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Masooma Ranalvi is the founder of WeSpeakOut and has campaigned to end FGM/C.

By Mariya Salim
NEW DELHI, India, Feb 6 2021 (IPS)

Survivors of female genital mutilation or cutting (FGM/C), are determined to share their stories to end this practice – even though they face ostracisation by their communities.

Masooma Ranalvi, an FGM/C survivor and founder of ‘WeSpeakOut’, an organisation committed to eliminating FGM/C or khafd/khafz/khatna explains that FGM/C is practised by various communities in India but is prominently practised among the Dawoodi Bohras.

However, speaking out against the harmful practice has not been easy for Ranalvi and the many others who have dared to relive their childhood memory of being ‘cut’ and share it with the world to end it some-day.

“There is a culture of fear around this issue, a culture of silence. Many do not speak out as there are social boycotts against who do – unofficially declared but carried out by the community,” says Ranalvi in an exclusive interview with IPS.

“Twenty years ago, even burial rights after death would be denied to those who dared to differ and economic sanctions against families who did not comply and spoke out,” says Ranalvi, who has been a leading voice in pushing for a legal and social end to FGM/C in India and across the globe.

According to a study conducted by ‘WeSpeakOut’, of the two million people who belong to India’s Bohra community and its diaspora, nearly 75%-80% of Bohra women are subject to FGM/C.

Ranalvi is also a petitioner in the legal action initiated in 2017 by lawyer Sunita Tiwari.

Tiwari filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Supreme Court of India seeking a ban on FGM/C among the Dawoodi Bohra Muslim Community. This practice, which has been the community’s best-kept secret and practised by many others worldwide, is increasingly being spoken about, especially by the survivors.

Mariya Taher is the co-founder of Sahiyo an organisation aimed at ending FGM/C across the globe.

FGM/C involves the partial or total removal of external female genitalia or other injuries to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. Religion, culture, and tradition are often cited as motives for those practising it. There are about 92 countries where FGM/C is practised out of which 51 countries have expressly prohibited it under their national laws in some form or another.

In Asia, however, there is not a single country which has a law enacted to prohibit the harmful practice.

Based in the United States, Mariya Taher has co-founded Sahiyo, a non-profit working to end the practice globally and among the Bohra Community. She is a survivor and has been active passing state-level legislation in Massachusetts against it.

“It took five years to do so, but this past August 2020, we were able to pass a law. I am currently working with a group in Connecticut to pass a state law there. In the U.S., while we have a federal law, we also need state legislation, only 39 states have laws against FGM/C at this point,” Taher told IPS.

Aarefa Johari, journalist and co-founder of Sahiyo, adds that “enacting legislation against FGM/C has to be preceded by, accompanied and after that followed by intense and robust community activism at the grassroots level. It needs education, awareness and dialogue.”

Aarefa Johari is a journalist and co-founder of Sahiyo

A survivor, she believes that though “a law against FGM/C is vital as a deterrent and as a means of making the State’s stance on the practice clear, laws alone cannot bring an end to deep-rooted social norms.” This would require a long-term commitment and legal intervention to change the community’s mindset, Johari says.

Since many within the various communities use religion to justify the practice, it is important to note that there has been extensive research and writing around the issue by Islamic scholars and others, based on Quranic texts and Hadith (a collection of traditions containing sayings and actions of Prophet Muhammad) which discredit the practice as Un-Islamic.

Karamah, Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights, in a study published on FGM/C, concludes that FGM/C is a harmful practice that lacks religious mandate.

“The Qur’an does not provide a single verse or instance in which female khitan (FGM/C) is mentioned as obligatory or desirable. Furthermore, contrary to general belief, there is no single authentic hadith of the Prophet that requires female khitan.”

Ten-year-old Munira’s (name changed) aunt held her hand and took her to the basement of her empty house one Sunday evening promising to play a game with her. Little did Munira know the prize of this game, where she was asked to lie on a table with her underpants down and her lips sealed by her aunt to prevent her screams being heard, would end in her being scarred for life. She was ‘cut’ by a member of her family. This memory resonates with most survivors of the practice.

“It is never easy for anyone who has experienced some form of gender-based violence to share their story … My process took years, and it involved me first learning about it, then writing about it. The first thing I ever wrote was for the imagining equality project,” Taher says.

“It took many years after that project for me to get comfortable to share it on camera or to be interviewed by the media about my experience. But even as I grew comfortable, I experienced multiple forms of backlash.”

The impact on her immediate community meant that some of her relatives stopped speaking to her.

“Our movement (to end FGM/C) itself has faced backlash both publicly and privately from the community – we are trolled a lot online, there are attempts to constantly discredit the stories of survivors and silence those who speak up,” says Johari.

The trolling has not stopped the campaign to end FGM/C.

“It is important to emphasise that this is a sign of the importance of our work, and we get as much (or more) positive support from community members as we get negative brickbats,” Johari adds.

Many women and some community members against FGM/C sadly choose to remain silent in the interest of the ‘larger cause’, given the Islamophobic climate that exists.

Taher says that it is difficult not to see the intersection of oppressions when working on FGM/C, Islamophobia, unfortunately, being one of them.

“Particularly with the false assumption that only Muslims practice FGM/C. FGM/C is global … occurs in every continent in the world except Antarctica. And where FGM/C does occur in Islamic communities, it is a very small minority,” Taher says.

“The truth is FGM/C is a social norm justified in all sorts of ways – religion, health, social status, marriageability, tradition, culture, etc. This social norm was started before the advent of Islam and Christianity – meaning it pre-dates those religions. Yet, in doing this work today, speaking out against Islamophobia as well as xenophobia is vital when working on FGM/C.”

Ranalvi said the decision to turn to legal action only happened when all else had failed.

“We knocked at the doors of the courts when all attempts at dialogue with the clergy and leadership within the community failed. The support of enacted laws and of institutional bodies to give power to our resistance and enable us to take control over our bodies and help end this violation, is imperative,” adds Ranalvi.

As the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation on February 6th nears, it can only be hoped that FGM/C, a widely prevalent but dark secret that violates women’s human rights and practised by various communities across the world, ends.

Mariya Salim is a fellow at IPS UN Bureau

 

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The post The Struggle to End Female Genital Mutilation: A Dark Secret No More appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Excerpt:

Today, Jan. 6 marks the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation. In commemoration IPS has reissued our piece on FGM/C in India. The story was originally published on Jan. 28

The post The Struggle to End Female Genital Mutilation: A Dark Secret No More appeared first on Inter Press Service.

By External Source
Feb 5 2021 (IPS-Partners)

Education Cannot Wait’s interview with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, focused on the crucial role of education in the lives of crisis-affected children and youth, follows below.

ECW: Why is education a priority in emergencies and protracted crises?

António Guterres: The COVID-19 pandemic has upended societies and created the largest-ever disruption of education systems, affecting more than 1.5 billion students. While remote solutions were rolled out, 1 in 3 children missed out on such opportunities, exposing and exacerbating inequalities and vulnerabilities, especially for those in crisis situations. In such circumstances, education protects girls and boys from sexual violence and exploitation, trafficking, early pregnancy and child marriage, forced recruitment into armed groups and child labour. It also ensures that they continue learning, offering them hope for the future. As we enter 2021, education must be at the core of pandemic response and recovery efforts. Without resolute political commitment by global leaders, as well as additional resources for Education Cannot Wait, and its UN and civil society partners, millions of girls and boys may never return to school. Investing in the education of these vulnerable children and youth is an investment in peace, prosperity and resilience for generations to come – and a priority for the United Nations.

ECW: Why is it important to facilitate more collaboration between humanitarian and development actors in crisis contexts?

António Guterres: With the intensification of conflicts, climate change-related disasters, forced displacement reaching record levels and crises lasting longer than ever, humanitarian needs keep outpacing the response despite the generosity of aid donors. Partnerships are crucial to transform the aid system, end silos and ensure that aid is more efficient and cost-effective. Whole-of-child education programmes offer a proven pathway for stakeholders to collaborate in enabling vulnerable children and youth to access quality education in safe learning environments so they can achieve their full potential.

ECW: What message would you like to share with crisis-affected girls and boys whose right to education is not yet being realized?

António Guterres: Above all, I pay tribute to their resilience and I commit to working with governments, civil society and all partners to overcome both the pandemic and the crises that have been such profound setbacks in their lives. We must also step up our efforts to reimagine education – training teachers, bridging the digital divide and rethinking curricula to equip learners with the skills and knowledge to flourish in our rapidly changing world.

ECW: As a secondary student in Portugal, you won the ‘Prémio Nacional dos Liceus’ as the best student in the country. After completing your university studies in engineering, you started a career as a teacher. Can you tell us what education personally means to you?

António Guterres: Long before I served at the United Nations or held public office, I was a teacher. In the slums of Lisbon, I saw that education is an engine for poverty eradication and a force for peace. Today, education is at the heart of the Sustainable Development Goals. We need education to reduce inequalities, achieve gender equality, protect our planet, fight hate speech and nurture global citizenship. Upholding our pledge to leave no one behind starts with education.

ECW: Following the turbulence of 2020, what is your message to the world as we enter 2021?

António Guterres: 2020 brought us tragedy and peril. 2021 must be the year to change gear and put the world on track. The pandemic has brought us to a pivotal moment. We can move from an annus horribilis to make 2021 an “annus possibilitatis” – a year of possibility and hope. We must make it happen — together.

Background on UN Secretary-General António Guterres
António Guterres, the ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations, took office on 1st January 2017.

Having witnessed the suffering of the most vulnerable people on earth, in refugee camps and in war zones, the Secretary-General is determined to make human dignity the core of his work, and to serve as a peace broker, a bridge-builder and a promoter of reform and innovation.

Prior to his appointment as Secretary-General, Mr. Guterres served as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees from June 2005 to December 2015, heading one of the world’s foremost humanitarian organizations during some of the most serious displacement crises in decades. The conflicts in Syria and Iraq, and the crises in South Sudan, the Central African Republic and Yemen, led to a huge rise in UNHCR’s activities as the number of people displaced by conflict and persecution rose from 38 million in 2005 to over 60 million in 2015.

Before joining UNHCR, Mr. Guterres spent more than 20 years in government and public service. He served as prime minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002, during which time he was heavily involved in the international effort to resolve the crisis in East Timor.

As president of the European Council in early 2000, he led the adoption of the Lisbon Agenda for growth and jobs, and co-chaired the first European Union-Africa summit. He was a member of the Portuguese Council of State from 1991 to 2002. Learn more about Mr. Guterres.

 

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A group of youths in Machinga, Malawi. During the COVID-19 pandemic, young people, especially young girls, are facing many challenges regarding their sexual and reproductive health. The world’s population of young people between the ages of 10 and 24 is at a historic high, with the majority — nearly 90 percent — living in the developing world. Credit: Charles Mpaka/IPS

By Samira Sadeque
UNITED NATIONS, Feb 5 2021 (IPS)

With the COVID-19 pandemic adding complex layers of challenges to the issue of sexual and reproductive health for the youth, governments should prioritise documenting these effects for data collection purposes, co-founder and team leader of the Youth Alliance for Reproductive Health in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, told IPS in an interview.

“There is a need for countries to document how COVID19 is affecting adolescent and young people for the time they have been out of school, which increases their risk for pre-marital sexual activities and sexual violence as they have less protection in community than in school,” Mambo said. “With data-based evidence, countries will be able to make a right plan and respond to this risk which is irreversible if not mitigating.”

Mambo spoke with IPS following the two-day virtual forum “Not Without FP”, organised by the International Conference on Family Planning. The forum hosted a wide array of panels with sessions on family planning, Universal Health Coverage and the coronavirus pandemic.

But there are challenges beyond the data collection, Sophia Sadinsky, of the Guttmacher Institute, told IPS. Sadinsky also spoke on the same panel with Mambo.

“Even with robust data, meeting sexual and reproductive health needs has been stymied by unrealised innovations in health care technologies and service delivery methods, including telehealth; the importance of these innovations has become far more pronounced in the context of the pandemic,” she told IPS.

“While digital tools and remote service delivery can overcome some barriers to high-quality care encountered in traditional health service settings — such as a perceived or real absence of privacy or confidentiality, stigma and provider biases — there remains a significant divide in online access, especially by gender and geography,” she added.

She was echoing an insight shared by Mambo at the panel where he pointed out that when the youth don’t have access to information on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), the results can slow the path towards attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

For example, Mambo said that a many young girls in refugee camps have very little information about menstrual health. “We may not achieve the SDGs if we do not support the powerhouse of young people,” he said.

Excerpts of his interview with IPS follow: 

Inter Press Service (IPS): You mentioned the mental health concerns that can arise from the issue of unwanted pregnancy. Can you share how that could have been affected further by COVID-19?

Simon Binezero Mambo (SBM): During the COVID-19 pandemic, young people — especially young girls — are facing many challenges regarding their sexual and reproductive health, including risky behaviour, sexual activity, drug use and alcoholism, sexual violence and unwanted pregnancies.

On top of that, add the significant levels of stress from the pandemic that led to increased mental health concerns. During this time, teenage mothers are facing any number of challenges, like no source of revenue, not being able to get a good job, not getting respect or support from friends and family members. Teen mothers often struggle with significant emotional trauma, with higher rates of suicidal ideation. COVID-19 is adding more pressure and stress to an already stressful situation. We must put in place more support mechanisms to avoid even more deaths during this pandemic.

IPS: In your panel, unintended pregnancy and unsafe abortion came up quite often. Sophia Sadinsky from the Guttmacher Institute brought up there’s 10 million unintended pregnancies each year because of the lack of use of modern contraceptives. How are unintended pregnancies an issue for youth SRHR?

SBM: For one thing, the world’s population of young people (between the ages of 10 and 24) is at a historic high, with the majority — nearly 90 percent — living in the developing world. We know that approximately 16 million adolescent girls (15-19 years old), mostly in low and middle income countries, give birth each year. Complications during pregnancy and childbirth are a leading cause of death for girls in this age range and all are unwanted pregnancies due to lack of contraceptives information and services. It is an issue because when adolescent girls become pregnant, they often drop out of school and lose the chance to develop marketable skills and obtain good employment. This impacts the economic growth of girls and their families, their communities and their countries.

IPS: Can you share how family planning in your current city has been affected by the coronavirus pandemic?

SBM: Family planning services have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic in Goma in Eastern DRC. This is not new; we faced similar challenges during the 10th Outbreak of Ebola, when sexual activities among young people increased due to school closures and lack of socioeconomic support. When there is no support, youth are more likely to engage in risky sexual activities and family planning is not prioritised since there is more focus on the pandemic itself. This exposes adolescents and young people to high risk of getting HIV and now we are seeing increased unplanned pregnancy among young girls who may miss the chance to go back to school after the COVID-19.

Young people need contraceptives services today more than ever but they are increasingly hard to access due to lockdowns, COVID-19 fear, distance, costs, poor service, and lack of support from governments and partners.

IPS: How can involvement of the youth be important in addressing these issues with sexual and reproductive health?

SBM: Youth participation means better decisions and increased efficiency. Evidence shows that policies and programmes designed after consultations with users are more likely to be effective. By using youth participation, you are more likely to get it right the first time and avoid wasting time and money on services young people don’t want to use.

Youth participation contributes to positive youth development and research shows that young people who are supported to participate in decision-making are more likely to have increased confidence, make positive career choices and have greater involvement and responsibility in the future.

Youth involvement not only enables individuals to thrive, it also brings economic and social benefits for countries, because a healthy population is more likely to be productive and prosperous. This cohort represents a powerhouse of human potential that could transform health and sustainable development.

 

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• Why it’s Crucial Not to Limit the Youth’s Access and Use of Family Planning
• Young People at ICPD25: ‘ We Have the Right to Sexual and Reproductive Rights’

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Forensic science laboratory expert Rawan Tomalieh conducts a microscopic examination in Ramallah, West Bank 2019. Credit: HAYA Joint Programme/Samar Hazboun

By External Source
UNITED NATIONS, Feb 5 2021 (IPS)

Violence, especially against women and girls, is a worldwide systematic human rights violation that has only increased since the COVID-19 pandemic. Globally, 243 million women and girls aged 15 to 49 have suffered sexual and/or physical violence by an intimate partner in the last year.

In the West Bank and Gaza Strip, one in three women experienced violence by their husbands, and 44 per cent of girls aged 12 to 17 years old have been subjected to physical violence, according to a study by the Central Bureau of Statistics.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) through the HAYA Joint Programme is seeking to change these statistics through forensic science.

Funded by the Government of Canada and jointly implemented by UN Women, UNFPA, UN-Habitat, and UNODC, the HAYA Joint Programme seeks to eliminate violence against women and girls in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

In this context, UNODC is working with justice institutions to enhance forensic capacity when investigating cases of violence and improve forensic services to its survivors.

Investigative teams in different governorates throughout the West Bank collect, classify, preserve, and then transfer evidence to the Palestinian forensic science laboratory.

Launched in 2016, the lab uses modern technology and science in criminal investigations to impartially examine evidence collected from crime scenes or bodies violence survivors.

This evidence is then presented to courts to establish the crime and help identify the perpetrator. As the only forensic science laboratory in the West Bank, its work will be crucial in criminal cases, such as sexual assaults or homicides.

All forensic lab staff are members of the Palestinian Police, which is part of the Ministry of Interior. The lab works together with the investigative departments, the Public Prosecution, and the courts in pursuit of justice.

Twenty-nine-year-old forensic science laboratory expert Rawan Tomalieh works in the laboratory which she says plays a crucial role for achieving justice for survivors of violence.

In the past year alone, the forensic science laboratory has received over 1,690 cases. “Working in the forensic laboratory has increased my confidence in the Palestinian judiciary and justice system,” states Rawan.

In the case of one woman killed in a shooting incident between her family and the Palestinian police, the forensic lab proved the bullet originated from a gun belonging to a family member, allowing the perpetrators to be caught and justice be found for the victim.

Rawan says this is just one example of many stories demonstrating how important the lab’s work is. “Without the forensic lab, all cases against perpetrators of violence would be dropped,” says Rawan. “They would escape punishment, and the rights of the survivors would be lost.”

Since 2019, the UNODC, through the HAYA Joint Programme, has supervised the establishment of a forensic biological examinations section within the forensic science lab.

Through specialized training started in July 2020, its forensic science laboratory experts are now better skilled in biological evidence examinations and formulating opinion evidence to the justice sector.

Twenty-five Palestinian police first responders and crime scene and family protection officers were also trained in forensic evidence handling and management.

“Forensic Medicine plays a significant role in documenting and reporting on cases related to violence against women, supporting victims/survivors’ access to justice.

To that end, it is essential that we build the capacities of all workers in that field,” said Maryse Guimond, UN Women Special Representative for Palestine.

The training will continue in 2021, and Rawan says it has helped her and the other four forensic science laboratory experts at the lab to utilize its equipment and properly preserve biological evidence.

This will serve to further enhance the capacity of the Palestinian police and judiciary to hold perpetrators of sexual and gender-based violence crimes in the West Bank to account.

“The training has helped us be able to support survivors of violence, including women and children, and investigate cases with biological aspects to get justice for them,” says Rawan.

For Rawan, violence will end when the prevalent social norms preserve human dignity and respect human rights without discrimination. Ending violence is not merely a group effort, but also an individual one, explains Rawan and what motivates her in her work.

“Individual efforts can be used as a tool for collective change, to push for legal and constitutional amendments to ensure safety, security, and self-determination for society.” Rawan’s hope for the future is one where there are no more cases of violence in her country and around the world.

Originally published on UN Women’s regional website for Arab States and North Africa

 

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The post Helping Survivors of Violence Seek Justice through Forensic Science in the West Bank appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Excerpt:

A vital pillar in the justice and security system, the sole forensic science laboratory in the West Bank seeks justice for survivors of violence. UNODC through the HAYA Joint Programme, is training laboratory technicians to help increase the likelihood of identifying perpetrators of violence and holding them accountable.

The post Helping Survivors of Violence Seek Justice through Forensic Science in the West Bank appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Panorama of the port city of Manta, in Ecuador, close to where the El Aromo project is planned to be built. Photo: Diego Lizcano / Flick-CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

By Tristan Partridge
MANTA, Ecuador, Feb 4 2021 (IPS)

In December 2020, the “El Aromo” solar energy project was approved in coastal Manabí province, Ecuador. Operated by the Spanish company Solarpack, the project is expected to transform national solar output. El Aromo will occupy 2.9km2 of land that was previously cleared to build a multi-billion dollar oil refinery, plans that have since been abandoned.  While El Aromo holds symbolic significance, it remains uncertain whether the project will mark a significant step toward more environmentally sustainable energy development in Ecuador.

The recent history of energy in Ecuador is dominated by oil–its central role in the country’s export economy as well as its devastating environmental impacts in Amazon regions, suffered by Indigenous groups in particular. While the country hosts high hydropower capacity and continues to build new hydroelectric plants, only recently has the government significantly expanded support for other low-carbon energy sources.

El Aromo is set to boost Ecuador’s solar capacity almost tenfold, adding 258MW to the current output of 27MW. While this reflects a dramatic increase, it represents only a very small part of the national energy mix

The country is poised to elect a new president next month, each candidate holding different views on energy development and globalized neoliberal economics. The history and potential future of El Aromo will set an important precedent within the context of Ecuador’s apparent turn toward increased renewable generation. The lasting impacts of El Aromo will also depend on whether the development is successful enough to encourage government, industry, and society actors to support further national solar expansion.

 

Ecuador’s Energy Makeup

El Aromo is set to boost Ecuador’s solar capacity almost tenfold, adding 258MW to the current output of 27MW. While this reflects a dramatic increase, it represents only a very small part of the national energy mix. The most recent government figures from 2018 show total capacity from all energy sources in Ecuador was 8677MW, drawing primarily from hydropower (58.4 percent), fossil fuels (39.1 percent), biomass (1.7 percent), and solar, wind, and biogas, which are less than 1 percent each.

But forecasts anticipate change of a greater magnitude. Data analysis company GlobalData recently plotted an optimistic scenario for solar growth of 15 percent over the decade, taking the country’s PV generation from just 26.7MW in 2019 to 450MW by 2030, or more than 4GW if the global rate of solar growth continues to increase. These reports have fueled hope in the government and among international energy companies keen to capitalize on Ecuador’s solar potential. That would have the potential to radically alter Ecuador’s energy mix.

Ecuador’s Master Plan for Electricity (PME) 2018-2027 outlines energy initiatives led by the Ministry of Energy and Non-Renewable Natural Resources (MERNNR). Despite some setbacks due to Covid-19, governmental support for new solar projects increased during 2020. In June, the Galapagos Conolophus project was launched, proposing 14.8MW of solar generation and 40.9MWh battery storage capacity to replace the use of diesel fuel for power generation on the Baltra and Santa Cruz islands.

By August, five interested companies had been invited to submit bids. In September, MERNNR announced a further slate of 24 renewable energy projects totaling 200MW, two of which would be solar (each 30 MW in size) to be constructed in either Santa Elena or Guayas province. A range of six small-scale hydro plans between 3.4MW and 30MW in size were also included, with final selection decisions due by August 2021.

This means that many renewable energy projects are scheduled to come online under the next administration. Both Moreno and Solarpack executives have expressed confidence in the future of El Aromo. But analysts question how foreign investors will respond to potentially a changed relationship with the IMF following February’s election and how the new president will manage Ecuador’s fraught relationship with the Fund.

A previous IMF deal in March 2019 led Moreno to introduce austerity measures in October that year, including the elimination of long-standing gasoline subsidies. Overnight, the price of diesel more than doubled and the price of petrol increased by 30 percent. This resulted in weeks of protests that were met with police violence, including evidence of excessive force, killings, and arrests.

Ahead of the August 2020 IMF deal, Moreno’s government introduced new fuel subsidy reform in May. Hailed as historic by some analysts, the measures introduced monthly caps to prevent shock increases in retail prices. Met with less resistance than previous reforms, the cuts have been praised by the IMF for improving the “reliability and efficiency“ of the energy sector. But opponents of the August 2020 IMF deal point to its similarity to past deals, requiring Ecuador to introduce austerity measures, cuts in public investment and wages, and new privatizations—all in the hope of attracting more foreign investment.

The three leading candidates have different views on the IMF. Pachakutik leader Yaku Pérez has refused to meet IMF officials, while conservative Guillermo Lasso is expected to comply with IMF loan conditions, despite his criticisms of the required tax increases. Meanwhile economist Andrés Arauz, chosen by Correa to lead the UNES political coalition and leading in some recent polls, is vocally opposed to the August 2020 IMF deal. He maintains Ecuador is not bound to the deal’s terms since it is not an international treaty, and proposes instead immediate increases in public spending, an end to privatization, and wealth tax reform.

A focus on economics in the run-up to the election has overshadowed discussion of related concerns such as candidate views on environmental policy and the protection of rights enshrined in the 2008 Constitution. On one issue, though, Arauz is alone–in his support for Correa-era plans for the fossil fuel industry, including at the El Aromo site.

 

A gathering of the Troja Manaba, a grassroots school that offers training in agricultural techniques for food sovereignty in Manabí, Ecuador (La Troja Manaba).

 

A Disputed Site, With a Future in Solar Energy?

First announced in August 2019 together with the 110MW Villonaco II/III wind projects, El Aromo attracted international attention with eight global companies submitting qualifying proposals by April 2020. Three finalists from Europe were announced in October and Solarpack’s successful bid–offering an energy price of US $69.35 / MWh on a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) contract–was confirmed in December. While some in the industry expect setbacks due to ongoing uncertainties around Covid-19, operations at El Aromo are set to begin by the end of 2022 and generate 340 GWh per year, or more than 22 percent of energy demand across the province and more than 60 percent of demand in Manta, Manabí’s largest city.

The future of solar energy in Ecuador, however, depends on more than merely increasing output and further policy changes are also required. Marcos Ponce Jara of the ULEAM University in Manta is a specialist on Ecuador’s electricity sector. He notes that Ecuador currently has only one energy policy related to photovoltaic solar energy: a net-metering policy introduced in October 2018 to promote distributed generation and to allow residential, commercial, and industrial operators to consume power generated using their own solar equipment. This policy has neither led to an increase in national solar capacity nor is it expected to significantly impact Ecuador’s energy output.

Ponce Jara says future solar growth faces obstacles including competitiveness (hampered in part by the difficulty of removing current subsidies for electricity generation from fossil fuels), financing, and the broader regulatory context. On this front, the Ecuadorian government is taking steps to incentivize investment in renewable energy development. Like other recently approved projects in Ecuador, El Aromo will be built according to the country’s private investment stimulus package which offers companies a wide range of tax benefits.

Current economic conditions and the government’s incentive package have been sufficient to support growing international interest in Ecuador’s energy sector, especially in wind and solar. But these projects also follow BOT (Build, Operate and Transfer) contracts in which private investors are responsible for project construction and operation, before transferring infrastructure to the state at the end of the contract period. Due to its scale and location El Aromo remains a bellwether project for Ecuador’s solar future.

While Solarpack already has 15 solar generation projects in Spain, Chile, Peru, and India, El Aromo will be the company’s first power plant in Ecuador. The project will occupy a location 20km from Manta that has long been the subject of controversy and the solar development will mark a shift in land use from carbon-intensive to low-carbon energy production. This site is notorious for being where an international megaproject was proposed and ultimately abandoned: the “Refinería del Pacífico” (RDP) petrochemical plant.

In January 2008, Presidents Rafael Correa and Hugo Chávez signed a memorandum of understanding to create the RDP company. They hoped to use the RDP complex to process 300,000 barrels per day, increase domestic supplies of refined petrochemical products, and to continue work toward national “energy sovereignty.” Expected to cost $10 billion, the deal linked state companies Petroecuador and PDVSA of Venezuela with further financing from China’s National Petroleum Corporation and Industrial & Commercial Bank.

In 2018, Mongabay reported on environmental disruption within the nearby Pacoche Coastal Marine Wildlife Refuge caused by deforestation, road building, and the clearing of native trees for the RDP complex, at that time covering 1200 hectares (12 km2). Initial construction began, including work completed by Brazilian company Odebrecht, but the project languished without full and transparent funding for years and, by 2019, had become the focus of corruption investigations.

Despite all this, presidential candidate Andrés Arauz has stirred controversy by echoing Correa’s insistence that the refinery should still be built. For environmental groups, pressing ahead with the RDP project amounts to a crime against nature and Indigenous peoples, as it would be used to process heavy crude extracted from the ITT sector of Yasuní National Park, one of the most biodiverse areas on the planet and home to Indigenous groups living in isolation. It remains to be seen whether construction of the El Aromo solar project rules out any further work on the RDP refinery, but any such support for the oil industry would be met with widespread opposition.

The RDP site has also become the focus of other investment plans, some still under negotiation, seeking to make use of this location prepared for industrial operations. The plans include an EU development grant for new agroindustrial maize, soy, and shrimp production and, in May 2019, proposals for a “Food City” processing and packaging complex. A more recent idea to use the site as an isolation center for patients infected with Covid-19 was derailed by local opposition.

A housing camp of 140 small dwellings built in 2011 for RDP workers was used sporadically by Odebrecht personnel and then later served as an emergency operations center after the April 2016 earthquake. The site lay largely abandoned till March 2020, when one of the dwellings was burnt in a suspected arson attack amid protests against the Covid-19 isolation plan.

Now, Solarpack has the green light to use the El Aromo site for solar generation, and the focus is, once again, on Ecuador’s energy matrix. Of the original 1,500 hectares cleared at the RDP site, El Aromo will cover 290 hectares. Ponce Jara suggests that government approval for the project has been driven, at least in part, by a desire to finally settle the question of what to do with (some of) this contentious plot of land.

 

Environmental Justice Goes Beyond Energy Generation

The local impacts of El Aromo are not limited to this site. On the positive side, as Ponce Jara notes, increased local solar generation at El Aromo could lead to reduced use of regional oil-powered power stations (particularly the 140MW Jaramijó plant) and related improvements in air quality and emissions reductions. On the other hand, the environmental impacts of constructing requisite power transmission lines have not yet been evaluated. And in an area where agriculture and aquaculture dominate, the question of land use remains paramount.

Carlos Quinto Cedeño Bermeo is an activist and permaculture practitioner who works in Manabí province to support small-scale agroecological farming and is a member of the Troja Manaba grassroots school that offers training in agricultural techniques for food sovereignty. While debates over energy generation have focused on Manabí, Cedeño Bermeo cautions that the province’s commercial shrimp farms, “camaroneros,” currently threaten small-scale farming and efforts toward food sovereignty on a scale beyond the risks created by the energy sector.

Shrimp farms continue to grow in number and scale, occupying ever larger tracts of land. These operations also put local water supplies at risk of contamination from chemical run-off. Cedeño Bermeo says that renewable energy projects will have to create many more jobs before they can have a significant impact on local labor markets, where many women move to the cities for domestic or retail work and men take up unskilled jobs in the shrimp or oil industries.

A shift toward less polluting modes of electricity generation is welcome and the idea of repurposing land away from polluting industries is popular. But some in the region remain unconvinced. A December editorial in the Manabí newspaper El Diario, for example, raised doubts about the project, questioning whether the price of energy from El Aromo will remain competitive against hydro and fossil fuel energy and seeking to clarify both how much of the abandoned RDP site will be covered with solar panels and how the remaining land will be used.

Furthermore, El Aromo alone does not create enough new employment opportunities to generate widespread socio-economic change in Manabí, nor does it protect small farmers against the encroachment of growing agro-industrial operations. The province is still dominated by export-oriented production just as the national economy still depends heavily on the oil sector, which accounts for more than 50 percent of Ecuador’s export earnings and around 25 percent of public sector revenues.

Creating a just energy transition in Ecuador–promoting solar and wind generation, reducing dependence on oil, and providing employment for those whose livelihoods are disrupted by such changes–will require policy and action that go beyond replacing oil refineries with solar panels, even while doing so is a crucial step in remaking the country’s energy matrix.

Only if El Aromo delivers on the promise often associated with solar power—specifically by reducing the amount of oil being extracted and burned, as well as providing tangible health and economic benefits for local residents—will it help Ecuador turn a corner toward a less destructive and more future-proof energy sector.

Tristan Partridge is a social anthropologist and Research Fellow at the University of California, Santa Barbara. His research addresses Indigenous rights, collective action, and environmental justice.

 

This story was originally published by NACLA – The North American Congress on Latin America

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A mother and her child from West Point, a low-income neighbourhood of Monrovia, Liberia (file photo). It is estimated that 20,000 girls under the age of 18 give birth everyday in developing countries — amounting to 7.3 million births a year. Research shows that the media is the main source of information for the youth but this did not provide enough information on SHR or family planning. Credit: Travis Lupick/IPS

By Samira Sadeque
UNITED NATIONS, Feb 4 2021 (IPS)

With the COVID-19 pandemic negatively affecting access to Adolescent and Youth Sexual and Reproductive Health (AYSRH) services, it’s imperative governments employ community-based initiatives and peer educators to ensure these services are still available to them.

This is according to Dr. Simon Binezero Mambo, co-founder and team leader of the Youth Alliance for Reproductive Health in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Mambo was speaking to IPS following a two-day forum “Not Without FP”, which was organised by the International Conference on Family Planning and was attended by more than 7,000 people.

The virtual forum was organised to discuss the role of family planning in shaping universal health coverage schemes and explore how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted this discourse around the world.

The forum included a number of high-level speakers: Dr. Natalia Kanem, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Population Fund (UNFPA); Anutin Charnvirakul, Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Health; Beth Schlachter, Executive Director of Family Planning 2020; and Dr. Laura Lindberg, Principal Research Scientist from the Guttmacher Institute.

During a session focused on the youth, Mambo spoke alongside Christine Power, a policy advisor at the Population Reference Bureau (PRB), Sophia Sadinsky from the Guttmacher Institute, and Erika Dupuis, the Canada country coordinator at the International Youth Alliance for Family Planning (IYAFP).

Power explained to IPS why it’s crucial to focus on the sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) of the youth.

“They face stigma when they try to gather accurate and comprehensive information about their sexual and reproductive health and rights; they face barriers when they try to seek out quality care; and, if faced with an unintended pregnancy, they often face limited options and judgment,” Power told IPS.

According to UNFPA statistics, it is estimated that 20,000 girls under the age of 18 give birth everyday in developing countries — amounting to 7.3 million births a year. Complications from pregnancy and childbirth remain the leading cause of death among adolescent girls.

Speaking during the panel session, Mastewal Zenebe Bekele from IYAFP, Ethiopia, said research showed that a prominent barrier to youth accessing these services was that they did not have access to correct information.

In 2018, Empowering Evidence-Driven Advocacy (EEDA), a project implemented by PRB and IYAFP in five African countries, including Ethiopia, conducted research into the experiences of youth accessing SRH services. It showed that media remained the main source of information for the youth but did not provide enough information on SRHR or contraceptives, Bekele explained.     

Speaking during the panel session, Sadinsky said the coronavirus lockdowns meant that the youth now had limited options to access SRHR services since schools are closed.

“Governments should identify ways to institutionalise service delivery methods that have gained traction during the pandemic — such as mobile clinic outreach, and patient call centres,” she said.

Sarah Ashraf, Director of Maternal, Newborn and Reproductive Health in Emergencies at Save the Children, told IPS there should also be focus on preparedness.

“There should be an emergency response system and pre-positioned resources as part of a health system that can be initiated or activated when an emergency happens,” she said, adding that this could include mobile outreach services or employing trained community healthcare providers.

“Empowering local organisations through localisation efforts can also work on bringing services closer to people during times of emergencies,” Ashraf added.

However, with the digital divide growing even wider under the lockdown, suggested services that require technology might be challenging for many communities. 

“For countries with no technology, the first thing to do is make AYSRH essential and include them in the pandemic plan response by training community-based distributers with services,” Mambo suggested.

“Second, work with young people as peer educators who can reach their fellow youth with messages of COVID-19 prevention coupled with SRH and this will yield more results for young people to adhere to the standard operational procedures,” he added.

There are also policy gaps as pointed out by Power from PRB.

“Gaps between policy commitments made by governments and stigma and barriers young people still face must be addressed,” she told IPS.  “Youth are the most effective change agents when it comes to strengthening youth SRH policies and therefore they must be meaningfully engaged in policy change.”

She said one mechanism of doing that would be to equip them with research, evidence, and the skills for them to educate others. PRB is working to set up such options with the Youth FP Policy Scorecard and activities to strengthen their communications and outreach.

Meanwhile, Dupuis highlighted the importance of including voices in the conversation that are often marginalised.

“We need Black, Indigenous, and radicalised youth leading the way,” Dupuis told IPS.

“We need to move beyond creating youth advisories for agencies or organisations that do not implement suggested findings or action items created by young people,” they added. “We need young people to sit at the table, but we also need a systemic overhaul.”

In 2019, the youth were a prominent focus of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD25) which aimed to accelerate progress towards universal SRHR, and women’s and  girls’ empowerment and gender equality.

During the conference, Dr Osamu Kusumoto from the Asian Population and Development Association, told IPS that the capacity of countries to accelerate and achieve ICPD25 commitments was dependent on the extent to which countries invested in their youth.

“Unplanned pregnancies are a big problem in developing countries. When you have a large population of young people pregnant while they should be in school, this is a problem for the economy too,” Kusumoto had said.

 

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Wearing a full protective suit, a woman doctor who leads a group of volunteer medical professionals attending to COVID-19 patients at a community hospital in the Philippines. Credit: UN Women/Louie Pacardo

By Benny Kuruvilla
NEW DELHI, India, Feb 4 2021 (IPS)

As the pandemic spills into its second year, the WHO tracker lists eight Covid-19 vaccines already in public use. Several others are awaiting regulatory approval. This is unprecedented in vaccine history and with effective international coordination, it presents the global community with a real chance for both pandemic and economic recovery in 2021.

Instead, however, the world is on the brink of a ‘catastrophic moral failure’ on vaccine distribution, to use the words of WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Countries are mired in a stalemate of ‘vaccine nationalism’, with the rich world having secured contracts to vaccinate their entire populations thrice over by the end of this year, while 85 poor countries will not get vaccine rollouts until early 2023, if at all.

This hoarding of vaccines by rich countries for profit constitutes ‘vaccine apartheid’, which not only grants rich countries an unjust privilege but also naively approaches the pandemic as a national or regional problem, despite its obviously global nature.

And as a recent study showed, vaccine nationalism could cost rich countries alone USD 4.5 trillion because of its global economic interlinkages.

European hypocrisy

But even with the imbalance already strongly in its favour, the European Union lashed out at pharma giant AstraZeneca when the company announced it would be delivering fewer than half the 80 million jabs it promised by March 2021, disrupting the bloc’s plans to vaccinate 70 per cent of its adult population by the end of the summer.

Meanwhile, a large majority of poor countries — most of the world’s population — will be lucky if they can vaccinate even 10 per cent of their populations by the end of the year.

In October 2020, South Africa and India moved a proposal at the WTO for a TRIPS waiver on patents, industrial designs and trade secrets that restrict access to vaccines and medicines or manufacturing of medical products essential to combat Covid-19.

Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, argued in November that the best strategy against the virus was geopolitical cooperation — not competition. Yet her ongoing fiasco with AstraZeneca has exposed the EU’s hypocrisy — as the EU threatened to invoke the same emergency provisions on behalf of Europeans that the EU are currently opposing for citizens of the global South.

Benny Kuruvilla

At the international level, rich countries and pharmaceutical corporations hide behind the innocuously named but disastrously enforced regime of ‘intellectual property’. Since its inception in 1995, the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) has arguably been the World Trade Organisation’s weakest link.

While TRIPS paradoxically advanced corporate monopoly rights, the rest of WTO agreements exhorted competition, deregulation and free trade.

AIDS: the global health crisis of the 1990s

When the HIV/AIDS epidemic was raging in the late 1990s, the prevailing cost of patented antiretroviral (ARV) drugs was over USD 12,000 per patient, per year. South African president Nelson Mandela led a worldwide revolt for access to affordable, lifesaving ARV drugs by overriding TRIPS provisions and launching a frontal attack on big pharma. In response to this call, the Indian generic drug manufacturer Cipla stunned the world in February 2001 by introducing a drug to fight AIDS at less than USD 1 per day.

Buoyed by this victory, developing countries fought off US and EU opposition in pushing for the November 2001 Doha Declaration on TRIPS, which underlined the right to public health and access to medicines.

Two decades and another global health crisis later, a similar script is being played out by the same set of actors.

Publicly funded innovation

In October 2020, South Africa and India moved a proposal at the WTO for a TRIPS waiver on patents, industrial designs and trade secrets that restrict access to vaccines and medicines or manufacturing of medical products essential to combat Covid-19.

The proposal has now gained heft with sponsorship by Kenya, Pakistan, Venezuela, Egypt and Bolivia, along with the endorsement of nearly 100 countries at the WTO. The WHO, UNAIDS and several UN special rapporteurs are also backing the waiver.

Just like twenty years ago, a powerful cabal of rich countries led by the EU, US, UK and Japan are blocking the waiver. They argue that a waiver on patents will undermine innovation and that the TRIPS already offers flexibilities for public health.

The waiver can play a critical role in rapid expansion of vaccine supplies.

Both these arguments are flawed.

A study of 210 drugs approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) between 2010 and 2016 showed that public funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) was the greatest contributor to research and innovation.

A more recent study showed that governments have allocated at least €88bn to Covid-19 vaccine companies in 2020, demonstrating the marginal role of corporate funding in innovation.

Rich countries should support the TRIPS waiver

Developing countries have long argued at the WTO that stringent provisions in the TRIPS have made it virtually impossible to use the existing flexibilities, and any attempt to invoke flexibilities results in arm-twisting and retaliatory trade pressures from powerful members such as the EU and US.

The waiver can play a critical role in rapid expansion of vaccine supplies. Given that the expertise to manufacture the AstraZeneca vaccine is reasonably widespread, production can be expanded in firms across the developing world.

In India, its production has been licensed only to the Serum Institute of India, which is struggling to keep up with demand. It is a scandal that while AstraZeneca is charging the EU less than USD 2 per dose, Thailand — a far poorer country — is being charged around USD 5 per dose. Locating production domestically will also help countries to bring down costs substantively.

If the US and EU are serious about contributing to a cooperative global effort on vaccines, they should support the waiver proposal when it comes up for discussions at the WTO on 4 February.

The pandemic is a global problem that requires a global solution, not a few national ones. It is of the utmost importance that all countries take quick and decisive action to put people and health before profits. Only then can we defeat this pandemic.

Source: International Politics and Society. Launched in January 2017, the online journal highlights global inequality and brings new perspectives on issues such as the environment, European integration, international relations, social democracy and development policy.

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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The post Revoke Patents, Defeat the Pandemic & Deliver Global Justice appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Excerpt:

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres wrote on Twitter: “We must get to work to make sure the vaccine is available to everyone, everywhere. With this pandemic, none of us are safe until all of us are safe.”

 
Benny Kuruvilla heads the India office of Focus on the Global South, an Asia-based think tank providing analysis and building alternatives for just social, economic and political change.

The post Revoke Patents, Defeat the Pandemic & Deliver Global Justice appeared first on Inter Press Service.

A peninsula separates the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea in the southwestern village of Scottshead, Dominica. Dominica banned single use plastic in 2020. The UN Decade on Ocean Science is calling for amped up action on conservation and the sustainable use of ocean resources.

By Alison Kentish
UNITED NATIONS, Feb 4 2021 (IPS)

The United Nations Secretary-General has urged nations to rise to the ‘defining challenge’ of restoring the ocean’s power to support humanity and regulate the climate.

António Guterres addressed the “Brave New Ocean” high level event on Feb. 3. The virtual gathering of world leaders, scientists, philanthropists and ocean advocates marked the start of the UN Decade on Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.

The 2021-2030 observance hopes to mobilise financial, scientific, volunteer and community support in ocean science, conservation and the sustainable use of marine resources. The UN chief said it comes as oceans face ‘unprecedented’ threats from human activity.

“By 2050, there may be more plastic than fish in the sea.  The world’s tropical coral reefs could be dead by the end of the century if we don’t act now. Protecting and sustainably managing the ocean is essential for food, livelihoods and mitigating climate disruption and related disasters,” Guterres said.

The ocean is immense, containing 97 percent of the water on the earth’s surface. It is an important source of food and energy, while facilitating commerce and communication. Scientists have however warned that humanity’s dependence on the ocean has given way to overexploitation and increased pollution.

The UN’s First World Ocean Assessment, published in 2016, cited inaction as the greatest threat to ocean protection. It stated that as the global population continued to rise, demands on marine resources were soaring. It also warned that as many parts of the ocean were being degraded, pollution went unabated. Sewage, garbage, oil spills and industrial waste were destroying a provider of oxygen, food and water for humanity.

The UN chief has called for ‘an ocean science revolution,’ while noting that funding in this field is critical, but ‘miniscule.’ A number of youth activists from across the globe have volunteered to bring the message of conservation and sustainable ocean use to their peers.

“The ocean I want to see is the one where there is no pollution. Where humans live in balance with it and not just draining it and expecting the ocean to give more than it can,” said 13-year-old ocean activist Catarina Lorenzo.

While the Decade of Ocean Science is new, for some regions, a call to act quickly is not. The tourism-dependent Caribbean is well aware that it has a problem with plastic waste in its waters. According to the United Nations Environment Programme, “the Caribbean is the second most plastic-contaminated sea in the world”. Many governments have enacted laws banning single-use plastics and now, a pilot plastic recycling project is underway on Saint Lucia, with plans for replication on other islands.

The project is RePLAST-OECS. It was launched in May, 2019 and is being implemented by UNITE Caribbean, a pan-Caribbean technical assistance and sustainable development partner. It includes the development of a plastic collection system and incentive scheme, the export of plastic, public education, management and eventual replication.

The project is community driven, with a roster of volunteers. It is support by constituency councils and youth groups such as the Caribbean Youth Environment Network. Project officials supply materials for the establishment of a waste collection point and also provide training. There is a non-monetary incentive scheme. Citizens register and receive a reward card. Reward points are issued based the weight of plastic bottles and containers dropped off at the collection point.

“We are trying to do it with a community-based approach, as opposed to coming into a community and imposing something on them. We are trying to foster greater ownership of the collection activity and ensure sustainability when the pilot is complete,” project director Shanta King told IPS.

For Caribbean countries, a project like this goes to the heart of waste diversion, ensuring that plastics do not end up in the ocean or in landfills.

“When it rains heavily, go to any waterway and you will see a proliferation of plastic bottles. This is evidence of inadequate disposal,” said King.

“The plastics have not been disposed of through the solid waste collection process, but even waste which would go to the landfill is still not adequate because it reduces the landfill lifespan. These bottles take up a significant amount of landfill space and governments have to invest millions of dollars to create additional space. Our small islands just don’t have the landmass to do that.”

RePLAST OECS has established 4 collection points for Saint Lucia. The plastic is collected by a recycler, compacted and sent to Honduras. So far, 2 containers – about 26,000 lbs of plastic – have been shipped.

Constructing and maintaining a recycling plant is not a viable option for each island. The goal is to tackle the ballooning plastic waste problem by each island establishing collection points and shipping its plastic for recycling.

It came before the Decade for Ocean Science, but the Saint Lucia project reflects the kind of action being called for by the movement – to identify an issue plaguing the ocean and work towards a sustainable solution.

UN officials are urging nations to embrace this commitment to support science and jump start initiatives to protect oceans for the next ten years.

 

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The post UN Calls for an ‘Ocean Science Revolution’ appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Excerpt:

The 2021-2030 initiative hopes to raise funding for ocean science and focus on the sustainable use of marine resources

The post UN Calls for an ‘Ocean Science Revolution’ appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Bagan, Myanmar, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Credit: World Bank/Markus Kostner

By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS, Feb 4 2021 (IPS)

When million-dollar arms sales knock on the door, human rights violations and war crimes fly out of the window.

As the United Nations grapples for a reaction to the military coup in Myanmar, both China and Russia, two veto-wielding permanent members of the UN Security Council (UNSC), refused to support a statement condemning the army takeover—a collective statement that warrants consensus from all 15 members.

The two big powers have long thrown their protective arms around Myanmar because of longstanding political, economic and military relationships with the troubled Southeast Asian Nation.

Russia and China have often provided support for each other (“you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours…”). But they don’t always vote in sync, says one UN watcher.

Perhaps what is most significant is the fact that Russia and China are two of the major arms suppliers to Myanmar and will therefore protect the country from any form of UN military or economic sanctions.

Although it does not officially release figures for its annual military budget or provide a breakdown of its expenditures on arms purchase, Myanmar purchased over $2.4 billion worth or arms between 2010-2019, according to a database of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

China accounted for about $1.3 billion in arms; Russia $807 million; India $145 million; and South Korea $90 million.

Siemon Wezeman, Senior Researcher, Arms and Military Expenditure Programme at SIPRI told IPS these arms purchases included warships, combat aircraft, armed drones (UAVs), armoured vehicles and air defence systems from China while Russia supplied fighter aircraft and combat helicopters.

India, currently a non-permanent member of the UNSC, provided a second-hand submarine, the first large submarine for Myanmar, plus equipment and missiles for warships built in Myanmar.

“India is a rather new arms supplier and seems to aim to reduce Myanmar’s links to China — and it has, in the past, expressed concerns about Chinese influence in Myanmar and in (potential) Chinese military installations and bases in Myanmar,” said Wezeman.

India and China, both nuclear powers, have had several military confrontations in their ongoing border disputes along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Himalayas.

Among other arms suppliers to Myanmar, Wezeman pointed out, are South Korea, Belarus and Israel.

Several members of the European Union (EU), he said, have also supplied equipment considered ‘major arms’ by SIPRI – despite EU sanctions which include a seemingly strong ban on supplying equipment or support to Myanmar’s military.
https://www.sipri.org/databases/armstransfers

In a statement condemning the coup, US President Joe Biden said “the United States removed sanctions on Burma (the US has long refused to recognize the name change to Myanmar) over the past decade based on progress toward democracy.”

“The reversal of that progress will necessitate an immediate review of our sanction laws and authorities, followed by appropriate action,” he said “The United States will stand up for democracy wherever it is under attack.”

A State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters February 3 the United States provided nearly $135 million in bilateral assistance to Burma in FY2020.

“I should mention that only a portion of that, a very small portion, is assistance to the government. But we’re undertaking that review”.

“Again, we’re going to work expeditiously to determine the implications for Burma’s military leaders for their actions here. But there is a small sliver of that foreign assistance that would actually be implicated.”

It’s the vast, vast majority that actually goes to Rohingya, to civil society, and not to the Burmese military, said Price.

Louis Charbonneau, UN director for Human Rights Watch, said the Security Council’s abysmal failure to address Myanmar’s past appalling human rights abuses assured the military they could do as they please without serious consequences.

“That approach should end now,” he added.

The Security Council, he said, should demand the immediate release of all detained political leaders and activists, and the restoration of civilian democratic rule. Targeted sanctions should be imposed on those military leaders responsible.”

Meanwhile, the G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, the US, along with the High Representative of the European Union, have unanimously condemned the coup in Myanmar.

“We are deeply concerned by the detention of political leaders and civil society activists, including State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint, and targeting of the media”.

“We call upon the military to immediately end the state of emergency, restore power to the democratically elected government, to release all those unjustly detained and to respect human rights and the rule of law. The November election results must be respected and Parliament should be convened at the earliest opportunity,” the G7 ministers said in a statement released here.

Calling for the de-militarization of Myanmar, Cardinal Charles Bo, Archbishop of Yangon and President of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC), said war is the language of death.

“Civil wars are a refusal to recognize the humanity of our brothers and sisters. Violence never begets peace. War negates national harmony. The fruits of conflicts are bitterness, divisions and wounds that take years to heal. Seek unity, yes, but not by fear or threat”.

Speaking of militarization, Wezeman told IPS that Myanmar has started, in recent years, to modernize its armed forces in a more serious way, acquiring advanced combat aircraft (MiG-29, SDu-30MK and JF-17), advanced and basic trainer aircraft (K-8, Yak-130 and G-120TP) and various armoured vehicles to replace or add to those in service.

Myanmar has also acquired several types of air defence systems (which it did not really have before) and its first submarine. It has acquired new warships and has started building its warships of local design (but suspected to lean heavily on Chinese help in design and using imported weapons, sensors and engines).

In general, he said, it seems Myanmar has embarked on building more capable armed forces — more capable against the various rebel force in Myanmar but also more capable against other states.

Compared to its neighbours– China and India, and even Thailand– the Myanmar armed forces operate with less major arms and less advanced weapons systems, Wezeman said.

The writer is a former Director, Foreign Military Markets at Defense Marketing Services (DMS), a Senior Military Analyst at Forecast International and Military Editor, Middle East/Africa at Jane’s Information Group in the US.

  

The post China & Russia Throw Protective Arms Around Myanmar appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Excerpt:

The UN Special Envoy on Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener, appealed to the Security Council on February 2 to unite in support of democracy in Myanmar in the wake of a power grab by the military and the declaration of a one-year state of emergency.

The post China & Russia Throw Protective Arms Around Myanmar appeared first on Inter Press Service.

By Rosi Orozco
MEXICO CITY, Feb 4 2021 (IPS)

All of Erizo’s nightmares are the same. Since his return from the ocean – almost unrecognizable – every bad dream is identical. A wave punches his little boat and throws him into the deep sea where everything is so dark that he can’t even see his own hands.

Rosi Orozco

Even when he swam with all his energy, this 31 year old fisherman was never able to set foot on the mainland and to him, the Mexican Pacific ocean slowly became a grave formed only of water.

When Erizo dies in his nightmare, he wakes up in real life, opening his mouth like a dying fish that desperately tries to gasp some air. Then, he and his wife are on a midnight routine. Erizo stays in bed while Sandra walks over the sand floor of their home to reach for a glass of water for him. She can do that in total darkness without stumbling because there is barely anything; the furniture in this young couple’s home consists only of a bed, a small TV, a plastic table, two chairs, two hammocks, and a few plastic bags with clothes and shoes.

Their poverty reflects the 24-hour labor shifts that Erizo undertook each week sailing on his little boat -“Esmeralda”- named after his 4 year old daughter.

Erizo is a fisherman in a small town 20 minutes away from Mazatlan, Sinaloa, where everybody knows his neighbors by their nicknames. Erizo’s name means hedgehog, a name given to him because of his short and straight black hair. His friends are Pelao and Rana (frog). On the surface or in plain sight, they look like a relaxed group of friends who drink beer by the ocean and listen to The Hermanos Cota music band. When you look closely at that community you can see the open wounds inflicted on these fishermen by labor exploitation. Pelao has been struggling for years with an unpayable debt that has led him to alcohol addiction and Rana suffers from terrible pain in his hands due to the frequent injuries suffered from handling the heavy fishing nets.

Erizo is not the same person ever since fish sales dropped in March 2008 and he couldn’t afford gasoline for his little boat to go to sea and return home every day with his catch. He decided to enter the deep sea and stay there for five days until he catches as many fish as possible. On the third day, a big wave hit him nearly pinning him to the seabed.

He managed to keep afloat for eight days, clinging on to a big plastic jug of water, eating his own vomit, biting and eating live and raw fish for eight days.

During the first days, he prayed to God for survival. The next six days he prayed for death until on the last day when he closed his eyes and thought it was over — just to realize that a boat had rescued him and saved his life. “I didn’t die at sea, but a part of me is still there. Being a fisherman in this country is like having no life”, he told me.

Erizo and his friends are hired on verbal agreements by anonymous men who represent shady businesses. It’s a common strategy in the fishing industry that exploits the most vulnerable ones without paying any social costs or support. Hiring companies pay between 0.7 and 1.4 dollars per kilo of fish and shrimp respectively, which goes to “Central de Abastos” – the largest fish market in America. There it is sold at 15 dollars per kilo. In a fancy restaurant located in the rich neighborhood of Polanco in Mexico City, a shrimp soup could cost 35 dollars.

Of the small profits that the Mexican fishermen make, they must take off the cost of gasoline, food, helpers, boat maintenance and the fee to anchor on shore. Often they work with clear financial loss. Such is life for the 300,000 fishermen in Mexico, the country that is globally ranked 16th in seafood production. They produce 800,000 tons of food for a multibillion dollar industry. Yet, the fishermen work like slaves. Most of them earn and live 10 dollars a day. They don’t have health insurance, social security, or household credits. Also, no financial services are available to them nor any money to have fun or enjoyment in their lives, according to the “Social Impact of the Fishing Industry in Mexico” report.

The pandemic has deepened their poverty. The coronavirus has been a curse, but it can be a salvation: the fishing industry needs to transform and this is the ideal time to pay the long-time debt owed to these women and men, like Erizo. It’s now or never to demand better work quality for them. Regulations and sanctions imposed on abusive companies are essential in the new world after this global crisis of Covid-19 is over.

A country that devours the delicacies of the sea, leaving the people who bring it to their tables to starve only leaves a bitter rather than a good taste.

The author is a human rights activist who opened the first shelter for girls and teenagers rescued from sexual commercial exploitation in Mexico. She has published five books on preventing human trafficking; she is the elected Representative of GSN Global Sustainability Network in Latin America.

 

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Child reading Newa folk story, Dhaplaan Khyaa, by Durgalal Shrestha. Credit: ASHISH SHAKYA

By Alisha Sijapati
KATMANDU, Feb 3 2021 (IPS)

At last count Nepal had 129 spoken languages, but even as new ones are identified, others are becoming extinct. At least 24 of the languages and dialects spoken in Nepal are ‘endangered’, and the next ones on the verge of disappearing are Dura, Kusunda, and Tillung, each of which have only one speaker left.

“It will not surprise me if these three languages will be the next to go. With no one left to speak, we will not be able to save them,” says Lok Bahadur Lopchan of the Language Commission of Nepal, which is entrusted with preserving Nepal’s linguistic diversity.

If a language is spoken by less than 1,000 people, it is categorised as ‘endangered’. Lopchan predicts that over 37 more languages spoken in Nepal are in that category and likely to disappear in the next ten years.

According to the Language Commission of Nepal‘s 2019 annual report the languages most commonly spoken in the country are Nepali, Maithili, Bhojpuri, Tharu, Tamang, Nepal Bhasa, Bajjika, Magar, Doteli and Urdu, in that order.

But just as there are languages disappearing, new ones that had never been recognised are being found in far flung parts of the country, like Rana Tharu which is spoken in the western Tarai, Narphu in a remote valley in Manang, Tsum in the Tsum Valley of Upper Gorkha, Nubri Larke in the Manaslu region, Poike and Syarke.

“It is fortunate that these languages have been identified, but it is unfortunate they are spoken by very few people, and could very soon die out,” says Lopchan, who adds that every two weeks, an indigenous language goes extinct somewhere in the world.

“The loss of Nepal’s languages is the result of deliberate state policy, our linguistic heritage was swept away to promote a national character”
Even those that are among the top ten most spoken in Nepal are losing their first language status. Parents insist on proficiency in Nepali or English in school to ensure good job prospects for their children. And even since King Mahendra’s reign, the state has pushed Nepali as the lingua franca to the detriment of other national languages.

Supral Raj Joshi, 29, is a voice actor and grew up speaking Nepal Bhasa at home. But from primary school onwards, it was Nepali and English only in class, and he soon forgot his mother tongue. Speaking Nepali with his family, it suddenly struck him how much of his culture he had lost with the language.

“The loss of Nepal’s languages is the result of deliberate state policy, our linguistic heritage was swept away to promote a national character,” says Joshi.

King Mahendra instituted measures to create a unified Nepali identity through dress, language, and even dismantled democracy and instituted the partyless Panchayat system that he said “suited the Nepali soil”.

Experts say that the decision enforcing the idea of nationalism through one language restricted indigenous communities to speak their ancestral tongue.

“The dominant class made its language the national language, and in doing so other languages suffered collateral damage,” says Rajendra Dahal, Editor of Shikshak magazine. “The end of a language is not just a loss for a community, but for the country and the world.”

At the Language Commission of Nepal, there is a sense of urgency to save the three languages that each have only one speaker left. It has partnered with 45-year-old Kamala Kusunda, the only living person in the world who speaks Kusunda. She now runs a small private school in Dang to teach the language to over 20 students.

“If I die, then my mother language dies with me too. I had to revive this language for its value to our people, and the hope of keeping our ancestral language alive,” Kamal Kusunda told Nepali Times over the phone.

Muktinath Ghimire in Lamjung has a similar task. As the only remaining speaker of Dura, he is preparing to start a school to teach the language to others in the community. “We can’t let this language die,” he says. 

Other languages like Tsum, more recently identified as distinct dialects, were already endangered by the time they were identified as being uniquely different.

“Older people in Tsum Valley exclusively speak Tsum, but the younger generation is losing the language,” says Wangchuk Rapten Lama, a fluent Tsum speaker himself who is working to expand its use by introducing the language to children through cultural activities.

Canada-based linguistic anthropologist Mark Turin worked with the Thangmi in Dolakha and Sindhupalchok to document their endangered language.

“To speak of linguists saving languages is just as ludicrous as suggesting that Apps and digital technologies save language,” he says. “Neither is true, and field linguistics is still dominated by quite colonial and extractivist models of knowledge production.”

He says speakers of indigenous languages like Thangmi deserve the recognition as they work tirelessly to reclaim, rejuvenate and revive their ancestral languages, often in the face of considerable opposition.

“Indigenous youth in these communities are now creating domains of use for ancestral languages to thrive once again, in print, online and on air. This is the true work of language revitalisation and reclamation, and it deserves wider recognition,” Turin adds.

After Nepal went into the federal mode, it was expected that schools across the country would teach regional languages. Article 31 of the Constitution says: ‘Every Nepali community living in Nepal shall have the right to acquire education in their mother tongue up to the secondary level, and the right to open and run schools and educational institutions as provided for by law.’

The Curriculum Development Centre along with rural municipalities introduced a ‘local curriculum’ bearing 100 points. For instance, Bhaktapur and Gokarna municipalities have curricula designed to teach students about their own municipalities. While some schools offer mother tongues as an option, a majority choose the ‘local curriculum’.

In October 2020, Kathmandu Mayor Bidya Sundar Shakya made it mandatory for schools to teach Nepal Bhasa from Grade 1-8. But there was mixed reaction from parents, with many feeling it would burden the students and their Nepali and English would suffer.

“We have tried offering students formal classes on Nepal Bhasa for many years, but there was not much interest from guardians even though we know children thrive when they learn new languages,” says Jyoti Man Sherchan, former Principal of Malpi International School, who introduced a Thakali language club in the school.

“Parents are more interested in their children being proficient in English or Mandarin. Change is possible only if the government intervenes and provides resources and training to teach our own mother tongues,” says Sherchan.

However, there are limitations in residential schools where students come from all over Nepal. It is impossible to make everyone speak different languages.

Province 2 is different because the Tarai districts are the most multilingual in the country. In Birganj, for example, most people speak Maithili and Bhojpuri, and they also speak Hindi, Nepali or English.

“Although schools here do not teach ancestral languages, the majority of children continue to speak Maithili and Bhojpuri at home,” explains writer Chandra Kishore. “In my school English and Nepali were taught, but the medium language for explaining those languages was Maithili.

Languages stop evolving once people stop conversing in them. Ancestral languages are also needed to root a people in their heritage and give a distinct identity. This is becoming more and more difficult all over the world with globalisation and the Internet.

“My little children only speak English,” says Saraswati Lama who is married to a Rai, and works for a non-profit in Kathmandu. “My daughter learned it from YouTube and she taught it to her younger brother.” Neither Lama, nor her husband speak their own mother tongues, and use Nepali to speak with one another.

But these days, it is in the Nepali diaspora that the country’s linguistic heritage seems to be valued more. Sujan Shrestha was born in Kathmandu but moved to the US while he was in high school. Now a professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, he says his wife and children only speak English and Nepal Bhasa, and no Nepali.

“Nepal Bhasa gives the kids an identity, and connects them to the extended family, especially their grandparents. It is about teaching our kids cultural sensitivity and open-mindedness towards other cultures and people.”

This story was originally published by The Nepali Times

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UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed meets with Afghans displaced by the ongoing conflict. Credit: United Nations

By Saber Azam
GENEVA, Feb 3 2021 (IPS)

President Biden and his administration confront a very challenging situation within the United States and abroad. His predecessor, Mr. Trump, refused to accept the defeat or extend any cooperation to the incoming team.

Simultaneously, the threat of internal terrorism, fomented by the former president’s rhetoric, is real. National security apparatuses are on maximum alert. Furthermore, Republican leaders have not yet decided to realign their party on values defended by Abraham Lincoln.

The health crisis is unprecedented. So far, over 450’0000 Americans have lost their lives in less than a year because of the coronavirus ravages alone. The economy is frail and unemployment soaring. President Biden and Vice-President Harris inherit a deeply divided country. Such a state of affairs is distinctive and has never occurred in the United States of America’s recently remembered history.

Abroad, the United States suffered an enormous setback during the last four years. Mr. Trump snubbed every friend, ally, and liable institution, antagonizing practically the whole world against his policies.

Among other significant lapses, his discord with Europeans and NATO, unilateral retraction from the Iran nuclear deal and Paris climate agreement, unhindered support to the Saudi-led Yemen tragedy, and troops withdrawal from Syria and Afghanistan have been flagrant deviations from the standard and sound approaches undertaken by any government, Democrat or Republican.

On Afghanistan, more specifically, the United States and its allies spent trillions of dollars since 2001 on the bilateral and multilateral military, humanitarian, and development aid schemes. Thousands of their soldiers either lost their lives or sustained severe injuries.

However, due to evident inefficiency, systematic corruption, rampant nepotism, intentioned tribalism, and the traditional carelessness of Kabul leaders, little changed in ordinary people’s lives. Alarming insecurity all over the country, a quasi-inexistent economy, the inapplicable rule of law, raging violations of human rights, rising bigotry, and lack of vision for the future portray the current situation.

The Trump-Taliban agreement is perceived as a nail that aimed at durably coffining the hope for democracy, prosperity, and a peaceful future. There is a growing feeling within and outside Afghanistan that the United States did not achieve tangible results from their longest and costly war since Vietnam.

The Biden/Harris administration could transform the United States’ looming letdown into a success story of their foreign policy. Boldness and slightly more patience are essential to such an achievement.

Practically all post-Taliban chieftains in Afghanistan proved inept and part of the problem. The hope for a solution and taking Afghanistan out of the abyss rely on a young and incorruptible generation. Some students and scholars voiced their views by addressing President Biden and Vice-President Harris in a letter on 26 January 2021, transmitted to the White House two days later.

They valiantly highlight some inconsistency between policy and practice and the continued unfortunate support provided to inefficient and corrupt individuals by the international community. They further underscore their growing fear that Afghanistan has become the battleground for a new “great game” among superpowers that would last for decades.

They deem it necessary to learn from mistakes committed by the international community and Afghan leadership. In their view, the new administration in the United States needs to opt for an innovative approach that would finally bring peace and stability to Afghanistan and allow an honorable withdrawal of foreign troops from this country. In particular, they insist on the following:

1 – Comprehensive review of the Trump-Taliban agreement: This accord is “unilateral, uncalculated, and even dangerous for the region’s peace and security.” Moreover, it is the outcome of an expedited process to secure a “foreign policy success” for the former president of the United States. Indeed, the Taliban deem it their undeniable success, generating understandable concerns among Afghan people and regional powers, particularly India, the Russian Federation, Central Asian countries, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the People’s Republic of China.
2 – Robust nation-building efforts: It is evident that Afghanistan is a country possessing defined boundaries with its neighbors and a seat and recognition in all relevant international and regional structures. However, history has demonstrated that substantial efforts have never been undertaken by Afghan rulers to weld durably different ethnic groups and interests around common national values. Without such an enterprise, any undertaking to salvage Afghanistan will face insurmountable challenges. Furthermore, ethnic rivalries, tension, and conflict have always led adversaries of the country to take advantage of the divisions and achieve their objectives at the expense of the Afghan people’s well-being.
3 – Initiating a viable and just peace process: Since the Geneva Accord of 1988 between the Soviet-sponsored communist regime in Kabul and Pakistan, numerous other futile agreements have been concluded in which “transfer and/or distribution of power” constituted the essence of deliberations among the protagonists, ignoring the fundamental internal and external causes of the conflict. The Doha peace process, already ten years old, merely focuses on power-sharing formulas, considered a peripheral endeavor. With a fresh foreign policy, it is a golden opportunity for the United States government to engage in a process that addresses the deep-rooted inter-Afghan, regional, and international concerns in an unbiased manner.
4 – Review of the Afghan constitution and its derivative laws: It is clear that the outcome of the Bonn agreement of December 2001 and the subsequent post-Taliban constitution of Afghanistan did not reflect the Afghan society’s deep transformations during the harsh years of communism and Soviet invasion, the violent inter-faction battles among Mujahidin, and the inhuman Taliban regime. Therefore, the Afghan constitution’s reform is necessary. Continuation to build on the wrong foundations would prolong the agony of the Afghan people and draw the certainty of a “great failure” closer.
5 – Search for an amicable understanding with Pakistan: Pakistan played a crucial role in hosting millions of refugees and allowing Mujahidin groups to fight the Soviets and their puppet regimes. However, their post-communism interference in Afghanistan and blind support to the Taliban, one of the most notorious terrorist organizations in the region, brought unforgivable tragedies. Nevertheless, Afghans must find an amicable understanding with Pakistan for the peace, security, and prosperity of both countries. It must lead Pakistan to end harboring, training, and arming the Taliban. Moreover, the crucial question that friends of Afghanistan must answer would be whether the Taliban is “an armed opposition group” or mercenaries at the service of a foreign nation. The answer to this question is fundamental for the future peace and security of the region.
6 – Elaboration and implementation of a vigorous good-governance and ethics framework, policy and action plan for public and private sectors: There is no question that corruption, nepotism, tribalism, and decision-makers’ inefficiency have gangrened all organs of public and private segments in Afghanistan. Without developing and executing a clear policy and action plan to fight and defeat the scourges mentioned above and cultivate and promote good governance in the community, educative, administrative, and business stratum, international assistance would continue to be wasted and national resources embezzled in large part.
7 – Necessity to prepare the future: Leaders in Afghanistan have hardly explained where their political, social, and economic visions would take the country in the near and distant future. In addition, repeated election riggings have induced a total lack of trust in the democratic system, further fomenting corruption and mismanagement. Without clear, transparent, and honest election procedures and competent people in charge, there will be no hope for a peaceful country. The presence of short- medium- and long-term development plans would allow the population to determine where their country would be in ten, twenty, or fifty years and what sacrifices are needed to achieve such objectives.

The letter’s signatories justifiably call on President Biden and Vice-President Harris to promote and support a young and incorruptible generation of Afghan leaders to endeavor and surmount the impediments mentioned above.

With all sincerity and humility, the new administration in Washington must embrace this new approach and abandon the policy of building on what did not function. It is also the right moment to put intense pressure on Pakistan to stop its unhindered and destructive support to the Taliban.

Finally, the international community and the United States, in particular, need to define their position concerning the Taliban and those who harbor, arm, train, and finance them, bearing in mind that their success to share or grab power would be perceived the success of other terrorist organizations too over the forces of democracy and the rule of law.

Afghans have suffered for over forty years from wars, destruction, killing of innocents – mainly women and children, extremism, terrorism, bigotry, and the ineptness of their leaders. It is high time to end their suffering with a refreshing policy and a new generation of leaders!

 

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Excerpt:

Saber Azam is a former United Nations official who served with UNHCR and DPKO in key positions in Europe, Africa, and Asia. He is also the author of SORAYA: The Other Princess, a historical fiction that overflies the latest seven decades of Afghan history, and Hell’s Mouth, also a historical fiction that recounts the excellent work of humanitarian and human rights actors in Côte d’Ivoire during the First Liberian Civil War.

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Credit: UNICEF/Nahom Tesfaye

By Jomo Kwame Sundaram
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Feb 3 2021 (IPS)

Access to COVID-19 vaccines for many developing countries and most of their people will have to wait as the powerful and better off secure earlier access regardless of need or urgency. More profits, by manufacturing scarcity, will surely cause even more loss of both lives and livelihoods.

Good intentions not enough
To induce private efforts to develop and distribute vaccines, the WHO initiated COVAX to ensure more equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines. However, interest by vaccine companies has been limited, while some governments – especially from better-off upper middle-income countries – pursue other options.

COVAX has been co-led with GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI). Buoyed by their earlier success with advance market commitments (AMC), they have extended the same approach in very different circumstances.

AMC was originally conceived to induce the development of vaccines for ‘neglected diseases’. Such infectious diseases remain threats in poor countries and among poor people. Hence, prospective sales revenue was believed to be too small for needed investments by profit-seeking vaccine companies.

By guaranteeing and subsidising sales, the AMC effectively promises the vaccine developer to make the research and development effort profitable, typically with early payments and subsidies to enhance the inducement.

No one size fits all
In the Covid-19 pandemic context, however, the COVAX AMC is not a ‘white knight’ coming to the rescue of an orphaned, typically tropical disease. Instead, it competes with other buyers, mostly of greater means.

Jomo Kwame Sundaram

To put it bluntly, the Covid-19 pandemic context is quite different from the ‘neglected diseases’ problem which the AMC was conceived to address, i.e., contemporary Western R&D efforts presumed to be driven primarily, if not exclusively by the prospect of profits.

The highly infectious ‘aerosol-borne’ virus quickly achieved a global reach. Apparently more likely to be lethal with advancing age, mass vulnerability to infection ensured a broad, inclusive, international market for Covid-19 vaccines from the outset.

Recognising the extent and impact of the pandemic threat, vaccine developers expect to sell their vaccines very profitably. They made advance sales to many rich-country governments, rather than, or even while committing to COVAX. Unsurprisingly in these circumstances, the COVAX AMC approach has not worked well, let alone equitably.

The companies did not require AMC advance purchases to start their efforts. Expecting the WHO to protect their interests, participating developing country governments, mainly of upper-middle income economies, have generally not worked together to push for further price moderation.

COVAX subverted
Advance Covid-19 vaccine purchases by many rich country governments are not only greatly in excess of their population requirements, but also not made in a transparent manner conducive to improving equity.

Unsure of the efficacy and effectiveness of the often still experimental vaccines, some booked, paid for and now demand far more than needed by their populations. Thus, COVAX has been subverted by rich country government actions.

Ironically, instead of protecting and promoting the interests of the poor, the public interest and the common good, the COVAX AMC has served to set floor prices. Arguably, COVAX has ensured profits for vaccine companies without addressing the ‘only money talks’ problem and competitive ‘vaccine nationalism’.

To ensure a ‘people’s vaccine’ available to all, Acharya and Reddy have proposed public financing to develop or buy over vaccine formulas. This can ensure patentable and other relevant information is freely shared, enabling generic vaccine producers to greatly increase supply at much lower prices.

As rich country governments have already paid much to accelerate vaccine development, they can more easily secure and share the thus far undisclosed information needed to greatly and affordably scale up generic vaccine output.

As vaccine developers do not really expect much revenue from selling vaccines to the poor, such ‘generosity’ would cost them little, while earning them and the enabling governments priceless appreciation and goodwill in the process.

Way out
The best way forward now involves approving the TRIPS waiver at the WTO, which the Trump administration, the EU and some allies, such as Brazil, have stubbornly blocked.

The TRIPS waiver – sought by developing countries led by South Africa, India and Pakistan – seeks to temporarily suspend several TRIPS provisions on patents, design and protection of undisclosed information.

The Biden administration has shown renewed commitment to multilateralism by re-joining the World Health Organization (WHO). It can demonstrate leadership by not only lifting the US embargo on exports of vaccines, vital medicines and equipment, but also advocating strongly for the TRIPS waiver proposal at the WTO.

US taxpayers have already spent many billions to accelerate private vaccine development and distribution. Vaccines for the world can be greatly increased, at little additional cost, by working with the rest of the world, as Chinese researchers did by sharing the virus’ genome sequence with the world within a fortnight of its discovery over a year ago.

 

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A mother holds her child in the Al Dhale'e Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) Camp in Yemen. The war in Yemen continues to ravage the country and its people, senior UN-appointed rights investigators said, in a call for an international probe into suspected war crimes, and sanctions against the perpetrators. Credit: YPN for UNOCHA

By Azza Karam
NEW YORK, Feb 2 2021 (IPS)

For more than two decades, the mantra was “PVE” (preventing violent extremism) and/or “CVE” (countering violent extremism).

Millions of dollars were spent, new NGOs and think tanks emerged, government policy papers were drafted, countless books and articles were published, large and small scale initiatives developed – indeed almost an entire industry in development and foreign policy spaces thrived.

Complete with UN resolutions and entire units inside the UN system and intergovernmental entities were created to focus on this (thinly veiled religious) violent extremism.

It would seem that PVE/CVE also delineated political positions in certain countries. Were you of the PVE or the CVE inclination? The difference between these two positions was not whether one considered violent extremism to be a – largely – religious (and let’s face it, Islamic-focused) set of features, but whether you were seeking to be politically correct about the endeavor, or just ‘call it like it is”.

Of course, all this generated multitudes of arguments, analysis and ‘alternative views’. By and large, the consensus – and certainly where multi million dollars of investment were going – appeared to be, that ‘developing a counter narrative’ was the way to go.

Horrific gang violence, atrocious drug-related violence, spiking gender-based violence, sexual violence in conflict and non-conflict settings, even domestic violence, school shootings, policy brutality, all soared. But none of that of course, is violent extremism.

In the US, throughout the 1990s, several incidents took place – Ruby Ridge, Idaho, in 1992; Waco, Texas, in 1993; and the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995. The sight of men carrying torches in Charlottesville and braying anti-semitic and anti-everything decent slogans, apparently was … well, clearly, freedom of speech.

While on the other hand, peaceful demonstrations against the oldest and most vile of prejudices which intersects with and informs so many other prejudices – I mean racism by the way – those we did see as worthy of brutality and force. And that brutality and force was also not violent extremism.

With all that, to many of the pundits (‘experts’, intellectuals, intelligence communities) in the ‘developed’ part of the world, none of all this qualified as violent extremism. No, violent extremism, and its kin, terrorism, were what, by and large, Muslims did.

And the Muslims, by the way, were not really a religion. In fact, maybe they were not even human. Our kind of humans, you see, don’t do violent extremism. ‘Our’ kind of humans do good, old fashioned pro-Life kind of religion, informed by wholesome [western] values which are worthy of export as part of an ongoing mission to bring light to the world.

And when some of those things turn ugly and even contravene international standards of human rights (as if those are even relevant), it does not get labelled what it is, because ‘there are good people on all sides’.

When nations turn away or intern those seeking refuge and those displaced by their own duty bearers, and when these people end up cold and without clothes in the coldest of times, or separated from their loved ones in manners reminiscent of the stories of earlier Jewish internment camps, that is not violent extremism.

When there are over two million Muslims in “reeducation camps” (because of their propensity to ‘Islamic extremism’ of course) – no, not in Nazi times back then, but right here, happening right now – that ‘reeducation’ is not called violent extremism.

Even genocide – when we dare to name it – is not violent extremism either, apparently. You see, if a powerful government commits it, it is not violent extremism. And the label of genocide is anyway facetious and disrespectful and libelous and plain wrong. Some say. When they dare to speak.

We needed to watch the Capitol of the United States of America, besieged by men with war paint on their faces, wearing animal masks, military-like fatigues, brazenly waving the flags of states which once went to war with kith and kin to defend human slavery, former (and currently serving) military and/or police officers, even women with a mission apparently willing to scale walls to enter “the people’s house” – and get shot dead by terrified, seriously understaffed security people.

We had to wait to see these macabre sights of yet another awful US reality TV show, to begin – only begin – to name it. So now that we have named it, shall we draw upon the decades’ long ‘expertise’ of NGOs, human rights actors, think tanks, governments and the industry, academia, which largely focused on the Muslim other?

All those who valiantly created “counter-narratives” to deal with this variant of the virus of violent extremism? Or are counter-narratives only something we invest in when it comes to others outside of ‘our’ kind?

And what is the counter narrative to rampant hate of the multiple, intersecting and difficult to discern forms of ‘otherness’, when divisiveness, bitterness and ignorance are normal in so many parts of the world?

For we spent decades normalizing othering. Even as we sought to deal with violence, we did so by ‘othering’ (rendering different from ‘us’) the perpetrators and the actions, even when they were us. We even othered violence itself by defining an extreme form thereof! As if violence was not bad enough.

As we sought ‘counter narratives’, we affirmed the us-versus-them world view: our narrative was, would be, better than theirs. But hate is not a narrative. Hatred is felt, it is embodied, it is lived – and it is actively justified.

Hatred feeds on othering. Othering is the fuel which makes hatred rage as the fires that consumed our earth did in 2020 – literally as well as metaphorically.

The antidote to othering, to the roots of hatred, is to recognize the power inherent in our diversity. All faiths teach that diversity is manifestations of the Divine, and/or that the Divine resides in diversity – sometimes in polar opposites (e.g. Destructor-Creator).

All faiths try to teach that power is not about institutions and boundaries. Instead, ‘power’ is to love the diversities. Yet still we persist, and our religions and our politics and our institutions persist, in the politics of othering, and defining the boundaries of us versus them.

When will we learn, that we are one and the same? What will it take?

 

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Excerpt:

Azza Karam is the Secretary General of Religions for Peace, and Professor of Religion and Development at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam.

The post A Counter-Narrative? Ruminations Around Holocaust Memorial Day appeared first on Inter Press Service.

By Jomo Kwame Sundaram
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Feb 2 2021 (IPS)

“Oh what a tangled web we weave When first we practice to deceive”. Walter Scott’s lines, already over two centuries old, nicely sum up how pursuit of national advantage and private gain have undermined the public interest and the common good.

As known COVID-19 infections exceed 100 million internationally, with more than two million lives lost, rich countries are now quarrelling publicly over access to limited vaccine supplies. With ‘vaccine nationalism’ widespread, multilateral arrangements have not been able to address current challenges well.

Jomo Kwame Sundaram

Vaccine nationalism has meant that the rich and powerful come first, not only in societies, but also in the world, making a mockery of the ‘No one left behind’ slogan embraced by the international community.

Many developing countries and most of their people will have to wait for access to vaccines while the powerful and better off secure prior access regardless of need or urgency.

Vaccine nationalism and the prospect of more profits by not scaling up output to induce scarcity may thus cause more losses of both lives and livelihoods, causing economies to slow further.

TRIPS waiver blocked
The 1994 World Trade Organization (WTO) agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) greatly strengthened and extended intellectual property rights (IPRs) transnationally. It is easy to forget that strict cross-border enforcement of IPRs claims are relatively recent.

While many assume that IPRs are needed to promote research and development for technological progress, this is seriously challenged by most serious histories and historians of technology.

Perhaps more importantly, there is considerable evidence that IPRs may well have inadvertently slowed progress. More generally, IPRs have discouraged research cooperation and knowledge sharing, so essential to progress.

By enabling, and thus encouraging ‘patent trolling’ and hoarding, IPRs have effectively denied access to patented products and processes except to the highest bidders.

Public health exception
Following the pushback to the original TRIPS, boosted by Nelson Mandela after he became South African President in 1994, developing countries have secured legal access to ‘essential medicines’.

A 2001 WTO Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health affirmed the right of countries to protect public health, enable access to medicines, and issue a compulsory license (CL), even without a health emergency.

In return for developing countries extending IP protection, developed countries promised to establish manufacturing capabilities for patented processes in developing countries, and incentivise their transnational corporations (TNCs) to enable technology transfer to developing countries, especially the least developed countries (LDCs).

In 2017, the TRIPS Agreement was amended to confirm developing countries unable to domestically produce certain pharmaceuticals, could issue compulsory licenses to import patented drugs produced abroad under compulsory licensing.

But although TRIPS now allows such use of compulsory licensing, developing countries are still constrained by its complex rules, procedures and conditions as well as constant TNC threats and inducements, supported by their governments.

Hence, use of compulsory licensing by developing countries has been largely limited to several more independent middle-income countries, such as India, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, and to HIV/AIDS medicines.

TRIPS waiver
The TRIPS waiver – proposed by South Africa, India and others to the WTO – seeks temporary suspension of several TRIPS provisions on patents, design and protection of undisclosed information.

The proposed waiver seeks to greatly scale up production of and access to COVID-19 vaccines, medicines and equipment, especially in developing countries, to contain the contagion. But the Trump administration, the European Union (EU) and their allies have stubbornly blocked the waiver.

The EU claims “an [intellectual property] system is…also to ensure the publication and dissemination of research results, when otherwise they will remain secret.” It omits to acknowledge that no vaccine developer has shared research results needed to scale up vaccine output by others, including generic producers.

Vaccine nationalism rules
Although the waiver implies treating vaccine production and distribution as public goods, and the European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen has spoken about “working together” and “solidarity” for the “public good”, the EU continues to block it.

But after AstraZeneca and Pfizer failed to meet their contractual obligations to deliver vaccines to EU countries, the now embattled EC President has criticised the companies for not meeting their contractual obligations. She did not hesitate to emphasise that EU taxpayers and governments had paid much to accelerate vaccine development and production.

Ironically, the most feasible way forward now involves approving the TRIPS waiver at the WTO. The US and EU governments can make the badly needed breakthrough and thus do much to restore international confidence in their intentions.

With Biden announcing the US re-joining the World Health Organization (WHO), the new administration can not only lift the embargo on exports of vaccines, vital medicines and equipment, but also advocate for the TRIPS waiver, quickly winning appreciation for his commitment to multilateral leadership.

US taxpayers have already spent many billions for Trump’s Operation Warp Speed to accelerate private vaccine development and distribution. Now, both the US and EU are well placed to greatly accelerate vaccine production and distribution for the world at relatively little additional cost.

They can do so by ensuring that relevant information is quickly shared to rapidly scale up vaccine production. For example, mass vaccine production capacity remains limited internationally, but it is the Serum Institute of India, not a developed country facility, which is acknowledged as the world leader by far.

 

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Shreen Saroor

By Sania Farooqui
NEW DELHI, India, Feb 1 2021 (IPS)

A decade has passed since the end of Sri Lanka’s civil war between the government and the LTTE, where at least 100,000 people were killed in the over three-decade long conflict. Families of victims of enforced disappearances continue to seek justice, the government is yet to end impunity and put accountability for crimes under international law and human rights violation and abuses in its transitional justice process.

In a recent United Nations Human Rights Office of The High Commissioner report, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet stressed that the failure to deal with the past continues to have devastating effects on tens of thousands of families in Sri Lanka, who are still waiting for justice, reparations – and the truth about the fate of their loved ones. The report warns that the failure of Sri Lanka to address past violations has significantly “ heightened the risk of human rights violations being repeated.”

“Sri Lanka’s current trajectory sets the scene for the recurrence of the policies and practices that gave rise to grave human rights violations.” The report also flags the pattern of intensified surveillance and harassment of civil society organizations, human rights defenders and victims, and a shrinking space for independent media.

“I see the OHCHR report as something that will give more oxygen to continue our many struggles, especially for truth and justice,” says Sri Lanka based human rights activist Shreen Saroor to IPS News. The report has articulated the lack of access to justice and the need for accountability very well. It is robust on militarisation and deep securitisation of Sri Lanka and calls for rigorous vetting and demilitarization with a warning of grave consequences if failed, says Shreen.

“Michelle Bachelet’s criticism on surveillance on CSOs and shrinking space for dissent and the abuses of Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) Act are alarming. However in order to prevent another round of conflict, the report should emphasize more on the ongoing attacks against countries’ religious minorities,” says Shreen.

Earlier in december 2020, Muslims in Sri Lanka were outraged over the forced cremation of a 20-day-old COVID-19 victim against the family’s wishes. Sri Lanka has been flagged for ignoring the World Health Organization’s (WHO) guidelines which permits both burial and cremations.

In a country where minorities are marginalized and discriminated against, Muslims who fall victim to COVID-19 are unjustly prevented from being laid to rest in accordance with their religious beliefs and are forcibly cremated, said Amnesty International in a statement. Sri Lanka is one of the few countries in the world which has made cremations mandatory for people who have died or are suspected of having died from COVID-19. The rights group urged the Sri Lankan Government to not forget that “ it has a duty to ensure all people in Sri Lanka are treated equitably. COVID-19 does not discriminate on grounds of ethnic, political or religious differences, and nor should the Government of Sri Lanka.”

“Many of us who have witnessed continuous minority rights violations over three decades in Sri Lanka, it is important for OHCHR to take on the issue of growing Sinhala Buddhist majoritarianism and the extreme nationalism that has been mentioned in the OHCHR report.

“It is time for OHCHR to come up with an early prevention strategy, so that another bloody war or religious violence in this country is prevented,” says Shreen.

Human Rights Watch in its recently released 93-page report, Open Wounds and Mounting Dangers: Blocking Accountability for Grave Abuses in Sri Lanka, examines the efforts by the government of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to thwart justice in seven prominent human rights cases.

“The Sri Lankan government’s assault on justice increases the risk of human rights abuses today and in the future,” said John Fisher, Geneva Director at Human Rights Watch. “The UN Human Rights Council should adopt a resolution at its upcoming session that demonstrates to the Rajapaksa administration that the world won’t ignore its abuses and offers hope of justice to victims’ families, the report stated.

In 2018, just before and during the ongoing session of the UNHRC, Sri Lankan authorities made several announcements to signify their commitments to pledges made in the October 2015 resolution on justice and accountability for abuses during Sri Lanka’s civil war.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksha months into his tenure in November 2019, made several changes including replacing the 19th Amendment of the Sri Lankan Constitution, which was enacted to limit excessive executive power and facilitate independent institutions including the judiciary with the 20th Amendment, which consolidated power in the executive and nullified the independent commissions mainly Sri Lanka’s Human Rights Commissions and Office of the Missing Persons. “Rajapaksa appointed people implicated in war crimes and other serious violations to senior administration positions,” said Shreen.

In February 2020 Sri Lanka withdrew itself from the 2019 UN resolution on post-war accountability and reconciliation, which is scheduled to be taken up in the upcoming session.

Sri Lanka’s main Tamil political parties are now urging for an international probe, and in a joint letter addressed to members of the UN Human Rights Council said, “It is now time for Member States to acknowledge that there is no scope for a domestic process that can genuinely deal with accountability in Sri Lanka.”

According to this report, Sri Lanka is in discussion with India and other countries for support to counter the Core Group’s move which could lead to targeted sanctions, asset freezes and travel bans against alleged perpetrators of grave human rights violations and abuses in the March session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

The author is a journalist and filmmaker based out of New Delhi. She hosts a weekly online show called The Sania Farooqui Show where Muslim women from around the world are invited to share their views.

 

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Myanmar’s military has sized control of government and reportedly detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, senior members of her governing National League for Democracy (NLD) as well as human rights activists and student leaders. Courtesy: Yves Alarie on Unsplash

By Nalisha Adams
BONN, Germany, Feb 1 2021 (IPS)

Responding to reports this morning that Myanmar’s military has seized control of government in a coup on the eve of the country’s opening session of its new parliament, rights group Amnesty International said it “sends a chilling message that the military authorities will not tolerate any dissent amid today’s unfolding events”.

Civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, senior members of her governing National League for Democracy (NLD) as well as human rights activists and student leaders were reportedly detained this morning, Feb. 1. The BBC reported military “was handing power to commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing because of “election fraud”” and that soldiers were “on the streets of the capital, Nay Pyi Taw, and the main city, Yangon”.

Amnesty International said in a statement today that phone lines and the internet have been cut in some areas, further stating, “the military-owned television station announced that a one-year state of emergency was being imposed under the authority of the Commander in Chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing”.

The President of the European Council Charles Michel condemned the coup in a tweet this morning.

I strongly condemn the coup in #Myanmar and call on the military to release all who have been unlawfully detained in raids across the country.

The outcome of the elections has to be respected and democratic process needs to be restored.

— Charles Michel (@eucopresident) February 1, 2021

 

As did the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

I condemn the coup and unlawful imprisonment of civilians, including Aung San Suu Kyi, in Myanmar. The vote of the people must be respected and civilian leaders released.

— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) February 1, 2021

A statement from White House spokesperson Jen Psaki read the United States was alarmed by the reports of the coup and subsequent arrest of Suu Kyi and civilian officials. “The United States opposes any attempt to alter the outcome of recent elections or impede Myanmar’s democratic transition, and will take action against those responsible if these steps are not reversed,” the statement read.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres also condemned the coup and called for Suu Kyi’s release as well as that of other leaders and government officials.

Guterres expressed “grave concern regarding the declaration of the transfer of all legislative, executive and judicial powers to the military. These developments represent a serious blow to democratic reforms in Myanmar”, a statement said.

Myanmar’s Nov. 8 election, which was won by Suu Kyi’s NLD which increased its parliamentary majority — taking 396 of the 498 seats — had been disputed by the military. The Rohingya population had been excluded from participating in the vote.

Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for Campaigns, Ming Yu Hah, called it “an ominous moment for people in Myanmar”, stating it threatened “a severe worsening of military repression and impunity. The concurrent arrests of prominent political activists and human rights defenders sends a chilling message that the military authorities will not tolerate any dissent amid today’s unfolding events” he said in a statement.

“Previous military coups and crackdowns in Myanmar have seen large scale violence and extrajudicial killings by security forces. We urge the armed forces to exercise restraint, abide by international human rights and humanitarian law and for law enforcement duties to be fully resumed by the police force at the earliest opportunity,” Hah said.

Concern remains about the safety of the Rohingya, an ethnic minority in the mostly Buddhist country.

The Rohingya have long been persecuted by the military and according to an October report by Human Rights Watch, “have faced decades of systematic repression, discrimination, and violence under successive Myanmar governments”.  

According to the UN Refugee Agency, a million Rohingya refugees have fled violence in Myanmar since the 1990s. However, in August 2017 when violence broke out in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, more than 700,000 Rohingya fled to neighbouring Bangladesh.

In November, The Gambia brought a case against  Myanmar to the UN’s International  Court of Justice, arguing that the mainly-Muslim Rohingya had been subjected to genocide. Suu Kyi had downplayed the allegations of genocide and serious human rights violations.

Last month, Jan. 23, the ICJ ruled that Myanmar must take steps to protect its minority Rohingya population. ICJ’s orders are binding against Myanmar.

But as late as last November, Amnesty International reported it had “documented a litany of serious human rights crimes in Rakhine, Chin, Kachin and northern Shan States in recent years, including  attacks killing or injuring civilians, extra-judicial executions, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrest and detention, torture and other ill-treatment, forced labour, looting and confiscation of property”.

Amnesty International’s Hah said today, “Reports of a telecommunications blackout pose a further threat to the population at such a volatile time – especially as Myanmar battles a pandemic, and as internal conflict against armed groups puts civilians at risk in several parts of the country. It is vital that full phone and internet services be resumed immediately.”

  

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Beirut, Lebanon; Tuesday, September 1st, 2020. Credit: Photojournalist Rahib Yassine

By Maria Aoun
BEIRUT, Lebanon, Feb 1 2021 (IPS)

Humankind is no stranger to the destabilizing events of 2020. The state of the global economy and the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic hit the headlines. In this ever escalating global crisis, Lebanon, has been facing what can only be described as unimaginable hardships. For the past year the country has seen challenges which have resulted in an utter state of hopelessness and rapid deterioration in mental health of many of its citizens.

The country has been facing a high rate of youth unemployment, with 55% of the Lebanese population already living under the poverty line according to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA). Followed by an almost complete devaluation of the Lebanese currency due to ever-growing political uncertainties and national lockdowns to tackle the pandemic, Lebanon is faced with one of its worst economic crises. The aforementioned obstacles reinforced pre-existing socio-economic inequalities in the country that has taken a heavy toll on the state of mental health of the Lebanese people.

In fact, shortly after the economic collapse in July 2020, alarming reports made headlines about the double suicides that occurred on the same day, a Friday, mainly because of the financial instability that people are faced with. On 3 July, a man in his 60s stood in front of a café in the city of Hamra and shot himself in the head in broad daylight, leaving behind a copy of his clean criminal record with a message written in red that said “I am not a Kafer” meaning sinner, infidel or blasphemer, and a Lebanese flag. On that same day in Sidon, an unemployed bus driver in his late thirties took his own life.

The middle aged man also wrote “I am not a Kafer” since the act of suicide is culturally and religiously prohibited and considered a sin or taboo in both Islam and Christianity, the two predominent religions in Lebanon. In fact, some families tend to hide the real cause of death of members who have taken their own lives to avoid societal judgment.

The successive misfortunes that befell Lebanon reached a height when one of the deadliest events in its history occurred at 6.07 pm on 4 August 2020; tons of Ammonium Nitrate detonated at the Beirut port, devastating the capital within seconds and causing thousands casualties. Additionally, it is estimated that 70,000 workers have lost their jobs, and 42 percent of affected families who had chronic medical conditions reported that they could not afford continuing treatment, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).

When asked about the collective mental state of the Lebanese in 2020, Mia Atoui, co-founder and board member of “Embrace”, a Lebanese NGO that works to raise awareness around mental health told IPS that “We are witnessing increased levels of depression, anxiety and PTSD as a result of all the crises”, stressing on the importance of providing mental health services to people during these difficult times.

According to the latest report created by “Embrace” titled “Post Beirut’s Blast Update”, issue no.9, two months after the Beirut blast, the national hotline for emotional support and suicide prevention received more than 2239 calls, with approximately 67% of those callers expressing emotional distress and around 28% exhibiting suicidal tendencies. Those numbers reveal the state of mental health faced by the Lebanese. “Embrace Lifeline (1564) received more than 6,100 calls to its hotline in 2020, compared to more than 2500 calls in 2019” stated Atoui. These numbers show that calls have almost tripled from the year 2019 to 2020.

Beirut, Lebanon; Tuesday, September 1st, 2020. Credit: Photojournalist Rahib Yassine

Nowadays, and five months post blast, the Lebanese are still trying to adapt to what seems to be a “new normal” by going about their daily lives, navigating a pandemic that has gone completely out of control.

Lebanese Journalist Cendrella Azar was meters away from the Beirut blast and shared with IPS her mental journey. “Physically, I am a survivor, I healed in no time. Nevertheless, mentally and emotionally, I am still bearing the consequences of the Beirut Port crime I was subjected to. Today, almost six months past the explosion, I still deal with different kinds of symptoms. While I think that I am a normal human being who overcame this traumatic event, I am hit on a daily basis with visions and thoughts. I am physically at home among my loved ones yet mentally I am stuck within the walls of Annahar Newspaper’s building where I was the moment we were hit by the third biggest non-nuclear explosion in human history” stated Azar.

The journalist pointed out the daily stress that citizens are subjected to amidst the new wave of the global pandemic that brutally hit Lebanon. “We transformed into a traumatized nation, suffering from a collective trauma, and bearing so many invisible wounds and scars. We are currently in a national state of shock” declared Azar.

With positive cases of Covid-19 multiplying due to relaxing of governmental restrictions, Lebanon is now seeing a saturation in ICU beds and is heading towards disaster including yet another full lockdown. “The impact of Covid on mental health is a very significant and serious one. People are in a constant state of fear with worry and anxiety; many are losing their loved ones, which is also causing a lot of people to be in grief” explained the mental health expert Atoui. In fact, Lebanon is seeing thousands of new contaminations per day with the peak being 6154 registered cases on 16 January 2021, coupled with an exponential death toll, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Mental health hit a low point in Lebanon in the year 2020 with a grey cloud over the country overstaying its welcome. However, Atoui explained that suicides have not increased this year, “most probably because of the Covid crisis and Beirut blast; usually when there are big disasters at a national level we do not witness an increase in suicides, especially after the Beirut blast where there was a lot of social solidarity…” she said. “…However if the crises continues in 2021 we may witness an increase in suicide rates. Currently the rate of suicide in Lebanon is on average 1 person every 2.1 days” stated Atoui.

Atoui mentioned how important it was to assist people mentally during those trying times yet the current skyrocketing prices have made mental health services inaccessible with therapists charging outrageous figures per therapy session. Atoui told IPS that “Even when it [the cost of therapy] was 150,000 LBP (approximately $ 100 at the time), it was not affordable by most people. Now [after the currency devaluation] it has become a luxury. Since Embrace opened its clinic in August 2020, we have provided 690 consultations and we already have a long waiting list”.

A few days into the new year, a middle-aged man set his car on fire in Beirut and attempted to burn himself alive; bystanders rushed to stop him. On 25 January this year, violent anti-lockdown protests erupted in Tripoli, one of the poorest cities in Lebanon. Met by police brutality, the protesters denounced the absence of a sustainable governmental plan and a lockdown that is worsening their economic situation everyday.

 

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