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Rohingya after they fled Myanmar in 2017 arrive at Shahparir Dip in Teknaf, Bangladesh. Credit: IPS

By Tharanga Yakupitiyage
UNITED NATIONS, Oct 26 2018 (IPS)

Policies that allow for impunity, genocide, and apartheid are “intolerable” and make repatriation of Rohingya refugees impossible, say United Nations investigators.

While presenting an annual report to the member states at the U.N., Special Rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar Yanghee Lee expressed disappointment in Myanmar’s government under State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, stating her hope that it “would be vastly different from the past, but it really is not that much different.”

“The government is increasingly demonstrating that it has no interest and capacity to establish a fully functioning democracy for all its people,” Lee said during a press conference.  

She also added that the Nobel peace prize laureate is in “total denial” about the mistreatment and violence against the Rohingya which forced over 700,000 to flee across the border to Bangladesh, and questioned her staunch support for the rule of law.

“If the rule of law were upheld, all the people in Myanmar, regardless of their position, would be answerable to fair laws that are impartially applied, impunity would not reign, and the law would not be wielded as a weapon of oppression,” Lee said.

The Chair of the U.N. fact-finding mission on Myanmar Marzuki Darusman, who also presented a report to the U.N., echoed similar sentiments, noting that the government’s “hardened positions are by far the greatest obstacle.”

“Accountability concerns not only the past but it also concerns the future and Myanmar is destined to repeat the cycles of violence unless there is an end to impunity,” he said.

One of conditions that contributed to the atrocities committed since violence erupted in August 2017 is the shrinking of democratic space, they noted.

While the arrests of Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo gripped international headlines, the government has been increasingly cracking down on free speech and human rights defenders in the country.

Most recently, three journalists from Eleven Media—Nayi Min, Kyaw Zaw Linn, and Phyo Wai Win—were detained and are being investigated for online defamation. If charged and convicted, the journalists face up to two years in prison.

Lee and Darusman also expressed concern over the apartheid-like conditions in Myanmar that persist today including restrictions on movement and access to services such as healthcare and education.

While the government is building new infrastructure for both Rohingya still inside the country and those who fled, Lee noted they are usually segregated from Buddhist communities.

If a policy of separation rather than integration continues, atrocities will be committed yet again.

“It is an ongoing genocide,” Darusman said.

In the fact-finding mission report which looked into the past year’s events, investigators found that four out of five conditions for genocide were met: killing members of the group, causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group, deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part, and imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group.

Of those, three conditions can still be seen in the country.

For instance, in 2015, Myanmar’s government imposed “birth spacing” restrictions on women, requiring a 36-month interval between children with forced use of contraception in the interim.

The Population Control Healthcare Bill was introduced in response to a 2013 government report that saw “the rapid population growth of the Bengalis [Rohingya] as an extremely serious threat.”

Prior to this, the government enacted a two-child limit on the Muslim community in Rakhine.

And it is because of these conditions that Rohingya refugees cannot go back.

“Repatriation is not possible now. Unless the situation in Myanmar is conducive, I will not encourage any repatriation. They should not go back to the existing laws, policies, and practices,” Lee said.

She urged for the civilian government to adopt laws that protect and advance human rights for all, and for Suu Kyi to use “all her moral and political power” to act.

“Myanmar now stands at a crossroads—they can respond as a responsible member of the United Nations and take up the call for accountability or they can be on the same self-self-destructive road,” Darusman said.

Of the actions that can be taken towards the path to accountability is the pardoning of human rights defenders and journalists who have been arbitrarily detained in order to restore democratic space.

Myanmar should also allow for unhindered access for humanitarian actors and U.N. investigators, Lee added.

“I think we are at a point where Myanmar and the international community both are at [a] juncture where the right choice to make will determine the future of not only Myanmar but peace and security in the region and the world,” she said.

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By Vani S. Kulkarni
PHILADELPHIA, Oct 26 2018 (IPS)

 

The challenges for the success of Ayushman Bharat are more than just at the financial and infrastructural level

On September 24, the government launched the grand government-funded healthcare scheme, the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY). While some see its ambitious goals as its main strength, others are sceptical given the inadequate funding for the scheme, the weak infrastructure of primary health care centres, and the time required for the goals to be accomplished. However, nobody disputes the imperative of an insurance scheme as vast as the PMJAY, since every year about 36 million families, or 14% of households, face a medical bill that is equal to the entire annual living expenses of one member of the family. This frequently pushes many families into penury.

Two schemes, one focus

The euphoria over this scheme is reminiscent of the excitement over the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY), launched in 2008. Although the PMJAY is much wider in its reach than the RSBY (it covers 50 crore beneficiaries with ₹3,500 crore of government spending and provides benefits up to ₹5 lakh per eligible family), the central framework is the same: universal health care and health rights. The emerging discourse surrounding the PMJAY scheme resonates with those of RSBY. The focus continues to be on the top-down, deductive reasoning of the scheme, including issues such as allocation of funds for each illness, the types of care provided, financial considerations for empanelment of hospitals, types of illnesses covered, and transaction costs. These considerations matter. However, there are important missing links.

Vani S. Kulkarni

My recent study of RSBY in Karnataka yielded important insights that are pertinent here. Given that RSBY was embedded within the framework of universal health care and health rights, it is appropriate to pay attention to the existence of health rights in a local set-up. I discovered that the way beneficiaries of RSBY (Below Poverty Line households) perceived the scheme was not as a health right but in terms of the value it imparted, which was measured along multiple dimensions.

Households initially measured the value of the RSBY in terms of its material benefit and measurable impact. This included the financial ease it provided in taking care of illnesses, the expense and types of illnesses that the card covered, and the transaction costs it entailed — how easy it would be to use the card in terms of bureaucratic paperwork and formal procedures.

Beyond the visible impact

However, households also valued the RSBY beyond its visible impact. They had little value for the RSBY because of many reasons. One, officials who distributed the RSBY smart card did not provide information on how to use the card. Two, hospitals did not respect patients with the card, believing that they were availing medical care free of cost. Sometimes they did not honour the card either due to inaccuracy of fingerprints or lack of money on the card. Three, neighbours and family members did not discuss the utilisation of the card, making households perceive the card as just a showpiece: important to possess but not useful. Four, the lack of involvement and endorsement by local leaders further diminished the value of the card for the households.

The value of the RSBY was also derived in relation to the value of health itself. The difficulty in understanding the basic facts of the card and using it led households to opt for seeking medical care without the card. The value for one’s health undermined the value for the RSBY. As one household subsequent to repeated failed attempts to use the card lamented: “We lost time and money, and our illness got worse all because we wanted to use the card. I tell you, if you want to get well, if you really value your health, you cannot rely on this health card.” Next, the value of the RSBY card was derived in relation to the cultural ethos of health insurance. For a significant number of households, health insurance was perceived as a “bad omen” indicating the arrival of sickness and disease.

As the delivery of universal health care and health rights find yet another expression in India through the PMJAY scheme, it is more important than ever before to explore how citizens exercise their right to health and understand how it could be better practised. The biggest challenges for the success of the PMJAY scheme are not just financial and infrastructural at the local level, but how its value is perceived by the community.

Vani S. Kulkarni teaches sociology at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, U.S. Views are personal

This article was first published in The Hindu.

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Rahti Begum a fisherwoman sells fish on a roadside in Srinagar, the capital of Kashmir state in India. She says she will be the last woman in her clan to do to sell fish. Credit: Umar Manzoor Shah/IPS

By Umar Manzoor Shah
SRINAGAR, India, Oct 25 2018 (IPS)

Much has changed since Rahti Begum, a fisherwoman in Kashmir, now in her late 60s, first began wandering the streets with a bucketful of fish on her head. She was 17 when her father roped her into the business that became the source of her livelihood for the remainder of her life.

Living in a houseboat on Dal Lake, one of Kashmir’s famed water bodies, Rahti says catching fish and selling it to people has been the sole source of income of her family for centuries.

“Even when I was a child, I knew I was going to sell fish. Every one in our family does that. The lake on which we live was been fulfilling all our needs,” she says. 

Her family belong to a tribe in Kashmir called ‘Hanjis’ who live in houseboats and eke out a living from the lakes and rivers the region had in abundance. A majority of the members of the tribe are involved in tourism as they take tourists in the lavishly decorated boats called ‘Shikaras’ to explore the beauties of the rivers and lakes.

Others amongst the tribe catch fish and sell it directly to the public. Rahti belongs to the latter group. The men during the early hours of the morning cast nets into the lake, catch fish and pass on the stock to their women who sell it by roaming around in different areas.

“When my father asked me join him, I was reluctant to say yes but there wasn’t anything else through which we could have earned a living. Gradually, selling fish became an integral part of my life and hence the family legacy continued,” she tells IPS. 

However Rahti, now afflicted with ailments that come with old age, is confident that she is going to be the last woman in her tribe to sell fish.

“My death will end the legacy for ever. No one wants to do this business again as the lake has all of a sudden turned monstrous for us; it is becoming a cesspool and fishes underneath its belly are vanishing with each passing day,” Rahti explains. 

Fish production and agricultural activities in this Himalayan region contribute 23 percent of GDP and are the mainstay of the economy.

According to a study conducted by researchers Neha W Qureshi and M Krishnan, the total fish production in Dal Lake registered a negative compound growth rate (CGR) of -0.34 percent for the period 1980-1990. But for the period 2000-2010, fish production in Dal Lake showed a negative compound growth rate of -2.89 percent. Wullar Lake showed a negative compound growth rate of -8.78 percent from 2000-2011

The study blames the decline in numbers on the negative externalities of tourism, excessive fertilisation of vegetable crops on floating gardens that lead to algal blooms, and the spike in pollution due to the dumping of waste in both lakes.

These have all led to a consistent decline and destruction of the breeding grounds of the local fish species schizothorax.

Furthermore, the consumption of fish has outnumbered actual fish production in the region.

While the annual consumption is 25,000 tons of fish, production stands at 20,000 tons per year in both lakes combined. Of this, Dal Lake produces no more than 5,000 tons a year. 

Rahti, who now struggles to earn enough for one full meal a day, says she vividly remembers the times when during her childhood, fish under the diamond-like transparency of the lake used to swim in shoals and flocks of ducks with emerald necks used to swim on the surface.

“Those were the days when we used to earn a decent livelihood and the lake produced no less than 15 thousand tons of fish every year. It is now a thing of a past,” she rues. 

Rahti, who has two daughters and a son, says the reason that her children wouldn’t go into the business of selling fish is the dreadful decline in fish production in the lake. Her daughters are homemakers and her son has a job at a local grocery store. Her earnings, Rahti says, have declined from 500 dollars a month to a mere 100 dollars a month at present.

“There isn’t enough produce that I could sell and with merge income in hand, why would I push my children to the precipice of a disastrous living?” Rahti tells IPS. 

Another fisherwoman, Jana Begum, has similar fears. In her 50s now, Jana says her only concern is how the family would survive if the situation were to remain the same.

“Our sole income is selling fish. My husband, a fisherman catches fish and I sell it. We have been doing this for 30 years but it looks like the difficult times have begun to dominate poor people like us,” Jana tells IPS. 

She says almost every day, her husband returns home with empty nets and a glum face as there aren’t any fish left to be caught in Wullar Lake — another famous water body located in the north of Kashmir.

“Why would my daughters do this business? What is left for them to earn. With us, the profession shall end and we are already long dead,” says Jana. 

According to a study by Imtiaz Ahmed, Zubair Ahmad and Ishtiyaq Ahmad, Department of Zoology, University of Kashmir, the main reasons for the depletion of fishery resources in these water bodies are over-fishing and encroachment.

It suggested that the entry of domestic sewage, solid wastes and agricultural wastes into these water bodies needs to be controlled and properly managed.

“Also aquatic weeds present in these aquatic ecosystems must be  cultivated and  should be  properly utilised because  of its  high  nutritional  values  and  economic  values. A separate  authority  needs  to  be  established  to  monitor the physico-chemical and biological characteristics of Dal Lake.” 

The director of the Department of Fisheries, Ram Nath Pandita, gives similar reasons for the decline in fish production in Kashmir’s lakes and rivers, attributing it to increasing pollution and encroachment.

He says because of the dumping of waste in water bodies, fish larvae do not grow into fry, resulting in the decline.

Pandita tells IPS that in order to address the decline in fish production, the government is supplying larvae to the water bodies and is continuously monitoring the process.

“The government is keeping closer watch on the entire process of increasing the fish production in Kashmir’s lakes and besides increasing the supply of larvae, it is also ensuring that no illegal fishing is allowed,” Pandita says.

He added that due to the massive floods that occurred in Kashmir in 2014, a large quantity of silt and sewage accumulated in the lakes, affecting fish production directly.

Pandita said awareness campaigns are being carried out about the importance of keeping the water bodies clean and not dumping household solid and liquid wastes in them.

“There are even seminars and road shows being conducted by the government in which people from cross sections of the society are educated that the fish can turn poisonous and will extinguish if water bodies aren’t protected through the unanimous efforts of the people and the government,” Pandita tells IPS. 

The government in February banned any illegal fishing in Kashmir’s water bodies and claims that the law will help curb the decline in fish production and help secure the livelihood of people involved in the sector.

Under the new law, only those permitted by the government can fish in the water bodies and any one found violating the norm shall be liable to three months of imprisonment and a fine of 500 Indian Rupees (about 90 dollars.)

The Department of Lakes and Water Ways development authority – a government department tasked with the protection of lakes in Kashmir – reports that various plans are underway to save Dal Lake and various species that live in it.

The department is uprooting water lilies with traditional methods and is de-weeding the lake with the latest machinery so that the surface of the lake is freed from weeds and fish production will rebound.

However, according to a study by Humaira Qadri and A. R. Yousuf from the Department of Environmental Science, University of Kashmir, despite the government spending about USD170 million on the conservation of the lake so far, there is no visible improvement in its condition.

“A lack of proper management and restoration plan and the incidence of engineered but ecologically unsound management practices have led to a failure in the conservation efforts,” says the study.

It concluded that the lake is moving towards its definite end and that conservation efforts have proved to be a total failure. It adds that official apathy and failure to take the problems seriously on the part of the managing authorities have deteriorated the overall condition of the lake.

The study says a united effort is needed by the government as well as the people so that instead of turning the water bodies into waste dumping sites, they are saved for the greater common good of Kashmir.

But Pandita is optimistic that the lakes can be restored to their past glory. Though, he admitted, that due to the high level of pollution in the lakes, it is feared that they may turn into cesspools. However, he said the government was working to combat this through various methods, which included awareness campaigns and lake clean-up drives.

But among the uneducated communities living around the lakes, many do not understand the measures taken by the government. When IPS spoke to local community members, all they talked about were the lack of fish. They were unaware about whether the government’s efforts will bring about any change in the lake.

As IPS asked fisher-person Jum Dar whether the government’s measures were bringing any positive change, Dar said he has seen many government agencies taking water samples for research from the lake and but there hadn’t been any visible change. His livelihood, he says, continues to remain in danger.

As IPS spent an entire day with Dar, and he only caught two fish which weighed no more than half a kilogram.

“See yourself the hard times we encounter everyday. How could we survive when such a catastrophe has engulfed our lives?”

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The International Criminal Court in the Hague, Netherlands. Credit: UN Photo/Rick Bajornas.

By David Kode
JOHANNESBURG, Oct 25 2018 (IPS)

For many African activists based on the continent, getting to a major human rights summit just underway in The Gambia is likely to have been a challenging exercise. The journey by air from many African countries to the capital, Banjul, for the 63rd Session of the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR), could have been prohibitively expensive, involved transiting through multiple cities and taken days.

And if the African Union (AU) has its way, getting the host institution – Africa’s main human rights body – to respond to their grievances of rights violations, as it has done for years, is going to be equally challenging for them. Recent moves by the AU to curtail the Commission’s independence could ultimately leave African activists and citizens without a vital and often rare structure where human rights abuses committed against them are addressed.

The ACHPR, whose sessions represent the largest gatherings of civil society in Africa, was established more than 30 years ago in Ethiopia by the AU’s predecessor, the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). Its mandate was to protect and promote people’s and human rights throughout the continent, as well as its founding treaty, the African Charter.

Over the years, the Commission has provided a precious space for civil society representatives from nations such as Sudan, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Ethiopia – countries where the space for civil society has been closed – to air human rights grievances and see action taken. Indeed, for activists from a country like Eritrea, in which no independent human rights groups are allowed to operate, this body provides presents a unique platform to let the world know about the abuses Eritreans face and to call for solidarity and action, backed by the Commission. Today, the independence that enabled the ACHPR to pass binding resolutions on rights violations is being consistently eroded by the AU.

Evidence of this can be seen in a recent AU Executive Council decision that the Commission has a “functional nature” and is not independent from the structures that created it. The statement goes further to caution the Commission against acting as an “appellate body” that undermines national legal systems. The Commission, however, was created by and gets its authority from the African Charter and the fact that its commissioners serve in their individual capacity and not as country representatives suggests the objective of the Commission to carry out independent investigations into human rights violations independent of states.

While the AU has remained silent on countless instances of governments’ gross violations of people’s rights, the African Commission has spoken out publicly in its capacity as a quasi-judicial body, condemning these abuses and calling on states to address them.

Another AU Executive Council decision instructed the ACHPR to withdraw its accreditation of the Coalition of African Lesbians (CAL) by the end of the year – a move that would deny this prominent LGBTI rights group access to the Commission. This resolution clearly undermines the Commission’s independence and could set a precedent for excluding other organisations during crucial human rights work.

The Commission has made some significant judgements such as one passed last year in a case brought by the indigenous Endorois community in Kenya against the Kenyan government. The ACHPR ruled that the government had violated provisions of the African Charter and that it recognise the community’s right of ownership of their land and restitute it. In another landmark case a few months later, the Commission ruled that the DRC pay US $2.5million to the victims and families of those massacred in the southeastern town of Kilwa in 2004. While these judgments are not enforceable, they represent big wins for civil society and communities that are often disappointed by national judicial processes.

The threats to the ACHPR’s independence resonate with a worrying trend on the continent where states work to erode the powers of regional and international human rights mechanisms, leaving citizens vulnerable to abuses with no recourse to justice. In 2016, Burundi, The Gambia and South Africa notified the International Criminal Court (ICC) of their intention to withdraw from the body and the Rome Statute. Other countries such as Kenya and Uganda have at threatened to also leave, citing a bias by the court against African leaders.

The AU also called for a mass pull out of African states and discussed the idea of a collective withdrawal by the continental body. Of the three countries that notified the ICC of their intention to leave, Burundi became was the first and only country to do so, a year ago. Many African states contested the AU’s proposed “withdrawal strategy” while Gambia re-joined the court after a change of government. South Africa put its pull-out plans “on hold” after a South African High Court ruled that a notice of withdrawal without parliament’s approval was unconstitutional.

We saw the trend of states undermining judicial bodies emerge again when, in 2011, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) resolved to suspend all operations of one of its key institutions, the SADC Tribunal. SADC heads of state followed this up three years later with the adoption of a protocol limiting the Tribunal’s jurisdiction to inter-state disputes. This decision dealt a major blow to states’ accountability, particularly since the independence of the judiciary in most African countries is compromised and courts are controlled by the executive, leaving citizens with no recourse to seek justice for violations, especially when states are the main perpetrators.

The campaign by African states to undermine key regional and international human rights mechanisms have been in response to attempts by these structures to hold them and their leaders accountable. The ACHPR requires individuals and organisations to bring cases before it after exhausting all national legal avenues. Other regional human rights systems are either inaccessible, inefficient or compromised. As the judiciary in many African countries increasingly succumb to pressure from the executive, national courts fail citizens miserably leaving them with no choice but to approach take the African Commission.

The AU’s curtailing of the Commission’s independence, SADC’s the suspension of its Tribunal and African states’ rejection of the Rome Statute and the ICC all contribute to an environment in which citizens are left vulnerable to human rights violations and crimes against humanity, and victims and survivors are denied access to justice.

If African leaders succeed in stripping the ACHPR of its independence and authority, African people will effectively lose yet another valuable institution to the rising tide of repressive and restrictive governance, keeping many vulnerable to a cycle of human rights violations, with no recourse for justice or even a hearing.

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Excerpt:

David Kode is the Advocacy and Campaigns lead with global civil society alliance, CIVICUS.

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By WAM
DUBAI, Oct 25 2018 (WAM)

The 5th World Green Economy Summit (WGES), held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, concluded today. The summit, held under the theme ‘Driving Innovation, Leading Change’ brought together many prominent speakers from across the globe, in addition to dignitaries and representatives from government organisations, academicians, experts and the media.

Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Vice Chairman of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, Managing Director and CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), and Chairman of WGES, announced the Dubai Declaration 2018 at the conclusion of WGES 2018, expressing his gratitude and appreciation to His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, for his patronage of the Summit. He also thanked H.H. Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, for his presence at the opening ceremony of the summit.

Al Tayer said: “Since its inception in 2014, the summit has made great progress and many achievements, notably due to increased cooperation between decision-makers from the public and private sectors. Over 3,700 participants consisting of global experts, thought leaders and business leaders in green economy and sustainable development, have participated in WGES 2018 to discuss key issues such as climate change and global warming.”

“This summit is especially important, because it has set the journey towards the adoption and signature of the agreement establishing the World Green Economy Organisation (WGEO). We sincerely hope that we can count many of your countries amongst the original members of WGEO, who have a very important role in shaping its future,” Al Tayer added.

He further said, “We are concerned by the report recently released by the IPCC defining a stringent scenario for the world to achieve the 1.5 degrees target. Nonetheless we are optimistic, as we know that it can be achieved by harvesting the capabilities of the private sector to make their industries and sectors green. This is why we are here, to form and focus an engine of green transformation built on diversity and entrepreneurship.”

Speaking about the summit’s pillars, Al Tayer said, “WGES 2018 focused on three main pillars including ‘Green Capital’, which has been a focus of discussions at this year’s Summit. This comes at a time when the World Green Economy Organisation (WGEO) and the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), signed in October 2018 a partnership agreement in Dubai to fast-track green investments into bankable smart city projects.”

“One of Dubai’s major green projects is the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. This is the largest single-site solar park in the world. Based on the Independent Power Producer model, it will have a capacity of 5,000MW by 2030. This includes the world’s largest single-site Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) project with a capacity of 700MW,” Al Tayer highlighted.

WAM/Hatem Mohamed/Tariq alfaham

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Libya, General National Congress Elections - Voting Day, 7 July 2012 - An elated voter casts her ballot. Credit: UNDP Photo

By Abdoulaye Mar Dieye
UNITED NATIONS, Oct 25 2018 (IPS)

As the old adage goes: “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. Nowhere is this more appropriate than when it comes to conflict. Violent conflict causes not only human suffering and destruction but robs entire societies of development and growth.

By some estimates, a country that suffers a four-year civil war loses nearly 20% of its GDP per capita. Syria has lost 19-36% of its productive capacity by 2016 due to conflict, its economy producing 20-38 billion USD less in value each year.

What is more, secondary effects of conflicts have no borders, affecting economies all over the world. For example, it is estimated that the conflict in Somalia and piracy attacks in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean led to an increase in shipping costs of about 10%.

Moreover, because conflict tends to disproportionally affect low- and middle-income countries it compounds the challenge of development – once conflict starts, development slows down or ends. Ending conflict not only ends human suffering — a worthy goal in and of itself – but leads to significant economic benefits as well.

Preventing conflict from starting, on the other hand, would magnify those benefits immeasurably. Even after the end of conflict, countries need years, if not decades, to recover. Along with rebuilding shattered societies and infrastructure, countries have to rebuild confidence in their economic systems and attract investment.

The UN Secretary-General recognized this immense potential in his “Peacebuilding and sustaining peace” report, where he called for “prevention of conflict and addressing its root causes”.

It is also the key conclusion of the “Pathway for Peace”, a joint UN and World Bank study, and has been identified by the European Union (EU) in the “Pre-emptive Peace” section of the EU’s Global Strategy, which states that the EU will “redouble our efforts on prevention, [and] monitoring root causes” of conflict.

We do not have the blueprint for preventing conflict. We do, however, have years of experience in attempting to do so, and one of the key lessons we learned is a clear and firm link between strong democratic foundations and resilience.

Countries with institutions such as inclusive and empowered parliaments, free media and robust civil society sector are less likely to experience conflict, and even if they do, they tend to recover much quicker.

We also know that an essential building block of a strong democratic system is inclusive and transparent elections, giving citizens a voice and making leaders accountable to their people. At the same time, elections can also be a trigger (although seldom the cause) of conflict, often serving as a catalyst for long-simmering grievances.

Prevention of electoral conflict was a topic of a recent high-level conference in Brussels, organized by the EC-UNDP Joint Task Force on Electoral Assistance (JTF) and attended by over 200 practitioners from over 60 countries and is a focus of a joint EU-UNDP study and toolkit on “Sustaining Peace through Elections”.

While the study found that there is “no blueprint for preventing electoral violence”, it clearly identified a common thread – support to strong democratic institutions and social values is an essential component of any conflict-prevention strategy.

Building democratic institutions and reinforcing social values capable of withstanding potential shocks of electoral violence requires sustained support, well before and well after the elections. Attempts to address electoral conflict in the weeks or even months leading up to an election is, in most cases, too little, too late.

To change this paradigm, we need to rethink the way we offer electoral assistance. Acknowledging that no single political or technical solution is sufficient, the conference presented to participants a “Democracy Strengthening” approach.

Such strategy attempts to view assistance through a wide-angle lens, to include all the stakeholders in a comprehensive, long-term vision from the very start of our involvement.

Too often, we initiate our assistance driven by short-term focus on an electoral event or a single electoral cycle, only to keep extending and adding on project after project, without a comprehensive strategy.

Instead, we should embrace a long-term view from the start and design our assistance with a goal of not simply holding a better election or having a more competent parliament, but to develop strong, empowered and independent democratic institutions.

To capture this broader timeframe and increase coordination between communities of practice and institutions more effectively, the JTF will propose the development of “Democracy Strengthening” approaches in future electoral programmes. Ultimately, our goal is to build social and institutional resilience to prevent conflict from starting in the first place.

The post An Ounce of Democracy appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Excerpt:

Abdoulaye Mar Dieye is UN Assistant Secretary General and Director of UNDP’s Bureau for Policy and Programme Support

The post An Ounce of Democracy appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Unfinished buildings in the Pope Francis neighbourhood, a modern social housing complex, and in the background the Villa 20 shantytown, where some 28,000 people live without basic services, in the south of Buenos Aires. Credit: Daniel Gutman/IPS

By Daniel Gutman
BUENOS AIRES, Oct 24 2018 (IPS)

“We are the people who are excluded from the system,” says Rafael Rivero, sitting in his apartment in a new social housing complex next to one of the largest slums in Buenos Aires. The contrast sums up the complexity of the social reality in the Argentine capital.

Rivero, 66, and his wife, Felina Quita, 10 years older, lived for 38 years in Villa 20, an area of about 30 hectares in the south of the city, a crowded shantytown home to thousands of families who cannot afford regular housing. The neighbourhood has 27,990 inhabitants, according to the 2016 official census.

The plot next door belonged to the Federal Police, who for decades used it as a depot for crashed and abandoned vehicles, which turned it into a source of pollution."It is a big step forward that the authorities have taken the decision to urbanise and are allocating funds to do so. Although the work is progressing slowly, no one is talking about eradicating the villas anymore." -- Pablo Vitale

In 2009, more than a third of Villa 20’s children were found to have high concentrations of lead in their blood, and the courts ordered that the families be evicted.

That task had not yet been completed in 2014, when some 700 destitute families occupied the site. Several months later, in the midst of a social emergency, the occupants agreed to leave and the authorities promised to urbanise the area.

Today the land is the construction site for 90 four-story buildings being built by the city’s Housing Institute (IVC), the agency tasked with the monumental mission of solving the housing deficit of Buenos Aires.

In the Argentine capital proper, 233,000 people or 7.6 percent of the population, live in slums, known locally as villas. This does not count the population of the greater Buenos Aires or the vast low-income suburbs.

The construction project, named the Pope Francis Barrio, for the pope who comes from Argentina, consists of 1,671 apartments and was designed for families to move there from Villa 20. Families began to move in February, and 368 units have already been delivered. The IVC promises to complete the process next year.

“The house we had in the Villa was always getting flooded. Every time it rained, there was more water inside than outside,” said Rivero, who less than two months ago moved to his new home, which has an open plan kitchen, living room and dining room, and one bedroom, since the couple lives alone. There are units with up to four bedrooms, depending on the size of the families.

He’s happy, although he still doesn’t know how he’s going to pay for electricity, water, and municipal taxes. For now, he hasn’t received any of the bills for services, which in the last two years have caused enormous unrest in Argentine society, due to rate increases of up to 800 percent.

Felina Quita (L) and Rafael Rivero, in the kitchen-dining room of the apartment to which they moved in August, after living in a nearby shantytown for decades. They were chosen by the Buenos Aires authorities as beneficiaries of the social housing plan because their house was in an emergency situation due to frequent flooding. Credit: Daniel Gutman/IPS

Rivero told IPS in his home, where everything still smells new, that he came to Villa 20 more than 50 years ago, from the province of Jujuy, in northern Argentina.

“I was a boy and my aunt brought me. When the countryside was mechanised, there wasn’t so much work in sugar cane, many people were left without work and came to Buenos Aires. I’ve worked as a baker, a carpenter, a bricklayer, a waiter,” Rivero said. His wife is a retired domestic worker.

Juan Ignacio Maquieyra, president of the IVC, explained to IPS that “we are working towards the integration of shantytowns” into the city.

“Along with the construction of the Pope Francis neighborhood, we are urbanising Villa 20, which involves opening up streets, building infrastructure and leaving open spaces and courtyards, since one of the most serious problems is overcrowding and lack of ventilation,” he said.

The families chosen to move into the new apartments are those whose homes were in the worst condition or must be demolished to open up streets and urbanise.

Many local residents, however, point out that the construction works to urbanise the Villa are significantly slower than the construction of the apartment buildings.

“The city government did not comply with what it had promised. We are still waiting for the sanitation works. The storm drains mix with the sewers, and when it rains and overflows, we keep stepping on excrement,” Rubén Martínez, a 46-year-old man who grew up and still lives in the Villa, told IPS.

He is one of the members of the Mesa de Urbanización, a group taking part in the urbanisation process.

Martínez echoes what many others suspect: that the Pope Francis neighborhood was built to “hide” Villa 20 from view of another construction in the area – the Olympic Village, housing the athletes of the Youth Games that are being held this month in Buenos Aires.

The entrance to a block of completed buildings in the new Pope Francis neighbourhood, which will have 90 buildings and 1,671 apartments. The residents of the neighboring Villa 20 shantytown in the south of Buenos Aires, Argentina, have begun to be resettled in the new social housing units. Credit: Daniel Gutman/IPS

According to a survey presented by the government this year, there are 4,228 slums and shantytowns in Argentina, 45 percent of which emerged after the severe economic and social crisis of 2001-2002 which cut short the government of Fernando de la Rúa (1999-2001).

Three and a half million people live in the slums, out of a total population of 44 million.

Social conditions are once again growing worse today, as acknolwedged by President Mauricio Macri himself, who is implementing an austerity plan agreed in September with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The most complicated situation is found in the suburbs of Buenos Aires, where there are hundreds of villas and child poverty exceeds 50 percent.

This year, the government introduced in Congress a bill agreed with social organisations, to recognise the ownership of their land by the residents of the shantytowns. It was presented as a first step towards the recognition of more rights.

But it is only in Buenos Aires proper that the authorities have begun to take steps towards the integration of the villas.

“Slum-dwellers in Buenos Aires have been demanding urbanisation for decades, but only in recent years has the state recognised that right. The initial impulse came from court rulings,” Horacio Corti, ombudsman for the City of Buenos Aires, told IPS.

The Ombudsman’s Office defends the vulnerable in the local justice system, which in 2011, for example, ordered the urbanisation of the Rodrigo Bueno Villa, which is close to Puerto Madero, a posh waterfront neighborhood.

For Pablo Vitale, of the Civil Association for Equality and Justice (ACIJ), which for 15 years has been working on legal support for community organisations that fight for regularisation of the villas, “it is a big step forward that the authorities have taken the decision to urbanise and are allocating funds to do so. Although the work is progressing slowly, no one is talking about eradicating the villas anymore.”

Vitale, however, told IPS that the urbanisation plans have begun in villas that due to their location could be the most coveted by real estate interests.

“That could indicate that the objective is for the market to end up evicting people, driving out the people who can’t afford the higher costs involved in paying taxes and rates for public services that formality brings,” he warned.

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The post Buenos Aires Shantytowns, Caught Between Exclusion and Hope appeared first on Inter Press Service.

By Zahid Hussain
Oct 24 2018 (Dawn, Pakistan)

Population explosion, though missing from the country’s policy discourse, presents one of the most serious threats to our national security.

There may not be a simple causal relationship between demography and security, but evidence shows that high population growth is a major destabilising factor in the least developed countries. There are many examples to show that tensions leading up to conflict may have been heightened by demographic pressures.

Zahid Hussain

Explore: Exploding population bomb

One of the highest population growth rates and a huge youth bulge have created an extremely dangerous situation for Pakistan. We could have used our demographic power to turn around the country’s economy, but with little investment in education and slow economic growth, the youth bulge is fast becoming a liability and serious threat to the country’s internal security.

The inability of the state to productively utilise a large young generation has already turned the country into a breeding ground for violent extremism, and could cause further social dislocation and conflict.

The Pakistani youth bulge: a ticking time bomb

This runaway population growth has created vast ranks of restless young men with few prospects and little to lose. Their frustrated ambitions can be an explosive force. More troubling is that there is no realisation about this lurking threat. A study conducted by Population Action International shows that about 80 per cent of the world’s civil conflicts since the 1970s have occurred in countries with young, fast-growing populations.

Pakistan is a stark example of that; thousands of people have been killed in militant and extremist violence, earning the country the dubious distinction of being one of the world’s most violent places.

Indeed, there are multiple domestic and international reasons that are responsible for the rising violent extremism in Pakistan. But it is not just religious fanaticism that drives young men to resort to violence. It also has much to do with the failure of the state to turn this young population into productive citizens.

Pakistan is sitting on a potential demographic disaster.

Pakistan is sitting on a potential demographic disaster with more than 120 million of its population under 25 years of age. This high number of young people is the face of today’s Pakistan. This new generation is also at the centre of an unresolved ideological struggle about what sort of country Pakistan should be. With an extremely low literacy rate and bleak job opportunities, the future prospects of the young generation are uncertain and dark.

*Take a look: To be young in Pakistan *

Growing frustration among the youth makes them vulnerable to prejudices and extremism. The gravity of the situation can be assessed by the fact that 32pc of our young generation is illiterate and the majority of the others are school dropouts. Enrolment rates are the lowest in South Asia. Pakistan’s spending on education is around 2pc of the GDP, about half that spent by India. The poor quality of education hardly equips the youth to face the challenges of the globalised world they live in, further pushing them towards isolation.

Furthermore, the widening social, cultural and economic divide has made the less advantaged youth receptive to extremism and violence. It has created a mindset that facilitates a militant agenda. Many studies have shown that there is a direct link between religious extremism and social and economic marginalisation.

The instability resulting from severe demographic pressures has led to civil war in many countries. Pakistan will not be too far away from such a situation if its present drift continues. In fact, we are already in the midst of one. The growing alienation of young generations and their feelings towards the government and state have been illustrated in some recent surveys. The youth’s despair is deep-seated in the present conditions.

With little or no education, as well as the lack of economic opportunities, they have not much to look forward to. Few are hopeful of getting jobs. The continuing downslide of the economy indicates that things are not getting better. Pakistan’s population has doubled over the past few decades.

The 2017 population census has shown that Pakistan has moved up the ladder, becoming the fifth most populous nation only behind India, China, the US and Indonesia. With a staggering growth rate of 2.4pc per annum, the country’s population is around 207m. That marks an increase of more than 57pc since the last population census in 1998, and is higher than what had been projected.

Pakistan needs an annual economic growth rate of at least 6pc to 7pc to absorb millions of people entering the job market every year. The population of the unemployed has drastically risen with the economic growth rate averaging around 3pc over the past decade, thus creating a dangerous situation

All this has left the country struggling to provide for a rapidly expanding populace. It is a disaster in the making. What is most worrisome is that this population explosion and its implications have drawn little attention from the political leadership.

Despite the gravity of the situation, the issue has hardly figured in the national discourse. The PTI government that says it is committed to human development appears to have completely ignored the challenge that presents the biggest threat to political stability and national security. Human development is not possible without dealing with the problem of high population growth.

It is a nightmare scenario fast unfolding. Firm and decisive action is needed to contain the population explosion before it is too late. The consequences of further delay will be disastrous. Economic and social problems faced by the country cannot be dealt with effectively unless population growth is brought under control. Other countries have done it, and it should not be difficult for us either. But what is needed is political will and a clear policy.

It may be late but the situation can still be salvaged with the government taking the issue more seriously. The exploding population bomb has put the country’s future in jeopardy. Is the government listening?

The writer is an author and journalist.

zhussain100@yahoo.com
Twitter: @hidhussain

This story was originally published by Dawn, Pakistan

The post Population and security appeared first on Inter Press Service.

PHOTO: ANDREW BIRAJ/REUTERS

By Rubana Huq
Oct 24 2018 (The Daily Star, Bangladesh)

When Accord and Alliance came to town, the brands and retailers had offered assurance of business continuity and were paying for the audits and assessments. Taking financial responsibility for factory remediation was, of course, the manufacturer’s end of the bargain. In five years, out of Accord’s initially inspected 1,620 factories, 420 had shut shop; for Alliance, out of the initial 829 factories, 173 closed business; National Action Plan, out of its first 1,549 factories, terminated 566. In total 1,159 factories have gone out of business. In response to growing demands of remediation, Bangladeshi manufacturers have either chosen to grow or quit. Those who have managed to stay afloat, in reality, have been able to afford expansion or consolidation.

Going forward, as new markets emerge, position of the brands and retailers is bound to shift. As new capacities are added, the pressure on prices for Bangladesh will also continue to grow. This phenomenon is not a unique prediction. Even with increased capacities, manufacturers will continue receiving orders with lesser margins and a lower FOB (Free on Board) price. After all, the world’s a “fair” place and the “fairest,” alternatively known as the most competitive, will win the game.

After five years, with the possibility of Accord coming to an end on November 30, 2018 and Alliance on December 31, brands are left wondering about the future of the readymade garment industry in Bangladesh with respect to compliance codes. Beyond their terms, Alliance is ready to leave, perhaps with a heavy heart as continuation of remediation remains, to most parties, relatively uncertain. As for Accord, a special ruling from the High Court specified that Accord would cease after November 30, 2018 and could only be extended for six more months. And hence, a Transition Accord was framed to ensure the smooth transition of work and responsibility to a new organisation called the Remediation Coordination Cell (RCC).

The RCC was set up in May 2017 to supervise and monitor the remediation of factories under the Bangladesh government’s National Initiative. Out of the 809 National Initiative factories undergoing follow-up by Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE), 107 are fully remediated. Till March 2018, more than 50 percent factories remediated more than 50 percent and 111 factories remediated more than 80 percent.

The number of factories under RCC headed by the Ministry of Labour may depend on the new factories being added to the National Initiative or as factories leave Accord and Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety. RCC is set to contribute to building capacity of regulators and establish a coordinated approach to safety inspections. Ultimately, RCC hopes to offer a “one-stop-shop” service issuing factory building, fire, electrical and occupancy permits.

Since the industry is very familiar with the initial rules of engagement focusing on structural, fire and electrical integrity, all we need today is a private-sector-led structure to sustain all the improvement that has been made. What could the structure look like? For easy reference, let’s call it Platform S (S for shomman, meaning “respect” in Bengali).

Firstly, manufacturers along with brands could form S by having a Steering Committee, which would have representation from BGMEA, labour rights groups, brands and an ombudsman. In the Steering Committee, neither the BGMEA nor the brands would have a veto or majority vote. All decisions could be taken on a consensual basis. In case of dispute or vote tag, judgment of an independent ombudsman would prevail, taking in consideration views of all parties. The Committee would overview cases, implementation, financial management and management operations, while a CTO could oversee the technical operations. A review panel could be in place, consisting of elected representatives from the manufacturers, brands and labour sides. The entity would be registered in Bangladesh under the relevant Act. Laws of the land, with regard to compensation, closure, penalty, would prevail.

For the initial period of one year, it could be supported by signatory buyers, manufacturers and third-party organisations so that the costs related to remediation can be met and independent verification of the existing factories can continue. By the time it is set up, the vast majority of remediation and assessments will already have been completed. New factories entering the pool of suppliers could pay for their inspections based upon the square footage of their facility. After a year, the platform could become fully self-financing and external contributions would be discontinued. Independent third-party auditors having prior audit and certification experience could be contracted to undertake all structural, fire and electrical audits. Signatory companies would require their supplier factories to respect the right of a worker to refuse work if he or she has reasonable justification to believe that the factory is unsafe, without suffering discrimination or loss of pay, including the right to refuse to enter or to remain inside the factory.

Meanwhile, the appointed CTO would establish a workers’ complaint mechanism that would ensure that workers from factories supplying signatory companies can raise, in a timely fashion, concerns about health and safety risks, safely and confidentially, to the safety inspector. The signatories to this Agreement would, however, need to agree to ensure that suppliers who participate fully in the inspection and remediation activities of this Agreement would not be penalised as a result of the transparency provisions of this Agreement. However, if a supplier consistently fails to abide by the rules of compliance engagement within a specified period of time, the signatories could then promptly implement a notice and warning process leading to the termination of the business relationship if these efforts do not succeed.

It has been more than five years since Rana Plaza collapsed. It has been five years since factories have consolidated and moved to newer locations. It has been five years since manufacturers have struggled to sustain and grow their businesses. Five years is a long time for an industry to set its own standards.

If the industry is subjected to prescriptions from stakeholders from abroad, then the basic ability to reform ourselves will be in doubt. Irrespective of whether the Accord gets another six-month lifeline, irrespective of the RCC continuing to monitor the industry standards, the industry, on its own, needs to have a parallel platform. The best way forward would be a way to transition into a plan of self-monitoring initiated by the industry itself, which will be appropriate for the owners, workers, brands, unions and the rest.

This way, no trust will be lost and no well-meaning attempt of the suppliers, brands or the government, will be belittled.

Dr Rubana Huq is the managing director of Mohammadi Group. Her Twitter handle is @Rubanah.

This story was originally published by The Daily Star, Bangladesh

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With the high demand for fish by the tourism sector, Barbados imports the majority of the fish consumed here. Credit: Desmond Brown/IPS

By Desmond Brown
CONSETT BAY, Barbados, Oct 24 2018 (IPS)

Allan Bradshaw grew up close to the beach and always knew he wanted to become a fisherman. Now 43 years old, he has been living his childhood dream for 25 years.
But in recent years Bradshaw says he has noticed a dramatic decline in the number of flying fish around his hometown of Consett Bay, Barbados.

“Like in most other places the fishing stock has declined over the years, especially the flying fish,” Bradshaw tells IPS.

As is the case for all Caribbean islands, fishing and associated activities have been integral components of the economic fabric of Barbados for many years. And flying fish, which are common to most tropical seas, are found in the warm waters surrounding Barbados.

In a typical year, flying fish account for around 65 percent of the total fish catch, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations.

Bradshaw says not all of the fish have gone but there is a definite change and this is negatively affecting the industry.

“The mahi-mahi or dolphin, somehow they have increased in numbers but not in size, in the sense that we have a lot more abundance but smaller ones. There is a lot more juvenile fish around,” Bradshaw says.

He argues that the government needs to step in to save the industry from further collapse.

Allan Bradshaw says he has noticed a dramatic decline in the number of flying fish around his hometown of Consett Bay, Barbados. Courtesy: Desmond Brown

Four years ago, there were just over 1,000 vessels registered and 2,200 fishers involved in harvesting with 6,600 people working in associated businesses – market vendors, processors, traders etc. – according to information provided by the FAO office in Barbados.

FAO reported that approximately 2,500 metric tonnes of fish were caught between 2013 and 2014, and noted that the catch appears to have been going down in recent years.

Flying fish catches have been shrinking due to the influx of Sargassum seaweed.

Barbados mainly exports high-value tuna (approximately 160 metric tonnes) and the exports have been marginal in comparison to the catches.

But with the high demand for fish by the tourism sector, Barbados imports the majority of the fish consumed here.

Since taking office in May this year, the new administration of Prime Minister Mia Mottley has heeded calls for Barbados to look beyond the island’s 166 square miles of land for sources of wealth. The suggestion is that the island needs to look beyond its traditional sugar and banana industries to the sea to develop an economy there.

Mottley has included a Ministry of Maritime Affairs and the Blue Economy (MABE) within her administration, a decision hailed by many. Some have recommended that this ministry should be replicated further afield in the Caribbean.

“FAO supports development of the Blue Economy in Barbados through providing assistance over the coming year for both the fisheries and aquaculture sectors,” Regional Project Coordinator at FAO Dr. Iris Monnereau tells IPS.

“This will be achieved through updating legislative frameworks, assessing the feasibility for utilisation of rest raw material from fish processing for direct human consumption, animal feed or fertiliser, training of 70 small-scale farmers in aquaponics, capacity building of fisherfolk and fisherfolk organisations, and providing assistance to implement sustainable value adding activities throughout fisheries value chains.”

Monnereau says Blue Economy development is considered key to the long-term sustainability of healthy coasts and oceans and is inextricably linked to the long-term management, social inclusive development and improved human well-being of coastal and island populations.

In this approach, oceans and coasts can be seen as “development spaces” whereby traditional uses (e.g. fisheries and aquaculture, transport, ship building, coastal tourism and use of offshore oil and gas) are combined with new emerging sectors (e.g. bioprospecting, marine renewable energy and offshore mining) while at the same time addressing the challenges the oceans and coasts are facing.

“For example: fisheries overexploitation, pollution of coastal waters, [Illegal], Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, invasive species, habitat destruction, coastal erosion, and climate change impacts,” Monnereau says.

MABE was only developed after the elections, on May 24, and Monnereau says it is too early to measure changes.

However, she says that with this move, the government is clearly indicating they would like to develop the Blue Economy in Barbados.

Over the past few months, the government has been actively seeking partnerships with FAO and other international organisations and private partners to develop Blue Economy activities.

The move comes as Kenya is set to be co-host, along with Canada and Japan, the first global Sustainable Blue Economy Conference from Nov. 26 to 28. The high-level conference will bring together over 4,000 participants who support a global agenda to build a blue economy much in the way Barbados wants to.

Meanwhile, Minister of MABE Kirk Humphrey tells IPS he wants to see a greener and bluer Barbadian economy. This, he explains, will involve the island becoming the centre for seafaring across the Caribbean, an end to overfishing, and greater protection mechanisms put in place to guard the coral reefs.

He further expressed concern that Barbados presently imports 80 percent of the fish consumed locally, and that the sector is affected by overfishing.

He explains that the ministry was presently in the process of building out its strategy, and there was a desire to capitalise on the island’s sea space, which was 400 times greater than its land space.

In terms of the blue economy, Humphrey also stressed the need for a baseline study, so that Barbados could ascertain what is in its oceans and then assign a value to these assets so as to be able to measure the contribution to Gross Domestic Product.

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• Blue Economy Movement Gains Traction in Africa
• Africa Remains Resolute Heading to COP 24

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A worker on a farm in Kiambu district, central Kenya, that produces tea for export. Nearly 80 percent of rural farmers in developing countries earn less than USD1.25 per day. Credit: Charles Wachira/IPS

By Tharanga Yakupitiyage
UNITED NATIONS, Oct 24 2018 (IPS)

The very people who help put food on our tables often face numerous human rights violations, forcing them go to bed hungry.

In an annual report set to be presented to governments at the United Nations this week, Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food Hilal Elver found that agricultural workers worldwide continue to face barriers in their right to food including dangerous work conditions and the lack of employment protections.

“[Agricultural workers] are a major element of our reaching available food but they are among the world’s hungriest people,” she said, highlighting the paradoxical relationship.

“We are dealing with smallholder farmers, poverty, inequality, and land issues but we don’t deal with the actual workers working from farm to table—there’s a huge chain of production that we are not paying attention,” Elver added.

Agricultural workers make up over one billion, or one-third, of the world’s workforce.

Despite playing a critical role in global food security, many farm workers are left without enough money to feed themselves or their families in both developing and developed countries due to low wages or even late payments.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the U.N. (FAO), nearly 80 percent of rural farmers in developing countries earn less than USD1.25 per day. In Zambia, for example, agricultural workers earn less than USD2 per day on third-party farms.

In the United States, while the minimum wage is higher, 50 percent of farmworkers were paid less than minimum wage and 48 percent suffered from wage theft.

A survey by the Food Chain Workers Alliance also found that one-quarter of all farm workers have incomes below the federal poverty line, contributing to farmers’ food insecurity and trapping them in poverty.

Migrants and women in the sector often face the brunt of such violations, Elver noted.

“Employers are more likely to consider migrant workers as a disposable, low-wage workforce, silenced without rights to bargain collectively for improved wages and working condition,” she said.

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Turkish lawyer Hilal Elver, in Buenos Aires. In an annual report Elver found that agricultural workers worldwide continue to face barriers in their right to food including dangerous work conditions and the lack of employment protections. Credit: Daniel Gutman/IPS

For instance, in California, which produces the majority of the country’s fruits and vegetables, 91 percent of farmworkers are foreign-born, primarily from Mexico. The rates of food insecurity for such labourers and their families range from 40 to 70 percent across the state.

While many industries have adopted minimum wage standards put forth by the International Labor Organization (ILO), they remain unenforced.

Elver also noted that the agricultural sector is the one of the world’s most dangerous sectors with more than 170,000 workers killed every year on unsafe farms, twice the mortality rate of any other industry.

This is partly attributed to the exposure of toxic and hazardous substances such as pesticides, often leading to a range of serious illnesses and even death.

Argentine farmworker Fabian Tomasi, who recently died after contracting severe toxic polyneuropathy linked to his exposure to agrochemicals, is a reminder of this.

Glyphosate, a weed-killer developed by controversial company Monsanto, has been widespread around the world and its use has increased in the South American nation, which is one of the world’s largest soy producers.

Since its use, there has also been an increase in cancer and birth defects in farming regions in Argentina with rural populations experiencing cancer rate three times higher than those in the cities.

The World Health Organization also classified glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic to humans.”

In developed countries, acute pesticide poisoning affects one in every 5,000 agricultural workers, the report found.

In the U.S., Dewayne Johnson also used Monsanto’s glyphosate-based herbicides while working as a groundskeeper in California. Years later, he discovered he had non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a debilitating blood cancer.

After bringing the case to court, a California jury ruled against the agrochemical corporation, claiming that it caused Johnson’s terminal cancer and that they acted with malice and negligence in failing to warn consumers.

Monsanto continues to deny allegations that their glyphosate-based products cause cancer.

Now, the U.S. government is trying to reverse a ban on another pesticide chlorpyrifos which has been associated to developmental issues among children and respiratory illnesses.

However, like Johnson, many agricultural workers around the world have begun to organise and rise up to the face of corporations and countries that fail to protect their human rights.

“This is an important new thing, giving the public much more understanding about pesticides,” Elver said.

Migrant farmworkers from Vanuatu recently won a settlement against company Agri Labour Australia after being underpaid and working in dangerous conditions which included exposure to chemicals.

But states must do more to protect and promote the rights of agricultural workers, Elver noted.

“Labour rights and human rights are interdependent, indivisible, and mutually inclusive. The full enjoyment of human rights and labour rights for agricultural workers is a necessary precondition for the realisation of the right to food,” she said.

The report states that governments must set “living wage” and working standards, and it should establish enforcement and inspection mechanisms to ensure such standards are being met.

The international community should also reduce pesticide use worldwide, including the ban of highly hazardous pesticides and the development of alternative pest management approaches.

International organisations such as ILO and FAO also have a role to play and should establish a fact-finding group to examine whether nations are implementing such changes.

Companies who fabricate evidence or misinform the public of health and environmental risks should be penalised, the report adds.

“It is time for States to step up, and take swift and urgent action to hold accountable those who commit human rights violations against agricultural workers and to prevent further violations,” Elver concluded.

Related Articles

• In Argentina, Agriculture Ignores the Right to Food

The post The Invisible, Hungry Hand appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Sculpture depicting St. George slaying the dragon. The dragon is created from fragments of Soviet SS-20 and United States Pershing nuclear missiles. Credit: UN Photo/Milton Grant

By Daryl G. Kimball and Kingston Reif
WASHINGTON DC, Oct 24 2018 (IPS)

Under the influence of his new National Security Advisor, John Bolton, Trump announced Saturday at a campaign rally that he will “terminate” a key nuclear arms control agreement that helped end the Cold War race–the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in response to a long-running dispute over Russian noncompliance with the treaty.

The decision represents a shift in the administration’s INF response strategy which was announced in January and before Bolton joined the administration.Trump’s move to blow-up the INF Treaty is unnecessary and self-defeating wrong turn that could lead to an unconstrained and dangerous nuclear arms competition with Russia.

The breakdown of the agreement and uncertain future of the 2010 New Strategic Arms Reductions Treaty (New START) creates the most serious nuclear arms control crisis in decades.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said the U.S. withdrawal from the INF Treaty is “unacceptable” and “dangerous.” Russia continues to assert that there is no basis for the U.S. claim that Russia has violated the treaty, but the Russian Foreign Ministry said “there is still room for dialogue.”

Bolton was due to meet in Moscow with President Putin and Foreign Minister Lavrov.

The INF Treaty Still Matters

The INF Treaty, which was negotiated by President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, required the United States and the Soviet Union to eliminate and permanently forswear all of their nuclear and conventional ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges of 500 to 5,500 km (300 to 3,500 miles).

The treaty successfully eliminated an entire class of destabilizing nuclear weapons that were deployed in Europe and helped bring an end to the spiraling Cold War arms race. It has been a cornerstone of the U.S.-Russian nuclear arms control architecture. And as NATO defense ministers said earlier this month, the INF Treaty “has been crucial to Euro-Atlantic security.”

Without the INF Treaty, we will likely see the return of Cold War-style tensions over U.S. and Russian deployments of intermediate-range missiles in Europe and elsewhere.

Russian Noncompliance

The INF Treaty, while very successful, has been at risk for some time. In 2014, Washington charged that Moscow had tested a weapon, the 9M729 ground-launched cruise missile, at a range beyond the limit set by the treaty. In 2017 the Pentagon declared the Moscow had begun deploying the weapon.

Russia denies that it has violated the treaty and asked the United States to divulge the technical details behind the charge. Moscow has expressed its own concerns about U.S. compliance with the pact, notably that U.S. missile defense interceptor platforms deployed in eastern Europe could be used for offense purposes that would violate the treaty.

Diplomatic efforts to resolve the issue have been limited and to date unsuccessful. Since Trump took office, U.S. and Russian officials have met only twice to try to resolve the compliance dispute. Clearly, neither side has exhausted the diplomatic options that could resolve their concerns.

U.S. Withdrawal Would Be An “Own Goal.”

Trump claims that the United States is pulling out to show Russia that it will not tolerate Russia’s alleged violation of the treaty. “We’re not going to let them violate a nuclear agreement and do weapons and we’re not allowed to,” Trump said.

Trump may want to sound tough, but the reality is that withdrawing from the treaty weakens U.S. and allied security and does not provide the United States any military advantage in Europe or elsewhere.

• U.S. withdrawal does nothing to bring Russia back into compliance with the INF Treaty and it distracts from the fact that it was Russia’s actions that precipitated the INF Treaty crisis.
• U.S. withdrawal from the INF Treaty opens the door for Russia to produce and deploy the missile of concern, the 9M729, in greater numbers without any constraints.
• There is no military need for the United States to develop, as Trump has proposed, a new and costly INF Treaty-noncompliant missile. The United States can already deploy air- and sea-launched systems that can threaten the same Russian targets that ground-launched missiles that are prohibited by INF Treaty would.
• NATO does not support a new INF Treaty-range missile in Europe and no country has offered to host it. Attempting to force the alliance to accept a new, potentially nuclear missile would divide the alliance in ways that would delight the Kremlin.

Even without the INF Treaty in force, the U.S. Congress and NATO governments should reject Trump’s push to develop a new U.S. ground-based INF Treaty-range missile in Europe (or elsewhere), and instead focus on maintaining conventional military preparedness to deter adversaries without violating the treaty.

Does the United States Need Ground-launched, INF Treaty-Range Missiles to Counter China?

No. In 2011, long before any Russian INF compliance concerns surfaced, John Bolton proposed in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that Washington should to withdraw from the treaty in order to counter China, which is not party to the treaty. In his Oct. 20 remarks on withdrawing from the treaty, Trump also pointed to China as a reason for abandoning the INF Treaty.

When asked at a congressional hearing in July 2017 about whether withdrawal from the INF Treaty could be useful because it would allow the U.S. to develop new ground-based systems to hit targets in China, vice-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Paul Selva said that such a move was unnecessary because the United States can already hold those targets at risk with treaty-compliant air- and sea-based assets.

In his remarks Saturday, Trump suggested he might support a ban on INF Treaty-range missiles if “Russia comes to us and China comes to us” … “and let’s none of us develop those weapons.”

The idea of “multilateralizing INF has been around for more than a decade, but neither Russia nor Washington have devoted serious effort into the concept and China is highly unlikely to join an agreement that would eliminate the bulk of its missile arsenal.

Trump’s INF Treaty decision is a debacle. But without New START it will be even worse

If the INF Treaty collapses, as appears likely, the only remaining treaty regulating the world’s two largest nuclear stockpiles will be New START. New START is due to expire in 2021 unless Trump and Putin agree to extend it by five years as allowed for in Article XIV of the agreement.

Unfortunately, Bolton may try to sabotage that treaty too. Since he arrived at the White House in May, he has been slow-rolling an interagency review on whether to extend New START and refusing to take up Putin’s offer to begin talks on its extension.

Key Republican and Democratic Senators are on record in support of New START extension, which can be accomplished without further Senate or Duma approval.

Instead, one option Bolton is talking about is a “Moscow Treaty” approach that would dispense with New START and its rigorous inspection system on warheads and missiles to ensure compliance.

This option would simply set limits on deployed warheads only and without any verification—an approach Moscow is very unlikely to accept because it could give the United States a significant breakout advantage.

The current crisis makes it all the more important to get a serious U.S.-Russian arms control dialogue back on track.

Trump and Putin should agree to relaunch their stalled strategic stability dialogue and commit to reaching an early agreement to extend New START by five years to 2026 – which is essential if the two sides are to meet their legal commitment under the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty “to “pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament ….”

If they fail to extend New START, an even more dangerous phase in U.S.-Russian relations is just over the horizon.

The post Trump’s Counterproductive Decision to “Terminate” the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Excerpt:

Daryl G. Kimball is executive director & Kingston Reif is director for disarmament and threat reduction policy, Arms Control Association

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By WAM
DUBAI, Oct 24 2018 (WAM)

The second United Nations World Data Forum concluded today with the launch of a Dubai Declaration to increase financing for better data and statistics for sustainable development.

“While it is clear that the data revolution is having an enormous impact, it has not benefited everyone equally,” said United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed in her statement at the Forum. “Our task is to make sure data is available to all people. We must make sure it is harnessed to support implementation of the 2030 Agenda at all levels and in all regions and countries But we urgently need to bridge important gaps. Funding for data and statistical systems remains limited. And beyond funding, we need political, technical and advocacy support in all areas.”

The Dubai Declaration calls for the establishment of an innovative funding mechanism open to all stakeholders, that will aim to mobilize both domestic and international funds, and to activate partnerships and funding opportunities to strengthen the capacity of national data and statistical systems. The funding mechanism will be created under the guidance of representatives of statistical systems and different data and donor communities who will support the decision making on the operational modalities and on raising resources to address the data needs for the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

“The UN World Data Forum is the best place to launch a declaration on financing for data and statistics,” said Mr.

Over 2,000 data experts from more than 100 countries gathered at the Forum from 22-24 October, with participants from governments, national statistical offices, the private sector and academia, international organizations and civil society groups

Liu Zhenmin, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs. “To achieve the ambitions set on in the Cape Town Global Action Plan, both increased domestic resources and international support will be needed. My expectation is that the declaration, the outcome of the discussions at this forum, will help us shape the way forward to promote “more and better funding” for data and statistics. The immediate next steps will be translating those ideas into action and ensuring that we maximize the effectiveness of funding for sustainable development data, as this is crucial to fulfil the data needs of the 2030 Agenda.”

“We are delighted to have hosted influential leaders, decision makers and experts from around the world over the past three days here in the UAE,” said Abdulla Nasser Lootah, Director General of the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority (FCSA). “The positive and insightful outcomes we’ve achieved during this important gathering are essential for unifying visions and empowering individuals, institutions and governments to embrace modern technologies and harness data to serve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) locally, regionally and internationally.”

Over 2,000 data experts from more than 100 countries gathered at the Forum from 22-24 October, with participants from governments, national statistical offices, the private sector and academia, international organizations and civil society groups.

Across over 85 sessions during the three days of the Forum, many innovative solutions to the data challenges of the 2030 Agenda were proposed and partnerships were formed.

Innovative data solutions Some highlights from the Forum include: The launch of a data interoperability guide by a collaborative led by the UN Statistics Division and the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data, which identifies practical steps to help countries and development partners on the pathway towards integration of data from multiple sources for better monitoring and policy making to achieve the 2030 Agenda.

Important discussions on building trust in data and statistics showed that 70 percent of this expert audience believed there is a crisis in lack of public trust in data, 35 percent felt the top cause is that statistics do not align with pre-conceived ideas, and 37 percent said that improving citizens’ data literacy was needed to tackle this challenge. These sessions highlighted an important area of work for the data community moving forward, particularly as it relates to data literacy for both the public at large and policymakers and the need to ensure data relevance, openness and quality.

A session organized by Data2x featured gender data impact stories, including a moving story of how the results of a survey on domestic violence in Viet Nam shocked government officials into enacting new legislation and awareness-raising campaigns which have become a model across Asia. This story and the others highlighted in this session demonstrate the impact data can have when communicated in a way that policymakers can understand. This data impact story is an important example for other data producers, civil society members and journalists on how data can be used to influence policy actions.

Switzerland to host Forum in 2020 It was announced today that Switzerland will host the next UN World Data Forum in Bern from 18-21 October 2020. The announcement was made at a press conference today by Dr. Gabriella Vukovich, co-chair of the Highlevel Group for Partnership, Coordination and Capacity-Building for Statistics for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the group that oversees the organization of the Forum.

“We are looking forward to working with the colleagues from Switzerland to organize an exciting World Data Forum in 2020,” said Stefan Schweinfest, Director of the UN Statistics Division. “The UAE has set a high standard of support, and the energy and engagement behind the Forum continues to build, as evidenced by growing attendance.”

WAM/Tariq alfaham

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By Geneva Centre
GENEVA, Oct 24 2018 (Geneva Centre)

In commemoration of the 2018 United Nations Day, observed annually on 24 October, the Chairman of the Geneva Centre for Human Rights Advancement and Global Dialogue HE Dr. Hanif Hassan Ali Al Qassim said that the United Nations Day is an opportunity to reflect on the achievements of this unique organization that has gone beyond maintaining world peace, promoting human rights and social progress.

Dr. Hanif Hassan Ali Al Qassim

“As we commemorate today the 73rd anniversary of the ratification and adoption of the Charter of the UN, we reflect on the progress world society has made in realizing the vision of the founders of the UN to promote international peace and prosperity, strengthen international cooperation and develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principles of equal rights and sovereign equality,” underlined Dr. Al Qassim.

The UN is the only global institution that brings together all countries of the world. It has become a forum where political leaders and national governments meet to discuss matters related to international peace and security and to foster cooperation in solving international economic, social, cultural, and humanitarian issues of shared relevance to all countries.

In this context, the Geneva Centre’s Chairman added that “the strenuous efforts of the UN to mediate in protracted conflict, promote and advance human rights, respond to impunity and redress gross human rights violations, promote a sustainable future – as witnessed with the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – have contributed to promote peace and enhance justice in every corner of the world,” underlined Dr. Al Qassim.

Although the Geneva Centre’s Chairman praised the efforts of the UN in bringing numerous issues of relevance to social and human development at the forefront of international decision-making, he appealed to decision-makers to avoid impeding the UN from fulfilling its obligations.

In this context, Dr. Al Qassim underlined that member States must “pursue policies which enable values to take precedence over politics in human rights discourse. Politicization of human rights and the selective application of relevant international law norms give rise to distrust and antagonism.

“The credibility of the UN must not be endangered. Decision-makers must commit themselves to enable the UN to become a vector for peace and sustainable development with the aim of uniting the endeavors of its member States to attain common goals and objectives as set out in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” stated Dr. Al Qassim.

In conclusion, the Geneva Centre’s Chairman warned that the threats of extremism and the rise of political populism could replace multilateralism and consensus-building by unilateralism and protectionism that would undermine the long-term efficiency of the UN. In this connection, he appealed to “States and international decision-makers to resort to dialogue and alliance-building so as to identify a path that preserves the irreplaceable bounty of the planet which is in jeopardy. This calls for resolute decision-making by the UN.”

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Agronomist and Girls Guide Hanitranirina Rarison is combining all her skills and experiences to help rid Madagascar of malnutrition.

By Hanitranirina Rarison
ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar, Oct 24 2018 (IPS)

As much as 80 percent of Madagascar’s population of 24 million people is involved in agriculture and the country’s economy largely depends on the sector, yet 48 percent of households are faced with food insecurity according to the National Nutrition Office (NNO). Over 70 percent of households live below the national poverty line of 535,603 Malagasy ariary per year (1 U.S. dollar equals 3,447.50 ariary).

In rural Madagascar, where subsistence farming is the primary economic activity, as high as 86 percent of households live in poverty. For most of these households, there is a predictable gap of four to five months each year in which staple food production (mainly rice) is not enough to cover the demand.

During this time, the rice yield is low or destroyed by cyclone or flooding. Cassava or sweet potatoes replace the rice, providing mostly carbohydrates in the diet.

Madagascar is the fifth most malnourished country in the World, the NNO says. Slightly more than 47 percent of children under five years are stunted meaning nearly one in two children are malnourished.

According to the DHS Survey in 2010, acute malnutrition affected 27 percent of young women 15–19 years old in 2009, especially in rural areas. Anemia is present in 35 percent of women 15–49 years old.

A lack of direct access to food and production more seriously disadvantages women than men the World Food Program says, and good nutrition is especially critical for adolescence girls.

During this critical growth period, they need more iron, for example, to compensate for blood loss from menstruation. Good nutrition also helps to provide immunity against diseases and provides the energy they need to help them thrive.

However, there are not enough projects or programs supporting women and girls’ nutrition. Most projects support the first 1000 days of life through nutrition intervention at national nutrition sites located mostly in rural areas or in areas vulnerable to malnutrition.

These are common spaces in communities reserved for training mothers on breastfeeding, how to monitor and evaluate the growth of the child from birth to two years, and on nutritious baby food and the importance of colored-diversified food. These programs are an important part of Madagascar’s attempt to fight malnutrition.

This strategy is guided by the National Action Plan on Nutrition III. Launched in 2005, the first phase outlines nutrition activities with 14 goals. Eight of these have been implemented: 1) promotion of breastfeeding and complementary food, 2) integration of the community in nutrition, 3) fight against micronutrient deficiency 4) integration of nutrition intervention in primary healthcare, 5) care for acute malnutrition, 6) improvement of household food security, 7) integration of school nutrition, and 8) improvement of communication on nutrition.

Madagascar has partially implemented the four remaining strategies: 1) preparation and intervention for nutrition emergency, 2) a national system of nutrition and food supervision, 3) development of the national capacity building, and 4) nutrition intervention relating to emergent problem (HIV/AIDS) and non-communicable disease.

The remaining two interventions have not started. These focuses on integrating development initiatives and providing legislative framework around food and nutrition.

Phase two of the plan outlines steps to address malnutrition, the food and nutrition security for vulnerable households, and the coordination and improvement of the nutrition sector growth.

Phase three was launched in 2017 (NNO, 2017) and focuses on deepening the phase two interventions as well as improving access to health services and safe drinking water and sanitation, with special attention on pregnant and lactating women and adolescent girls.

Raising public awareness of the National Plan of Action on Nutrition is key to its overall success. This is being addressed, in part, by community sensitization through television, radio, and print media.

Madagascar is among the pilot countries in the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts Nutrition Programme, and as agents of change, Girl Guides in Madagascar are joining the campaign to fight malnutrition through advocacy and communications. We have taken part in the design of the nutrition curriculum, and currently, 80, 000 members in all 22 administrative regions (even in extreme rural areas) are involved in the movement in Madagascar

The youth advocates pool, a group of Girl Guides involved in nutrition advocacy in Madagascar, will help promote sensitization through online portals and in-person meetings in communities. The pool will help deliver public education from the nutrition program curriculum and speak at relevant nutrition events in our country.

Media support on nutrition will be important to change community behavior and influence decision-makers and policymakers. In addition to its members, Girl Guides plans to use media to sensitize another 40,000 people in the community.

The post Rich in Agriculture, Madagascar Suffers from Extreme Malnutrition appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Excerpt:

Hanitranirina Rarison is an agronomist specializing in food sciences in Fanilon’I Madagasikara. She is also a Girl Guide and actively involved in its nutrition advocacy program.

The post Rich in Agriculture, Madagascar Suffers from Extreme Malnutrition appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Dr. Lee Ying-yuan Minister for Environmental Protection Administration, Executive Yuan, Taiwan

By Dr. Lee Ying-yuan
Oct 23 2018 (Manila Times)

Continued growth in emissions of greenhouse gases around the world has caused abnormal and extreme weather events such as heatwaves, droughts, and catastrophic torrential rains. These events are no longer just abstract future scenarios; they are happening today in all corners of the globe.

Average temperatures in Taiwan in the past two years have been the highest in 100 years. Since 2017, rainfall has dropped markedly, affecting Taiwan’s hydroelectricity generation. Indeed, these recent developments are having a considerable impact and pose a significant threat.

Other parts of the world have witnessed similar trends. During the 2018 summer season, many countries across the Northern Hemisphere in Europe, Asia, North America, and North Africa have experienced record-breaking heatwaves and deadly wildfires that seriously jeopardize human health, agriculture, natural ecosystems, and infrastructure.

To further implement the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and achieve the goals outlined therein, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, in addition to faithfully conducting important projects, consultations, and negotiations, has also invited parties from various fields to join the Talanoa Dialogue, so as to take full advantage of the collective wisdom of humankind in formulating workable solutions to climate change.

Taiwan doing its part

As a member of the global village, and in line with the Paris Agreement, Taiwan has actively encouraged all stakeholders to do their part and strengthen efforts toward reducing carbon emissions. Taiwan has passed the Greenhouse Gas Reduction and Management Act, under which five-year carbon reduction targets have been formulated. Taiwan has also created the National Climate Change Action Guidelines and implemented the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Action Plan, which targets six major sectors: energy, manufacturing, transportation, residential and commercial development, agriculture, and environmental management. By setting emission caps, promoting green finance initiatives, cultivating local talent pools and education, encouraging cooperation across central and local government agencies and across industries, and involving the general public, Taiwan seeks to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 to less than 50 percent of 2005 levels.

Almost 90 percent of Taiwan’s annual greenhouse gas emissions come from fuel combustion. The government is striving to increase the share of renewable sources in overall energy generation to 20 percent by 2025, and raise the share of energy produced with natural gas up to 50 percent. At the same time, Taiwan is gradually reducing its reliance on coal, closing older coal facilities and equipping the remaining ones with high-efficiency ultra-supercritical units that cause less pollution. The government is also investing in other equipment and technology that can help reduce pollution, offering subsidies to encourage people to replace older vehicles as well as promoting electric vehicles. Earlier in 2018, Taiwan’s Air Pollution Control Act was amended, with stronger measures to curtail air pollution and accelerate Taiwan’s energy transition.

Taiwan’s energy policies are being promoted in consideration of four core aspects: energy security, green economy, environmental sustainability, and social fairness. Furthermore, Taiwan is working on an energy transformation white paper and encouraging public participation and input during this process. It is also implementing key action plans under the Energy Development Guidelines, so as to make a decisive shift towards sustainable energy development.

The pursuit of economic growth often comes at the expense of environmental degradation and depletion of natural resources. According to research by the Global Footprint Network, human consumption of natural resources is outpacing the ability of the planet’s ecosystems to regenerate resources by a factor of 1.7. In fact, in 2018, Earth Overshoot Day fell on August 1, which was earlier than ever before.

Promoting circular economy

In order to find a proper balance between economic development and environmental protection, Taiwan is promoting the circular economy as part of the Five Plus Two Innovative Industries program. There is a widespread international consensus that the circular economy plays a vital role in achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement.

Taiwan has already made significant progress over the past two decades in recycling and reusing resources. In fact, in 2017, Taiwan’s resource recovery rate was 52.5 percent, a ratio surpassed only by Germany and Austria. The recycling rate of plastic bottles in Taiwan in 2017 was 95 percent. And during the 2018 FIFA World Cup, about half of the 32 teams in the tournament wore jerseys produced with recycled bottles from Taiwan.

Looking to the future, Taiwan will continue to strengthen technological R&D and innovation, so as to bolster recycling while building integrated industrial value chains. The goal is to achieve a situation in which there is zero waste and everything that can be recycled is recycled. Taiwan is more than willing to share its technology and experience with the international community.

By advancing environmental sustainability, we can ensure that our planet remains as uniquely beautiful and habitable as it has been more for millions of years. All countries and parties should take part in this common endeavor. Having benefited tremendously from industrialization, Taiwan is now fully committed to playing a key role in saving the planet and its precious ecosystems. Taiwan is ready and willing to share its knowledge and experience in environmental management, disaster prevention and warning systems, energy efficiency enhancement technology, and application of innovative technology.

Climate change is a matter of our planet’s survival, and should not be reduced to a political issue. Taiwan has long been unfairly disregarded by and isolated from the United Nations system. This has not discouraged us. On the contrary, we have doubled our efforts based on our belief in the Confucian saying that “a man of morality will never live in solitude; he will always attract companions.” In a professional, pragmatic, and constructive manner, Taiwan will seek meaningful participation in international organizations and events, and fulfill its responsibilities as a member of the international community. Let Taiwan join the world, and let the world embrace Taiwan.

This story was originally published by The Manila Times, Philippines

The post Climate change: Global challenge requiring global response appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Excerpt:

Dr. Lee Ying-yuan Minister for Environmental Protection Administration, Executive Yuan, Taiwan

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As part of the pre-departure orientation process, IOM staff members assist a refugee family to try on new shoes in Mae Sot, Thailand. IOM/ 2017

By International Organization for Migration
GENEVA, Oct 23 2018 (IOM)

In the first six months of 2018, IOM, the UN Migration Agency, supported the resettlement of 47,197 refugees departing from 106 different countries. The Organization plays a key role in the resettlement process by providing services that prepare refugees to integrate in their new countries.

Lebanon, Turkey and Afghanistan were the top three departure countries for refugees resettled globally. In addition, Syrian, Afghan and Congolese (from the Democratic Republic of the Congo) refugees were among the top three nationalities selected for resettlement. These refugees began new lives in a total of 26 different countries, with the United States, Canada and Sweden as the top three receiving countries.

In cooperation with European governments, IOM also supports the relocation of refugees and migrants who arrived at ports-of-entry in countries like Greece to other receiving European countries. From January to June of this year, IOM relocated 1,595 people to destination countries within Europe.

In comparison with resettlement rates from January to June 2017, the number of refugees resettled in the first half of 2018 has reduced by 40 per cent (from 79,299 to 47,197). Similarly, the relocation of refugees and migrants in Europe has decreased by 88 per cent (from 13,260 to 1,546) in the same reporting period.

While the United States remains the leading recipient of resettled refugees in 2018, it has fallen from admitting 31,808 humanitarian entrants in 2017 to 14,379 persons in the first six months of 2018.

According to UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, as of mid-2018, 68.5 million people worldwide have been forcibly displaced, of which 25.4 million have crossed international borders and are recognised as refugees by UNHCR.

“Resettlement remains a vital international protection tool for some of the world’s most vulnerable populations. It is important for practitioners to support and advocate for resettlement, so these valuable opportunities remain, and policy makers are reminded of this important humanitarian solution,” said Craig Murphy, IOM’s Programme Manager for the Emerging Resettlement Countries Mechanism (ERCM).

Despite its reduction, resettlement offers a crucial multilateral humanitarian solution for refugees. In addition to integration and return, resettlement is one of the three durable solutions available to refugees – and one of the only options for those living in situations of long-term displacement.

However, resettlement as a durable solution is accessible to less than one per cent of the refugee population. IOM, therefore, supports the expansion and improvement of traditional resettlement programmes as well as diversifying complementary pathways of migration for refugees – including family reunification, student visas and scholarships, and labour migration.

“IOM continues to support governments engaged in resettlement as a durable solution for refugees by providing comprehensive care to prepare refugees for their journey, support them during travel and assist with post-arrival integration. This is done through well-developed protocols for health assessments and the development of curriculum and pre-departure orientation courses,” explained Murphy.

Partnerships and close coordination are central to effective resettlement. IOM plans and coordinates with governments to ensure safe, dignified and ultimately successful resettlement. UNHCR undertakes the primary role in identifying refugees considered for resettlement.

This short animated video showcases the resettlement process, from selection to reception, for one refugee family. It highlights the plight of refugees and IOM’s role in essential aspects of resettlement from health and integration, to ensuring safe and dignified movement.

For more information, please contact Craig Murphy at IOM HQ in Geneva, Tel: +41 22 717 9183, Email: cmurphy@iom.int

The post IOM Remains Committed to Resettlement Despite Decline in 2018 appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Pakistani migrant workers build a skyscraper in Dubai. Credit: S. Irfan Ahmed/IPS

By Ivar Andersen
Oct 23 2018 (IPS)

“The idea is to integrate technology into the fight for workers’ rights,” says Ira Rachmawati.  As project manager with ITUC’s division for human and workers’ rights, she has led the development of the digital tool Recruitment Advisor, which the global trade union confederation hopes will improve conditions for the world’s 150 million migrant workers.

In South and South East Asia for example, migrant workers constitute a huge cash cow for recruitment agencies that advertise foreign jobs. Fees are often high, and many people borrow money to be able to travel.

Recruitment Advisor

The platform has been developed in cooperation with the ILO­­­ initiative Fair Recruitment. The purpose is to allow migrant workers to warn each other about unprofessional recruitment agencies.

It was inspired by the travel review app Trip Advisor, but also by the Contratados site, which informs Latin American migrant workers about US employers and is based in part on user-generated information.

So far, Recruitment Advisor contains more than 3,000 reviews of recruitment agencies in Nepal, the Philippines and Indonesia. In the next phase, Kenya and Sri Lanka will be included in the platform.

A migrant worker wishing to review a recruiter answers 16 questions. Platform algorithms turn the result to a grade rating. All reviews are checked so that recruitment agencies cannot manipulate the information.

The future vision is a global service for migrant workers as well as workers seeking employment in their home countries.
In addition, there are plenty of recruitment agencies promising the earth, but delivering something completely different. Many migrant workers attest to receiving lower wages and worse conditions than agreed on when they arrive. Some end up in modern-day slavery.

Unreliable recruitment agencies have long been able to operate without scrutiny. It’s difficult to know beforehand which recruitment agencies are fair, and once in one’s new country of work, it is almost impossible to claim one’s rights.

But the ITUC’s initiative allows migrant workers to rate the agencies and warn each other about the worst perpetrators. The concept is the same as that of countless apps based on user reviews. The name even draws on that of one the most popular travel guides; Trip Advisor.

”Initially, we called the project Migrant Recruitment Monitor, but it was easier for everyone to talk about it like a Trip Advisor for migrant workers,” says Ira Rachmawati.

Recruitment Advisor was launched last year, following a long process of preparations. Through its member organisations in workers’ countries, ITUC collected information about the local recruitment agencies.

 “They went to the rural villages where much of the recruitment takes place. Everything has been based on outreach and participation,” says Ira Rachmawati.

“We have 3 024 reviews at the moment. Most are based on interviews we conducted offline. The next step is to populate the platform online.”

Recruitment Advisor currently has around 7,000 users. The efficiency of the tool depends on attracting more users.

At the same time, ITUC has to secure future funding.

”The only way we can build a sustainable platform is to bring the big member organisations in Europe on board. To do that, they must be able to feel that they can use it in their own work,” says Ira Rachmawati.

“We are already discussing a version 2.0 that will include local recruitment.”

This story was originally published by Arbetet Global

The post ”Like a TripAdvisor for migrant workers” appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Excerpt:

Millions of migrant workers depend on recruitment agencies to find employment abroad. But many offer dodgy jobs at a high cost. A new site, developed by the International Trade Union Confederation, allows migrant workers to tell each other which agencies to avoid.

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By Vladimir Popov and Jomo Kwame Sundaram
MOSCOW and KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 23 2018 (IPS)

Although initially obscured by The Economist, among others, the sudden and unprecedented increase in Russian adult male mortality during 1992-1994 is no longer denied. Instead, the debate is now over why?

Having advocated ‘shock therapy’, a ‘big bang’, ‘sudden’ or rapid post-Soviet transition, Jeffrey Sachs and others have claimed that the sudden collapse in Russian adult male life expectancy was due to a sudden increase in alcohol consumption, playing into popular foreign images of vodka-binging Russian men.

In Russia, vodka is a killer. Credit: Pavol Stracansky/IPS

In fact, the transition to the market economy and democracy in Eastern Europe and former Soviet republics dramatically reduced life expectancy owing to greater stress exacerbated by the nature and impact of the early post-Soviet transition under Boris Yeltsin, especially during his first term.

 

Did post-Soviet Russians drink much more vodka?

While alcohol consumption did increase greatly after Gorbachev’s anti-alcoholism campaign (1985-1987) ended, it never reached the highest Soviet level in 1984.

While there has been a strong correlation between alcohol consumption and the adult male mortality rate, there have been several periods when per capita alcohol consumption levels and death rates moved in opposing directions. In 2002-2007, for example, death rates from deliberately inflicted (‘external’) causes, including murder, suicide and poisoning, fell despite rising alcohol consumption.

Similarly, from 1960 to 1970, alcohol consumption increased from 4.6 to 8.5 litres per capita, according to official statistics (and from 9.8 to 12 litres, according to other estimates), whereas life expectancy did not change much, rising from 69 years in 1960 to 70 in 1965, and then falling back to 69 again in 1970.

 

How did much poorer Russians afford more vodka?

Not surprisingly, claims of strong correlations between lower alcohol prices, higher alcohol consumption and adult male mortality focus on the price effect without considering the income effect. While increased alcohol intake has been attributed to the lower relative prices of spirits in the early 1990s, it ignores the fact that real incomes fell even more sharply.

In fact, Russian vodka consumption has fallen sharply, by more than half, in recent decades, from over 200 billion litres in the early 1980s and 1990s, to about 100 billion litres in 2015. Meanwhile, the wine and beer shares of alcohol consumption have increased markedly.

Some studies claim that at least 30 per cent of alcohol consumption in Russia is unrecorded, and official figures understate drinking low cost alcohol with high toxicity. But this claim has no empirical support, even if only indirect.

Thus, the impact of increased alcohol intake on cardio-vascular diseases remains moot, with per capita alcohol consumption and death rates moving in opposite directions at times. Death rates due to deliberately inflicted (‘external’) causes, including murder, suicide and poisoning, fell despite rising alcohol consumption during 2002-2007.

 

How does vodka kill?

Some Western observers attributed as much as a third of total deaths in Russia to alcohol related causes. These are the highest estimates available, but are doubted by most other experts.

This very high share is much greater than official statistics which suggest that less than four per cent of deaths were due to alcohol consumption, i.e., alcohol poisoning, liver cirrhosis, alcoholism, and alcoholic psychosis. Some independent researchers have an intermediate position, attributing about 12 per cent of all deaths to alcohol-related causes.

Other observers argue that average alcohol consumption levels are not necessarily a good indicator of health risks. One such argument is that not all consumption of alcohol, but only of hard spirits, particularly vodka in the case of Russia, is responsible for the increased mortality.

 

Why did Russian life expectancy fall after Gorbachev?

Russia has long had extensive post-mortem causes of death data, having done autopsies for more than 60 per cent of all deaths, i.e., more than anywhere else. Some public health experts argue that while cardiovascular disease was the main cause of death, much of this was due to lethal levels of alcoholism.

Deaths from alcohol poisoning are widely regarded as the better indicator of excessive alcohol consumption compared to official production figures as liquor may be produced illegally within a country or smuggled into it.

Deaths from alcohol poisoning increased from 10 per 100,000 inhabitants in 1990-1991 to nearly 40 in 1994, exceeding the number due to suicide and murder. By 2007, however, such alcohol related deaths had fallen to late Soviet levels, even though the overall mortality rate remained well above the rate from those times.

 

Stress kills

There is growing evidence that stress kills, using extensive data on earlier declines in life expectancy among men in all former Soviet republics and East European countries. In Georgia, Armenia and Eastern Europe, mortality increased, lowering life expectancy, without increased drinking.

Only a few causes of male deaths during 1980–2013 were alcohol-related, e.g., accidental poisoning by alcohol, liver cirrhosis, ischemic heart diseases, stroke, travel accidents, and other ‘external’ causes.

The continuous decline in adult male mortality in Belarus and Russia cannot be fully explained by anti-alcohol policies, although such interventions probably contributed to the large mortality falls in both countries during 2005–2006, and in Belarus in 2012. These mortality declines coincided with and probably accelerated to already declining alcohol-related mortality.

All statistics and estimates agree that per capita alcohol consumption in the 1990s was equal to or lower than in the early 1980s, while deaths due to ‘external’ causes doubled, and the total death rate increased by half.

Thus, simultaneous increases in the total death rate, the death rate due to external causes and to alcohol consumption were all probably due to another factor, namely stress.

Jomo Kwame Sundaram, a former economics professor, was assistant director-general for Economic and Social Development, Food and Agriculture Organisation, and received the Wassily Leontief Prize for Advancing the Frontiers of Economic Thought in 2007.

Vladimir Popov is Research Director at the Dialogue of Civilizations Research Institute in Berlin

 

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By WAM
VIENNA, Oct 23 2018 (WAM)

The OPEC Fund for International Development, OFID, has signed a US$50 million public sector loan agreement with Argentina to co-finance the second phase of the Desvio Arijon Water Supply project.

The agreement was signed by OFID Director-General Suleiman J Al-Herbish and Argentina’s Minister of Economy of the Santa Fe Province Gonzalo Saglione.

Al-Herbish highlighted that this project is in line with Argentina’s National Development Plan 2016-2020 as well as with the Provincial Strategy Plan of Santa Fe, Vision 2030, in which the government of Santa Fe defines access to water as a basic right. The project is also in line with OFID’s mandate to alleviate poverty and its commitment to continue supporting adequate water infrastructure.

Al-Herbish noted that this latest loan will provide 122 km of pipelines to connect the Desvio Arijon water purification plant with the city of Rafaela and surrounding towns, benefitting more than 220,000 people.

On behalf of the Province of Santa Fe, Saglione indicated that this project is crucial for residents, and expressed his appreciation for OFID’s continued support.

All of OFID’s public sector loans to Argentina have targeted the country’s water and sanitation sector, in line with the organisation’s strategic focus on the energy-water-food nexus approach to sustainable development. Cumulatively, OFID has approved US$150 million in public sector lending to Argentina, in addition to US$20 million through its private sector window.

OFID is the development finance institution established by the Member States of OPEC in 1976 as a channel of aid to the developing countries. The fund works in cooperation with developing country partners and the international donor community to stimulate economic growth and alleviate poverty in all disadvantaged regions of the world. OFID was established in January 1976 by the then 13 member countries of OPEC; including the United Arab of Emirates.

[Image credit: OPEC Fund for International Development, OFID – Twitter: @OFIDnews]

 

WAM/Rola Alghoul/Esraa Ismail

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