Africa

Authorities say the plane carrying oil workers crashed three minutes after take-off.

Authorities say the plane carrying oil workers crashed three minutes after take-off.

Where are rebels causing havoc in eastern DR Congo getting their funding?

Where are rebels causing havoc in eastern DR Congo getting their funding?

Where are rebels causing havoc in eastern DR Congo getting their funding?

Credit: Picture Alliance / Zumapress.com | Loredana Sangiuliano
 
For two years now every single UK poll has shown a majority now want to return to the EU. Step by step, the British government is tiptoeing towards a ‘reset’ with the EU. But can it overcome its Brexit scars?

By Polly Toynbee
LONDON, Jan 29 2025 (IPS)

Good news! For two years now every single UK poll has shown a majority now want to return to the EU. Of course they do, since every reliable source shows the continuing damage done by Brexit in almost every sphere. Those promised ‘Brexit benefits’ are nowhere to be seen.

As for regained sovereignty? You can’t see it, touch it or eat it, but loss of influence across both the channel and the Atlantic is hard even for Brexiters to ignore. Immigration, underlying cause for that vote, has risen, losing Europeans but increasing migrants from distant countries. Did they mean that?

Despite Britain’s ferociously pro-Brexit media, few voters can avoid hearing at least some of the true effects of what they voted for: £27 billion has been lost in EU trade in the first two years. British goods exports have lost 6.4 per cent a year, and 40 000 finance jobs have departed for the EU from the City.

British food exports to the EU have fallen by £3 billion a year according to the Centre for Inclusive Trade Policy. Brexit costs the UK £1 million an hour says the Office for National Statistics. The Office of Budget Responsibility says GDP would be 5 per cent higher had we stayed in the EU.

Those who don’t read economic news may have noticed that Brexit trade barriers cost each household £210 extra for food. And they will certainly have noticed queuing at European borders while EU citizens sail through the lane we used to use.

Now that we have a government and House of Commons overwhelmingly filled with pro-EU MPs, surely it’s time to start rowing back towards Calais? How perverse it seems that Britain’s passionately pro-EU prime minister adamantly refuses any hint of re-joining — not the EU, the customs union nor the single market, and not even EFTA. Why?

The worst kind of democracy

Because wise British politicians no longer trust our volatile and fickle voters. They have learned the hard lesson, wary of the optimism bias that makes pro-Europeans seize with delight on every hopeful opinion poll.

That same optimism bias led David Cameron to call the disastrous Brexit referendum, believing that as prime minister he could ensure ‘remain’ would win against those ‘leave’ supporters he arrogantly dismissed as ‘fruitcakes, loonies and closet racists’.

If there was another referendum to overturn the last, the same claque of right-wing Brexit media barons, such as Rupert Murdoch, owner of 40 per cent of the British press readership, would kick-start their mendacity machines again. This time joining conditions would be harsher: Britain has lost its lucrative EU rebate and other favours it had negotiated.

This time the UK would have to abandon sterling to join the euro, and no doubt many other conditions that would be presented by Brexiters as slavery to Brussels’ diktat. No-one wise would trust public opinion to stay solid. Referendums are the very worst kind of democracy, encouraging the basest political instincts. Let’s not do that again, ever.

That’s why, instead, step by step, the UK government is tiptoeing towards a ‘reset’ with the EU, quietly as every step is greeted by the Tory media as a ‘Brexit betrayal’. Rachel Reeves, Chancellor of the Exchequer, the first since Brexit to attend a meeting of EU finance ministers, told them last month: ‘Division and chaos defined the last government’s approach to Europe. It will not define ours.

We want a relationship built on trust, mutual respect and pragmatism, a mature, business-like relationship…’. Behind the scenes, emissaries are talking substance: Keir Starmer’s chief of staff made a low-profile visit to Brussels before Christmas. Starmer’s meeting with President Emmanuel Macron this month was his seventh since taking office, with a dinner at Chequers, the PMs country official residence. They spoke of Ukraine, growth, defence, energy — and, of course, the UK-EU ‘reset’.

Remainers have built up great hopes – optimism bias again – but the reset may disappoint them unless Starmer relaxes his strict red lines. Brussels rightly warns there can be no cherry-picking bits of a single market we refuse to join. Britain wants barriers down, trade eased especially for food, professional qualifications recognised, musicians allowed to travel to perform freely across the EU.

So far, the answers sound like ‘Non’. Not without things Brussels wants which include EU students attending UK universities to pay the same fees as British students pay, and a youth mobility scheme for under 30’s to travel and work freely: so far UK answers sound like ‘No’. But why?

The concern is that Starmer is too fearful of ‘Brexit betrayal’ accusations. Ignore them, as the proposed youth mobility scheme is, in fact, highly popular with most British people in all polls. Other obstacles will include fishing rights coming up for renegotiation soon, of minimal economic importance to either country but arousing high-voltage political emotion on both sides of the channel. Farming disputes likewise.

But stop right there. These trifling issues are pathetically trivial to anyone standing back and looking at the perilous state of the world. Donald Trump threatens to do terrible things, though no-one knows yet what or how. The eurozone economy staggers, as does Britain’s. Elon Musk’s monster money menaces European democracies, encouraging the storm-clouds of the far right.

If Vladimir Putin is allowed anything approaching victory in Ukraine, Europe is in danger: it’s unclear if NATO survives. Germany and France are in political turmoil. The planet this month reached the perilous 1.5 degree overheating we were pledged to prevent, with no sign of a global politics to avert it boiling over.

This is no time for anything but unity among those Europeans who do fear for democracy, who know they must stand together against whatever the Trump era may threaten. Social democrats have been weak in fighting back until now. No more, from now on.

This is a joint publication by Social Europe and IPS Journal.

Polly Toynbee is a commentator for The Guardian newspaper. Her latest books are a memoir: An Uneasy Inheritance: My family and other radicals and The Only Way is Up: how to take Britain from austerity to prosperity.

Source: International Politics and Society (IPS). Based in the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung’s Brussels office, International Politics and Society aims to bring the European political debate to a global audience, as well as providing a platform for voices from the Global South. Contributors include leading journalists, academics and politicians, as well policy officers working throughout the FES’s global network.

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Children beg for food in Gusau, the capital of Zamfara, Nigeria. Credit: Promise Eze/IPS

By Promise Eze
ABUJA, Jan 29 2025 (IPS)

In June 2024, 26-year-old Zainab Abdul noticed her two-year-old daughter growing pale, losing weight, and battling diarrhea. She wasn’t surprised. Since jihadist-linked bandits had forced them out of their village in Kadadaba, Zamfara State, in northwestern Nigeria, her family had been living in a refugee camp with limited access to food.

Abdul’s fears were confirmed at a center run by Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), where she was told her baby was suffering from acute malnutrition.

“I received ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF), and it helped her a lot. She felt relief as they gave her injections, medicine and milk. As you can see, she’s now recovering gradually, unlike before,” Abdul told IPS.

While Abdul’s baby survived malnutrition, many others are not as fortunate. Nigeria is grappling with a severe malnutrition crisis, particularly in the northern region, where poverty, food insecurity, inadequate healthcare, and soaring living costs are widespread. The country has one of the world’s highest rates of stunted growth among children, with 32 percent of those under five affected.

According to UNICEF, malnutrition impacts 2 million children in Nigeria, primarily in the north, and results in the deaths of approximately 2,400 children under five every day.

Shrouded in Violence

Experts say insecurity is a major cause of malnutrition in northern Nigeria. In the northwest, armed groups drive farmers off their land, shut down markets, and extort communities. This violence has forced over 2.2 million people to flee, with many now living in overcrowded camps with few resources.

Zainab Abdul and her two-year-old daughter at a refugee camp in Zamfara, northwest Nigeria. Credit: Promise Eze/IPS

In the northeast, ongoing conflicts disrupt farming and food production. Families returning to their land are afraid to farm far from military towns, leaving them at risk of hunger.

Food shortages are so bad that some families have to eat cassava peels to survive.

“We are suffering greatly. We barely have food to eat and have been unable to farm for over four years because bandits drove us from our communities. We don’t even have proper shelter. As I speak to you now, I haven’t eaten anything. We urgently need support from the government,” said Hannatu Ismail, a resident of a refugee camp in Zamfara.

Aminu Balarabe, a middle-aged doctor at a local clinic in Gusau, the capital of Zamfara, fears that if the problem is not addressed immediately, the outcome could be disastrous. Although the government has launched several military campaigns to eradicate the bandits and encourage people to return to their farms, Balarabe believes more needs to be done.

He lamented that the ongoing insecurity has already crippled healthcare services, making it difficult to diagnose and treat malnutrition effectively in the region.

“The solution is to tackle insecurity. People on the ground are mostly unprotected and left vulnerable. They are constantly in danger. If the government steps in, provides real support, and takes strong action to bring peace to these communities, things can change for the better. To fight this insecurity, the government must act urgently and decisively. It’s heartbreaking that some people cannot live in their towns or villages because of the insecurity. They are forced to live and sleep in camps,” Balarabe said.

Humanitarian Crisis

For years, organizations like the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), UNICEF, and MSF have raised alarms about the worsening malnutrition crisis, emphasizing the urgent need for more humanitarian aid. They have repeatedly called on Nigerian authorities, organizations, and donors to take immediate action to tackle the root causes of the crisis.

In 2024, MSF provided care to more than 294,000 malnourished children in northern Nigeria. The aid organization revealed that overcrowded conditions had left them treating patients on mattresses on the floor due to a lack of space.

By mid-2024, the ICRC reported a 48 percent increase in severe malnutrition cases with complications among children under five in health facilities it supports compared to the previous year.

Reduced funding has made it more difficult for organizations to care for malnourished children. The shortage of therapeutic food has persisted and worsened. Despite the rising cases of acute malnutrition worldwide, the UN’s humanitarian response plan still does not include Nigeria’s northwest region.

Oluwagbemisola Olukogbe, a nutritionist in Lagos, Nigeria, is concerned that malnutrition can severely impact children’s growth, human development, and economic progress, creating a cycle that holds society back.

“Chronic malnutrition and stunted growth in early childhood can lead to poor brain development, learning difficulties, and behavioral issues. This affects education, lowers productivity in adulthood, and increases the risk of the problem being passed to the next generation,” she told IPS.

Failed Solutions

In 2020, the Nigerian government introduced the National Multisectoral Plan of Action for Food and Nutrition, a 2021–2025 initiative aimed at tackling food security and malnutrition, with a focus on boosting food production through agricultural investment. However, Dr. Idris Olabode Badiru, a reader at the University of Ibadan, highlights that government investment in agriculture has been insufficient.

Although agriculture accounts for 24 percent of Nigeria’s GDP and employs more than 30 percent of the entire labour force, funding remains well below the 10 percent target set by the African Union in the 2003 Maputo Declaration.

Badiru says this underinvestment hampers productivity, fails to address the growing food demands of Nigeria’s rapidly increasing population and is unable to tackle food insecurity.

“Even if farmers in crisis areas can’t work their fields, nearby regions can still contribute to food production. These farmers should be supported to increase their output through measures like training programmes delivered by effective agricultural extension services. Unfortunately, many state extension agencies are not functioning well and need improvement to better assist farmers,” Badiru noted.

He added, “It’s also important to provide farmers with the necessary tools and financial support, although previous attempts have been hindered by fraud. To address this, better systems of accountability must be established. Moreover, agriculture shouldn’t be treated in isolation, as it depends on other sectors. Restoring essential infrastructure, such as roads, bridges, storage facilities, and electricity supply, is vital to improving agricultural productivity and addressing long-term challenges.”

The government’s efforts to distribute free grains to vulnerable populations, particularly in conflict-affected and economically struggling areas, have largely fallen short. These initiatives have been undermined by widespread corruption and diversion of resources, preventing aid from reaching those who need it most.

Bleak Future?

Save the Children International has revealed that an additional one million children in Nigeria will be suffering from acute malnutrition by April 2025 if no urgent action is taken.

UNICEF has urged the government to enhance nutrition programmes and reinforce primary healthcare, highlighting that an additional 200,000 children in the northwest will need therapeutic food in 2025.

For Abdul in the refugee camp in Zamfara, government aid is non-negotiable.

“We urgently need the government’s support with food. I can’t bear to think of how much these children have suffered from hunger. Most days, they eat only once in the morning and go without food until the next day or sometimes until late at night. Our children cry from hunger until they’re too exhausted to continue, and it breaks our hearts because we have nothing to give them,” she told IPS.

NOTE: This article is brought to you by IPS Noram in collaboration with INPS Japan and Soka Gakkai International in consultative status with ECOSOC.

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By Ndongo Samba Sylla and Jomo Kwame Sundaram
DAKAR, Senegal / KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Jan 29 2025 (IPS)

Ending US dollar dominance alone will not end monetary imperialism. Only much better multilateral arrangements to clear international payments can meet the Global South’s aspirations for sustainable development.

Ndongo Samba Sylla

De Gaulle v US dollar
Challenges to US dollar hegemony did not begin with the BRICS. French President Charles de Gaulle famously dissented in the 1960s.

Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, his Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs between 1962 and 1966, coined the phrase ‘exorbitant privilege’ to complain of US dollar dominance.

With the dollar’s status as the global reserve currency, the US can buy foreign goods, services, and assets on credit. It also enables the US to spend much more on foreign military bases and wars.

The privilege allows such extravagance with limited adverse effects on its balance of payments and the US dollar’s exchange rate. French economist Jacques Rueff noted the US could thus maintain external deficits “without tears”.

De Gaulle demanded the US Federal Reserve Bank convert France’s surplus ‘Eurodollars’ into monetary gold. The French challenge called the US bluff, forcing it to end dollar-gold convertibility at the heart of the 1944 Bretton Woods arrangement in 1971.

To gain some economic advantage in a system otherwise dominated by the dollar, post-war France imposed a monetary arrangement on most of its former African colonies, giving it a neocolonial privilege similar to the US’s worldwide.

Jomo Kwame Sundaram

With the CFA franc zone, France gained two advantages. First, it did not need to hold dollars to buy goods and services from territories it dominated. Second, it had complete discretionary control over the zone’s dollar earnings.

Replacing the French franc with the euro in 1999 did not end this monetary imperialism. Now, 14 Sub-Saharan African countries with over 200 million people still use the CFA franc.

Created in 1945, this currency arrangement helped rebuild and use its colonies to accelerate post-war reconstruction of the French economy. It remains under the legal custodianship of the French Treasury.

France benefiting from its currency relations with its former colonies imply that the US’s rivals can also benefit from monetary hegemony if they succeed in displacing dollar dominance without subverting monetary imperialism.

De-dollarization
The term de-dollarization currently refers to the development of alternative bilateral and plurilateral payments initiatives reducing the role of the dollar and dollar-based financial arrangements in settling international economic obligations and managing foreign exchange transactions.

This has been growing. In 2022, international trade worldwide was estimated at $46 trillion, with over half invoiced in currencies other than the US dollar. More countries are trading with one another and settling in currencies other than the greenback.

Although this trend has eroded the dollar’s share of total official foreign currency reserves, this is not about to dethrone the dollar’s status as the global reserve currency.

Indeed, international trade is only the tip of the iceberg of international financial transactions, which are still mainly denominated in US dollars.

The current challenge to dollar hegemony has much to do with the unilateral financial sanctions by the US and its mainly European allies on several nations, including Russia, Iran and Venezuela.

These countries have been expelled from the SWIFT messaging system and/or have seen their assets abroad, especially dollar, euro, or gold reserves, unilaterally confiscated on various pretexts.

Facing such sanctions, more countries want to develop alternative payment systems, reduce their dollar and euro reserves, and find more secure ways to store their external surpluses.

A recent report by the Russian government for the BRICS criticised the West’s weaponisation of international payments arrangements. It called for an international monetary and financial system consistent with the principles of security, independence, inclusion, and sustainability.

Resource-rich countries with significant foreign exchange surpluses are understandably concerned with this threat. But the report did not address the problems and needs of deficit countries constituting much of the Global South.

International clearing union
A fundamental problem of the existing international monetary and financial system is that a national currency – the US dollar – functions as a reserve asset for the rest of the world.

This obliges most nations, especially in the Global South, to accumulate US dollars to meet their external obligations. Struggling to secure enough US dollars, such countries are especially vulnerable to external debt crises.

Their problems will not be addressed if US dollar dominance is no longer unrivalled, and its privilege has to be shared with other international reserve currencies.

A fair international monetary and financial system supportive of sustainable development should eliminate the obligation to accumulate foreign exchange reserves, e.g., if every country can pay for imports with its currency, which is technically possible.

With an International Clearing Union, Ernst Friedrich Schumacher noted “every national currency is made into a world currency, whereby the creation of a new world currency becomes unnecessary”.

Such arrangements would address the Global South’s financial, debt, and climate crises. However, there have not been renewed efforts since 1944 to secure the multilateral consensus necessary for such a transformation.

IPS UN Bureau

 

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Melissa Fleming, Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications, addresses the United Nations Holocaust Memorial Ceremony: Holocaust Remembrance for Dignity and Human Rights in observance of the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust. Credit: UN Photo/Manuel Elías

By Oritro Karim
UNITED NATIONS, Jan 28 2025 (IPS)

The United Nations (UN) held the annual Holocaust Memorial Ceremony on January 27 with the theme “Holocaust Remembrance for Dignity and Human Rights”. This year – 2025 – marks the 80 year anniversary of the end of World War II and the liberation of Nazi concentration camps that resulted in the deaths of over 6 million Jews. This event included testimonies from Holocaust survivors, underscoring the importance of understanding and remembrance. With Holocaust denial and attacks on Jews on the rise, it is important to take meaningful steps as a society to combat racism and antisemitism.

The opening remarks at this ceremony was delivered by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in which he emphasized the vast scale of minorities who were targeted by the Nazi party as well as the UN’s commitment to remember and honor these victims.

“Every year on this day, we come together to mark the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. We mourn the six million Jews murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators as they sought to destroy an entire people. We grieve the Romani Sintis, people with disabilities, LGBTQIA+ people, and all those enslaved, persecuted, tortured, and killed. We stand alongside victims, survivors, and their families. And we renew our resolve to never forget the atrocities that so outraged the conscience of humankind,” said Guterres.

Guterres went on to elaborate on the importance of remembrance. Although survivors of the Holocaust have continued to share their stories, it is a societal responsibility to fight for justice. “Remembrance is not only a moral act , remembrance is a call to action. To allow the Holocaust to fade from memory would dishonor the past and betray the future,” he said.

The UN Deputy Representative for the United States Dorothy Shea also spoke at this conference, underscoring that Holocaust remembrance is especially important as of today with antisemitism on the rise again, especially among younger generations. “Holocaust denial and distortion are also on the rise. They are a form of antisemitism and are often coupled with xenophobia.  History shows, as hatred directed at Jews rises, violence and attacks on the foundations of democracy are not far behind…The data also highlights a troubling increase in antisemitic attitudes among younger demographics, with significant implications for future societal dynamics,” she said.

On January 14, the Anti Defamation League (ADL) released the Global 100 Survey, a study that analyzes trends of antisemitic beliefs around the world. The survey studied around 58,000 people in 103 countries to represent the 94 percent of the entire adult population. It found that approximately 46 percent of adults worldwide harbor some form of antisemitic beliefs, equal to roughly 2.2 billion people. These numbers are nearly double the amount recorded in ADL’s 2014 survey and mark the highest level on record since the beginning of ADL’s surveys.

Additionally, the survey found that approximately 20 percent of the studied population had not heard about the Holocaust. Roughly 48 percent believe in the Holocaust’s historical accuracy, with this percentage being even lower, at an alarming 39 percent among 18-34 year olds. Furthermore, 50 percent of respondents younger than 35 years of age reported elevated levels of antisemitic beliefs.

ADL surveyors also analyzed a possible link between worldwide levels of antisemitism and the Israeli Defense Forces’ (IDF) extensive acts of brutality against Palestinians during the Israel-Hamas War. Approximately 23 percent of respondents indicated support for Hamas.

Overall, sentiments towards Israel were relatively mixed, with 71 percent of respondents believing that their nation should have diplomatic relations with Israel and 75 percent believing that their nation should welcome tourism from Israeli people. Additionally, about 67 percent of respondents believed that their nations should not boycott Israeli goods.

“Antisemitism is nothing short of a global emergency, especially in a post-October 7 world. We are seeing these trends play out from the Middle East to Asia, from Europe to North and South America,” said Jonathan A. Greenblatt, ADL’s CEO. According to the report, the highest levels of antisemitism are concentrated in the Middle East and North Africa, with the western world harboring relatively lower levels.

The global resurgence of antisemitism is particularly alarming as it has resulted in increased levels of hate crimes and discrimination. “Antisemitic tropes and beliefs are becoming alarmingly normalized across societies worldwide. This dangerous trend is not just a threat to Jewish communities—it’s a warning to us all. Even in countries with the lowest levels of antisemitic attitudes globally, we’ve seen many antisemitic incidents perpetrated by an emboldened small, vocal and violent minority,” said Marina Rosenberg, ADL Senior Vice President for International Affairs.

To effectively combat antisemitism on a global scale, it is imperative for governments, humanitarian organizations, and social media platforms to establish new measures that encourage more diverse and understanding attitudes. This requires action from all individuals to achieve societal progress in eliminating hateful beliefs.

It’s clear that we need new government interventions, more education, additional safeguards on social media, and new security protocols to prevent antisemitic hate crimes. This fight requires a whole-of-society approach – including government, civil society and individuals and now is the time to act,” said Greenblatt.

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Bangladesh Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus at the World Economic Forum. Credit: Press information Department, Bangladesh

By Rafiqul Islam
DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 28 2025 (IPS)

As Bangladesh Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus emerged from a meeting during the World Economic Forum (WEF), Timor-Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta came forward to greet him, a demonstration of how warmly the global leaders and dignitaries received the person tasked with leading the interim government.

During his four-day tour, Yunus participated in at least 47 formal events at the WEF, including with four heads of government or state, four minister-level dignitaries, ten heads or top executives of UN or similar organisations, 10 CEOs/high-level business persons, nine WEF-organized programmes, eight media engagements and two other events.

During the meetings, the Bangladesh interim government chief discussed a range of issues: the Bangladesh economy, the recovery of stolen money, Bangladesh reform agendas, the Rohingya crisis, social business and investment.

During a discussion with Klaus Schwab, executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, he described the process of rebuilding the country, including restoring law and order and the economy and this involved understanding where the ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had left the country.

“After so many killings, the law and order situation became very critical …The next thing you do is build up the economy again; let the economic machine run … Immediately after that, I tried to appoint a committee to prepare a white paper so they were stocktaking… to understand what we inherited from the previous government.”

Yunus said he was shocked by the amount of money laundered from the country. “The estimated calculation was about USD 17 billion from the banking system that just loaned that away.”

In addition, over- and under-invoicing and other legal channels resulted in USD 16 billion per year being shifted away—it was as if a tornado had hit the economy.

Bangladesh Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus with World Economic Forum Founder and Chair Klaus Schwab. Credit: Press InformationDepartment, Bangladesh

Yunus said they needed to secure the garment industry.

It was also necessary to restore trust in the judicial system where people had disappeared and many, especially the political opposition, were charged with unspecified charges during the 16 years of rule. Even Yunus himself was to be arrested, he told Schwab.

Despite the issues, he was optimistic that the young people were the solution; however, the changes needed were qualitative.

The young generation in Bangladesh was creating their own world through entrepreneurship and technology and should be consulted in their future—even allowed to vote at 16 rather than the traditional 18 years of age.

“They’re smarter than any other generation because of the technology they have. They (already) know what we’ll be teaching them today. There’s nothing surprising for them.”

Resolve Rohingya Crisis

Included among world leaders Yunus met was German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who had expressed eagerness to meet the 2006 Nobel Peace Laureate.

During the meeting, the two leaders discussed the circumstances that led to the July uprising in Bangladesh, Bangladesh’s relationship with its neighbours, the Rohingya crisis, and the security situation in Myanmar.

Yunus sought Scholz’s cooperation in creating a safe zone for Rohingyas in Myanmar’s Rakhine State under the supervision of the United Nations (UN).

Scholz agreed, saying, “You can be assured that we will support you.”

In August 2017, the Myanmar army started an armed breakdown on Rohingya Muslim minorities in Rakhine State and forced them to flee their homes and take shelter in Bangladesh. Bangladesh hosts over one million Rohingya refugees as of June 2024, according to the UNHCR. The majority of the forcibly displaced Rohingyas live in refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar.

During his visit to the WEF, Yunus also urged other global leaders to take immediate actions to resolve the long-pending Rohingya crisis and create a conducive and safe environment in Myanmar so that the displaced people could return to their home of origin with dignity.

Calling for putting the global focus back on the Rohingya crisis, he said the new influx of about 100,000 more refugees has added further burden on Bangladesh.

“The situation is getting complicated. They are pushing more Rohingyas to Bangladesh,” the chief adviser said during a meeting with UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi on January 21.

Assuring that his agency would support Bangladesh to find a durable solution to the Rohingya crisis, Grandi said, “We stand ready to cooperate with you.”

Yunus also broached Grandi about hosting a major global conference on the Rohingya later this year, saying, “Your voice will be more critical.”

Help Dhaka Bring Stolen Money Back

Yunus also asked foreign friends to return hundreds of billions of stolen dollars when he met global leaders in Davos, especially the USD 16 billion that was laundered abroad each year from Bangladesh during Hasina’s 15-year “corrupt regime,” leaving the country in a state of plunder and the economy in a shambles.

While holding meetings with them, the Bangladesh chief adviser called upon the global leaders to send top experts, think tanks, journalists, and international agencies to Bangladesh to dig into how a daylight robbery was committed during Hasina’s regime.

Bangladesh informed the global leaders of its efforts in recovering the laundered money, mentioning that the interim government had formed an Asset Recovery Committee and a task force to recover stolen assets. Meanwhile, the Bangladesh government has targeted the top 20 money launderers initially to recover the stolen assets.

At a meeting with European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde, Yunus asked for help in recovering billions of dollars stolen from Bangladesh during the previous regime.

“Some USD 17 billion alone were taken out from the country’s banking system by oligarchs close to the dictatorship, and USD 16 billion were siphoned off annually during the 15 years of Hasina rule,” the chief adviser told Lagarde. “It was a massive highway robbery.”

Assuring that she would support the Bangladesh government’s move to recover the stolen money, Lagarde recommended that Bangladesh should also seek help from the IMF to recover and bring the money back home.

World Leaders Support Reform Agendas

After the fall of Hasina’s regime, the Yunus-led interim government has taken major state reform initiatives to bring back democracy and to hold free and fair elections in Bangladesh.

Many leaders, including Finnish President Alexander Stubb, World Bank Managing Director Anna Bjerde and former American Vice President Al Gore, vowed to support Bangladesh’s reform programmes.

Gore expressed his support for the country’s reform initiatives and fixing Bangladesh’s institutions and its democratic transition through a free and fair election.

During WEF, Yunus held bilateral meetings with Germany’s Federal Minister for Special Affairs Wolfgang Schmidt; King Philippe of Belgium; Thailand Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra; member of the Swiss Federal Council Ignazio Cassis; UN Secretary General António Guterres; DRC President Felix Tshisekedi; former United States special presidential envoy for climate John Kerry; and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

On the sidelines, Yunus held meetings with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk and Munich Security Conference Chairman Ambassador Christoph Heusgen, among others.

“Chief Adviser Prof. Yunus’s tour to Davos was very important. I would say it was a tour of historical achievement for Bangladesh,” the Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam said.

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In rural Angola, women lead much of the agricultural work, manage farms, and run households and cooperatives. Improving their access to energy and other resources can transform rural economies. Credit: UNDP Angola

By Judite Toloko da Silva and Heila Monteiro
LUANDA, Angola, Jan 28 2025 (IPS)

Access to energy is essential for sustainable development, but for many rural communities, it’s still out of reach. In Angola, according to the 2019-2020 agricultural census, most rural villages lack access to electricity.

Over 83 percent of villages have no electricity at all, while 11 percent rely on private generators. These numbers highlight the urgent need for better energy solutions to support rural communities and boost their development.

Hence, earlier this year, three teams from UNDP Angola joined the dedicated Crowdfunding Academy for Nature, Climate and Energy projects in Africa, supported by the UNDP Bureau of External Relations and Advocacy and the IRH- Alternative Finance Lab.

Through this experience, UNDP Angola launched its first-ever crowdfunding campaign: “Solar Kitchen: Cooking with the Right Energy!”.

This campaign is part of a regional effort, which will include more campaigns in the region under the same thematic area. Alongside other countries, the Solar Kitchen campaign becomes part of the new UNDP Africa #SwitchIt crowdfunding initiative.

This is a pan-African push to address the UNDP Energy Moonshot that aims to provide sustainable, affordable and reliable energy to an additional 500 million people by 2025, while advancing a fair energy transition and also being a pathway to economic empowerment, gender equality and improved quality of life.

How can Solar Kitchens make a difference?

Many women in Angola dedicate their lives to farming and transforming crop production to support their families. However, they face significant challenges due to the lack of electricity. For example, in Huila, southern province of Angola, in the Cacula municipality, women are facing challenges to effectively produce and store their harvests, such as pumpkin and sweet potato, resulting in regular loss.

Through solar-powered kitchens and improved access to resources like water and processing equipment, the Solar Kitchen initiative aims to boost agricultural production and create sustainable livelihoods.

Women like Isabel and Maria, who lead local cooperatives, stand to benefit directly. With access to energy, they can enhance productivity, expand cultivated areas and invest in their economic growth.

The pilot project in Cacula is expected to positively impact directly 47 women, providing them with better living and working conditions. Seventy-eight families stand to benefit through improved food security and income generation, and an estimated 468 people, including local students, will gain access to clean energy.

Furthermore, with access to better tools and training, cooperatives could see a 250 percent increase in cultivated areas and agricultural production, as observed in other regions in Huíla.

These women are key to the success of the Solar Kitchen initiative. In rural Angola, they lead much of the agricultural work, manage farms, and run households and cooperatives. However, without access to energy, their potential is limited by unpaid, time-consuming labour and few opportunities to grow.

The Solar Kitchen campaign helps by reducing the time and effort women spend on difficult tasks, giving them more freedom to improve their businesses and focus on personal development. By addressing the gaps in infrastructure and access to resources, the initiative creates an ecosystem where rural communities can thrive.

How can you help?

The success of the “Solar Kitchen: Cooking with the Right Energy” campaign depends on collective action. Whether through donations or by sharing the campaign within your network, your support can create lasting change. Together, we can empower women like Isabel and Maria, strengthen their rural economies and foster sustainable development in the country.

Let’s cook with the right energy and pave the way for a more sustainable Angola—one solar kitchen at a time.

The Solar Kitchen initiative forms part of a larger initiative for UNDP in Angola, “Kurima – Embracing the Transformation of Rural Economies”, which focuses on improving access to clean energy, enhancing agricultural productivity, and promoting inclusive financial and digital services. This holistic effort aims to empower rural communities, particularly female-led cooperatives, by addressing the systemic challenges they face.

Judite Toloko da Silva is Head of Exploration, UNDP Angola;

Heila Monteiro is Communication and Advocacy Specialist, UNDP Angola

IPS UN Bureau

 

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Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva during his visit to a school in Salvador, the capital of the northeastern state of Bahia, on October 17 last year, where all the students raised their cell phones to take photos with the leader. Credit: Ricardo Stuckert / PR

By Mario Osava
RIO DE JANEIRO, Jan 27 2025 (IPS)

It was necessary to repel the “invasion” of mobile phones in Brazilian classrooms, even to spark a debate about the use of technology in education, according to Silvana Veloso, an educator with extensive experience on the subject.

On January 13, Brazil enacted a law that bans “the use of personal portable electronic devices by students during classes, recess, or breaks between classes at all levels of basic education,” making it the first Latin American country to impose such a nationwide restriction."Technology must be introduced in each school in an organized manner, avoiding the current chaos”: Bernardo Baião.

An unusual agreement among various opposing political factions allowed the new law to be passed by the National Congress in December 2024. Only a few far-right lawmakers, primarily from the Liberal Party, voted against it.

They wanted students to have access to phones to film “indoctrinating practices” by teachers and expose Marxist ideological activism, which they claim is contaminating Brazilian education. However, even some of their legislators supported the law.

Restricting mobile phones in schools aims to “safeguard the mental, physical, and psychological health of children and adolescents,” as stated in the approved Law 15.100. It includes exceptions for pedagogical use, emergencies involving risks, or health and disability issues.

The new law took immediate effect, with no transition period, and will be enforced starting in February, when the school year begins in this country of 212 million people.

“This law is small and limited, but positive because it mobilizes the community, parents, teachers, and even the school cafeteria staff, sparking debate,” Veloso said. She does not reject technology in schools but advocates for its appropriate use.

As an educator, Veloso led the BH Digital program, a digital inclusion initiative in Belo Horizonte – the capital of the southern state of Minas Gerais, with 2.3 million inhabitants -, from its inception in 2004 until 2012.

The program established telecenters with 10 to 20 internet-connected computers in public institutions like libraries, assistance offices, cultural centers, and NGOs, as well as a mobile unit – a trailer equipped to teach computer classes in neighborhoods.

With 40 of her 60 years dedicated to education, Veloso also served as Secretary of Education for Rio Acima, a municipality of 10,000 residents, from 2022 to 2024. During her tenure, she implemented a technology program in local schools, including robotics labs. She continues to work as a teacher and advisor on the subject.

Rio Acima and many other municipalities received computer equipment, such as desktops and tablets, but lacked the knowledge to use them effectively.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva with the Minister of Education, Camilo Santana, as they enact a law in Brasilia on January 13 that bans the use of cell phones and other mobile electronic devices in classrooms nationwide. Credit: Ricardo Stuckert / PR

Unprepared Schools and Teachers

Just as with the overwhelming presence of mobile phones, schools and teachers are generally unprepared to integrate new technologies into teaching, Veloso lamented. They have not developed pedagogical projects to incorporate these tools.

Regarding mobile phones, which are owned by a vast majority of students, Veloso has witnessed troubling cases. In response to school violence, which surged in late 2022 and early 2023 – with five assaults and 11 deaths in five Brazilian states – students aged nine and ten in Rio Acima organized self-defense networks via WhatsApp.

Instructions on using kitchen knives to “bleed the bandits” who might invade schools and the preparation of Molotov cocktails were part of the group’s discussions, until a mother found out through the students themselves, Veloso told IPS over the phone from Rio Acima, where she lives.

The leader of the movement was just 10 years old and headed several WhatsApp groups. “They were reproducing the violence” they feared becoming victims of, Veloso noted.

Another earlier case, from 2017, came to light when a student was found with cuts on her arm. It involved girls self-harming, encouraged by a website that promoted competitions among those who could cut themselves the most.

Training, particularly for teachers, to manage and leverage technological innovations is the central challenge facing education, Veloso argued.

“Technology does not cause regression; we are the ones responsible. Humanity has always sought interactive communication. What we have achieved is marvelous – phones that allow us to talk while seeing the other person’s image are fascinating,” but they require debate and dialogue for proper use, she concluded.

A poster by the Rio Acima City Hall promoting the use of tablets and computers in the environmental education of students. Credit: Rio Acima City Hall

The Harm of Mobile Phones

Numerous studies highlight the negative effects of mobile phones on learning, including attention deficits, social media addiction, and increased anxiety among students.

Brazil has become the first Latin American country to pass a law restricting mobile phones in schools, following a global trend. A quarter of the 194 member states of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) have already adopted restrictive measures, particularly in Europe and Asia.

Although the law takes effect in February, its full implementation requires regulations and protocols for schools managed by states (secondary schools) and municipalities (primary schools).

After political consensus, driven by the proven distraction caused by mobile phones in both schools and workplaces, the new law now prompts reflection on pedagogical projects in schools.

“Technology must be introduced into each school in an organized manner, avoiding the current chaos,” said Bernardo Baião, coordinator of Educational Policies at Todos pela Educação, a nonprofit civil society organization advocating for quality basic education in Brazil.

Two students from Rio Acima participate in the municipality’s school technology program, aimed at better utilizing digital resources in education. Credit: Rio Acima City Hall

The proliferation of mobile phones, combined with social media, has a cognitive dimension, affecting learning. Students themselves admit that it distracts them from their studies.

“More screen time, less learning,” emphasized Baião, a history graduate turned educator, who has worked full-time for the Todos pela Educação movement in Rio de Janeiro for the past three years.

Other aspects of the technological challenge include the emotional impact on those who “cannot live without social media” and the social interaction aspect of “living and playing at school, making it naturally noisy, without the silence of mobile phones, which bring distant people closer while pushing away those nearby,” he told IPS.

“Technology is not the enemy. We must combine different tools. Printed books are better for memorization, but digital ones are more suitable for personalized teaching, addressing different needs and interests,” he added.

“The teacher is more important than the computer or phone screen; technology cannot replace them,” he stressed.

The ban on mobile phones in schools had already been implemented in many private schools, and four of Brazil’s 26 states had passed their own legislation. In fact, 28% of schools had already adopted a total ban, with few exceptions, by 2023, according to the Internet Steering Committee.

This committee includes government and civil society participants, including academics and industry representatives. It assists in internet governance, maintaining neutrality against political and private interests, and established the core principles of Brazil’s internet law, the Civil Rights Framework for the Internet.

The swift passage of the national law was due to near-consensus in public opinion. A survey conducted by the non-governmental Locomotiva Institute in October 2024 showed that 82% of respondents supported banning mobile phones in schools.

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While the memories of the past cannot be forgotten nor dismissed, the emphasis today needs to be placed firmly on achieving a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Credit: UNRWA

By Joseph Chamie and Sergio DellaPergola
PORTLAND, USA / JERUSALEM, Jan 27 2025 (IPS)

Following the long-sought cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas, the major challenge for the Israelis and the stateless Palestinians is how to achieve a lasting peace that will end the disastrous cycle of death, destruction, displacement and despair.

Several major factors continue to play fundamental roles in the decades-old conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Among those factors are religious identities, demographics, land and the broader regional geo-political context.

Military action and terrorist acts simply won’t resolve the conflict. The major nations of the world need to be proactive in the pursuit of a plan for securing a lasting peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians

Closely related to those major factors are critical issues for achieving a solution to the conflict, including borders, refugees, civil/human rights and legal equity, authority over Jerusalem’s Holy Sites, and very importantly security.

A narrative of mutual recognition, tolerance, and pluralism should prevail. While the memories of the past cannot be forgotten nor dismissed, the emphasis today needs to be placed firmly on achieving a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

 

Recent History

Along with the defeat of the Ottoman Empire by the western powers in World War I, its territory was partitioned into several British and French Mandates.

The British Mandate for Palestine, or Mandatory Palestine, initially intended to include Transjordan, was approved over the territory west of Jordan by the League of Nations in 1922. Among its declared goals was the establishment of the Jewish national home and the development of self-governing institutions, safeguarding the civil and religious rights of all the inhabitants of Palestine, irrespective of religious affiliation and ethnicity.

The religious composition of the resident population of Mandatory Palestine at that time was approximately 10 percent Christian, 11 percent Jewish and 78 percent Muslim. Under the British, all those resident in the territory, irrespective of their religious affiliation, held Palestinian citizenship.

After many decades of violence and confrontations among the major populations of Mandatory Palestine and the various attempts by the British and others to resolve the conflict, the problem was turned over to the United Nations to resolve. By 1947, in large part due to immigration, the religious composition of the resident population of Palestine had become 7 percent Christian, 32 percent Jewish and 60 percent Muslim.

On 29 November 1947, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the resolution terminating the Mandate and dividing Palestine into two states. One state was Arab, primarily Muslim, and the other state was Jewish, with the Jerusalem area separately remaining under direct United Nations control (Figure 1).

Figure 1. The United Nations Partition Plan – 1947

 

On 14 May 1948, David Ben-Gurion declared independence of the Jewish state of Israel. The opposing side, led by Mohammed Amin al-Husseini, rejected the partition plan. War immediately erupted between the armies of neighboring Arab states and Israel.

As a consequence of the war, the demographic composition of the territory underwent significant changes. In particular was the compulsory as well as the voluntary exodus (subsequently called the Nakba) of an estimated minimum of 625-650,000 and a maximum 725-750,000 Palestinians from Israel. They included persons who lived in Palestine in 1946 and those who stayed but whose property remained within the borders of the Jewish state.

In the newly founded state of Israel with a population of 873 thousand, the proportion Jewish was 82 percent. If the Palestinians had not been displaced but had remained in their homes, the proportion Jewish in Israel in 1948 would have been about 45 percent.

Following the 1948 war and subsequent armistice, the borders of Israel expanded to 77 percent of the original territory of Mandatory Palestine, including the western part of Jerusalem. The West Bank with East Jerusalem was occupied by Transjordan, later renamed the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The Gaza area remained under occupation by Egypt. In 1950 the combined population of West Bank and Gaza contained approximately 830,000 stateless Palestinians.

Following the 1967 war, Israel began expanding Jewish settlements in the occupied territories (Figure 2). From a few families in 1968, the number of Jewish settlers grew from 69,700 in 1987 to 293,400 in 2007. By 2024, the number reached 530,000, which does not include the 245,000 residents of new neighborhoods in East Jerusalem.

Figure 2. Map of Israel, West Bank, Gaza Strip and Neighboring Countries

 

Current Demographics

Israel is a relatively small country with about the territorial size of El Salvador. At the end of 2024, Israel’s population surpassed 10 million, which is about the same size as Sweden’s population. The proportion Jewish in Israel is 77 percent, including citizens who live in East Jerusalem and the occupied territories.

The Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), which has about one quarter of the land area of Israel, has a permanently resident population close to 5 million, plus 380,000 living in East Jerusalem.

The combined population of Israel and the OPT is approximately 15 million. In that combined population, about 51% of the residents would be Jewish.

 

Peace Proposals

The first serious peace proposal examined here is the one-state solution. It calls for establishing a nation that includes Israel, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem. A major advantage of that solution would be the creation of a secular democracy with the separation of church and state with equal rights for each of the country’s citizens.

The chief disadvantage with the one-state solution is that at least at this time, it does not appear to be a realistic political scenario. The two opposing parties in the conflict still nurture considerable mutual hostility. Moreover, both are seeking their own independent statehood sovereignty, i.e., a continuing Jewish national homeland and a newly established Palestinian national homeland.

The peace proposal that is most widely supported is the two-state solution. It remains the internationally agreed way forward and is strongly supported by the United Nations, the Security Council and the world’s major powers.

The two-state solution involves a fully sovereign, independent State of Palestine comprising the West Bank and the Gaza area, existing peacefully alongside Israel, with borders along pre-1967 lines and security ensured for both nations.

A major difficulty with the two-state solution is the lack of territorial contiguity between the two parts of the Palestinian state. Israel could facilitate the establishment of a single Palestinian state by permitting a corridor connecting the two parts of the Palestinian state while ensuring their own security.

Another difficulty is the lack of political agreement and the prevailing de facto conflict between the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and Hamas in Gaza.

A third peace proposal, if acceptable to the Palestinians, is the attainment of sovereignty separately for Gaza and the West Bank. Each territory would negotiate its own autonomy, boundaries, political structure and economic sustainment with separate governments and separate membership in the United Nations. In the future, if feasible and desired, the two Palestinian states may wish to negotiate a federal configuration or a full union.

 

Conclusions

It is time to stop the killing, violence and destruction and have the Israelis and the Palestinians negotiate a peace settlement.

It is also time to recognize that on this small territory known as Palestine /Eretz Israel/the Holy Land, at least two major actors exist, each with their historical rights, ethnic solidarity, cultural heritages, languages, political autonomy and religious rituals.

The Palestinians in their proposal for a lasting peace with Israel are essentially calling for a state of their own.

The Israeli government has developed extensive plans for war to ensure its security. However, it has not offered explicit plans to resolve the post-war situation in Gaza nor on how to achieve a lasting peace with the stateless Palestinians. The Israelis do demand that their Jewish nation is not menaced nor delegitimized in attempts to secure a lasting peace with the Palestinians.

Continuation of the status quo is untenable. It is certainly not a resolution to the conflict and continues to place Israelis and Palestinians in peril.

It’s time for diplomacy that leads to a negotiated settlement and a lasting peace. Military action and terrorist acts simply won’t resolve the conflict. The major nations of the world need to be proactive in the pursuit of a plan for securing a lasting peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

Joseph Chamie in Portland, Oregon, USA is a consulting demographer and a former director of the United Nations Population Division.

Sergio DellaPergola in Jerusalem, Israel is Professor Emeritus and former Chairman of the Hebrew University’s Harman Institute of Contemporary Jewry.

 

Credit: Simon Maina/AFP via Getty Images

By Andrew Firmin
LONDON, Jan 27 2025 (IPS)

Kenya’s young protesters are paying a high price for speaking out. Last June, a protest movement led by first-time activists from Generation Z emerged in response to the government’s Finance Bill, which would have introduced sweeping tax increases. The government quickly withdrew its plans, but protests continued, articulating anger at economic strife, elite corruption and out-of-touch politicians. The government’s response has been violent. Police have used batons, teargas and water cannon against protesters. On the worst day of violence, 25 June, when some protesters attempted to storm parliament, police fired live ammunition. Over 60 people were reported killed during the protests. At least 1,200 were reportedly arrested.

Since then, there’s been a wave of abductions of young activists. At least 82 people have reportedly been abducted by armed plainclothes groups since June. Some were taken ahead of major planned protests. More than six months after the protests began, abductions continue. While most have been released, as many as 20 people are still thought missing.

On 6 January, five young men who’d been abducted the previous month were found. Among them was Kibet Bull, known for his satirical cartoons. One of the five reported being whipped and beaten. Several others abductees describe traumatic experiences in detention, although there’s a chilling effect: many of those who’ve been released have decided not to speak out about their experiences.

Security forces deny any involvement. But a government minister, Public Service Cabinet Secretary Justin Muturi, recently claimed that Kenya’s National Intelligence Service was responsible for the abduction of his son, Leslie Muturi. He was only released after President William Ruto intervened.

Ruto, whose resignation was demanded by protesters, promised on 27 December that the abductions would stop. But at the same time, he seemed unwilling to listen to activists’ demands, blaming parents for not raising their children properly and telling young people not to disrespect leaders on social media.

Now people are protesting to demand the release of the abductees and accountability for those responsible. These protests, like those before them, have been met with police violence. On 27 December, police responded to a protest calling for the release of six people with teargas and arrests. The authorities charged protesters with unlawful assembly and incitement to violence.

Protests against the abductions have continued in the capital, Nairobi, and elsewhere, as have protesters’ arrests.

In another disturbing development, youth activist Richard Otieno was attacked by three unidentified people and killed in the town of Elburgon on 18 January. He was known in the community for criticising the government and the local member of parliament, and had been arrested for taking part in the 2024 protests. His murder sparked local protests.

Police repression

Violent repression of protests has long been a problem in Kenya. In June 2023, six people died in opposition-organised protests against taxes and the high cost of living. More people were killed during the protests in June 2024, and when protesters gathered in Nairobi in October to hold a vigil for them, police lobbed teargas canisters and arrested several activists who tried to enter the park where the protest was taking place. Police also used violence against anti-femicide protests in November and December 2024.

But the current wave of abductions is a troubling further level of repression. It suggests that those in power have been seriously rattled by the emergence of a new generation of protesters and their demands, and by their persistence in the face of police violence, and are stepping up their tactics accordingly.

As well as routinely using violence against protesters, police are accused of complicity in abductions. Even if they don’t directly commit them, they’re accused of standing by and allowing them to happen, and failing to investigate them and bring justice to the victims. Few cases have been solved. As a result, the rule of law is being called into question.

Kenya is on a dangerous trajectory. As a result of the brutal crackdown on protests, in December the country’s civic space rating was downgraded to ‘repressed’, the second worst rating, on the CIVICUS Monitor, our collaborative research initiative that tracks the health of civic freedoms around the world.

Demand for change

Abductions may subdue some people who’ve found themselves at the sharp end of state violence. But they could also backfire. People who’ve argued that politicians and the state can’t be trusted are being vindicated. The result will be a further loss of trust in public institutions.

Young Kenyans have found their voice, proving their willingness to speak out, organise and demand an end to self-serving and corrupt politics. The protests were marked by creativity, full use of social media and unity across usually divisive ethnic lines. They helped inspire similar protests in several other African countries, including Nigeria and Uganda, creating a rare feeling of shared confidence that change could come. Those hopes haven’t been entirely subdued. The abductions may have silenced individuals, but the collective appetite for change hasn’t gone away.

Andrew Firmin is CIVICUS Editor-in-Chief, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report.

For interviews or more information, please contact research@civicus.org.

 

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Leaders of the centrist Second Reform Era Party hold an anti-corruption rally in central Budapest, Hungary, following the announcement of United States government sanctions against Hungarian Minister Antal Rogan for his involvement in corruption, January 2025. Credit: Catherine Wilson/IPS

By Catherine Wilson
BUDAPEST, Jan 27 2025 (IPS)

The Central European nation of Hungary is officially a democracy. But civil society, the media and democratic norms have increasingly come under threat as the Fidesz-KDNP coalition government, led by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, has entrenched autocratic rule over the past 14 years. Now a new wave of energy and popularity is driving the younger opposition movement into the spotlight ahead of next year’s parliamentary election.

“I believe that no matter how much Fidesz has dismantled the important pillars of democracy and the rule of law and cemented its own reliable cadres in two-thirds of the votes, despite spending hundreds of billions annually on propaganda, it can still be defeated in elections,” 43-year-old Péter Magyar, leader of the Tisza (Respect and Freedom) Party in Hungary, said in a public statement. “Our country says enough is enough.”

Since winning the 2010 national election, the nationalist conservative Fidesz Party has introduced state and legislative measures that have eroded the independence of the judiciary and restricted and censored the media, while there has been greater surveillance and undermining of non-government organizations working on social issues and human rights in the country.

“Hungary is no longer a democracy, not just according to me, not just according to the opposition, but according to independent institutions. And, to be frank, according to most of the voters,” Ferenc Gelencsér, the 34-year-old member of the Hungarian Parliament for the centrist Momentum Movement Party, told IPS in Budapest.

Hungary transitioned to democracy after the end of Communist rule in 1991. Orbán, who was first elected Prime Minister from 1998 to 2002, was a vocal advocate for greater freedom, closer ties with western Europe and supported Hungary joining NATO in 1999. But, after re-election in 2010, his coalition government, which has a two-thirds majority in parliament, has moved toward a model of governance termed ‘illiberal democracy.’

Rising food prices and a struggling economy have contributed to cost of living pressures in Hungary. Credit: Catherine Wilson/IPS

It routinely changes electoral laws and constituency boundaries to its advantage and ensures the country’s major courts, institutions and media are dominated by pro-government figures.

“The rules and regulations that govern the economy, that govern political processes—everything changes depending on what is the current interest of the government party. And there is constant adjustment in a way that constitutional rules don’t really exist anymore in reality, only on paper,” Professor Zsolt Enyedi at the Democracy Institute, Central European University, in Budapest, told IPS. “It is a very uneven playing field… distorted by the fact that the financial resources of the government and pro-government media outnumber the resources of the opposition in a ratio of about 10 to 1.”

They are major factors in Fidesz’s success in the last four consecutive elections. As well, Orbán “speaks the language of average Hungarians” and “alters his rhetoric to changes in the public mood,” Enyedi added. The ruling coalition secured 54.13 percent of votes in the 2022 election, but observers deemed it severely flawed due to media bias and misuse of state resources.

Its right-wing rhetoric has also targeted supporters of human rights and voices critical of its regime. In 2021, civil society organizations, including the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union and Amnesty International, reported to the United Nations that those supporting refugees and vulnerable groups were being vilified by the government, there were frequent denials of freedom of information requests and human rights education programs were being removed from schools.

And while the constitution provides for freedom of expression, “ongoing efforts to sideline voices and perspectives that authorities find unfavourable, including many found at academic institutions, NGOs and media outlets, have discouraged open criticism of the government,” reports Freedom House, which rates Hungary as “partly free” with a score of 65 out of 100.

But Gelencsér says he speaks for the younger generation who want a different future. About 15 percent of Hungary’s population of 9.7 million people are aged 16-29 years and a study of youth published this year by the Foundation for European Progressive Studies reports that two-thirds want to live in a full democracy.

“The core voters of the Momentum [party] are under the age of 49 years and the main two things that matter to these people are democracy, rule of law and the fear of climate change. Most of our voters are looking for an alternative to the government and most of them are youngsters,” Gelencsér said. In another 2021 survey, 51 percent of young Hungarians believed their interests were not represented in national politics, a minority of one in five thought that elections were free and fair and only 19 percent trusted publicly available information.

There is also rising disillusion with the stagnant economy, corruption and poor public services. Hungary’s GDP growth declined from 7.1 percent in 2021 to -0.9 percent last year. And about three quarters of the population earn incomes below the level needed to meet the average cost of living, reports the Hungarian think tank, Equilibrium Institute.

“The atmosphere has changed. There is a general dissatisfaction with the government. In the last couple of years, especially after COVID, the economy is doing rather badly. And there is a general lack of trust in the government to manage these issues,” Enyedi said.

Ferenc Gelencser (Centre), Member of Parliament for the Momentum Movement Party, with MP Akos Hadhazy (Left) and MP Hajnal Miklos (Right), participate in a protest in Budapest in 2023, Hungary. Credit: Momentum Movement

Gelencsér added that “housing is a huge issue for the younger generation; everybody is renting, and our healthcare system and pension system are on the verge of collapse. It would be understandable if we didn’t pay any tax, but there are many different types of tax in this country, and I don’t know where it is going.”

Nepotism is prevalent in government circles and Hungary was ranked the most corrupt nation in the European Union (EU) last year by Transparency International with a score of 42 out of 100.

Increasingly, young people are voting with their feet and the number of citizens emigrating, mostly to western Europe, rose from 19,322 in 2020 to 35,736 in 2023.

But, in the last year, opposition voices have been emboldened by problems facing the government. A major scandal erupted in February 2024 when the government pardoned a man sentenced for obstructing justice in a child abuse case. In January this year, the EU cancelled 1 billion euros in funding to Hungary, which has rising state debt, due to its failure to address corruption and breach of democratic norms. And Antal Rogan, a government official, was subject to sanctions by the United States for his role in state corruption.

The Second Reform Era, a centrist party established in 2023, responded to the news. And on a late January afternoon, with the temperature close to zero, a crowd of several hundred supporters gathered on the bank of the Danube River in Budapest. Muffled in puffa jackets and woollen beanies, some holding flame-lit beacons, they came to hear party leaders call out the scourge of corruption and support for the sanctions.

But the resurgence of the Tisza Party since early last year under the new leadership of Magyar, an energetic and media-savvy lawyer and former member of the government, is galvanising a public shift. After last year’s pardon scandal, he stood to demand a new direction for the country based on transparent governance and rule of law while advocating for people’s grievances, including the neglected rural electorate. In an IDEA Institute public poll this month, Tisza led with public support of 33 percent, compared to 26 percent for the government.

‘We will give back to the country what has been taken away from it: decency, self-respect, justice and hope for a better life,’ Magyar said in a New Year’s message.

The ruling coalition will not miss any tactics to dominate the next parliamentary election in 2026. But, to date, the momentum of Tisza’s rise appears unstoppable.

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

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By External Source
Jan 27 2025 (IPS-Partners)

 

While Mediterranean cities are meeting to discuss ways to address food waste considering land degradation and drought, former FAO communication specialist Issam Azouri focuses on tangible solutions led by consumers.

 

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