Africa

Mexico, mother keeps a portrait of murdered daughter in a locket. 2014. Credit: UN Women/Ina Riaskov

By Antonio Molpeceres and Klaus Rudischhauser
UNITED NATIONS, Oct 2 2018 (IPS)

Violence against women and girls is one of the most serious, globally widespread, deep-rooted and normalized human rights violations. The statistics are shocking: at least one in three women worldwide has suffered physical or sexual violence, usually by a family member or an intimate partner.

The diverse types of violence levelled against women and girls are rooted in gender inequality. Violence against women and girls is regular and systematic, occurring in every context of their lives, both in private and out in the open. One such form of daily, systematic and public violence against women and girls is femicide.

Globally, 14 of the 25 countries with the highest rates of femicide are in Latin America. Ninety-eight per cent of the femicides in Latin America are not prosecuted. According to the World Bank, this problem is not only destructive for the victims, but it also carries important social and economic costs.

Violence against women and girls in Latin America consumes 3.7% of countries GDPs, more than twice their education budgets. Several studies have shown that boys and girls that witness or experience violence as children are more likely to become victims or perpetrators as adults.

In 2016, more than 2,700 female deaths with “homicide presumption” were registered in Mexico. An average of 7.5 women murdered every day . According to the Mexican Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System, from January to July 2018, there have been 484 femicides, not counting the ‟black figure″ (crimes that are not reported).

Tragically, this kind of violence is very common. Recent registered incidents in Mexico have placed femicides in the public agenda, creating and encouraging social movements calling for more and better prevention, investigation, prosecution, punishment and reparation actions against violence. This social and public context has also been useful to push forward the definition and criminalization of femicide and to develop relevant tools and guidelines to sensitively prosecute these crimes.

It is time to break the cycle. As mentioned in the General Assembly Resolution ‟Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda of Sustainable Development″, it is impossible to achieve the full realization of human potential if half of humanity continues to be denied its full human rights.

We are aware that a world free of violence against women and girls can only be reached through meaningful political and social commitments, supported by appropriate resources. Actions are required at multiple levels to effect change, including to: 1) close political and legislative gaps: 2) strengthen institutions; 3) promote equal gender attitudes; 4) provide high quality services to survivors and reparation for victims and their families; 5) produce and provide disaggregated data; and 6) empower women´s movements, leaving no one behind.

On 27 September 2018, the European Union and the United Nations launched the Spotlight Initiative that will be implemented in Mexico, Argentina, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala. It is a multi-year partnership that will substantively contribute to eradicating femicide and other forms of violence against women and girls.

Focused on the six pillars noted above, the Initiative positions the elimination of all forms of violence at the core of the efforts to achieve gender equality and empower women, in line with the 2030 Agenda of Sustainable Development.

Violence against women and girls is a complex phenomenon, deeply rooted in unequal power relationships between women and men and in ingrained social standards, practices and behaviors that promote discrimination at home, in the workplace and in society in general. Action is imperative, not only to ensure respect for human rights, but also to transform the lives of women and girls to attain sustainable development.

The Spotlight Initiative in Mexico will seek to address the problem of femicide from a holistic perspective. Thus, adding to ongoing efforts in the country, the Initiative will underscore the strengthening of the prevention strategies that will accomplish the reduction of risk margins, modify the social patriarchal structures, strengthen equality between women and men, and decrease impunity, all from the life cycle perspective. Sustainable solutions require that we work on a multi-level approach and bring diverse actors on board.

In collaboration with the Mexican authorities and the different branches of the state, civil society, women´s organizations, women, girls, men, young people, private sector and the media, we will join forces to end this pandemic.

(1)Female Deaths with Presumption of Homicide (DFPH, for its acronym in Spanish) are obtained from the vital statistics published by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI, for its acronym in Spanish) and have been used as a proxy for feminicide. See UN Women, SEGOB, INMUJERES. Feminicide violence in Mexico: approaches and trends 1985-2016, December 2017, in: http://bit.ly/2xGjNeC
(2)Because of the typification of feminicide as a crime in the states, the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System began to systematize information from the relevant justice authorities at state level. See http://bit.ly/2xBzZ0N

The post EU & UN Join Mexico to Eradicate Violence against Women & Girls appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Excerpt:

Antonio Molpeceres is the UN Resident Coordinator in Mexico and Klaus Rudischhauser is the EU Ambassador to Mexico.

The post EU & UN Join Mexico to Eradicate Violence against Women & Girls appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Workers stitch Hanes tee-shirts at a factory in the CODEVI free trade zone in Ouanaminthe, Haiti. Credit: Jude Stanley Roy/IPS

By Jomo Kwame Sundaram and Anis Chowdhury
KUALA LUMPUR and SYDNEY, Oct 2 2018 (IPS)

The world economy remains tepid and unstable a decade after the 2008 financial crisis, while growing trade conflicts are symptoms of deeper economic malaise, according to a new United Nations publication.

While the global economy has picked up since early 2017, growth remains hesitant, with many countries operating below potential. The year ahead is unlikely to see much improvement as the world economy is under stress again, with rising tariffs and volatile financial flows.

Underlying such threats to global economic stability is the failure to address fundamental weaknesses in global economic governance which have been fostering global economic inequities and imbalances.

Addressing new challenges
UNCTAD’s Trade and Development Report 2018: Power, Platforms and the Free Trade Delusion (TDR 2018) makes proposals to address recent economic trends and challenges.

Jomo Kwame Sundaram

The report examines how economic power is increasingly concentrated in fewer big international firms, its impact on the ability of developing countries to benefit from the international trading system, and the distribution of gains from new digital technologies.

TDR 2018 notes that since 2008, many advanced countries have shifted from domestic to external sources of growth, with the eurozone becoming a trade surplus region.

While advanced economies have not done enough to rebalance the global economy, ‘normalizing’ unconventional monetary policies could rile capital and currency markets, with potentially vicious economic consequences in the more vulnerable emerging market economies.

Among countries relying on domestic demand, too many depend on higher debt and asset price bubbles, instead of raising wages. Meanwhile, growth is constrained by the omnipresent threat of financial instability, although the bigger emerging market economies are doing better this year, and commodity exporters can benefit while prices are high.

Anis Chowdhury

While Brazil, India, China and South Africa depend heavily on domestic demand, many other developing economies do not. With downside, including financial risks rising in several countries, TDR 2018 warns of gathering economic storm clouds.

The current $250 trillion debt stock – 50 per cent higher than a decade ago – is thrice the size of annual global output. Private, particularly corporate debt has been mainly behind this borrowing spree, but without financing corresponding real investments. Meanwhile, growing indebtedness has increased inequality through the financial markets.

Horns of trade dilemma
International trade remains dominated by large firms through their control of global value chains, with the top one per cent of each country’s exporting firms accounting for more than half its exports.

The spread of such chains accelerated trade growth from the end of the 20th century until the 2008 financial crisis, with some developing countries growing fastest. But the ratio of trade to growth has been rising, with much more trade associated with the same output increase. This has mainly benefited large firms by increasing market concentration and intellectual property.

Meanwhile, except for China, manufacturing’s share of value added has generally declined as the shares of pre- and post-production activities have risen. Such rents captured at both ends of the value chain have affected income distribution more generally.

Recent tariff increases are disrupting a trading system increasingly involving such value chains, although trade growth in 2018 is likely to reach 2017 levels. However, heightened uncertainty and reduced investment could have more damaging medium term consequences, particularly threatening for countries already facing financial distress.

Distributional consequences
By changing the profitability of firms in tradeable sectors, tariff hikes have distributional consequences affecting demand. After decades of disruptive trade liberalization, tariff war will not restore the status quo ante, but could cause massive disruptions.

Instead, UNCTAD argues that through global policy coordination, governments could avert continuing deterioration of income distribution and employment, at the root of recent economic crises. Hence, while globalization has rarely produced ‘win-win’ outcomes, neither trade nationalism nor further trade liberalization are appropriate.

After all, free trade has limited policy space for developing countries and reduced protections for working people and small businesses, while further enriching big firms.

TDR 2018 deems trade wars symptomatic of the deteriorating economic system and multilateral architecture, due to corporate political capture and rising inequality, with money used to gain political power and political power used to make money. As inward-looking options do not offer a way forward for most, the challenge is to make multilateralism work for all.

To avoid the errors of the 1930s, UNCTAD urges addressing new challenges while referring to the 1948 Havana Charter, the first multilateral effort to create a managed international trading system.

This must involve trade promotion contributing to both full employment and rising wages, restricting rentier corporate behaviour, while ensuring sufficient policy space to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

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Championship side West Bromwich Albion sign ex-Crystal Palace forward Bakary Sako on a deal to the end of the season.

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By WAM
ABU DHABI, Oct 2 2018 (WAM)

Rains fell on 29th September, have boosted the amount of water stored by reservoirs of dams in the counrry’s Central Region to 106,500 cubic metres, according to figures released by the Ministry of Energy and Industry.

The water collected in the lake of Wadi Buraq dam was considered the largest amount from the rains and accounted for 90,000 cubic metres. The dam has a store capacity of 500,000 cubic metres. Water levels in the dam rose to 1.6 metre, the ministry noted.

The ministry urged the public to take extra caution and observe safety measures for their own safety.

Water collected in the reservoirs of dams and barriers, as well as runoff water from valleys, have increased groundwater reserves.

According to the ministry, until 2017, the total number of dams and embankments in the country has reached 145, with an estimated design capacity of 131 million cubic metres.

The ministry manages 101 dams and embankments that contribute to the enhancement, improvement and development of water resources, replenish the underground water tables and the prevention of flood hazards.

 

WAM/Tariq alfaham/Hatem Mohamed

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By Geneva Centre
GENEVA, Oct 2 2018 (Geneva Centre)

The Chairman of the Geneva Centre for Human Rights Advancement and Global Dialogue, HE Dr. Hanif Hassan Ali Al Qassim, praised Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy of non-violence in expressing concern about the current rise of extremist violence. Dr. Al Qassim made this statement to honour the legacy of the great Statesman of the Global South that is observed annually on 2 October on the occasion of the International Day of Non-Violence.

Dr. Hanif Hassan Ali Al Qassim

In the context of the Arab region, the Geneva Centre’s Chairman deplored in particular the rise of violence in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Libya and Palestine owing to extremist violence and foreign interventions. He said that the proliferation of crisis and conflict have the potential to divide religious and ethnic groups in multicultural societies fostering hate, intolerance and animosity between religions and denominations. With more than 10 million people forcibly displaced from their home societies, the Arab region is witnessing one of the world’s worst humanitarian calamities, he remarked.

To address these ominous trends, the Geneva Centre’s Chairman recalled that non-violence and lasting peace are key to secure the long-term stability of the Arab region. Dr. Al Qassim noted that military victory over extremist violence in the Arab region will only bring a “short-term solution as building lasting and sustainable peace requires addressing inter alia the root-causes of conflict, injustice, inequality, poverty and lack of social development.”

He therefore stated that societies in the Arab region gripped by violence must seek reconciliation, dialogue, respect for human rights and non-violence. “We must foster dialogue, strengthen empowerment, scale-up faith engagement involving religious leaders, enhance religious teaching, and include mediation and peace building in addressing intolerance and the rise of violence,” said Dr. Al Qassim.

In this connection, he quoted Mahatma Gandhi who said that “Power based on love is a thousand times more effective and permanent then the one derived from fear of punishment.” He therefore asserted that the commemoration of the International Day of Non-Violence is a timely opportunity for world society to commemorate the non-violent ideology of a world Statesman who believed in promoting peace and justice through acts of kindness and compassion. “Gandhi’s philosophy of non-violence Satyagraha remains a source of guidance for bringing peace to the Arab region,” Dr. Al Qassim concluded.

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A farmer harvests amaranth in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca. This grain, of which two of the varieties originated in Mexico, is part of the country's traditional diet and can help boost nutrition among Mexicans, who have been affected by skyrocketing consumption of junk food. Credit: Courtesy of Bridge to Community Health

By Emilio Godoy
MEXICO CITY, Oct 2 2018 (IPS)

Manuel Villegas is one of the peasant farmers who decided to start planting amaranth in Mexico, to complement their corn and bean crops and thus expand production for sale and self-consumption and, ultimately, contribute to improving the nutrition of their communities.

“Amaranth arrived in this part of the country in 2009, and some farmers were already growing it when I began to grow it in 2013. It’s growing, but slowly,” Villegas, who is coordinator of the non-governmental Amaranth Network in the Mixteca region, in the southern state of Oaxaca, told IPS.

This crop has produced benefits such as the organisation of farmers, processors and consumers, the obtaining of public funding, as well as improving the nutrition of both consumers and growers."There was an increase in availability and accessibility of overly-processed foods. The State failed to implement public prevention policies. Children live in an obesogenic environment (an environment that promotes gaining weight and is not conducive to weight loss). It's a vulnerable group and companies take advantage of that to increase their sales," -- Fiorella Espinosa

“We have made amaranth part of our daily diet. It improves the diet because of its nutritional qualities, combined with other high-protein seeds,” said Villegas, who lives in the rural area of the municipality of Tlaxiaco, with about 34,000 inhabitants.

The peasant farmers brought together by the network in their region plant some 40 hectares of amaranth, although the effects of climate change forced them to cut back production to 12 tons in 2017 and six this year, due to a drought affecting the area. To cover their self-consumption, they keep 10 percent of the annual harvest.

Native products such as amaranth, in addition to defending foods from the traditional Mexican diet, help to contain the advance of obesity, which has become an epidemic in this Latin American country of nearly 130 million people, with health, social and economic consequences.

The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) states in “The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2018,” published in August, that the prevalence of overweight among children under five fell from nine percent to 5.2 percent between 2012 and 2017. That means that the number of overweight children under that age fell from one million to 600,000.

On the other hand, the prevalence of obesity among the adult population (18 years and older) increased, from 26 percent to 28.4 percent. The number of obese adults went from 20.5 million to 24.3 million during the period.

The consequences of the phenomenon are also clear. One example is that mortality from diabetes type 2, the most common, climbed from 70.8 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants in 2013 to 84.7 in 2016, according to an update of indicators published in May by several institutions, including the health ministry.

Another impact reported in the same study is that deaths from high blood pressure went up from 16 per 100,000 inhabitants to 18.5.

Members of the Alliance for Food Health, a collective of organisations and academics, called in Mexico for better regulation of advertising of junk food aimed at children and of food and beverage labelling, during the launch of the report “A childhood hooked on obesity” in Mexico City in August. Credit: Emilio Godoy/IPS

But the most eloquent and worrying data is that one in three children is obese or overweight, according to a report published in August by the non-governmental Alliance for Food Health, a group of organisations and academics.

What lies behind

Specialists and activists agree that among the root causes of the phenomenon is the change in eating habits, where the traditional diet based on age-old products has gradually been replaced by junk food, high in sugar, salt, fats, artificial colorants and other ingredients, which is injected from childhood through exposure to poorly regulated advertising.Government strategy

In 2013, the government established the National Strategy for the Prevention and Control of Overweight, Obesity and Diabetes.

Its measures include the promotion of healthy habits, the creation of the Mexican Observatory on Non-Communicable Diseases (OMENT), the timely identification of people with risk factors, taxes on sugary beverages and the establishment of a voluntary seal of nutritional quality.

But the only progress made so far has been the creation of the observatory and the tax on soft drinks, since neither the regulation of food labels or advertising has come about.

In 2014, the state-run Federal Commission for Protection against Sanitary Risks created guidelines for front labeling of food and beverages, but did so without the participation of experts and civil society organisations and without complying with international World Health Organisation (WHO) standards.

For this reason, the non-governmental The Power of Consumers took legal action in 2015, and the following year a federal judge ruled that the measures violated consumers' rights to health and information. The Supreme Court is now debating the future of labelling.

For Simón Barquera, an authority in nutrition research in the country, the solution is "complex" and requires "multiple actions.” "Society is responsible for attacking the causes of disease. The industry cannot interfere in public policy," he said.

The latest National Health and Nutrition Survey found low proportions of regular consumption of most recommended food groups, such as vegetables, fruits and legumes, in all population groups. For example, 40 percent of the calories children ages one to five eat come from over-processed foods.

For Fiorella Espinosa, a researcher on dietary health at the civil association The Power of Consumers, the liberalisation of trade in Mexico since the 1990s, the lack of regulation of advertising and nutritional labels of products, the displacement of native foods and the prioritisation of extensive farming over traditional farming are factors that led to the crisis.

“There was an increase in availability and accessibility of overly-processed foods. The State failed to implement public prevention policies. Children live in an obesogenic environment (an environment that promotes gaining weight and is not conducive to weight loss). It’s a vulnerable group and companies take advantage of that to increase their sales,” she told IPS.

The 2017 Food Sustainability Index, produced by the Italian non-governmental Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition Foundation (BCFN), showed that this country, the second-largest in terms of population and economy in Latin America, has indicators reflecting a prevalence of over-eating, low physical activity and inadequate dietary patterns.

The index, which ranks France first, followed by Japan and Germany, analyses 34 nations with respect to sustainable agriculture, nutritional challenges and food loss and waste.

Obesity “is an epidemic that cannot be solved by nutrition education alone. It has structural determinants, such as the political environment, international trade, the environment and culture. It has social and economic barriers,” Simón Barquera, director of the Nutrition and Health Research Centre at the state-run National Institute of Public Health, told IPS.

Therefore, the Alliance for Food Health proposes a comprehensive strategy against overweight and obesity, which includes a law that incorporates increased taxes on unhealthy products, adequate labelling, better regulation of advertising and promotion of breastfeeding, among other measures.

The contribution of lifesaver crops such as amaranth

The organisations dedicated to the issue also highlight the recovery underway in communities in several states of traditional crops such as amaranth, a plant present in local food for 5,000 years and highly appreciated in the past because its grain contains twice the protein of corn and rice in addition to being rich in vitamins.

“We are looking for ways to generate changes at the community level in agriculture, food and family economy, focused on the cultivation of amaranth. We have realised that there has been a devaluation of the countryside and its role in adequate nutrition,” said Mauricio Villar, director of Social Economy for the non-governmental organisation Bridge to Nutritional Health.

Villar, also the coordinator of the Liaison Group for the Promotion of Amaranth in Mexico ,explained to IPS that “we are increasing our appreciation of peasant life and production, with impacts at different levels on nutrition,” to correct bad eating habits.

But according to Yatziri Zepeda, founder of the non-governmental AliMente Project, these local experiences, no matter how valuable their contribution, are limited in scope.

“These initiatives may generate changes at the local level and address some of the problems, but they are not sufficient to protect the right to health, among others. Obesity is not a matter of individual decisions, but of public policy. It is a political issue, there are very important corporate interests. It is multicausal and systemic,” she told IPS.

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People in Ghana, Kenya and Egypt speak up as the US first lady visits Africa for the first time.

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GCF invests in adaptation and mitigation activities in developing countries, managing a project portfolio that is implemented by its partner organisations, known as Accredited Entities.

By Jacob Waslander and Patricia Quijano Vallejos
WASHINGTON DC, Oct 1 2018 (IPS)

The Green Climate Fund’s mandate couldn’t be more crucial: accelerating climate action in developing countries by supporting transformational investments in adaptation and emissions reduction.

Projects already financed by the GCF range from solar power in Mongolia and improved water management in Colombia, to climate-resilient agriculture in Ghana, Nigeria, and Uganda.

However, the GCF is facing a crisis of confidence.

Its most recent Board meeting, in July, was spectacularly unproductive, and its executive director left the organization. This is only the latest example of a broader problem—a GCF that in the eyes of many can be a lot more effective and efficient.

More resources and strengthened governance are fundamental to restoring confidence in the GCF, as we lay out in a new working paper, Setting the Stage for the GCF’s First Replenishment.

After speaking with 86 stakeholders—including board members from developing and developed countries—we have recommendations for strengthening key aspects of the GCF.

An Uncertain Future

In 2014, contributors pledged $10.3 billion to the GCF, making it the biggest multilateral climate fund. This money is used to stimulate environmentally sustainable economic growth in developing countries by funding projects like renewable energy facilities and storm shelters that reduce emissions and adapt a country to the changing climate.

Now, four years after the initial contributions were pledged, the GCF is getting close to allocating most of its resources and triggering a new round of funding (“replenishment”). However, given the GCF’s crisis of confidence, uncertainty looms over the process.

That is a problem, for the present as well as the future. Developing countries have prepared their nationally-determined contributions (NDCs, which are national climate plans) with the expectation that–in addition to their own domestic budget resources–they can count on financial support from developed countries, including through the GCF.

Given the longer-term objectives of the NDCs, good planning and timely implementation are key; this in turn requires predictable external financial support.

Hence, replenishing the fund and providing predictability to that funding is very important. The question is, how should contributing countries split the bill?

Splitting the Bill

How should the financial burden be allocated? The same way you might approach dividing up a dinner check among friends: agree on an objective, transparent, and fair way to determine who should pay for what.

In a similar manner, contributors might apply objective criteria to assess their contributions to the GCF. In our paper, to advance the conversation, we designed a formula that combines three objective criteria: gross national income (GNI), greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and GHG emissions per capita.

This is just one suggestion; the important thing is that any way of thinking through what countries contribute should remain based on objective data. You can interact with our methodology using our Contributions Calculator:

As expected, applying the formula will require most developed countries to increase their contributions. For leading countries—Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom—each of whom exercised exemplary global leadership in the initial round of funding, giving more than the minimum—we recommend they at least match their ambitious contributions in the replenishment.

More details on what our formula would imply for each of the contributing countries can be found in our GCF Contributions Calculator.

To be sure, the elephant in the room is the United States. The world’s second-largest GHG emitter has made no contributions to the GCF since 2016, at which point it had contributed a third of its pledge.

Stakeholders we interviewed stressed the need to stay engaged with the United States, the country that our model suggests should make the biggest contributions to the GCF.

Another feature of the Calculator relates to other countries, which might join the mix of contributors; you can experiment with the possibilities in our Calculator.

If developing countries decide to contribute, especially those that are already major emitters, it must be clear that these contributions will be voluntary and will not count towards the international finance goal of mobilizing $100 billion per year from 2020 onwards by developed countries.

Strengthening Governance to Deliver Results

The most recent GCF Board meeting in South Korea in July 2018 ended in gridlock. The Board had $1 billion in projects in the queue, and shockingly approved none. Project proposals from countries all around the world (like Tonga, India, Guatemala, South Africa and Cote d’Ivoire) are still waiting their turn. The Board also failed to advance preparations for the replenishment process.

This is just a recent example of deficiencies in the GCF’s governance system, which undermine confidence stakeholders’ confidence in the GCF – including developing and developed countries.

This loss of confidence will potentially restrain contributors from making new funds available to fill the coffers of GCF, subsequently affecting developing countries’ ambition to contribute to the timely implementation of the Paris Agreement.

This lack of progress corroborates concerns about the GCF’s governance interviewed stakeholders shared with us. We identified several shortcomings. We think three cross-cutting solutions can unlock the gridlock:

• Apply consensus, not unanimity, to decisions. The GCF has interpreted consensus to mean each and every one of the 24 members has to agree with a proposed decision. Consensus is important, but not at all costs: if some Board members have reservations with a proposed decision, the Board should still be able to move forward through a mechanism for decision-making in the absence of consensus (as provided for in the GCF’s governing document.) This is essential to remain a reliable partner and to be able to accelerate climate action in developing countries.

• Introduce a Board self-assessment mechanism. The Board needs to work in a collegial, structured and results-focused manner; it is important to assess from time to time whether deliberations are living up to these standards. Like many other institutions, we recommend both an external assessment and a self-assessment of Board performance.

• Strengthen the Board’s role as a representative body. Most stakeholders noted a lack of clarity on what role Board members have, which countries selected them, and what responsibilities the hold. A more transparent system for selecting Board members, accounting for their positions on policy issues and clarity about their mandate, would rectify these ambiguities, as would better efforts to connect Board members with the countries they represent.

For the GCF to work, it needs predictable funding and governance reform. Predictable funding and governance reform can only come from committed leaders, who support climate action and from that perspective are willing to support a dynamic and transparent GCF, which can take risks for the sake of promoting bold action.

Time is not on our side, leaders need to act to make sure that GCF can make up its promise to support transformational change in developing countries.

The post Fixing the Crisis of Confidence in the Green Climate Fund appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Excerpt:

Jacob Waslander is a Senior Associate at World Resources Institute and a former board member of the Green Climate Fund & Patricia Quijano Vallejos is a lawyer and Research Analyst in the Finance Center at World Resources Institute.

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By Geneva Centre
GENEVA, Oct 1 2018 (Geneva Centre)

Dr. Hanif Hassan Al Qassim, Chairman of the Geneva Centre for Human Rights Advancement and Global Dialogue, recalled the Islamic teachings against the exclusion and rejection of elders in modern societies.

Dr. Hanif Hassan Ali Al Qassim

He referred to Surah 14, Verses 23-24, of the Holy Quran stating that elders must be treated with respect and compassion. This vision – he noted – is practiced in Arabic societies where elders gain more respect and admiration from other social components the older they get. “Elders are embraced for having contributed to the success and progressive development of Arab societies. Their legacy guides the present generation in their endeavours to promote a more hopeful future,” Dr. Al Qassim said.

The Geneva Centre’s Chairman made this statement on the occasion of the 2018 International Day of Older Persons which is observed annually on 1 October. Dr. Al Qassim appealed to decision-makers and role-models worldwide to likewise promote the respect of elders and pay tribute to their wisdom and contribution to society.

The Geneva Centre’s Chairman appealed more specifically to the international community to promote policies enhancing the social status of elders and promoting their human rights as envisioned in the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

“Elders must not be excluded from contributing to the economic and social well-being of societies owing to their age and social status. Isolation and social exclusion of elders will not enable the society to harness their wisdom and intellect,” Dr. Al Qassim said.

In conclusion, the Geneva Centre’s Chairman stated that society’s success lies on its “ability to recognise the rights of elders, enable them to have a voice in society and to embrace them as agents of sustainable development. A society that forgets the legacy of its elders, is a society headed towards failure and societal decline.“

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