Africa

Morocco qualify for next year’s Africa Cup of Nations without kicking a ball as Comoros beat Malawi 2-1 in Group B.

Barbra Banda, who will play for Zambia at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations starting on Saturday, is also a top-level boxer.

Four elite US troops in Mali are accused of ambushing and killing Staff Sgt Logan Melgar as he slept.

A hat-trick from Fiston Abdul Razak helps Burundi win 5-2 in South Sudan to keep alive their hopes of qualifying for next year's Africa Cup of Nations.

Mohamed Salah scores a last-minute winner as Egypt beat Tunisia 3-2 in Africa Cup of Nations qualifying.

More than 20 others have been taken to hospital after a suspected gas canister explosion on the bus.

A comprehensive history of the BBC's African Footballer of the Year trophy, an award which dates back to the inaugural winner - Abedi Pele - in 1992.

Holding On VR exhibitions have been held in ten locations around the world since July. The Holding On digital campaign launched yesterday. Credit: IOM

By International Organization for Migration
GENEVA, Nov 16 2018 (IOM)

Marking the 20th anniversary of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, the UN Migration Agency (IOM) launched the ‘Holding On’ digital campaign yesterday (15/11) to raise awareness of the plight of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and celebrate their courage and resilience.

Holding On showcases the stories of internally displaced persons by asking them to reflect on their most cherished possessions. Global audiences can now share these stories on social media via the #HoldingOn hashtag. They can also sign a petition that calls on states to respect and advance the Guiding Principles, which Cecilia Jimenez-Damary, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of IDPs, will use in her work.

The Guiding Principles serve as the global standard for States regarding the protection and assistance of internally displaced persons. Displaced within the borders of their own countries, IDPs are among the world’s most neglected – often denied access to education, employment, safe accommodation and other human rights.

Twenty years on, internal displacement continues unabated around the world with 40 million people displaced in their own countries by conflict and violence as of December 2017, which accounts for 62 per cent of all conflict-induced displacement. The number of IDPs has nearly doubled since 2000, increasing sharply over the last five years. In addition, a further estimated 26 million people are displaced annually due to natural disasters.

“Internally displaced people have left their homes on their own. They don’t have anything other than what they’re carrying. Our exhibition shows people who just walked out with a t-shirt or only holding their children in their arms…That’s all they have,” said Mohammed Abdiker, IOM Director of Operations and Emergencies in the United Nations podcast, A Way Home Together: Stories of the Human Journey.

The items IDPs carry with them when they flee often become physical representations of a world that has since disappeared. As simple as a camera, t-shirt or small bird, these items represent symbols of struggle and hope.

“This camera carries a lot of memories. I used it to take pictures of my children at home. We used to go north to picnic and these cameras were always with us. We took pictures and video footage that I still keep as memories,” said Moafaq, displaced in an emergency site in Iraq.

Tetiana and Volodymyr Ziangirov, internally displaced in Ukraine, reminisced, “The crib is 23+ years old now. My two elder daughters grew up in it. My best memories are associated with this crib.”

The exhibition’s virtual reality (VR) films reanimate the lives of IDPs in Colombia, Iraq, Nigeria, the Philippines and Ukraine. Since July 2018, IOM has held ten exhibitions around the world including in Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium and Djibouti.

Conventional videos that do not require VR glasses, as well as feature and photo stories, are now available on the campaign’s website, allowing people an intimate view into the lives of others who remain displaced.

Upcoming exhibitions will be held during the IOM Council in Geneva between 27-30 November, the opening ceremony of the Global Migration Film Festival (GMFF) in Geneva on 28 November, and on International Migrants Day in Cairo on 18 December.

For more information please contact Angela Wells at IOM Headquarters in Geneva, Tel: +41 22 717 9 435, Email: awells@iom.int

The post IOM Launches ‘Holding On’ Campaign: A Virtual Reality Experience of Internal Displacement appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Zimbabwe opposition leader Nelson Chamisa condemns those who protested over alleged election fraud.

Kenya's Football Federation fails in its bid to be reinstated to the Women's Africa Cup of Nations after losing its appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

An author whose book was rejected by French students because of its Algerian theme is due to meet them.

Around 700 counter-terrorism troops will be moved as the Pentagon focuses on advising in West Africa.

By Thalif Deen
NEW YORK, Nov 16 2018 (IPS)

A coalition of over 50 civil society organizations (CSOs), from more than 20 countries, have urged two of the world’s largest multi-billion dollar E-commerce retailers – Amazon and eBay – to stop marketing “dangerous and illegal mercury-based skin lightening creams.”

The protest is part of a coordinated global campaign against a growing health hazard in the field of cosmetics.

So far, the groups have reached out to the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA), the United Nations, the World Health Organization (WHO) and INTERPOL, the Lyon-based international law enforcement agency whose mandate includes investigating the sale of illegal health products online.

Michael Bender, International Coordinator of the Zero Mercury Working Group, told IPS internet moguls must stop breaking the law with their toxic trade in illegal cosmetics.

“Amazon and eBay have the responsibility and resources to prevent exposing their customers to this dangerous neurotoxin,” he added.

At the same time, said Bender, the FDA must enforce the law— no matter how big the retailer, since no one is above the law.

The CSOs have identified 19 skin products sold by these two companies that contain illegal mercury levels—even as the use of these products are skyrocketing globally, and in the US, and used worldwide mostly by women in Africa, Latin America, Asia and the Middle East.

In a letter to Jeff Bezos, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Amazon, the groups say: “We strongly urge Amazon to self-police its website to ensure that cosmetics found to have mercury levels over 1 part per million (ppm) are no longer offered for sale to your customers worldwide.”

Since 1973, the FDA has warned against using cosmetics with over 1ppm mercury and detailed the risks. And mercury is known to state, federal and international agencies as toxic and harmful to human health.

In a letter to Devin Newig , president and CEO of eBay, the groups say the products advertised for sale on the e-Bay website are “unpermitted and illegal”.

The protest has taken added relevance against the backdrop of the upcoming second meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention on Mercury (COP2) which will take place November 19-23 in Geneva, Switzerland.

The Minamata Convention is an international treaty which has been signed by 128 UN member states and ratified by the legislatures of 101 countries.

Syed Marghub Murshed, Chairperson, Environment and Social Development Organization-ESDO, said “skin-lightening creams are pushing the youth towards a serious health risk and environmental havoc”.

He urged the government to take a regulatory and legislative step to protect future generations — and the environment.

Elena Lymberidi-Settimo, European Environmental Bureau Project Manager “Zero Mercury Campaign” and International Co-ordinator, Zero Mercury Working Group, told IPS that toxic trade in illegal high mercury skin lighteners is a global crisis which is expected to only worsen with skyrocketing global demand.

“To combat this, it’s important for governments to quickly enact and/or enforce regulations and effectively warn consumers”, he added.

Sonya Lunder of the Sierra Club’s Gender, Equity and Environment Program, said internet sellers should be held to the highest standards for selling safe and legal cosmetics.

“Not only should they remove all illegal products from their websites immediately, but they must develop a system to ensure that toxic products remain out of their supply-chains,” declared Lunder.

The WHO says mercury is a common ingredient found in skin lightening soaps and creams. It is also found in other cosmetics, such as eye makeup cleansing products and mascara.

“Skin lightening soaps and creams are commonly used in certain African and Asian nations. They are also used among dark-skinned populations in Europe and North America.”

In Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Togo, 25%, 77%, 27%, 35% and 59% of women, respectively, are reported to use skin lightening products on a regular basis, says WHO.

In 2017 and 2018, 338 skin-lightening creams from 22 countries were collected by 17 NGO partners and tested for mercury, according to the group.

And 35 creams (10.4% of the samples) had mercury concentrations ranging from 260 – 16,353 parts per million (ppm).

These levels significantly exceeded not only regulations in many countries, but also new provisions in the Minamata Convention disallowing, after 2020, the “manufacture, import or export” of cosmetics with a mercury above 1 ppm.

The health consequences include damage to the skin, eyes, lungs, kidneys, digestive, immune and nervous systems.

The Mercury Policy Project, the Sierra Club and the European Environmental Bureau say they have purchased skin lighteners from eBay and Amazon websites.

The brands purchased included many previously identified as high mercury by New York City, the state of Minnesota, countries of the European Union, Singapore, United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Philippines, among others.

Of these, 19 products had illegal mercury levels, typically more than 10,000 times higher than the legal threshold of 1ppm.

In their letters, the groups are calling on Amazon and eBay to:

(1) Ensure the products they sell comply with government regulations; monitor lists of toxic skin lighteners identified US regulators; and keep them out of their inventory; and

(2) Add skin lightening cream products to a list of categories requiring prior approval before sale; and require that sellers provide documentation verifying that the products do not contain mercury and that the products are otherwise compliant with all applicable regulations.

Out of the 22 countries where the global cosmetics sampling took place, 14 have legislation or other requirements consistent with the Minamata convention provisions, the letter says.

Out of the 7 countries where high mercury samples were found, only 4 have legal requirements prohibiting creams with more than 1 ppm mercury content.

The Zero Mercury testing showed also that in:

–in Bangladesh, 50% of the creams sampled and tested had mercury content exceeding 1 ppm.

–In the Dominican Republic, one out of 3 samples had mercury above 1 ppm (33%), whereas in Indonesia it reached 31%.

— in Mauritius, one out of 15 creams was found to contain more than 1 ppm (7%).

— in the Philippines, 19% of the samples exceeded 1 ppm mercury content, while the Thai samples reached 63; and.

–in Trinidad and Tobago, 20% of the samples tested also exceeded the Minamata limits.

The Group’s research demonstrates that hazardous substance restrictions and accompanying risk communication strategies in many countries are incomplete and/or inadequately enforced.

”This thereby raises the risk of health effects, primarily to women.”

However, as the Minamata Convention on Mercury provision pertaining to cosmetics take effect after 2020, new opportunities for countries to reduce exposure to mercury from skin lighteners are emerging, including resources that may become available to Parties for the following, perhaps in collaboration with all levels of government and civil society:

1. Development and adoption of national government cosmetic regulations;

2. Continuously updated global government detention website listing of product violations, including product photo, manufacture, country of origin, seller identification, links, etc.

3. Enhanced harmonization and increased enforcement of by custom officials at borders;

4. Effective risk communication to consumers at risk and in particular pregnant and nursing mothers and woman of child bearing age;

5. Effective oversight of the marketplace;

6. Adoption of effective labeling guidelines to assure consumers are provided with the necessary information on hazardous substances, but also on alternatives, since they may contain other hazardous substances;

7. Effective cyber crime oversight of the internet, in global collaboration with Interpol, (since most lighteners are imported); and

8. Through national ad councils, assuring that non-discriminatory advertising guidelines do not reinforce negative social stereotyping on the basis of skin color.

Globally, mercury-based products are a big business. Demand is skyrocketing, especially in Asia, the Middle East and Africa, with sales of $17.9 billion in 2017, and projected to reach $31.2 billion by 2024, according to Global Industry Analysts.

Skin lightening products — also known as “bleaching creams,” “whiteners,” “skin brighteners,” or “fading creams” — work when inorganic Mercury salts (e.g. 1-10% ammoniated mercury) inhibit the formation of melanin, resulting in a lighter skin tone.

The post E-Commerce Giants Under Fire for Retailing Hazardous Mercury-Based Cosmetics appeared first on Inter Press Service.

By GGGI
Nov 16 2018 (GGGI)

The Republic of the Union of Myanmar signed a Memorandum of Understanding with GGGI on February 9, 2017 to collaborate in implementation of green growth strategies and projects; and to strengthen the government’s institutional framework for Monitoring, Reporting and Verification of national greenhouse gas emissions, climate change adaptation and mitigation actions and support.

This November, GGGI Myanmar will embark on a scoping mission to explore potential green investments in forestry, agriculture and fishery value chains for economic development, and for promotion of rural energy security to reduce the pressures on mangroves in the Ayeyarwady Delta.

The scoping team will comprise of GGGI’s experts in Green Investments, Climate Finance, Forestry, Fisheries, Policy and Socially Inclusive Development.

Although GGGI’s mandate is Myanmar-wide, the Ayeyarwady Delta is of particular focus due to its population density, levels of poverty and landlessness, vulnerability of agricultural and fishery-dependent communities to climate change, including continued impacts from 2008 Cyclone Nargis.

In addition to the benefits of disaster risk reduction and providing opportunities for fishing livelihoods, mangroves are a critical forest type for climate change mitigation as they store up to 4 times the amount of carbon as do other forest types.

Among Myanmar’s mangrove forests, those of the Delta are particularly threatened by demand for fuel wood/charcoal, and for expansion of rice, shrimp and salt production activities.

 

 

With these issues in mind, GGGI will undertake a series of workshops and consultations with national, and regional and local stakeholders throughout the Delta region to scope potential bio-economy commodities and investments that will enable socially inclusive green growth, and support national goals of climate change mitigation and adaptation in coastal areas.

This consultation will aim to understand who the actors in the existing value chains are and how different types of business models could be inclusive of smallholder farmers, casual workers, women, youth and the landless through sustainable jobs and livelihoods and access to services.

The results of these consultations will be presented to national and regional governments to begin project and investment identification.

GGGI’s green growth investments in the Ayeyarwady Delta will be designed to maximize opportunities for social co-benefits that contribute towards poverty reduction, gender equality and women’s empowerment, and inclusion of marginalized groups.

 

 

The post GGGI Coastal Landscape Restoration and Bio-economy Scoping Mission to the Ayeyarwady Delta appeared first on Inter Press Service.

By GGGI
Vientiane, Nov 16 2018 (GGGI)

Improving gender equality can have a profound effect on economic growth and is integral to maximising green growth, according to a new policy brief by the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI).

The policy brief focuses on the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), identifying some of the barriers to inclusive green growth, gender equality and poverty reduction as the country prepares its National Green Growth Strategy (NGGS).

Through the NGGS, Lao PDR has committed to pursuing sustainable green growth development that makes the best use of its natural and human resources in line with its Vision 2030,10-year Socio-Economic Development Strategy to 2025, 8th five-year National Socio-Economic Development Plan, the Sustainable Development Goals, and the Paris Climate Change Agreement.

 

Towards a gender inclusive economic growth model

“There is a tendency to focus on the green or environmental aspects of green growth, and when people do think about gender it is frequently peripheral to the central economic challenges,” said Annaka Peterson, GGGI’s Senior Officer in Lao PDR, “But we want people to see that gender equality is a core economic issue.”

According to the 2018 McKinsey Global Institute Report ‘The power of parity: Advancing women’s equality in Asia Pacific’, countries in the Asia Pacific region have the potential to add USD 4.5 trillion or 12% to their annual GDP by 2025 by advancing women’s equality in the work place and society. Annaka Peterson said, “One economic forecast estimates that Lao PDRs GDP will reach USD 31 billion in 2025. 12 % additional growth would amount to an estimated USD 3.7 billion additional GDP in 2025. That’s almost like adding another Vientiane Capital to the economy.”

Despite Lao PDR’s high and steady economic growth, averaging 7.8% GDP over the last decade, poverty and gender inequality remain persistent challenges. Significant progress has been made in reducing poverty from 33.5% to 23.2%. The gender gap in education has narrowed and Lao PDR has among the higher proportions of women legislators globally at 27.5% according to the Inter Parliamentary Union.  However,

Lao PDR ranks 106 out of 159 countries in gender equality according to the UNDP.

 

Tackling barriers to women’s economic engagement

“Creating opportunities for women’s engagement in green growth is a key challenge for the NGGS and the entire development agenda, but it is needed to boost the economy” said Ms. Sisavanh Didaravong, Deputy Director General of the Centre for Development Policy Research of the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

According to the brief, in Lao PDR the gender gap in economic opportunities and employment is stark. 65% of unpaid family workers are women, and the time women dedicate to housework each day is four times greater than the time spent by men.

Improving women’s economic empowerment through financial inclusion and the removal of barriers to women’s equal participation in the labour market and entrepreneurship will help unlock their economic potential and contribute to green growth.  Ms. Didaravong highlighted the potential of women in Lao PDR, “women spend more time taking care of the family and kids, if we can give them an opportunity to show their strength and capabilities our society and economy will be better off.”

The brief includes several recommendations to empower women in Lao PDR’s green growth priority sectors and tackle some of the social barriers to gender parity in work to help drive additional economic growth.

 

Monitoring progress

Further recommendations are provided for effective gender mainstreaming in the NGGS, including developing a gender action plan and monitoring progress towards its implementation, partnerships with institutions such as the Lao Women’s Union for technical support, as well as monitoring female labour force participation in quality green jobs.

The Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) provides support to the Government of Lao to mainstream green growth into planning and policy making and develop bankable projects to help achieve its national green growth objectives.

The Policy Brief, Gender Inclusive Green Growth in Lao PDR: Recommendations to maximize economic growth through gender equality can be downloaded at: http://gggi.org/site/assets/uploads/2018/10/Gender-and-Green-Growth-Policy-Brief-Lao-PDR.pdf

 

The post Gender equality key to green growth in Lao PDR says new policy brief, potentially adding USD 3.7 billion to annual GDP by 2025 appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Rohingya refugees protested on Thursday, Nov. 15, against their voluntary repatriation to Myanmar. Credit: Mohammad Mojibur Rahman/IPS

By Naimul Haq
COX'S BAZAR/DHAKA, Nov 16 2018 (IPS)

Thousands of Rohingya refugees in camps in Cox’s Bazar, the southern-most coastal district in Bangladesh, protested on Thursday, Nov. 15, against an attempt to send them back to Myanmar.
The voluntary repatriation was scheduled to begin Thursday as per a bilateral agreement reached at the end of October between the governments of Myanmar and Bangladesh. They had agreed to the repatriation of 2,260 people from 485 families at the rate of 150 people per day over 15 days. However plans for repatriations were postponed in the face of massive demonstrations which started Thursday in several of the 27 camps that now host over a million refugees.

Men, women and even children began protesting soon after midday at one of the smaller camps in Unchiprang near the Myanmar border and protests soon spread across other camps, including the biggest camp Kutupalong.

They chanted slogans and waved placards that read—‘We won’t go back,’ ‘We demand safety,’ ‘We want citizenship,’ ‘We demand justice,’—as rows of buses arrived outside Unchiprang camp. The buses were to transport refugees some 15km from Cox’s Bazar to the Bangladesh border of Gundum, from where they would have been taken to Tumbru in Myanmar.

Bangladesh officials in charge of repatriation waited outside the camp asking the families to board the buses but none were willing.

Since last August, more than 700,000 Rohingya—some 60 percent of whom where children, according to the United Nation’s Children’s Fund (UNICEF)—fled atrocities in Myanmar’s Rakhine state into Bangladesh.

Many still carry fresh memories of their experiences, which include rape, sexual violence and the torching of homes with people still inside.

“Why should we return?” shouted Nahar, a 26-year-old mother of three who arrived last July. She said that returning to Myanmar means going to a death camp.
Yousuf Ali, a resident of neighbouring Shamlapur camp said, “You want us to commit suicide?” A fellow refugee from Jamtoli camp said, “There is no guarantee that we would survive once we return.”

The government of Bangladesh along with local and international aid organisations and U.N. agencies have been working together to provide shelter, medical services, schooling and food to almost one million people.

Mohammad Abul Kalam, Bangladesh’s Refugee, Relief and Rehabilitation Commissioner, and also a magistrate attached with Cox’s Bazar district office, told IPS, “We were prepared for the repatriation. Earlier we had sought a voluntary decision and made informed choices on the return of the refugees. No one responded with the decision to return home in Myanmar and so we had to postpone the programme.”

On Tuesday, 50 of the identified families selected for return, were interviewed by the U.N. to find out whether families agreed to return. None agreed, according to Kalam.

“They refused to go now but we remain prepared to facilitate their return home. Our counterpart from Myanmar was also present on the other side of the border … So far we know Myanmar had also taken all preparations for the much-expected repartition [that was] to start today,” Kalam said.

The government of Bangladesh along with local and international aid organisations and U.N. agencies, have been working together to provide shelter, medical services, schooling and food to almost one million people. Credit: Mohammad Mojibur Rahman/IPS

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet this week urged Bangladesh to halt the repatriation of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar, saying the move would violate international laws. “With an almost complete lack of accountability — indeed with ongoing violations — returning Rohingya refugees to Myanmar at this point effectively means throwing them back into the cycle of human rights violations that this community has been suffering for decades,” Bachelet said.

In October chair of the U.N. fact-finding mission on Myanmar, Marzuki Darusman, said that the Myanmar government’s “hardened positions are by far the greatest obstacle” to repatriation. He had also said, “Myanmar is destined to repeat the cycles of violence unless there is an end to impunity.” The U.N. has called the full investigation into genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Rakhine State.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali briefed the media on Thursday evening in the capital Dhaka, saying that Bangladesh would not forcibly return Rohingyas to Myanmar.
“There have been campaigns [saying] that the Bangladesh government is sending them back forcibly. From the beginning we have been saying that it will be a voluntary return. There is no question of forcible repatriation. We gave them shelter, so why should we send them back forcibly?” he said.

Mia Seppo, U.N. resident coordinator in Dhaka, told reporters at the joint press conference that, “The U.N. actually welcomes the commitment of the government of Bangladesh to stick to the principle of voluntary repatriation, which has been demonstrated today.”

Abu Morshed Chowdhury, President of Cox’s Bazar Chamber of Commerce and co-chair of Cox’s Bazar Civil Society NGO Forum, told IPS, “There were some flaws in the plans for the Rohingya repatriation. How can the refugees return, even if it’s voluntary, without ensuring their citizenship? The U.N. agencies have the responsibility to ensure this.”
He added that U.N. should have “been more active in their roles to allow smooth repatriation.”

Rezaul Karim Chouwhury, Executive Director of COAST Bangladesh, one of the leading NGOs working to address the Rohingya crisis also echoed the same concerns.

“There were flaws in the plans too, because we know that sooner or later the Rohingyas have to return to settle back. The bilateral agreement paved the way for the initiation of the repatriation and rehabilitation but the key players (international) in my opinion have not been so active,” he told IPS.

Caroline Gluck, Senior Public Information Officer, U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Cox’s Bazar, told IPS that every refugee has the right to freely decide their own future and the right to return.  Their decisions should be based on relevant and reliable knowledge of the conditions within the country of origin.

“Access restrictions in Rakhine State currently limit UNHCR’s ability to provide such information. Only refugees themselves can make the decision to exercise their right to return and when they feel the time is right for them. It is critical that returns are not rushed or premature,” she said. She added that the UNHCR supported the voluntary and sustainable repatriation of Rohingya refugees in safety and dignity to their places of origin or choice.

“We will work with all parties towards this goal. However, we do not believe that current conditions are conducive to returns in line with international standards. The responsibility for creating these conditions lies with Myanmar.”

*Additional Reporting by Mohammed Mojibur Rahman in Cox’s Bazar

Related Articles

• With Poor Human Rights Record, Repatriation Not Possible
• Q&A: An Uncertain Future Ahead for Rohingya in Bangladesh
• Damning U.N. Report Outlines Crimes Against Rohingya As Children Suffer from Trauma One Year Later

The post Rohingya Protest Against Return to Myanmar and Halt Repatriation appeared first on Inter Press Service.

By Geneva Centre
GENEVA, Nov 16 2018 (Geneva Centre)

On the occasion of the 2018 World Tolerance Day, the Geneva Centre’s Executive Director Ambassador Idriss Jazairy has called upon decision-makers worldwide to sign and endorse the declaration “Moving towards greater spiritual convergence worldwide in support of equal citizenship rights.”

Idriss Jazairy

The latter was adopted as an outcome to the 25 June World Conference entitled “Religions, Creeds and Value Systems: Joining Forces to Enhance Equal Citizenship Rights” held under the Patronage of HRH Prince El Hassan bin Talal of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan at the United Nations Office at Geneva. More than 50 Eminent Dignitaries and renowned world leaders from all over the world have signed the World Conference outcome Declaration.

In this connection, the Geneva Centre’s Executive Director stated that in several regions of the world “we have witnessed a steep rise in xenophobia, racism, bigotry and intolerance. Distortion and abuse of religions and faiths – for the purpose of carrying out odious crimes and implementing policies justifying marginalization, exclusion and racism – are being carried out. Altogether, national unity is being undermined in many societies in the MENA region and in Europe.”

Therefore, extremist violence in the MENA region and the populist surge in the developed world has “side-lined global cooperation in favour of protectionist and populist ideas that have gained stronger ground and acceptance among decision-makers.”

To roll-back these ominous trends, religious leaders and international decision-makers must harness their collective energy “to addressing religious intolerance in the pursuit of equal citizenship rights and in the promotion of global citizenship.” “They must capitalize on the convergence between religions, creeds and value systems” – he said – “to mitigate the marginalization of religious and ethnic minorities worldwide. They must remain committed to promoting not only tolerance but full empathy for ‘the Other’ which is another name for peace. The language of peace must prevail over the language of hatred and fear of the Other.”

The Geneva Centre’s Executive Director added that it is high time that all parties join hands to initiate a global effort to ensure that our equally shared humanity is reflected in equal citizenship rights. He therefore called upon decision-makers worldwide to endorse the Declaration on “Moving towards greater spiritual convergence worldwide in support of equal citizenship rights.”

“I strongly appeal to international decision-makers to implement the three follow-up actions of the World Conference outcome declaration. The declaration calls for the periodical holding of an annual World Summit on Equal Citizenship Rights, the setting-up of an International Task-Force to review measures implemented by UN member States to promote equal citizenship as well as the inclusion of a special item in the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) state report to monitor the implementation of these measures. The World Conference outcome declaration underlines therefore that equal citizenship rights is the gateway to world peace,” Ambassador Jazairy said.

In this context, he praised the decision of the European Centre for Peace and Development – UN University of peace to unanimously adopt a resolution at the XIV International Conference on “A New Human Concept of Security” held on 26 October in Belgrade endorsing the World Conference outcome Declaration.

The post 2018 World Tolerance Day: Executive Director of the Geneva Centre appeals to decision-makers to sign and endorse 2018 World Conference outcome declaration appeared first on Inter Press Service.

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