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Protests against military coup in Kayin State, Myanmar on Feb. 9. This weekend saw the bloodiest day of protests after the police and security forces fired live ammunition into crowds of protestors. Analysts fear that more bloodshed is almost inevitable. Courtesy: Ninjastrikers/(CC BY-SA 4.0)

By Larry Jagan
BANGKOK, Mar 2 2021 (IPS)

Myanmar activists have called on the international community for help as security forces loyal to the military continue their draconian sweep against the civil disobedience campaign that has brought the country to a standstill since the Feb. 1 coup. The pleas come as analysts, commentators and diplomats who know Myanmar fear that more bloodshed is almost inevitable.

This comes in the wake of the bloodiest day of protests on Feb. 28 after police and security forces fired live ammunition into crowds of protestors in Yangon, Dawei, Mandalay, Myeik, Bago and Pokokku.

According the United Nations human rights office, 18 people were killed and over 30 wounded. Local rights’ groups, however, believe the figure is much higher.

Several eye-witnesses have told IPS that police are invading houses, breaking down fences, doors and windows – whatever stands in their way – to conduct searches and carry out indiscriminate arrests without a warrant. Soon after the Feb. 1 coup, military leaders changed the law to allow unrestricted search and arrest, as well as indefinite detention.

“It’s a total war zone,” Walter Khun, a Myanmar citizen and founding partner with financial advisors based in Yangon, told IPS. “Our associates throughout the country are reporting the same: junta troops terrorising civilians.”

Blistering military crackdown

Over the past two days there have been scores of reports of police systematically looting shops and homes, stealing food from markets and commandeering possessions from private homes.

“They’re turning the country into a massive battlefield,” Zaw Naing, a local Myanmar businessman, told IPS. His statement was echoed by many other sources with whom IPS spoke.

Increased troops and police are being deployed across Myanmar, with convoys of soldiers and sailors being sent in as reinforcements to the strategic towns of Mandalay, Mawlamyine, Monywar, Taunggyi and Dawei.

Ruthless police charges with rifles have been filmed and posted on Facebook. In Kalaymyo – in the Sagaing region north of Mandalay – citizens managed to push advancing police with riot shields and a water cannon back. Skirmishes have also be reported in Mandalay and elsewhere.

Today, Mar. 2, the sound of gunfire was heard irregularly throughout the city of Yangon. Eye-witnesses were unable to distinguish whether it was live ammunition or rubber bullets.

In Sanchuang, in the northern-central part of the city, security forces conducted training exercises on the footpaths with snipers lying on the ground and taking aim with their rifles. Videos of the incident flooded Facebook and other social media outlets. 

Security forces have also erected barricades and blockades at strategic roads and thoroughfares to prevent the protestors fleeing from one part of the city to another. As of today, Mar. 2, authorities have ordered all of Yangon’s major shopping centres, including Junction Square, Capital Retail Myanmar and Myanmar Plaza to close indefinitely.

Many big supermarkets are also closed. Some believe this is part of the security forces control and dispersal strategy to prevent protestors taking refuge inside shopping complexes when the police charge.

Condemnation not enough – please for international intervention

While international condemnation has been swift and strong, the protestors are demanding international intervention.

“Protestors are being shot. We are very angry, we are very upset,” Ma Myint, a 30-year-old young communications graduate from north of Yangon, told IPS. “How many dead bodies does the UN need to act?” she asked after Sunday’s deaths.

Reuters reported that today, Mar. 2, that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations held discussions with the military, urging them to release civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and leaders from her National League for Democracy (NLD).

“The UN is watching, the US is watching, the whole world is watching but when will they act? We need international intervention based on the ‘right to protect,’” young professional, Thiri Kyaw Nyo, told IPS. “The must act otherwise there will be more bloodshed in the coming weeks.”

Dr Sa Sa, Myanmar’s Special Envoy to the UN – who represents the elected MPs — called on the international community to bring the authorities to justice for “crimes against humanity”.

“It’s time for the international community to act to protect our innocent, defenceless people who dare to stand up to these thugs who now controlling our country,” Dr Sa Sa told IPS in an extensive interview.    

Fears that more bloodshed is inevitable.

Analysts, commentators and diplomats fear that more bloodshed is almost inevitable.

According to military sources the security forces standing orders and rules of engagement are to respond if attacked and the use of lethal force is permitted. 

Regional military analysts believe the security forces have been relatively restrained compared to their past practices, including the crushing of the 1988 democratic uprising. The fear is the closer it gets to Mar. 27, Armed Forces Day – the anniversary celebrations for the military — the more they will not tolerate the continued civil disobedience campaign and protests in the street. Some analysts expect the army to deploy its full military might against the protests before then.

The military have been progressively ratcheting up their response – highlighted by Sunday’s tragic events.

Protests will continue

Sa Sa vowed the protests would continue despite the security forces crackdown.

“We must continue to remind the army that we are not giving up, we are not going away, and we will continue to frustrate their efforts to run the country at every turn,” said Sa Sa.

The protest movement is having a dire effect on the junta’s ability to rule. Banks are closed, government offices empty and the country’s fuel supplies are running dangerously low. Hospitals, universities and schools are mostly closed, and most factories have also been idle for the last four months.

Myanmar is virtually at a standstill.    

But Sa Sa insisted the protests must remain non-violent. “We are a non-violent movement, our weapons are our voice, our mobile phones and social media,” Sa Sa said.

“It’s the army that are committing crimes.

“These are the ones who facing real criminal charges and international justice at the Hague [at the International Court of Justice], they are the ones who should be in prison … not our leaders [referring to Suu Kyi and other NLD leaders] … they must be made accountable for their crimes.”

Suu Kyi appeared in court on Feb. 16 on charges of violating import restrictions after walkie-talkies and other foreign equipment were found in her villa compound. She and other senior leaders, as well as human rights activists have been detained under house arrest since the coup.

Protests about more than release of Suu Kyi

On the surface the protests seem to be leaderless and an expression of aspirations of the young – most of the protestors are under the age of 30.

But the civil disobedience movement encompasses more than the street campaigners.

While the movement is largely galvanised around releasing Suu Kyi, and a call for the military to abide by the election results of the November polls that saw Suu Kyi’s NLD convincingly win the majority vote, the campaign is much broader.

Myanmar’s civil servants — the doctors, nurses and health workers who initiated the civil disobedience campaign four weeks ago — are still on strike despite the junta’s threats and intimidation, according to a young doctor heavily involved in the movement in Mandalay.

The doctor, who did not want to be named, told IPS: “They are serious about protecting democracy, and have vowed not to stop till the coup commander is defeated and the culture of coups eradicated forever.”

Myo Win, activist and executive director at Smile Education and Development Foundation, told IPS: “It’s much broader: it’s about completing the transition to democracy, ripping up the 2008 constitution and replacing it with a democratic, federal state, and ending military dictatorships forever.”

The 2008 constitution allows for the military commander-in-chief to take power in extreme cases.

A cat and mouse game between security forces and protestors

Meanwhile, local community neighbourhood watch teams have cordoned off areas in Yangon’s townships, built their own makeshift barriers and mounted 24-hour guard, to prevent the police venturing into their townships and impeding their advance charges.

“It’s a ‘cat and mouse’ game between the security forces and the protestors,” said one of the 1988 protests veterans who is involved in organising logistics — communicating over walkie talkies with protestors.

At street corners in Yangon, protestors are reportedly keeping watch and warning others when police enter nearby streets. Upon alert, many take refuge to wait until the police pass before reemerging, singing songs and shouting.

“They’re organised in small groups of protestors throughout the city and are keeping the revolutionary flame alive,” Nyein Chan Aung, a veteran activist from the 1988 protests, told IPS.    

The campaigners are determined to continue irrespective of what the security forces throw at them.

“This is about our future,” said Ma Myint. “Our future is being taken away from us … we feel like that: we do not want to go back to the darkness. We were looking forward to a brighter future, now suddenly it’s gone dark.”

“I am very sad, and filled with grief for those who have died already in the struggle,” Sakura Ra, a young advertising professional who has given up her job to join the protests every day, told IPS.  “But we’re fighting for freedom and democracy – we are fighting for our future – we are fighting for our children’s future: we will fight to the end, we will never give up,” she told IPS.

 

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By Matteo Marchisio
BEIJING, Mar 2 2021 (IPS)

Five years ago, at the 70th anniversary of the foundation of the United Nations, world leaders adopted the ambitious Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development. The Agenda was to be accomplished through the achievement of 17 Sustainable Development Goals by 2030: eradicating poverty, ending hunger, addressing climate change – just to name a few.

Matteo Marchisio

The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 suddenly disrupted advancement toward meeting this goal, in many cases rolling back years of progress. The World Bank, for example, estimated that COVID-19 has pushed an additional 88 to 115 million people into extreme poverty last year, bringing back the total number of poor in the world to the level of 2014-2015.

According to The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2020 report, the pandemic may have added between 83 and 132 million people to the total number of undernourished in the world in 2020. It is as if COVID-19 had suddenly brought the world back to 2005, eroding in a few months 15 years of progress in food security.

The measures implemented to contain the COVID-19 spread (i.e. lockdown and movement restrictions) affected the entire food systems, disrupting production, processing, marketing and distribution. Rural communities and smallholder farmers– particularly in developing countries – were the most affected by the implementation of such measures; their livelihoods primarily depend on agricultural production and sales.

Considering that smallholder farmers produce over 70% of the world’s food needs, the impact of COVID-19 on smallholder farmers may possibly have severe repercussions on global food security eventually. It is thus our joint interest (beside our joint responsibility) to support developing countries – and, within developing countries, rural communities and smallholder farmers – to recover from the pandemic.

International development cooperation is an important channel for the global community to support developing countries. Within this framework, South-South cooperation – that is to say cooperation among developing countries (‘the Global South’), has increasingly emerged as a form of international cooperation that complements the traditional North-South cooperation. South-South cooperation enables developing countries to share with each other knowledge, practical experience, development solutions and investment opportunities.

South-South cooperation is a particularly suitable cooperation modality for developing countries, as many developing countries share similar development pathways, and many experiences, solutions or innovations can be relevant or more easily adopted in similar contexts.

What role can South-South cooperation play in supporting developing countries in their post COVID-19 recovery? An interesting example is offered by the South-South Cooperation Facility managed by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), a UN multilateral development organization whose mission is to promote inclusive rural development in developing countries.

The South-South Cooperation Facility at IFAD was established three years ago with a contribution of US$ 10 million from China to mobilize expertise, knowledge, and resources from the Global South to reduce poverty and enhance the livelihoods of poor people in rural areas.

The Facility finances competitively-selected proposals submitted in response to periodic call for proposals. Since the establishment of the Facility, 15 proposals for a total amount of about US$ 7 million have been approved and are currently under implementation. The proposals promoted cooperation between countries in different regions and covered a broad range of themes, from value chain initiatives among farmer groups and enterprises in Cambodia, China, Laos and Vietnam, to the transfer of sustainable aquaculture technologies in Ghana and Nigeria – just to name a few.

The third call for proposals for the Facility was launched precisely at the time of the COVID-19 outbreak. Given the magnitude of the challenge presented by the pandemic, it was decided that the Facility would be used to contribute to the global response to COVID-19. The remaining funds of the Facility were therefore designated to facilitate the exchange of approaches, solutions, innovations that could be of value for developing countries to build more resilient societies, and recover from the impacts of the pandemic.

Considering one of the major impact of COVID-19 was the disruption of food systems, the Facility intended to specifically support rural communities and smallholder farmers to cope with situations of disrupted access to agricultural inputs or labour, or disrupted markets. The Facility will support activities aimed at diversifying income-generating opportunities, thus reducing the dependence on agriculture as main source of livelihoods, or facilitating access to markets – including through the adoption of innovative digital solutions. The proposals submitted in response to the third call for proposals are currently being appraised, and will be selected soon.

Effectively coping with the impact of the pandemic will require even greater international cooperation. As a complement to traditional North-South cooperation, South-South cooperation is arguably more important today than ever. Knowledge about solutions to COVID-induced problems, such as food system disruptions, are as important as financial support.

Across the world, every country has unique experiences of the direct and indirect impact of the pandemic, and the experiences of developing countries are different from those of the Global North, and may be more suitable to other developing countries. Only by learning from these experiences can effective solutions be found, and the international community successfully deliver the Agenda 2030.

The author is Country Director and Representative for China, and Head of the East Asia Regional Hub and South-South Cooperation Center, UN International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

 

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One year after the pandemic was officially declared, the enormous demographic impact of the coronavirus is becoming increasingly evident as more data are compiled and analyzed. Credit: United Nations.

By Joseph Chamie
NEW YORK, Mar 2 2021 (IPS)

The demographic impact of the coronavirus one year after being declared a pandemic on 11 March 2020 has been enormous. The picture that emerges is one of significant consequences on the levels and trends of the key components of demographic change: mortality, fertility and migration.

In terms of mortality, the reported number of Covid-19 deaths worldwide is approaching 3 million, with nearly 120 million coronavirus cases. However, it is widely recognized that the reported global number of Covid-19 deaths is an underestimate. In the U.S., for example, Covid-19 deaths are estimated to be undercounted by 36 percent.

The ten highest Covid-19 death rates per 1 million population are observed in more developed countries and except for the United States are all in Europe

Applying the U.S. undercount figure to the world yields an adjusted total number of Covid-19 deaths of approximately 4 million. If the adjusted number of Covid-19 deaths were excess deaths, the number of deaths worldwide turns out to be about 7 percent higher than the expected normal annual number.

In the U.S., the country with the largest number of Covid-19 deaths, it is estimated that fatalities nationwide were 20 percent higher than normal, amounting to a half million excess deaths, from 15 March 2020 to 30 January 2021. Estimated higher proportions of excess deaths, approximately 37 percent, have also been reported in England and Wales and Spain.

In terms of the distribution of Covid-19 deaths, the top ten countries, whose combined populations amount to one-third of the world’s population, account for two-thirds of all reported deaths (Figure 1). The U.S., with 4 percent of the world’s population, is in the lead position with 21 percent of all Covid-19 deaths, or more than a half a million fatalities. Following the U.S. are Brazil, Mexico and India with 10, 7 and 6 percent, respectively, which together amount to approximately the same number of deaths as the U.S.

 

Source: Worldometer, 1 March 2021 and United Nations Population Division.

 

Covid-19 death rates provide additional insight into the deadly impact of the pandemic. The ten highest Covid-19 death rates per 1 million population are observed in more developed countries and except for the United States are all in Europe (Figure 2).

 

Source: Worldometer, 1 March 2021.

 

The diversity of Covid-19 death rates among countries is particularly noteworthy. China and India, together representing 36 percent of the world’s population, have Covid-19 death rates that are small fractions of the rates observed in the top ten countries. Also, the U.S. Covid-19 death rate of nearly 1,600 per 1 million far exceeds the rates of Australia (35), Canada (579), Germany (842), Israel (625) and Japan (62).

For most countries with available data men have higher Covid-19 case fatality rates than women. However, in several countries, such as India, Nepal and Vietnam, the case fatality rates of women are higher than those of men. In addition to biological factors, social factors may also be playing an important role in sex differences in Covid-19 death rates.

The risk of severe illness and death from Covid-19 increases with age, with the elderly being at the highest risk. In the United States, for example, about 80 percent of the deaths were to those aged 65 years and older. And among that older age group, Covid-19 was responsible for 14 percent of all reported deaths from all causes from 1 January 2020 to 13 February 2021. U.S. data also indicate that among those aged 75 years and older one in twenty infected with Covid-19 dies.

Provisional data for several hard-hit countries are finding that the pandemic has resulted in significant declines in life expectancy at birth. Data for five provinces of Italy found declines of several years in life expectancy at birth, with males having greater declines than females. Those findings represent the largest decline in life expectancy in Italy after the 1918 influenza pandemic and the Second World War.

In the United States for the first half of 2020 life expectancy at birth declined by 1.2 years for males and 0.9 year for females. Significant differences in life expectancy decline were also observed among major U.S. socio-economic groups (Figure 3). The largest decline in life expectancy at birth was 3 years for non-Hispanic black males and the smallest decline was 0.7 year for non-Hispanic white females.

 

Source: U.S. Center for Disease Control, February 2021.

 

The coronavirus pandemic has also influenced fertility in many countries, but in very different ways. Some developing countries, including as India, Indonesia, the Philippines and Uganda, are reporting beginnings of a baby boom, believed to be largely due to women being unable to access modern contraceptives.

In contrast, many other countries, including China, Italy, Germany, France, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States, are facing declines in births pointing to a baby bust. In China, for example, it is estimated that fewer babies were born in 2020 than in any year since 1961, when China experienced mass starvation.

Due to the disruptions, lockdowns and uncertainties caused by the pandemic, couples are increasingly deciding to postpone childbearing. And delayed childbearing typically leads to lower fertility. In the United States, for example, around 300,000 fewer births are expected in 2021.

Levels of sexual activity have also fallen. The largest declines in sexual activity are reported among those with young children and school-age children who are not attending schools but are at home.

In their attempts to stem the spread of the coronavirus, governments worldwide closed their borders, issued travel bans, and severely limited migration. Those steps have been largely ineffective in halting coronavirus’ spread across countries and regions.

However, as a result of those travel bans, restrictions and lockdowns, migration across international borders came to a virtual standstill. In a matter of several months, the world experienced the biggest and most rapid decline in global human mobility in modern times.

Many migrant workers were unable to travel in search of work and many headed back to their home countries. Due to the border closings and travel restrictions, however, some migrant workers were stranded abroad and unable to return to their home countries.

In addition to migrants, business travelers and tourists, the closing of borders significantly limited the entry and processing of refugees and asylum seekers. Despite the border restrictions, however, many men, women and children have continued to cross international borders unlawfully without being tested for Covid-19, leading to increased risks of coronavirus transmission in transit and destination countries.

By mid-2020 the United Nations Network on Migration and several human rights groups called on governments to suspend deportations and involuntary transfers. The deportations created health risks not only for the migrants, but also for government officials, health workers and the public in host and origin countries. For example, by late April the government of Guatemala reported that nearly a fifth of their coronavirus cases were linked to deportees from the U.S.

The pandemic has also impacted internal migration. In many countries, both more developed and less developed, the coronavirus has caused a reverse migration from cities to less populated places and rural areas.

With higher effects of the coronavirus closely linked to high density urban living combined with prolonged urban lockdowns and related restrictions, people are reconsidering their decisions regarding place of residence. In various developing countries, including India, Kenya, Peru and South Africa, many urban dwellers are returning to their rural villages.

One year after the pandemic was officially declared, the enormous demographic impact of the coronavirus is becoming increasingly evident as more data are compiled and analyzed. While increased mortality is perhaps the most striking demographic consequence, the coronavirus has also significantly impacted fertility and migration.

With the availability of vaccines, improved public health practices, changes in social behavior and the prospects of achieving herd immunity, the demographic effects of the coronavirus appear to be slowly abating. The daily numbers of reported coronavirus cases and Covid-19 deaths are declining, migration levels and travel are gradually improving and people are becoming more hopeful about the near future.

Nevertheless, serious concerns about the pandemic lie ahead. One concern is the emergence of more contagious and possibly more lethal variants of the coronavirus. Variants of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus first detected in China have already been reported in Brazil, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States. If these variants begin to spread widely, another spike in cases and deaths may occurred in the coming months.

Another concern involves the formidable challenges in ensuring global availability and access to Covid-19 vaccines, especially among low-income nations. While about 225 million doses of vaccines have been administered by the end of February, most of them have been in high-income countries.

And somewhat ironically, there is the concern of large numbers of people in various countries around the world choosing not to take the coronavirus vaccine. Based on more than a dozen country surveys it is estimated that approximately a fifth of people across the world would decline getting a Covid-19 vaccine. High proportions choosing not to be vaccinated threaten the goal of achieving herd immunity and raises the contentious issue of deciding on what activities the unvaccinated will not be allowed to do.

Given these and related concerns, the coronavirus may continue to have a significant demographic impact on the world’s population in the coming years. While numerous things about the coronavirus pandemic remain unclear, unresolved and puzzling, one thing appears certain for the second year of the pandemic: many more people will have Appointments in Samarra.

 

Joseph Chamie is a consulting demographer, a former director of the United Nations Population Division and author of numerous publications on population issues, including his recent book, “Births, Deaths, Migrations and Other Important Population Matters“.  

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By Radhika Coomaraswamy
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Mar 2 2021 (IPS)

As a member of the second wave of the feminist movement who were also the first generation of women to receive positions of leadership, I recall the prejudices and biases that framed our experience. Women rarely were put in charge of “hard” core issues, only what were termed “soft” ones in keeping with their role as nurturer and carer. When they were present in the Board room, they were often silent. When they spoke, they were inevitably spoken over. It was the exceptional woman who could navigate the corridors of corporate culture, male expectations, and a workplace that was unsympathetic to her dual burden.

Radhika Coomaraswamy

For women of my generation the dual burden of striving competitively in the workplace and bringing up a loving home was a defining life experience. Many gave up work altogether or settled into intermediate positions in the workplace and away from the glare of leadership. Managing this dual burden is a major issue for most women. In some countries the social welfare system steps in to provide children with care while their parents work. In others, a network of domestic aides support middleclass women allowing them to excel in the workplace while the domestic aide workers, themselves, have to rely on family or makeshift arrangements causing a great deal of stress and overwork. Increasingly young men share the burden at home with their wives allowing for a more equitable balance between work and home. For generations commitments at home meant women in the workplace did not aspire to leadership and the time and energy commitments that such leadership entails.

Over the last half century things have changed. There have been many impressive women political leaders and CEOs of companies. From Chancellor Angela Merkel to Indra Nooyi, young girls now have role models that have reached the top of their profession. And yet, according to the Institute for Women’s Leadership, globally women hold just 24% of senior leadership positions. Women are only 4% of the S&P top 500 companies. There is still a great deal to be done and the mobilization to get more women into leadership positions should not falter.

As we watch women take their rightful place in the world we can ask ourselves, “is their a distinctive style of women’s leadership”? In the past, many doubters of women’s leadership qualities used to point to women leaders such as Indira Gandhi and Margaret Thatcher as being indistinguishable from the men. But the recent pandemic has brought to the fore a whole group of women leaders who showed us things could be done differently.

Jacinda Arden of New Zealand, President Tsai Ing Wen of Taiwan and Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir of Iceland, the next new generation of women leaders handled the corona crisis in a unique and successful way exposing the inadequacies of what is termed the “strong man” adulation of the decade before. In dealing with the pandemic, they were low-key, focused on the delivery of services, clearly setting goals and standards and staying away from brinkmanship. Interestingly for these young women leaders the family is a natural part of the narrative, giving birth while in office or enjoying their husbands as equal partners in taking care of the children.

But the hope for anyone interested in women’s rights must be the very youthful leaders coming from Generation Z. Globally connected, passionate in their causes and armed with technology and social media they are ready to make sweeping changes. Malala was the first to occupy the global stage with her plea for girl’s education, a millennial goal that has actually been achieved. Then we have Greta Thunberg whose unflinching dedication to the cause of climate change and the preservation of the environment has inspired millions of young people

One such person is Disha Annappa Ravi, a young campaigner in Bangalor, India who was arrested for sharing a toolkit to assist the organizers of the farmers movement that was making demands of the government. Defiant in court she said, “if highlighting farmers’ protests globally is sedition, I am better off in jail.” The Court, inspired by this young woman leader, said in its powerful judgment, “Citizens are conscience keepers of government in any democratic nation. They cannot be put behind bars simply because they choose to disagree with State policies.” It is these young women leaders in many countries around the world who may help us fulfill the many dreams and visions spelt out by generations of women leaders who have fought for equal rights and social justice.

The author is a Sri Lankan lawyer, diplomat and human rights advocate who served as the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict. In 2017, after atrocities against the Rohingya people, she was appointed a Member of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on Myanmar.

 

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To Aspire and Achieve- Women’s Leadership in the 21st Century appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Credit: Equality Now, Tara Carey

By Antonia Kirkland
NEW YORK, Mar 2 2021 (IPS)

When the United Nations was founded in 1945, the principle of equality for all – regardless of sex, race, language, or religion – was enshrined in the organization’s Charter.

More than seventy-five years have passed, and during the intervening decades, the UN has played a leading role in advancing gender equality around the world. But there is one significant way in which the UN, through the General Assembly of member states and the Security Council, has failed to live up to its stated ambition, and that is in the selection of its own leader.

To date, there have been nine UN Secretary-Generals. Not one of them has been a woman.

I work at Equality Now, a global women’s rights organization that has been at the forefront of campaigning for a woman Secretary-General since 1996. Twenty-five years ago, there were numerous suitably qualified women who could have fulfilled the role commendably, but none were selected.

And up until the most recent election, hardly any women were even nominated.

In recent years, sentiment that the appointment of a female leader is overdue has swelled and become mainstream. In the 2016 campaign to choose the current head, seven of the final thirteen candidates were women – unprecedented in the UN’s history.

Thanks to successful advocacy by the civil society coalition 1 for 7 Billion and others, a new, more transparent selection process was introduced, including live televised conversations with the candidates.

Alongside this was the “Campaign to Elect a Woman Secretary-General” (WomanSG campaign) as well as a Group of Friends initiative led by Colombia, which also championed the appointment of a woman.

Although it was abundantly clear how eminently qualified the women contenders were, and despite their impressive resumes and breadth of appeal and experience, once again it was a man who was chosen for the top job.

When António Guterres was selected as the incoming Secretary-General, feminists within and outside the UN developed a series of action points for him to advance gender equality within the organization.

This included the need to increase gender parity across UN institutions; provide adequate financing to achieve gender equality within the UN; and strengthen UN Women. The importance of working with women’s rights organizations and holding member states accountable to commitments to achieve gender equality was also highlighted. Encompassing all this was the call to lead by example.

Advances and shortcomings under Guterres’ leadership

During Guterres’ time in office, the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) has been grading his performance in feminist leadership. Their fourth and latest report gives him a “B” and applauds the great strides made in reaching gender parity within the UN’s senior management under his tenure.

However, a neglected concern highlighted in the ICRW report as requiring urgent addressing is sexual harassment and abuse within the UN work environment.

The issues of lack of independence and the accountability gap – acknowledged by even the UN internal justice system itself – cannot remain side-lined if the Secretary-General’s “zero-tolerance policy” on sexual harassment is to be achieved. Member states should support this work as part of their commitment to ending violence against women.

Such commitments must extend to cyberspace. Online sexual abuse, exploitation and harassment have grown exponentially since the onset of the pandemic and there is no reason to think the UN virtual workplace is immune.

Rule of law must be applied in the digital sphere, with protective and preventive measures enacted and enforced to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls, including online sexual exploitation and abuse.

UN agencies, governments, big tech, and civil society should work together to develop and adopt international standards that will provide a guiding framework for international cooperation. Incorporated within this is the enactment of laws at a national level that address the gendered and multi-jurisdictional nature of gender-based cybercrime.

Positive law reform at the national level must be encouraged and invested in by and through the UN. Member States that fail to live up to their obligations should be held to account.

Governments must protect women’s and girls’ rights in all spaces and relationships, public or private, to tackle their unequal status. This includes amending or repealing gender discriminatory family laws that underpin economic disadvantage, exploitation and violence, preventing women and girls from participating wholly in society and reaching their full potential.

The Global Campaign for Equality in Family Law, launched by Equality Now and partners in March 2020, aims specifically at the reform of sex discriminatory family laws, one of the biggest obstacles to achieving gender equality.

The UN must actively encourage Member States to repeal or amend all discriminatory laws, implement progressive legal and policy frameworks, and adopt and enforce constitutional provisions that guarantee equality without exception.

A positive demonstration of this can be found in Sweden’s feminist foreign policy action plan for 2021.

Advancing women’s leadership

Over the past decade, impressive gains have been achieved in progressing women’s leadership. A growing number of women are being elected to political office, with various women heads of state receiving praise for their effective handling of the pandemic.

Recently, high profile glass ceilings were shattered with the election of Vice-President Kamala Harris in the USA, and the appointment of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as Director General of the World Trade Organisation.

It is time for the UN to follow suit by appointing a woman to its highest position. Focusing now on the selection of the next UN Secretary-General is timely considering the priority theme of the 2021 UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW65) is: “Women’s full and effective participation and decision-making in public life, as well as the elimination of violence, for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls.”

In addition, the Generation Equality Forum will be launching an Action Coalition on Feminist Movements and Leadership.

Member states should do all they can to live up to commitments made over a quarter of a century ago in the Beijing Platform for Action – to nominate women for senior leadership posts who will promote gender equality, including within the UN itself.

Representation matters at the global level too. Now more than ever, the world would benefit from having a feminist woman as UN Secretary-General, governing at the helm of the most important international body we have.

In numerous countries, COVID-19 has weakened social protection systems and pushed many women and girls into extreme poverty, further widening the pre-existing gender poverty gap. Concerning reports of increases in child marriage, girls dropping out of school, and domestic violence are just a few examples of how women and girls are being adversely impacted by the pandemic.

The UN must continue to champion gender equality as integral to COVID-19 recovery plans and challenge regressive forces attacking women’s rights. This requires member states further strengthening international efforts to empower women economically and socially, directing financial support to boost women’s rights movements, and ensuring feminists from the grassroots through to the highest levels of governance are equal participants in policy-making and implementation.

It seems that the President of the General Assembly is starting the process of selecting the next General-Secretary in the right direction. It is now up to individual UN Member States to nominate strong women candidates, as they were encouraged to do the last time and which was enshrined in a 2015 resolution.

With continued transparency and input from civil society helping to curtail opportunities for old-boy network backroom deals, a woman Secretary-General is much more likely to be selected.

While Guterres has said he is available to continue for a second and final five year term, he must participate fully in the upcoming selection process as if his re-appointment was not a foregone conclusion (as has been the case in past re-elections).

Furthermore, as a self-proclaimed “proud feminist” he should do all he can to pave the way for women to be nominated and selected by member states when he does hand over the reins. To a feminist woman.

The author is Global Lead on Legal Equality and Access to Justice at Equality Now*.

For media enquiries and interview requests please contact Sr. Media Manager Tara Carey at tcarey@equalitynow.org; +44 (0)7971 556 340 (WhatsApp)

*Equality Now is an international human rights organization that works to protect and promote the rights of women and girls around the world by combining grassroots activism with international, regional and national legal advocacy. Its international network of lawyers, activists, and supporters achieve legal and systemic change by holding governments responsible for enacting and enforcing laws and policies that end legal inequality, sex trafficking and exploitation, sexual violence, and harmful practices such as female genital mutilation and child marriage.

For details of its current campaigns, please visit www.equalitynow.org and on Facebook @equalitynoworg and Twitter @equalitynow.

 

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The post International Women’s Day, 2021
Feminist Leadership at the United Nations — Gender Equality Within & Without appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Excerpt:

The following opinion piece is part of series to mark the upcoming International Women’s Day, March 8.

The post International Women’s Day, 2021
Feminist Leadership at the United Nations — Gender Equality Within & Without appeared first on Inter Press Service.

By Anis Chowdhury and Jomo Kwame Sundaram
SYDNEY and KUALA LUMPUR, Mar 2 2021 (IPS)

After being undermined by decades of financial liberalisation, developing countries now are not only victims of vaccine imperialism, but also cannot count on much financial support as their COVID-19 recessions drag on due to global vaccine apartheid.

Anis Chowdhury

Financialisation undermined South
Developing countries have long been pressured to liberalise finance by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. The international financial institutions claimed this would bring net capital inflows. This was supposed to reduce foreign exchange constraints to accelerating growth, creating “a rosy scenario, indeed”.

Globalisation’s claim naively expects “more birds to fly into, rather than out of an open birdcage”. Instead, financial globalisation meant net capital flows from capital-poor developing countries to capital-rich developed countries, i.e., dubbed the “Lucas paradox”. A decade later, flows “uphill” had “intensified over time”.

The past decade saw the largest, fastest and most broad-based foreign debt increase in these economies in half a century. Total foreign debt of emerging market economies rose from around 110% of GDP in 2010 to more than 170% in 2019, while that of low-income countries (LICs) increased from 48% to 67%.

Pandemic woes
Developing countries saw private finance drop by US$700 billion in 2020, while foreign direct investment flows to developing countries declined by 30-45% in 2020. Remittances fell by 7% in 2020, and are expected to fall by another 7.5% in 2021.

Jomo Kwame Sundaram

Meanwhile, developing countries’ indebtedness increased as total aid flows had long fallen short of even half the long promised 0.7% of donor countries’ incomes. In 2020, when developing countries needed it most, donor governments cut bilateral aid commitments by almost 30%.

With limited access to other finance, developing countries, especially LICs, face much higher borrowing costs, even in normal times. With the pandemic, developing countries have been downgraded by rating agencies, further raising borrowing costs.

Facing falling foreign exchange earnings needed to import essential drugs, vaccines and other vital supplies, including food, most countries have to borrow. In 2020, official foreign debt probably rose by 12% of GDP in emerging market economies, and by 8% in LICs. The pandemic thus greatly worsened developing countries’ debt distress.

Before the pandemic, more than a quarter of official revenue went to servicing debt. With the worst recession since the Great Depression in 2020, as well as declining revenue and foreign exchange inflows, debt is now blocking finance for more adequate relief and recovery in many countries.

Debt relief?
Many – even World Bank Chief Economist Carmen Reinhart, once a ‘debt hawk’ – have called for debt relief, but little has happened. IMF debt service relief of about US$213.5 million for 25 eligible LICs ended six months later in mid-October 2020, as scheduled.

The G20’s ‘Debt Service Suspension Initiative for Poorest Countries’ for 73 mainly LICs for May-December 2020 covered around US$20 billion of bilateral public debt owed to official creditors by International Development Association and least developed countries (LDCs).

The G20 initiative did not provide lasting relief, not even reducing foreign debt burdens and barely addressing immediate needs. It merely kicked the can down the road. Debt still had to be repaid in full during 2022–2024 as interest continues to accumulate. It also offered middle income countries (MICs) nothing.

Also, private creditors refused to join in or help out. UNCTAD estimates that in 2020 and 2021, lower MICs and LICs will pay between US$0.7 trillion and US$1.1tn to service debt, as upper MICs pay US$2.0-2.3tn. Meanwhile, some countries have used US$11.3bn of IMF funds meant “for health budgets and food imports” to service private sector debt.

SDRs to the rescue?
Undoubtedly, distressed developing countries desperately need foreign exchange to cope. But IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva’s call to boost global liquidity with “a sizeable SDR” (Special Drawing Right) allocation was blocked by the Trump administration, who objected that it would give China, Iran, Russia, Syria and Venezuela access to new funds.

The Financial Times (FT) argues that the proposed new SDR1tn (US$1.37tn) issuance – almost five times the US$283bn issued in 2009 – is justified by the scale of the crisis. For the FT, it would be “the simplest and most effective way to get additional purchasing power into the hands of the countries that need it”.

It is now widely agreed that “new issuance of SDRs is vital to help poorer countries”. It would augment the IMF’s US$1tn lending capacity, already inadequate to address the ongoing pandemic and economic crises.

SDRs can only be used to pay other central banks, the IMF and 16 “prescribed holders”, including the World Bank and major regional development banks. Thus, SDRs can help foreign exchange constrained countries, especially if rich countries transfer their unused SDRs to the IMF or for development finance.

The IMF could thus expand two existing special funds for LICs: the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust provides interest-free loans, while the Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust pays interest and principal due on their IMF obligations.

But SDRs are not an equitable magic bullet as apportionment reflects the size of a country’s economy. In other words, rich countries would get much more, regardless of need, as during the 2008-2009 global financial crisis.

US role vital
With 85% of IMF votes required to issue new SDRs, and the US holding veto power with 16.5%, Biden administration support is vital. For SDR issuance under US$650 billion, the White House only needs to consult, rather than get approval from the US Congress.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has urged the IMF and World Bank to do everything “they can to ensure that developing countries have the resources for public health and economic recovery”. She has supported new SDRs despite conservative opposition, e.g., from Rupert Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal.

But Fund and Bank resources still pale in comparison with the challenge. With preferred creditor status, they can borrow at the much lower interest rates available to them. By so intermediating, they can help developing countries, especially LICs and LDCs, to more cheaply access desperately needed funds.

 

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Apple farmers in Kashmir package their crops to send to a mandi or market yard. According to policy, wholesale transactions between farmers and traders must take place in a mandi, yet the market yards have become hubs of widespread corruption where a small group of sale agents have taken control. Credit: Stella Paul/IPS

By Sanjay Kapoor
NEW DELHI, India, Mar 1 2021 (IPS)

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not really like attending parliament – except on special occasions. Budget session was one such occasion. Unsurprisingly, he tried to reach out to farmers still protesting at the border of the capital Delhi, against his government’s new farm laws.

Modi suggested that the farmers were ‘pure’ and innocent, but misinformed and provoked by ‘professional agitators’. These ‘professional agitators’ include pop star Rihanna, niece of US Vice President Meena Harris and even porn star Mia Khalifa.

The celebrities’ use of Twitter to support the protests spread panic in the image-conscious Modi government. Their ferocious Twitter trolls hit back against Rihanna and Greta.

Modi’s speech in parliament provided a clear indication of how the Indian state attempted to counter the farm protests and the support it had received from international celebrities like Rihanna and climate activists like Greta Thunberg: as a grand global conspiracy.

As the internationalisation of this movement is creating a foreign policy challenge for the government with its diplomatic missions aggressively hitting back at those who question India’s democracy and the way the agitation has been handled.

Rather astutely, the Modi government has used its influence on TV channels and social networks like WhatsApp and Twitter to build a narrative where any dissent is against national interest.

The most recent example was a toolkit shared by Greta Thunberg for the tractor march on India’s Republic Day, 26 January, for which the Delhi Police had given permission. This was branded as a seditious act by the Modi government.

The toolkit had Indian collaborators like Disha Ravi, a member of Thunberg’s ‘Fridays For Future’ movement against climate change. Her crime was tweaking the toolkit that detailed how to help the farmer’s Tractor march on 26 January – and daring to be in touch with Greta and other farm groups.

At the face of it, Disha committed no crime, but the manner in which the charges have been framed has made even innocuous actions like making a Zoom call a crime against the Indian state. However, the courts found no evidence of any links with secessionists or the violence of January 26, and granted her bail.

Why the farmers came to Delhi

Initially, the farmers’ protests erupted after the farm bills were hastily passed in parliament last year. Angry farmers from Punjab stepped out and first blocked trains. They got no response from the national government and then lay siege around Delhi.

Sanjay Kapoor

The government’s reforms propose to do away with the Minimum Support Price (MSP) that government gives for food grains, and also intends to scrap agriculture markets, the so-called mandis.

At the beginning, the farmers were greeted with water cannons and cane charges, leaving scores injured. Later, the government allowed them to sit around the capital.

The Supreme Court was brought in to find a solution to the stand-off but the farmers rejected intermediation, claiming that laws can be annulled by parliament and the government – not by the courts.

Modi, too, assured the enraged farming community that MSPs for the agriculture produce will not go away. But the farm leaders led by Rakesh Tikait of Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) have been adamant that they will not end their agitation until the government puts it down in writing. Quite visibly, the trust has broken down between farmers and the government.

The biggest fear of the cultivators was that these ‘reforms’ could make farming unviable and that they could lose control over their land, as it would be bought over for contract farming by corporate houses like the Ambanis and Adanis.

So angry have been the farmers with these corporate houses, which have businesses from textile to telecommunications, that they have burned hundreds of telecom towers in the state of Punjab.

The Indian government’s censorship and intimidation

Wary of its international reputation, the Modi government has now unleashed enforcement authorities to control the narrative. It blocked the internet at the protest sites and filtered the visual content that found its way onto social media.

Photos of the large congregation of men and women who continued to assemble in extreme cold, rain and in extremely unhygienic conditions were photoshopped.

Expectedly, the life of protestors was made more difficult after the 26 January Tractor March that saw violence and a bizarre attempt to hoist a sectarian flag of the Sikh faith from the flag mast, where the national tricolor flies from Delhi’s iconic Red Fort.

Since then, the Police has made attempts to block the protestors from the capital. Now there are cement walls, concertina wires and nails embedded on the roads.

Moreover, the farmers have been boxed in – making it difficult for media to meet them. Now journalists have to walk 12 kilometers to reach some of these protest sites – ducking concertina wires, dug up roads and police scrutiny.

Some intrepid journalists who tried to report on the resistance of the farmers have at times come to grief from a heavy-handed police force. Mandeep Punia was one such reporter, who was arrested for preventing a public official from doing his duty. Strong pressure from the civil society and the Editors Guild of India facilitated his quick release through bail.

But it doesn’t stop there. Immediately after the 26 January Tractor March, there were a string of sedition cases against seven editors for tweeting on an evolving news story about a person who died in a clash with the police.

Their tweets were based on the testimony of the victim’s grandfather who claimed that his grandson had been shot. The Police denied this version and released some videos to show that he died from an accident. A few of the editors quickly withdrew their tweets, but they were not spared from the sedition cases.

In at least five states of the country identical First Information Reports (FIR) had been filed charging them for sedition. If the Supreme Court had not stayed the execution of the sedition case for two weeks, these editors could have been arrested on a non-bailable warrant.

Similarly, social media, the only way that allows some news and expression for the agitating farmers, is censored by the government. When Twitter tried to resist pressure, its employees were threatened with the consequences of being jailed by India’s law minister if they did not abide by the country’s law.

Since then, they have fallen in line. Google, which had sworn to preserve the privacy of its users, promptly handed over information on the toolkit put together by the climate change activists.

But despite the strident opposition to the farm bills in the states of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, the government has not relented. Every day, there are reports of large congregation of farmers taking place in small towns and villages of north India seeking a turnaround from the government.

The Chief Minister of Punjab, Amarinder Singh, has pleaded with the Central government to find a face-saver for the farmers so that they can return home – otherwise they will keep sitting there. If obstinacy on both sides is anything to go by, then the agitation will continue and make India’s struggling democracy more illiberal.

 

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Excerpt:

Sanjay Kapoor is editor of Delhi's Hardnews magazine and General Secretary of the Editors Guild of India.

The post Protests by Indian Farmers Spread Panic in Image-Conscious Modi Government appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Social development helps narrowing down the disparities between urban and rural areas; and gaps amongst different regions. Credit: UNESCO

By Siddharth Chatterjee and Amakobe Sande
BEIJING, Mar 1 2021 (IPS)

Back in the 1990s, the discovery of antiretrovirals offered a ray of hope to save people’s lives from the HIV epidemic. Over this decade, people living with HIV benefited from the scientific advances and began to have longer, healthier and more productive lives. However, almost all the beneficiaries were from rich countries in the global north. As a result, about nine million people died by the year 2000 due to the inequality in accessing these life-saving medicines.

It is a hard lesson from the HIV response, but unfortunately, it seems the lesson is not yet learned in dealing with today’s health crisis.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world last year and claimed millions of lives, scientists, doctors and nurses, pharmaceutical industries, and experts acted quickly to develop vaccines to prevent further infections. However, when the vaccines were developed, the same kind of inequalities happened. Research shows the world’s wealthiest countries have monopolised more than half of the production doses of vaccines, leaving low-and-medium-income countries struggling to secure vaccines. 10 rich countries have administered 75 per cent of all COVID-19 vaccines – while some 130 countries have not yet received a single dose.

Siddharth Chatterjee. Credit: Newton Kanhema

In a poignant message to WHO’s Executive Board in January 2021, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, “even as vaccines bring hope to some, they become another brick in the wall of inequality between the world’s haves and have-nots”.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and underlined the widespread inequalities in the world. That’s why the theme of this year’s Zero Discrimination Day, “End Inequality”, is so pertinent in today’s world. In today’s world, we are all interconnected. Global inequality affects us all, no matter who we are or where we are from. We cannot achieve sustainable development and make the planet better for all if people are excluded from the chance of a better life.

Inequality happens everywhere: income, health status, occupation, disability, gender identity, race, class, ethnicity and religion. As estimated, inequality is growing for more than 70% of the global population, exacerbating the risk of division and hampering economic and social development. And almost two in ten people reported having personally experienced discrimination on at least one of the grounds established by international human rights law.

Discrimination and inequalities are intertwined. Discrimination against individuals and groups can lead to a wide range of inequalities—for example, in income, educational outcomes, health and employment. Inequalities can also lead to stigma and discrimination. Research shows that this social and structural discrimination results in significant inequalities in access to justice and in health outcomes.

Tackling inequality is not a new commitment—in 2015, all UN member states pledged to reduce inequality within and among countries as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. UNAIDS officially launched the first Zero Discrimination Day on 1 March 2014 in Beijing, calling on countries to examine discriminatory provisions in their laws and policies and make positive changes to ensure equality, inclusion and protection, particularly among key populations such as sex workers and their clients, men who have sex with men, transgender people and people who inject drugs.

As well as being core to ending AIDS, tackling inequality and discrimination is universal in nature and will advance the human rights of people living with HIV, make societies better prepared to beat COVID-19 and other pandemics and support economic recovery and stability. Fulfilling the promise to tackle inequality will save millions of lives and benefit society as a whole.

Amakobe Sande

Ending inequality requires transformative change. Greater efforts are needed to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, and there is a need to invest more in health, education, social protection and decent jobs.

We take this opportunity to congratulate China for not only lifting nearly 800 million people out of extreme poverty over the last four decades, but in the years since 2013, lifting nearly 100 million people out of poverty in the rural areas, setting China on course to achieve SDG 1 or ending poverty ten years before 2030. A significant milestone towards ending inequality.

Governments must promote inclusive social and economic growth and eliminate discriminatory laws, policies and practices to ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities. A people-centred approach is needed to ensure we leave no one behind.

This approach was explained well by China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who made remarks at the High-level Segment of the 46th Session of The United Nations Human Rights Council recently. He said, “Increasing people’s sense of gains, happiness and security is the fundamental pursuit of human rights as well as the ultimate goal of national governance.”

We all have a role to play in ending discrimination and so reducing inequalities. We can all play our part by calling out discrimination where we see it, by setting an example or by advocating to change the law.

We believe equality can and should be achieved. Let’s make it happen.

UN Resident Coordinator to China, Siddharth Chatterjee and UNAIDS Country Director to China, Amakobe Sande

 

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The Parasol Cooperative

By Kim She Joon
NEW YORK, Mar 1 2021 (IPS)

During the COVID19 lockdown, there has been an approximate 25% increase in domestic abuse, dubbed by the United Nations as the ‘pandemic within a pandemic’. While the home is perceived as a secure place, for domestic abuse victims battling the pandemic is equally and increasingly unsafe. A parasol of protection is needed to rehabilitate victims of abuse starting from detection, reaching out, providing help and support.

On average, nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States and globally even before COVID-19, domestic violence was already one of the greatest human rights violations. In 2018 within a span of 12 months, 243 million women and girls (aged 15-49) across the world have been subjected to sexual or physical violence by an intimate partner, reported by UN Women. As a result of the lockdown and economic instability now, the number of cases has pushed the already-stretched resources of many organizations supporting the victims to a breaking point.

Megs Shah (CEO/Founder)

To identify a solution to the critical challenges that this pandemic brought along, an event was arranged by Techstars in early 2020, where 60 teams from the United States participated to come up with time-appropriate solutions. Among the finalists was a team led by Megs Shah who comes with an electrical and computer engineering background. Until recently she was working as Head of Digital Investment Governance, managing technology initiative decisions at Bristol Myers Squibb. From the initial team, Megs Shah and her colleague Fairuz Ahmed decided to take it further and CoFounded The Parasol Cooperative.

This tech-based start-up, incorporated in July 2020 has gained traction nationality and internationally. Recently the duo has also been mentioned by the UNWomen and UNWomen in UAE for taking part in #Womenintech and in #Womeninscience as innovative entrepreneurs and have been featured in the Forbes Magazine.

“Being home with the abuser during the pandemic has opened up an opportunity to use technology in a new way. We must solve the problem from the requesters’ point of view, in this case, that is the victim. We identified the need, pinpointed the gaps, and came up with a technology-based solution to support organizations to better serve the vulnerable population of victims and survivors of domestic violence.” commented Megs Shah, CEO of The Parasol Cooperative to IPS.

New Jersey-based Shah and New York-based Ahmed are both single mothers, immigrants from India and Bangladesh respectively and have faced ordeals dealing with divorce and the stigma that comes along with it.

Fairuz Ahmed (Co-Founder)

Shah adds “Our team is made up of advocates, tech experts and survivors who have personally dealt with trauma, worked towards rehabilitation and surfaced as stronger individuals. From our experiences and research, we understand the many reasons why survivors relapse into abusive relationships mainly due to lack of a support network and financial instability. To address these fundamental challenges we plan to develop an online support community for day-to-day peer support and an online curriculum to develop job skills, provide training and in long term, partner with large organizations to provide hands-on ‘intern’ positions to help survivors stand on their own two feet.”

Working with grassroots organizations in New York, Ahmed has taken a different angle in supporting victims. She volunteers for the “Meal on a Dime” project which is part of the Bidyanondo Foundation Inc. Through her efforts, abuse victims who lead single mother households and belong to religious minorities living in shelters, are helped with appropriate and essential food baskets, ethnic food items, baby food, sanitary supplies and more. Speaking multiple South Asian languages she also does community outreach, minimizing the language gap and taboo around reaching out for help in the South Asian immigrant and local communities.

“Coming from a broken home a mother’s first worry is to source food for her children and second is to have a rehabilitation process in place. This also goes for single females who want to build a base for themselves coming out of domestic abuse. With the help of two non-profits, I launched a localized support system, where a survivor will be supported with sustenance and service.” comments Ahmed to IPS.

“If this model picks up, I believe we can launch similar efforts in other states in near future. The Parasol Cooperative has exceptional features where we minimize the language barrier and victims can reach out in their preferred ways. Working locally I also aim to form a network where survivors can get hired by their own communities,” adds Ahmed.

There is a lot of technology available for organizations to use, but many organizations are not familiar with these, unsure of how to best use them, or simply cannot afford them. This is especially true for small and mid-sized organizations. The Parasol Cooperative aims to build a tech-based skillset for the advocates, help improve overall operational efficiency and reduce costs of organizations that support victims nationally and globally. Recently a generous donation was made by the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation to help fund technology development.

There are three ways to enable and empower organizations to expand their services to survivors and victims of abuse: Technology, Survivor ‘Net’, and skills development. With safe communications with victims of abuse, increase knowledge sharing amongst member organizations and the survivors they support and reduce operational costs by using technology efficiently the founders aim to build a “Global Parasol or Protection”.

When women take charge of their lives and come up with a modern solution it also narrows the gender gaps and empowers the communities further. In the future, expansion plans are in place to offer services to a wider audience and offer consolidated solutions and sponsored membership to organizations that work for the lower-income regions, globally.

 

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Nishat Hussain coordinating with local authorities in Rajasthan to ensure relief reaches those most affected by the lockdown.

By Mariya Salim
NEW DELHI, India, Mar 1 2021 (IPS)

Women living in rural India and those belonging to marginalised communities faced an enormous burden during the COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns, including domestic violence, loss of financial assistance and income, says Rehana Adeeb, a grassroots Muslim woman leader and activist.

Adeeb leads Astitva, an NGO in western Uttar Pradesh working with women from Dalit and Muslim communities.

In an interview with IPS, she talked about the various kinds of violence that women, especially Dalit and Muslim women in rural India, had to face when the Government, without warning, announced a nationwide lockdown to contain the pandemic.

“With most menfolk migrating back to their villages from the cities where they had moved to earn a living, the women did not have access to any financial assistance from them which they would earlier use to pay for their children’s education and household expenses,” says Adeeb.

“Women who did home-based work, such as sewing, to make ends meet were also left with no additional source of income, with markets shut.”

“Forced marriages, child marriage and domestic violence were on the rise, and these were cases where we had to intervene immediately,” she said.

Rehana Adeeb, Activist and community organiser who leads the NGO Astitva in Western Uttar Pradesh.

Adeeb and her team were in constant touch with women who shared their concerns about how unwanted pregnancies, lack of doctors and health care added to the crisis.

The experiences of these women reflected and continues to reflect the situation elsewhere in the world, and while society was grappling a global pandemic, an unprecedented increase in various forms of violence against women and girls, was being witnessed worldwide.

The United Nations described the increased violence against women in India during the pandemic as a “shadow pandemic“.

The number of domestic violence complaints that the National Commission for Women in India received doubled from 123 distress calls to 239 domestic violence complaints, from March 23, 2020, to April 16, 2020, it was reported.

While women’s helplines across the country were inundated with domestic violence complaints, the violence faced by women belonging to the most marginalised sections of society needed and still needs urgent attention.

“Reports have shown that incidents of discrimination against women and girls have increased during the pandemic, in particular against women belonging to minority groups, especially those at the bottom of the economic ladder,” says UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, Dubravka Simonovic, in an exclusive interview with IPS.

She stressed that with many countries reporting dramatic increases in domestic violence, including intimate partner violence and sexual abuse, as a result of complying with social confinement measures, the home had become a place of fear for many women and children. With restricted movement, financial constraints and uncertainty, perpetrators were emboldened, and the situation provided them with additional power and control.

In India, another factor that added to Muslim women’s plight was the rise in Islamophobia, which manifested itself in the online campaign known as the “Corona Jihad”. Muslims were falsely targeted and said to be spreading the virus with the malicious intention of infecting non-Muslims.

The courts dismissed this as being false but not before this dangerous narrative had led to an increase in the already prevalent discrimination against the community.

Media reports showed how women belonging to Muslim communities were denied services at hospitals. The reports gave details of campaigns and calls, at times from those in power, demanding an economic boycott of Muslim communities, which had ramifications for the women.

Nishat Hussain coordinating with local authorities in Rajasthan to ensure relief reaches those most affected by the lockdown.

Nishat Hussain, Rajasthan state convenor of the Bhartiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (Indian Muslim Women’s Movement) and the non-profit National Muslim Women Welfare Society led COVID relief activities throughout the state during the lockdown.

“One of the biggest problems that the women I work with faced was because of their identity as Muslim women,” Hussain said.

With the stereotypes and hate speech against the community, women had to fight their way, battling even the administration at times, to reach out for support.

Most of Hussain’s staff are Muslim women, who volunteered during this time to reach women in areas where basic necessities such as food were not reaching families.

“Access to health, medicines were very difficult, we tried to intervene and provided women and young girls with menstrual hygiene kits. Truckloads of food with the help of well-wishers and friends were distributed to all those in need, irrespective of their religion or identity,” she says.

Addressing violence within families during the pandemic has become vital, and there are many interventions by local and national organisations that are leading this effort.

Breakthrough India, for instance, designed a campaign along with the older adolescents in the field areas by the name of “dakhalandazi zaroori hai” (Intervention is a necessity), which later led to a larger campaign called “Dakhal Do” or “Intervene”.

“Adolescents developed posters against Domestic Violence and displayed them along with relevant phone numbers in prominent places in their villages.

Breakthrough also organised online training of District Legal Services Authorities as well as the Aanganwadi workers for effective response to victims,” said Nayana Chowdhury, who is the director of programs at Breakthrough India.

“Breakthrough also strengthened the skills of the Panchayati Raj Institution leaders to address the needs of the community in the time of the pandemic.

Simonovic stressed that the crisis highlighted and reinforced the gaps and shortcomings at the national, regional, and global levels in preventing and combating the pandemic of gender-based violence against women.

She wants to look at COVID-19 pandemic as an opportunity to bring about the much needed change to overcome the pandemic of violence against women, including women from marginalised and minority groups, by, “amending legislation and practice that reinforces gender stereotypes and prevents victims from accessing justice; changing policies that fail to offer victims adequate and timely services such as shelters, protection orders and help lines; addressing social and cultural beliefs that perpetuate myths that blame women for the violence they suffer”.

Mariya Salim is a fellow at IPS UN Bureau

 

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The post How Marginalised Women in India Bore an Extra Burden of COVID-19 ‘Shadow Pandemic’ appeared first on Inter Press Service.

By External Source
Mar 1 2021 (IPS-Partners)

In the lead up to International Women’s Day, the Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE), Education Cannot Wait (ECW) and the UN Girls’ Education Initiative (UNGEI), are launching a new core resource package for gender in education in emergencies: the ‘EiE-GenKit’!

Register here to join us for a launch event, on Wednesday 3 March 07:00 EST | 13:00 CET | 15:00 EAT.

The event will start with a short film providing an overview of the rationale behind developing the EiE-GenKit, its contents and usage, and its relevance in the current COVID-19 climate. An intergenerational panel discussion will follow, featuring the leadership of INEE, ECW and UNGEI, and representatives from UNICEF, Plan Canada, Compact for Young People in Humanitarian Action, and the Generation Equality Youth Task Force. Register: bit.ly/EiE-GenKit-2021

In a time where the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated existing gender and education inequalities, particularly affecting adolescent girls, the EiE-GenKit is a global good to improve gender-responsiveness and inclusivity in EiE interventions.

Help us promote the launch

We have prepared a social media pack in English, French, Portuguese and Arabic which can be accessed here. Below is a suggested post for your channels with a social media card attached.

Launching next week: the EiE-GenKit – a new core resource package on gender in EiE!

Join @ungei @INEEtweets @Educannotwait for the launch event with #gender and #EiE experts, practitioners & young leaders http://bit.ly/EiE-GenKit-2021 #IWD2021

The post EIE-GenKit Launch: A Core Resource Package for Gender in Education in Emergencies appeared first on Inter Press Service.

18 Sep, 2019 Greenpeace International Executive Director Jennifer Morgan at the People's Summit on Climate, Rights and Human Survival in New York, USA. Credit: Tracie Williams / Greenpeace

By Jennifer Morgan
NEW YORK, Mar 1 2021 (IPS)

The climate crisis doesn’t stop for anyone or anything, not even the pandemic that has forced billions of us to radically overhaul our lives. And like the pandemic, climate change has no nationality, agenda or political affiliation.

Both exist to spread where, when and how they can. Another stark similarity is that the impacts of COVID-19, just like the climate emergency, do not treat us equally, as those who self-identify as female are hit the hardest.

The pandemic has taken a disproportionate toll on all who regard themselves as girls, women and womxn, as well as minorities, those with disabilities, older members of our communities, refugees, migrants and Indigenous Peoples.

So much so, the UN Secretary General António Guterres last month said progress on gender equality has been set back years, and within his 2021 priorities described achieving gender equality as “the greatest human rights challenge.”

Deep rooted social injustices, from worker rights to gender inequality, go hand in hand with the climate emergency. Climate denial, like prejudice, is certainly not a victimless crime.

Even though the climate crisis is global, it is impacting low and middle income countries the worst, with self-identifying females the most affected. When climate-fueled extreme weather events strike, it’s those who deny science and block climate action who must answer to the victims on the frontlines.

Though we are in the throes of these interconnected health, environmental, economic and equality crises, creating a better world for all is still within reach. Together, we can move forward on an inclusive green path to recovery, where social justice is our guiding principle.

This means profound systems change with new rules and investments, and not the failed racist patriarchal polluting status quo being merely tweaked. A fairer, healthier, wealthier and safer world for all people is exactly what a transformation in line with 1.5°C – the Paris Agreement’s long-term temperature goal – means.

And it’s what publics across the planet want. In Japan, 60% of people want transformational economic change. While in India, Mexico, China, Brazil, South Africa and beyond, support for a green economic recovery is at 80% or higher.

Over 1.2 million people from across the world have joined campaigns at Greenpeace, Avaaz and others, supporting the call for a bold, green and just recovery in Europe.

A green and just recovery to COVID-19 is the opportunity for governments to kickstart a new economy that helps solve the climate and biodiversity crisis, while ensuring fair wages, employment protections and social safety nets for everyone, specifically for women, womxn and girls.

And as I wrote last year for the Inter Press Service, equity across the world and spectrum would lead to more life satisfaction, better security and economies, and more sustainable solutions to climate change, and now the pandemic.

Millions of people who identify as female have managed to pull together time and again in the name of justice and for saving our beautiful planet. Since the beginning of Greenpeace 50 years ago this year, women have been central, with the organisation co-founded by the extraordinary Dorothy Stowe.

1 Jan, 1996 Greenpeace co-founder, Dorothy Stowe, at a Commemorative Greenpeace Plaque Unveiling in Vancouver, Canada. Credit: Greenpeace

While they have not always been recognised or nurtured as much as they deserved, self-identifying females are very much a leading force within the organisation now and will be going forward.

They are the captains and crew of our ships, executive directors, scientists, cleaners, photographers. They are our campaigners and activists who put their bodies on the line to demand a green, just and peaceful world. Inclusivity is one of our values because there can be no green peace without gender equality.

As Greenpeace nears the 50th anniversary, it is vital we don’t spend too much time looking back instead of forwards. Where we’re going, what we need to do, and the organisation we must continue becoming.

Amplifying the voices of the most marginalised and vulnerable, while boosting their access to opportunities and platforms, is central to the mission of Greenpeace.

29 Feb, 2020 Stolen Fish in West Africa – Stand 4 Women campaign. Joal and Bargny, Senegal.
Fishmeal and fish oil factories in West Africa are putting at risk food security and livelihood of up to 40 million people. These factories swallow enormous amounts of fresh fish, that the local population need, to feed fish in aquaculture industries, pigs and chickens and even pets in Europe and Asia. Now people are rising up on International Women’s day against the factories. Credit: Julien Flosse / Greenpeace

Like in West Africa, where female fish processors have been standing strong for years against fishmeal and fish oil factories taking away the fish on which their local communities depend.

While they are struggling to make ends meet with few employment rights, the fishmeal and fish oil (FMFO) industry, owned by investors outside Africa, booms. This, as well as overfishing by destructive foreign fishing vessels, is threatening food security, jobs and social stability in the region with women most impacted.

These female fish processors want their West African governments to legally and formally recognise them in the same way as other people doing in any job.

Globally, our oceans are suffering from the plunder of overfishing and illegal industrial fishing as well as serious pollution. We need to stop wrecking our oceans now to safeguard food security and jobs for millions of people, like the West African female fish processors and their communities, and to save our marine environment.

One billion people rely on fish as their main source of animal protein, according to the World Health Organization, while it is estimated that 43 million people are facing food insecurity in West Africa – 20 million of them due to the socio-economic impact of COVID-19.

What we are seeing today with the pandemic and the climate emergency, like with previous crises, is the worsening of the already disadvantaged position of women and womxn in the labour market, alongside the burden of unpaid domestic and care work, and gender-based violence.

Despite the many and intersectional challenges females – as well as non-binary people – face, there are also many remarkable change-makers. From the Nigerian eco-feminist Oladosu Adenike advocating for the restoration of Lake Chad, to Tanya Fields of the BLK ProjeK, who focuses on food justice and economic development for women and youth of colour in the US, to the matriarchs of Wet’suwet’en resiliently opposing the Coastal Gas Link pipeline while protecting their elders from the virus.

As much as it must be in everyone’s interest to provide the COVID-19 vaccine to all people, it must be in everyone’s interest to find real solutions to the climate and gender inequality crises.

No person is safe until all people are safe, just as no country is safe from the virus and the climate emergency until all countries are safe from COVID-19 and the climate crisis. Tackling the pandemic, climate change and gender inequality are urgent priorities, not competing ones.

Global cooperation at unprecedented levels is required to overcome these challenges, as is the brave active citizenship we have seen – and continue to see – by all who self-identify as female; they must be central to solving the climate emergency and overcoming the pandemic.

This year, we have an opening to not just move beyond the ravaging storm of the pandemic, but to do it in a way where we steadily set sail to a fairer, greener and healthier future with the wind at our backs, making some waves on our voyage of victory.

*Greenpeace is 50 years old this year and one of the founders was Dorothy Stowe so the piece would link back to how women have always had a big role at the organisation, and this must continue in GP and the movement.

 

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The post – International Women’s Day, 2021 –
Gender Equality is our Captain for Sailing to a Green & Just Recovery appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Excerpt:

The following opinion piece is part of series to mark the upcoming International Women’s Day March 8.

 
Jennifer Morgan is Executive Director, Greenpeace International*

The post – International Women’s Day, 2021 –
Gender Equality is our Captain for Sailing to a Green & Just Recovery appeared first on Inter Press Service.

By Leituala Kuiniselani Toelupe Tago-Elisara
SUVA, Fiji, Mar 1 2021 (IPS)

An often quoted indigenous reference in the Samoan language is, O le ala i le pule o le tautua, literally translated, “the pathway to leadership is through service” because to be able to lead is to be willing to serve.

Since world leaders endorsed the blueprint for gender equality in Beijing 1995, women in leadership has dominated in numerous conversations and forums in terms of the need to increase women in leadership as a critical factor to achieve gender equality. Many of the perspectives shared, are about facilitating opportunities for women, advancing women in fields dominated by men, particularly in the sciences, and achieving equality in decision-making. Women in leadership has become a popular discourse from development, to academia, to politics, to science and innovation; and organisations across all sectors are recognizing the importance of inclusivity and equity for achieving sustainable development.

The 2020 Pacific review of the Beijing Platform for Action, 25 years after Beijing, highlighted that Pacific states still have a long way to go in achieving balanced representation of women in national parliaments. With the exception of the French Territories where equitable representation of women in their legislative assemblies is ensured by the French ‘parity law’, women’s representation in national parliaments across the region is shockingly low and temporary special measures (TSMs) are only used in a few states. At all levels, and across all nations, gender power dynamics disadvantage women as decision makers; and socio-cultural norms in the Pacific see men as the ‘natural’ spokespeople for families, communities and governments. That said, the report also noted an increase in women’s participation in all levels of decision-making at community levels, in public service and in civil society organisations. This raises a number of challenging questions.

Leituala Kuiniselani Toelupe Tago-Elisara

Where does this lead us in a pandemic environment? COVID-19 has exacerbated existing and ongoing inequalities in the Pacific, hindering what is already very slow progress for achieving gender equality. The evidence is quite clear as to where these inequalities are found and policy dialogues and talanoa sessions held within the region over the last two and a half decades, have generated a multitude of recommendations on what can be done by governments and as a region. What then is the problem, we ask ourselves? It’s the resourcing, the response, the lack of political will and commitment, and the list goes on, that women leaders and women engaging in the gender space, know all too well.

So, what can we do and what does this mean for Women in Leadership? The answer lies in our ongoing concerted efforts to have women at the table with an equal voice to speak for the 50% of our population. We will keep pushing to have women leaders at the table who understand women’s lived experiences and needs, and that these are translated into decision-making on resource allocation and prioritisation. We need women who lead, knowing that they have families and communities to attend to after work, and appreciate the value of unpaid care work. More importantly, we need the same women leaders at the table to share those perspectives with their men counterparts, to affect change that will transform societies and enable positive and inclusive change for gender equality at all levels in society and across all locations – urban, rural and remote.

Our unprecedented experience with COVID-19 has changed the way we live, the way we work and certainly the way we exercise leadership and deliver service. It has reminded us that with border closures and travel restrictions, we need to be searching within our own borders and within our own societies for solutions. One of these solutions is for us to utilize and capitalize on the often-untapped skills, knowledge and expertise of women, to generate solutions for our development challenges. The role of women, as we are seeing in recovery efforts across the Pacific, is a testament to the service they continue to provide for our families and our communities. It is evidenced in women’s resilience and their significant capabilities in managing our communities and societies through multiple disasters and climatic events over the years, and through the multitude of cultural and customary obligations that we have all lived through, and will continue to live through. It is a reflection of women’s knowledge of our Pacific ways of knowing and ways of being, gathered and passed down from generation to generation.

The impacts of COVID-19 are huge and as a region and as a people, it will take some time to navigate our way through these impacts towards full recovery. However, if there is one learning that I take away from this crisis, it is our ability to remain resilient and to continue to serve each other and our people, with our women holding the fort in all our societies and communities across the Pacific Ocean, through their ongoing service. It is a manifestation and a living example of leadership through service, because to be able to lead is to be willing to serve, and being able to serve is being able to lead, and such is the spirit of Pacific women in leadership.

Leituala Kuiniselani Toelupe Tago-Elisara is Acting Regional Director, Polynesia Regional Office Pacific Community (SPC)

 

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The post – International Women’s Day, 2021 –
To Lead is to Serve — A Pacific Woman’s Perspective appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Excerpt:

The following opinion piece is part of series to mark International Women’s Day March 8.

The post – International Women’s Day, 2021 –
To Lead is to Serve — A Pacific Woman’s Perspective appeared first on Inter Press Service.

By External Source
Feb 26 2021 (IPS-Partners)

 

International Women’s Day 2021

On the occasion of International Women’s Day 2021, IPS Inter Press Service is pleased to bring to it’s readers, opinions, views and perspectives of women leaders on the Covid19 crisis, the centrality of women’s contributions and the disproportionate burdens that women carry.

The post appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Soil degradation: over one-third of the Corn Belt, the epicenter of American corn and soybean production, has lost its carbon-rich top soil.  Credit: Bigstock.

By Esther Ngumbi
URBANA, Illinois, Feb 26 2021 (IPS)

The White House, under the Presidency of Joe Biden just released an Executive Order on America’s Supply Chains stating the country needs to have resilient, diverse and secure supply chains to ensure economic prosperity and national security. Among the acknowledged threats that can reduce the resilience of America’s supply chains include climate change and extreme weather events.

Indeed, climate change and extreme weather, all of which have become very frequent and of economic importance, can have a huge impact on the agricultural sector. This was already evident before the global pandemic.

Soil degradation is a global problem with a third of Earth’s soil considered to be degraded in part due to agriculture. Without healthy soils, that play many critical roles including storing soil carbon, resilient agriculture won’t be possible

For example, recently, the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service reported that 2020 was tied with 2016 as the hottest year on record. In the same year, the United States experienced many climate change related extremities including the Iowa derecho, a costly thunderstorm disaster, California wildfires and flooding in Michigan . These extremities have already began happening in 2021, and are expected to continue.

The move by the Biden Administration is commendable. A question that becomes central is –how does a resilient agricultural system that is resistant to climate change and extreme weather events look like? What are the pillars?  Can resiliency in today’s United States agricultural systems be achieved? Could we unleash operation warp speed to create resilient agricultural systems that are critical to meeting US food security needs?

Of course, there will be many visions and pathways to achieving resilience in agricultural sector, because agriculture and the agricultural value and supply chain is complex with many pillars and activities that are linked and interdependent. Despite the complexities involved in building resilience, there are a few fundamental and key things that must happen.

First and foremost, a resilient agricultural system must be rooted in healthy soils. Soils is the foundation of life and the base upon which we grow resilient crops. Healthy soils are necessary and a prerequisite to achieving sustainable national food security. They are also a useful resource in the fight against the worsening climate change as they absorb carbon from air and store it.

Alarmingly, soils are unhealthy and degraded.  A recently published paper reported that over one-third of the Corn Belt, the epicenter of American corn and soybean production, has lost its carbon-rich top soil.  Soil degradation is a global problem with a third of Earth’s soil considered to be degraded in part due to agriculture. Without healthy soils, that play many critical roles including storing soil carbon, resilient agriculture won’t be possible.

Secondly, resilient agricultural system must be fully vaccinated from climate change and extremities that come with a changing climate. Just like we have rolled operation warp speed to tackle COVID-19, it is important to unleash science based solutions to vaccinate our agricultural systems. From using artificial intelligence to predict climate-related disasters such as flooding, drought, and insect pests to planting climate-smart crops that can withstand disasters to using smart and intelligent systems all through the agricultural value and supply chains to ensure that agriculture and food systems stay ahead of all the challenges.

Thirdly, resilient agricultural systems must be racially inclusive, just and equitable. According to data evidence, there are fewer Black farmers, a number that has reduced from nearly 1 million farmers in 1920 to less than 50 000 farmers, because of historic discrimination, exclusion and inequities in federal agricultural policies.

It is commendable that US Senators led by Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Tina Smith (D-MN), Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) are taking the lead in changing these statistics by introducing a comprehensive bill that addresses these injustices.

Finally, resilient systems must be built in ways that allow for ways to transparently monitor and track progress made. Americans deserve transparency.

The task of building resilient American supply chains amidst the current challenges is no doubt difficult but it can be achieved by focusing on healthy soils, vaccinated crops and equitable and just agricultural systems. The time is now.

 

Dr. Esther Ngumbi is an Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, and a Senior Food Security Fellow with the Aspen Institute, New Voices.

The post Biden-Harris Administration Committed to Building Resilient Agricultural Supply Chains appeared first on Inter Press Service.

As a small island developing state, Saint Lucia is disproportionately vulnerable to external economic shocks and extreme climate-related events that can instantly erase decades of its development gains. A new report by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) states that many countries have strengthened their commitments to the Paris Agreement by “reducing or limiting emissions by 2025 or 2030”, but called for amped-up mitigation pledges. Credit: Desmond Brown/IPS

By Alison Kentish
UNITED NATIONS, Feb 26 2021 (IPS)

Projected reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are falling “far short” of what is required to achieve the targets of the Paris Agreement.

That is according to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which released its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC’s) Scorecard today, Feb 26.

NDC’s are the plans each nation outlines to build resilience to climate change in areas such as mitigation, adaptation and climate financing.  Those plans are critical to fulfilling the goals of the Paris Agreement, in particular, an urgent target of keeping global average temperatures well below 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels.

The NDC’s considered in the report makeup 40 percent of Paris Agreement signatories and account for about 30 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2017.

“For limiting global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius, carbon dioxide emissions need to decrease by about 25 percent from the 2010 level by 2030 and reach net zero around 2070,” the report said. “The estimated reductions fall far short of what is required.”

The first NDCs were submitted in 2015 and require updating every 5 years, with increasingly ambitious targets for combating climate change.

The report states that many countries have strengthened their commitments to “reducing or limiting emissions by 2025 or 2030”, but called for amped-up mitigation pledges.

“Deep reductions are required for non-carbon dioxide emissions as well,” it stated, adding that the projections highlight “the need for parties to further strengthen their mitigation commitments under the Paris Agreement”.

Reporting countries registered mitigation measures in industry, agriculture and waste as priorities to achieving their targets. Energy is another pillar of mitigation with renewable energy generation seen as one of the most critical initiatives to providing clean power to populations. Clean energy and a transition to more efficient modes of transport were hallmarks of several NDC’s.

One noted difference between the old and new commitments is a focus on adaptation. There is increased attention to National Adaptation Plans, which complement the Sustainable Development Goals. Food security, disaster risk management, coastal protection and poverty reduction are listed as priority areas in adaptation.

The report also states that some of the countries which submitted renewed NDC’s are aligning their commitments to broader national policy agendas that are based on a transition to sustainable, low-carbon economies. Saint Lucia, in the Caribbean, is doing just that.

Saint Lucia submitted its first NDC’s in 2015 and its renewed pledges in January 2021. That country’s commitments are prefaced with the reminder that as a small island developing state, it is disproportionately vulnerable to external economic shocks and extreme climate-related events that can instantly erase decades of its development gains.

Saint Lucia’s Chief Sustainable Development and Environment Officer Annette Rattigan-Leo told IPS that the country’s renewed commitments are mitigation focused.

“Saint Lucia’s efforts remain within the energy sector, given that this sector by analysis, proves to be the highest emitter of greenhouse gases. The aim, as expressed in the updated NDC, is to reduce emissions in the energy sector by 7 percent by 2030,” she said.

Saint Lucia’s previous commitment was a 2 percent reduction in emissions by 2030. Leo said the updated NDC not only reflects increased ambition, but the country is proud of its focus on gender, children and youth.  Saint Lucia’s Gender Relations Department is developing a national gender equality policy and strategic plan, which includes environmental sustainability and climate change as priority areas. According to the report, countries are embracing gender integration to boost the effectiveness of their climate plans.

The NDC’s also explored finance and implementation. For a world still battling COVID-19, the pandemic was cited by many countries, but it might be too soon for an assessment of its impact on the NDC’s. The report stated that longer-term effects will depend on the duration of pandemic and recovery efforts.

Saint Lucia is confident of achieving its NDC’s despite the pandemic. Rattigan-Leo says with the right investments and partnerships, Saint Lucia can harness resources to sustainably support and achieve its targets.

“Economic recovery efforts around COVID-19 will require strategic partnerships and investments that focus on resilience and green recovery. As such NDC-related initiatives particularly those on renewable energy and energy efficiency are emphasised for pursuit in the next 5 years.”

The UNFCCC’s scorecard is an initial report. It is based on information from 48 NDC’s that represent 75 members of the Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC.

The final version is scheduled for release before the Glasgow Climate talks in November and will contain the most up-to-date information. Data and commitment from some of the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitters are absent from this report including India and the United States. China, the top emitter, is not represented.

Related Articles

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• UN Blueprint that Could Urgently Solve Earth’s Triple Climate Emergencies

The post Renewed, More Ambitious Targets of Paris Agreement Needed appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Excerpt:

The UNFCCC launched its ‘Climate Action: NDC Scorecard’ on Feb 26. The report assesses countries’ progress in meeting climate mitigation, adaptation and financing goals.

The post Renewed, More Ambitious Targets of Paris Agreement Needed appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Credit: UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)

By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS, Feb 26 2021 (IPS)

A sign outside a laundry in New York city had a frivolously flippant slogan: “We launder dirty clothes, not dirty money.”

And a 2019 movie titled “Laundromat,” based on a book ‘Secrecy World’ by Pulitzer Prize winning author Jake Bernstein, exposed the byzantine world of money laundering.

That’s the insidiously darker side of the world’s financial system – with millions of dollars in ill-gotten gains finding safety in offshore banks– a crime perpetrated on a global scale, says a High-Level Panel on International Financial Accountability, Transparency and Integrity for Achieving the 2030 Agenda (FACTI).

Ibrahim Mayaki, FACTI co-chair and former prime minister of Niger points out closing loopholes that allow money laundering, corruption and tax abuse and stopping wrongdoing by bankers, accountants and lawyers are steps in transforming the global economy for the universal good.

In a report released February 25, the UN panel has called on governments to agree to a Global Pact for Financial Integrity for Sustainable Development.

The panel, comprising former world leaders, central bank governors, business and civil society heads and academics, says as much as 2.7 percent of the global gross domestic product (GDP) is laundered annually, while corporations shopping around for tax-free jurisdictions cost governments up to $600 billion a year.

At a time when billionaires’ wealth soared by 27.5 percent, even while 131 million people were pushed into poverty due to COVID-19, the report says a tenth of the world’s wealth could be hidden in offshore financial assets, preventing governments from collecting their fair share of taxes.

Recovering the annual loss to tax avoidance and evasion in Bangladesh, for example, would allow the country to expand its social safety net to 9 million more of the elderly; in Chad, it could pay for 38,000 classrooms, and in Germany, it could build 8000 wind turbines, according to the report.

Professor Kunal Sen, Director, UN University– World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER), told IPS: “At a time when developing countries are facing sharp declines in tax revenues due to the economic crisis generated by the pandemic, it is imperative to find solutions to the large losses to public exchequers due to illicit financial flows”

This is a key challenge to development, as provision of crucial public services, such as education, healthcare, and infrastructure, rely on states having money to spend, he pointed out.

“Global coordination of taxation policies, preferably led by the G-7 (world’s industrialized) countries, that limit tax evasion and money laundering is the need of the hour,” he noted.

James A. Paul, a former Executive Director at Global Policy Forum, told IPS the new report by the UN High Level Panel is certainly welcome, but there is reason to wonder where it will take us.

“It provides a devastating analysis of the corrupt global financial system and how the financiers undermine well-being, fairness and legitimacy”.

The report, he said, argues that the system’s architecture and rules make sustainable development (and the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals) difficult, if not impossible to achieve.

“Those who have been critically following the global financial system over the past few decades will not disagree, but they will find little here that is truly new”, said Paul, author of “Of Foxes and Chickens”—Oligarchy and Global Power in the UN Security Council.

He also pointed out that “It has been clear, then, for a long time that the world’s richest families and nations are the primary beneficiaries of this system, that they have a hammerlock on politics, and that they have no intention of changing things in any fundamental way”.

In particular, the national leaders of this global corruption mafia are nationals of the United States and the United Kingdom, whose financial institutions and oligarchies are the world’s most powerful, he added.

“They have ruled the global financial system for a long time and (in spite of declarations to the contrary) they are dead-set against reforms that would increase “fairness,” “transparency,” and the other good things the High-Level Panel seeks to promote,” said Paul.

This brings us to the dilemma of the UN– and its capacity to analyze and to resolve the world’s most fundamental problems”.

However, he said the Presidents of the UN General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council are to be congratulated for setting up this Panel and for reminding us once again how the global oligarchy is practicing corruption on a breathtaking and devastating scale.

The report’s authors are unable to go far enough, however. This is no surprise.

“For we need something more fundamental — nothing less than a roadmap towards a global democratic order, freed from the grip of the financial oligarchy and guided at last by the needs and the will of the people themselves… UN and its capacity to analyze and to resolve the world’s most fundamental problems”.

A former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, a national of Ghana, once said that “billions of dollars of public funds continue to be stashed away by some African leaders — even while roads are crumbling, health systems are failing, school children have neither books nor desks nor teachers, and phones do not work.”

Dr. Richard Ponzio, Senior Fellow and Director of the Global Governance, Justice & Security Program at the Stimson Center in Washington, D.C, told IPS that aside from eroding national tax bases and diverting funds from critical public expenditure projects, tax abuse, corruption, and money laundering help fuel insecurity in today’s hyperconnected global economy by sustaining the work of criminal syndicates and international terrorists to the detriment of global security and justice.

The recommended global pact for financial integrity for sustainable development, he argued, should help extend the Financial Action Task Force’s (created in 1989 by the G7 and later joined by a few dozen countries) global reach in coordinating global anti–money laundering efforts.

In addition, more (especially non-OECD) countries should be encouraged to participate in the OECD Declaration on Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) in Tax Matters, which aims to increase banking transparency and decrease tax evasion worldwide.

The AEOI standard—which benefits poor and rich nations alike—makes it harder for money launderers to hide their proceeds and easier for the victims of tax evasion to recover funds.

For developing countries to fully realize the benefits of this new transparency, he said, the developed world and international institutions should recognize and help overcome the financial and capacity restraints that prevent less well-off countries from participating in a multilateral regime for AEOI.

Simultaneously, developed and developing countries should promote the transparency of corporate registries to prevent money launderers from operating behind shell companies.

Paul told IPS that NGOs, both local and international, have long been pointing out the staggering sums diverted from public treasuries by banks and financial managers, aided by corrupt politicians and systematically covered up by journalists, professors and other apologists.

The honest investigations have shown, among other things, how taxes are avoided or evaded and how the richest individuals and companies pay almost nothing in support of public projects and programs.

“This knowledge has deepened public distrust of governments and it has led us into the present crisis of global authoritarianism, but it has done little to change regulatory laws, improve the harvesting of taxes, or reduce public corruption. If anything, the trend has been moving in the opposite direction.”

Ponzio said the UN’s Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and other corporate social responsibility standards can also contribute to improving due diligence requirements to prevent or decrease illicit financial flows (IFFs) in different economic sectors (including financial, accounting, and legal).

He said participatory budgeting and a human rights approach to budget monitoring can shine a spotlight on whether IFFs divert government expenditure from promoting the public good.

Empowered with the right information, civil society organizations, the media, and the general public can each play significant roles in holding states, businesses, and facilitators (lawyers and accountants) to their human rights obligations.

  

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The blackouts and shortages in Texas, paradoxically an energy hub, raise first of all empathy for those affected, as this situation brings to the fore in a vivid way something already well understood: the central role that energy plays. Credit: Bigstock.

By Marta Jara
MONTEVIDEO, Feb 25 2021 (IPS)

Crises, as the one we saw across the US and Mexico last week originated by Winter Storm Uri, provide ample material for reflection. This is particularly clear from a distant viewpoint and when benefitting from the fact of not being directly affected, as strong emotions and reactions that often bias our judgements are absent.

While biases make us efficient decision makers in our day-to-day lives, when tackling complex problems with serious consequences, it is the efficacy of decision making that counts. Developing awareness of relevant decision biases and means to neutralize them is increasingly a key competency in the energy industry as it is in the modern business world.

The basic attributes of a sound energy system: abundance, security and affordability. Abundance means to have a pool of energy that is available in a way that does not restrict our activities and development. Security means that the flow is not vulnerable to interruptions of whatever manner

The blackouts and shortages in Texas, paradoxically an energy hub, where many of our readers might live, have friends or colleagues, raise first of all empathy for those affected, as this situation brings to the fore in a vivid way something already well understood: the central role that energy plays. Our modern lives simply cannot tolerate blackouts, let alone going without power and heat for days.

But, perhaps most importantly, we are reminded of the basic attributes of a sound energy system: abundance, security and affordability. Abundance means to have a pool of energy that is available in a way that does not restrict our activities and development. Security means that the flow is not vulnerable to interruptions of whatever manner: technical, political, meteorological, etc.

For the system to be secure, both availability of supply and infrastructure need to be resilient, be it by intrinsic robustness, diversification, redundancies, or intangible elements like trust between participating counterparts.

Affordability means that economic access to energy is broadly granted. It is of course a relative term, which takes different meanings, whether it is applied to a context of persons’ basic needs or businesses competitiveness.

There is another aspect, yet to achieve the same attention as the other three, and it is environmental performance. When externalities, like CO2 emissions, are properly brought into the price of energy, this attribute must be considered in a discussion of affordability.

The crisis of last week brings us back to the core issue of trade-offs that have to be considered as part of any energy solution. Every society needs to find the right ones to balance these often conflicting system’s attributes (e.g. more redundancy might mean more cost).

This is the job of elected officials. But their job pretty much ends there. Once the preferences are laid out, it becomes a technical job to oversee how the system is designed and to what standards it is constructed and operated.

That is what technical operators and regulators do. The case in hand shows (not exceptionally) the blame pointed towards every moving target and exposes the confusion (perhaps deliberate) around roles and responsibilities in energy governance.

What the clear separation of roles forces to do is to explicitly state risk tolerance and policy objectives. Not doing so, inevitably pushes the policy decisions into an opaque space, where industry and other lobbies find it easier to force their way.

Setting these boundary conditions for a system design a priori is not a natural exercise for politicians, as talking about trade-offs is not an easy task. The public expects to minimize compromise. In Spanish there’s an expression for the ideal product: “bueno, bonito y barato” (good, beautiful and cheap) and it is almost synonymous to utopia.

But ignoring the boundaries of reality when adopting a strategy might be more painful down the road than it is rolling up the sleeves and embarking on a conscientious discussion in the first place.

As behavioral sciences are being deployed to support complex human interactions ranging from market dynamics to policy making and politics, energy professionals also need to think more of how cognitive biases are affecting our industry.

The avoidance of conflict described above can be characterized by the so called “ostrich bias” (discarding uncomfortable information, similarly to an ostrich digging its head into the sand as if by not seeing a threat it would disappear).

There are many frequent decision-making and behavioral biases that can be observed in relation to the Texas crisis, that seem to be clouding stakeholders and public judgement. Not only the posts in social media, as expected, but also institutional statements coming from senior officials provide many examples.

Discarding information (the still minor share of wind energy in Texas energy mix and the factually higher impact from natural gas supply disruption) in order to confirm one’s own beliefs (in this case in favor of fossil fuels) is a textbook case.

Confirmation biases go then beyond energy choices to validate perceptions of who are villains and heroes according to one’s affiliations. Polarized societies nurture confirmation bias.

Another typical bias is the Outcome bias: to judge a decision by its outcome instead of based on its quality. If the decision to not winterize certain equipment was sound in terms of risk tolerance and costs, it is still sound when an undesired or even extreme event hits, as it means its probability has been assessed but not considered a design condition.

Or the contrary decision, to spend more on resilience, was the right one and had to be defended at investment time with the same passion as the blame is voiced today. Of course, there is always political credit to be gained when things turn badly and hence failures are usually opportunistically stressed instead of being judged against the original decision criteria. So, outcome bias is also nurtured in the public debate.

Thinking more broadly about decision biases, especially relevant at times of technology disruption and energy transition, is a whole category described in the context of Prospect Theory. This theory asserts that it is natural to be attached to the status quo, to justify the incumbent system and to be averse to dispose of assets that decline in value.

No doubt, financial write-offs are not without certain embarrassment. ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) standards set by regulators and institutional investors are increasingly challenging this tendency towards irrational choices and forcing decision makers to rigorously reassess portfolios and overcome inertia in order to fulfill their fiduciary duties. Black Rock’s Larry Fink’s 2021 letter to CEOs is, in essence, focused on the ostrich taking its head out of the sand.

It seems like a lost battle pointing to the irrationality of human behavior, as this (in comparative terms) short energy crisis in Texas is not a first of its kind and similar conclusions have been drawn in the past, but there are arguably better scientific resources to be tapped for addressing old challenges.

To counterbalance populism and tribal behavior, energy professionals in the public and private spheres should raise their awareness and increasingly draw upon neuroscientific based approaches. These approaches will provide deeper engagement across a complex set of stakeholders and more effective communication with regards to realistic options available to solve critical problems – climate change at the top of the list- and understanding their implied trade-offs.

Elections in many countries of the hemisphere, the pressure from post COVID economies, and the highly uncertain energy markets set a challenging scene that can be taken over by tribal crossfire or can open up a space for much needed informed and consensus building strategic dialogue.

Is there hope for honest public debates leading to quality policy choices? If not, we should expect not just blackouts but much bigger disruptions ahead.

 

Works Cited

(1) (Gino, Francesca; Moore, Don A.; Bazerman, Max H. (2009). “No Harm, No Foul: The Outcome Bias in Ethical Judgments” (PDF). SSRN 1099464. Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 08-080.)

(2) Prospect Theory developed by Nobel Prize winners Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky, 1979

 

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Excerpt:

Marta Jara is Non-Resident Fellow, Institute of the Americas

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A health worker at a local health centre in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, prepares a vaccine injection. The dispatch of millions of COVID-19 vaccines to Africa started in February. Credit: UNICEF/Sibylle Desjardins

By Tlaleng Mofokeng
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, Feb 25 2021 (IPS)

The UNAIDS 2020 Global AIDS Update gave us a clear indication why the world did not meet the Fast-Track targets by 2020. Inequality, perpetuated by structural oppression such as gender inequality; economic disparity; including human rights abuses and violations. For most of us living in sub-Saharan Africa, we don’t need a report to tell us this. Our lives are a litany of inequality we know deep in our guts.

Inequality is growing for more than 70% of the global population, solidifying divisions and hampering economic and social development. COVID-19 is impacting the most people in vulnerable situations the hardest— even as vaccines for COVID-19 are becoming available, there is great evidence of inequality in accessing them.

Inequality is the unfinished business of the AIDS, sexual and reproductive health and gender-based violence responses. Structural challenges are borne unfairly by individuals through differential access to healthcare

Confronting inequalities and ending discrimination is critical to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, a collection of 17 interlinked global goals designed to be a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. We have less than 10 years remaining to meet these goals.

The right to health is interconnected with other rights, such as the right to information, the right to freedom and security, the right to equality and non-discrimination and the right to bodily autonomy.

Almost all these global goals are linked to important determinants of health therefore achieving them will impact the right to health for all.

We know that 2020 was a challenging year for many health systems across the globe from the highest level of national leadership to community-based health facilities. Because of COVID-19, human, financial and research resources have been diverted from other health programmes including HIV prevention, sexual and reproductive health and rights and gender-based violence services.

Unfortunately, this means that health systems in regions with high HIV rates are more susceptible to fragility. Sub-Saharan Africa is home to almost half the global population of people living with HIV. This makes the issue even more urgent. COVID-19, like HIV, is showing us what health systems lack in planning and resourcing.

In May 2020, a mathematical modelling group convened by UNAIDS and the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that a six-month disruption to HIV services could lead to an additional 500 000 deaths from AIDS-related illnesses (including Tuberculosis) in sub-Saharan Africa in 2020–2021.

A six-month total disruption in these services was an extreme scenario and thankfully turned out to be less severe than feared. What this research did was to show us how vigilant we need to be about to HIV service disruptions and that the additional demands that COVID-19 has placed on health systems are real.

COVID-19 has shown the world that for many people across the globe, health is not simply a matter of individual health predispositions, but also a matter that is determined by economic and social conditions that influence the health of people and communities.

Inequality is the unfinished business of the AIDS, sexual and reproductive health and gender-based violence responses. Structural challenges are borne unfairly by individuals through differential access to healthcare. Socio-economic and structural factors interact with each other to generate and reinforce negative health outcomes that disproportionately affect poor and people in vulnerable situations.

Accordingly, human rights must be the basis of solutions and policy that centres people in vulnerable situations who are often neglected from health services goods and facilities such as women, indigenous people, people of African descent, people with disabilities, older persons, people experiencing homelessness, migrants and refugees and key populations, that is, sex workers, people who use drugs, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender and gender-diverse people. These marginalized groups often lack access to HIV and other critical sexual and reproductive health, social protection and legal services.

It is important that we pay special attention to the role of laws, policies and practices that contribute to poor physical and mental health and in fuelling stigma against vulnerable people.

Every country in the world has at least one law that still criminalizes either same-sex sexual relationships, sex work, personal drug use or HIV exposure and transmission.

There are some countries in sub-Saharan Africa that are pockets of excellence. We hear stories of heroic individuals or communities who have ensured that people have access to increase adherence to HIV treatment against all odds. Many countries have implemented multi-month dispensing of antiretroviral medicines to three or six months, as recommended by the WHO.

But we do need successes to be much structural and far-reaching.

Comprehensive HIV management is an integral part of realizing sexual and reproductive health rights and is in line the state’s duty to respect, promote and fulfill the right to health. It is therefore incumbent on governments to repeal laws criminalizing HIV, non-disclosure, exposure, and transmission, as well as consensual sexual activities between adults and the criminalization of gender diversity, transgender identity or expression.

Sex work must be decriminalized and countries must prevent human rights violations of forced or coerced sterilization of HIV positive women.

In 2020, South Africa’s Commission for Gender Equality released a report that documents 48 cases where women were allegedly forced or coerced to undergo sterilization. There must be justice for such women, and we must prevent the occurrence of forced or coerced sterilization.

We must commit to the operationalization of the UNAIDS Rights in the time of COVID-19 report that calls on us to combat all forms of stigma and discrimination including those based on race, profession and those directed towards marginalized groups that prevent them from accessing care.

Ending inequality is the only way to achieve the right to health for all and it is everyone’s business to ensure that we do so.

Zero Discrimination Day is commemorated by the United Nations every year on 1 March. This year, the UN is highlighting the urgent need to take action to end the inequalities surrounding income, sex, age, health status, occupation, disability, sexual orientation, drug use, gender identity, race, class, ethnicity and religion that continue to persist around the world.

The views expressed herein are personal and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations.

 

Tlaleng Mofokeng is the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. She is a South African medical doctor, author and broadcaster. 

 

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By Cendrella Azar
BEIRUT, Lebanon, Feb 25 2021 (IPS)

Our deadliest nightmare is back: Political assassinations in Lebanon is back with the horrific murder of Luqman Slim, a vocal critic of Hezbollah. Slim’s assassination is the first killing of a high-profile activist and outspoken journalist in years. What do the political assassinations in Lebanon tell us about the history of this country?

Lebanon, the Sectarian Pie

People are often baffled by Lebanon’s complex governing system. This small country was always subjected to sectarian tensions, where different sects historically competed for power. Those ancient tensions had disastrous consequences dragging the country into 15 years of a bloody civil war. In 1989, the Taif agreement ended the war and ensured that this pie, Lebanon, is equally divided among the different sects. Everyone must have a slice of the pie. This fragile power sharing system, led to fragile peace and turned Lebanon in to a victim of political, social and economic paralysis.

State of Freedom of Speech in Lebanon

Free speech has the lion’s share when it comes to hardships in Lebanon. Reporting on issues of public interest, including government policies and legislation and providing unbiased information to the public subjected journalists to intimidation, harassment and violence. In the Lebanese scene, the space for freedom of expression and independent media is dwindling. Attacks on journalists and those who try to shape opinions are seldom investigated and offenders rarely brought to justice. Arbitrary detentions, and kidnappings, ill-treatment and other forms of terrorization are forcing journalists to retreat in the midst of the absence of effective safety training, laws and judiciary measures.

Why are Lebanese Journalists in Danger?

Samir Skayni, a Lebanese journalist who authored the books “Once Upon a Sunday” describe the many aspects of the Lebanese civil war and its aftermath, highlighted in exclusive comments to IPS, the reasons for Lebanese journalists being under threat: “Journalists are at risk in Lebanon given the fields of their interventions, in other words, the sensitive files that they tackle. Journalists are filling the void caused by the reluctance of security and judicial forces to take actions. In addition, when criticizing, any file will certainly affect parties due to the network of clienteles relations and overlapping of parties’ interests within state sectors. Journalists are additionally at risk due to the affiliation of the judiciary sector to political parties, these threats take their toll and enter the realm of benefit without being deterred.” Skayni also defined political assassinations stating: “In principle, political assassinations are rejected. An assassination aims at eliminating an opponent or an enemy. Often, in the Lebanese case, the “opponent” is usually unarmed. The victim is generally opposing the ruling authorities. In those cases, assassinations are not acceptable. Yet, the concept of assassinations is seen as an act of resistance, if the opponent is armed and inflicting hardships on groups and communities.”

Weak Laws & Absent Syndicate

Today, the existing press syndicate headed by Aouni Al-Kaaki, represents nothing but the interest of the political elites. All of the journalists and the media workers’ demands are effectively falling on deaf ears. No serious actions have been taken to improve the state of the press, especially in an era where the press freedom in Lebanon is “partially free” according to the Freedom House. In the face of all the assaults, the syndicate was nothing but an idle bystander.

Speaking to IPS, Lebanese civil activist and member of Lihaqqi group Pierre Khoury, stated: “It feels like the Big Brother is watching us. We have reached unprecedented and alarming levels of repression.” He added: “The National Audiovisual Council in Lebanon is completely biased. A few days ago, all TV Station chiefs were summoned to stand before the Council following Journalist Dima Sadek’s episode which tackled the assassination of Louqman Slim.” When asked about potential solutions, Khoury revealed “The solution is to abolish the Ministry of Information. The law does not provide the essential needed protection for journalists, but rather, it transfers any “disturbing” opinion to trial through the Publications Law. Laws are restricting freedom of expression.”

Chrystine Mhanna, Communication and Advocacy officer at the Lebanese Center for Human Rights (CLDH), stated to IPS that the present laws are insufficient. Mhanna said: “the laws are not sufficient, or we would have seen accountability taking place when it comes to assassinations or illegal prosecutions. Alternatives could include having independent investigations when it comes to freedom of expression cases, respecting human rights treaties, having clear policies when it comes to freedom of expression through digital platforms and ensuring that summons and procedures are legal when someone is called for investigation.” Mhanna added, “In a democratic country, freedom of expression laws should only limit hate speech, harm, slander and libel when an actual harm is done, not when the opposing opinion doesn’t appease the authority”.

Silenced Voices, Stolen Justice

Media is a traditional agent of social change; it has the power to influence people and shape opinions and attitudes. Media is a also a contributor to values and beliefs and when the media is controlled, the access of the public to information and facts are limited. Consequently, democracy and social justice are doomed. Lebanon is no longer considered as a bastion of freedoms in this region that is filled with censorship and oppression; the country has joined neighboring states in exercising oppression, crushing protests using violence. The right of journalists to execute their work within a safe environment, without facing extensive forms of harassment, attacks and even being killed is a topic of great importance. Today more than ever we ask: When will this nation finally celebrate Justice?

 

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