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Indigenous people gathered in Brasilia during the Free Land Camp, which is held every April in the capital, demonstrate against the time frame law, with the National Congress building in the background. Credit: Gustavo Bezerra / IndiBSB

By Mario Osava
RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 20 2024 (IPS)

A never-ending battle threatens the indigenous rights that seemed clear and secure in Brazil, until the extreme right emerged in 2018 with a force challenging the civilisational advances set out in the Constitution.

After three decades of progress in the demarcation of their territories and other victories, Brazil’s indigenous peoples have suffered setbacks since the administration of former president Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022). Now that the government is friendly to their demands, they face an insidious enemy: the time frame.

“I see no prospects for a favourable solution,” admits Mauricio Terena, a lawyer and coordinator of the legal department of the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (Apib), formed by the country’s seven main indigenous organisations.“The rights of the indigenous minority are the negotiable part within a larger negotiation to calm the alleged democratic crisis. But granting a snack to mitigate the crisis feeds the monster that the STF wants to devour”: Juliana Batista

“We are worried, our expectations are not good”, agreed Juliana Batista, a lawyer at the Instituto Socioambiental, an indigenous and environmental non-governmental organisation.

Both are referring to the conciliation process convened by the president of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), Gilmar Mendes, in search of an agreement on the indigenous lands, between the indigenous peoples themselves and the legislators who passed a law in the National Congress imposing a time frame.

This time frame, a rule limiting indigenous peoples’ rights only to the lands they had occupied up to 5 October 1988, the day the Constitution was enacted, is the weapon of a far-right offensive that has sown uncertainty and setbacks among indigenous peoples.

On 21 September 2023, the STF deemed this framework unconstitutional, after years in which this notion, embraced by some judges, prevented several demarcations. The Constitution assures indigenous people “original rights over the lands they have traditionally occupied”, which is the opposite of a date.

But Congress rebelled against this ruling and six days later passed a law setting the time frame and amendments that weaken indigenous autonomy and the protection of their territories.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva vetoed most of the measures, including the time frame. But three months later Congress overrode the veto, in an open challenge to the president, the STF and the Constitution.

The makeshift camp where indigenous Guarani-Kaiwoá people live in Douradina, a municipality in the central-western state of Mato Grosso do Sul, awaiting the final demarcation of their territory. In July and early August they were attacked by landowners’ gunmen, who wounded 10 people. Credit: Bruno Peres / Agência Brasil

The risks for indigenous peoples

“Conciliation has no sense on a thesis that the Supreme Court has already deemed unconstitutional. It looks like a move of self-preservation by the Supreme Court in its disputes with Congress,” Terena told IPS, referring to the worsening conflicts between the two branches of government that have been roiling Brazilian politics for the past five years.

The STF’s battles, previously more frequent with the executive branch due to Bolsonaro’s abuses of power and lies, including in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic, are now common with the legislative branch, where the extreme right has grown stronger, despite Bolsonaro being defeated in his 2022 bid for re-election.

Judge Mendes is reportedly trying to flexibilise the dispute, mainly with the “ruralistas”, the agribusiness caucus, the largest in Congress and upset by the STF ruling, which considers it hostile to rural property and a factor of legal uncertainty for the powerful rural sector.

To this end, it has set up a Conciliation Commission, a series of STF hearings when a matter under its consideration is particularly controversial and could become conflictive. In this case, it is made up of 24 members, mostly legislators and government representatives.

Apib has only six members and feels it has been left with a dramatic choice.

Terena belongs to this indigenous group that feels at a disadvantage and has threatened to withdraw from the negotiations at the first hearing, on 5 August, given the adverse rules for indigenous peoples dictated by Mendes, as rapporteur of the time frame processes in the STF.

The judge decided after that hearing to consult the indigenous communities before deciding. The second hearing will be on 28 August.

Indigenous people protest in front of the Supreme Federal Court in Brasilia on 3 March 2024 against the law that reinstated a time frame for the demarcation of indigenous peoples’ lands, which was deemed unconstitutional by the same court but remains in force, fuelling conflict. Credit: Rafa Neddermeyer / Agência Brasil

Contradictions weaken the Supreme Court’s role

Among the proposed rules, one states that if a party walks out from the negotiations these will not be interrupted. Another says that resolutions may be adopted by a majority vote. No conciliation is possible without one of the interested parties, nor is it imposed by a vote, Terena argued in his interview with IPS by telephone from Brasilia.

The decision must be delayed because there are many leaders to be heard and “many risks in withdrawing from or remaining in the commission,” said the member of the Terena people, one of the most numerous in Brazil, who live in the central-western state of Mato Grosso do Sul.

“I think the risks are greater in being present, because it would mean accepting these rules and legitimising a meaningless conciliation process,” the lawyer said.

Moreover, the indigenous people, the most affected party in this issue, are a minority in a commission that can vote on resolutions, Batista added.

The damage to indigenous rights is prolonged and accumulating.

The STF took two years to conclude the trial on the time frame and did not suspend the law’s validity, even though its main precept is unconstitutional according to the country’s highest court, the ISA lawyer pointed out.

“This contradiction weakens the authority of the STF. Mendes adopted a position that was more political than legal, so as not to confront the economic interests of a strong sector”, that of agribusiness, she also said by telephone from Brasilia.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva received in Brasilia on 10 August leaders of the Guaraní-Kaiwoá people, who live in territories that are too small or are fighting for the demarcation of their lands, sometimes under armed attack by large landowners. Credit: Ricardo Stuckert / PR

To the detriment of the minority

Batista warned that “the rights of the indigenous minority are the negotiable part, in a larger negotiation to calm the alleged democratic crisis. But granting a snack to mitigate the crisis feeds the monster that the STF wants to devour.”

Terena stressed that since it seems unfeasible to defend the constitutionality of the time frame, “the object of the negotiation” by the ruralists is the compensation to landowners for the land in their possession that they may lose when indigenous rights are restored, and the economic exploitation, be it mining, agricultural or other, of the demarcated territory.

So far, those occupying land recognised as indigenous are only entitled to compensation for the improvements and works they have contributed to the territory, where economic activities are restricted and subject to indigenous acceptance.

Anti-indigenous forces may also benefit by putting obstacles to the demarcation of reserves, to delay the process. Compensation for those with legitimate land titles, a measure already approved by the STF, could make many demarcations unfeasible for a government with severe fiscal constraints, Batista said.

“What happens to indigenous people who do not get the land they need and are entitled to? Forced assimilation by the surrounding society, but also many deaths, including in conflicts over land, suicides of those who are not assimilated,” he warned.

The intended conciliation should prioritise obtaining “land to compensate and resettle occupants of territories under demarcation”, and for the growing indigenous population, said Marcio Santilli, a founding partner of ISA, in an article published by the organisation.

Genocide

The indigenous population, estimated at three to eight million when the Portuguese arrived in Brazil in 1500, fell to 294,131 in the official 1991 census, which for the first time counted those who declared themselves indigenous. Previously they were considered to be mestizos.

Historical genocide flared up during the military dictatorship (1964-1985). But it was precisely during this period that resistance manifested itself in the reaffirmation of indigenous identity and the struggle for rights, recognised in the 1988 Constitution, at least in relation to their land.

Three decades of democracy and constitutional rights prompted a renaissance of indigenous peoples that was reflected in the 2022 census: a total of 1,693,535 declared themselves indigenous, 5.7 times the 1991 population.

The Constitution encouraged the demarcation of 451 indigenous territories, 84.6% of Brazil’s total, in the three decades following the military dictatorship, according to data from ISA, which accumulates an extensive database on indigenous peoples.

But that progress was interrupted during the Bolsonaro government, a representative of the same forces that backed the military. The current administration has resumed demarcations and other indigenist policies, but with the limitations imposed by the power of the far right in Congress and in agricultural and religious sectors.

President Lula promised to ratify the 14 indigenous lands that were already demarcated and ready for final approval at the start of his government in January 2023, but four have yet to be ratified. Brazil has 533 of these territories already formalised, while another 263 are in various stages of demarcation.

Kenya has activated all 26 public health emergency operations centers countrywide and prepared laboratories for mpox testing to manage and control an mpox outbreak. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS

By Joyce Chimbi
NAIROBI, Aug 20 2024 (IPS)

There is a deadly outbreak of a new and graver variant of mpox in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and at least one case has been confirmed in nearly 12 African countries, including those like Kenya, Burundi, Uganda, and Rwanda that were previously unaffected. Suspected mpox cases across these countries have surpassed 17,000, a significant increase from 7,146 cases in 2022 and 14,957 cases in 2023.

Many of these cases are in the DRC, where, for more than a decade, mpox cases have steadily increased as the disease remained neglected as a rare infection confined to far-flung remote rural areas in tropical Africa. But a recent move by the World Health Organization (WHO) strongly suggests that this is no longer the case, as a deadly mpox variant has recently emerged with alarming potential to spread very fast and far.

According to WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, the emergence of “a new clade of mpox, its rapid spread in the eastern DRC, and the reporting of cases in several neighboring countries are very worrying. On top of outbreaks of other mpox clades in the DRC and other countries in Africa, it’s clear that a coordinated international response is needed to stop these outbreaks and save lives.”

Dr. Onyango Ouma, a Kenyan-based medical researcher, told IPS there are two endemic types of mpox virus: clade I, which causes more severe illness and deaths. Some clade I outbreaks have killed up to 10 percent of the infected and are highly endemic in Central Africa, and clade II, which caused the 2022 global Mpox outbreak, is more endemic in West Africa.

More than 99.9 percent of those with clade II survive the disease. The new variant has been classified as clade Ib and can spread through sexual contact. Recently, on August 15, global health officials confirmed the presence of clade Ib infection in Sweden, signalling that the viral infection had taken on an international dimension.

It is this new and highly contagious clade Ib mpox, more grave than the deadly and endemic clade I, that has spread to other African countries that were previously untouched by the viral infection. Kenya is on high alert and has activated all 26 public health emergency operations centers countrywide, prepared laboratories for mpox testing, and deployed 120 trained personnel to manage any potential outbreak.

More than 250,000 people have already been tested thus far since Kenya intensified mpox screening at the beginning of the month. Two Kenyans, in two different parts of the country are currently undergoing testing for presenting with a skin condition akin to the mpox rash.

Although there is only one confirmed case of clade Ib in Kenya thus far, experts such as Ouma say there are likely to be more cases, especially due to Kenya’s position as a hub for travel within the East African community. The mpox case was of a driver traveling from Uganda to the Kenyan coastal city of Mombasa.

Kenya has 35 points of entry and exit or borders with five countries, including Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan and the Indian Ocean international waters. To avert a public health disaster, Kenya is set to receive what has been labelled an Mpox war kitty assembled by donors to the tune of USD 16 million (Kes 2 billion).

Discovered in captive monkeys in 1958, the first case of monkeypox—renamed mpox by WHO in 2022—was identified in 1970 in DRC and in 2022, mpox spread around the world for the first time. Scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say the virus that causes mpox is of the same family as the one that causes smallpox but is not related to chickenpox. As a zoonotic disease, it can spread between animals and people.

Ouma says while mpox is endemic in forested areas in East, Central and West Africa, it is the ongoing unprecedented spread and reach of the deadly clade Ib variant that has heightened concerns and elevated mpox as a global health concern worthy of attention from the global community of scientists and public health actors.

Stressing that “not even the more than 517 people who died from mpox, primarily in the DRC this year, raised the disease profile. African researchers rung the bell way before the 2022-2023 mpox outbreak, calling for increased investments from the global public health community to help increase diagnosis, prevention, management and control of the disease without much success.”

To put it into perspective, Ouma says the WHO declaration that mpox is now a public health emergency of international concern is raising the profile of the disease to the “highest alert level regarding matters that involve a public health risk to other countries, inviting an internationally coordinated response.”

WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, said, “Significant efforts are already underway in close collaboration with communities and governments, with our country teams working on the frontlines to help reinforce measures to curb mpox. With the growing spread of the virus, we’re scaling up further through coordinated international action to support countries bring the outbreaks to an end.”

Committee Chair Professor Dimie Ogoina said, “The current upsurge of mpox in parts of Africa, along with the spread of a new sexually transmissible strain of the monkeypox virus, is an emergency, not only for Africa, but for the entire globe. Mpox, originating in Africa, was neglected there, and later caused a global outbreak in 2022. It is time to act decisively to prevent history from repeating itself.”

Ouma says that while this is a step in the right direction, it is further proof that serious health inequalities and inequities prevail in the prevention and response to disease outbreaks. Since mpox was confined to the African continent and in remote rural areas of the DRC, communities have long been left to grapple with the infectious disease without the much-needed investments in diagnostic, therapeutic and infection prevention.

Stressing that there is a pressing issue around “under-testing and under-reporting as we lack the tools to tackle the disease. Clade I and II are endemic in Africa, but now that the deadly clade Ib strain can be sexually transmitted, suggesting that it could spread all over the world, we have a flurry of activities to combat the infectious disease as others outside the continent are at risk. This response has taken too long and it seems lessons from COVID-19 have unfortunately faded with time.”

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Credit: WHO/Lindsay Mackenzie

By Oritro Karim
NEW YORK, Aug 20 2024 (IPS)

On August 15th, the Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, Farhan Haq, stated at a press briefing at the United Nations Headquarters that the Mpox epidemic continues to surge in the Democratic Republic of Congo and spreads throughout Africa. The alarming frequency of these cases constitutes a global health concern. Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, is an epidemic that has grown exponentially in severity over the past two years. Originating in Central Africa in 1970, rates of infection have risen significantly since late 2023, with a new variant of the infection, known as clade 1 Mpox, infecting over 17,000 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo. These cases have generated increasing alarm, so much so that the World Health Organization has declared Mpox to be a worldwide public health emergency. Shortly after this declaration, the first case of clade 1 Mpox was reported in Sweden which greatly elevated global concern of a worldwide epidemic.

Mpox, once thought to be a primary concern for solely the Democratic Republic of Congo, has begun to spread to neighboring countries and has been rising in rates of death due to infection. The director-general for the Worldwide Health Organization, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, states, “ The emergence of a new clade of Mpox, its rapid spread in eastern DRC, and the reporting of cases in several neighboring countries are very worrying. On top of outbreaks of other Mpox clades in DRC and other countries in Africa, it’s clear that a coordinated international response is needed to stop these outbreaks and save lives”. It is imperative for the world to understand the graveness of the Mpox epidemic and funnel resources into stopping rates of infection as well as providing widespread access to treatment.

Although most fatalities have remained in the Democratic Republic of Congo, reports of infection have increased dramatically in Burundi, Nigeria, Central African Republic, and the Republic of Congo. There have even been reports of mpox spreading over Asian borders in small quantities, into Taiwan, Pakistan, and the Philippines. It is interesting to note that the World Health Organization had organized an effort in combating the 2022-2023 Mpox outbreak for a different clade, and when that effort had concluded, a different clade had arisen and began to infect people all throughout Africa.

It is apparent from this prior development that a long-term effort is needed to combat Mpox as it is a disease that is resilient to change and will continually evolve. Dr. Tedros states that “stopping these outbreaks will require a tailored and comprehensive response, with communities at the center, as always”. Therefore, it is necessary to adjust for these changes accordingly and continue to treat Mpox with the seriousness it deserves.

Recently, the director-general has authorized for an emergency use vaccine to be distributed in lower income countries. This is a crucial first step as Mpox cases are most prevalent in underdeveloped or developing African countries. Furthermore, it is important to target the countries of highest concern first in order to stop the spread to other parts of the world.

Currently the World Health Organization has set up specific efforts in order to combat Mpox. One such example is that WHO has released 1.4 million dollars from their emergency contingency fund to fight this epidemic, expecting to release more in the coming weeks. Additionally, WHO is working with vaccine manufacturers around the world in order to find the most effective and accessible treatments. Furthermore, there has been a focus put into surveillance of the disease and exactly how many are infected. This will be particularly crucial in the process of fighting Mpox as right now, the number of infected people are approximations as many cases have not been reported. Although the current efforts by WHO are a step in the right direction, there is much more action needed to eradicate the Mpox epidemic. It is important that donors contribute to this effort as WHO estimates that about 15 million dollars will be needed for their multi step plan.

IPS UN Bureau

 

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Could the Arab Spring scenario from Egypt repeat in Bangladesh as well?. This is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License. Give attribution to: Rayhan9d

By Randa El Ozeir
TORONTO and DHAKA , Aug 20 2024 (IPS)

“I hope the outcome [of the recent revolution in Bangladesh] would be different. I hope the end result will not be the same”, says Shireen Huq, women’s rights and human rights activist and Founder of Naripokkho organization, to IPS about the many similarities with the Arab Spring.

The recent revolution in Bangladesh that led to dismantling the autocratic ruling of Sheikh Hasina, many hundreds of young lives, including at least 32 children, were lost at the hands of the police and the auxiliary forces. According to a recent report conducted by the United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commission, “There are strong indications, warranting further independent investigation, that the security forces used unnecessary and disproportionate force in their response to the situation.”

The Islamists (Muslim Brotherhood Party) came to power through parliament elections in the Muslim-majority Egypt in 2011 on the heels of the Arab Spring and got an elected president in 2012. The military came back staging a coup and re-seized power in the country in 2013 and put the current president as head of state. Could this scenario repeat in Bangladesh as well?

I spoke with Huq who believes that there is a real issue of religiosity among young people in Bangladesh. However, this would not necessarily lead to supporting fundamentalist forces. “We saw that the fundamentalist forces were active in the protest. It is uncertain at this time to what extent they will be able to navigate the situation and get some advantage out of it. Hopefully, the interim government will be able to maintain their hold on the situation and keep it in the right direction.”

Disappointment with leaving women out of the interim government

However, Huq is disappointed that women have not been represented in the interim government, although some discussions were held initially.

“The garment industry has been led by a majority of the female workforce. During this uprising and these protests, we saw hundreds and thousands of women on the streets. This has been also unprecedented as women will outnumber not only in numbers but also in energy, in force. Two young men have been taken [in the government] from the movement, so this is a little bit worrying. But I am not worried on the whole about women’s rights being further eroded. If anything, I am hopeful that women’s rights will be further advanced”, stated Shireen Huq.

In 2018, Huq and her organization, which consists mainly of feminists, many in their middle ages, developed a women’s manifesto that they are currently sending to all members of the interim government to set the expected priorities for women. “We have to wait and see. We have to give young women space to organize themselves the way they want. They will sort out how they want to build their own space, their own structures and their own organizations.”

Hundreds of thousands of female Bangladeshis took to the street during the recent uprising that dismantled the autocracy in the country. This is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License. Give attribution to: Rayhan9d

In her article titled “Living on Revolution Time”, Anne Alexander, Founder of MENA Solidarity Network, wrote that rulers “will always seek to tip the scales back, to restore their capacity to rule by any means they can. In a very real sense, therefore, “revolution time” is always borrowed time.”

The overthrown Awami league is a big political party in Bangladesh and has plenty of supporters including among the grassroots. They made a failed attempt for a comeback on the 15th of August, the date when the independence leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was assassinated in 1975.

First Reforms then Democracy

What the world saw in Bangladesh embodies the analysis of Martha C. Nussbaum in her book titled Anger and Forgiveness, “Awakening people to the injustice of society’s treatment of them is a necessary first step toward social progress… Sometimes the legal structure is itself unjust and corrupt. What people need to do is not just to secure justice for this or that particular wrong, but, ultimately, to change the legal order.” (p. 211, 212)

Social justice and reforms appear to occupy a primordial place on the youth agenda in Bangladesh, while democracy takes a back seat, for the time being. “Democracy is definitely one of the major goals, but it is not only democracy which is popularly understood as elections,” clarifies Huq. “What is on the agenda right now is ‘reforms’. The slogan from the streets is also ‘Reform of the State’ in every sector. The success of the interim government, to some extent, is to deliver on those reforms. Democracy is equality and justice in the real sense of the term. Social justice and democracy will go hand in hand.”

Student demonstrators held their ground rejecting calls for swift elections and voiced the planning of their own political party. No doubt there is a generational gap when it comes to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman who was considered as the Father of the Nation. Youth don’t have any memory of previous times. “Hasina has used her father in every possible way,” says Huq. “I think it is my generation who is lamenting the inability of young people to make that separation, so they attacked his statues and his portraits which wasn’t probably necessary. There is a lot of pent up anger, not only about the autocracy of his daughter, but also about the misdeeds during her time.”

We are living in an era of acceleration around the world with the prevalence of technology and the pace of life. New generations seem to have lower inertia compared to previous generations and we are witnessing many youth revolutions. Huq thinks revolutions can be infectious. “I am not saying what is happening in Pakistan is because of Bangladesh, but it is interesting that it is happening in South Asia, and maybe we’ll see something happening in India as well, [it is] much-needed in India.”

Despite the great momentum of the revolution’s energy, Huq worries about India’s intervention and interference. “I think some warnings have been issued about that. If India really wants for Bangladesh to prosper and to do well, then the best thing it can do is to keep its hands off.”

Randa El Ozeir, is a Canadian-Lebanese journalist who writes on health issues, women’s rights and social justice.

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Mauritania launches its first inclusive digital ID system. Credit: UNDP Mauritania

By El Hassen Teguedi, Benjamin Bertelsen and Jonas Loetscher
NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania / UNITED NATIONS, Aug 20 2024 (IPS)

Governments are increasingly adopting the digital public infrastructure (DPI) approach to deliver public services. An essential component of this is digital identity. Digital identities are often designed to provide a seamless experience for users which ought to be secure, user-friendly, and preserve privacy.

Like Mauritania, this is particularly important for countries on their digital transformation journey, where digital legal identity* can be harnessed to catalyze development opportunities. Whilst the opportunities inherent with digital transformation are clear, everything from design to implementation needs to be inclusive to avoid exacerbating existing inequalities.

In Mauritania, forty-four percent of the population live in rural areas where physical infrastructure, connectivity and public services are limited. Given the rural-urban disparities, it is imperative to be inclusive by design when introducing new digital interventions.

UNDP is working with the Government of Mauritania to shape an inclusive and rights-based digital transformation. Whilst Mauritania has had its digital identity system, the government thought it was critical to further assess safeguards and privacy, accessibility for people living in low connectivity areas, as well as the usability of digital identity to authenticate services for the private sector, civil society, and government services.

UNDP is working with the Ministry of Digital Transformation, Innovation and Public Sector Modernization (MTNIMA) in Mauritania to advance the country’s digital identity infrastructure, where the focus has been on developing and piloting an open-source, mobile-based digital identity solution called e-ID Mauritania.

Mauritania’s digital identity application in pilot mode. Credit: UNDP Mauritania

Here are four takeaways from the pilot:

1. Establish a steering body for strategic decision-making

In Mauritania like many other countries, identity management is a sovereign function, linked to issues of security, governance, and protection of people’s rights. Mauritania’s National Agency for People Registry and Secure Documents, under the supervision of the Ministry of Home Affairs, is responsible for issuing identity cards, passports, and residence permits. This agency developed and manages the national biometric system.

Considering the strategic nature of a digital identity project, its intersectoral nature, and related sensitivities, it is important to establish a strategic steering body (for instance at the level of the Prime Minister) that has effective involvement in decision-making, in Mauritania’s case the Ministry of Home Affairs. This body can provide strategic guidance for decision-making, for example regarding the mechanism and governance structure of the e-ID system.

2. Support robust governance

Robust governance of digital legal ID is a must for effective design and implementation. Ideally this is based on agile methodologies and the active participation of various stakeholders, which is necessary for ensuring the independence of the identity provider, as well as establishing safeguards for quality supervision, personal data protection, amongst others.

As the Mauritania’s pilot experience made clear, outlining the roles and responsibilities of all those involved goes a long way to promoting greater transparency and collaboration. This also helps with identifying additional expertise and perspectives. UNDP’s legal digital ID model governance framework provides useful guide rails for navigating a rights-based, multi-stakeholder, governance setup. Similarly, this blueprint is designed to aid the establishment and governance of digital legal ID systems globally.

3. Prioritize stakeholders

The project team thought it paramount to identify and validate the interests of key stakeholders. This included examining various options for a national digital identity system, whilst collecting inputs on their potential strengths and weaknesses. With inclusivity prioritized, the team aimed to develop a solution that would enable the use of multiple digital identities on a single mobile phone, in addition to an identity verification process that works without cellular connectivity.

Designing with the end users in mind helps to ensure that diverse needs and preferences are considered. In this respect, thoughtful steps were taken in Mauritania towards ensuring that the mobile-based solution would serve everyone, regardless of their technological access or level of connectivity. By using design thinking, governments can ensure that several verification options are built in.

4. Explore the benefits of open-source components

The pilot resulted in a highly functional and secure solution that uses some open-source and digital public goods. To navigate existing and future concerns, it is critical to explore different open-source business models and their implications; develop an open-source strategy and institutional setup within the government; manage license compliance for open-source projects to ensure effective governance and continuity.

As the experience in Mauritania highlighted, local governance of any solution built on open-source components necessitates considerable capacity building among national stakeholders. The open-source components used in e-ID Mauritania (accessible on MTNIMA’s GitHub) proved valuable in avoiding licensing fees and made it possible to combine various parts for the solution.

Moving ahead

Ensuring rights-based and inclusive governance of digital legal identity systems is crucial for their alignment with the public good. In essence, the regulations and standards set the ‘rules of the road’. These rules can guide decision-makers on the most suitable technologies for public service delivery, instill confidence in the private sector to invest and innovate, and foster end users’ trust.

UNDP will continue to collaborate with MTNIMA for the next phase of the project, including mobilizing financial resources, developing the system, and facilitating steps to adopt the necessary legislation for its implementation. Follow Mauritania’s digital transformation journey here for the latest updates.

*Legal identity is defined by the UN Legal Identity Task Force as the basic characteristics of an individual’s identity. e.g. name, sex, place and date of birth conferred through registration and the issuance of a certificate by an authorized civil registration authority following the occurrence of birth. In the absence of birth registration, legal identity may be conferred by a legally-recognized identification authority.

The digital legal ID which is referred to in the blog is a physical or digital credential, as well as the enabling process that supports ensuring that the credential is recognized and trusted. Digital legal ID can be ‘foundational’, with multiple applications – such as a birth certificate, passport or national identity card or intended for more ‘functional’ application such as accessing more narrowly defined services or entitlements. A digital identity system is thus the combination of technologies, systems and institutions that enable these processes.

Eight hundred and fifty million people worldwide do not have the means to prove who they are. People with no legal identity are often pushed to the margins of society, unable to secure decent work, acquire a driver’s license, apply for benefits or “exist” in society. They are often exposed to extreme vulnerabilities and have limited access to public goods and services as well as private services.

The United Nations Legal Identity Agenda Task Force, co-chaired by UNDP, UNDESA and UNICEF, is working with Member States to ensure that more than 300 million people acquire a legal identity by 2025. Join us!

The importance of legal identity is an integral part of Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UNDP actively works with open-source software to accelerate inclusive digital transformation in countries and to achieve the SDGs. SDG Target 16.9, which aims to “provide legal identity for all, including birth registration,” underscores the widespread significance of civil registration in societies globally.

UNDP co-leads the Digital Public Goods Alliance (DPGA) and is the official knowledge partner for India’s G20 leadership on DPI. UNDP does extensive work with both DPGs and DPI through our government counterparts and global partners. visit https://www.undp.org/digital and https://www.undp.org/governance/legal-identity.

El Hassen Teguedi is Head of Monitoring and Evaluation and Programme Management Support Unit, UNDP Mauritania; Benjamin Bertelsen is Digital Public Goods Product Specialist, UNDP’s Chief Digital Office; Jonas Loetscher is Digital Transformation Consultant, UNDP.

The authors would like to thank Soraya Habott, Project Lead, Ministry of Digital Transformation, Innovation and Public Sector Modernization, Mauritania for her contribution to this piece.

Source: UNDP

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Activists from Mexico's Sin Maiz No Hay Pais (Without Corn There Is No Country) announced in June that more than 100,000 Mexicans signed letters to the GM corn trade panelists urging them to respect Mexico's food sovereignty. "100,000 signatures, 100,000 voices, 100,000 seeds"

By Timothy A. Wise
CAMBRIDGE, MA., Aug 19 2024 (IPS)

Closing arguments are in in the U.S. trade complaint against Mexico’s restrictions on genetically modified (GM) corn, with the three-arbitrator tribunal set to rule on the matter in November. The legitimacy of the trade agreement itself hangs in the balance.

In the course of the year-long process Mexico has dismantled U.S. claims, showing that its precautionary measures are permitted under the terms of the trade agreement, that its restrictions barely impact U.S. exports, and that it has a mountain of scientific evidence of risk to justify its precautionary policies.

Will the panel let the U.S. use a trade agreement stop a policy that barely affects trade?

The U.S. government requested this formal dispute-resolution process a year ago under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement (USMCA) over Mexico’s February 2023 presidential decree that restricted the use of GM corn in tortillas and phased out the use of the herbicide glyphosate, which is applied to 80% of U.S. corn. Mexico cited evidence of both GM corn and glyphosate in tortillas and other common corn preparations and documented the risks from such exposures, particularly for a Mexican population that eats more than ten times the amount of corn consumed per capita in the United States.

Where is the trade restriction?

The U.S. claim has been specious from the start. In its complaint it mischaracterized Mexico’s presidential decree as a “Tortilla Corn Ban” and a “Substitution Instruction” to phase out imports of GM yellow corn for animal feed. Mexico, in its written filings in the case, has repeatedly objected to these terms.

By calling it a “tortilla corn ban” the U.S. is implying that Mexico has banned U.S. exports of white corn, the kind commonly used in tortillas. They haven’t. They only banned the use of GM corn in tortillas and in other foods made from minimally processed (ground) white corn. It is a ban on use, not imports. White corn exports, including GM white corn, still flow from the U.S. to Mexico. They just can’t be used in the tortilla/corn-flour food chain.

Because the vast majority of U.S. corn exports are yellow varieties for animal feed and industrial uses, the restriction barely affects U.S. corn producers. Where is the trade restriction?

Much of the U.S. case rests on its misleading characterization of the “Substitution Instruction” as a trade restriction. It is no such thing.

The U.S. argues that the 2023 decree mandates the eventual phase-out of all GM corn imports, threatening the $5 billion-per-year Mexican market for U.S. yellow corn – 97% of U.S. exports – overwhelmingly GM varieties mainly used as animal feed. Even though Mexico has no current restrictions on such U.S. exports, and none are planned, the U.S. argues that Mexico’s mandate threatens future profits it expected to receive from the trade agreement.

Trade lawyer Ernesto Hernández López took on the U.S. deception, pointing out that there is no mandate (instruction) to stop using GM corn, just to grow more alternative non-GM feed sources and use them as they become available. The original decree uses the term “gradual substitution” (sustitución paulatina) and makes clear that it is based on supplies being available.

As Hernández López points out, the trade panel should not accept a U.S. argument based overwhelmingly on hypothetical future reductions in Mexican imports of GM feed corn. The U.S. case is made all the weaker by data showing that U.S. feed-corn exports to Mexico have gone up significantly since the 2023 decree, a result of weak harvests due to drought.

Consider the facts

The USMCA tribunal should consider the facts:

• Mexico’s GM corn policies have barely impacted U.S. exporters. Yellow corn exports are booming and the border is wide open to white-corn exporters, even for tortillas if U.S. farmers switch to non-GM varieties.
• The USMCA agreement allows for such precautionary policies and even grants special exceptions for policies that support indigenous cultural practices. Mexican courts have repeatedly ruled that Mexicans have a constitutional right to protection of their heritage corn.
• The Mexican government and expert scientists in the case have presented reams of peer-reviewed science documenting the risks to Mexicans from GM corn with glyphosate residues, evidence the U.S. government has largely ignored in its formal rebuttals in the case.
• The U.S. is left with the weak argument that Mexico’s restrictions are a Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary (SPS) health measure and require a strict risk assessment in advance of enacting the policy. Mexico argues that the policy is more than a health measure because it also protects the environment and indigenous rights. So no such risk assessment is required. Still, Mexico has produced plenty of science to show risk.

The Mexican government has also highlighted how lax and riddled with conflicts of interest the U.S. regulatory process is for GM corn, a charge backed by the U.S. Center for Food Safety. This means that, as a Reuters headline put it in March, “Mexico waiting on US proof that GM corn safe for its people.”

After hundreds of pages of filings and two days of hearings, Mexico is still waiting for that proof. Hopefully the tribunal will weigh the facts, dismiss the U.S. claim, and not allow the U.S. to misuse a trade agreement to stop a policy it doesn’t like.

Timothy A. Wise is a Senior Research Fellow at Tufts University’s Global Development and Environment Institute and the author of Eating Tomorrow: Agribusiness, Family Farmers and the Battle for the Future of Food.

IPS UN Bureau

 

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Credit: Tomás Cuesta/AFP via Getty Images

By Inés M. Pousadela
MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay, Aug 19 2024 (IPS)

There was an unusual sense of hope going into Venezuela’s 28 July presidential election. Democracy seemed on the horizon. María Corina Machado, the opposition’s rallying figure, had inspired a rare level of enthusiasm, promising millions of exiles they’d soon be able to return to a new Venezuela.

It seemed voting could bring change. And in a way, it did: the election proved the opposition could win despite an incredibly skewed playing field. But President Nicolás Maduro, in office since 2013, quickly declared himself the winner despite all evidence to the contrary, unleashing repression on the many who took to the streets in protest.

The situation is now at a standstill, and a Maduro-led regime lacking any legitimacy may use ever greater repression to stay in power. Many are deeply disappointed, but longtime Venezuelan activists advise patience alongside ongoing pressure. They knew the election could be the beginning of a much longer process. Now it’s a matter of finding the right mix of protest and international incentives to force negotiations that could lead to an eventual transition to democracy.

Election day

Although there were irregularities during the vote, they didn’t seem major. Most people in Venezuela, unlike Venezuelans abroad, seemed able to vote, and opposition witnesses were mostly allowed to visit polling stations and receive a copy of tallies produced by voting machines, as entitled to by law.

Fraud was hatched elsewhere, in the National Electoral Council’s (CNE) Totalisation Room, where vote tallies from 30,000 polling stations are processed and results calculated. The body responsible for overseeing elections is dominated by government loyalists.

The voting system is technically flawless: it operates on a closed circuit, making it almost impossible to hack, and contains multiple safeguards. This means that on election day, voting data flowed into the CNE as expected, and the count appeared to go smoothly until about 40 per cent of votes cast had been counted. That’s when the authorities apparently realised they were losing by an insurmountable margin and stopped transmitting data. Witnesses for the opposition were denied entry to the Totalisation Room. The CNE website froze and became inaccessible – and has remained so since. Without a shred of evidence, the government blamed ‘massive international hacking’, allegedly by opponents based in North Macedonia.

Throughout the afternoon, senior government officials issued media statements seemingly designed to prepare people for the announcement of a ruling party victory. They circulated exit polls showing Maduro with a lead of over 20 points, supposedly from a polling company that turned out to be fake. Meanwhile, exit polls conducted by opposition and independent pollsters gave González around 70 per cent.

Finally, around midnight, the CNE announced on national television that Maduro had won with 51.20 per cent against González’s 44.20 per cent. The vote totals were exact percentages to one decimal place, a near impossibility. It looked as though someone had decided on a percentage for each of the two main candidates and taken it from there. Without providing any disaggregated data, the CNE declared Maduro re-elected president.

The Carter Center, the only independent election observer allowed, left Venezuela on 29 July, saying the results were unverifiable and the election couldn’t be considered democratic. The opposition, civil society and the international community have since called on the government to produce detailed vote tallies, to no avail.

On 13 August, a UN panel of experts issued a preliminary report concluding that the CNE had failed to comply with ‘basic measures of transparency and integrity’.

What’s changed

But the story doesn’t end with massive fraud: some profound changes have taken place that suggest this is only the beginning.

For the first time in memory, no significant section of the opposition boycotted the election. Instead, the opposition held a primary vote that chose Machado as a unity candidate, with more than two million people taking part, despite threats from the authorities, censorship and physical attacks on candidates at rallies. But the results were immediately annulled by the government-aligned Supreme Court, which upheld an old disqualification against Machado, due to an unsubstantiated corruption conviction. The government then made the opposition jump through hoops to name a replacement.

Machado pulled off the seemingly impossible job of transferring her popularity to her successor, a softly spoken former diplomat who wasn’t on the political radar.

In addition to being united, the opposition developed a strategy, Plan 600K, to do everything it could to scrutinise the election. It recruited some 600,000 volunteers, organised in comanditos, groups of around 10 people each. By early July, the opposition claimed that more than 58,300 comanditos had been formed. On election day, they were present at polling stations across Venezuela.

They stayed throughout the day, and when the polls closed, took a copy of the tally sheet, photographed it, scanned the QR code and transferred the data, along with the paper documentation, to collection centres. Knowing what was coming, the opposition had worked with programmers to replicate an electoral computing centre so they could process the data and independently produce real figures down to polling station level.

This novel strategy caught the government off guard. By the time the CNE made its first announcements, the opposition had already counted 30 per cent of the ballots and knew it had won by a wide margin. The following day, opposition leaders held a press conference claiming to have counted over 70 per cent of the votes, giving González an unassailable lead. They opened up their database to the public, allowing investigative journalists and election experts to verify its accuracy.

The revelation of the crude nature of the government’s fraud brought a second major shift: the withdrawal of support from some states that customarily support Maduro. On election night, only four friendly authoritarian governments – China, Cuba, Iran and Russia – congratulated Maduro on his supposed re-election.

At the other end of the spectrum, several governments in the Americas, including Canada and the USA, refused to recognise the official results. Some, such as Argentina’s far-right libertarian president Javier Milei, did so for ideological reasons. But the rejections that carried the most weight came from Latin America’s democratic left, best represented by Chile’s President Gabriel Boric, who based his position on the unconditional defence of democracy. In response, the Venezuelan government expelled the diplomatic delegations of the seven Latin American countries that had questioned the election.

Somewhere in between, the European Union and three left-wing American governments – Brazil, Colombia and Mexico – said they’d recognise the results once the government produced the vote tallies and these were independently verified. Ahead of the election, Brazilian President Lula da Silva and Colombian President Gustavo Petro called on the government to ensure transparent elections and respect the results. They’re now in the best position to negotiate a transition behind the scenes. They’re the countries that receive most of Venezuela’s migrants, more of whom might leave if the crisis isn’t resolved.

What hasn’t changed

Before the election, Maduro warned of a ‘bloodbath’ if he didn’t win. He’s responded as expected, just as he did in the face of mass protests in 2014 and 2017 – with brutal repression that left at least 25 dead.

From the early hours of 29 July, hundreds took to the streets to protest against the implausible official results, and by the morning there were thousands across the country, mostly in densely populated working-class neighbourhoods, once government strongholds.

Maduro called the protests a ‘fascist outbreak’ and announced the construction of new prisons for detainees. Repression was often left in the hands of ‘armed collectives’ of pro-government paramilitaries who blocked marches, beat protesters and kidnapped opposition election observers. Lists of people wanted for allegedly inciting violence, including journalists and members of the opposition, were circulated on social media, and the authorities called for people to report those taking part in protests. In some Caracas neighbourhoods, pro-government groups tried to intimidate people by marking the houses of people perceived to be opposition supporters.

Security forces used pellets and teargas against protesters and arbitrarily arrested hundreds, charging them with terrorism or incitement to hatred. Over 2,400 people were arrested, according to official figures. The UN Human Rights Office found that most detainees weren’t allowed to choose their own lawyer or contact their families, and classed some of these cases as enforced disappearances.

But even when repression forced people back into their homes in fear for their lives, sporadic pot-banging protests have continued to erupt.

What must change

Whether the election marks the beginning of a democratic transition will depend on a combination of three factors, none of which is sufficient on its own: mass protest, international pressure and division and defection among the military.

Many Venezuelans saw the election as their last chance before giving up and joining the millions who’ve left. The exodus, the turnout, the results and the ensuing protests are all signs that the vast majority no longer support the government, and many actively oppose it.

So far, opposition leaders have refrained from calling people out onto the streets because, given the regime’s repressive response, more protests will inevitably mean further casualties. But without mass mobilisation, the regime could quickly regain control and opposition leaders could end up in prison. It remains to be seen how many will dare to take to the streets, for how long and how far the government will go to suppress them.

Maduro will only leave when he calculates that the cost of staying is higher than the cost of leaving, so any international negotiation should aim to lower his exit costs. This means the price of transition would likely be an unpalatable concession of immunity – and therefore impunity – for Maduro and other top officials.

But there’s only so much international pressure can do. Maduro has already shown he’s willing to take the hit of international isolation if that’s what it takes to stay in power. He has systematically reneged on all his international commitments, including the Barbados Agreement that paved the way for the election. What’s more, the states most willing to broker a deal have little leverage because Venezuela doesn’t depend on them, while the countries it relies on, China and Russia, have no incentive to promote democracy.

Two of the three elements in the equation have begun to shift: a clear majority has expressed its will at the ballot box and on the streets, and ideologically close former international allies have insisted that the will of the people must be respected. The third remains an unknown. Even under siege and internationally isolated, the regime could survive if it remains determined to tackle the crisis with violence, as it has done so far, and if security forces remain on its side. The fate of millions depends on what happens next.

Inés M. Pousadela is CIVICUS Senior Research Specialist, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report.

 

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Central Downtown Astana with Bayterek tower. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

By Katsuhiro Asagiri
TOKYO/ASTANA, Aug 19 2024 (IPS)

In a world increasingly shadowed by the threat of nuclear conflict, Kazakhstan is stepping up its efforts in the global disarmament movement. On August 27-28, 2024, in collaboration with the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), Kazakhstan will host a critical workshop in Astana. This gathering, the first of its kind in five years, is set to reinvigorate the five existing Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones (NWFZs) and enhance cooperation and consultation among them.

This initiative aligns with UN Secretary-General António Guterres’s Agenda for Disarmament, particularly Action 5, which emphasizes the strengthening of NWFZs through enhanced collaboration between zones, urging nuclear-armed states to respect relevant treaties, and supporting the establishment of new zones, such as in the Middle East. This effort reflects the global community’s ongoing push to reduce the nuclear threat and foster regional and global peace.

Kazakhstan’s Historical Commitment to Disarmament

Kazakhstan’s vision for a nuclear-free world is deeply rooted in its leadership in global disarmament efforts. This vision is not just aspirational; it is grounded in the country’s lived experience of the devastating impact of nuclear weapons. The Semipalatinsk Test Site in northeastern Kazakhstan, often referred to as “the Polygon,” was the site of 456 nuclear tests conducted by the Soviet Union between 1949 and 1989. These tests exposed over 1.5 million people to radiation, resulting in severe health consequences, including cancer and birth defects, as well as environmental degradation.

Kazakhstan’s dedication to disarmament is further highlighted by its initiative to establish August 29 as the International Day against Nuclear Tests, recognized by the United Nations. This date commemorates both the first Soviet nuclear test at Semipalatinsk in 1949 and the closure of the site in 1991, serving as a reminder of the horrors of nuclear testing and a call to action for the global community.

The Role of NWFZs in Global Security

NWFZs are critical components of the global nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament architecture. There are five established NWFZs, created through treaties: Treaty of Tlatelolco (Latin America and the Caribbean), Treaty of Rarotonga (South Pacific), Treaty of Bangkok (Southeast Asia), Treaty of Pelindaba (Africa), Treaty of Semey (Central Asia) In addition, Mongolia’s unique status as a self-declared nuclear-weapon-free state, recognized through a United Nations General Assembly resolution, exemplifies a national commitment to nuclear non-proliferation.

These zones prohibit the presence of nuclear weapons within their territories, reinforced by international verification and control systems. NWFZs play a crucial role in maintaining regional stability, reducing the risk of nuclear conflict, and promoting global disarmament.

Astana Workshop: A Critical Gathering for Disarmament

The upcoming workshop in Astana is a critical opportunity for states-parties to the five NWFZ treaties, alongside representatives from international organizations, to engage in vital discussions aimed at overcoming the challenges facing these zones. This gathering is particularly timely, given the escalating geopolitical tensions in regions where nuclear capabilities remain central to national security.

A key focus of the workshop will be on enhancing cooperation among the NWFZs, as outlined in the Secretary-General’s Agenda for Disarmament. This includes facilitating consultation between the zones and encouraging nuclear-armed states to adhere to the protocols of these treaties. The workshop builds on the 2019 seminar titled “Cooperation Among Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones and Mongolia,” co-organized by UNODA and Kazakhstan in Nur-Sultan(Astana), which produced key recommendations aimed at revitalizing cooperation among NWFZs.

Participants will discuss strategies to advance the objectives of NWFZs, with an emphasis on strengthening security benefits for member states and fostering more robust consultation mechanisms. The workshop will also address the challenges posed by the reluctance of certain nuclear-armed states, particularly the United States, to ratify protocols related to several NWFZ treaties. Despite being a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the U.S. has yet to ratify protocols to treaties covering the South Pacific (Treaty of Rarotonga), Africa (Treaty of Pelindaba), and Central Asia. This reluctance has impeded the full realization of the security benefits these zones could offer.

Kazakhstan’s Leadership in the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW)

Kazakhstan’s role in nuclear disarmament extends beyond NWFZs to include leadership in the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). In March 2025, Kazakhstan will host the 3rd Meeting of State Parties to the TPNW at the United Nations, further solidifying its position as a champion of nuclear disarmament.

Kazakhstan has been a vocal advocate of the TPNW and has actively pushed for the creation of an international fund to support victims of nuclear testing and remediate environments affected by nuclear activities, in line with Articles 6 and 7 of the treaty.

The Vienna Action Plan, developed during the First Meeting of States Parties to the TPNW（１MSP）, outlines actions for implementing these articles, including exploring the feasibility of an international trust fund and encouraging affected states parties to assess the impacts of nuclear weapons use and testing and to develop national plans for implementation.

At the Second Meeting of States Parties (2MSP), co-chaired by Kazakhstan and Kiribati, progress was made, but challenges remain. The informal working group on victim assistance, environmental remediation, and international cooperation presented a report, and its mandate was renewed, with the goal of submitting recommendations for the establishment of an international trust fund at the 3rd Meeting of States Parties (3MSP). Kazakhstan’s leadership in this area underscores its commitment to addressing the humanitarian impacts of nuclear weapons, drawing from its own experience with the devastating consequences of nuclear testing at Semipalatinsk.

Civil Society’s Crucial Role

As a part of the two day event, Soka Gakkai International (SGI) from Japan and the Center for International Security and Policy (CISP) will hold a side event in the evening of September 28 to screen the documentary “I Want to Live On: The Untold Stories of the Polygon,” highlighting the survivors of nuclear testing at Semipalatinsk. This documentary, produced by CISP with SGI’s support, was first shown at the UN during the second meeting of state parties to the TPNW in 2023. This side event is part of a broader initiative by SGI and Kazakhstan, which have co-organized several events focusing on the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons at UN, Vienna, and Astana in recent years.

Also coinciding with the Astana workshop, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) will hold a conference convening civil society organizations and activists including Hibakusha from some countries. This confluence of governmental and civil society efforts in Astana marks a significant moment in the global disarmament movement. While diplomats and state representatives discuss policy and cooperation during the official workshop, the parallel activities organized by civil society will amplify the humanitarian message and emphasize the urgent need for a world free of nuclear weapons.

As global tensions rise, the Astana workshop represents a beacon of hope, a critical moment in the global journey toward disarmament. Through cooperation, dialogue, and a shared commitment to peace, the dream of a world free of nuclear weapons remains within reach. Kazakhstan, with the support of the international community, is at the forefront of this vital effort.

INPS Japan/IPS UN Bureau

 

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A mother and her 9-month-old daughter visit a health center run by Action Against Hunger in the Tando Muhammad Khan NSC district. Credit: Action Against Hunger

By Muhammad Aamir
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Aug 19 2024 (IPS)

In May, temperatures soared above 52° Celsius (125.6° Fahrenheit) in Pakistan’s southern province of Sindh. To cope, Samina Kanwal, a community health worker with Action Against Hunger, began work at 7:00 am — the earliest time possible given neighborhood security protocols — to travel door-to-door helping vulnerable with the health consequences of extreme heat including heatstroke, difficulties with brain function, and even hunger.

Of course, these consequences extend beyond Pakistan with the world experiencing the hottest day ever recorded this summer. The health implications are real — and they are growing with the heat.

Heat is a Health Risk

Over time, heat strains the body as it tries to cool itself, worsening chronic conditions from asthma to diabetes. It is also causes pregnancy and birth complications, with the rates of premature births increasing after heat waves.

Heat-related illness occurs because of exposure to high temperatures. Heatstroke can develop in just a few hours and can involve seizures, heart complications, and brain swelling, with high fatality rates. In fact, heat-related deaths worldwide increased by 74% from 1980 to 2016, and researchers attribute nearly 40% of those deaths to climate change.

A drought and a heat wave hit the Baluchistan region of Pakistan in June 2024. Credit Action Against Hunger

Diarrhea – the third leading cause of death in children younger than five in average temperatures – is much more severe in extreme heat when the symptoms of severe dehydration and fluid loss are compounded. While people typically are advised to drink more fluids as temperatures rise, that assumes access to clean water, which isn’t the case for more than 2 billion people worldwide.

Brain health is impacted by extreme heat: cognitive function decreases as temperatures rise. One study found that for every degree above 22° Celsius (72° Fahrenheit), standardized test scores fell 0.2% — assuming that school takes place at all. In communities with limited resources, climate-controlled buildings are rare. To protect students, Pakistan’s Punjab province closed schools for a week this summer, leaving 52% of school-age children at home.

Mental health also suffers due to extreme heat. Hot days are associated with higher risk of emergency room visits for substance abuse, mood and anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, and dementia. Studies show that every 1° increase in temperature can increase suicide rates. The effects are pronounced in agricultural areas, where heat damages crops and economic prospects.

During May’s heatwave, the need for antibiotics and antipyretics (also known as fever reducers) became so great that Action Against Hunger, local authorities, and other partners quickly came together to prevent shortages and manage other health risks, like filling and carrying jugs of clean water. To reduce the impacts on the women and girls that this task typically falls to, we expanded shaded areas around community water sources.

Heat and Hunger

Drought and crop failure are obvious consequences of heat that impact food accessibility. High temperatures can dry soil, lowering crop yields and driving up food prices. These impacts become more widespread as climate change accelerates, and it’s already impacting nutrition among vulnerable populations.

Extreme heat intensified chronic and acute malnutrition in multiple West African countries, an area vulnerable to deadly heat waves. Over a 90 day period, just 14 days of temperatures between 86 and 95° led to a 2.2% increase in child “wasting,” which happens when a child loses muscle and fat tissue, becoming too thin for their height.

For every 100 hours of exposure to a temperature above 95° Fahrenheit, the “stunting rate” among children — where a child is too short for their age — increased by 5.9%.

Today, one in four children is undernourished. But researchers have warned that if the global temperature increases by 2°, the rate of stunting due to heat exposure will nearly double. Without a concerted effort from the global community to mitigate climate change, the world is on track to surpass this threshold, leading to devastating health impacts for children, families, and communities.

Low-income countries will feel these effects the most, as most poorer nations are located in regions that will be two to five times more susceptible to heat waves than richer countries by the 2060s. These challenges are compounded by other climate impacts: Pakistan, one of the countries most impacted by climate change, suffered drought followed by historic flooding that submerged crops and killed thousands of livestock that people rely on for basic food and income.

This zig-zag between extremes has left more than two million people in need of emergency assistance. The climate crisis is a health crisis. Paradoxically, heatmakes it harder to engage in protective measures. And health systems are not well prepared to deal with an additional influx of patients alongside the burden that heat waves place on everything from supply chains to the power grid.

Solutions for the Future

The good news is that efforts are underway to create more climate-resilient health systems. Leaders increasingly recognize the need for a “one health” approach that acts on the interconnections between human and environmental health. We also need to ensure that the links between heat and hunger are central to that agenda.

Developing climate change early action plans and leading simulation exercises for key stakeholders is crucial to a solution. We have implemented programs, for example, that contributed to agricultural benefits over time: farmers were able to store 15% additional seeds for the next cultivation cycle, and preservation practices of rice and wheat stock improved by 100%.

Beneficiaries also reported a 25% decrease in soil-related issues due to flooding, which shows that the program had a positive impact on mitigating the effects of climate disasters. The introduction of irrigation systems and water management techniques helped farmers overcome weather-related challenges.

Solutions like income generation opportunities, promotion of climate-smart agriculture practices, climate-friendly irrigation systems, provision of treatment for severely malnourished children, and additive health services will be key to creating a sustainable and thriving world amid increasing temperatures.

Muhammad Aamir is Pakistan Country Director, Action Against Hunger

IPS UN Bureau

 

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By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS, Aug 19 2024 (IPS)

Back in August 2003, the United Nations faced one of its violent tragedies when a terrorist attack on the UN headquarters in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad claimed the lives of 22 people.

Among those killed was Sergio Vieira de Mello of Brazil, the UN envoy in Iraq and High Commissioner for Human Rights, who had a long and distinguished UN career stretching over 30 years.

As the UN commemorated World Humanitarian Day on August 19, it continues to be confronted with rising death tolls among both its humanitarian workers and peacekeepers worldwide.

The commemorative day was established by the General Assembly in 2008 after the 2003 bomb attack in Baghdad.

At last count, at least 254 aid workers have been killed since the current 10-month-old war began in Gaza on Oct. 7 last year, and about 188 worked for UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.

According to the UN, “2023 was the deadliest year on record for humanitarian workers and 2024 is on track to be even worse”.

In a statement ahead of World Humanitarian Day, Dennis Francis, President of the193-member General Assembly said aid organizations – from all over the world – have united to call for the protection of civilians and humanitarian personnel, as well as to ensure their safe and unhindered access, including across conflict lines.

Footage of destruction of Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza, following an Israeli siege. The World Health Organization (WHO) reiterated that hospitals must be respected and protected; they must not be used as battlefields. Credit: UN News

Attacks on humanitarian workers and humanitarian assets must stop, as well as on civilians and civilian infrastructure, he said.

Besides the UN and its agencies, some of the world’s humanitarian organizations in war zones include Doctors Without Borders, CARE International, Save the Children and the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent.

Last April, seven members from World Central Kitchen (WCK) were killed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza. The WCK said its team was traveling in a deconflicted zone in two armored cars branded with the WCK logo and a soft skin vehicle.

Despite coordinating movements with the Israeli Defense Force (IDF), the convoy was hit as it was leaving the Deir al-Balah warehouse, where the team had unloaded more than 100 tons of humanitarian food aid brought to Gaza on the maritime route.

“This is not only an attack against WCK, this is an attack on humanitarian organizations showing up in most dire situations where food is being used as a weapon of war. This is unforgivable,” said WCK CEO Erin Gore.

The seven killed were from Australia, Poland, United Kingdom, a dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada, and Palestine.

“I am heartbroken and appalled that we—World Central Kitchen and the world—lost beautiful lives because of a targeted attack by the IDF. The love they had for feeding people, the determination they embodied to show that humanity rises above all, and the impact they made in countless lives will forever be remembered and cherished,” said Gore.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), more than half of the 2023 deaths were recorded in the first three months – October to December – of the hostilities in Gaza, mostly as a result of airstrikes.

Extreme levels of violence in Sudan and South Sudan have also contributed to the tragic death toll, both in 2023 and in 2024. In all these conflicts, most of the casualties are among national staff. Many humanitarian workers also continue to be detained in Yemen.

“The normalization of violence against aid workers and the lack of accountability are unacceptable, unconscionable and enormously harmful for aid operations everywhere,” said Joyce Msuya, Acting Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator.

“Today, we reiterate our demand that people in power act to end violations against civilians and the impunity with which these heinous attacks are committed.”

On this World Humanitarian Day, aid workers and those supporting their efforts around the globe have organized events to stand in solidarity and spotlight the horrifying toll of armed conflicts, including on humanitarian staff, she said.

In addition, a joint letter from leaders of humanitarian organizations will be sent to the Member States of the UN General Assembly asking the international community to end attacks on civilians, protect all aid workers, and hold perpetrators to account.

Everyone can add their voice by joining and amplifying the digital campaign using the hashtag #ActforHumanity.

Meanwhile, UN peacekeeping is considered virtually humanitarian—but with a military angle– in conflict ridden countries and war zones where they are also vulnerable to attacks.

At least 11 United Nations personnel — seven military personnel and four civilians — were killed in deliberate attacks in 2023, the United Nations Staff Union Standing Committee on the Security and Independence of the International Civil Service pointed out.

And 32 UN peacekeeping personnel — 28 military and four police, including one woman police officer — were killed in deliberate attacks in 2022, the United Nations Staff Union said.

For the ninth year in a row, the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) was the deadliest for peacekeepers with 14 fatalities, followed by 13 fatalities in the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), four fatalities in the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) and one fatality in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

The figures for preceding years are as follows: 2021 (25 killed); 2020 (15 killed); 2019 (28 killed); 2018 (34 killed); 2017 (71 killed); 2016 (32 killed); 2015 (51 killed); 2014 (61 killed); 2013 (58 killed); 2012 (37 killed); 2011 (35 killed); and 2010 (15 killed).

Roderic Grigson, who was with the UN Emergency Force (UNEF II) on the Egyptian- Israeli border, told IPS the duties of a peacekeeper are extremely hazardous.

“Our job as peacekeepers was to insert ourselves between two warring forces and keep them apart while peace negotiations were conducted at the UN HQ in New York or elsewhere”

Sometimes, he said, those negotiations took years to happen. “The environment we worked in was often a recent warzone, scattered with unexploded shells and mines and the detritus of war.”

“The opposing forces always considered the UN peacekeepers suspicious, and we had to work hard to earn their trust. When travelling through the front lines into the buffer zone, you had to keep your wits about you”.

“We were never alone and were always in touch with headquarters over UHF radios in the clearly marked UN vehicles,” said Grigson, currently a book coach based in Melbourne, who teaches, mentors and supports writers. while running a publishing house for authors who wish to self-publish their stories.

From personal experience, he said, “I can state that I have been shot at several times, had to wear a helmet and body armour while I was working, and have experienced shelling by the two opposing forces who wished to make a point during the ongoing negotiations.”

One of my colleagues was killed while driving the daily mail truck when the road was mined overnight, said Grigson,

https://www.rodericgrigson.com/shorts/

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

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A group of ‘barraghinas’, the micro-dams that retain water that runs off into the ground, benefiting vegetation and accumulating water in the soil to supply lagoons. Credit: Courtesy of Lucyan Vieira Listo

By Mario Osava
SETE LAGOAS, Brazil, Aug 18 2024 (IPS)

Water shortage is over, springs have emerged or become perennial, small ponds with fish have formed and pastures have become greener and more permanent, all thanks to the ‘barraginhas’, the Portuguese name given in Brazil to micro-dams that retain rainwater and infiltrate it into the soil.

This is a common claim among the many farmers who have adopted the technique developed and promoted by Luciano Cordoval, an agronomist and researcher at the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), a public entity comprising 43 research centres throughout the country.“The more the climate crisis worsens, the greater the need to capture rainwater and accumulate reserves”: Luciano Cordoval.

Cordoval has worked since 1983 at the Embrapa Maize and Sorghum unit, based in Sete Lagoas (Seven Lagoons, in Portuguese), a municipality with a population of 227,397 in the southern state of Minas Gerais, where he further specialised in irrigation and soil conservation.

His Barraginhas Project was launched in 1997 with government investment. But the specialist has been promoting micro-dams long before as a way to “capture water from streams and promote its storage in the soil, avoiding erosion, sedimentation and environmental pollution, with increased volume in the springs”, according to his resumé.

Luciano Cordoval explains the functions of barraginhas in his office at the Maize and Sorghum unit of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation in Sete Lagoas, a municipality in central Brazil. Credit: Mario Osava / IPS

One hundred micro-dams create a lagoon

Antonio Alvarenga, a pioneer of the initiative, built 28 micro-dams on his 400-hectare farm in Sete Lagoas in 1995, with the support of Cordoval’s project. “These were degraded and dry lands, affected by major erosion,” he recalled.

In a short time, the barraginhas filled and emptied several times and water began to flow in the lower part of the farm, which had previously been totally dry. The engineer by profession, who became a part-time cattle farmer, was then able to have his dream pond, which after extensions now covers 42,000 square metres of his land.

With the other micro-dams already built, he now has “more than 100” and has plans for another 40. The effect can be seen in the recovered springs and the abundance of water that allows him to irrigate the pastures in the dry season and double his livestock productivity.

“Before I used to raise only one cow on two hectares, today there are two animals on each hectare,” he told IPS in Sete Lagoas, highlighting the good results of the innovation.

“I became a producer of water, which fills my ‘artificial’ lagoon. Water is everything,” he praised. The benefits visible to the naked eye encouraged his neighbours to build their own micro-dams, with help from the mayor’s office. In addition, a television report helped spread the word about this ‘social technology’, as it is called.

Some of the micro-dams built in 1998, including on the farm of engineer Antonio Alvarenga. Credit: Luciano Cordoval

Also in the Amazon

In Floresta do Araguaia, 1,800 kilometres from Sete Lagoas, in the southeast of the northern Amazonian state of Pará, another cattle farmer, with some 6,000 hectares and 2,000 head of cattle, also points out impressive data.

“This part of Pará is not rich in water,” contrary to the general belief that it rains profusely in the whole Amazon region, says Pedro de Carvalho, a veterinarian from Minas Gerais, a state in southeastern Brazil, but who lives in the eastern Amazon since 1974.

“It rains a lot in the last two months of the year, but not the rest of the year,’ he told IPS in a telephone interview from his ranch. There is cerrado, a kind of Brazilian savannah, in the area, not Amazonian forest, he adds.

“I didn’t have enough water, I had to buy it from tanker trucks, and a lot of my cattle died of thirst,” he recalled.

But having been friends with Cordoval since they were young, he knew his ideas and began to build his barraginhas. He believes he now has 168 in all, although he is uncertain of the precise number. He bought an excavator to build and improve them, “because everything can be improved.”

João Roberto Moreira in the lagoon formed by water from springs revitalised by a chain of 11 barraginhas on the hill of preserved forests on his 200-hectare property in Brazil. Credit: Mario Osava / IPS

Some sceptics of such innovation in the region recommended artesian wells. “Pure ignorance. Where you draw water and don’t replenish it, it tends to run out. The barraginhas supply the water table,” he observed.

An example is Unai, a city in Minais Gerais, which drilled many artesian wells and then had to deactivate 70% of them, “because they dried up,” he explained.

In his case, he no longer needs to buy water, having it stored in ponds where there are fish. Animals such as the capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris), a large rodent native to South America which lives around water, the collared peccary (Dicotyles tajacu, an American wild pig), various birds and even bees, wasps and ants have proliferated on his farm.

Carvalho, a veterinarian specialising in reproduction, was one of the pioneers of Amazon colonisation in the 1970s. He first settled near Araguaína, a municipality of 171,000 inhabitants in the north of the state of Tocantins, where he has a farm of “between 3,000 and 4,000 hectares”.

Today, however, he is more dedicated to the farm in Floresta do Araguaia, a municipality with only 18,000 people, but where he foresees a promising future due to the expansion of soya bean.

A group of 23 engineers from 20 African countries visited different experiences of the Barraginhas Project, a social technology of easy application to capture, collect and disseminate water in rural areas. Credit: Barraginhas Project Archive

The multiplication of water

The barraginhas have spread throughout Brazil, from large to small farms. Cordoval and Embrapa were directly involved in the construction of some 300,000, but he estimates there may be two million of these micro-dams nationwide.

The first project, sponsored by the federal government’s Water Resources Board starting in 1997, sought to build 960 units near Sete Lagoas, Cordoval recalled in an interview with IPS at his Embrapa office in Sete Lagoas.

Between 2005 and 2008, some 3,600 were built in the northeastern state of Piauí, in a project promoted by then congressman Wellington Dias, later governor of the state and now minister of Social Development.

From the beginning, a priority was to train disseminators. “The results often turn the beneficiaries into my ‘clones’, who incorporate the DNA of the barraginhas and disseminate them out of passion, without thinking about the money,” Cordoval said.

“Barraginhas are like financial savings. You should stockpile water when there is abundance, for times of scarcity. The more the climate crisis worsens, the greater the need to capture rainwater and accumulate reserves. The growth of the country, cities and population demands more water for water sustainability,” he explained.

In 2011, a group of 23 engineers from different parts of Africa came to Sete Lagoas to learn about the local experience with micro-dams.

This social technology has received several national awards that promote other technologies also seeking to produce or protect water.

This is the case of septic tanks and biodigesters that prevent contamination of the water table. They are small multi-purpose ponds with an impermeable canvas floor to prevent water losses and an irrigation system for family farmers.

An alternative for plots of land with a slope above 10%, which is the recommended limit for establishing barraginhas, is a linear ditch that follows the contour line and withstands torrents on slopes of up to 25%.

Barraginhas and their annexes are a health factor, by improving the availability of good quality water, reducing medical expenses and increasing family income. In addition, they contain erosion, thus reducing sedimentation of watercourses, Cordoval pointed out.

A variant of this technology is built on roadsides, precisely to prevent deterioration due to erosion.

Barraginhas also prevent erosion on unpaved roads near their edges. Credit: Courtesy of Luciano Cordoval

Reclaimed springs and wells

For João Roberto Moreira, a.k.a. Betinho, a small cattle farmer with a herd of about 50 dairy cows, the major benefit of the 11 barraginhas built in 1998 on the hill of his farm was to intensify and perpetuate the springs that supply the three families that share the 200-hectare property.

“It was a blessing. The springs used to dry up, the water didn’t drain to the houses and attempts to pump it failed. Now there is water all year round. I’ve never seen so much water reaching us by gravity”, through four hoses from the top of the hill, he said.

There is also water left over for three lagoons, where they raise fish.

In Cáceres, a municipality of 90,000 inhabitants in central-western Brazil, Samuel Laudelino Silva, a chemist and retired professor at the State University of Mato Grosso (Unemat), has built 43 barraginhas of different sizes and a kilometre-long ditch on his increasingly water-scarce farm.

A 208-metre deep well, which did not produce water after a landslide reduced it to a depth of 135 metres, now provides 2,640 litres per day, enough for essential needs on the farm. It has water starting at a depth of 48 metres.

“Governments should promote the large-scale installation of this technology, including as a way to mitigate the droughts and fires that have been plaguing the Pantanal, a large wetland area on Brazil’s border with Bolivia and Paraguay, in recent years,” Silva told IPS in an interview by email.

Cáceres is located in the upper Pantanal, in the state of Mato Grosso.

By Jan Lundius
STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Aug 16 2024 (IPS)

During the first half of the 20th century, antisemitism was endemic in Europe and eventually burst out in full force when Nazi-Germany and its collaborators between 1941 and 1945 systematically (and well-documented) murdered six million Jews across German-occupied Europe. In an environment mined by hostile public opinion, the Zionist Nahum Sokolow popularized the Hebrew term Hasbara. The word has no real equivalent in English, but might be translated as “explaining”, indicating a strategy seeking to explain actions, regardless whether or not they are justified. As a skilled diplomat, Sokolow based his widely publicized opinions on in-depth research of actual events, though he presented his findings in a manner that favoured his cause.

David Alfaro Siqueiros: Echo of a Scream. 1937

The State of Israel has often used hasbara, now generally described as public diplomacy, meaning that policies and actions have not been denied, but at the same time has any criticism of such facts been presented as biased and/or tinged by “antisemitism”. To avoid being labelled as antisemitic the following article is mainly based on two books by Ilan Pappé – The Biggest Prison on Earth: A History of the Occupied Territories and The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine. Pappé is considered to be a member of the New historians, a loosely defined group of Israeli historians who challenge the official version of Israel’s role in the 1948 expulsion of Palestinians. An event which among Palestinians is called Nakba, the Catastrophe.

In 1948, more than 700,000 Palestinian Arabs, about half of the former British controlled Mandatory Palestine’s predominantly Arab population, fled from their homes. At first they were attacked by Zionist paramilitaries and after the establishment of the State of Israel by its regular army, acting on direct orders from the newly founded nation’s leaders. Dozens of massacres targeted the Arab population and between 400 and 600 Palestinian villages were destroyed. Village wells were poisoned and properties looted to prevent Palestinian refugees from returning.

The New historians debunked several myths. For example, that the British Government tried to prevent the establishment of a Jewish state – it was actually against the founding of a Palestine state. The official version states that Palestinians fled their homes on their own free will, instigated to do so by surrounding Arab states. However, the majority of them were actually expelled, and/or fled out of a well-founded fear of the Israeli army. Furthermore, general opinion has been that the surrounding Arab nations at the time were united and more powerful than the newly established State of Israel – as a matter of fact, Israel had the advantage both in manpower and arms, while the Arab nations were divided by internal strife and did not have a coordinated plan to destroy Israel. The recurrent praise that the Israelis made the desert bloom and took over a land without a people for a people without a land, are according to Pappé unfounded clichés. Before the ethnic cleansing the vast majority of agricultural land was being cultivated by Palestinians. It is estimated that on the eve of the 1948 war, around 739,750 acres of agriculturally apt land were being cultivated by Palestinians, actually greater than the physical area which was under cultivation in Israel almost thirty years later.

The appropriation of Palestinian land occurred in conjunction with a Land Acquisitions Law allowing for a mass transfer of the entire Palestinian economy to the Israeli state. Practically overnight, the State gained control of a vast amount of fertile land, 73,000 houses, and 7,800 workshops. This dropped the average cost of settling a Jewish family in Palestine from 8,000 USD to 1,500 USD.

Furthermore, the whole issue whether Palestine belongs to “Jews” or “Arabs” is somewhat spurious. It is a myth that any region constitutes a closed environment. Trade, immigration, invasion and intermarriage are part of any nation’s history. Across the millennia, additions and losses have befallen people living in Palestina (it was the Romans who in 131 CE changed the denomination “Judea” into “Syria Palaestina”). Conquerors, like those of the Muslim faith, seldom replaced an entire native population, they only added to it. Many of the Palestinians of today are the Jews of yesteryears. Palestinian Arabs did not suddenly appear from the Arabian Peninsula in the 7th century to settle in Palestine, most of those “Arabs” living there now are descendants of indigenous peoples who lived there before. People who, like most others, over time have changed their beliefs and traditions. For example, Sardinians eventually became Italians, but no one would suggest that Sardinians were kicked out and replaced by a foreign Italian people. We ought to separate political nationalist identities from the actual reality of a human being. Nationalism is a relatively modern concept, especially in the Middle East.

Likewise, the Jewish diaspora was not the result of a sudden expulsion of Jews from their Holy land. It was, just as current migration, a result of various factors, including refugees from war and repression, forced labour, deportation, overpopulation, indebtedness, military recruitment, and not the least opportunities in business, commerce, and agriculture. Before the Romans in 70 CE destroyed Jerusalem and its temple and in 131 forbade Jews to settle there, large and prosperous Jewish communities existed in provinces like Egypt, Crete, Cyrenaica, Syria, Asia, Mesopotamia, and in Rome itself. However, the destruction of the temple of Jerusalem motivated many Jews to formulate a new self-definition and adjust their existence to the prospect of an indefinite period of displacement, that eventually would culminate in a return to a mostly imaginary realm of Israel. In 1948, this religious dream became a reality through the establishment of the Jewish State of Israel. A development that by most the U.S. and European politicians was considered to strengthen a “Western” strategic, economic, and political presence in the Middle East, at the same time as the establishment of Israel could ease the burden of a bad conscience for not having done enough to hinder the extermination of Jews, combined with easing the pressure to resettle and compensate the victims.

Nowadays, the Sate of Israel does not only control the land granted to it by the British, but also territories inhabited by also areas like the West Bank, the Golan Heights and the Gaza strip. In Gaza, Israel maintains control of its airspace, its territorial waters, no-go zones within the strip, and the population registry. Pappé has stated that

“the tale of Palestine from the beginning until today is a simple story of colonialism and dispossession, yet the world treats it as a multifaceted and complex story – hard to understand and even harder to solve. Indeed, the story of Palestine has been told before: European settlers coming to a foreign land, settling there, and either committing genocide against or expelling the indigenous people. The Zionists have not invented anything new in this respect. But Israel succeeded nonetheless, with the help of its allies everywhere, in building a multilayered explanation that is so complex that only Israel can understand it. Any interference from the outside world is immediately castigated as naïve at best or anti-Semitic at worst.”

On October 11th 2023, Hamas-led fighters breached the Gaza-Israel barrier, attacking military bases and massacring civilians in 21 communities, killing 1,139 people, including 695 Israeli civilians, among them 38 children, 71 foreign nationals, and 373 members of the Israeli security forces, while taking about 250 Israelis as hostages. Incidents of great brutality and rape were witnessed and reported.

Israeli repercussion was swift and merciless. Israel has ravaged the Gaza Strip. Apartment buildings, mosques, schools, hospitals, and universities have been reduced to rubble. During their hunt for Hamas fighters Israel has deliberately targeted and destroyed civilian structures where civilians have sought refuge. On May 21st 2024, Israeli government offered its first estimate of the operation’s death toll, claiming its troops had killed 14,000 terrorists and 16,000 civilians. A week earlier the U.N. reported that approximately 35,000 individuals had died during the conflict, including 7,797 minors, 4,959 women and 1,924 elderly, the latter three groups with confirmed identities. Among the victims were 103 journalists and 196 humanitarian workers. At almost the same time, Save the Children reported that more than 13,000 children had been killed, while WHO stated that at least 1,000 children have had one or both legs amputated. On the 11th of August the death toll was estimated to be approximately 39,000 people.

The killing is continuing unabated, worsened by starvation. WFP recently reported that 1.1 million Gaza inhabitants are facing catastrophic hunger. In northern Gaza, one in three children under two years of age suffer from acute malnutrition. According to estimates by UNICEF, people’s daily nutritional intake is down to 245 calories, i.e. less than a can of beans. This is mostly attributable to an Israeli blockade that according to UNICEF since March 1 has stopped 30 percent of aid missions, letting in a daily average of only 159 of the required 500 aid trucks.

Even before October 11th people of Gaza had an intolerable existence, lacking sufficient access to electricity, potable water, food, and medical equipment. Unemployment rate was more than forty per cent, while children grew up in a world of intermittent war and persistent trauma, of barbed wire and surveillance. Israeli attacks continue while remains of Hamas’ military branch has become a drastically diminished insurgent force, which fighters pop up from the rubble to shoot at Israeli soldiers.

An entire population has been severely punished for the presence of a fanatical, political party, which according to polls conducted in September 2023 by the majority of Gazans was considered to be repressive and corrupt, but which they were frightened to criticize. Hamas’s support was estimated to be between 27 and 31 percent, though since many Gazans are unable to perceive a viable solution to Israel’s iron grip on their confined strip of land, they consider armed resistance to be the only way out.

In Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu’s two decades long regime has tried to sabotage a two-state-solution by weakening the Palestinian Authority on the West Bank, allowing for vast amounts of mainly Qatari money to reach Hamas, in exchange for maintaining a ceasefire and sowing division within Al-Fatah, the party governing the West Bank. Part of this policy has also been the increased support to 144 Israeli settlements within the West Bank, including 12 in East Jerusalem, and a discreet sustenance to over 100 “Israeli outposts”, i.e. settlements not authorized by the Israeli government. Over 450,000 Israeli settlers reside in the West Bank, with an additional 220,000 in East Jerusalem. Living in a settlement is made attractive through lower costs of housing compared to living in Israel proper. Government spending per citizen in settlements is double, in some cases triple, than what is spent per Israeli citizen in Israel proper.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ruled that Israeli settlements on occupied territory is, according to international laws, illegal and established that Israel has “an obligation to cease immediately all new settlement activities and to evacuate all settlers from the occupied territories”. The Court is talking to deaf ears. A current expansion of settlements has involved the confiscation of Palestinian land and resources, leading to displacement of Palestinian communities while creating a source of tension and conflict. The UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that from 1 January to 19 September 2023, Israeli settlers killed 189 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and wounded 8,192. The violence increased after October 3rd, after that date 460 Palestinians have so far been murdered by settlers. On average, there are every day three cases of settlers attacking Palestinians in the West Bank, resulting in the killing and injuring of Palestinians, harming their property, and preventing them from reaching their land, workplace, family, and friends.

International ramifications are continuously unfolding – armed exchanges between Israel and Iran, between Israel and Hezbollah, Iran supported Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea, followed by Israeli counterattacks on Yemen, waves of pro-Palestine demonstrations across Europe, the U.S., and Arab capitals, combined with increased antisemitism. All this could for Israel mean its worst defeat ever, while at the same time it may for Palestinians prove to be more deadly and devastating than the Nakba.

IPS UN Bureau

 

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By Anis Chowdhury, Khalilur Rahman and Ziauddin Hyder
SYDNEY, NEW YORK, WASHINGTON DC, Aug 16 2024 (IPS)

Bangladesh has become increasingly indebted since 2009. The country’s external debt stock increased from US$23.3 billion in 2008 to US$100.6 billion in December 2023 (see figure below). Thanks to the country’s mega-projects led so-called development with borrowed money under the now deposed authoritarian regime of Sheikh Hasina.

Anis Chowdhury

The new government should urgently put a moratorium on debt re-payments using UN Security Council resolution 1483 that granted a debt-shield to prevent creditors from suing the government of Iraq to collect sovereign debt. The new government then initiate an independent review of all debt contracts under the autocratic regime to determine beneficial uses of incurred debts. The review should declare the proportion that was wasted through corruptions or used for financing repressions of the regimes as “odious”.

Odious debt is a concept in international law that refers to debt “incurred by rulers who borrowed without the people’s consent and used the funds either to repress the people or for personal gain”. There are moral, economic and legal arguments for not re-paying the odious portion of debts.

Autocrat’s debt bonanza
Bangladesh’s average external debt stock jumped from US$10.7 billion over more than 3 decades (1972-2008) to US$52.6 billion during 2009-2023 when Hasina’s autocratic regime consolidated power by unprecedented machinating three consecutive elections, making State institutions partisan and unleashing brutal repressions.

Corruptions, money laundering, and poor project management as well as selections meant that the revenue flows or returns from these mega-projects are far less than what is required for servicing the debt. Gross external debt-GDP ratio increased from around 28% in 2016 to around 37% in 2023. Likewise, external debt-export earnings ratio increased from 56.3% in 2016 to 116.6% in 2023. These key indicators indicate that Bangladesh is heading for a corruption induced debt crisis, temporarily given respite by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The IMF’s loan will have to be repaid with interests; paying debts by borrowing; or using one line of credit to pay for another line of credit cannot be sustained for long. There are better ways to deal with unstainable debts, especially when the indebtedness is due to creditors’ continued lending despite well documented evidence that the borrowed money is misused and siphoned off the country.

Khalilur Rahman

Irresponsible lending is odious
Lenders should be held responsible for irresponsible lending knowing the extent of corruption, misuse and repression in the country, and that the borrowed money was providing a life-line to a highly corrupt and repressive regime. The debt-funded mega projects were used by the regime to legitimize its misrule and suppression of people’s democratic rights. Such debts are odious.

Such debts are odious, and violet the “Principles on Promoting Responsible Sovereign Lending and Borrowing”, developed by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). These Principles demand that lenders refuse to lend to the regime, thus preventing wasteful or harmful spending. These Principles not only make a repressive regime less likely to survive, but also ensure debt sustainability.

Core international legal norms and principles, such as Good Faith, Transparency, Impartiality, Legitimacy and Sustainability are applied in the UNCTAD Roadmap and Guide to Sovereign Debt Workout Mechanisms and in the UN General Assembly resolution A/RES/69/319 on Sovereign Debt Restructuring Processes, adopted in September 2015.

Moral, economic and legal arguments for repudiating odious debts
The prospect of yoking innocent generations of citizens to the repayment of a corrupt and repressive regime’s profligate debt is simply distasteful; morally repugnant; economically untenable, and legally indefensible.

Ziauddin Hyder

The moral case for repudiating odious debts arises from the premise that some regimes are so repugnant that they should be actively condemned by the international community. The world should not stand by silently as a regime murders its own people or loots the country’s wealth while ordinary citizens starve.

The economic justification for repudiating odious debts rests on the prospect of increasing the welfare of the country in at least three ways: (1) there will be a lower debt burden to service; (2) odious regimes, which reduce welfare, are less likely to emerge; and (3) should they emerge, they are less likely to survive for a long time.

The legal argument for repudiating odious debts is consistent with the accepted view that equity constitutes part of the content of “the general principles of law of civilized nations”, one of the fundamental sources of international law stipulated in the Statute of the International Court of Justice. Thus, the international law obligation to repay debt can never be absolute, and has been frequently limited or qualified by a range of equitable considerations, some of which may be regrouped under the concept of “odiousness.”

In many countries legally individuals do not have to repay if others fraudulently borrow in their name, and corporations are not liable for contracts that their chief executive officers or other agents agree to without any authority.

An analogous legal argument is: sovereign debt incurred without people’s consent and not benefiting the people should not be transferable to a successor government, especially if creditors are aware of these facts in advance.

Historical precedence
The doctrine of odious debt originated in 1898 after the Spanish-American War. The United States argued during peace negotiations that neither it nor Cuba should be held responsible for debt the colonial rulers had incurred without the consent of the Cuban people and not used for their benefit.

Other historical cases of repudiating odious debts include: Soviet repudiation of Tsarist debts; Treaty of Versailles (1919) and Polish debts; Tinoco arbitration (1923) – (Great Britain vs Costa Rica); German repudiation of Austrian debts (1938); Treaty of Peace with Italy (1947).

In recent decades, major shareholders forced the IMF to cut all lending to the former President of Croatia, Franjo Tudjman, in 1997, after he was accused of resorting to political violence and appropriating public funds.

The Khulumani Support Group, representing 32,000 individuals who were “victims of state-sanctioned torture, murder, rape, arbitrary detention and inhumane treatment” filed a law suit in 2002 in the New York Eastern District Court against 8 banks and 12 transnational companies demanding apartheid reparations.

In 2003, the concept of odious debts was used by the US to argue for cancelling Iraq’s debts of over US$125 billion incurred by Saddam Hussain after his overthrow. It was argued that such debt not only impeded a successful rebuilding of post-authoritarian States, but that the debts were never legitimate inheritances of the new government.

Treasury Secretary John Snow held “the people of Iraq should not be saddled with those debts incurred through the regime of a dictator who has now gone.” Undersecretary of Defence Paul Wolfowitz emphasised that much of the money borrowed by the Iraqi regime had been used “to buy weapons and to build palaces and to build instruments of oppression.”

After an evaluation, the Government of Norway in 2006 determined that obligations arising out of lending to certain developing countries as part of the Ship Export Campaign of 1976–1980, and guaranteed through the Norwegian Institute for Export Credits, should be cancelled on grounds that Norway ought to share responsibility with debtor countries for the programme’s failure.

The Norwegian case is not an example of “odious debt”, but is due to the notion of co-responsibility and reflect the idea that repayment may be subject to broader considerations of the equities of the debtor–creditor relationship.

What needs to be done
The Interim Government of Bangladesh should immediately put a stop to external debt servicing and request the UN Secretary-General to set up an UN-led independent commission to review all debts incurred by the repressive autocratic regime that it replaced. The UN-led review commission must not include lenders – multilateral and bilateral – due to likely conflict of interest, especially when they irresponsibly continued to lend to the regime, knowing its corruptions and usurpation of democracy.

This requires political will as powerful countries and international financial institutions may be offended.

The people have expressed their strong will to build a new country based on the principles of accountability, fairness, equity, inclusiveness and justice.

The burden of odious debts of the repressive regime and irresponsible lendings must not weigh on rebuilding of a new Bangladesh.

Anis Chowdhury, Emeritus Professor, Western Sydney University (Australia) & former Director of UN-ESCAP’s Macroeconomic Policy & Development Division.

Khalilur Rahman, former Secretary of the UN Secretary-General’s High-level Panel on Technology Bank for LDCs; former head of UNCTAD’s Trade Analysis Branch and its New York Office.

Ziauddin Hyder, Adjunct Professor, University of the Philippines at Los Banos and former Senior Health Specialist, World Bank

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Although women interact with the environment and its natural resources more closely than men, they remain underrepresented in climate-related decision-making. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS

By Joyce Chimbi
NAIROBI, Aug 16 2024 (IPS)

After years of reporting on the frontlines of climate change, I have witnessed the devastating impact extreme weather events have on women and girls. In Kenya’s pastoralist communities in far-flung areas of Northern Kenya, West Pokot, Samburu and Narok counties, droughts mean a resurgence in harmful cultural practices such as outlawed female genital mutilation (FGM), beading and child marriages.

When I visited Samburu County in 2019, beading was in the past. A young girl will be given a specific type of necklace to wear to signal that a Moran or male youth has booked her for marriage. In turn, the Moran is allowed to exploit her sexually for favors extended to her family in the form of gifts such as a goat, milk and meat.

During the recent severe drought of 2022–2023, such harmful practices made a comeback. Child marriages are used as a coping mechanism to recover lost livestock or, in the case of beading, to put food on the table. A pregnancy during the beading process is brutally terminated. It is taboo to have a child outside of wedlock.

Even when deadly floods rocked the country earlier in the year, women and children were crying out for help. In my experience reporting about climatic disasters, UN estimates ring true. Women and girls are 14 times more likely to die when disaster strikes and nearly 80 percent of all displaced people are women and girls.

Their vulnerability and exposure to natural disasters come from pre-existing social and economic inequalities. Growing up, every last Sunday of the month, my mother, aunts and grandmother would attend or host a merry-go-round. Women formed groups and, once or twice a month, they would visit each other in turn and bring household items bought from a set monthly or bimonthly contribution.

My earliest memories are of household items such as kitchen appliances, beddings and food items. Later on, they phased out these items for cash to be spent on the most pressing needs in various households, including school fees.

From the merry-go-round, the revolutionary table banking movement was born—a group funding strategy where all contributions are placed on the table once or twice a month, and shared out among members in the form of low-interest short- and long-term loans.

It took many years for me to understand why women went to such lengths to raise money. They had been locked out of formal financial institutions due to historical and structural gender inequalities. Even today, women still account for the majority of the unbanked in Kenya.

Women could only open a bank account if accompanied by a male chaperone, and I saw, growing up that women could only access land through male relatives. Only 1 percent of Kenya’s land title deeds are in the hands of women today.

When a climatic disaster strikes, women have nowhere to go. They sit out dangerous climatic events, hoping that it is only a passing cloud. But for women, such as Benna Buluma, alias Mama Victor, a well-known human rights defender who perished in the April 2024 floods while in her house in Mathare informal settlements, and millions of others, its a disaster that can destroy lives and livelihoods.

Jane Anyango Adika of serikali saidia (government help!) fame became the face of the enduring cry for gender-sensitive responses in times of floods through repeated media coverage in a region ravaged by perennial floods. By the time Anyango came into the limelight, she had been battling floods for two decades. As recently as 2022, she was still crying out to the government for help.

Now we are becoming increasingly aware that extreme weather patterns such as heatwaves and floods create favorable conditions for vector-borne diseases such as Zika virus, malaria and dengue fever, which cause miscarriages, premature birth, and anaemia among pregnant women.

I am yet to hear of arguments disputing that climate disasters affect women and girls more than men and boys, the lack of women in decision making is simply a manifestation of widespread gender discrimination that takes on different shapes and forms in everyday life. In our patriarchal societies, where women are to be seen and not heard, it is playing out in the very serious and consequential climate arena.

As a result, men still fill 67 percent of climate-related decision-making roles and women’s representation in national and global climate negotiating bodies remains below 30 percent. The 2022 SDG Gender Index, published by Equal Measures 2030, a leading global partnership on accountability for gender equality and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), exposes alarmingly insufficient progress on gender equality at the global level between 2015 and 2020.

In fact, of the 17 SDGs, Goal 13 on climate action was one of the three lowest-scoring goals and even high-performing countries on the index had weaknesses on gender equality under SDG 13. It is highly concerning that even though men own land and control natural resources, in two-thirds of all the States in the world, women are the pillars of agriculture and land management.

My hope that the world is slowly recognizing that there is no escaping the climatic onslaught when half of the world’s population—women—are left behind critical decision-making structures related to climate has recently been ignited by the Conference of Parties (COP) climate and gender equality agenda.

Since COP25, experts have told world leaders that gender equality and climate change are not only two of the most pressing global challenges, but that they are inextricably interlinked. At COP 25, Parties adopted the five-year enhanced Lima work programme on gender and its gender action plan (GAP). Followed by an intermediate review of the implementation of the gender action plan and amendments to the GAP adopted in COP27.

At COP28, a new UN Women report stated that by 2050, climate change may push up to 158 million more women and girls into poverty and cause 232 million to face food insecurity. During the conference, Parties agreed that the final review of the implementation of the enhanced Lima work programme and its GAP would commence in June 2024, identifying challenges, gaps and priorities.

In my opinion, the road to COP29 should be littered with gender and climate blueprints from countries that are already making headway. Zimbabwe is now establishing a renewable energy fund to create entrepreneurship opportunities for women. Bhutan in South Asia has trained gender focal points in various ministries and women’s organizations to better coordinate and implement gender equality and climate change initiatives.

This will in turn ensure that there is gender equality and equity at all levels of climate-related decision-making, and representation at all levels of climate negotiating bodies around the world will not deliver an effective and sustainable climate agenda if half the world’s population remains on the margins.

Note: This opinion piece is published with the support of Open Society Foundations.

IPS UN Bureau Report

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Excerpt:

When a climatic disaster strikes, women have nowhere to go. They sit out dangerous climatic events, hoping that it is only a passing cloud. How is it, asks senior IPS correspondent Joyce Chimbi, that the road to COP29 is not littered with meaningful and powerful gender and climate blueprints from countries that are already making headway?

Factory workers package products in Accra, Ghana. Credit: Nyani Quarmyne (Panos)/IFC

By Abebe Adugna
WASHINGTON DC, Aug 16 2024 (IPS)

Every year in Western and Central Africa, 6 million young people enter the labor force, while only about half a million new jobs are created. This enormous jobs deficit means that most entrants into the workforce work in the informal sector, with insecure income, low quality employment, and very little hope of escaping poverty.

The repercussions of this unemployment epidemic are profound: a breakdown in the social contract, social and political unrest, wasted human potential and increased poverty.

What is holding back Western and Central Africa from the kind of dynamic job creation seen in other developing regions?

Highly commodity-dependent economies that rely on export revenue but do not create jobs. Low levels of trade due to high trade barriers. Onerous presence of state-owned enterprises that crowd out the private sector. And declining foreign investment, which prevents the countries in the region from reaping the benefits of technology transfer, access to global markets, and job creation.

The Catalyst: Private Sector Development

Addressing the unemployment challenge is no easy task. But developing and nurturing a vibrant private sector has to be at the core. The private sector is an engine of economic growth, innovation, and job creation. And the tax revenues generated from thriving businesses enable governments to invest in essential public services such as healthcare, education, and infrastructure, further improving the overall quality of life for citizens.

Yet the private sector has been repressed in many countries in Western and Central Africa and its role in generating jobs is falling woefully short.

So, what can be done?

To unleash the private sector’s power to invest, generate jobs, catalyze a green transition and drive economic transformation, this is what needs to change:

• Improving the business enabling environment to enable private investment and promote market competition. For example, the World Bank is supporting countries such as Ghana, Liberia, Togo, Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, and Sierra Leone to simplify and shorten the process of starting and closing a business, reform laws and regulations related to foreign direct investment (FDI), speed up the resolution of commercial disputes, and bring security and clarity to land and property titles. And the bedrock of many of these reforms is the digitization of government-to-business services.

• Enabling market access, investment and trade: More predictable trade and investment policies aligned with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) would improve the conditions for domestic production of higher valued goods, economic diversification and regional integration. The pact connects 1.3 billion people across 55 countries with a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of $3.4 trillion. Yet the potential is not being realized due to a lack of progress in the implementation of the AfCFTA in West and Central Africa as yet.

For example, countries of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) have very low levels of intra-regional trade, with widespread global and sectoral trade barriers that elevate costs and diminish export potential. Governments could and should adopt policies that facilitate market entry, increase competition, and at tract private investors, and avoid excessive state involvement in productive sectors.

All of these actions will help enable and mobilize private capital, expand market networks, reduce trade transaction costs and uncertainty, strengthen compliance, and enable digital trade. The World Bank supports implementation of the AfCFTA through Trade Facilitation West Africa (TFWA), which is a $25 million technical assistance program over 6 years. This includes support for 6 trade corridors between sea ports and landlocked countries in the region, covering 9 countries.

• Improving sector and firm performance

Building a stronger private sector requires policy actions at the sector and firm levels to improve competitiveness and performance. Firm-level interventions should include incubator/accelerator programs, expanding access to finance for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and start-ups, and supporting technology adoption.

In the Republic of Congo, under our Support to Enterprise Development and Competitiveness Project, this set of firm level interventions has led to nearly all SMEs who received support to become formal, registered businesses. And our Senegal Jobs and Economic Transformation has already created or protected more than 21,000 jobs and provided support to over 4,000 firms, of which more than half are women-owned businesses.

Sectoral-level interventions hold even more promise in economies with high potential sectors such as in manufacturing (automotives, textiles and garments), tourism, wood, and construction.

• Climate smart is business smart: Countries in Western and Central Africa have an abundance of natural assets that could help create jobs, increase exports and build climate resilience for local and global communities. Wood, eco-tourism, fisheries, critical minerals are all examples where job creation and the preservation of natural assets can be reinforcing.

In Sierra Leone, the Economic Diversification Project is not only creating local, formal sector jobs through tourism sites, but incentivizing local communities to protect beaches from erosion, slow down deforestation, and protect chimpanzees from poaching. Although this agenda goes beyond job creation, it is also about businesses themselves being the solution to climate resilience.

New decarbonization technologies for manufacturing, sustainable sourcing of local materials, renewable energy for production is critical and they require financing. That is why in Burkina Faso and Ghana, we are piloting a ‘green window’ in an existing credit guarantee program to increase commercial credit for green investments. This is also helping raise awareness among SMEs about green solutions to strengthen resilience and adapt production to a changing climate.

Governments in Western and Central Africa can no longer rely on a narrow band of extractives and exports to keep their economies strong. To create the jobs needed, the private sector must be allowed to flourish, creating a virtuous cycle of job creation, competition, productivity, and exports. There simply is no other option.

Abebe Adugna, the Regional Director for Prosperity in the Western and Central Africa region at the IMF, was the former Practice Manager for the Macroeconomics, Trade, and Investment global practice in Africa, specifically in the East Africa region.

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Najat Jumaan, Dean of the Faculty of Commerce and Economics, Dean of the Faculty of Finance and Management at Ar-Rasheed Smart University and Board of Director Member at Jumaan Trading and Investment Co.

By Randa El Ozeir
TORONTO, Aug 16 2024 (IPS)

Once upon a time, the Sheba (Seba’a) Kingdom (today’s Yemen) had a prominent queen. Women, in the presence of men, were held in a higher position, literally.

Things afterward have upended to the disadvantage of female Yemenis living under a strong-hold tribal and patriarchal system. 

Amid an eight year long war between the the government and Houthi rebels brought a humanitarian crisis considered to be one of the worst in the world, there is a small good news story. While the armed conflict has kept Yemeni men busy at the front(s), some Yemeni women have stumbled upon a societal and economic breather, stemming from a national need to generate an income for themselves and their families to stay afloat.

Women began venturing in small, low-risk businesses.

Dhekra Ahmed Algabri, executive director at Al-Amal foundation, praises the rise of women in many trades and commercial sectors, although they are “linked to conservative patterns established by society, such as sewing, hairdressing and styling, cooking, handicraft making, incense and perfume production and women’s clothing.”

Absence of an Integrated, Empowering System

Najat Jumaan, Dean of the Faculty of Commerce and Economics, Dean of the Faculty of Finance and Management at Ar-Rasheed Smart University and Board of Director Member at Jumaan Trading and Investment Co., believes that Yemeni women run projects here and there, “but they are not subject to an integrated system to empower and encourage them from a young age to be an active element in the economic and productive process.”

Nevertheless, some Yemeni women broke free from cultural limitations and into traditionally male-dominated fields, such as programming and engineering. Algabri explains that “during the ongoing conflict, women turned to e-commerce, e-marketing and professional services of consulting and training.”

Dhekra Ahmed Algabri, executive director at Al-Amal Foundation.

The bright side businesswomen saw in the dark situation of Yemen was their existence in a closed market they knew inside-out.

“I can move in it and find solutions to several of its problems, and when you achieve things in a more natural and organic way, you attract public recognition and reap supplemental exposure,” says Eman Al-Maktari, co-founder and CEO of MOSNAD Talents Marketplace.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for Gender Equality in Yemen underlines the need for “women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life.”

However, there is a  lack of official and reliable numbers about the actual extent of women’s contribution in the economy. According to Jumaan, “women’s participation is very limited and they are poorer compared to men in Yemen.”

Her statement is confirmed by World Bank statistics which putes women’s participation in the labor force at 5.1 percent compared to 60.4 percent for men in 2023. The same study noted there were no official statistics for shares in businesses. Only 5.4 percent of women had bank accounts compared with 18.4 percent of men.

Obstacles and Social Media Blessing

Long-standing obstacles are deep rooted in the society’s culture and perpetuate across generations, such as male-female segregation and restricted movement for women (the imposed “mahram”). Individual exceptions might overcome some of the barriers as in the case of Al-Maktari, whose family is more open, but the majority face “a glass ceiling that prevents them from ascending, growing, continuing, and achieving profits,” says Jumaan.

To make matters worse, war related obstacles appeared. The airport of Sana’a was closed for a long time and hindered participating in meetings and conferences. Additionally, Al-Maktari finds that her Yemeni nationality prevented her “entering other countries to participate in opportunities available to other women around the world, which results in an unfair advantage. The undertakings I made would have had a two- to three-time greater return if I were in another country.”

The alternative rescue came from social media that opened vistas for Yemeni businesswomen to promote and show case their work. Nonetheless, it didn’t solve the problem of regional inaccessibility and foreign investors’ reluctance to join the fragile and volatile Yemeni market and expand there.

Eman Al-Maktari, Co-Founder and CEO of MOSNAD Talents Marketplace.

Incentives But Unclear Future

Civil society and donor organizations, the banking sector and the government are investing in “many incentives, initiatives and forms of support for businesswomen through training programs, workshops, financing, loans, professional networks and consultations,” highlights Algabri.

The General Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry in Yemen also plays an important role, albeit not prominent in light of the crisis, to support the economic and commercial sector in the country.

Al-Maktari benefitted from mentorship and training programs to understand business and start one of her own.

“I received support from an Indian mentor in the field of IT, and it helped me greatly when I was emerging as a digital expert and found a platform to build projects and a name”.

Yet she describes the current situation in Yemen as “foggy,” with an unclear future for businesswomen in a country weighed down with multi-layered obstacles in women’s paths.

“Even economists are not capable of answering the question about our future. We cannot plan annually or quarterly and have very short-term business plans.”

Despite all challenges, hope is growing for Yemeni women. “If conditions and components of success are met, many of which are related to women and the belief in and perfection of their abilities, they can reach their economic power when given the opportunity to educate, learn, qualify, and gain experiences and talents,” says Jumaan.

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Secretary General of AFPPD, Dr. Jetn Sirathranont, addresses a conference with the theme Gender Empowerment for a Green Economy in Islamabad, Pakistan. Credit: AFPPD

By Annam Lodhi
ISLAMABAD, Aug 15 2024 (IPS)

Robust data collection, integrated policies, and an accelerated push towards a green economy with a gender focus topped the agenda at a conference in Islamabad, Pakistan, that brought together policymakers, experts, and advocates from across the Asia-Pacific region.

The conference, with the theme Gender Empowerment for a Green Economy, focused on critical issues at the intersection of gender equality, climate change, and sustainable development. Held on August 12 and 13, 2024, it was convened by the Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD).

Participants called for immediate action to empower women and ensure their active participation in sustainable development efforts across the region, especially since the conference coincided with the 30th anniversary of the Cairo Programme of Action from the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD).

Romina Khurshid Alam, Coordinator to the Prime Minister on Climate Change at the Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination, set the tone for the event by highlighting Pakistan’s ongoing efforts to integrate gender perspectives into national climate policies.

“As parliamentarians, we hold the power to shape policies and laws that can drive gender equality and environmental sustainability. We must advocate for and enact legislation that ensures women have equal access to opportunities in the green economy, whether it be in renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, or ecosystem management,” Alam said.

The Secretary General of AFPPD, Dr. Jetn Sirathranont, emphasized that gender equality is not merely a fundamental human right but a crucial element for creating a positive and sustainable society. He noted that traditional stereotypes continue to perpetuate inequalities and stressed the importance of placing women at the center of efforts to develop a more inclusive and sustainable economy.

Toshiko Abe, MP and State Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology of Japan, emphasized the AFPPD’s role. She said the organization plays a crucial role in addressing gender issues, particularly in countries where women’s equality is lagging. She commended the collective efforts of Asian countries towards a gendered green economy.

However, Latika Maskey Pradhan, Deputy Representative of UNFPA Pakistan, warned that the full potential of women remains untapped, constrained by social norms, discriminatory practices, and limited access to resources and decision-making spaces.

In an interview with IPS, Pradhan further highlighted three key areas that the UN is focusing on at the grassroots level to change societal mindsets:

• Investing in women’s education and skills development: Recognizing the importance of equipping women with the necessary education and skills to thrive in various sectors.
• Reproductive health and rights: Emphasizing that access to reproductive health and rights is integral to achieving gender equality and empowering women.
• Supporting women’s entrepreneurship and leadership: Advocating for the economic empowerment of women by providing opportunities for entrepreneurship and leadership roles.

Tabinda Sarosh, interim Chief Executive Officer of Pathfinder International, highlighted the impacts of climate change-related disasters. In 2022, severe flooding in Pakistan resulted in the displacement of 625,000 pregnant women. In a single month, around 70,000 of them gave birth in camps, where delivery conditions are often unsafe.

Delegates at the AFPPD conference on Gender Empowerment for a Green Economy in Islamabad. Credit: AFPPD

Gender and Equality Intertwined

The keynote address, delivered by Pakistan’s National Assembly Speaker, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, underscored the importance of the event at the highest levels of government.

“The theme, ‘Gender Empowerment for a Green Economy,’ is both timely and essential for our collective future. As parliamentarians, we must recognize that gender equality and environmental sustainability are deeply intertwined goals; the success of one depends on the other,” Sadiq said.

Fauzia Waqar, Federal Ombudsman Secretariat for Protection Against Harassment (FOSPAH), agreed, saying “Improvement in policies needs to be gender-affirmative, focusing on recruitment, retention, and the provision of basic facilities for women.”

Accountability was crucial. “There needs to be a national survey for the well-being of women, but currently, the baseline data is not available,” said Saliha Ramay from UNFPA. These insights underscore the need for continued efforts to promote gender equality.

One of the conference’s highlights was the session on women’s role in global crises, particularly focusing on climate change and security. Parliamentarians from Cambodia and the Maldives, along with representatives from international organizations, shared their perspectives on how women are uniquely positioned to lead in climate action and peacebuilding efforts.

Poverty, Gender and Climate Action

Ly Kimlieng, MP from Cambodia, highlighted the intersection of poverty and gender issues, stating, “Gender-responsive climate action is needed as Cambodia works with agriculture and technology to create solutions and remove gender biases.”

Ensuring community involvement was crucial. Lydia Saloucou, President of Pathfinder International’s Africa Region, told the conference: “We need to protect our next generation by collaborating with the community and affected populations to find solutions.”

Women’s role in climate change mitigation, adaptation and agriculture shouldn’t be underestimated said Dr. Anara Naeem, MP from the Maldives.

“Women’s role is invaluable in climate adaptation, with their crucial involvement in food production and capacity building.”

Guncha Annageldieva, YPEER International Coordinator from Turkmenistan, called for integrating sexual and reproductive health into climate discourse, stating, “Investing in sexual and reproductive health within climate action empowers women and prevents future disaster management costs.”

Women Key to Sustainable Development

Presentations from Indonesian parliamentarians, youth representatives, and economic experts highlighted the importance of investing in women’s economic empowerment as a key driver of sustainable development.

Jasmin Sri Wulan Sutomo, an MP from Indonesia, pointed out the ongoing challenges despite the country’s significant economic progress. She noted, “Women’s labor participation remains stagnant due to factors like the wage gap, unplanned pregnancies, and old informal labor practices.”

Jayaa Jaggi, Advocacy Manager at YPEER Pakistan, highlighted the disparity in Pakistan, noting that the gap for women is vast and young minority women have limited exposure to education and economic opportunities.

A presentation by Durre Nayab from UNFPA & PIDE addressed the demographic dividend and gender perspective through National Transfer Accounts, revealing that “women are more involved in unpaid labor while men predominantly work in the paid economy,” stressing the need to recognize women’s contributions beyond market-based work.

A crucial session emphasized the need for gender-responsive policies to empower women to address climate change. Policymakers and experts discussed specific risks faced by women and girls, advocating for enhanced investment in women’s capabilities and private sector engagement to support a transition to green and blue economies.

Women’s Role in Strong Climate Policies Lauded

Dr. AbdelHady El Kasbey, an MP from Egypt, highlighted the importance of women’s leadership in environmental policies, stating, “Countries with more women in parliament often see stronger national climate change policies adopted, leading to lower emissions and more equitable governance of natural resources.”

He stressed the need for gender-responsive financing, noting that despite billions of dollars invested in environmental issues, “less than 1% of this market aligns with women’s empowerment goals.”

Mr. Abid Qaiyum Suleri, Executive Director of SDPI, called for gender-segregated data to support gender-responsive policies, emphasizing, “Decision-makers can utilize the power of women as agents of change to adopt pro-environmental practices and turn challenges around for us.” He highlighted the need for a credible baseline to empower women to address the effects of climate change.

Climate-Resilient Healthcare Systems

The spotlight then turned to healthcare systems that are both climate-resilient and equitable. Experts presented strategies for ensuring that health systems can withstand the impacts of climate change while providing accessible care to all, particularly women and marginalized communities.

Zeeshan Salahuddin, MP from Tabadlab, highlighted the overlooked impacts of climate-induced events, stressing the importance of integrating climate considerations into national policies. He remarked, “To address these issues, there is a need to strengthen provincial departments, improve climate health financing, and explore climate debt swaps to alleviate financial and climate burdens.”

Islamabad Declaration

The conference concluded with the adoption of the Islamabad Declaration, reaffirming the commitment of participating nations and organizations to advancing gender equality, women’s empowerment, and climate action. The declaration outlined key commitments, including reaffirming support for the ICPD Programme of Action and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, acknowledging the severe impacts of climate change on vulnerable countries, and emphasizing the importance of building resilience through investments in emergency preparedness and disaster risk reduction.

As the conference ended, participants left with a renewed sense of urgency and commitment to addressing the interconnected challenges of gender inequality and climate change. The event served as a powerful reminder that empowering women is not just a matter of social justice, but a critical strategy for building a more sustainable and resilient future for all.

Note: The Asian Population and Development Association (APDA) and the Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD) in Pakistan organized the meeting. It was supported by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and Japan Trust Fund (JTF).

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Catherine Wanjeri Kariuki, a TV and radio reporter based in Nakuru, Kenya, at a police station. A police officer shot her in the leg despite her visible press credentials. The incident was reported to the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA). Credit: Robert Kibet/IPS

By Robert Kibet
NAIROBI, Aug 15 2024 (IPS)

In the heart of Nairobi, as tear gas clouded the streets, the line between journalists and protesters blurred in the eyes of Kenyan law enforcement. A wave of anti-government protests, ignited by opposition to a proposed finance bill, has spiraled into violence, with journalists increasingly caught in the crossfire between police and protesters.

On March 27, 2024, as opposition leader Raila Odinga’s convoy wound through Nairobi, reporters and photographers followed closely, documenting the unrest against President William Ruto’s administration. Despite having their press credentials on display, they encountered hostility rather than protection. Outside Langata Police Station, officers deliberately targeted journalists from The Standard Group with tear gas canisters, even after they had identified themselves.

This violent crackdown wasn’t confined to Nairobi. Across Kenya, journalists have faced brutal assaults, arbitrary arrests, and the destruction of their equipment. Despite having clearly visible press credentials, a police officer shot Catherine Kariuki, a female journalist from the Rift Valley, in the leg in Nakuru. The incident, captured on camera, left no doubt about its deliberate nature. The Kenya Union of Journalists (KUJ) swiftly condemned the attack, demanding a thorough investigation and accountability.

The grim reality is that Kenya, ranked 102nd on the World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), is witnessing a severe erosion of media freedoms. Despite the country’s diverse media landscape, many outlets are under the control of politicians or people who are closely associated with the government, which fosters a culture of fear and self-censorship.

As protests continue, so too does the violence against those tasked with documenting them.

“We are opposed to media censorship and the government’s attempts to dictate what should be aired. Media freedom is guaranteed under the constitution, but the government is increasingly interfering,” says Zubeidah Koome, president of the Kenya Editors’ Guild.

The case of Catherine Kariuki, who remains without justice despite clear evidence, has become emblematic of the broader crisis. RSF has referred the matter to the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), but the lack of response has only deepened concerns about accountability.

The threats to press freedom in Kenya extend beyond physical violence. Reports have surfaced of government threats to shut down the Kenyan Television Network (KTN) after it aired footage of protesters storming Parliament. The channel eventually ceased operations, citing financial strain amid the ongoing economic crisis. Insiders, however, suggest that senior officials from the Communications Authority ordered television signal carriers to switch off KTN in a blatant attempt to suppress media coverage.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joined KUJ in condemning these actions, labeling them a disgraceful attempt to stifle press freedom and deny Kenyan citizens access to information. IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger urged the Kenyan government to investigate the brutalization of journalists and hold those responsible accountable.

Parliamentary reporter Elizabeth Mutuku echoed these concerns, recounting the fear she and her colleagues felt after being labeled criminals for simply doing their jobs.

“Our greatest mistake that day was showing Kenyans exactly what transpired. Some of us were labeled as criminals, and we were told that investigations are ongoing. We’re left wondering what investigations they’re conducting,” Mutuku said.

Freedom of the press is enshrined in Kenya’s 2010 constitution, yet over 20 acts and laws regulating journalism challenge the basic principles of press freedom. The 2018 Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act, for example, prescribes up to 10 years in prison and a fine of Ksh 40,000 for disseminating information deemed to be fake news likely to incite violence.

Amnesty International, in its 2024 State of Media Freedom analysis, highlighted that the intentional disruption of internet connectivity and the enactment of stringent security laws are part of a broader strategy to silence the media and control the flow of information. Despite earlier assurances, internet access was temporarily disrupted nationwide during the protests, depriving millions of Kenyans of real-time information about the unfolding events.

The threats against journalists in Kenya mirror the challenges faced by their counterparts in neighboring East African countries, where journalists are subjected to threats, harassment, intimidation, beatings, arbitrary arrests, and prosecution. For instance, in February of last year, a Mogadishu court sentenced journalist Abdalle Ahmed Mumin to two months in prison for allegedly disobeying government orders.

In Ethiopia, Amnesty International reports that ongoing conflicts have led to the detention of at least nine journalists since August 2023, with five still in custody. Three of these journalists are facing terrorism charges that could carry the death penalty if they are convicted.

Dinah Ondari, a safety specialist with the Media Council of Kenya, questioned how the agency responsible for protecting press freedom could be violating it. “It’s disheartening to see the frustrations journalists undergo. In Kenya, as a journalist, every time you express yourself, you watch over your shoulder to see who is targeting or following you,” remarked Zubeidah Koome.

Among those who were targeted were Joe Muhia and Iddi Ali Juma of the Associated Press (AP), who were arrested and later released after being assaulted. In an incident captured on video, Standard Group video editor Justice Mwangi Macharia was arrested and violently hauled out of a moving police motor vehicle, sustaining physical injuries.

Nation Media Group’s Taifa Leo reporter Sammy Kimatu was also thrown out of a moving police Land Rover and sustained injuries. Maureen Murethi (NTV) was also hospitalized after police aimed a canister at her as she covered the protests as well as the shooting of a female journalist, Catherine Wanjeri, in Nakuru, Rift Valley.

As Kenya teeters on the brink, the international community watches closely. Will the country uphold its democratic values, or will it succumb to the darkness of repression? The answer may well determine the future of press freedom in Kenya.

One notable incident was the mysterious assassination of renowned Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif in 2022 in Nairobi. Kenyan police fired multiple shots at Sharif’s vehicle, killing him. Last month, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) welcomed the Kenyan High Court’s ruling that the 2022 killing of Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif was unlawful. Angela Quintal, head of CPJ’s Africa program, noted in New York that while the “verdict marks an important step towards ending impunity in this case, Kenyan authorities should ensure that genuine justice is achieved by prosecuting those responsible for Arshad’s fatal shooting.”

During this year’s World Press Freedom Day, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned of the escalating dangers journalists face globally. In his address, he described journalism as an increasingly dangerous profession, with dozens of journalists covering risky themes having been killed in recent decades, and in the vast majority of cases, no one has been held accountable.

David Omwoyo, CEO of the Media Council of Kenya, addressed a recent government and media leaders’ roundtable, emphasizing the need for a critical space for media freedom and democracy. “We need to stop branding the media as anti-government. The media should play its rightful role within the prescribed standards. Anyone fighting the media is out of order, given the critical place of media in democracy and governance,” Omwoyo stated.

Zubeidah Koome further called for an end to attacks against the media.

“We remain relentless in our call to end the violence and threats against journalists. However, no substantial progress has been made, and the violence targeting the media continues to escalate. We hope that appropriate action will be taken against those attacking journalists. At the same time, the media industry must align ethical conduct with the current times.”

Erick Oduor, Secretary General of the Kenya Union of Journalists, emphasized the need for all stakeholders to engage collectively in seeking solutions to the challenges facing the media industry, especially during these critical times in Kenya.

“Regrettably, the ongoing events in our media space continue to impact Kenya’s World Press Freedom ranking. As media industry players, we are ready to engage with the government at all levels,” he told IPS.

“The unfortunate events remind us that members of the National Police Service remain the weak link in Kenya’s quest for freedom of expression and freedom of the media, as espoused in our Constitution. We call on the Inspector General of Police to rein in on his officers by ensuring that journalists are protected and not targeted for harassment while performing their duties in any working environment,” said Omwoyo in a statement, hinting that so far, 24 cases of harassment against journalists during recent protests have been documented.

The International Press Institute (IPI), in its findings, reported that it had documented four cases of journalists killed in Sudan as of June 2024, with the killings carried out by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The journalists named by IPI include Muawiya Abdel Razek, who was killed in Khartoum along with his three siblings. Others include Makawi Mohamed Ahmed, Alaadin Ali Mohamed, and freelance journalist Ibrahim Abdullah.

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

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Credit: WFP/Ali Jadallah/2024

By World Food Programme (WFP) Editorial Team
ROME, Aug 15 2024 (IPS)

Corinne Fleischer, WFP’s regional director for the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe, describes Gaza as “a terrible situation getting worse.” Over the past two weeks, 21 United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) food distribution points have been closed under evacuation orders.

“UNRWA says that 86% of the Strip is under an evacuation order,” she says on a video call from her office in Cairo. Fleischer visited the enclave in July.“ 2 million people are crammed into 14% of the territory.”

Despite Immense Challenges, WFP Continues to Assist Gazans

With continuous evacuation orders forcing WFP to uproot food distribution sites, precise targeting of the most vulnerable groups becomes challenging. We provide ready-to-eat food, hot meals and nutrition support to breastfeeding women and small children.

Mohammed was severely injured in the conflict but all efforts to evacuate him for medical treatment failed. His family fully depends on food from WFP to survive.

“We support partners in almost 80 kitchens, where they cook meals, pack and distribute them to people in camps,” Fleischer explains. She previously visited Gaza last December. “Then, it was really about how do we bring food in – that’s still very much the case,” she says. “Now, at least we have a dedicated WFP operation on the ground.” Our main accomplishment? “We have helped prevent full-scale famine from happening,” she says.

There are currently nearly 500,000 people at IPC5/Catastrophe, the highest grade of food insecurity on the global standard for measuring food insecurity – down from 1.1 million people earlier this year.

Fleischer is keen to highlight the positive impacts of humanitarian supplies making it through.“Right now, we don’t bring enough food into Gaza,” she says. “We don’t bring in what we plan for the month because we don’t have enough crossing points open. We need all the crossings open and at full capacity.”

“Operations are super complicated,” Fleischer says. “We work in a war zone. Roads are destroyed. We are waiting hours at checkpoints for green lights to move.”

WFP, she stresses, also works to support the wider humanitarian community. “We are leading the Logistics Cluster (the interagency coordination mechanism) and supporting partners to bring in their goods through the Jordan corridor. We are receiving their goods in the north at the Zikim crossing point. We’re helping them in Kerem Shalom. So, of course, we’re helping with fuel supplies too.”

Nowhere Is Safe in Gaza

“Gazans cannot get out, and they’re asking to get out,” Fleischer says. “They’re beyond exhausted. There is no space – one makeshift tent after the other up to the sea. Streets are teeming with people.” Meanwhile, the breakdown of sewage systems, lack of water and waste management means diseases, such as Hepatitis A which is spreading among children, are allowed to fester.

Children eat fortified biscuits from WFP at a makeshift camp in southern Gaza.

“We are lucky that nothing has happened to our amazing staff – more than 200 UNRWA staff have been killed,” she says. “That is not acceptable.” She adds: “We have amazing security officers who advise management on which risks to avoid, so that we can stay and do our work safely and families can access our assistance safely. But the risks are high. Very high. We have bullets close to our convoys. We’re there repairing roads. We’re there moving with our trucks. We’re there reaching people. And it’s very dangerous.”

On the path to recovery, the private sector has a role to play, says Fleischer – take the reopening of shops. “If you think of a lifeline, of hope, or a sense of normalcy, it’s surely when the staple bread is back in the market,” she says of bakeries that have reopened with WFP support. “Bakeries need wheat flour, they need yeast, and diesel too – and that’s where we come in.”

High Prices Keep Basic Foods Out of Reach for Most Gazans

In the south of Gaza, “basic food items are slowly re-emerging in food markets. You can actually find vegetables, fruits in the markets but because prices are high, they remain out of reach for most,” she says “And in any case, people don’t have cash. There are no jobs. Even our own staff tell us, ‘We have a salary, but we can’t access cash’.”

Fleischer is keen for humanitarian efforts to reach a stage where people “stop eating things they have been eating for the past nine months” – to diversify diets heavily dependent on canned food (provided by WFP) and whatever people can get their hands on.

“This level of destruction I’ve never seen.”

Fleischer’s biggest fear for Gaza is “that there is no end to this [war]. That we continue with ever less space for the people who already have nowhere to go back to. Even if they moved back to the north, where could they go?”

“Everything is flattened. There are no homes, it’s all destroyed. We need a long ceasefire that leads to peace so we can operate.”

After the Rafah incursion, many people returned to Khan Younis but there’s no means of living in the area. There are no homes left. Credit: WFP

Fleischer, who has served with WFP in Syria and Sudan’s Darfur Region, adds: “This level of destruction I’ve never seen. Hospitals and clinics are destroyed, food processing plants are destroyed. Everything is destroyed.”

Yet, “There is this never-give-up attitude from the people, from the families we serve,“ she says. “I can’t believe children still run to you and laugh with you. They probably see in us hope that there will be an end to all this – a sign they are not forgotten.”

This story originally appeared on WFP’s Stories on August 8, 2024 and was written by the WFP Editorial Team.

IPS UN Bureau

 

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By External Source
Aug 15 2024 (IPS-Partners)

 
On 18 March 2020, Philippe Lazzarini was appointed Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres. He took up his post with UNRWA on 1 April 2020.

Prior to his appointment to UNRWA, Mr Lazzarini served, from August 2015, as the Deputy UN Special Coordinator (UNSCOL) and as the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon.

Mr Lazzarini has over 30 years of professional experience, including in leadership positions with the United Nations, the private sector and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). He has extensive experience in humanitarian assistance and international coordination in conflict and post-conflict areas at senior levels, including through his assignment to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia as Deputy Special Representative, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, from 2013 to 2015. He joined the United Nations in Iraq in 2003 and since then has held a number of senior positions, both at Headquarters in New York, and in Angola, Somalia and the occupied Palestinian territory. Prior to joining the United Nations, he worked with Union Bancaire Privée in Geneva as Head of the Marketing Department.

From 1989 to 1999, Mr Lazzarini worked with ICRC as the Deputy Head of Communications in Geneva, Head of Delegation in Rwanda, Angola, and Sarajevo, and as a delegate in Southern Sudan, Jordan, Gaza, and Beirut. He started his professional career in 1987 as an economist with the Canton of Bern in Switzerland.

Mr Lazzarini is a graduate of the University of Neuchatel and of the University of Lausanne, and he is married with four children.

ECW: 2.2 million Palestinians in Gaza are in the midst of an epic humanitarian catastrophe facing death, injury, disease and famine. Through your inspiring leadership, UNRWA is delivering aid in the most dangerous, challenging conditions in the world. What impact is this war having on the children in Gaza and across the region, what help do they need now and how can we build a lasting peace?

Philippe Lazzarini: UNRWA has been operating in the region for 75 years, promoting human development for Palestine Refugees through education, primary healthcare, and lifesaving assistance. The Agency has been a force for stability for decades, despite chronic funding shortfalls. Today, even as UNRWA faces relentless attacks on our personnel, premises and operations, our staff members continue to provide humanitarian assistance in the Gaza Strip, working tirelessly to deliver our critical mandate.

The war has severely impacted children in Gaza, where every second person is a child. Thousands of children have been killed, and thousands more are newly disabled. The education system has also been decimated. 625,000 children across the Gaza Strip, including 300,000 UNRWA students, have been denied the right to education since the start of the war. Nearly 70% of UNRWA schools have been hit, highlighting the blatant disregard for international humanitarian law. 95% of these schools were being used as shelters for displaced people when they were hit.

This war is also affecting tens of thousands of children in the West Bank. Their schools are intermittently closed due to operations by Israeli Forces and recurring clashes with Palestinian armed groups.

The longer children stay out of school, the more difficult it becomes for them to catch up on learning losses. They are also at greater risk of violence and exploitation, including child labour, early marriage, and recruitment by armed groups. The impact of this war on children, particularly their mental and psychosocial wellbeing, is tremendous and will have lasting consequences. We must bring them back to learning as soon as possible to mitigate the severity of the harm that has been inflicted on them. UNRWA has resumed learning activities in Gaza and is working to expand these activities to more children.

ECW: All UNRWA schools across the Gaza Strip are closed and 625,000 school-age children in Gaza have had no access to safe education since 7 October 2023. Why is education so critical in delivering on the humanitarian imperative for refugee students whose families have been forcibly displaced in Gaza and the region?

Philippe Lazzarini: Education is a fundamental human right and children’s access to quality education should never be compromised, even during conflict. It is easier said than done though, and education is a frequent casualty of war. However, it is possible to facilitate learning, even in circumstances as dire as those we see in Gaza. With the support of partners such as Education Cannot Wait, we are working determinedly to offer psychosocial support and activities for children, young people, and their families. Since the war started on 7 October 2023, we have supported over 400,000 children and adolescents through play activities, support sessions for unaccompanied children, individual and group psychosocial consultations, and education sessions on the risk of unexploded ordnances.

I must emphasize how highly Palestinians value education – it has been the only investment from which they could not be dispossessed. Ask any Palestinian and they will tell you that the education of their children is their pride and joy. People in Gaza are deeply pained that their children have lost so much, including their education. Much more needs to be done to restore education for Gaza’s children. If we fail to bring children back to learning, we will lose an entire generation, sowing the seeds for more violence, hatred and resentment. This is a risk for the whole region, and we should all be motivated to act.

ECW: Education is a proven life-saving action in humanitarian crises. ECW recently announced a US$10M First Emergency Response grant to urgently support mental health and psychosocial services and protective learning opportunities for crisis-affected girls and boys in Gaza. Why are mental health and psychosocial services, plus learning opportunities, crucial in Gaza?

Philippe Lazzarini: UNRWA’s Education in Emergencies plan for Gaza aims to restore the right to education for children, youth and educators. Our plan to resume learning starts with providing mental health and psychosocial support, transitions to teaching reading, writing and math in informal settings, and culminates in a return to formal education in schools. Due to the war, we must constantly adapt our approach to what is realistically achievable amid ongoing conflict and severely restricted humanitarian access. Children in Gaza have already lost one school year, compounding earlier learning losses due to COVID-19. We must work quickly to restore learning in Gaza.

Mental health and psychosocial support is the first crucial step in restoring the right to education. These activities bring children and their families a sense of stability and routine. They allow children to simply be children, for at least a few hours a day. It is safe to say that every single child in Gaza is deeply traumatized. UNRWA aims to keep providing this service for years to come.

We are also working closely with partners to distribute self-learning materials covering the first semester of the coming school year. We plan to support the creation of learning spaces and are exploring what options are available given the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Most UNRWA schools cannot be used for education any longer, as they are sheltering displaced people and have been hit and bombed. Creating safe and protective learning spaces is a crucial part of our plan to restore education in Gaza and will require strong political and financial support.

ECW: At this year’s United Nations General Assembly, you are organizing a high-level event on education in Gaza. What funding, resources, tools, and partnerships are needed to ensure access to safe, quality learning environments for refugee students whose families have been forcibly displaced in Gaza and the region?

Philippe Lazzarini: UNRWA calls once again for an immediate ceasefire and the unimpeded flow of humanitarian aid across the Gaza Strip. This is essential for the welfare of children and the meaningful resumption of education.

All children have the right to play, to make friends, to learn and to dream. We will continue to work closely with partners in education including UN agencies, Member States, local and international civil society organisations, and non-governmental organisations, to restore education for children and youth in Gaza. This is a huge undertaking that needs concerted efforts, creative solutions, and political and financial support. UNRWA is fully committed to prioritizing the resumption of learning in Gaza and remains one of the most effective tools at the disposal of the international community.

ECW: We all know that ‘readers are leaders’ and that reading skills are key to every child’s education. What are three books that have most influenced you personally and/or professionally, and why would you recommend them to others?

Philippe Lazzarini: Three books/authors come to mind. In no particular order: East West Street by Philippe Sand is an extraordinary historical investigative work on the origins of genocide and crimes against humanity. It deals with atrocities, memory and guilt and how these are passed from one generation to the next. It is brilliantly written, I devoured it! I also really like Amin Maalouf’s books and most recently enjoyed The Disoriented. It captures so well the Lebanese nostalgia for a country they love even though it has never really existed as they imagine. Jim Harrison’s book Dalva also resonated deeply. It tells the story of a fearless and independent woman who undertakes a journey to find herself amid the memories of her youth and her family history. Dalva means “morning star” and this book and the character gave us the name of our first daughter.