productive at the workplace and also on how to be happy at work and in their family life. Our sessions include breathing exercises, stress relief exercises and mindfulness meditation.

What do you hope will be achieved through this initiative?

Through this initiative we aim to help the workers lead a happier and peaceful life so that they can achieve a better work-life balance, be more productive at work while playing a more involved role in their families. In this way they can contribute more to their and as a result the economy of the country will advance.

How do you believe mental health of RMG workers is related to their livelihood, if at all?

We believe mental health is related to everyone’s livelihood. By taking care of their mental health, workers will become more resilient to all the challenges of life. At work, they can be more mindful of their co-workers and together they can create a more harmonious work environment.   

What kind of response did you get from your first session?

Our first session was very lively and exciting for all participants. The event was a huge success. All the workers and the factory administration said that they felt very relaxed and calm after the session, especially after the exercises and meditation. They also said that they have never had a session like ours. Many of them came up to our counsellors to thank them personally. They also asked how to stay in touch with us and we share our contact details with them, so that they can access our help in future if they need to.

What’s ahead for the initiative? 

We see this initiative as a milestone for mental healthcare. Before now, there was no big scale initiative for mental healthcare of factory workers, so BGMEA’s concern for their workers is highly admirable as they are concerned for the overall well-being of the workers.  

Related Articles

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• Nepal and Colombia Struggle With Mental Health Burden of Conflict

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Fenella Aouane, Principal Green Finance Specialist, Investment and Policy Solutions Division, Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI)

By Fenella Aouane
SEOUL, South Korea, Dec 18 2019 (IPS)

One of the main discussions at the COP25 climate change talks was Article 6, which is designed to provide financial support to emerging economies and developing countries to help them reduce emissions by using global carbon markets. Carbon pricing is an essential piece of the puzzle to curb emissions. Without a value on carbon, there is less incentive to make positive changes, especially in the private sector. The most efficient way to carry this forward is to allow trading of carbon both nationally and internationally, which will ensure the lowest cost of mitigation for participants globally.

Fenella Aouane

The COP25 negotiations in Madrid have largely been dominated by Article 6 negotiations on potential carbon markets as they are perceived by many, including businesses, as a way to generate financial flows to emerging economies and developing countries, and to reduce emissions at the lowest possible cost. Thus, it’s crucial to adopt decisions on Article 6 as rules need to be set to show how such markets will operate – this is the guidance the Article 6 rulebook will create. The sooner the better, overall mitigation in global emissions (OMGE) will be possible under the Paris Agreement through international carbon trading with aspects such as corresponding adjustments, which were lacking under the Kyoto Protocol. Carbon markets are a way to not only manage mitigation emissions cuts, but help to find the lowest cost and therefore a strong motivator for implementing international efforts.

The Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), a Seoul-based treaty-based international, inter-governmental organization that supports emerging economies and developing country governments transition to a model of economic growth that is environmentally sustainable and socially inclusive, is already involved in several programs, funded by developed country governments such as Norway and Sweden. GGGI is working with the Norwegian Ministry of Climate and Environment on wider policy approaches, which have been made possible under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement through cooperative approaches. This program looks at helping its member and partner governments to identify areas above their Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) targets, where emissions reductions directly resulting from policy interventions are quantified and transacted. This creates a flow of carbon finance, in exchange for the transfer of the resultant internationally transferred mitigation outcomes (ITMOs). These programs will not only create ITMO transactions but also set up the lasting infrastructure needed for countries to be able to govern and properly account for future transfers, ensuring environmental integrity and transparency.

GGGI has a key role to play. A further good example is GGGI’s recent collaboration with the Swedish Energy Agency (SEA). The two organizations will work together to catalyze international trading of mitigation outcomes in support of the increased climate ambitions needed under the Paris Agreement. Through a joint cooperation, SEA and GGGI will identify and structure mitigation activities and support the establishment of governance frameworks within host countries as required under the developing rulebook of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, with the goal of completing ITMO transactions.

Although specific rules related to cooperative approaches under Article 6 have yet to be codified, Article 6 aims at supporting the authorization of international emissions trades while avoiding double counting and ensuring environmental integrity, permitting the movement of the related emission reductions between registries, and better linking national emission trading schemes, project-level transactions, and cooperative approaches.

What next? Carbon markets can and should be seen as an opportunity to lower the cost of cutting greenhouse gas emissions and enabling countries to commit to more ambitious targets. At next year’s Glasgow climate change conference, countries need to come forward with more ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions. GGGI’s work on pioneering designs for international carbon transactions over 2020 will help shape how the carbon markets can contribute to this increased ambition. It has also made the 2020 NDCs a priority in support of its Members and will ensure that there is strong support to deliver this next year. We need to come to Glasgow with concrete plans and steps. However, tackling climate change cannot be solved by one government alone. There needs to be high-level political commitment and collective action – these are a must.

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Excerpt:

Fenella Aouane, Principal Green Finance Specialist, Investment and Policy Solutions Division, Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI)

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Credit: UWC

By Jens Waltermann
LONDON, Dec 18 2019 (IPS)

We saw a hugely diverse selection of world leaders – from civil society, politics and business – seeking positive change at the UN General Assembly in New York in September. But the global reality is a political and economic environment that is increasingly divided. Boycotts. Protests. Narratives of hate.

The newly launched Davos manifesto on the universal purpose of a company in the fourth industrial revolution and the Business Roundtable in August call for leaders and companies to shift their attention from solely focusing on shareholders to including stakeholders.

Yet, we have spent the past five years discussing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). And now we only have a decade to reach them.

Whether it is the need to increasingly work together across industries, sectors and borders or to broaden the role of business as a contributor in society, it is clear that tomorrow’s leaders need to be educated differently.

The world needs citizens who are empowered to act, who see that they have a role to play in reaching the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Students from very different backgrounds, who have lived, studied and solved problems together.

We need students who will become entrepreneurs, social entrepreneurs and leaders. We need to educate responsible leaders.

Education is the tool to create constructive change and here are three reflections on how:

Education needs to focus on the questions that will start conversations

Students can ask many thoughtful questions, wherever they are empowered to do so. Questions that challenge and expose inaccurate assumptions and all too easy answers, questions that create serendipitous learning, and questions that lay the foundations for difficult conversations.

Jens Waltermann – Credit: UWC

Education is uniquely placed to instill the right mindset for this and create places for meaningful conversations between students from different backgrounds. In our divided world of black and white perceptions and statements, we can teach students to think critically, to appreciate diversity and to build bridges across differences.

By encouraging students to ask questions and ask why, they will challenge what is around them. With the transition to the circular economy, we need to not only pick plastics from the beach, but teach students to ask why the plastic got there in the first place.

What is wrong with the current system? How can the products not only be reused and recycled, but designed so that the materials never leave the cycle? By asking questions like this, I am certain that we as educators will spark creative thinking amongst our students, and create change makers for the future. Perhaps even social entrepreneurs today.

Education must engage students outside the classroom

Boycotts and sanctions in the political and economic space must not affect the education of our children. As much as conflicts may arise in politics and business, education needs to lay the foundations for tomorrow’s peace building.

And classroom education is only one part of the puzzle: what happens when you create an environment where students help elderly people at the local nursing home, support slum children to attend school in India or even carry a paralyzed fellow student to the top of the mountain on the school’s annual hike?

Credit: UWC

Or when social entrepreneurship is encouraged and the students invent a method to recycle plastics from the ocean? This sort of education holds the fabric of society together. We must not let that fabric tear, but rather strengthen it by weaving creativity, action and service into education.

Education must embrace cultures and celebrate diversity. Every day.

By asking questions to a student from another country, studying history next to a refugee or enjoying each other’s music, you learn the true value of being different. In a world of soundbites, slogans and superficial statements, we need time together to converse, question and understand. We need to put faces to abstract questions and events around the globe.

I see students graduate from our schools, go on to university and later take on jobs in governments, businesses or in civil society. With the challenges that we are facing we need public private partnerships, people who can work together, not just because they have to, but because they know the value of bringing very different people around one table.

So, as children that were initially portrayed as apathetic continue to march in the streets, speak at the UN and put pressure on the world’s leaders to act, we must ensure that we continue to foster their efforts with a shift in education that arms them with a strong sense of purpose and the skills to facilitate constructive change.

That will equip them as better citizens and as the responsible leaders we need as we enter into the next decade. The last decade to reach the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

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Excerpt:

Jens Waltermann is Executive Director, United World Colleges (UWC) International.

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