Africa - INTER PRESS SERVICE

FrontPageAfrica publisher Rodney Sieh, pictured on his release from prison in November 2013. Sieh says journalists in Liberia continue to face threats and harassment for their critical reporting. (AP/Mark Darrough)

By Angela Quintal, CPJ Africa Program Coordinator
Jan 29 2019 (IPS-Partners)

(CPJ) – Rodney Sieh, editor-in-chief and publisher of Liberian investigative outlet FrontPageAfrica, knows first-hand the harassment and risks critical journalists in his country face. In 2013, CPJ documented how he was sentenced to prison over unpaid fines in a criminal defamation case.

Sieh served three months of the 5,000-year sentence before being released after an international outcry. He has written about his experiences in his book, Journalist on Trial: Fighting Corruption, Media Muzzling and a 5,000-Year Prison Sentence, published in late 2018.

Sieh told CPJ this month that he and his journalists continue to be targeted. He is currently working with the London-based Media Legal Defence Initiative to file a lawsuit at the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court of Justice in Nigeria over the harassment of his newspaper, staff, and other media in Liberia.

Sieh, a member of CPJ’s Africa advisory group, spoke with CPJ about his experiences and the current climate for Liberia’s press in the year since George Weah became president.

[This blog has been edited for length and clarity]

Looking back on President Weah’s record so far, would you describe his administration as a friend or enemy of press freedom?

To be honest, it is rather difficult to say whether President Weah is a friend or an enemy to the press. Personally, I was grateful that he paid me a visit during my incarceration when I was sentenced to 5,000 years in prison. As head of the leading opposition party, I think his visit showed that he means well and his presence showed a commitment to free press and a means of identifying with me during my struggles with the former regime of President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. However, since assuming the mantle of authority of the country, I have been a bit disappointed over the manner in which some of his supporters and officials of government have come after me and my newspaper for simply reporting the ills in society such as corruption, greed, misuse of public resources, the president’s failure to declare his assets, and the construction of several multi-million dollar properties.

I would like to hold him to his word that he is committed to a free press and want to believe that he is sincere and is truly a friend–and not an enemy of the press, but the actions and public statements he has made in recent time by labeling journalists as “enemies of the state” makes it difficult to conclude that this administration is sincere about its relationship with the press.

How does Weah’s record on press freedom compare with that of his predecessor, Sirleaf?

On paper, Sirleaf signed Liberia on to the Table Mountain Declaration, which calls for the repeal of criminal defamation and insult laws across the African continent. In reality, my 5,000-year sentence blemished that. Sirleaf herself was critical of investigative reporting and her supporters were often found on social media attacking critical media and journalists when stories did not sing to the government’s tone. I would though give Sirleaf the edge on the level of tolerance. She managed to withstand a barrage of criticisms and investigative reports. She had a tough skin on that end, something I think President Weah and his officials and followers could take a cue from. President Weah’s labeling of the press and critics as “enemies of the state” and investigative reports as “fake news” in the shadows of U.S. President Donald Trump, in my view, dampened whatever efforts or overtures he is trying to make toward the press in his quest to soften some of the negative reporting against his government.

The government invited David Kaye, the U.N. Special Rapporteur, to visit Liberia in March 2018. In his subsequent report, Kaye identified the decriminalization of defamation and the transformation of the state broadcasting system as a priority. Has the Weah administration followed through on any of this?

Looking at the tone of unfriendliness toward the media I have seen so far, I don’t see this government working toward making the state broadcaster independent. The president and his supporters, including senior officials, are more keen to hear positive and favorable stories being reported than having critical and constructive critical reporting. So, the idea put forward by Mr. Kaye is a good one and it’s been floated around for some time, but I do not see any signs of it being implemented in the near future. On a lighter note, we are all still eagerly anticipating full passage of the bill aimed at decriminalizing speech. Sirleaf initiated the process but it remained lingering in the corridors of the national legislature. It has been fine-tuned under Weah and renamed in memory of the late Press Union of Liberia president, Abdullai Kamara. The Lower House has signed off on it and the Senate is weighing in before it hits the president’s desk. If it does complete the process, it would be a landmark for the press in Liberia.

Information Minister Lenn Nagbe suspended all new broadcasting licenses issued from January 1 to June 18, 2018. What do you believe was the reason for this and what has happened since?

I really believe this strategy was aimed at broadcast journalist and talk show host Patrick Honnah, who was on the verge of launching Punch FM. Honnah, a former deputy managing director of Liberia’s state radio, was openly critical of Weah during the election campaign, because he felt he was anti-media. He had met all the requirements, registered his entity, and did all that is required by the government, only for the Ministry of Information to come out with that pronouncement. It is saddening to note that several new radio stations and newspapers have opened since that mandate, but Punch FM has not hit the airwaves. This is one of the reasons why I said earlier that the government is not sincere in its quest to make amends with the press.

[Editor’s Note: Nagbe did not respond to CPJ’s request for comment on January 29, and also at the time of the license suspension.]

The Minister of State for Presidential Affairs last year called FrontPageAfrica a criminal entity and said he would sue for defamation. Has he followed through on this and what does the president have to say?

The president has not said anything about those threats made by his senior minister, who is considered to be one of the most powerful members of his Cabinet. We are still waiting to receive the writ or summons from the court. I’m used to being labeled a criminal, so I am not deterred. All this has done is make me much stronger in my resolve to continue speaking truth to power. FrontPageAfrica has a track record of exposing corruption, we have a track record of holding government feet to the fire, and we have a track record of ensuring that the voices of those languishing at the bottom of the economic ladder are heard.

What other threats does your paper, or Liberia’s press as a whole, face?

We continue to receive threats and insults daily in the open on social media by supporters and sympathizers of the Weah-led government and we continue to receive baits from senior officials of government on Facebook, dissecting our reports and raining public ridicule of our work.

The most visible these days [are] threats on Facebook and other social mediums. Late last year [government sympathizers] went as far as posting a photograph of my home on Facebook, I guess to give sympathizers of the government ammunition or motivation to attack me. They’ve tried everything, including creating fake Facebook profiles in my name with attacks on the president aimed at stirring anger among the president’s sympathizers to come after me. I have made several inquiries to Facebook but so far nothing has been done. One of the fake pages in my name has been removed, but at least two others are still there–the last time I checked. Social media is good, but the emerging trend has made journalists like me easy targets for those in power.

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By Rosli Omar and Jomo Kwame Sundaram
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Jan 29 2019 (IPS)

Owing to our varied circumstances and experiences, there are contradictory tendencies to either exaggerate or underestimate the power and importance of artificial intelligence (AI) in contemporary society.

Nor should we uncritically legitimize everything AI can be used for, even if it has been hailed as the main frontier of the Davos-proclaimed Fourth Industrial Revolution. AI, more than other elements of Industry 4.0, is transforming humanity’s understanding of ourselves in novel ways the world has neither experienced nor conceived.

Jomo Kwame Sundaram

AI unfettered
The AI market is already huge but still growing fast. The expertise needed is said to be growing ‘exponentially’. In fact, many enterprises seem to be struggling to meet this fast growing demand for expertise with the needed capabilities.

AI’s role is already very significant, but it is still transforming many painstakingly slow processes in diverse fields, typically displacing manual as well as skilled labour. For example, precision agriculture uses equipment to supply water and plant nutrients as well as to measure plant growth, eliminate pests, including weeds, and cater to the needs of individual plants.

Driverless cars are at very advanced stages of testing in many jurisdictions while AI is greatly improving supply chains and logistics. AI-based equipment is being used to track, police and solve crime, while its military applications, including killing enemy targets, are already infamous, not least because of the collateral damage caused.

AI applications in health care, elderly care and precision medicine and surgery are among some of the better-known applications. AI machines have the capacity to do many things more efficiently than humans and even perform tasks too dangerous or difficult for human beings.

The mantra we are being urged to accept is to accept all AI without qualification or to risk being left further behind. But there is no reason to define the challenge in such all or nothing terms.

Much AI development and applications are driven by business considerations, and business in turn shapes politics and the law, influencing science and technology, and how AI and its uses are seen and understood.

Business rules
Big business and its representatives have long managed, shaped and manipulated public knowledge, opinion and sentiment, not only about AI and its applications, but also industry’s accountability and responsibilities. AI depends heavily on information, especially big data, in order to mimic and improve upon human thought processes and behaviour.

The issue of breach of privacy has received considerable attention as questions of individual freedom, privacy and property rights have allegedly been violated. Frequent apologies by tech companies for earlier breaches and even sale of personal data have become so routine as to cast doubt on their sincerity.

AI’s continued progress may displace many more workers very quickly as suggested by some scenarios, while others suggest that AI’s advent will enable us to devote more time to care work and creative endeavours. With so much conjecture, it is difficult to plan, e.g., revise educational curricula.

Known and unknown unknowns
For businesses involved with AI, established or start-up, financial bottom lines are crucial although deep pockets and medium-term strategies may give start-ups longer leases.

But to survive, beating the competition remains imperative, which often means being the biggest, the best and the most innovative in order to survive challenges from disruptive new technologies marginalizing and displacing incumbents.

AI’s role in advancing medical technology has also enhanced its reputation for doing good, eclipsing the plight of victims of AI. Meanwhile, there has been growing acceptance of the individualistic ideology that we are all responsible for the decisions we make, whether explicit or implicit.

One fallacy often invoked is that we just do not know enough about AI to rush to judgement about our concerns. But clearly, the businesses involved and the governments that purchase, use and shape demand have the relevant experience and knowledge to make better-informed tentative assessments.

Policymakers generally lag behind in regulating AI, especially in developing countries. Regulating what is little known or understood remains especially challenging. AI is not only to help us do things better, faster and more efficiently. We must recognize the multiple functions of AI to begin to understand its complexity. Legislation and industry regulations must keep up with changes.

We must deal with it
AI is here to stay or at least the businesses, investors, politicians and technologists have decided so. AI offers potentially great means to enhance human capacities, but what and how businesses, governments and people deploy it is another matter.

What are the responsibilities of businesses creating, selling and using AI? Will the rise and spread of AI lead to new modes of mass surveillance, control and manipulation, even digital dictatorship or authoritarianism?

The seemingly limitless potential of AI is undoubtedly attractive, even seductive. Those directly involved have identified much of the immediate and even medium-term potential. Futurologists are more likely to envision, reflect and speculate on the longer-term potential.

But much of the public, even those unfamiliar with AI, imagine its potential after encountering some applications in their own experience. As it continues to evolve in human society, pundits increasingly debate the many dimensions of the ecosystems of AI.

A few will disagree over how best to encourage and ensure the optimum development and use of AI for the greater good in the face of the imperatives of profits and power.

Others worry about how AI is already being made use of and the potential for further abuse, but it is not clear what impact this will have on government interventions and social collective action.

Rosli Omar was the first Malaysian to get a PhD in artificial intelligence and is now a nature photographer. His latest book is Forest Birds of Peninsular Malaysia.
Jomo Kwame Sundaram is Senior Adviser with the Khazanah Research Institute. He was an economic professor and United Nations Assistant Secretary General for Economic Development.

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Africans march on New York streets during the African Day Parade. Credit: Alamy /Richard Levine

By Benjamin Tetteh
UNITED NATIONS, Jan 29 2019 (IPS)

In the heart of Accra, Ghana’s capital, just a few meters from the United States embassy, lie the tombs of W. E. B. Du Bois, a great African-American civil rights leader, and his wife, Shirley.

The founder of the US-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People moved to Accra in 1961, settling in the city’s serene residential area of Labone and living there until his death in August 1963.

Du Bois’s journey to Ghana may have signaled the emergence of a profound desire among Africans in the diaspora to retrace their roots and return to the continent. Ghana was a major hub for the transatlantic slave trade from the 16th to the 19th centuries.

In Washington, D.C., in September 2018, Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo declared and formally launched the “Year of Return, Ghana 2019” for Africans in the Diaspora, giving fresh impetus to the quest to unite Africans on the continent with their brothers and sisters in the diaspora.

At that event, President Akufo-Addo said, “We know of the extraordinary achievements and contributions they [Africans in the diaspora] made to the lives of the Americans, and it is important that this symbolic year—400 years later—we commemorate their existence and their sacrifices.”

200 years since the abolition of slavery

US Congress members Gwen Moore of Wisconsin and Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas, diplomats and leading figures from the African-American community, attended the event.

Representative Jackson Lee linked the Ghanaian government’s initiative with the passage in Congress in 2017 of the 400 Years of African-American History Commission Act.

Provisions in the act include the setting up of a history commission to carry out and provide funding for activities marking the 400th anniversary of the “arrival of Africans in the English colonies at Point Comfort, Virginia, in 1619.”

Since independence in 1957, successive Ghanaian leaders have initiated policies to attract Africans abroad back to Ghana.

In his maiden independence address, then–Prime Minister Kwame Nkrumah sought to frame Africa’s liberation around the concept of Africans all over the world coming back to Africa.

“Nkrumah saw the American Negro as the vanguard of the African people,” said Henry Louis Gates Jr., Director of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard, who first traveled to Ghana when he was 20 and fresh out of Harvard, afire with Nkrumah’s spirit.

“He wanted to be able to utilize the services and skills of African-Americans as Ghana made the transition from colonialism to independence.”

Ghana’s parliament passed a Citizenship Act in 2000 to make provision for dual citizenship, meaning that people of Ghanaian origin who have acquired citizenships abroad can take up Ghanaian citizenship if they so desire.

That same year the country enacted the Immigration Act, which provides for a “Right of Abode” for any “Person of African descent in the Diaspora” to travel to and from the country “without hindrance.”

The Joseph Project

In 2007, in its 50th year of independence, the government initiated the Joseph Project to commemorate 200 years since the abolition of slavery and to encourage Africans abroad to return.

Similar to Israel’s policy of reaching out to Jews across Europe and beyond following the Holocaust, the Joseph Project is named for the Biblical Joseph who was sold into slavery in Egypt but would later reunite with his family and rule Egypt.

The African-American community is excited about President Akufo-Addo’s latest initiative. In social media posts, many expressed interest in visiting Africa for the first time.

Among them is Amber Walker, a media practitioner who says that 2019 is the time to visit her ancestral home.

“The paradox of being an African-American is that we occupy spaces where we are not being considered as citizens. So I love the idea of Ghana taking the lead to kind of help African-Americans claim their ancestral space,” she told Africa Renewal. “It is a step in the right direction.

“It is definitely comforting because that kind of red carpet has not been rolled out by our oppressors in the Western world,” she added.

In making the announcement, President Akufo-Addo said: “Together on both sides of the Atlantic, we’ll work to make sure that never again will we allow a handful of people with superior technology to walk into Africa, seize their people and sell them into slavery. That must be our resolution, that never again, never again!”

But Walker took issue with Akufo-Addo for appearing to downplay the actions of some Africans in the slave trade.

“In the president’s [Akufo-Addo’s] statement, he sounds like the entire blame is placed on white people coming in with weapons and taking black people away, but that’s not necessarily the history. So I think that needs to be acknowledged,” she said.

She suggested a form of reconciliation such as took place in post-apartheid South Africa—a truth and reconciliation process that will satisfy the millions of Africans whose forefathers were sold into slavery.

In 2013 the United Nations declared 2015–2024 the International Decade for People of African Descent to “promote respect, protection and fulfilment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms of people of African descent.”

The theme for the ten-year celebration is “People of African descent: recognition, justice and development.”

The “Year of Return, Ghana 2019” will coincide with the biennial Pan African Historical Theatre Festival (Panafest), which is held in Cape Coast, home of Cape Coast Castle and neighbouring Elmina Castle—two notable edifices recognized by UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) as World Heritage Sites of the slave era.

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Excerpt:

Benjamin Tetteh is a writer for Africa Renewal published by the United Nations

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By Paul Tacon
BANGKOK, Thailand, Jan 29 2019 (IPS)

When 164 UN member states adopted the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration (the Marrakech Compact on Migration) on 10 December last year, I read on social media that they had decided to give up control over migration to the UN.

So, did that mean, as someone who works on migration in the UN, I could pick and choose who gets to go where?

In that case, the possibilities seemed endless. One country looking overcrowded? No problem – let’s just send people abroad!

Not enough workers coming into the workforce to replace those retiring? Bring in young people elsewhere in the region who are struggling to find jobs!

People facing natural disasters? Easy-peasy – send ‘em out of harm’s way!

But when I logged into my computer the next day, imagine my surprise when there was no “Move People” button. Surely some mistake?

Paul Tacon

I called IT, who claimed to have no idea what I was talking about. I wrote to my boss, but she said something about me “misunderstanding the whole point of the exercise.”

And António Guterres never replied to my email.

What was going on?

How it actually works

What was going on, of course, was that the UN was operating, as it always does – in full respect of the sovereignty of its member States (it’s right there in the Charter – and the Compact!)

So, despite what those social media posts say, neither I nor any of my colleagues were ever going to move anyone. We weren’t going to tell anyone how to run their immigration systems, or to force any country to take anyone.

The Marrakech Compact on Migration is explicit – it is non-legally-binding.

Instead, member states set themselves an agenda for action on international migration that they negotiated among themselves throughout 2018.

They agreed that they had a common understanding on migration, shared responsibilities and unity of purpose.
They recognised that migration is a reality as old as humanity that must be acknowledged and addressed so that everyone can benefit, migrant and non-migrant alike.

They reminded us that any instance of international migration inherently involves at least two countries – an origin and a destination – and no State can manage migration alone.

Thus, they agreed to work together with the help of the UN to build on the work they had already done to improve the outcomes of migration. In short, they wanted to make sure that:

• migration is a choice;
• it brings benefits to the communities that migrants come from, and the communities they go to; and
• it contributes to sustainable development for the benefit of their citizens, and in the spirit of common humanity that unites us all.

Out of this shared vision, they built a cooperative framework with 23 objectives and 194 suggested actions, grounded in existing international agreements (which they themselves had negotiated and ratified) covering everything from data to documents, border security to decent work, skills to services.

That means I don’t move anyone, anywhere. But I get something better: the chance to work with member states and others, to contribute to a world where every migrant’s move is voluntary, empowering and beneficial for all.

Migration realities in the Asia-Pacific

This matters for the Asia-Pacific region. It is a migration hub, home to 62 million migrants in 2017 – more than the population of Myanmar – and the origin of over 101 million migrants – more than the population of Viet Nam.

Given the scale, what happens to migrants to and from the region makes a big difference, and not just to migrants. These migrants sent over $316 billion in remittances in 2018 to their families, contributing to poverty reduction.

The majority of these migrants also worked, contributing to growth, productivity and employment creation in their countries of destination. Many countries in the region would be worse off without migrants, especially as their workforces age.

But migrants also face major challenges. Many are recruited by middlemen who make false promises and charge inflated fees, locking migrants into cycles of debt.

They are vulnerable to exploitation by employers who know that they would rather suffer underpayment and overwork rather than risk deportation by denouncing those who were abusing them.

Finally, migrants everywhere suffer the effects of xenophobia – not least exemplified by the coverage of the Compact itself.

The effects of these problems are huge. They violate migrants’ rights and can even lead to human trafficking. They also limit the contributions migrants can make to sustainable development.

So safe, orderly and regular migration matters for this region. Going forward, ESCAP will work with its partners in the UN system, civil society and beyond in support of its member States to help them make it a reality.

Not by telling countries what to do, but rather by supporting dialogue, building capacities and working together.

The post The Marrakech Compact on Migration: Myths & Realities appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Excerpt:

Paul Tacon is Social Affairs Officer, Social Development Division at the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)

The post The Marrakech Compact on Migration: Myths & Realities appeared first on Inter Press Service.

By Geneva Centre
GENEVA, Jan 29 2019 (IPS-Partners)

(Geneva Centre) – In a letter sent to the Geneva Centre by the Patron of the 25 June 2018 World Conference on “Religions, Creeds and Value Systems: Joining Forces to Enhance Equal Citizenship Rights” HRH Prince El Hassan bin Talal of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the latter has extended his most sincere congratulations to the Geneva Centre for having organized this major international conference at the United Nations Office in Geneva.

HRH Prince El Hassan bin Talal

In the letter, the Patron of the World Conference commended the efforts of the Geneva Centre and the World Conference Sponsoring Committee “to achieve progress and civilizational promotion” in the pursuit of equal and inclusive citizenship rights worldwide.

HRH further added that the objective of the World Conference was to consolidate the concept of inclusive citizenship and “to confirm that there are in religions, creeds and value systems commonalities that can effectively contribute to the promotion and advancement of the concepts of equal citizenship rights.”

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Zainab Samo, along with her son and daughter, planting a lemon seedling on her farm in Oan village in Pakistan’s southern desert district of Tharparkar, to fight desert’s advance. New data shows that globally two billion hectares of land—roughly twice the size of China—have been degraded. Credit: Saleem Shaikh/IPS

By Desmond Brown
GEORGETOWN, Jan 29 2019 (IPS)

New data show that globally two billion hectares of land—roughly twice the size of China—have been degraded. And of this amount, 500 million hectares are abandoned agricultural lands. 

The 17th Session of the Committee for the Review of Implementation (CRIC17) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) opened in the Guyana capital on Monday, Jan. 28, with the release of this staggering data in relation to land degradation and desertification.

“We know also that every year we destroy totally, 12 million hectares of land. So, clearly all those lands that we destroy we have a potential for restoration,” UNCCD Executive Secretary Monique Barbut told IPS. It’s for this reason that Barbut said that land degradation and desertification is “a subject of hope.”

Desertification is the process by which fertile land becomes desert, typically as a result of drought, deforestation, or inappropriate agriculture.

UNCCD says desertification is a silent, invisible crisis that is destabilising communities on a global scale, and more should be done to combat it, reverse land degradation and mitigate the effects of drought.

But unlike the finality that comes with the loss of biodiversity, Barbut said humans get second chances when it comes to land degradation and desertification.

“When you have lost a species, you have lost a species. Land does not work like that, and can be restored, everywhere, in every single country,” she told IPS.

“So, it’s not just a subject of depression like many other subjects on the environment. The more you restore land, the better a number of things to come.”

United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) Executive Secretary Monique Barbut says new data show that globally, two billion hectares of land have been degraded. But unlike the finality that comes with the loss of biodiversity, Barbut said humans gets second chances when it comes to land degradation and desertification. Credit: Desmond Brown/IPS

She pointed to China’s Loess Plateau—the biggest programme of land restoration in the word that can be referred to as an example of what is possible.

“They restored in one go, 400 million hectares of land and transformed it into an agroforestry programme,” Barbut said.

“This programme has helped [uplift] out of poverty, 6.7 million people. Secondly, we have seen now that the rain patterns have changed. Where there was no rain before, rain is coming back, so there are many positive impacts of land restoration.”

The new data also show that there is a direct link between land restoration and the reduction in the number of people living in poverty in rural areas.

Barbut said the data show a 27 percent decline in the number of people in rural communities living in poverty.

“This is a positive signal,” she said, while noting that at the same time urban poverty is increasing.

“That’s something interesting to note, that instead of sending people to cities, you better restore the land, make sure they can live on the land.”

Barbut said the data show that the main human causes of land degradation are deforestation, overgrazing and improper soil management.

There are also other indirect human causes like population pressure, land tenure, bad governance and lack of education.

The Caribbean has its own example of desertification with one scientist telling IPS that Haiti is the Caribbean’s desert.

Dr. Richard Byron-Cox, action programme alignment and capacity building officer at UNCCD, said more than 100 years ago, Haiti had the best soils and was also the Caribbean’s leading producer sugarcane.

“As you know, Haiti is one of two countries on the island of Hispaniola. When you fly over Hispaniola, one part is green, and the other part is brown. Why? Because one has desertification, that’s Haiti,” Byron-Cox told IPS.

“That same country, 150 years ago, had the best soils in the entire Caribbean. Today it is a desert. Desertification has nothing to do with natural deserts. So, when you talk about combatting desertification, this does not include natural deserts, it’s good land becoming bad.”

In addition to deforestation, devastating floods and landslides have left bare many areas in Haiti which were once covered with forests.

In 2013, World Vision Australia carried out a scoping mission to examine the potential for natural regeneration of forests through Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR). This was inspired by the success of a similar programme in Ethiopia, developed under the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).

The CDM allows for reforestation projects to earn credits (Certified Emission Reductions or CER’s) for each tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent sequestered or absorbed by the forest.

Joseph Harmon, Minister of State in the Ministry of the Presidency in Guyana says when it comes to sustainable use of land and other resources, Guyana aspires to be a success story and example for fellow countries and parties. Credit: Desmond Brown/IPS

Desertification was also on the mind of Guyana’s Minister of State Joseph Harmon, as he welcomed representatives from 135 countries to the capital for CRIC 17.

In his speech at the opening, he told a packed hall at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre that in its implementation of the UNCCD Guyana aspires to be a success story and example for fellow countries and parties.

“While Guyana’s context may not be seen as extreme to be considered ‘desertification,’ the impact of land degradation is being taken into consideration as we plan and strategise for the sustainable use of our land resources.”

He later told IPS that Guyana is deeply conscious land represents a link between people and the environment and that it connects economic, social, cultural and geographical spheres.

“Guyana is fully committed to the protection and conservation of its natural patrimony, including its land resources. Our record of environmental protection and conservation of land and its resources provides a global model for good practice,” Harmon told IPS.

“Guyana endorses and fully support UNCCD’s vision which is to support the development and implementation of national and regional policies, programmes and measures to prevent, control and reverse desertification and land degradation and mitigate the effects of drought.”

Guyana has finalised its Land Degradation Neutrality Target Setting Programme and its aligned national plan to combat land degradation.

Harmon said they have also operationalised the Sustainable Land Development and Management project, which seeks to establish an enabling environment for promoting sustainable and climate-resilient land development, management and reclamation in support of Guyana’s Green State trajectory.

Related Articles

• Desertification, Land Degradation and Climate Change Go Hand in Hand
• Bringing Greener Pastures Back Home

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By Jan Lundius
STOCKHOLM / ROME, Jan 28 2019 (IPS)

In 1989 I watched Back to the Future, Part II by Robert Zemickis, a complicated story about a youngster who from 1985 time travelled to 2015. Within the movie I spotted a poster from the imaginary 2015: US AIR Surf Vietnam. Back in 1989 I associated Vietnam with the war that lasted from 1955 to the fall of Saigon in 1975 and by different media was brought into the homes of millions, radicalizing and engaging youngsters, not the least me.

Catching sight of the poster I associated it with a scene in Francis Ford Coppola´s masterpiece Apocalypse Now, where a gung-ho US Colonel ordered his troops to attack a fishing village so he and his men could go surfing on its beach. Like the entire movie the episode commented on the absurdity of a high-tech superpower using bewildered youngsters to wage war on people who with primitive means defended their homeland. Of course, reality was more complicated than that, though the Vietnam War was soon turned into a mythological fight between good and evil.

In 1989, a poster advertising Vietnam as a tourist destination for American surfers seemed to be quite absurd. Many Americans still feared the Vietnamese as merciless enemies and the country suffered from a US imposed trade embargo. At the time I watched the movie, I could not imagine that I in the near future would move to Vietnam with my family.

Then, just like now, Vietnam was a one-party state governed by the Communist Party. Being a member of other political parties was not allowed. Human rights were severely restricted and long prison sentences were meted out to those who criticized the regime, or the widespread corruption. Nevertheless, Vietnam was in those days a completely different world from what it is now. Back then it was a poor country, scarred by the war, with veterans who told stories about abuse and terror, both from American invaders and their own Government. Hanoi was infested by rats, its streets clogged by bicycles. When I drove our heavy Soviet Volga (it was first after a year we bought a Toyota) I felt like a shark swimming through shoals of small fish.

We lived a privileged life, we were free to move around in the town but had to live in Van Phuc, a fenced area peopled by foreigners working for international organizations. Our entire time in Hanoi was overshadowed by dealings with The People’s Committee (Uỷ Ban Nhân Dân) and other governmental organizations, several of them infested by corruption.

I was fascinated by the pragmatism surrounding us. People seemed to be working every day of the week. I remember a carpenter who made beautiful mahogany furniture. I talked with him with the help of our friend and interpreter, Luan. Since he had several foreign customers I asked the carpenter why he in spite of that lived like a poor man. He answered:

– I have money, but with a predatory government like ours it is not advisable to expose any wealth. Better times will come and then I will build a house and give my children an excellent education.

Once I saw a beautiful cupboard in his workshop telling him I would buy it if he made some minor adjustments, while asking him why he had not made it perfect from the beginning. He answered:

– Why should I make such an effort when a foreigner like you would buy it anyway?

When I came back the following week and asked about the cupboard, he told me:

– I sold it to a Chinese gentleman. Like you he appreciated an excellent work. Thanks to your suggestions I improved the cupboard and asked for a higher prize. I will give you a cup of tea instead.

I was also fascinated by what I perceived as a strong thirst for knowledge, even the street beggars could be seen reading books. I used to visit a bookshop to buy cheap, but lavishly illustrated, Russian art books. One evening the shop administrator told me:

– I and my colleagues have seen that you often come here. Since you speak English we wonder if you could not stay one hour after closing time and teach us all English. We will pay you by giving you the books you want.

People in the street, as well as government officials, seemed to share the same interest in gaining knowledge. At a party at the Swedish embassy I had been talking with a Government official. The day after the embassy received a call from the Institute for Foreign Relations. They asked if the embassy could bring me to the Institute. On our way to the Institute a somewhat bewildered Secretary of the Embassy told me:

– I really don´t know what they want from you. It´s not likely they want to know anything about religion, which is somewhat of a taboo here. I´ll tell them you may speak about Swedish culture.

Four serious men, in the typical green uniforms and high peaked hats of the Vietnamese military, sat smoking while listening to the embassy secretary. One of them suddenly stubbed out his cigarette, stating:

– We don´t want anything of that. We know this Swede is a historian of religions and what we want from him is something we don´t know much about. We want him to lecture us about Muslim fundamentalism and the organisation of the Jesuits.

By the beginning of the 1990s Muslim fundamentalism was not yet such a great concern as it is now, but the Vietnamese government probably had an inkling about what would come. But, why were they interested in the Jesuits? Maybe this was also some kind of foreboding? Yesterday, a Jesuit friend of mine told me that the Society of Jesus enjoy its fastest growth in Vietnam. The country has now more Jesuit priests per capita than any other country. An amazing development considering that it was not until 2003 that the Society of Jesus began to function there as a religious institution.

When I visited the country again in 2011, I found Hanoi to be a completely changed town, modern and prosperous. An impression which was reinforced when I met friends I had known during my first stay in Vietnam. They were all better off and considered the future with optimism. Could there after all be a relation between prosperity and authoritarianism? I hope not.

A market economy reform, Đổi mới, was launched in 1984, making almost all farmers self-employed, transforming a rice importing country into the world’s third largest exporter of rice. The US embargo was lifted in 1994. Membership in the World Trade Organization has attracted over 22,000 direct investment projects, global groups like Samsung, LG, Toyota, Honda and Canon have selected Vietnam as a manufacturing base. A wealth of bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements has been signed. Tourism has become an important industry, but also manufacturing of shoes, textiles and food.

In spite of all this I am inclined to consider the go-ahead spirit of my Vietnamese friends to be an outcome of their pragmatism, a result of war and the hardship suffered under totalitarianism, combined with state sponsored education and health care. I hope all this finally will result in a democracy and an unrestricted adherence to human rights.

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

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Children in Nobouday housing slum close to Old Dhaka. Dhaka, Bangladesh. Credit: UN Photo/Kibae Park

By Liu Zhenmin
UNITED NATIONS, Jan 28 2019 (IPS)

World leaders have committed to ending poverty everywhere for all people by 2030.

Achieving this aim means facing up to the need for dramatic declines in inequalities – in income, in opportunity, in exposure to risk, across gender, between countries and within countries – over the next decade.

Inequality is a well-recognized barrier to poverty eradication, as well as many other development challenges.

It features in multiple dimensions across the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development— the universally adopted plan to promote prosperity and social well-being while protecting the environment.

According to many metrics, income inequality among countries has declined somewhat in recent decades, driven primarily by strong growth in East Asian and South Asian economies.

But there are many countries—particularly in parts of Africa, Western Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean— where income levels have continued to fall further behind, exacerbating income inequalities between countries.

The latest United Nation’s analysis in the World Economic Situation and Prospects 2019 indicates that per capita income levels essentially stagnated or declined in a total of 47 developing and transition economies last year.

Most of these countries have been consistently falling behind for several decades. This poses an enormous challenge as countries strive to reduce poverty, develop essential infrastructure, create jobs and support economic diversification.

Most of the lagging countries are highly dependent on commodities, stressing the importance of both diversification and effective management of natural resource wealth to tap into their development potential.

Several countries have also suffered long-standing armed conflict or civil unrest and political instability. If this trend continues, eradicating poverty and creating decent jobs for all will become increasingly out of reach.

Weak economic performance is also linked to insufficient investment in quality education, health services, social protection, programs for marginalized groups and mitigation and adaptation to climate change.

Faster GDP growth alone will not necessarily lead to broad-based improvements in living standards. Deep inequalities also persist in the distribution of income within countries, acting as a major barrier to development progress.

High inequality within countries is associated with social exclusion and fragmentation; weaker institution-building and governance; and increased risk of violence and internal conflict.

Fundamental transformations are needed going forward, to narrow the income gaps between and within countries.

According to UN estimates, without significant changes in behaviour, more than 7 per cent of the global population may remain in poverty by the year 2030, including about 30 per cent of the populations in Africa and the least developed countries (LDCs).

In Africa, where the population is expanding at a rate of more than 2 per cent per year, reducing the level of extreme poverty to below 5 per cent by 2030 will require a combination of double digit GDP growth and dramatic declines in inequality.

This is well-outside the realms of historical precedence. Integrated and cross-cutting policy measures that both raise prospects for economic growth and reduce income inequalities are essential to shift the world towards a more sustainable and inclusive path.

This includes investing in education, health care, resilience to climate change, and financial and digital inclusion, to support economic growth and job creation in the short-term, while promoting sustainable development in the long term.

Macroeconomic stability and a strong development-oriented policy framework, including a well-functioning and robust financial system, are key elements for successfully tackling inequality.

Well-designed fiscal policies can help smooth the business cycle, provide public goods, correct market failures and directly influence the income distribution.

Broadening access to quality education is also crucial, coupled with employment policies, such as raising minimum wages and expanding social protection.

Prioritizing rural infrastructure development, through public investment in transport, agriculture and energy, can also support poverty alleviation and narrow inequalities within countries.

While there is no one-size-fits-all policy prescription that guarantees delivery of a more equal and prosperous society, one overarching message is clear: calls to eradicate poverty are meaningless without concerted and committed policy action to reduce inequality.

* Liu Zhenmin became Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs in July 2017. Prior to his appointment, he was the Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of China since 2013. He brings to the position more than 30 years of experience in the diplomatic service, with a strong focus on the promotion of bilateral, regional and global issues. He was deeply involved for 10 years in climate change negotiations, including the conclusion of the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement.

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Excerpt:

Liu Zhenmin* is UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs

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The planet is losing 12 million hectares of prime land yearly due to degradation. This photo taken in 2013 records efforts to green portions of the Kubuqi Desert, the seventh largest in China. Credit: Manipadma Jena/IPS

By Desmond Brown
GEORGETOWN, Jan 28 2019 (IPS)

The link between desertification, land degradation and climate change is among several issues occupying the attention of the 197 Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) for the next three days.

Guyana, a member-country of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), is hosting the 17th Session of the Committee for the Review of Implementation of the UNCCD (CRIC 17) from Jan. 28 to 30. It’s the first meeting of a subsidiary body of UNCCD to be held in the English-speaking Caribbean.

Troy Torrington, director of multilateral and global affairs within the Guyana Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the meeting is an important one for the Caribbean as it will highlight the role of land in combatting the climate challenge.

“It is critical that we place greater emphasis on land if we are going to be successful in meeting the global climate challenge,” Torrington told IPS.

“In fact, land has several important contributions to the climate. One of the foremost of those is in terms of the sequestering of carbon. The sequestration of carbon enriches the land . . . and with good land use planning, management and practices, you can in fact significantly advance the solutions to the global climate challenge.”

Troy Torrington, director of multilateral and global affairs within the Guyana Ministry of Foreign Affairs, says in order to be successful in meeting the global climate challenge, greater emphasis must be placed on land. Credit: Desmond Brown/IPS

In 2009, Guyana made a deal with Norway, where the Nordic country agreed to pay up to 250 million dollars over the course of five years if Guyana maintained its low deforestation rate. It was the first time a developed country, conscious of its own carbon-dioxide emissions, had paid a developing country to keep its trees in the ground.

Under the initiative, developed by the United Nations and called REDD+ (for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation), Guyana was able continue logging as long as biodiversity is protected.

Melchiade Bukuru, chief at the UNCCD New York liaison office agrees with Torrington on the issue of sequestration, noting that carbon, which once belonged to and serves as a fertiliser in the soil, is a polluter in the air.

He said that in order to achieve Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN), some 500 million acres of degraded land must be reclaimed and made fertile once more.

“Unless we harness the capacity of our soil to sequester carbon, to bring back the carbon where it belongs, we will not be able to achieve even the UNFCCC goal of 2° C,” Bukuru said. UNFCCC or the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change is a global intergovernmental treaty formed to address climate change. The Conference of Parties (COP), the highest-decision making body of the Convention, meets annually to discuss progress and adopt new decision in combating climate change. 

At COP21 the Paris Agreement was formed, which committed to hold the increase in global average temperature to well below 2° C, to pursue efforts to limit the increase to 1.5° C, and to achieve net zero emissions in the second half of this century.

Bukuru said land degradation also remains a major challenge for countries, adding that each year, the planet is losing 12 million hectares of prime land due to degradation.

Meteorologist with the Barbados-based Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH) Dr. Andrea Sealy (right), says severe Sahara dust episodes significantly affect air quality especially in Eastern Caribbean countries. Sealy shakes hands with Melchiade Bukuru, chief at the UNCCD New York liaison office (left). Credit: Desmond Brown/IPS

Meanwhile, the issue of sand and dust storms will also come up for discussion. Dr. Andrea Sealy, a meteorologist with the Barbados-based Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH), said severe Sahara dust episodes significantly affect air quality, especially in Eastern Caribbean countries.

“If you have a lot of dust, it also compromises solar panels. Once the solar panels are covered with dust, the amount of radiation they absorb is decreased. So that’s another issue we would need to look at because in the region we are very dependent on solar energy and we will be becoming more dependent as well,” Sealy told IPS.

“There are also issues with the marine ecosystems with dust affecting them. It’s possible the dust could be affecting terrestrial ecosystems. I know for sure studies have been done on the Amazon where it shows to have a positive effect on the soil. In terms of the marine ecosystems though, there are negative effects because you get the algae blooms.”

With several countries experiencing periods of extreme drought in recent years, Guyana’s lands and surveys commissioner Trevor Benn said land and water are inextricably linked.

He pointed to neighbouring Barbados. Benn explained that the island nation is running out of water, but he added that some people fail to see the link between land use and water scarcity.

“I believe if Barbados begins to look more seriously at how they utilise the land, what type of cultivation [they do], what type of infrastructure they put where, you will see that the issues relating to water may subside,” Benn said.

“The importance of land cannot be overstated. It is the pinnacle of everything we do.”

According to the UNCCD, CRIC 17 will review the first global assessment of land degradation based on Earth observation data reported by governments. The assessment, which was conducted by reporting countries using a harmonised approach, shows the trends in land degradation between 2000 to 2015 based on data provided by 145 of the 197 countries that are party to the Convention.

The assessment is expected to provide a baseline for assessing progress in the reduction or reversal of land degradation globally, going forward. It will also contribute to country efforts to achieve LDN, which is Sustainable Development Goal target 15.3.

CRIC 17 will also conduct interactive dialogues on three related emerging issues – the gender action plan as a tool to improve the living conditions of the people affected by land degradation; new and innovative sources to finance initiatives to combat land degradation; and the progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goal target on land degradation neutrality, for which the Convention plays a lead role.

At the end of the session, CRIC 17 will propose recommendations that will be considered by its governing body, COP.

CRIC meets once in between the sessions of the COP to review country reports submitted in compliance with the COP decisions.

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Photo: Star

By Shaheen Anam
Jan 27 2019 (IPS-Partners)

(The Daily Star, Bangladesh) – In 1995, during the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, the UNDP Human Development report stated that women’s unaccounted work would amount to USD 3 trillion annually if monetised. Since then women’s unpaid and care work has become a much discussed topic around the globe led by rights and development organisations. Recognition of women’s unpaid and care work has been included in Goal 5 of the SDGs as a target to be achieved by 2030. However, there is little concrete evidence on how states are going about achieving this target.

In Bangladesh, several organisations have taken up this issue and have been trying to bring to the attention of policymakers and the general public that non-recognition of women’s unpaid work is devaluing their contribution and resulting in discrimination and violence against them. The high prevalence of domestic violence attests to the fact that in spite of the gains women have made, they still remain disempowered in their homes. Their decision-making opportunities are limited and they mostly remain in a subservient power relationship in a male-dominated household. The work they do all day in taking care of the household, in the kitchen garden, taking care of cattle and poultry and the many other essential activities related to agriculture goes totally unnoticed. Neither she nor her family members recognise that their contribution is critical to the wellbeing (both economic and social) of the family. Everything is categorised as reproductive responsibilities which women are supposed to perform, ignoring the productive aspect of their work.

A study conducted by Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) for Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF) in 2015 titled “Women’s Unaccounted Work and Contribution to the Economy” revealed that on an average a female member of a household undertakes 12.1 non-SNA (System of National Account) activities on a typical day. Non-SNA work is economically invisible and out of the national GDP. The corresponding figure for a male member is only 2.7. The study goes on to summarise that the estimated value of women’s unpaid non-SNA (household) work if monetised would be equivalent to 76.8 to 87.2 percent of the GDP (FY 2014-2015). However, the most revealing finding of the study is “if women’s unpaid work were to be monetised it would amount to 2.5 or 2.9 times higher than the income received from paid services”. For example, if a woman receives remuneration of Tk 5000 per month for working in the garments factory, the corresponding amount for a woman’s unpaid work if monetised would be Tk 15000.

As the Oxfam study has found, the under-valuation of women’s work is a global phenomenon. Research shows that women produce 60-80 percent of basic foodstuff in sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean and perform over 50 percent of the labour involved in intensive rice cultivation in Asia. Women head 60 percent of households in some regions of Africa and meet 90 percent of household water and fuel needs. They also process 100 percent of basic household foodstuff. However, in spite of these statistics, 500 million women in the world live below the poverty line in rural areas. Another study of Oxfam reveals that in Bangladesh women’s ownership of land is five times less than that of a man even though women perform 17 out of 22 activities required for rice production.

The non-recognition of women’s unpaid work has resulted in not valuing them as a productive force. The invisibility of their contribution results in their devaluation and not getting the honour and respect they deserve at home and in society. On the other hand, the situation of the 20 million-plus women employed in agriculture, forestry fisheries and livestock is no better. Their work is back-breaking, remuneration is half of that of men for the same amount of work and yet at home they are required to perform all the duties and responsibilities that society has accorded to them as wives, mothers and homemakers. The meagre salary they earn is most often spent for the wellbeing of their families, again leaving them poor and disempowered.

It is now time to right the wrong and injustice that have continued for decades. In spite of all the talk about recognising women’s unpaid work (mentioned in SDG 5) little has been done in practical terms to give it a concrete shape. Our strong appeal to economists all over the world and Bangladesh is to come up with a way to calculate the SNA so that women’s unpaid work is included in the GDP. Certain countries such as Mexico, India, Nepal, etc., have made attempts to work on a Satellite Accounting System and show in a symbolic way the contribution of women’s unaccounted work in the national GDP. Although this might not be the ideal solution to our demand, for present we will be happy with it.

What such a move by the Finance and Planning Ministry will do is bring to the centre of attention the otherwise ignored issue of unpaid work of women. It will compel society to think about roles, responsibilities and contributions of women in economic terms and enhance their status in the family as well as improve their image in society. The relationship between women’s work and production will come to light and then—who knows—the day will not be far when economists will put their heads together to revisit the present calculation of SNA and devise a formula for formal integration of women’s unpaid work in the national GDP.

Shaheen Anam is Executive Director, Manusher Jonno Foundation.

This story was originally published by The Daily Star, Bangladesh

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Excerpt:

An Oxfam report released before the start of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos says unpaid work done by women across the globe amounts to a staggering USD 10 trillion a year, which is 43 times the annual turnover of the world's biggest company Apple!

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Rohingya refugees queue for food at the Kutupalong refugee camp in Bangladesh. PHOTO: INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AFP

By Abu Afsarul Haider
Jan 26 2019 (IPS-Partners)

(The Daily Star, Bangladesh) – According to media reports, the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) took back 31 stranded Rohingyas from the no-man’s land in the India-Bangladesh border near Brahmanbaria after a five-day impasse, which ensued after a BSF attempt to push them into Bangladesh was met with stiff resistance from the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB). Since the beginning of the year, no less than 1,300 Rohingya Muslims crossed the border into Bangladesh from India, where many of them had been living for years. (The Daily Star, January 20, 2019) Before this, on January 3, 2019, India deported a family of five Rohingyas, and last year, seven Rohingya Muslims were deported to Myanmar by the Indian government despite appeals from the United Nations not to do so. In recent times, Saudi Arabia also deported undocumented Rohingya migrants who had gone there with illegally obtained travel documents.

The Rohingyas are a Muslim ethnic-minority group based in Myanmar’s Rakhine State. According to many historians, they are descendants of Arab traders and other groups who, in the 15th century, migrated to Rakhine, previously called the Kingdom of Arakan. Despite their considerable numbers and established local roots, successive governments in Myanmar have rejected the Rohingyas’ historical claims and denied them recognition as one of the country’s 135 official ethnic groups, claiming they are illegal immigrants. They are denied basic human rights and treated like animals with no access to education, medicine, or other government services. They are not even allowed to move freely or leave their settlements in Rakhine without government approval. Many are internally displaced in their own birthplace, living like refugees.

Things got worse when militants attacked security forces in northern Rakhine State on August 25, 2017. In response, the Myanmar army launched a ruthless campaign against the Rohingyas fashioned in the style of the Japanese war tactic—“burn all, kill all, destroy all”. The army and its collaborators slaughtered thousands of civilians, raped girls and women while family members were tortured and killed, and burned their houses, forcing hundreds of thousands to flee their homes. Since then, the Rohingyas have been trying to escape by sea to Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand but unfortunately, none of these countries allowed them to enter their territory, claiming they are financially unable to accept or host them and so their boats were turned away.

In a world where so many borders are closed, Bangladesh, itself a poor country and one of the world’s most densely populated, welcomed the Rohingyas by opening its border. Since August 2017, over 750,000 Rohingyas have crossed into Bangladesh. For Bangladesh, the Rohingya refugee influx is not a new phenomenon. Different media reports confirm that between 1974 and 2016, more than 260,000 Rohingyas fled Rakhine thanks to human rights abuses committed by the Myanmar military, including the confiscation of land, forced labour, rape, and torture. Bangladesh has continued to take in another 11,432 Rohingyas since the beginning of 2018 through the end of June 2018. Currently, more than a million Rohingya refugees are living in mostly makeshift camps in Cox’s Bazar.

It should be noted that the degree of violence endured by the Rohingyas since August 25, 2017 was new, but their experience of oppression was not. Since the 1970s, the Rohingyas have faced state-sponsored persecution and have long endured severe discrimination in the Buddhist-majority Myanmar, and were targets of communal violence. In 1982, the Myanmar government effectively institutionalised discrimination against the Rohingyas by introducing a citizenship law. Under the law, Rohingyas were not recognised as one of the country’s 135 ethnic groups. Restrictions was imposed on their rights to study, marriage, employment, education, religious choice, and freedom of movement, leaving them vulnerable to abuse. For years, they have been living a miserable life, suffered considerable trauma as a result of the widespread campaign of murder, rape, and arson tantamount to crimes against humanity. As such, seeing no other options, they have been crowded on boats and ping-ponged between nations that don’t want them.

Bangladesh and its people have shown the best of humanity and saved many thousands of lives by providing shelter to the Rohingya community. The country has allocated 5,000 acres of land for temporary shelters, provided food, deployed mobile medical teams, and carried out large-scale immunisation campaigns. While there is now enough food and shelter to keep these Rohingyas alive, and while there are more than enough water points and sanitation facilities to accommodate them, one must not forget the limitation of this poor country, already struggling to cope with extreme poverty, high population density, high unemployment rate and the effects of regular natural disasters and climate change. So far, Bangladesh has managed to reconcile the two conflicting demands, with the assistance of the United Nations and other humanitarian agencies, supplying humanitarian aid to the Rohingyas while ensuring the stability and security within Bangladesh. But if the repatriation process doesn’t start soon, not only will it have a negative impact on our economy and environment; the regional and global security and stability will be affected as well.

Today, the Rohingyas are often described as “the world’s most persecuted minority.” They deserve a home where they can live peacefully without the fear of persecution. And that home must be in their original motherland, Arakan/Rakhine State. The repatriation deal signed in November 2017 between Bangladesh and Myanmar has stalled largely because, among other reasons, the Rohingyas fear returning to Rakhine without their safety and rights guaranteed. Rohingya Muslims now face an uncertain future. Therefore, Bangladesh should continue to make its case on the world stage. It cannot let the world think that the issue is only ours to solve. As the World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim said. “The refugee situation around the world is everybody’s problem. It’s not just a problem for host countries, or just a problem for the refugees—this is everybody’s problem.”

There needs to be a paradigm shift in how to deal with the crisis. Rather than just pledging money and humanitarian aid, it is time for the international community to demonstrate the political will and moral authority to step up and offer a bold package of support that meets the needs of Rohingya refugees and addresses the root causes of the crisis, including recognition of Rohingya citizenship in Myanmar and of the basic rights of the Rohingya people. The failure to do so will worsen what is already one of the great tragedies of our time.

Abu Afsarul Haider studied economics and business administration at the Illinois State University, USA, and is currently involved in international trade in Dhaka. Email: afsarulhaider@gmail.com

This story was originally published by The Daily Star, Bangladesh

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By Vijay Prashad
Jan 25 2019 (IPS-Partners)

(Tricontinental) – In June 1931, the Italian Communist Antonio Gramsci wrote a letter to Giulia Schucht, who lived in Moscow and with whom he had two children. One of the children – Delio – had taken an interest in literature, with a particular fascination for fantasy literature. This gave Gramsci, locked in a fascist prison, the opportunity to recall a story from his village on the island of Sardinia.

A child sleeps, a mug of milk at his side for when he awakes. A mouse drinks the milk, which provokes a scream from the child and his mother. ‘In despair, the mouse bangs his head against the wall, but he realizes that this doesn’t help, and he runs to the goat to get some milk’, writes Gramsci. The goat says he will give milk if the mouse gets him grass, but the meadow is dry because of a drought. So, the mouse seeks water from the fountain, which has been ruined by war. It needs the mason, who needs stones, so the mouse heads to the mountain. But the mountain has been deforested by speculators, and it ‘reveals everywhere its bones stripped of earth’.

The mouse explains his predicament to the mountain, and he promises that when the boy grows, he – unlike the rest of humanity – will replant the trees, which motivates the mountain to give stones and so the child gets his milk. ‘He grows up, plants the trees, everything changes: the mountain’s bones disappear under new humus, atmospheric precipitation once more becomes regular because the trees absorb the vapours and prevent the torrents from devastating the plains, etc’. In short, Gramsci writes, the mouse conceives of a true and proper piatilietca’, a five-year plan.

What the mouse and the mountain teach us is that everything is connected. There is war here but also deforestation for profit and drought and greed. The child, when grown, recognises the need for deliberate planning. But before the plan comes the recognition of linkages.

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Excerpt:

From the desk of the Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research

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Photo: Philip Gain

By Philip Gain
Jan 25 2019 (IPS-Partners)

(The Daily Star, Bangladesh) – 14 Bede families have set up their oval-shaped makeshift tents on private land in Natun Torki, a village in Kalkini Upazila of Madaripur district. A branch of the Arialkha river flows on the west of Natun Torki. The area is well-known in Barishal for Torki Bandar, a narrow but flowing river on the west. The Bede huts are just on the outskirts of the crowded Natun Torki market.

Soud Khan, a Bede Sardar from Kharia in Munshiganj, and two other Bedes—Md Zakir Hossain and Md Nurun Nabi—guide me into their tents, many in the open space and some under the shade of a tree. It is a bright, sunny afternoon in June 29, 2018. Each tent seems to have everything a family needs, all crammed into a 100 to 150 square-feet space. Most tents are also fitted with solar panels. The tents facing west glow in the golden sunshine.

It is Friday, an off-day here. I inspect the tents and take photos in the daylight before finally sitting down for a chat with the elderly Bedes, surrounded by everyone of the little Bede community.

Md Zakir Hossain, in his late forties, informs me that all 14 families there had started their journey from Khari in Munshiganj in October 2017. Since then they have set up their tents and set up businesses in 14 places!

Their journey through these months saw them moving through Shariatpur, Madaripur, Barguna, Jhalakathi and Barishal. Before coming to Natun Torki, they spent a month and ten days in the Doari Bridge area in Barishal.

“We stay in an area for as long as the business is good,” says Hossain, admitting that the business is actually not that good anywhere. “We survive on minimal income and the scope of business dries out pretty quickly. So, we keep moving.”

The 14 families are all Mal Manta, one of a dozen groups among the Bede. One main business of the female Mal Bede is making use of singe, a metal pipe that sucks out bad blood from the human body to give relief from pain. Other businesses of Mal Bede include the search of lost gold, and sale of imitation ornaments, cosmetics, amulets, cups and other light utensils.

Hossain and his group plan to stay at Natun Torki for no longer than two weeks. They do not think business will be good here. I call Hossain some 20 days after I meet them to check if they have moved on.

“Yes, we are now at Haturia Launch Ghat in Goshairhat Thana under Shariatpur district,” he tells me. “We stayed at Natun Torki for 15 days.”

The life of the Bedes is tough indeed. “Because we are always on the run, our children cannot attend school,” laments Rubina Akhtar, 45, explaining that none of the 25 children of the 14 families receive education.

“Many years back, Father Renato, a Catholic priest, used to assist us and had a school that would travel with us,” recalls Rubina’s husband Nurun Nabi, 55, who had been a teacher of the floating school. Nurun Nabi studied up to class ten and is ready to teach the Bede children again.

“Give us a school and a teacher,” Rubina demands of me repeatedly. “We want education for our children.” When I mention that Bangladesh reportedly has a 100 percent enrollment for children, Rubina shouts in disagreement, “It is a lie.”

A large percentage of the Bede is on the move like these 14 families; and their children do not get any education. About 15 years ago, these groups used to glide through the country in boats. Their economic condition was better back then. Now, none them have a boat.

Most of the Bede boats in Kakalia disappears in 2018. Photo: Philip Gain

The Bede geography

Grambangla Unnayan Committee, a non-profit organisation that works closely with Bedes, estimates that there are 5,000 Bede groups roaming around the country for 10 months around the year. Then they assemble at 75 locations in 39 districts. Normally, they get together during Eid-ul-Azha or national and local elections. Most of them were not allowed to vote until 2007.However, a great percentage of Bede households do not have land or houses where they are registered as voters. They simply carry their tents everywhere.

According to a survey by the NGO, more than 90 percent of Bedes are illiterate. An overwhelming percentage live below the poverty line. Very few children are vaccinated. As they change locations often, they do not enjoy any government family welfare schemes or health assistance. Although they belong to the poorest of the poor and are landless, they hardly get khas land for settlement. Their access to safety net programmes such as old age allowance, VGF cards, disability allowance, flood relief etc. is minimal.

House of a poor Bede in Torki, Barishal. Photo: Philip Gain

From water to land

Before visiting Natun Torki, we also spend hours at Torki Char Bede Palli. The hamlet is located along a half kilometer stretch on a western branch of the Arialkha river that snakes through Torki Bandar. The Bede hamlet, with its two-storey concrete and wooden houses, is neat and clean. Some houses, of course, reveal the poverty of the 60 families staying there. The shabbier houses are built like boats on plinths, perhaps in fond memory of their long-lost boats. The differences between the well-off and poorer Bede are clearly visible.

Md Nannu Sarder tells me that in addition to the 60 families settled on tiny plots of land purchased as far back as 25 years ago, another 60 to 70 families assembled here on boats for two months in October. Torki Char Bazar is home for them. Some families have small plots of land but they are yet to build houses.

For a month or two in October and November they relax, organise parties with singing and dancing, repair their boats, and settle social matters such as disputes and marriages. “About half of the 70 families who don’t own houses and have their boats under repair set up tents,” explains the Sardar (leader of the Bede hamlet). The hamlet grows lively with the assembled crowds.

But during business season, most working men and women go out to sell their business ware. Some women roam around with singe leaving the hamlet nearly empty. Beside the village, the river flows quietly—lifeblood of the wandering people, eager to settle down as agriculturists.

“But we have been able to purchase only tiny plots of land on which to build our houses,” says Nannu Sarder, his strong features not once reveal his age of 75. “None of us have agricultural land.”

A two-storied typical house of a well-to-do bede in Torki, Barishal. Photo: Philip Gain

This is a change they want now. “Once we settle down, our children can go to school,” asserts Nannu.

Two of Sarder’s friends—Md Jahangir and Md Abdur Rab—join us as we chat. They reminisce about their life 25 years back, when they all had boats. “We used to come here twice a year since 1972. The river had a magnetic power. We would repair our boats here,” recalls Md Jahangir, 65, who was the first to buy five decimals of land for Tk 40,000 back in the day.

“The local Gale (non-Bede Bangalee) offered to sell land to us,” says Md Jahangir. Others followed Jahangir too.

The Manta of Torki Char Bede Palli in Gournadi Pourashava are all from Amanatganj, Barishal, and all are Muslims. They believe that they are different from Bedes of Dhaka Division and other areas. Soud Khan of Kharia in Munshiganj who accompanied us agrees. “I can see the Bede of Barishal are the homely kind,” observes Khan.

The benefit of a permanent address is clear.

However, even after settling down, they face social difficulties with the Gale. “They look down upon us and do not want to socialise with us,” says Nannu Sarder. “We pray in separate mosques and we do not mix with the Gale who envy our economic well-being.” Relations between the Bede and Gale turned bitter after a fight two years ago.

Like the Bede who have settled in the Torki Bandar area, other Bede groups are also trying to settle on land. One such group is seen in Kakalia village in the Nagari union of Kaliganj upazila in Gazipur. Even a year and half ago, around 60 Bedes had boats beautifully lined up in the Turag river close to the Tongi-Ghorashal Highway. At one time, 200 boats would float in this part of the Turag, serving as a reminder of the river gypsy tradition in riverine Bengal.

But in July 2018, only eight boats were left. Quite a few of the awnings were set on the land close to the river. Others have disappeared from the river with signs of dilapidation around. Around 60 families have now built their houses on khas land on the Turag bank. The majority of the families have built tin shed houses, some with concrete floor. One family has constructed a two-storey home with a wooden deck—a typical house of a well-off Bede family. Others have set the awnings of their boats right on the banks of Turag.

Child being prepared for marriage. Photo: Philip Gain

A Bede playing been or pungi (flute). Photo: Philip Gain

Mosammat Rezia, 70, born and brought up on a boat, feels sad about the boat life that has recently ended for her and others. She has sold cosmetics and ornaments on foot all her life, a typical mode of work for Sandar Manta women. She has two sons who sell cosmetics and supplement their income by fishing in the Belai beel and river during monsoon.

“We are destitute,” sighs Rezia. “We have to buy everything except for water.” The families, however, have received two concrete toilets and one tubewell from the government.”

Land and agriculture are mirages to the Bede of Kakalia or elsewhere. 60 Bede families have settled on 51 decimals of khas land; but not for free. Abu Miah, Tabu Miah and Ali have taken yearly leases of 20 decimals of land and divided it into 10 tiny plots. Fazlul Haque, Rezia’s son, took one of the plots for BDT 8,000 15 years ago. Others have taken plots for between BDT 40,000 and BDT 50,000.

It is here that we find Nuru Miah, aged 110. He stoops low, yet he walks fast and his eyesight is perfect. Born in Demra, he came here 10 years back. His wife Gedi Begum is 90 years old. Both husband and wife were born, and have spent all their life, on boats.

“Since then we have set the awnings of our boat on land and we live under it,” he says, pointing to the oval-shaped structure that he set up after his boat broke. Everybody in the little hamlet is sympathetic to the aged couple.

A few families in Kakalia that still live there will soon abandon their boats. “We do not want to go back,” says Sadhina Begum, 47, who with a son and two daughters left their boat about a year back.

Sadhina’s son works at a garment factory at College Gate, 10 minutes away from Kakalia. Like Sadhina’s son, 15 other young boys and girls go to work in the nearby garment factory.

Bede tents in a playground in Goalimandra, Munshiganj. Photo: Philip Gain

A much bigger group of Sandar Bede, around 320 families, have been living on the Turag bank attached to the Tongi bridge. It is actually an age-old Bede slum comprising small huts crammed on a narrow strip of public land.

The men of this Bede squalid are in the fish trade. They buy fish from Abdullahpur, Jatrabari, Karwan Bazar, etc and sell it in the local market. “The Turag was wider and clearer in the past,” says octogenarian Ismail, “but now it is too polluted with hardly any fish to catch.” The women, as usual, sell cosmetics and utensils in villages far and near.

Bedana, aged 70, sits in front of her hut in great despair. She has heard that many of the Bede houses would have to be dismantled for the construction of another bridge in Tongi. “We have no land and no means. We do not know where to go if we are required to move out,” says Bedana.

When I checked with Giashuddin Sarker, councillor of Ward No. 57, Gazipur City Corporation, in late September last year, he reported that, “94 Bede families have already been evicted for Tongi bridge construction. They have taken shelter in their relatives’ houses and a few families have gone to Savar Bede villages.”

Other Sandars at Tongi are equally concerned. In fact, this has Bedes all around the country concerned. They want change in their lifestyles. They want to settle on land and become agriculturists. It is a century-old desire as reflected in W.W. Hunter’s writing on Bediyas around a century and half ago: “They mostly wander about in boats, and subsist by jugglery and thieving, but some of them have now settled down as agriculturists.”

However, Bede life on land is not easy. Unemployment and social ills such as drug addiction thrived in Bede villages. But years back, things began to improve with the help of a police officer, Habibur Rahman, then a superintendent police of Dhaka and now a deputy inspector general of police.

Bede girls from Munshiganj photographed in Torki Bandar, Barishal. Photo: Philip Gain

The police official appeared as a great friend to the Bede. “He motivated the drug addicts and dealers in the villages to engage in productive work,” says Ramjan Ahmed, an educated Bede leader from Badda and managing director of Uttaran Fashion, a small garment factory that exclusively employs Bede girls and boys. “Many girls who previously charmed snakes and sold cosmetics now operate modern sewing machines and make clothes for export.”

The factory is also a training ground. “So far 105 girls and boys have been trained and about 50 of them work at the factory,” states Ramjan Ahmed. “The factory keeps training girls with a financial incentive. They seek work in other factories after learning the skills of the trade. This is how many are transitioning from traditional work to modern-day work.”

“The profits are spent on the welfare of the Bedes,” says Habibur Rahman, who has a comprehensive plan for the Bedes of Savar in particular. A primary school dedicated for the Bede children is months away. A cluster village on about four acres of land for the landless Bede is becoming visible on the other side of the Bongshi river, which was the life blood of the Bede not long ago.

With Habibur Rahman’s initiative, 36 young people have learned to drive. Many others have passed the test to become police officers and got other jobs. He set up four schools in Khari in Munshiganj, and also helps when Bedes face trouble anywhere in the country.

“I also want to set up a Bede museum in Savar where people will see the Bede artefacts and learn about their history,” says Habibur Rahman with confidence.

The Bedes are clear enough on one thing: they are falling behind in the race for progress. They realise if their nomadic existence continues, they cannot send their children to schools, access public health services and attain skills to move out of extreme poverty. So, their appeal to the state is that they are permanently allocated some khas land or that arrangements are made so that they can purchase small plots in areas they feel comfortable to live in.

Philip Gain is researcher and director of Society for Environment and Human Development (SEHD).

This story was originally published by The Daily Star, Bangladesh

The post The story of a floating people appeared first on Inter Press Service.

US President Donald Trump with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres during the UN General Assembly sessions last September.

By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS, Jan 25 2019 (IPS)

The United Nations, which embodies the core principles of multilateralism since its creation more than 74 years ago, is being steadily and systematically undermined by a reactionary and demagogic Trump administration recklessly flaunting American imperialism at its worst.

The US has already scuttled the 2015 multilateral nuclear agreement with Iran, refused to participate in the global migration compact, pulled out of the 2015 Paris climate change agreement, abandoned the 12-nation Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, dismissed the relevance of the World Trade Organization (WTO), revoked the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty with Russia, and withdrew from both the Human Rights Council in Geneva and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris.

And that’s just for starters—and perhaps with more to come during the next two years of an unpredictable Trump presidency.

Meanwhile, as it continues to ravage international treaties and treaty bodies, the Trump administration has also weakened the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC)– of which it was never a member– by threatening its judges with sanctions if they ever investigate war crimes committed either by US troops in Afghanistan or Israeli troops in Palestine.

The threat against the ICC was vociferously reinforced last September by National Security Adviser John Bolton, a former US ambassador, who once infamously said that you could chop off 10 floors of the 38-storeyed UN building and it wouldn’t make a difference (prompting a New York Times columnist to say Bolton would be ideally suited as an urban planner than as an American envoy).

But the tragedy of it all is that several countries with rightwing governments, including Brazil, the Philippines, Hungary and Poland are following in the footsteps of the US – and tragically so, at a time when UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warns that “multilateralism is under fire precisely when we need it most.”

Will this trend continue in the coming years? And if it does, will the Trump administration be a potential threat to multilateral diplomacy – and the United Nations itself? And more importantly, will other big powers step up take the lead in a new world order?

Norman Solomon, Executive Director of the Washington-based Institute for Public Accuracy, told IPS the United Nations, as it now stands, is largely at the mercy of its most powerful member states.

Seventy years after adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, he pointed out, its principles are often violated by the five permanent members (P-5) of the Security Council—the US, UK, France, China and Russia — and the governments of many other countries.

“It is hard to see how the UN can move forward effectively to advance the ideals of the Universal Declaration in the real world without challenging the nations that dominate the world body.”

Selective outrage at the violations committed by countries in rival blocs does little to improve the well-being of the people of the world, said Solomon who is also Co-Founder and Coordinator of the online activist group RootsAction.org, which has 1.4 million active online members.

He singled out two fundamental, interrelated problems — vast economic inequality of extreme proportions and rampant militarism led by the U.S. government – that threaten the survival of humanity.

“Over us all loom the threats of nuclear war and climate change, with those threats fueled by severe shortfalls of democracy that make possible rule by oligarchy as well as huge profiteering from arms sales and warfare.”

The UN member states that have cleaner hands than the permanent members of the Security Council often seem intimidated by the most powerful governments as a matter of routine, he noted

“Yet, our only hope involves the willingness of individuals, organizations and nations to not only speak truth to and about power, but also to build effective coalitions across international borders on behalf of human rights, democracy, environmental protection and peace”, declared Solomon, and author of “War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death”.

Addressing delegates last December, Guterres lamented the rise of unilateralism and the decline of multilateralism.

He urged world leaders to renew their commitment to a rules-based order, with the United Nations at its centre.

“In the face of massive existential threats to people and planet — but, equally, at a time of compelling opportunities for shared prosperity — there is no way forward but collective, common-sense action for the common good,” he stressed. “This is how we rebuild trust.”

Despite chaos and confusion in the world, there are winds of hope, he said, pointing out three positive developments: first, Eritrea’s peace initiatives with neighbouring States, second, the signing of a peace agreement between rival leaders of South Sudan and third, the summit meetings involving leaders of North Korea, the United States and South Korea.

Stephen Zunes, Professor of Politics at the University of San Francisco, told IPS the Trump administration’s ultra-nationalism and its rejection of international legal principles and multilateral initiatives is certainly harmful to the United Nations and the international community on a number of levels.

One result is that the United States is not being taken as seriously as it used to be. That may actually be a good thing, however.

While there have been a number of areas at the United Nations where the United States has wielded a positive influence, he argued, there have been quite a few others areas where Washington has undermined basic principles of international law and efforts at multilateral diplomacy.

These, he said, include the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the frequent abuse of its veto power, the rejection of near-unanimous World Court decisions, attacks on various UN agencies which have documented war crimes and other misdeeds by the United States or its allies, support for the Israeli and Moroccan occupations, and more.

“The United States has gotten away with wielding a disproportionate amount of influence on the United Nations since its inception.”

With the U.S. reputation at its lowest ebb, however, it may allow some other countries to step up to take greater leadership and thereby help create a more pluralistic world order, declared Zunes.

Addressing the UN General Assembly last September, Trump said that his outgoing Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, had laid out a clear agenda for reform.

“But despite reported and repeated warnings, no action at all was taken.”

So, the United States, he said, took the only responsible course: “We withdrew from the Human Rights Council, and we will not return until real reform is enacted.”

For similar reasons, said Trump, the US will provide no support in recognition to the International Criminal Court.

“As far as America is concerned, the ICC has no jurisdiction, no legitimacy, and no authority”.

He said the ICC claims near-universal jurisdiction over the citizens of every country, violating all principles of justice, fairness, and due process.

“We will never surrender America’s sovereignty to an unelected, unaccountable, global bureaucracy.”

“America is governed by Americans. We reject the ideology of globalism, and we embrace the doctrine of patriotism,” Trump insisted.

He also said the US did not participate in the new Global Compact on Migration because “migration should not be governed by an international body unaccountable to our own citizens”.

Trump’s nationalistic rhetoric was preceded by drastic cuts in US funding to at least two UN agencies: the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) aiding Palestinian refugees.

At a press conference announcing her decision to step down as US ambassador to the UN, Haley told reporters last October that that during her two-year tenure “we cut $1.3 billion in the UN’s budget. We’ve made it stronger. We’ve made it more efficient.”

At the same time, the US has slashed its contribution to UNFPA , from $69 million in 2016 to zero in 2017, and cut $300 million in funds to UNRWA.

The writer can be contacted at thalifdeen@ips.org

The post Is the UN Being Undermined by a Demagogic Trump Administration? appeared first on Inter Press Service.

The “bride shortage” in India and China has triggered trafficking as women are lured under false pretences and sold as brides. Pictured here are the rites of a Hindu marriage ceremony.

By Tharanga Yakupitiyage
UNITED NATIONS, Jan 25 2019 (IPS)

Paradoxically, the world’s most populated countries are facing a population crisis: a woman shortage. And it’s women who are paying a brutal price for it.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the natural sex ratio at birth is approximately 105 boys to every 100 girls.

However, decades of gender discrimination, which favoured having boys over girls, has left India and China with 80 million more men than women.

“When women lack equal rights and patriarchy is deeply engrained, it is no surprise that parents choose to not to have daughters,” said Human Rights Watch’s (HRW) Senior Researcher in the Women’s Rights Division Heather Barr.

Now that there is a shortage of women doesn’t mean that women become more treasured or valued, she noted. Instead, there are very harmful consequences.

“[Women have] become a commodity which is in demand, so in demand that people will use violence to acquire it,” Barr told IPS.

“The stories we heard were really unbelievably shocking even after having spent many, many years on human rights issues,” she added.

The “bride shortage” has triggered trafficking as women are lured under false pretences and sold as brides.

Bordering China is Myanmar’s Kachin and northern Shan states which has seen iterations of conflicts over the last decade.

HRW found that traffickers often prey on women and girls in those regions, offering jobs in and transport to China. The women are then sold for 3,000 to 13,000 dollars to Chinese families struggling to find a bride for their sons.

Once purchased, women and girls are often locked in room and raped so that they can quickly provide a baby for the family.

Often times, women and girls are even sold by people they know—sometimes even by family members.

“The idea that there is a situation, a set of social pressures, a sense of lawlessness that is so extreme that it is causing people to sell their own relatives…it is shocking,” Barr said.

In India, bride trafficking has become common in the northern states such as Haryana which has only 830 girls to every 1,000 boys.

In a study, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) found in over 10,000 households, over 9,000 married women in Haryana were brought from other States.

Most of those women came from poor villages in Assam, West Bengal, and Bihar where their families, desperate for money, struck deals with traffickers. There are also cases of girls being resold to other people after living a married life for a few years.

According to the 2016 National Crimes Records Bureau, almost 34,000 were kidnapped or abducted for the purpose of marriage across India, half of whom were under the age of 18.

While the immediate consequences for women are clear, there may also be long-term consequences of the distorted sex ratio.

“Part of the reason that we should be worrying about it is that we simply don’t know what the long-term consequences of this are. We don’t know how this might change societies, but this is something that is going to have an effect through generations,” Barr told IPS, highlighting the need for action including better prevention efforts and law enforcement on trafficking and violence against women.

But at the end of the day, governments must do more to address the root cause of the imbalance—gender discrimination.

Though sex-selective abortion is illegal in India, it is still a widespread practice in the country. In fact, approximately five to seven million sex-selective abortions are estimated to be carried out in South Asian country every year.

China’s now two-child policy may also continue to pose a threat to women and girls, as well as the future stability of the country’s population.

“The most fundamental problem is gender inequality and most fundamental solution to this is that you have to change the dynamics in society that makes sons valued and daughters not valued,” Barr concluded.

Related Articles

• Recorded Increase in Human Trafficking, Women and Girls Targeted

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Congressman Juan Guaidó of the Popular Will party, president of the National Assembly since Jan. 5, was sworn in on Jan. 23 before a crowd as Venezuela's interim president. Credit: NationalAssembly

By Humberto Márquez
CARACAS, Jan 25 2019 (IPS)

Venezuela entered a new and astonishing arena of political confrontation, with two presidents, Nicolás Maduro and Juan Guaidó, leading the forces vying for power, while Venezuelans once again are taking to the streets to demonstrate their weariness at the crisis, which has left them exhausted.

Both sides “have sharply raised the stakes, they’re not giving in and the internal and international factors that traditionally operate as mediators show signs of having taken sides,” Carlos Romero, former director of postgraduate studies in political science at Venezuela’s Simón Bolívar and Central Universities, told IPS.

Guaidó, 35, who was appointed president of the single-chamber National Legislative Assembly on Jan. 5, was sworn in on Jan. 23 before a crowd of supporters in Caracas – while hundreds of thousands marched in 50 other cities – as “interim president of the Republic”, to put an end to Maduro’s alleged “usurping” of power, create a transitional government and organise new elections.

“I don’t want a ‘bono’ (stipend) anymore, I don’t want Clap (bags of food at subsidised prices), what I want is for Nicolás to leave”, along with shouts of “Freedom!” and insults against the president were the most frequently chants by people from practically all social strata, who have been hit hard by the crisis, including annual hyperinflation of 1.7 million percent, according to the National Assembly in the absence of official statistics.

The United States, Brazil, Canada and a dozen other countries in the Americas immediately recognisedGuaidó, to which Maduro responded by denouncing that “the imperialist government of the United States is directing an operation to, through a coup d’état, impose a puppet government” in Venezuela.

In response, Maduro cut off diplomatic ties with Washington and gave all U.S. diplomats 72 hours to leave the country.

The United States, through Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, ignored Maduro’s measure and announced that it would keep its diplomats in Caracas as requested by Guaidó, the president they recognise.

U.S. President Donald Trump also called for stronger measures.

For a century, Venezuela has been a supplier of oil to the United States, currently the destination of 47 percent of its exports, while it imports not only U.S. manufactured products, but also inputs such as components to make gasoline. But the flow of trade has not appeared in the breakup equation.

The “Guaidó phenomenon” achieved what seemed unthinkable just a few weeks ago: reviving the mass “open councils” in the streets, which led to the huge opposition marches on Jan. 23.

That is a key date in Venezuela because on that day in 1958 a civil-military uprising put an end to the almost 10-year dictatorship of General Marcos Pérez Jiménez (1914-2001).

Maduro, 56, in power since 2013, was re-elected on May 20, 2018 in controversial elections in which the majority of the opposition – much of which was disqualified – did not participate, and whose results were not recognised by many governments in the Americas and Europe.

General Vladimir Padrino, minister of defense and head of the high command of the Bolivarian National Armed Force of Venezuela, ratified his support for President Nicolás Maduro on Jan. 24. Credit: Miraflores Palace

The president took office on Jan. 10 for a new six-year term. That same day, a majority of governments in the Americas and the European Union (EU) said they did not recognise his government.

The heir to Hugo Chávez, who governed the country between 1999 and 2013, the year of his death, also received the backing of hundreds of supporters on Jan. 23, who crowded around the Miraflores Presidential Palace.

He was also backed by the commanders of the Bolivarian National Armed Force, who on Jan. 24 reiterated their loyalty to Maduro in a series of statements.

Guaidó’s proclamation “is shameful and aberrant,” and part of “a criminal plan that reached the limits of extreme danger,” because “a coup d’état is being carried out against democracy and the constitution,” declared General Vladimir Padrino, defense minister and head of the military high command.

Today in Venezuela “three scenarios have opened up. The first is that President Maduro withstands the pressure from the opposition, from the population in the streets and from the international community, and that the mass movement against him peters out,” Romero said.

The second is that the street protests and international pressure sustain the duality of power, which translates into the elimination of Maduro’s government, either by him stepping down or by an act of force, and new elections are called,” the analyst added.

“And the third is that a third actor enters the scene, which could be international, from the armed forces, or some other factor that intervenes to stop the confrontation if it gets out of hand in the country,” Romero said.

Luis Salamanca, also a professor of political science at the Central University of Venezuela, told IPS: “There can’t be two presidents at the same time in the same territory. That puts the ball in Maduro’s court, and he will have to pull his strings to stop and perhaps arrest Guaidó, but to do that he would have to assess the political costs.”

The crowds returned to the streets of Caracas and dozens of other Venezuelan cities to express discontent over the economic crisis and call for change in the country’s leadership. Credit: National Assembly

Guaidó, for his part, “must have calculated the risks of taking the bull by the horns in the middle of the square. There may be arrests that reach not only him but other members of the Assembly,” Salamanca said.

Parliament was declared “in contempt” two years ago by the government-appointed Supreme Court of Justice. Since then, the other branches of power, all in the hands of government allies, have ignored its decisions, while in 2017 a National Constituent Assembly was elected, also without an opposition presence, which has assumed part of the legislature’s functions.

International factors

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres called on Jan. 24 for “a transparent and independent investigation” into “the incidents in Venezuela,” because in the context of the protests of Jan. 21-23, at least 26 people were shot dead, according to local media, and dozens were injured and arrested.

On Jan. 18,Guterres had already said his organisation”is willing to use its good offices” to promote a political solution”, since only the U.N. “can solve and provide answers to Venezuela’s problems.”

Washington, Ottawa and the Lima Group (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay and Peru) recognisedGuaidó. Ecuador did as well.

Meanwhile, Uruguay and Mexico distanced themselves to insist on the need for a new “urgent and transparent” dialogue between the parties. Bolivia, Cuba, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Suriname were the countries in the region that supported Maduro.

Although the EU did not recognise Maduro’s election and second term, it has not given Guaidó recognition either, although some of its members have done so or have ratified their support for him as president of the legislature.

However, the bloc insists on the need for new elections, with guarantees, in order to return to a state of law in Venezuela.

Two other major global players, China and Russia, have expressed their support for Maduro.

What will happen if, for example, the United States refuses to withdraw its diplomats from Caracas and Maduro’s government imprisons Guaidó?

The new scenario could take one of many directions, while underneath the surface of a situation where the country has two presidents are years of weariness and crisis that has undermined the quality of life of Venezuelans, with growing numbers of people going to sleep hungry every night, and millions forced to emigrate.

The post In Venezuela, Two Presidents Vie for Power appeared first on Inter Press Service.

By Staff Correspondent
Jan 24 2019 (IPS-Partners)

(The Daily Star, Bangladesh) – As many as 418 children were murdered in the country last year, up by 23.30 percent from the previous year, says a report by Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum.

In 2017, at least 339 children were killed, mentions the report titled “State of Child Rights in Bangladesh 2018” unveiled in the capital’s Dhaka Reporters Unity yesterday.

Analysing the reasons behind the killings, it found that in most cases, children were murdered over trivial matters, family or conjugal dispute, dowry, extramarital affair and enmity.

In some cases, children were beaten to death over trifles or on false allegations of theft. There were incidents in which a parent killed his or her child and then committed suicide, BSAF Director Abdus Shahid Mahmood said while releasing the report.

The findings are based on media reports published in 15 national dailies.

It said 4,566 children fell victim to different types of incidents last year, up by 18.75 percent from the previous year. The number was 3,845 in 2017.

Incidents of child rape fell by 3.71 percent last year when 571 children were raped. The number was 593 in 2017, the report pointed out.

The country saw verdicts in 31 child murder cases and 50 cases over child rape last year, said the BSAF director.

“This reflects a sign of impunity and lengthy trial process in incidents of violence against children,” he said.

Apart from murder, suicide, road crash and drowning were among the main causes of death of children last year, according to the report.

Sharing the findings, Shahid said 627 children were killed in road accidents last year, up by 75.63 percent from the previous year.

Besides, 606 children drowned last year. The number was 391 in 2017.

Forty-six children died due to wrong treatment by doctors and negligence of the authorities concerned. The number was 35 in 2017, the report said.

Last year, 812 children fell victim to sexual violence, including rape, — a 9.71 percent fall from 2017 when 894 children faced such incidents, according to the BSAF.

A total of 262 children suffered violence and torture, including corporal punishment, last year, compared to 271 in 2017.

It said 233 children went missing and 150 others were abducted last year. Of those kidnapped, 136 were rescued.

In 2017, at least 177 children were abducted, and 188 others went missing. Of the abductees, 98 were rescued.

Moreover, 396 children were injured in different incidents, including road accidents and attempted murder last year. The number was 231 in 2017.

The report also mentioned that 38 incidents of child marriage were reported last year, and at least 134 children averted it, thanks to government intervention.

BSAF Chairperson Khawaja Shamsul Huda said the actual number of incidents of violence against children could be higher as many such incidents go unreported.

The BSAF urged the government to take effective measures to ensure speedy trial of incidents of violence against children, exemplary punishment of the culprits and quick implementation of the verdicts.

It said parents should be more cautious to stop sexual violence against children.

The forum also called upon development organisations to strengthen their awareness campaigns to check violence against children.

Addressing the programme as the chief guest, National Human Rights Commission Chairman Kazi Reazul Hoque said the commission was not satisfied with the overall status of child safety in the country despite progress in some areas.

Violence against children cannot continue this way, he said.

“We want an end to child marriage in the country. We want that no child will become a victim of rape.”

Reazul stressed the need for setting up a directorate and a national commission to deal with issues of child rights.

He also urged the government to formulate rules in line with the Children Act 2013 and the Child Marriage (Restraint) Act 2017.

Sharmeela Rassool, chief technical adviser of the UNDP’s Human Rights Programme, said about 1.3 million children have been involved in hazardous work in Bangladesh.

Efforts should be made to improve their condition, she added.

This story was originally published by The Daily Star, Bangladesh

The post Child murder up by a quarter appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Illustration: Noor Us Safa Anik

By Aaqib Hasib and Momotaz Rahman Megha
Jan 24 2019 (IPS-Partners)

(The Daily Star, Bangladesh) – The past decade has seen progress being made for movements to support equality. The #MeToo and Time’s Up movements helped start conversations within the general public worldwide on the topics of sexual harassment and misogyny.

The power of conversation helped bring into the mainstream the many problems women face on the daily – in their social lives, workplaces, and even their homes. Activists who came forward to speak against the many incidents of sexism and sexual harassment have been essential to the fightback against the systematic misogyny that is embedded into our culture and societies.

When exploring the topic of systematic misogyny, we were able to learn just how ingrained it is in our daily lives. Women face misogyny in almost every aspect of their lives, and the only way to combat something that is part of the basic system of how our societies operate, is to raise awareness on the different dimensions of a woman’s life where she is discriminated. Raising awareness is only the first step; it will help further shape the conversation towards a future where women are treated equally.

MISOGYNY AT HOME

Being a woman is tough. The streets are filled with unwanted stares and catcalling. But sometimes a woman doesn’t even need to exit the safety of her own home to come face to face with a form of misogyny. Sometimes it is at the hands of their parents and siblings, and sometimes relatives, that they witness misogyny rear its ugly head.

When asked about her experience, second-year university student Tasnia Alam* shared, “I’ve been criticised for not being fair, for not being tall, or not ‘feminine’ enough. I’ve been subjected to body shaming for as long as I can remember by my mother and some of my relatives. There is a constant feeling of never being treated with the same respect as my brother and I’ve come to make my peace with it. And even though, to cope, I’ve created a world of my own outside of my family, which motivates me to be who I want to be, no matter how empowered I become, I feel like there will always be this stinging feeling of never being accepted and cherished by my own family.”

If the parents are concerned with the behaviour of their daughters rather than that of society, we need to re-evaluate our priorities. The entire blame doesn’t fall on our parents’ generation, instead the situation is a by-product of cultural upbringing.

MISOGYNY IN SOCIAL GROUPS

Women often find themselves discriminated by even their closest friends. When asked about systematic misogyny that she face in her social groups, Odhora Islam*, a university student, said, “Back when I was in kindergarten, my school thought it was okay for them to make the girls take dance classes while the boys were allowed to go for sports. The girls in my class, including myself, who showed immense interest in outdoor sports, were never allowed to attend these classes with the boys, because according to the school, we were ‘too weak’.”

Exposure to such social constructs from an early age shapes the way our mentalities evolve. It isn’t uncommon to see misogynistic comments being passed in friend groups, only to be considered and then shrugged off as a joke. Sometimes we even have friends who promote feminism and equality, but are unaware how certain comments that they make are a contradiction to their support for women.

Thus, combating misogyny will often require you to go up against the people that are close to you. Some educational institutions also have to stop associating subjects such as Home Economics as a degree or course designed specifically for women. Instead, they should open their doors for women to partake in whichever academic pursuit they wish to.

MISOGYNY AMONG WOMEN

Misogyny at the hands of other women is a common sight in our societies. The way in which our societies have developed over the course of history is the prime cause of women being misogynistic towards other women.

Another university student, Antara Kabir* had this to say on the matter: “I find myself in these situations repetitively. Whether I am dressing in more Western clothes, or working long hours at a job that requires me to stay out late, I’ve heard my neighbour make comments about me being too ‘modern’ and that I am a disgrace to my parents. Hearing such comments from another woman hurts more, as I believe we should be supporting each other rather than engaging in petty backbiting.”

However, even though societies tend to dictate certain gender stereotypes for women, when someone breaks out of these social constructs, it’s extremely important to see it as a step forward for women. Whenever a woman breaks through a glass ceiling, it becomes a step towards empowerment for women everywhere; empowered women help in empowering other women, thus helping society to evolve as well.

MISOGYNY AT WORKPLACE

Misogyny in the workplace isn’t a newfound phenomenon. Women in the workplace are more often than not shown a lack of respect, mostly when compared to how a man is treated. Similar to the problems faced by women in social groups, the same gender stereotypes exist here as well. Men in the workplace often leave women out of certain work-related activities, mainly due to their assumptions about women’s capabilities based on pre-existing gender stereotypes.

When asked about the issue of exclusion, Maliha Ahmed Khan*(24), working in the development sector, said, “Usually the discrimination comes in the form of exclusion, especially from certain activities and roles. For example, a woman might not be assigned a task, like going to a remote area for fieldwork, that she is capable of doing simply because it is assumed that the role is more suited for males.”

All of the women we talked to suggested similar measures to combat the problems and discrimination that they face on a daily basis — being there for women to raise their own voices and stand up for their rights, as they are equally as capable as the men they work alongside.

MISOGYNY IN RELATIONSHIPS

Relationship dynamics are often seen to be dictated by misogynistic ideologies. Misogynistic partners will typically display signs of micro-managing, because they need to feel that they are in control of the relationship. It is their belief that women are incapable of taking and being in control. Their misogyny might be displayed in small decisions, like them choosing where to go on a date or which movie to watch, even when their significant others or wives may have stated their own choice. They will justify making decisions all the time by saying that they do it better than you, because you area woman and therefore indecisive and bad at decision-making. This is a direct reflection of the superiority complex that misogynists thrive on.

A misogynistic partner is also likely to devalue the success of their female partners, because things in which women excel are of less importance than the things which they do. This is one of the main reasons why being a “housewife” is seen as a job that has no value to it. Women are also likely to be blamed for anything and everything that goes wrong in the relationship, because misogynists assume women mess up because they are sentimental and unprofessional.

Anika Tabassum* shares from her personal experience, “In the beginning I thought his controlling attitude was a gesture of love, and that he didn’t want me to worry about things, and so he did them himself. However, the more time we spent together, the more I understood how little he actually thought of me. He started labelling all of my opinions as wrong. He treated me like a child, who has no idea about how the world works.”

There is often no fix for misogynistic partners. Trying to hold on to such toxic relationships only makes life harder for women, and it becomes an endless cycle, with them trying to justify the actions of their partners. And the more time women spend trying to cut them some slack, the more they feel that they have power over a woman and her actions. If you are a woman with a misogynistic partner, it’s high time you stop justifying their irrational behaviour; misogynists don’t need excuses made for them, instead put your foot down and move on.

When asked about how women can rise up and fight against the many forms of misogyny they face, Afsana Islam, Assistant Professor at the Department of Women and Gender Studies in University of Dhaka, explained, “Sexism is an ideology under the shelter of patriarchy which helps to uphold misogyny and creates impediments to women’s empowerment. We have to work on the factors behind them. Firstly, women have to be self-confident. Secondly, women should gain adequate knowledge and awareness about their rights. And thirdly, engaging men and boys from the early in their childhood to change cultural misconception is vital to solving the problem. Men’s awareness and involvement is also a necessity to overcome misogyny.”

The way the world views women is slowly changing, and it’s our responsibility to get behind this change and help it climb up the slope of misogyny, for a future where men and women are treated equally is essential.

While some topics allow for everyone to have their personal opinion and perspective, the case regarding misogynistic treatment is not the same. There is no dialogue for opposition, because when the issue becomes one that denies women their fundamental and basic human rights, it no longer has any further option for discourse.

*Names have been changed to protect the privacy of the individuals

Aaqib loves petting doggos. Send him pictures of your ”good boys” at aaqibhasib94@gmail.com

Megha is probably going to be a dropout of university. If you think you are going to do the same, you can find her at megharahman26@gmail.com and share your thoughts.

This story was originally published by The Daily Star, Bangladesh

The post Combatting Systematic Misogyny appeared first on Inter Press Service.

By Geneva Centre
GENEVA, Jan 24 2019 (IPS-Partners)

(Geneva Centre) – In a letter to the UN Secretary-General António Guterres signed by HRH Prince El Hassan bin Talal of Jordan, the General Secretary of the World Council of Churches Reverend Dr Olav Fykse Tveit and the Executive Director of the Geneva Centre for Human Rights Advancement and Global Dialogue Ambassador Idriss Jazairy, the co-signatories appealed to the UN Secretary-General to contribute to the peaceful resolution of the matter concerning the Pakistani Christian woman Asia Bibi.

In the said letter, the co-signatories underlined that they “celebrate the decision of the Supreme Court of Pakistan of 31 October 2018 to acquit and release Asia Bibi, a Pakistani Christian lady convicted and sentenced to death under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws in 2010.”

However, they expressed their concerns about calls from extremist and radical groups to overturn the decision of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and to reinstate the death penalty following her acquittal.

In this regard, the co-signatories stated that this ominous situation violates article 3 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights stating that “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.”

The co-signatories likewise referred to the Holy Scriptures of Christianity and Islam about the sanctity of life and the importance of valuing each other. “The Old Testament says that ‘All life is sacred’ while the Holy Qur’an [29:46] asserts that ‘whoever kills a soul (unless for a soul) or for corruption (done) in the land, it is as if he had slain mankind entirely,” it was underlined by the co-signatories.

It was in this context that the co-signatories appealed to the UN Secretary-General to support “our appeal to the international community, as well as to the authorities and people of Pakistan to comply with article 3 of the UDHR.”

The letter can be downloaded below:
Letter to UN Secretary General

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