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Since 2016, inhabitants of three municipalities in the central Mexican state of Puebla have managed to block construction of the Puebla 1 private hydroelectric power plant, by means of a lawsuit arguing that the mandatory indigenous consultation was not carried out and that the megaproject will cause environmental damage. This screenshot from a video shows a protest in one of the municipalities by the Fundar Centre for Analysis and Research. CREDIT: IPS/Fundar

By Emilio Godoy
MEXICO CITY, Mar 19 2021 (IPS)

Indigenous farmers on communally owned lands have blocked since 2016 a private solar farm in the southeastern Mexican state of Yucatan by means of legal action, due to the company’s failure to hold consultations with local native communities and the risk of environmental damage.

“They opened up roads without the knowledge of the local communities. A consultation was held in another municipality, but not here,” Aurelio Mugarte, a Maya indigenous man, told IPS by telephone.

Like his neighbours, Mugarte farms on the San José Tipceh ejido, 1,468 hectares of public land given to the community to farm.

The solar power project is divided into Ticul A and B and is owned by Vega Solar Energía, a Mexican subsidiary of the U.S.-based Sun Power, whose majority shareholder is the French oil giant Total SE. It involves the clearing of some 700 hectares of jungle in an area that is sensitive due to its biodiversity and its karst terrain, which is porous and prone to sinkholes.

The state of Yucatan is on the Yucatan Peninsula, which also includes the states of Campeche and Quintana Roo and is the second most important terrestrial ecosystem in Latin America, after the Amazon rainforest.

Local communities have filed two lawsuits against the park, which would cover parts of the municipalities of Muna, Sacalum and Ticul, some 1,300 km southeast of Mexico City.

The plant is a product of the 2013 energy reform that opened the generation and commercialisation of energy in Mexico to domestic and foreign private capital. Transmission and distribution of electric power were left in the hands of the state-owned Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE).

As a result of the reform, the government held three electricity auctions in 2016 and 2017 for the construction of generators that would sell their production to the CFE. In 2016, Vega Solar Energía was one of the winners with Ticul A and B, which will install about 1.22 million solar panels to generate about 600 megawatts (Mw).

“The reform affected us and allowed companies to come in,” Mugarte complained. “The government sought to favour the company. If renewable energy is going to destroy nature, I don’t see the benefit.”

Now President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, in office since December 2018, wants to reverse the energy reform introduced by his predecessor Enrique Peña Nieto in August 2013, at least as far as electric power is concerned.

Electric counter-reform

The new electricity law, enacted on Mar. 9, favours CFE plants over private generators, even though they are more expensive.

As of now, in the Wholesale Electricity Market (MEM), managed by the state-owned autonomous National Energy Centre (Cenace), the electric power generated by the national electricity system must be sold first, before the power from private corporations, especially from wind and solar sources.

The government and its party, the National Regeneration Movement (MORENA), did not touch the constitution as was done in 2013. But the changes reverse the energy reform that opened generation and commercialisation to private capital.

The 2013 reform sought to promote competition in the market and lower rates. But CFE argued that it was harmed by the changes and that it lost money as the power it generated was relegated. In January, 98 generators participated in the MEM, including CFE and private operators.

With the electricity counter-reform, Cenace has to first sell the energy generated by CFE hydroelectric plants, then electricity from fossil fuels and other sources of that state-owned company, then wind and solar power from private generators, and lastly electric power generated with gas and steam in privately-owned combined cycle plants.

The Puebla 1 Hydroelectric Project would divert the Ajajalpan River in the central Mexican state of Puebla, thus damaging the main water source of three municipalities in the northern highlands of that Mexican region. CREDIT: IPS/Fundar

It also requires the autonomous Energy Regulatory Commission to declare invalid the self-supply permits obtained by individuals to generate their own electricity from sources such as gas, hydroelectric, wind and solar power, in what is known as distributed or decentralised generation.

It also subjects future generation permits to the energy ministry’s planning criteria, which means they are placed under government provisions. In addition, the new regulations eliminate the requirement for electricity auctions.

The application of the new law is temporarily suspended by order of a judge, although it is assumed that it will go ahead.

In Latin America’s second largest economy, with a population of 126 million people, electricity consumption currently stands at around 270,000 gigawatt hours, half of which is provided by CFE and the rest by private operators.

The sources of electricity are primarily fossil fuels (around 76 percent), hydroelectricity (about eight percent), wind (6.59 percent), solar (four percent), nuclear (three percent) and geothermal (1.5 percent).

The communities affected by megaprojects feel that the counter-reform gives them a respite, since they will no longer be under the shadow of private companies. But they are not free from the CFE, which has historically ignored their demands.

“We don’t think the changes benefit us, because the energy is not for us,” said Mugarte, whose area is powered by electricity generated by a thermoelectric plant fired by fossil fuels.

The energy reform left local communities at the mercy of the CFE and the state-owned Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) and private companies, as they could not refuse the installation of a project.

Although it requires a social impact assessment and consultations with indigenous communities, these were carried out after the planning and design of the project and became a mere formality.

As a result, affected peoples have opted to sue in court for the lack of what they consider to be a consultation free of pressure, prior to the design and construction of the projects and with adequate and timely information.

The same scheme has been repeated in other regions of the country as in Yucatan.

In the central state of Puebla, the company Deselec 1-Comexhidro aims to build the Puebla 1 hydroelectric plant to supply electricity to the Mexican subsidiaries of the U.S. retail chain Walmart, a restaurant chain and a clothing chain.

“Yes it has changed things somewhat, because it allows the energy to be Mexican, since it was privatised,” José Galindo, a member of the Totonaco indigenous people of eastern Mexico, told IPS by telephone from the municipality of San Felipe Petatlán in Puebla. “But nevertheless it is worrying. They want to continue managing the oil, the contamination, and they want more hydroelectric dams to be built, which will continue to obstruct the watersheds.”

Galindo, a member of the non-governmental Totonaco Regional Council, made it clear that “we do not feel more supported by the CFE, and we do not feel that we have better quality energy.”

Since 2016, residents in three municipalities of Puebla have been blocking a hydroelectric megaproject on the Ajajalpan river, their main water source, through two legal actions. The so-called Puebla 1 Hydroelectric Project would build two dams, Ahuacoya and Zoquiapa, the first of which would be 45 metres high and would have a generating capacity of 60 Mw.

“There was a simulation of indigenous consultation. They already had the permits a few years ago, and all they did was tell the people what they wanted to do. The government institutions were part of the simulation. They never informed us of the project,” said Galindo, whose municipality of 4,000 inhabitants is some 230 kilometres south of Mexico City.

Prior to the legislative approval of the changes in the electricity commercialisation system, authorities and organisations of 14 indigenous peoples requested to participate in renewable generation.

They raised the need for “a new model of social and democratic energy transition, without the participation of large multinationals or private megaprojects.”

Since 2018, disgruntled communities have managed to stop at least six renewable projects in Yucatan and a hydroelectric plant in Puebla.

The CFE does not plan to invest in renewable energy, because it favours fossil fuels, large hydroelectric plants and nuclear energy.

Communities such as San José Tipceh and San Felipe Tepatlán only want the projects to be cancelled.

“We want the environmental licence to be denied. If renewable energy is going to destroy nature, I don’t see the benefit. Let them put it in the desert or in a place that does not affect nature,” Mugarte said.

For his part, Galindo hopes the hydroelectric plant will be cancelled. “That would be very important, because there are many violations of rights. I wish that each town could have and control its own energy,” he said.

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The post Indigenous Communities in Mexico Fight Energy Projects appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Credit: UNDP

By Volkan Bozkir *
UNITED NATIONS, Mar 19 2021 (IPS)

Water is integral to sustainable development, but we are well behind on the goals and targets that we have set ourselves.

By current estimates:
– Some 2.2 billion people – almost a third of the global population – continue to lack access to safely managed drinking water;
– 4.2 billion people – more than half of the planet’s population – live without safely managed sanitation;
– 2 billion people don’t have a decent toilet of their own;
– and 3 billion lack basic handwashing facilities – even in the midst of a global pandemic.

If I may be candid: it is a moral failure that we live in a world with such high levels of technical innovation and success, but we continue to allow billions of people to exist without clean drinking water or the basic tools to wash their hands. And make no mistake, this is a global failure that has far-reaching implications for all of us.

We must remember:
– Water is life. We simply cannot live on this planet – and certainly not in any healthy capacity – if we are deprived of this most basic human need. Our entire agricultural system – all of the food we consume – is dependent upon water supplies. The same extends to all other life on this planet. Every ecosystem, every species, depends upon water.
– Water is sustainability. Safe drinking water systems and adequate sanitation is essential to ensure cities and towns grow sustainably. Without these core services and needs met, our ability to provide education, healthcare, and jobs and livelihoods will suffer.
– And Water is empowerment.

While we have recognized women’s central role in the provision, management, and safeguarding of water, the implementation of this core principle remains far from adequate.

For women and girls across the globe, the daily trek to collect water can be an impediment to accessing education, healthcare, or work. We cannot empower people, we cannot raise them up, when they are held back.

Delivering on Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG6) and guaranteeing water and sanitation for all is a win across the board. Water is both an economic good and an SDG accelerator, facilitating progress on each of the other SDGs.

For this reason, we must see the recovery from COVID-19 as an inflection point in the International Decade for Action, “Water for Sustainable Development”, and re-focus our efforts on sustainable and integrated water management.

I could point to dozens of examples where the lack of water or sanitation is impacting people around the world, but the most obvious and most topical is the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The fact that billions of people have had to face this pandemic without basic handwashing facilities and that health providers in some of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) do not have running water is impossible to reconcile, especially when we live in a world of such abundance and of such profound innovation.

This stark example of global inequality can and must spur us to action.

While we cannot go back and change what has happened, we must acknowledge our failings and use this opportunity to root out the systemic gaps that have allowed the crisis to flourish. When the next global pandemic or crisis strikes, and we know that it will, we will have no excuse for having not acted now.

Delivering on SDG6 and guaranteeing water and sanitation for all is a win across the board. Water is both an economic good and an SDG accelerator, facilitating progress on each of the other SDGs.

For this reason, we must see the recovery from COVID-19 as an inflection point in the International Decade for Action, “Water for Sustainable Development”, and re-focus our efforts on sustainable and integrated water management.

In light of all that I have outlined, our discussions and statements today must focus on tangible, concrete actions that deliver for the people of the world.

Among the many areas where I hope to see progress is support for the SDG6 Global Accelerator Framework, which promises to deliver fast results at scale, with an emphasis on COVID response and recovery.

The Framework, and other efforts like it, offer a clear path to ramp up progress at the country level, yet they remain vastly underfunded. As it is, the OECD notes that there is a critical need for investments in water infrastructure to the tune of $500 billion dollars by 2030.

For this reason, I call on the international community to provide greater financial and capacity-building support to water and sanitation related activities, particularly through their support to COVID-19 recovery.

In doing so, I ask that you consider and prioritize countries in special situations, notably LDCs, LLDCs and SIDS, and that you make every effort to support those who have borne the brunt of the water-deficit, particularly women and girls.

Finally, I ask that we, as an international community, work closely with civil society groups and with young people to strengthen water-related goals and activities.

Young people and local groups, with their ear to the ground and their nimble ability to act, are often the first to usher in new technologies or approaches; we must take advantage of this tool and empower all people in this process.

Governments alone cannot achieve the 2030 Agenda and strong engagement of stakeholders is essential for the achievement of all SDGs. It is therefore important that we enable stakeholders from different sectors, ranging from civil society and academia, to the private sector, to fully participate in discussions in related events.

For this purpose, I have designated a special part of the panel discussion, dubbed “CSO Spotlight”, to give as many stakeholders as we can accommodate an opportunity to voice their concerns, visions, plans, successes and lessons, and calls for action.

In closing, allow me to emphasize that our discussion today is not just about liquid in a bottle…It’s presence or absence means so, so much more.

It is about dignity.
It is about opportunity.
It is about our health and our ability to survive.
And it is about equality.

*Volkan Bozkir, President of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly, in his address to the High-level Meeting on the Implementation of the Water-related Goals and Targets of the 2030 Agenda on March 18.

 

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The post A Moral Failure: Billions of People with No Access to Clean Drinking Water appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Excerpt:

The UN will be commemorating World Water Day on Monday March 22.

The post A Moral Failure: Billions of People with No Access to Clean Drinking Water appeared first on Inter Press Service.

While technology has opened up opportunities for women journalists to communicate, they now reproduce and amplify harassment and abuse of the professionals across platforms. Credit: Erick Kabendera/IPS

By Alison Kentish
UNITED NATIONS, Mar 19 2021 (IPS)

“Email and social media access attempts, extremely aggressive comments, photo montages, massive defamation and intimidation campaigns on WhatsApp. This is what women journalists are facing for doing our job,” said Brazilian journalist Bianca Santana.

Santana addressed a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO)-led virtual event to tackle online harassment and abuse against women journalists on Thursday, Mar. 19.

She told the forum that the online and ICT worlds can be dangerous places for women journalists.

The UN Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur for freedom of opinion and expression Irene Khan said during the forum that perpetrators of online abuse of women journalists use the internet to launch vicious and amplified attacks.

She reminded the gathering that she has experienced online abuse firsthand. A former consulting newspaper editor and human rights activist in Bangladesh, she has been a target of gender-based violence, sexual violence and harassment.

“On one hand, the victims – the women – are much more vulnerable in this virtual world because of the amplification of the attacks. At the same time, the perpetrators are much more protected because of their anonymity and the impunity they enjoy,” she said.

According to a 2020 report by the UN Human Rights Council titled ‘Combating violence against women journalists,’ not only are women attacked online at a rate far exceeding men, but they also face increasing sexualised content and stalking.

UNESCO partnered with the permanent missions of Austria, Canada, Costa Rica, and the United Kingdom to the United Nations to host the virtual event.

Canada’s representative Robert Oliphant said his country is contributing to programmes that support women journalists, through the non-profit Article 19. That organisation states that while technology has opened up opportunities for women journalists to communicate, they now reproduce and amplify harassment and abuse of the professionals across platforms.

“In today’s world attacks take place both on and offline. Women journalists face sexual harassment, intimidation, violence and in the worst cases, they’re killed,” said Oliphant. “Too often authorities do little to bring those responsible to justice.”

Quoting figures from a UNESCO-International Centre for Journalists study on online attacks on women journalists, UNESCO’s Chief of Freedom of Expression and Safety of Journalists Guilherme Canela said the attacks are widespread.

“Different platforms and different forms of online violence against those women journalists and very concerning is that of 20 percent of them reported suffering some sort of offline violence connected to the online threats that they have received. This is very scary,” he said.

Over 900 women journalists from 125 countries took part in the study.

• 73 percent of respondents in the study said that they had experienced online violence in the course of their work,
• 25 percent had received threats of physical violence, and
• 18 percent were threatened with sexual violence.

“The violence and threats are gender-based. When the violence is against women journalists there is an extra component. The tone of the violence, the language is related to sexual images, sexual comments,” Canela said.

The partners say these crimes are geared at undermining and silencing women journalists, which in turn are attacks on democratic freedoms, including the right to free and open expression.”

“We cannot preserve and protect freedom of expression for half of society if we do not take action against this kind of harassment. The attacks also have a direct impact on the right of society to access a plurality of information and perspectives,” said Teres Ribeiro, Representative on Freedom of the Media at the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Article 19’s Senior Legal Officer Paulina Gutierrez said online attacks against women journalists deny women their right to privacy, freedom of expression, participation in public debates.

“We can see women limiting their journalistic reporting, we can see them self-censoring; deciding not to publish anymore their public views or opinions on very important topics for public discussion,” she said.

“We need to remember that the right to freedom of expression is an essential means to tackle discrimination and gender-based violence.”

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The post How Technology Reproduces & Amplifies Harassment & Abuse of Women Journalists appeared first on Inter Press Service.

A woman in Madagascar walks for up to 14km a day to find clean water. Credit: UNICEF/Safidy Andrianantenain

By Jonathan Farr
LONDON, Mar 19 2021 (IPS)

For many, the last year will be remembered as the time our day-to-day lives screeched to a halt. As Covid-19 spread mercilessly across the world, wreaking havoc on health and livelihoods, world leaders, health experts and scientists grappled with how to protect populations and stem the tide of the virus.

It is right that attention has been focused on the immediate threat posed by the pandemic; the global death toll has surpassed 2.6 million people and we have suffered the worst decline in the global economy since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

But while coronavirus has consumed every aspect of our monotonous daily existence for the past year, as we build back, we have a moral responsibility to ensure nobody is left behind as we tackle an even bigger global crisis – climate change.

With our world warming at an alarming rate, it is becoming harder for the world’s poorest people to get clean water. WaterAid’s latest report: “Turn the tide: The state of the world’s water 2021” highlights how people are losing access to clean water and why it is a matter of utmost urgency that we take steps to protect people living in the most climate vulnerable countries of the world.

The 2.2 billion people who do not have a reliable and safe supply of water are without the most fundamental protection against climate change. Extreme weather such as prolonged droughts dry up water sources like springs and wells, while rising sea levels and flooding pollute poorly protected water supplies, threatening to put progress on bringing clean water to all back decades.

With no clean water to drink, cook or wash with, communities falter and people get sick – putting their lives and livelihoods at risk.

By 2040, the situation is predicted to be even worse, with climate change exacerbating the water crisis and helping to make water perilously scarce for 600 million children – that’s 1 in 4, and an increase of 20 per cent since 2010.

To highlight the impact climate change has on people’s access to water, WaterAid created a giant sand portrait on Whitby Beach in the UK ahead of World Water Day on 22 March. It showed an image of 12-year-old Ansha from Ethiopia carrying water on dry, cracked ground, reflecting the impact of drought, while the incoming tide that swept the fleeting art away shows how rising sea levels and excess rainfall can contaminate water.

It is a stark reminder that climate change is happening now and those who have done least to cause it are living with its consequences. Having a reliable source of water is a frontline defence; it means being able to drink clean water every day, whatever the weather.

Less than 1% of total global climate investment goes to basic water infrastructure and services. And whilst there have been endless promises of billions of dollars ($100 billion per year was pledged as part of the UN Climate process in 2009, which has not been delivered) too much is being spent in wealthier countries, rather than providing basic services in poorer communities to help protect against climate change and other threats.

Very few low-income countries are among the top recipients of public climate finance for water, despite being the most vulnerable to climate change. Of the 20 countries receiving the most climate funding for water programmes,19 are middle-income countries.

WaterAid is calling for change. On 31 March, the UK Government will host a virtual Climate and Development event to build momentum towards this year’s UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow (COP26). WaterAid is urging high income nations to significantly increase their climate finance for adaptation.

This includes fulfilling their previous commitments to give half of the total of climate adaptation finance to vulnerable communities to help them cope with the harsh reality of living with climate change.

The good news is that this is an entirely solvable problem. There is, in most cases, with the right infrastructure, resource management and investment, water available to meet everyone’s domestic needs.

The Covid crisis has shown what we can achieve to protect people in an emergency. We need to draw on that same strength to ensure the next generations never need worry about something as fundamental as having clean water close to home.

For more information: www.wateraid.org

 

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The post Clean Water Vital for Protecting Those on the Frontline of Climate Change in Post-Pandemic World appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Excerpt:

The writer is Senior Policy Analyst for WaterAid

 
The UN will be commemorating World Water Day on Monday March 22.

The post Clean Water Vital for Protecting Those on the Frontline of Climate Change in Post-Pandemic World appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Masha Khromchenko stands in the kindergarten classroom that took a direct hit from a shell in the Luhansk region, Ukraine. The UN Security Council has demanded an end to attacks on schools worldwide. Credit: UNICEF/Christopher Morris

By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS, Mar 19 2021 (IPS)

The horrendous killings of children in military conflicts and civil wars – both by national armed forces and militant groups – have triggered widespread condemnation by human rights organizations worldwide.

But a “list of shame” singling out some of these perpetrators have been politicized leaving out some of these countries under fire, including Afghanistan, Israel (in the killings in occupied territories), Somalia and Yemen (where the killings are blamed on the aerial attacks by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates).

According to Human Rights Watch, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has been repeatedly criticized for letting national armed forces and non-state armed groups off the hook for grave violations against children in war.

The list, first requested by the UN Security Council in 2001, is described as the “linchpin” for UN efforts to protect children in war.

The numbers, however, are staggering, according to a new report released by the Eminent Persons Group, including Lt-General (Ret) Romeo Dallaire, the former UN force commander during Rwanda’s genocide; Yanghee Lee, former chair of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child; Benyam Dawit Mezmur, a child rights expert; and Allan Rock, former Canadian ambassador to the United Nations.

The group, which released its report last week, has numerous examples of armed forces or groups (typically government forces) that have been omitted or removed from the “list of shame” — notably the Saudi and UAE-led coalition, Israeli forces, Afghan forces, and Myanmar’s military, Tatmadaw

Afghan security forces have reportedly killed or injured more than 4,000 children since 2014 but have not been listed.

In 2014, Israeli forces killed 557 Palestinian children and injured 4,249, largely during fighting in Gaza. But Israeli forces were not on the list of shame– even though the number of children killed was the third highest in the world that year.

In Somalia, the armed group Al-Shabab has been repeatedly listed for sexual violence against children, but the Somali National Army has not been listed, despite comparable numbers of cases.

In 2020, Guterres “delisted” the coalition led by Saudi and United Arab Emirates for killing and maiming children in Yemen, as well as Myanmar’s army for recruiting and using child soldiers.

Yet each was responsible for hundreds of violations the previous year, according to the report.

Jo Becker, Advocacy Director, Children’s Rights Division at Human Rights Watch (HRW), told IPS that Guterres has been reluctant to hold all perpetrators to account since he first took office about four years ago.

Asked whether Guterres is paying politics in a year he is seeking re-election, Becker said: “So his failure to list all perpetrators is definitely not just an issue of this being an “election year.”

She said the UN Security Council first requested the annual list, and over the past two decades, has carefully created the UN’s framework for children and armed conflict.

As the architects of the agenda, they should insist that the Secretary-General ensure it functions as it was intended, and that he list all perpetrators, without exception, Becker declared.

But without an accurate list, the UN’s children and armed conflict framework is seriously undermined. The experts urged the secretary-general to change his approach and list all perpetrators “without fear or favor.”

Without such action, they warn, children will be put at even greater risk, said HRW. “The secretary-general should take the experts’ recommendations to heart and put the protection of children first”.

Mouin Rabbani, Senior Fellow with the Institute for Palestine Studies and Co-Editor, Jadaliyya, an independent ezine produced by the Arab Studies Institute, told IPS it doesn’t take more than a passing glance at the list of perpetrators included in, and excluded from the list, to understand that these assessments are not the product of a rigorous examination of the evidence, and thus do not represent the conclusions of an appropriately professional process.

“It seems to me indisputable that political factors are in play. In part this consists of the traditional deference to the powerful and their clients, which is compensated for with sanctimonious outrage – which would otherwise be justified – against the weak and marginalized”.

In part, he argued, it reflects electoral considerations, with Guterres gearing up for election to a second term. And in part it reflects financial concerns, with the UN continuing to suffer a budget crunch and the kingdom of Saudi Arabia being once again given a pass.

While there is much discontent with the glaring omissions in the list, which no one has failed to notice, it seems unlikely that the General Assembly will act to rectify, since it is composed of governments and many of them are subject to similar pressures and inducements, said Rabbani.

Asked for a response to the report from the eminent group of experts, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters on March 17: “First of all, I have to say we appreciate the views expressed”.

“We have worked… diligently with many partners, including NGOs, and everyone is working towards the same goal: improving the protection of children and wiping out the scourge of children being forced as combatants and, of course, as victims of conflict.’

He pointed out that the Secretary General’s report is one critical tool that is meant to generate action. “I think, year after year, the report and the associated work of all our colleagues on the ground and in New York is to change behaviours in the most difficult circumstances. Our goal is to end and prevent grave violations against children. Each year, we report on progress and setbacks”.

There’s a lot of focus on the list per se, but I think it’s also critical to read the full narrative in the reports every year, which lays out in detail how children are impacted by the conflict and the work that is being done to better protect boys and girls, notably through Plans of Action.

“And I think we have seen, over the years, improvements in some areas with Plans of Action being signed by different combatants. There’s always going to be discussion among people of the conclusions of the report, the methodology, the observations, the recommendations”.

“We stand by them, and we’re always happy to engage with relevant partners in how to improve the system,” he added.

  

The post UN Sanitizes Killings of Children in Armed Conflicts appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Catherine a nurse at Jinja referral hospital in Uganda. (file photo) During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, caseworkers — the majority of whom are women — attended work daily. The 65th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is currently being held. This year’s them is women's full and effective participation and decision-making in public life, as well as the elimination of violence, for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. Credit: Lyndal Rowlands/IPS.

By Nalisha Adams
BONN,Germany, Mar 18 2021 (IPS)

During the height of the COVID-19 lockdowns, while many sought safety being at home, women in the healthcare, child care, aged care, teaching and services fields — who hold the majority of jobs in those occupations — went to work everyday. 

“The tragedy was those workers on whom we depend most, the fabric of society, are actually amongst the lowest paid,” said Sharan Burrow, General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation. She was speaking during a side event to the 65th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) that is currently taking place from Mar. 15 to 26.

The year’s commission theme is ‘Women’s full and effective participation and decision-making in public life, as well as the elimination of violence, for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls’.

Yesterday’s side event titled ‘On the Path to Economic Justice and Rights: Working towards Women’s Economic Empowerment’ was organised by the government of Germany as well as the Action Coalition on Economic Justice and Rights. The coalition is one of six themed coalitions that exist within Generation Equality, a UN Women campaign that promotes gender equality.

The high-level side event aimed to discuss women’s participation and decision-making in economic life. Globally women present the majority of the working poor with less than half of women of working age in paid employment.

Germany’s Federal Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development, Dr. Gerd Müller, said the quest for economic justice and equal rights was made even more difficult by COVID-19, which brought existing inequalities into sharp focus.

He said that women and girls in Africa, Asia and Latin America were particularly hard hit.

“Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, women and girls enjoyed fewer rights, had less access to education and resources and often lived and worked under appalling conditions. And now they are being hit by the fallout from the pandemic, the lockdown and the economic decline.

“Typically women were often the first to lose their jobs. Many girls will never return to school because they have to work in cottage industries in order to help support their impoverished families, or because they have an unplanned pregnancy or have been married off,” Müller said, adding that violence against women and girls had also increased worldwide. He called this a disaster and tragedy.

Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director of UN Women, acknowledged that violence against women, which she called ‘a shadow pandemic’ had increased.

“We also know that those who are experiencing violence and those who are experiencing job losses in large numbers are women in their 20s and 30s who have young children and still need to contribute to look after their families,” Mlambo-Ngcuka said.

“What are we going to do to assist women make a re-entry to the labour force as well as address the economic fall out that they will experience?” she asked.

Mlambo-Ngcuka said there was also a skills gap to address, as women were affected by the gender digital gap, they would not likely qualify for the new jobs that were likely to be created post-pandemic.

She also noted that women were carrying the burden of unpaid work at home, which required them to be at home and give up work.

She said a number of obstacles had emerged from the pandemic that affected the sustainability of women in the labour force.

Burrow said women were at “the forefront of every aspect of a labour market that is broken”.

“Are governments, are employers serious about rectifying the inequality of income, gender and race? If we are, then we need jobs, jobs and jobs because women have fallen out of the labour market and fallen into precarious work,” Burrow said.

She said because governments failed to regulate the labour market, 60 percent of workers worked in the informal market — the majority of whom were women.

A woman farmer selling her produce at a local market in Casamence, southern Senegal. (file photo) In sub-Saharan Africa, 90 percent of those in informal employment, which is typically low-skilled with poor working conditions, are women. A UN high-level side event aimed to discuss gender equality, women’s participation and decision-making in economic life. Credit: Stella Paul/IPS

These women, she said, had no rights, no minimum wage and their work conditions were not subject to compliance.

“So [they are] absolutely at the forefront of survival everyday. And then you have 40 percent of workers in the formal economy, but a third of those are in precarious or in insecure work. Again, the majority are women,” Burrow said.

Women are also most likely to be in low-paying, insecure and informal work and earned on average, in developed economies, 20 percent less than men. In developing economies the gap is believed to greater. Women are also highly represented in the sectors that are hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Mlambo-Ngcuka noted that the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action still remained the most ambitious and far-reaching framework for achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment. The Beijing Declaration sets out common goals, definitions and values for countries that are UN Member States in achieving gender equality.

“Twenty-five years later we have still not been able to implement it fully but it is still important for us

to do your best to implement it,” Mlambo-Ngcuka said.

“As we have not achieved everything that we wanted to achieve in the Beijing Declaration. We are therefore at that stage where we have to review how far we have come and Generation Equality is borne out of a realisation that we have a long way to go.

“We have also realised that the implementation of the SDGs have not moved as far and as fast as we wanted it,” Mlambo-Ngcuka said.

Mlambo-Ngcuka said that Generation Equality helped advance gender quality on the following three fronts by:

• advancing the Beijing Declaration
• advancing the the SDGs, and
• responding in a gender-responsive way to the pandemic.

She said the Action Coalition on Economic Justice and Rights was an action-orientated coalition that “with very concrete actions that we are going to take”.

“We are asking you to join us in this action coalition because these are the that issues we intend to address. We are hoping that in this action coalition we will look at the disproportionate responsibility for unpaid care and domestic work that women are carrying.

“We will look at gender-based violence, including sexual violence in the workplace, and we are also going to be asking member states to ratify the ILO [International Labour Organisation] convention on sexual harassment and violence in the work place,” she said, adding they were looking at closing the gender pay gap as well as looking at the need for women to have protected and decent jobs.

She said in the event of another pandemic “we should not find ourselves in this situation again where there is a bloodbath of jobs that are occupied by women because they are unprotected and women have no benefits”. She said they also wanted to eliminate the $1.5 trillion credit gap that affects women.

Diane Ndarbawa, president of Manki Maroua, an association of girl-child mothers, from northern Cameroon, spoke about the constraints that women in rural areas face in accessing economic opportunities. 

She said that in Central Africa and Cameroon in particular, there were several constraints that resulted in the low rate of participation by women in economic decisions, often relegating them to them to second place when it came to economic decision-making. Some of these constraints included; a lack of information on laws, policies and programmes related to economic opportunities; a lack of control over the required documentation (particularly the drafting of project and activity reports); poor computer and digital technology skills, and the misinterpretation of traditions and religions; among others.

“As a young woman there are additional constraints. In my region where there is violence and insecurity linked to extremism and traditions, young women limit themselves to small craft businesses,” she said.

She said the establishment of Generation Equality Action Coalitions would improve the participation of young women in economic activities in sub-Saharan Africa’s rural areas, particularly in Cameroon’s extreme north. Far North Cameroon has been caught in the midst of a Boko Haram insurgency in the Lake Chad Basin.

“Our participation in this multi-stakeholder process gives young women and associations the strength to contribute and influence decision-making bodies at all levels,” she said.

“It would be important to advance the rights of young women and girls by involving, by raising awareness with the population, more specially, parents, religious leaders, local leaders,  showing them the importance of the empowerment of young women,” Ndarbawa said.

Meanwhile, Müller said Germany had stepped up support for action to empower women and girls and the work of the UN. He said Germany had allocated €38 million in additional funding to help promote gender equality during the current pandemic.

“If we are serious about our desire to recover better together, we will need women and girls who are empowered and therefore strong. Now more than ever,” Müller said.

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Excerpt:

The 65th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) that is currently taking place from Mar. 15 to 26. A UN high-level side event aimed to discuss gender equality, women’s participation and decision-making in economic life.

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Credit: Mohammed Lere/IPS.

By External Source
Mar 18 2021 (IPS)

Due to growing insecurity, Nigeria is gradually becoming one of the most dangerous places to live. The 2020 Global Terrorism Index identified the country as the third most affected by terrorism. There was a sharp increase in Boko Haram’s targeting of civilians by 25%, and killings by herdsmen increased by 26%, compared with the previous year. The two countries higher on the index are Iraq and Afghanistan.

According to the Nigeria Security Tracker, 2,769 violent deaths were recorded between February 2020 and February 2021 in Borno State alone. Similarly, ransom-kidnapping by armed groups has increased substantially in the past five years. Over $18 million was paid as ransom for kidnapped victims between 2011 and 2020.

My research published last year highlights why children have become targets for the armed groups in northern Nigeria. This paper focuses on children in the Boko Haram conflict, which has for over 10 years ravaged the northeastern part of Nigeria and around Lake Chad

While insecurity is common in Nigeria, the northern region has been most affected. This is due to Boko Haram attacks, banditry, farmers-herdsmen conflicts, kidnappings and ethno-religious conflicts. Sadly, children have not been spared.

In the northeast, children have been murdered, abducted and used as sex slaves, forcefully recruited as child soldiers, and suffer from diseases and malnutrition at the Internally Displaced Persons camps. The United Nations says almost 4,000 children were killed in just a year, 2015 to 2016. UNICEF reported that an estimated 1.9 million people are displaced – and about 60% of them are children; many under the age of five.

The rising phenomenon has further manifested in the recent wave of attacks on schools and kidnapping of students.

My research published last year highlights why children have become targets for the armed groups in northern Nigeria. This paper focuses on children in the Boko Haram conflict, which has for over 10 years ravaged the northeastern part of Nigeria and around Lake Chad.

Despite the reality that children have increasingly become the face of insecurity in northern Nigeria, the literature has been silent on issues related to child security. My study therefore aimed to address the perspective of children in the conflict.

I found that children were of strategic interest to both the terrorists and the state security forces. I concluded that child security had not been given sufficient attention in Nigeria, and that child security should be included in peace-building efforts in northeastern Nigeria.

 

Children and conflict in northern Nigeria

The dimension of children in violent conflicts in northern Nigeria gained momentum in 2013 when Boko Haram adopted the strategy of direct attacks on schools, hospitals and centres for internally displaced people.

It started with the midnight raid of a dormitory in Gujba, Yobe State, leading to the murder of 44 schoolboys by the terrorist group in September 2013. Five months later, another boarding school was attacked, and 59 boys were murdered in the same state. In April 2014, 276 schoolgirls were abducted in Chibok in Borno State.

UNICEF in its 2018 report said that the group had kidnapped over 1,000 children since 2013. Between 2015 and 2016, the UN estimated that 3,909 children were killed.

In the past five years, the rise of banditry added a new and dangerous dimension to attacks on children. On December 11 2020, 333 students were kidnapped in Kankara, Katsina State. On December 20 2020, 80 students at an Islamic school were kidnapped in Mahuta, Katsina State. Twenty seven students were abducted in Kagara, Niger State, on February 17 2021.

The latest occurred on February 25 with the abduction of 317 schoolgirls in Jangebe, Talata-Mafara local government, Zamfara State.

 

Why children are prime targets

Our study used a qualitative approach, relying on data from institutional reports of intergovernmental agencies like the United Nations, United Nations Children’s Fund, and International Organisation for Migration; non-governmental agencies like Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack, Mercy Corps, Open Doors and media reports.

The research showed that children were of strategic interest to the armed groups for many reasons. First, targeting children proved effective as a tool to negotiate for the release of members of the group in prison and receive huge ransoms to purchase weapons and fund their operations.

Second, the armed groups were interested in children to gain local and international attention to show their strength, seek international collaborations with similar groups, and amplify their demands on the state authorities.

Third, children were useful for their military operations, especially for terrorist groups. They could plant explosives, act as human shields or suicide bombers, and spy on the other parties because they didn’t arouse suspicion.

Fourth, the attack on schools corresponded with the central ideology driving terrorism in the region, which was based on opposition to Western education. The increased attacks showed the plan was to make the region insecure for teaching and learning.

Fifth, girls were of interest to the armed groups for sexual exploitation. Abducted girls were sometimes raped or forced into marriages in the camps.

 

Nigeria must safeguard its children more

Child security has not been given sufficient attention in Nigeria. This explains the successful attacks on children in recent times. Child security underscores the essence of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Child, which Nigeria is a party to.

The government must show serious commitment to children’s security by tackling the rising problem of insecurity ravaging the country. The paper underscores the need for specialised programmes that can address the peculiar challenges of children involved in the conflict zones and not merely incorporate them into adult-focused or general programmes.

The international community, including important nongovernmental organisations promoting children’s rights and welfare, must also compel the authorities to secure the children and internationalise the problem of child insecurity in Nigeria.

Hakeem Onapajo, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Political Science and International Relations, Nile University of Nigeria

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

The post Why Children Are Prime Targets of Armed Groups in Northern Nigeria appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Overview of the Club des Pins, venue of the First Ministerial Meeting of the Group of 77, held in Algiers, Algeria from 10 to 25 October 1967. Credit: National Center of Archives, Algiers, Algeria/ Group of 77

By Branislav Gosovic *
GENEVA, Mar 18 2021 (IPS)

I observed the Group of 77 (G77) shortly after the 1964 Geneva Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the 1968 UNCTAD 2 in New Delhi and the 1972 UNCTAD 3 in Santiago. The Group was influential at the time, benefiting from several factors helpful for its functioning which are no longer present, namely:

High level leadership.

Major developing countries and their leaders, who spearheaded the establishment and rise of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and then of G77, maintained close interest in activities of the two groupings. They also believed in the importance of collective action of the Global South at the UN, and provided high level political drive and direction. This kind of involvement of leaders has not been common recently.

UNCTAD Secretariat support.

The G77 enjoyed substantive and logistical back-up from the UNCTAD secretariat in Geneva, and in New York where its Division on Development Finance was located. This secretariat was staffed by committed personalities, both from the North and the South, with required expertise and political outlook.

The UNCTAD secretariat acted as a “public service” offered by the UN to developing countries to assist them in their unequal, political and economic encounter with the B Group of developed countries, who controlled the world economy and were unhappy to see the Third World pressing its demands in an organized manner in the UN.

The UNCTAD secretariat also provided G77 with intellectual back-up, and assisted it to mount initiatives in trade, finance and development fields. It also offered the infrastructure, logistical and administrative support necessary for Group’s functioning.

Following the launch of the New International Economic Order (NIEO) in the General Assembly, and of other joint NAM – G77 initiatives when the two groupings worked closely together, the B Group launched a drive to weaken and gradually end UNCTAD secretariat’s support for developing countries’ group actions arguing that this favouritism was contrary to the “neutral” posture international civil servants were required to assume in the North-South tug-of-war.

Official logo of the Group of 77 since 1967

Focussed, limited of agenda.

In the beginning, the G77 agenda was focussed on trade and development within purview of UNCTAD. This helped the Group evolve its positions on key items of interest to developing countries, i.e. commodities, manufactures, invisibles, development finance, transfer of technology, restrictive business practices, as well as to organize its work, to involve developing countries governments in Group action, and to mobilize expertise and human resources required.

Activities of the Group were structured by Trade and Development Board, standing committees and conferences held every four years, patterned on the1964 Geneva Conference.

This provided a framework and timetable for a continuing process and a set of objectives for Group’s work. As the principal locus of G77 activities gradually shifted to UN HQs in New York in early 1970s and scope of its work diversified, the Group was not able to evolve its own strong support structure needed to cope with many demands of the wide-ranging UN agenda.

A few years later, I was on the South Centre staff when it cooperated closely with the Group of 77 (1991-2005), as well as with NAM, during the chairmanships of Indonesia and Colombia (1992-1998). To the extent of its limited capacities, the Centre served as their detached “outfit” to undertake assignments.

There was a demand for Centre’s “pro bono” services and its contributions were used and appreciated, illustrating the need for continuous substantive support for both G77 and NAM in their work.

Today, the twin groupings of the Global South confront a wide-ranging global agenda, acting on two parallel tracks: G77 is predominantly concerned with the socio-economic questions, while NAM is focussed on political and security issues.

Raúl Prebisch, first Secretary-General of UNCTAD, attending the First Ministerial Meeting of the Group of 77, held in Algiers, Algeria from 10 to 25 October 1967. Credit: National Center of Archives, Algiers, Algeria/ Group of 77

The two domains overlap and are interrelated, and should be dealt with in an integrated, coordinated manner. While the relations between them are cordial, coordination is ad hoc and close working relations needed to deal with these questions are lacking.

It is not easy to keep up successfully with demands that the panoply of issues on UN agenda present, more so as the Global South does not have its own organization to back it up.

The G77 relies on the support of its own valiant very small technical secretariat and keeper of its institutional memory, which however does not have substantive capacities necessary to deal with multiple needs.

NAM, in turn, has traditionally eschewed having its own institutional support and depends on the foreign ministry of the country which happens to chair the Movement during a given three-year period.

The importance of greatly improved organization of developing countries at the global level has been self-evident for decades. It is essential for achieving their greater cohesion and utilizing more fully the potential of South-South cooperation, and for increasing their collective and national influence and role in the United Nations and on the world scene.

It is also necessary for exercising political and intellectual counterweight vis-à-vis the domineering, well-organized and equipped North.

When chairing the South Commission, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, used to say “Countries and peoples of the South must work together and stand up to be counted!”

He felt that a global organization of the South would help the Third World to stand up, interact, think, work and act together, and play an important role in giving direction to multilateral policies and in shaping global futures.

It can be argued that by not building purposefully their institutional strength in the world arena, the developing countries have in effect disempowered themselves. Still, much can be done today to improve the presence of the Global South on the world scene. Developing countries have the means, resources and brains for this historic undertaking and necessity.

The idea of establishing a global organization of the South is now six decades old. When the matter was raised in the South Commission, Manmohan Singh, member of the Commission and its Secretary-General, felt that this was unrealistic given myriads of obstacles, but concluded “unless someone was to serve it to developing countries on a silver platter”.

Accepting the validity of his perceptive observation, one should consider how to provide a “silver platter” that would help leapfrog potential obstacles and opposition to the idea, and revitalize the process of gradually building-up this still-missing, South-South piece of global governance architecture of such great importance.

In the rise of the Global South, a primordial role was played by a few visionary national leaders (Nasser, Nehru, Tito) who contributed to conceptualizing ideas and goals, and then spearheaded the initiative to translate these into practice by launching NAM in 1961 and via NAM paving the way for emergence of G77 in 1964.

Later, such was the case of Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, former Prime Minister of Malaysia, who sought and got support of 1986 Harare NAM Summit for the establishment of the South Commission, and then convinced Mwalimu Nyerere to accept to be its Chairman.

During his chairing of the South Commission, Mwalimu Nyerere grasped the critical role of organizational support for the Global South and devoted the last decade of his life to this idea, which resulted in establishing the South Centre as an IGO intergovernmental think-tank of the Global South.

This was a major breakthrough, but only a first step which did not match the modest “South Secretariat”, a medium sized (35 professionals) multifunctional set-up recommended by the South Commission in its report 1990 “The Challenge to the South”.

At the 2000 South Summit in Havana, a group of developing countries’ leaders headed by President Obasanjo of Nigeria, then chair of G77, launched the initiative to upgrade the institutional machinery of the Global South by “taking over” the South Centre and transforming it into a “coordinating commission” for improving implementation and follow-up of agreed policies and decisions of the Summit.

However, since it was poorly conceived, covertly prepared without any consultation with those concerned, and foisted on the Summit at the last minute, the idea was opposed by many countries and did not get off the ground.

The next upcoming South Summit, on hold due to covid19, offers an opportunity to launch a thorough preparatory, coordination and consultation process required for establishing an Organization of the Global South. Drawing on the rich experiences accumulated, and lessons learned, it could agree on a project and a facility for such an organization.

An innovative institution is needed to serve as the home of the Global South, a nursery of ideas and initiatives of common interest, and a reference point on complex issues on the UN agenda.

For a start, functions of a “South secretariat” recommended in the South Commission’s 1990 report “The Challenge to the South”, a high-level panel, including some elders who have taken part in earlier endeavours and persons with hands-on-experience of South-South cooperation, can be set up to launch this project of historic importance for the Global South in its efforts to overcome dependence and figure prominently in the changing world geo-political map.

* Branislav Gosovic was on the staff of UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), UN Environment Programme (UNEP), UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED), and South Commission. His last post, before retirement, was with the South Centre in Geneva 1991-2006.

 

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Globally, women are grossly underrepresented in scientific research and development. Credit: Bigstock

By Esther Ngumbi
URBANA, Illinois, Mar 17 2021 (IPS)

Over a month ago, the world celebrated the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. But the celebrations ring hollow when there’s still been no meaningful progress in the representation of women in the research sciences field.  At present, less than 30 percent, of scientific researchers worldwide are women, a percentage that has been the same for almost a decade.

Despite this lag in progress, consistently, and predictably so, from the United Nations, to professional societies, to Universities, there is often the message shared that “Every girl can be a scientist”. As a woman scientist, who is very lucky to be in science, because, without luck, and I mean, nature’s luck, I would never been a scientist, I know this statement isn’t true right now.

The truth is, the way our society and systems are set up, few girls, especially girls like me, from rural communities, can ever be scientists. How do we expect them to be scientists without the resources and facilities to allow them to experience the magic of science? How do we expect them to get into science when they do not have societal role model scientists that look like them?

And even if they are lucky like me, how do we expect them to succeed, if many end up in institutions that are still grappling with low representation of women in science? How?

These are the questions I struggle with every time I hear the overly optimistic and unrealistic statements that are not backed up by policies to support them. Moreover, it is also clear that the ongoing pandemic has amplified these challenges.

I am an optimist too and I hope to see – want to see – equal representation of women in the sciences. To get there, though, we must envision and implement big changes.

First and foremost, there is need to avail resources and all necessary infrastructures to introduce girls from all communities, including marginalized communities, to science. This means investing in creating research labs and community science centers and science museums.

These spaces present excellent spaces for young and curious students including girls to interact with science. In the United States, there are several science centers that are doing a great job. From Maryland Science Center to Orlando Science Center to Museum of Science + industry Chicago.

Alternatively, university institutions, research centers and other professional societies can work with organizations present in marginalized communities to provide the platforms for girls and women from marginalized communities to access science at an early age.

I still remember my first day at a modern lab at Kenyatta University and how it mesmerized and aroused curiosity in me. Now imagine, if we arise the curiosity for many more girls and at a younger age, then the statistics will change

The American Association for Advancement of Sciences, for example, has the Science Linkages in the Community Initiative that works with and trains community based partners in an effort to ensure that younger students have hands-on, inquiry based STEM activities. Museum spaces. Such programs should continue.

From firsthand experiences, I know what access to the right infrastructures can have. I still remember my first day at a modern lab at Kenyatta University and how it mesmerized and aroused curiosity in me. Now imagine, if we arise the curiosity for many more girls and at a younger age, then the statistics will change.

Second, once exposed to science at a younger age, girls and women need concerted mentoring, funding and encouragement. The truth is science, like any other career has its good and bad days. Mentoring schemes that continue to support women at the early years, where they are likely to transfer to other non-science disciplines, is necessary.

Mentors have played a critical role in my journey as a scientist-holding my hand, providing support and encouraging me every milestone of my journey. We cannot afford to lose any women through the pipeline.

Third, as they continue to move through the pipeline, and early into the college years, it is important once again that they are supported. Fully paid internships and mentoring programs at these stages are key. At the same time, funding and scholarships are also key, so that they dedicate most of their time while in college in pursuing science without having to work multiple jobs.

Reflecting on my science journey, funding through scholarships and fellowships by universities and numerous organizations including the American Association for University Women and the Schlumberger Faculty for the Future were very instrumental. Without them, I would not have afforded to stay and pursue a career in science.

At the undergraduate level, there also needs to be a clear job pipeline. Career offices and undergraduate studies should provide as many opportunities as possible so that these future scientists are exposed to and discover several pathways to take. At the graduate level, support, mentoring and access to opportunities are also key.

This is extremely crucial as at this point, many make the decision to either stay in science or to finally transition to other careers. Additional resources such as grant writing courses could also go a long way.

Once they make it into science careers, whether in universities, research institutions, or in private and tech companies, it is important to also be supported. Data evidence suggest that women researchers still face so many challenges –from-sexism, workplaces that are not diverse enough, to inflexible work hours to allow women researchers to balance work and family responsibilities.

Therefore, universities and workplaces should put in place policies to correct these issues. Importantly, when policies are instituted, there needs to be well articulated metrics about how they will track success and evaluate whether the policies are working.

Let’s create the right policies and support systems to ensure that many more girls and women pursue and stay in science – then we can truly celebrate.

 

Dr. Esther Ngumbi is an Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, and a Senior Food Security Fellow with the Aspen Institute, New Voices.

The post Every Girl Can’t Be a Scientist Until We Make Big Changes appeared first on Inter Press Service.

A displaced Yemeni woman stands outside a makeshift shelter that she shares with her extended family. U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said while the Biden administration is ‘stepping up its diplomacy’ to end the war, peace is impossible if the Houthis continue their relentless attacks against the Yemeni people and Yemen’s neighbours. (file photo) Courtesy: IOM/O. Headon

By Alison Kentish
UNITED NATIONS, Mar 17 2021 (IPS)

The United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen has warned that the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, is rapidly deteriorating as Yemenis, including women and children, face hunger, injury and death.

Martin Griffiths told a UN Security Council briefing on Tuesday that one million internally displaced people are also at risk, amid escalating combat.

“Fighting forces on both sides have suffered heavy losses in this unnecessary battle. I see shocking reports, as I am sure we all do, of children increasingly getting drawn into the war effort and deprived of their future,” he said.

In 2011, Yemen became a hot spot in the Arab Spring, the surge of pro-democracy protests in the Middle East and parts of Northern Africa. The country’s president Ali Abdullah Saleh was forced to cede power to his deputy Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, after 3 decades of authoritarian rule. Hadi’s term in office was however tumultuous and by 2014 Yemen was locked in civil war. The crisis escalated the following year when insurgent Houthi forces seized the capital Sanaa and a number of western cities.

The UN said in December that the war had claimed almost a quarter-million lives. That figure included over 3,000 children.

Griffiths reminded the Security Council that both Yemenis and migrants are suffering. He called for an independent investigation into a massive blaze at an overcrowded detention center in the country’s capital last week. The fire killed 40 people and injured close to 200 others – mostly Ethiopian migrants. Human Rights Watch said the incident was caused by the Houthi’s ‘reckless use of weapons’.

The UN Envoy warned that incidents like the deadly fire represent just a fraction of the pain and suffering wrought by the protracted war. He told the council famine has arrived “to add to the tragedy of Yemen”.

“It is logical therefore and it has been incumbent upon the parties for a very long time, and now more than ever, to agree to stop the fighting and to silence the guns,” he said.

“A nationwide ceasefire, along with the opening Sana’a airport and ensuring the unhindered flow of fuel and other commodities into Yemen through Hudaydah ports, are urgent humanitarian imperatives.”

Meanwhile, the UN’s humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock said the world is ‘running out of time’ and failing to meet the financial goals needed to tackle the crisis. A donor conference held in March raised $1.7 billion for the cause, half of what is needed to stave off large-scale famine.

“I again call on everyone to do everything you can – including money for the aid operation – to stop the famine,” Lowcock said.

U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said while the Biden administration is ‘stepping up its diplomacy’ to end the war, peace is impossible if the Houthis continue their relentless attacks against the Yemeni people and Yemen’s neighbours.

“Unfortunately, Houthi attacks have continued unabated since December, when they attempted to assassinate the new Yemeni cabinet. And today, the Houthi offensive in Marib is taking the lives of more Yemeni men, women, and children. They are also cruelly detaining innocent people,” she said.

Describing the situation in Yemen as ‘hell on earth,’ the U.S. Ambassador said it is time for heightened commitment by all concerned nations, to contribute money and aid to Yemen.

“Millions of Yemeni people remain in dire need. For them, the words that we say here in the Council can only go so far. The important thing is that we act, and we act now, as we have heard from all of our speakers today,” she said.

“We all expressed to a number here on this screen our shock at the situation. We all called for an end to the violence, and we all declared our support for the Yemeni people. Let’s translate these statements into actions.”

 

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Pexels /Artikel auf Deutsch lesen/ Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES)

By Anja Papenfuss
BERLIN, Mar 17 2021 (IPS)

Women get freezing cold in trains and in big city offices because the air conditioning is set for men’s sensitivity to the cold. They spend the whole theatre interval (when visits to the theatre were still possible) in the queue because there are too few toilets.

What may appear to be more of a nuisance – a lack of public toilets for women – is a life-threatening problem in many countries in the world. In some federal states in India, women have no access to toilets and fritter away valuable time looking for a safe place. If they don’t find it, they are often sexually harassed or even killed.

City authorities don’t record these special needs, and they are therefore not taken into account. But the problem is broader. In a large number of areas, data is not collected by gender. That’s true for example in medical research, which is mostly geared towards men for convenience’s sake.

It’s also true in traffic planning, giving preference to cars that are overwhelmingly used by men, although the majority of women globally travel by foot or by bicycle. In winter, it’s first the streets that are cleared although most accidents take place on pavements.

In her book Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men, the British author and feminist Caroline Criado-Perez has collected such facts and data from all areas of life, cultures and parts of the earth on just 500 pages.

Anja Papenfuss

Criado-Perez shows the huge gaps in data to the detriment of women in the workplace, in the design of basic commodities, in medicine and in public life. The ubiquitous discrimination of women is underscored with sobering figures.

And they prove what we have only presumed up until now: the world is not only partly but almost exclusively geared to men’s needs. She calls it ‘one-size-fits men’.

When data bias becomes life-threatening

The fact that the data gaps are so grave is also because we live in the digital age. Data is the new gold. With data, people can earn a lot of money and some base far-reaching decisions on it every day. That’s why it makes a huge difference whether data is taken from men or from women for an algorithm and with which data artificial intelligence is fed.

Criado-Perez comes up with the example of job-related assessment tests: Men always got the job if applications were only evaluated by artificial intelligence because both the questions and the answers referred to male views of life.

Another example: when the New York Philharmonic Orchestra introduced an anonymous musical test, the number of female musicians rose from 0 to 45 per cent. The same phenomenon can be observed in the evaluation process for scientific essays: If neither authors nor evaluators are known, then more essays come in from female academics and receive a higher mark.

If there’s a will, there’s a rather simple way: it doesn’t cost more money to collect data from women and about women to include them in the decision-making.

In the health sector too, women are mostly overlooked. For example, they are often given the wrong treatment when they have a heart attack because they often show ‘untypical’, i.e. non-male symptoms. Women are 17 per cent more likely to die in a car accident than men. Why?

Because it’s almost exclusively male dolls that are used in crash tests. Agricultural equipment and machines are only designed for men. Men are usually taller, have bigger hands and more strength.

Women, who use equipment or machines that are not suited for them on a daily basis, have health problems and are more likely to have accidents. Men are the measurement for all things. Or why, for an evening meal, are the costs for the food and the hotel allowed as expenses but the travel and babysitting costs are not? Criado-Perez has collected a huge number of similar examples.

A few successes

The good news is that this can be changed. If there’s a will, there’s a rather simple way: it doesn’t cost more money to collect data from women and about women to include them in the decision-making.

It doesn’t cost more money to take female instead of male test subjects for research. In many areas it would make economic sense to take women more into account. If infrastructure and research are geared more towards women, this does not only lead to women being treated equally but also leads to cost savings. As cost savings are highly valued in our capitalist world, this transition becomes more likely.

But for this to happen, many voices need to come together and demand the ‘gender data gap’ to be closed. Perhaps that includes those men who have read the entertainingly written book and have been persuaded that their view of the world is not the only right one.

The author has even had a few (rather symbolic) successes: Thanks to her perseverance, an image of Jane Austen can now be found on the British 10 pound note. Alongside the image of the Queen, she is the only woman on a British note. It’s also down to Criado-Perez that the statue of a female lawyer stands on Parliament Square in London next to many hundreds of male statues.

*Anja Papenfuss was previously head of FES’s Press Department, and before that, she worked as a policy officer in its political analysis unit. She edited the German-language sister magazine, Internationale Politik und Gesellschaft. She studied political science in Bonn and Berlin.

Source: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES), Berlin

 

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Excerpt:

The writer is Global Editor in the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung's Communications Department*

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District Manager, HRLS Program, conducts a client workshop in the presence of the Upazila Nirbahi Officer, Sakhipur Upazila, Tangail. Cedit: BRAC

By Jenefa Jabbar
DHAKA, Bangladesh, Mar 16 2021 (IPS)

The 410 Legal Aid Centers that I manage in Bangladesh for BRAC’s Human Rights and Legal Aid Services received approximately 35,900 requests for assistance in 2020. Almost all of them involve gender-based violence against women and girls.

In Bangladesh, gender-based violence comes in many forms: physical abuse; husbands throwing wives out of the home in domestic disputes; husbands demanding that their wives get more dowry money from their families, and child marriage, among others. The COVID-19 pandemic has only increased the problem, as unemployment and other financial stresses have grown. BRAC documented a nearly 31 percent (8,709) increase in reported incidents of violence against women and girls in 2020 compared to the same time last year (4,566).

The problem, however, is global. The United Nations estimates that 35 percent of women worldwide have experienced either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or sexual violence by a non-partner (not including sexual harassment) at some point in their lives. In some nations, that number rises to 70 percent.

Through our experience, BRAC has developed an integrated five-step approach to addressing gender-based violence. This approach includes prevention, protection, partnership, rehabilitation, and monitoring. It can be replicated worldwide to defeat gender-based violence.

Prevention requires increased awareness of gender-based violence. This must be done on every scale – from global to local, justice-seeker to duty-bearer. Leaders and the public need to understand the extent and nature of the problem, the factors that influence it, and what can be done. Leaders of government, civic institutions, and religious groups need to help change the norms that have made such violence so pervasive for so long.

At BRAC, we conduct Human Rights and Legal Education (HRLE) classes with our own specially designed curriculum to inform women of their basic legal rights in cases of domestic violence, intimate partner violence, community violence, child marriage, inheritance, and trafficking, among others. In 2020, we reached out to 53,994 women and girls through these classes and provided advice and counselling to 10,492 women by phone, as the pandemic caused people to be in lockdown. In addition, BRAC organizes workshops with local community leaders on the legal rights of women and girls and the leaders’ responsibilities.

HRLS Officer provides legal assistance to a justice-seeking client in Nangalkot Upazila, Comilla. Credit: BRAC

BRAC also supports community-based women’s groups called Polli Shomaj, which are active in 54 of the nation’s 64 districts, working to stop child marriages and other forms of gender-based violence and to help women access relevant resources. In 2020, they prevented 1,091 child marriages – an increase of 196 percent over the same period in 2019.

Protection should also be pursued through proper implementation of the laws against gender- based violence. Unfortunately, the court system in Bangladesh has a backlog of 3.7 million cases, which gives perpetrators comfort that they are unlikely to be punished.

BRAC enables access to justice through alternative dispute resolution in cases that can be appropriately resolved without formal courtroom litigation. In other cases, BRAC provides court case support through its 350 enlisted panel lawyers across the country. In 2020, BRAC’s Legal Aid Centers resolved 19,854 complaints through alternative dispute resolution and filed 2,469 civil and criminal cases.

Partnership enables collaboration with government agencies and nongovernmental organizations to combat gender-based violence. Through partnerships, BRAC assists survivors of violence in getting immediate medical and shelter support and in lodging complaints at police stations. BRAC works with other service providers to assist the government in fulfilling its commitment to ensure access to justice.

Rehabilitation – both social and economic – is another vital area for mainstreaming the survivors of gender-based violence. They must be supported rather than shunned, and they must have the financial resources to survive without their abusive husbands. BRAC has succeeded in recovering a sizable amount of money for victims of gender-based violence, through alternative dispute resolution and court cases. In 2020 alone, BRAC’s Legal Aid Centers recovered $5.1 million (US) for victims. Recovery of those funds not only exacts a cost to the perpetrator; it supports the victim in her quest to establish a life free of such violence. A woman free of violence but left destitute has not received justice.

Survivors must also be re-empowered through skills training, so that they can find jobs, and through ongoing education, so that they can graduate. Re-empowerment must also be aligned with rehabilitation. The stigma of being abused must be eliminated. The norms that perpetuate gender-based violence must change.

Monitoring is essential, as it provides the latest data to increase awareness of gender-based violence and energize efforts at prevention. Monitoring should be performed by government but often falls to nongovernmental organizations – both to collect the data and provide an independent assessment. Regardless, government participation is vital.

Monitoring is needed in advance of incidents to help prevent them. Checking a girl’s birth certificate, for instance, in advance of marriage can help prevent child marriage. Monitoring is also needed to understand trends – in gender-based violence itself, criminal cases filed, judicial outcomes, and changing circumstances such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Everyone must step forward to end gender-based violence. This five-step integrated approach marks the path. It is time for all of us to join in the march to a new day when gender-based violence is no more.

The author is Director of Human Rights and Legal Aid Services and Social Compliance at BRAC, based in Bangladesh.

 

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Credit: @ Mahnaz Yazdani

By Jan Lundius
STOCKHOLM / ROME, Mar 16 2021 (IPS)

Inequality characterizes the world we live in, predisposing how we act and think. We perceive our existence as composed of dichotomies – men and women, young and old, black or white, as well as a difference between those who have and those who do not have access to wealth, health, education and influence. Dichotomies are also born out of comparisons, about how things are now and how they could have been, how they were before and how they are now.

COVID-19 is on the mind of a majority of the world’s population and as in everything else what is happening to us it is influenced by inequalities. Many are exhausted from isolation and worries: personal and economic losses mingle with ignorance about what COVID-19 really is and how it will develop. Among the many factors governing decisions concerning the pandemic are preconceived differences between nations and age groups.

During a briefing on the 18th of June and 2nd of July last year, the World Health Organization (WHO) proposed A Global Framework to Ensure Equitable and Fair Allocation of COVID-19 Products. The recommendations were based on statistics indicating that one percent of the world’s population are healthcare system workers, while eight percent are 65 years and older, and a further 15 percent adults have “comorbidities”, which place them in high risk for fatal COVID-19 infections.

Most governments have declared they intend to follow WHO’s recommended allocations for a vaccine roll-out, by prioritizing “health- and social care workers” as the first group to receive the COVID vaccine. These people are in “developed countries” estimated to constitute three percent of the population. The second stage of vaccinations will benefit individuals who are at “high risk” and/or “above 65 years of age” (approximately 20 percent), while a third stage will benefit “further priority groups”, whose need is based on their health conditions (20 percent).

It may be emphasized that WHO’s Allocation Framework was foremost recommended to be applicable to “low income countries” and “low and middle income countries”, while making it free for “self-financing” nations to acquire a preferential access to a still limited global access to COVID vaccines. This means that wealthy nations are free to enter into advance purchase agreements with manufacturers and thus capture the constrained supply of vaccines, most of them have already secured preferential access, meaning that they currently control a larger proportion of the vaccine supply.

However, under a scheme called Covax WHO intends to, in cooperation with the Global Vaccine Alliance (Gavi) and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (Cepi), ensure that 92 “poorer countries” will receive access to vaccines, at the same time as 98 “wealthier countries”. Currently Covax has raised 6 billion USD, but at least another 2 billion USD are still needed to meet its target for 2021.

Vaccines produced in the UK, US, Europe, Russia and China have already been approved and bought and are now being distributed in countries around the world. High-income countries are currently holding 4.2 billion doses of COVID vaccines, while low-middle income nations have obtained 670 million, meaning that rich nations, representing 14 percent of the world’s population, so far has bought up more than half of the most promising vaccines.

Accordingly, poor countries are still lagging behind in the race for obtaining enough vaccine, while several of the Covax signatories, which have provided funding to the programme, are directly negotiating their own deals with pharmaceutical companies. Accordingly, they may be undermining the initiative by taking doses off the market, risking that demand will continue to outstrip supply. Of course, every political leader wants to protect her/his own population first, though during a global pandemic no country can be safe until all countries are protected.

The facts above are clear for all to see, though they are just the tip of an iceberg of inequalities connected with COVID-19. One aspect that so far has not been widely acknowledged is the degree to which youngsters and children are affected by and suffering from the effects of COVID-19. They are actually those who are scheduled to be the last ones to obtain the COVID vaccine. This group does not only include adolescents, but the entire so called Generation Z, i.e. the demographic cohort which grew up with internet and portable digital technology and whose majority now is taking care of the sick and elderly, as well as maintaining the production and services that support us all.

Small children are also hard hit by COVID-19. The number of children under five dying from avoidable diseases increased considerably last year, since the pandemic in many nations has paused the fight against infectious diseases and overturned vaccination programs. Children and young people are also experiencing increased abuse and neglect due to COVID-19. Particularly young people, and women to a higher degree than men, are suffering from closure of schools, universities and diminished job opportunities. A worrisome trend is that at least 13 million girls are assumed to have been married off at an earlier age than before, mainly due to school closures and missed education- and job opportunities.

For those of us who have children and grandchildren, young and old, COVID-19 now confirms that our generation has let them down. With good reason, our young ones raise their voices accusing us for belonging to a generation that has been willing to sacrifice its children for its own welfare. It is only when we ourselves are being threatened that we have been prepared to take drastic action. Young people might tell us: “Look what you have left behind as heritage to us – a wrecked climate, a polluted earth and weapons of mass destruction, and now you demand that we remain secluded at home to prevent you from being infected with COVID-19.”

When I observe young people and children around me it is easy to discern the difficulties they have to cope with. How they struggle with themselves and their existence. Most young people feel worse now, than before COVID-19. They worry more about their future, while fewer and fewer think life is meaningful. Youngsters, finding themselves in a period of life when social interaction is crucial for their development and well-being, are now being secluded between four walls in homes that many of them are forced to share with frustrated, ageing and nagging parents.

The majority of the world’s children did not go to school last year and it has been demonstrated that the education of those students who received distance education have slipped behind. Danish researchers found that eight-graders in Copenhagen who due to COVID-closure did not go school gained an average of 7.6 kilos, of which 3.3 kilos were pure fat. Children simply stopped moving. In other areas the effect may have been the opposite when children from poor families have missed their school lunches.

A survey by the German Institute for Economic Research (Ifo) found that students on average had halved the time they spent on learning and homework, while Germany’s weekly magazine, Der Spiegel, warned that poorer education entails a risk of physical and mental illness, while reporting that education economists had calculated that four months of closed schools reduced a future annual income by 2.5 percent.

It has been stated that the financial crisis that shock the world 15 years ago led to around 10,000 more suicides than normal. Currently, European and American organisations working to prevent suicides are warning that their hotlines are getting overworked. The economic distress of millions of young people and struggling families trying to make ends meet, due to lay-offs and decreasing job opportunities in the wake of COVID-19, does not bode well for the future.

Unfortunately, I do not think I am an alarmist. It is high time we concern ourselves with the welfare of the world’s children and young people. Let as take the COVID-19 as a warning and let us remind ourselves that we cannot act in a laissez-fair manner by avoiding what parents have done before us – considering the well-being of their children to be their main priority.

Main sources: BBC: Covax: How will Covid vaccines be shared around the world? 24 February https://www.bbc.com/news/world-55795297, Ifo Insitute: COVID-19 school closures hit low-achieving students particularly hard. 15 November 2020 https://www.ifo.de/en/node/60075 Gardell, Jonas; Vi offrar barnens hälsa och framtid i covidstrategin, 1 March https://www.expressen.se/kultur/jonas-gardell/vi-offrar-barnens-halsa-och-framtid-i-covidstrategin/

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

 

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By Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana
BANGKOK, Thailand, Mar 16 2021 (IPS)

The COVID-19 crisis poses an unprecedented threat to development in the Asia-Pacific region that could reverse much of the hard-earned progress made in recent years. The good news is we know how to tackle this challenge. Recovery from the pandemic and our global efforts to deliver the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 must go hand-in-hand. The Goals provide a compass to navigate this crisis, faster and greener, everywhere and for everyone.

Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana

Results from the 2021 edition of the Asia and the Pacific SDG Progress Report published today by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) show that the region fell short of its 2020 milestones for the Goals, even before entering the global pandemic. The region must accelerate progress everywhere and urgently reverse its regressing trends on many of the Goals and targets to achieve the ambitions of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

In the last decade, Asia and the Pacific has made extraordinary progress in good health and well-being (Goal 3), which may partly explain its relative success in reducing the health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its population. Yet despite these hard-won gains, the region faces many challenges, such as providing an adequate healthcare workforce, reducing premature deaths and improving mental health.

As we find our way out of this pandemic, we must focus efforts on more equitable and greener growth. The environment and the most vulnerable population groups should not pay the price for our economic ambitions and rapid industrialization (Goal 9, another area of faster progress for the region).

The most alarming observation in the new ESCAP report is regressing climate action trends (Goal 13) and life below water (Goal 14). The Asia-Pacific region is responsible for more than half of the global greenhouse gas emissions. Adverse impacts of natural disasters on people and economies increase year-by-year. The quality of the oceans continues to deteriorate due to unsustainable human activities, and economic gains from sustainable fisheries are decreasing.

The COVID-19 pandemic was another urgent signal that our unsustainable consumption and production put unbearable pressure on ecosystems. Unless there is a transformative change towards a sustainable future, pandemics will emerge more often, with more damage to our societies and economies. Wildlife and ecosystem conservation are vital to prevent future pandemics and the transfer of diseases from animals to humans.

Robust evaluation of progress on the SDGs is disrupted by lack of data. Data availability on the indicators has increased in the region in recent years as more countries prioritize the SDGs. However, challenges remain, and we need to do more to fill data gaps on nearly half of the official indicators without sufficient data to tell us the true story of progress.

It is too soon to see the real impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on progress towards the SDGs. However, early studies from UN agencies in the Asia-Pacific region show no single Goal is safe against the pandemic’s negative impact. In particular, the “leave no one behind” objective of the SDGs is at high risk. Early data show that mothers and children, students, informal workers, the poor, elderly, refugees and asylum seekers are extremely vulnerable. Simultaneously, despite a short-term dip in air pollution during strict lockdowns, the pandemic’s negative environmental impacts have already emerged. Additionally, there are concerns that the economic recession caused by COVID-19 might lead to a decline in investment in protecting natural environments.

Recovery measures are an excellent opportunity for us to rethink our options for development pathways that are inclusive, more resilient and respect planetary boundaries. As we enter the Decade of Action to deliver the 2030 Agenda, we need to reinforce our collective commitment to the SDGs and let it provide our compass for building back together, better and greener.

Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana is the United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.

 

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By Simi Mehta and Ritika Gupta
NEW DELHI, India, Mar 16 2021 (IPS)

Climate change is one of the most pressing issues that the world is collectively facing at the moment. It is contended that strengthening the global response is pertinent to combat the threat of climate change.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) adopted in 1992 that entered into force on 21 March, 1994, primarily aims to prevent anthropogenic interference in the earth’s climate system and stabilize Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions.

With this aim, the Conference of Parties* meets every year to assess progress and review documents by countries on their plans to combat climate change.

COP and the Paris Agreement

The Conference of Parties (COP) is the core decision making body of the UNFCCC. The Parties are the States that have ratified the Convention. Their task is to review its implementation by reviewing the various documents and emission inventories submitted by Parties.

From the first COP meeting held in Berlin, Germany in March, 1995 there have been 25 meetings so far. The 26th COP meeting, 2020 was scheduled to be held in Glasgow, United Kingdom, but had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and is now scheduled for November 1-12, 2021.

The COP meetings have resulted in several important decisions and agreements. For instance, COP 3 was one of the most important meetings held in Kyoto, Japan that led to the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol. It called upon the developed countries to reduce their GHGs and established legally binding obligations under international law. Similarly, the Paris Agreement was adopted by 196 countries at COP 21 in Paris in 2015.

It is a legally binding international treaty on climate change that aims to limit global average temperature to well below 2, preferably to 1.5 degree Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels. However, the implementation of this agreement requires comprehensive economic and social transformation. It works on a 5-year cycle of goals and actions carried out by countries.

In 2020, countries were supposed to submit their plans for climate action – known as Nationally Determined Contributions or NDCs, which was postponed to 2021 in the COP 26 due to the pandemic. The NDCs are the goals and actions that the countries communicate as their plan to undertake to reduce their GHG emissions to reach the goals of the Paris Agreement.

Means of implementation of India’s NDCs

The Paris Agreement provides a framework for financial, technical and capacity building to the countries that require it. Climate finance is particularly important as it is needed for mitigation and adaptation efforts by the countries.

As such, the agreement reaffirms the need for developed countries to offer financial assistance to those needing it for reducing their GHG emissions and also in their pursuit of climate-resilient development. India’s climate actions have mostly been funded by domestic resources.

However, to achieve the goals set forth, the substantial scaling of the climate action plans should be complemented by financial resources and assistance from developed countries. There would also be additional investments required for strengthening resilience and disaster management.

The Paris Agreement also discusses technological development and transfer for achieving the goals of the Agreement. India has advocated for global collaboration in Research & Development (R&D), with regards to climate change adaptation and mitigation, particularly in clean technologies. It has also advocated for enabling their transfer, and free Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) costs to developing countries.

The Agreement emphasizes upon climate-related capacity building for developing countries and exhorts the developed countries to extend their support for the same. In this area, India aims for a manifold scaling up of the country’s renewable energy targets and India’s climate change goals which are linked to the implementation of policies such as the programme on Smart Cities, Swachh Bharat Mission (Clean India Mission) and the cleaning of rivers.

What are India’s NDCs?

India ratified the Paris Agreement a year after the submission of its Intended National Determined Contribution (INDC). Its NDCs for the period 2021 to 2030 are as follows –

● To put forward and further propagate a healthy and sustainable way of living based on traditions and values of conservation and moderation.
● To adopt a climate-friendly and a cleaner path than the one followed hitherto by others at a corresponding level of economic development.
● To reduce the emissions intensity of GDP by 33%–35% by 2030 below 2005 levels.
● To achieve about 40 percent cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030 with the help of the transfer of technology and low-cost international finance including from Green Climate Fund (GCF).
● To create an additional (cumulative) carbon sink of 2.5–3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent through additional forest and tree cover by 2030.
● To better adapt to climate change by enhancing investments in development programmes in sectors vulnerable to climate change, particularly agriculture, water resources, Himalayan region, coastal regions, health and disaster management.
● To mobilize domestic and new and additional funds from developed countries to
implement the above mitigation and adaptation actions to bridge the resource gap.
● To build capacities, create a domestic framework and international architecture for quick diffusion of cutting-edge climate technology in India and for collaborative research and development for such future technologies.

Union Budget 2021-22

To achieve the above goals, India has begun to tread on the objectives of promoting a variety of renewable energies, such as by the introduction of newer, more efficient and cleaner technologies in thermal power generation, reduction in emissions from industries, transportation sector, buildings and appliances, waste etc.

The implementation of the Green India Mission remains a priority. This Mission is a comprehensive program towards sustainable environmental development through which the country can protect, restore and enhance forest cover and other afforestation programmes, along with planning and implementation of actions and schemes to enhance climate resilience and reduce vulnerability to climate change.

The Union Budget was presented by the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1, 2021. Some of the key proposals to enhance India’s comprehensive environment protection efforts include: Hydrogen Energy Mission in 2021-22 for generating hydrogen from green power sources; Capital infusion of ₹1,000 crore to the Solar Energy Corporation of India; ₹1,500 crore to the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency; Centre’s clean air programme with a fund of ₹2,217 crore for air pollution control in 42 cities with a million plus population; Voluntary vehicle scrapping policy to phase out old and unfit vehicles; Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0: Allocation of ₹141,678 crore over a period of five years from 2021-2026; Allocation of₹4,000 for Deep Ocean Mission for five years; Launch of Jal Jeevan Mission (Urban), with an outlay of ₹ 2,87,000 crores to be implemented over 5 years for universal water supply in all 4,378 Urban Local Bodies with 2.86 crores household tap connections, as well as liquid waste management in 500 AMRUT cities..

India’s progress so far

Even though India’s GHG emissions have more than doubled between 1990 to 2015, when India entered its liberalisation period, it still remains less than other G20 nations. Among the G20 nations, India has one of the most ambitious targets set for reductions in GHGs.

Experts believe that India has remained on track to achieve its NDC by 2030, which will be catalysed with the adoption of its National Electricity Plan, which aims to achieve 47% capacity from non-fossil sources by 2027.

Any complacency cannot be afforded. A decrease in the budget allocation for the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change from ₹3100 in 2020-21 to ₹2869 is not an encouraging signal.

This is especially true for the renewable energy sector where India needs to stepping up its planning and implementation as we move towards the attaining the Agenda 2030. Since the energy sector contributes massively to the production of GHGs, tackling this area could contribute to fulfilling its NDCs.

India needs a consolidated mitigation plan which should include reducing fossil fuel subsidies, phasing out coal, better coordination between the central and state governments and raising self-sufficiency by domestic manufacturing in the renewable sector.

With regards to the NDC about creating an additional carbon sink, not much is being done in the afforestation/reforestation sector. There is a lack of data pertaining to the Green India Mission and reports show that the Mission has been consistently missing its targets due to a lack of funding at the centre and state level.

There needs to be a dedicated ministry or committee responsible for afforestation, which should be funded adequately and take the recommendations of an expert panel on mapping and planning. The Clean Air Program for air pollution control in 42 cities with a million plus population and the Hydrogen Energy Mission has the potential to reduce India’s carbon footprint are important steps in the right direction.

India is well on its track to achieve its 2030 climate targets. However, it needs to do more in the mitigation and adaptation sector by creating a holistic mitigation plan. The COVID-19 pandemic and extreme environmental events such as Cyclones Fani and Amphan and droughts in several parts of the country highlight significant setbacks in terms of achieving the yearly targets and the overall goals by 2030.

Even though the COVID-19 pandemic induced lockdown temporarily brought down emissions to some extent wherein we witnessed the nature in its pristine form, it will continue to rise unless a green COVID-19 recovery strategy plan is created and followed.

Simi Mehta is CEO and Editorial Director of Impact and Policy Research Institute (IMPRI), New Delhi and Ritika Gupta is Assistant Director of IMPRI.

 

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Young farmers who have land are failing to access bank loans despite the Zimbabwean government touting farming as the final frontier that will guarantee the country's food security needs. Credit: Busani Bafana/IPS

By Ignatius Banda
BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe, Mar 16 2021 (IPS)

It is not everyday that a young farmer registers success in his enterprise and vows this is what he will do for the rest of his life. Yet this is the story of Lihle Moyo, a 27-year-old farmer from Gwanda, about 160km south of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe’s second-largest city.

With little to no experience in farming, Moyo says he took over his father’s plot and turned it into a thriving poultry, cabbage, tomato and onion farm two years ago as an experiment.

“I had just finished college and had nothing to do, no source of income,” Moyo told IPS.

He pooled resources with assistance from siblings working outside the country to finance the installation of a borehole, water storage tanks, a generator and initial start-up capital for the project on his father’s eight hectares of land.

His success is outstanding in a country where farming has proven to be a headache for local farmers, especially in the aftermath of the country’s much criticised land redistribution programme that saw Zimbabwe morph from net food exporter to dipping into its scarce forex reserves to import grain.

“Not many young people I know are interested in farming because where are they are going to get start-up capital,” said Moyo on being asked why other young people like himself have not been too eager to take up farming.

While commercial famers in Zimbabwe previously received agro-loans from banks, financial institutions have been reluctant to lend to farmers who benefitted from the land reform exercise citing lack of collateral and security for farmers.

The same has plagued young farmers who, like Moyo, have land but are failing to access bank loans despite government touting farming as the final frontier that will guarantee the country’s food security needs.

Farmers are therefore expected to source their own resources despite the government launching schemes that provide free inputs such as seeds and free fertiliser.

“Even if you get these free things, you still have to think about how you are going to maintain your farm. And in any case one still has to contend with the fact that not every young farmer wants to plant maize. We want to try other things,” Moyo said. 

Other aspiring young farmers such as 30-year-old Dumisile Gumpo, also from Gwanda, have given up on large-scale farming ambitions.

“I am only farming now on my parents’ land because of the rains,” Gumpo said. “After the rains, it means I will wait again for the next rainy season,” he said.

Gumpo plants traditional staples that include maize, pumpkins and peas.

“I would love to do farming all year round but I don’t see how when I have no cash to venture into other things such as poultry or even installing a borehole,” he said, expressing the frustration of many young farmers in Zimbabwe.

To make matters worse, the Gwanda region where the two young farmers are based is well-known for illegal mining activities whose promise of instant riches have attracted thousands of young people from across the country. 

Experts have noted that youth agriculture has failed to take off in Africa because of policy inconsistencies by governments and poor research on the needs of young farmers.

According to the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD), there are about 1.2 billion people aged between 15 and 24, with 600 million residing in rural areas globally.

IFAD has noted that especially in the midst of COVID-19, the “re-invention of the agricultural sector is indispensable today,” and young people are going to be at the centre of that revolution.

The Enhancing Capacity to Apply Research Evidence (CARE) project sponsored by IFAD and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) runs the Policy for Youth Engagement in Agribusiness and Rural Economic Activities in Africa.

The project seeks to understand the factors influencing youth engagement in agribusiness and rural farm economies among other areas of focus.

Researchers, however, are wary that there has been little traction in driving youth participation among African countries.

“Policy makers, government agencies, and other stakeholders need to come up with incentives that will attract youth involvement in agriculture practices if CARE-IFAD goals are to be realised,” said Esther Kwaamba, an agricultural economist at the Namibia University of Science and Technology.

“From research, the trends are the same among youths. They are not involved in agriculture because of lack of finance, access to land, poor infrastructure and agriculture machinery being expensive,” Kwaamba told IPS.

While IITA says there is need to increase “youth engagement in profitable agriculture and agribusiness is critical for sustainable development,” young farmers such as Moyo and Gumpo find themselves in a position where they have to teach themselves the ropes while they go.

“I have no business model, I just do what I think needs to be done. For example with the poultry project, I lost a lot of chicks when I first started because I had no clue about the business of raising chickens,” Moyo told IPS, exposing the difficulties many farmers face in a country where inflationary pressures have pushed many business to the ground.

While Zimbabwe has in the past distributed youth economic empowerment loans, Moyo says it has always been difficult to access these loans as farming is not seen as an enterprise that guarantees immediate returns.

“We have seen in the past young people being given loans but even for any project it has always been hard to get anything from government imagine telling them about your big ideas about farming,” he said.

Experts say the problems for young farmers are far-reaching as there remains a dearth of informed approaches to the youth involvement in agriculture.

“There is lack of you-specific research-based evidence to inform the design of youth-relevant policy and development programmes,” said agro-economist Dr. Shiferaw Fekele, in a presentation to CARE Intermediaries training focusing on youth research youth in Africa.

“There is need for more scholarly research to explore well-informed business opportunities in agriculture,” Feleke said.

A better approach to addressing this, according to Fekele, would be to have “youths researching youth” because “youths have a better grasp than anyone else of their peers’ real needs, aspirations, challenges and perspectives on agriculture”.

This rings true for Moyo and Gumpo, whose experience could well be a pointer for other youths on what needs to be done to attract more young people to farming in a country where tens of thousands of university graduates are without jobs alongside unskilled young people who leave school without hope of gainful employment.

“There is a need to strengthen the capacity of young Africa scholars in generating, appraising and disseminating evidence based-results and also strengthen the ability of key stakeholders to use evidence-based approach in policy development related to youth empowerment,” Fekele said.

The CARE project is already working with young researchers to inform the future action plans of national government that will lead to better youth policies.

These concerns could mean it is still a long way before young farmers such as Moyo add to the continent’s food security needs and take up land’s labour as a fulltime and lifelong occupation.

 

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Sculpture of Enrique de Malacca <ahmadfuadosman.com>

By Felice Noelle Rodriguez and Jomo Kwame Sundaram
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Mar 16 2021 (IPS)

Globalisation’s beginnings are symbolised by Ferdinand Magellan’s near circumnavigation of the world half a millennium ago. But its history is not simply of connection and trade, but also of intolerance, exploitation, slavery, violence, aggression and genocide.

Magalhães, conquistador
The Philippines today struggles with this history. Some Filipinos highlight the warm native reception extended to Magellan’s fleet and the first Catholic mass, reminiscent of American Thanksgiving mythology. For others, native resistance to conquistador aggression, captured by Danilo Madrid Gerona’s biography of Magellan, is more memorable.

In 1494CE, Pope Alexander VI, now of Borgias TV series infamy, united the Iberian Catholic kings behind the Inquisition. His Tordesillas treaty, after Christopher Columbus’ 1492 ‘discovery’ of the New World under Spanish royal auspices, gave the Portuguese rights to Brazil and all lands east of it, with Spain getting the rest of the Americas.

Felice Noelle Rodriguez

Vasco da Gama reached India in 1498 with the help of an Arab trader. In February 1502, he returned to demand that the ruler of Calicut (Kozhikode) expel all Muslims. When rejected, da Gama bombarded the port city and severely maimed those he captured.

Under Portugal’s second Viceroy to the East, Afonso d’Albuquerque, Fernão de Magalhães distinguished himself in several Portuguese naval sieges, attacks and sackings of ports in southern India and beyond.

Portugal had its eyes on Malacca well before arriving there. For the Portuguese chronicler Tome Pires, Malacca then was the greatest port in the world.

Magalhães arrived with the first Portuguese expedition to Malacca in 1509, returning in 1511 with a thousand men under Albuquerque’s command to capture it.

Magalhães was later injured in the 1513 Portuguese invasion of the Maghrib (Morocco). This aggression had begun almost a century earlier under the legendary Prince Henrique, Henry the Navigator. Later, after failing to get what he believed to be his due, Magalhães moved in 1517 to Sevilla, the base of the Spanish Inquisition and navy.

Magallanes, near circumnavigator
As Ferdinand Magallanes, he persuaded Spanish King Carlos V to sponsor his proposed circumnavigation to get to the Moluccas spice islands in Southeast Asia by sailing west, as allowed by the Tordesillas treaty. The monarch provided him with five ships, crew and provisions for the expedition.

On 16th March 1521, Magallanes’ depleted fleet of three ships arrived in the eastern Visayas in the central Philippines. The ships had sailed through the straits at the southern tip of the Americas which now bears his name. Sailing on to Cebu, he demanded native acceptance of his God and King, plus tribute.

He twice attacked the small neighbouring island of Mactan, where the Cebu airport now is, razing two villages who did not comply. Anticipating the third attack before dawn on 27th April, Lapulapu – a local leader, with the name of a grouper fish species – prepared to resist.

Portrait of the slave circumnavigator <enriquedemalacca.com>

Over-confident and arrogant, Magallanes shunned offers of reinforcements. Lapulapu’s mobilised village defence force greatly outnumbered and prevailed against his. Thus, the 500th anniversary recalls a rare victory for native resistance against the conquistador.

Of the five ships in his original fleet, only the smallest, Victoria eventually returned to Spain in 1522 under Spaniard Juan Sebastian Elcano. Nevertheless, despite the loss of most of his ships and many crew, the King still made a huge profit.

Slave, the first circumnavigator?
But there is another, largely untold story. After the Portuguese conquest of Malacca in 1511, Magalhães left with a captured teenage slave, whose original name no one knows. Perhaps to honour Henry the Navigator, Magellan renamed him ‘anRyk’, probably a Catalan version of the name.

A favourite slave of Magellan, anRyk served as his interpreter and was to be freed upon his death. However, the ship’s captain refused to honour the will. Unsurprisingly, anRyk deserted. Thus, he may well have become the first to circumnavigate Earth, as some claim he returned to live out his life near Malacca, avoiding the Portuguese there.

In 1957, a history teacher in Singapore named Harun Aminurrashid published a novel to inspire children in the newly independent Malaya. The hero was a character loosely based on what was known about anRyk, whom he lionised as Panglima (Commander) Awang.

Thus, we have the heroic figure of Panglima Awang. Almost Spartacus-like, the captured defeated slave becomes the hero. Recent portraits as well as a sculpture of Enrique da Malacca by the Malaysian multimedia artist Ahmad Fuad Osman strengthen this image.

A Man of All Nations
Today, anRyk is claimed by several contemporary Southeast Asian nation states. Some Malaysian historians have reified the fictive Panglima Awang. Thus, Malaysian memorialisation has involved not only making history from fiction, but also creating new myths from history.

Indonesian claims rely on self-appointed Magellan chronicler Antonio Pigafetta’s suggestion that anRyk was from Sumatera; others claim he was from the Moluccas, Maluku today. Some Filipinos insist he stayed there, becoming Filipino before there was even a Philippines. More than anyone else, anRyk symbolises island Southeast Asia, the Nusantara.

In Iberia, in Europe, in the West, there is a subtle debate over personalities and dates. For the Portuguese, the circumnavigation began under Magellan’s leadership in 1519. For their neighbours, the Spaniard Elcano led the Victoria back in 1522. His diverse crew allows pan-European claims, ignoring most slaves, presumably of colour, who were not deemed worthy of mention in the official ship manifests.

Imperialism today is, in many ways, a far cry from what it was five centuries ago. Yet, there are many continuities and parallels, including racisms, cultural, including religious intolerance, exploitations and oppressions of various types despite changing forms, relations and even vocabularies.

The voyages of exploration and conquest were driven by greed. Nonetheless, God, king and country have been readily invoked to legitimise avarice and atrocities. Invoking 21st century intellectual property norms, globalisation today involves vaccine imperialism, apartheid and genocide.

Dr Felice Noelle Rodriguez is a Filipina historian. She is now a Scholar-in-Residence in Kuala Lumpur and Visiting Fellow at the Ateneo de Zamboanga University.

 

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The UN General Assembly in session. Credit: UN Photo/Manuel Elias
 
“The basic problem is that the 193-member General Assembly has deferred too many times, for too long, and on too many issues to the UN Security Council and the five permanent members (P-5) of the UN Security Council (UNSC)”.

By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS, Mar 15 2021 (IPS)

The United Nations has continued to pursue a notoriously longstanding tradition of doling out some of the highest-ranking jobs either to the five big powers, who are permanent members of the Security Council—namely the US, UK, China, France and Russia – or to Western industrialized nations such as Spain, Italy, Canada, Sweden, Germany, plus Japan.

As a result, the world’s developing countries, comprising over two-thirds of the 193 UN member states, have been complaining they are not being adequately represented in the higher echelons of the world body –- despite competent candidates with strong professional and academic qualifications vying for these jobs.

The 134-member Group of 77, the largest single coalition of developing countries, complained last year that “persistent imbalances in equitable geographic representation in the UN Secretariat are a major concern.”

And, worse still, some of the big powers lobby the Secretary-General recommending their own nationals to succeed to the same post – and, at times, in consecutive years — implicitly claiming that some of the senior positions in the UN hierarchy are their political birthrights.

With Mark Lowcock’s decision to step down as Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC) last week, there is a guessing game as to which big power or which Western nation will get that job.

Lowcock is a British national and there are widespread rumors that UK has already recommended a Briton as his successor.

Since 2007, British nationals have held that post for four consecutive terms: John Holmes, Valerie Amos, Stephen O’Brien and Mark Lowcock.

Is there a fifth Briton in line for that position?

In an “open letter” to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the UN Association of UK has urged him “to champion a transparent, inclusive and merit-based appointment process for the UN’s Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC)”

Over the past decade 20% of roles at Under-Secretary-General or above have gone to nationals of the Permanent Members – nearly 10 times higher than is proportional, said the letter signed by over 52 signatories, including former senior UN officials, members of the House of Lords, academics and representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

“Ringfencing” roles excludes a large swathe of global talent and creates a perception of partiality, which can undermine the appointee’s authority and compromise the Secretary-General’s independence, the letter added.

Meanwhile, since 1997, the post of USG for Peacekeeping Operations has been monopolized by France with five French nationals succeeding each other: Bernard Miyet, Jean-Marie Guehenno, Alain Le Roy, Herve Ladsous and Jean-Pierre Lacroix.

And since 2007, the US has held the position of Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs: Lyn Pascoe, Jeffrey Feltman and Rosemary DiCarlo.

Not surprisingly, another permanent member of the Security Council, the then Soviet Union clung to that position no less than 13 times since 1952 when the post was designated USG for Political and Security Council Affairs.

Arpad Bogsch, a U.S. national of Hungarian origin, held the post of director general of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva for an all-time record: 24 years (1973-1997).

Still, the United States, the largest single donor, continues to unreservedly hold the unique monopoly of nominating its own national as the head of the U.N. children’s agency, UNICEF, since its inception in 1947.

The seven U.S. nationals who have uninterruptedly headed that agency include Maurice Pate, Henry Labouisse, James Grant, Carol Bellamy, Ann Veneman, Anthony Lake and Henrietta Fore.

No other agency at the United Nations has had a stranglehold on such a senior position in the history of the organization.

The independence of the Secretary-General is a longstanding myth perpetuated mostly outside the United Nations. As an international civil servant, he is expected to shed his political loyalties when he takes office, and more importantly, never seek or receive instructions from any governments.

But virtually every single Secretary-General—nine at last count– has played second fiddle to the world’s major powers in violation of Article 100 of the UN charter.

Over the last few decades, successive Secretaries-Generals have played ball, particularly with the Big Five – caving into their demands – in order to avoid a veto, particularly when their re-election comes up before the Security Council.

The current SG Antonio Guterres of Portugal has declared his intention to run for a second term in office, beginning 2022. But he has to placate the big Five or curry favour with them – whichever comes first—in order to avoid a veto.

Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt never got a second term because he was vetoed by the US—even though 14 of the 15 members of the Security Council voted in his favor.

When he took office in January 1992, Boutros-Ghali noted that 50 percent of the staff assigned to the U.N.’s administration and management were U.S. nationals, although Washington paid only 25 percent of the U.N.’s regular budget.

Thomas G. Weiss, Distinguished Fellow, Global Governance, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, told IPS the Secretary-General “gave away the store as part of his campaign in 2016. His re-election effort will follow the same path. The electoral college has five members”

Competence has occasionally been a qualification for the Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC), but not always. Nationality and the SG’s electoral promises and chits, however, are always the primary consideration, said Weiss, Presidential Professor of Political Science, Director Emeritus, Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies at the CUNY Graduate Center.

Ramesh Thakur, Emeritus Professor, Senior Research Fellow, Toda Peace Institute,
Crawford School of Public Policy at the Australian National University, told IPS the basic problem is the General Assembly (GA) has deferred too many times, for too long, and on too many issues to the UN Security Council (UNSC) and the five permanent members (P-5) of the UNSC.

It is past time for the GA to assert itself, use the power of the purse, and use it universal membership against the self-serving narrow clique of the P-5 dominated UNSC, he pointed out.

“The UN’s unique legitimacy flows from its universal membership, which means the GA, not the UNSC. I would like the GA to adopt a formal censure of the SG for violating the 1992 GA resolution,” he argued.

“And then follow it up by mandating the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (or its successor if that has changed since my days) to read the annual report on the distribution of senior posts – Assistant Secretaries-Generals (ASGs), SG, and all special envoys and representatives at that rank – by the UN’s regional groupings, said Thakur, a former UN Assistant Secretary-General and Senior Vice-Rector at the UN University.

And where someone has dual nationalities, this should be reflected in the report, to stop someone who is both a US and an African country national, for example, from claiming 100% representation of that African country. Make that 50% US and 50% second nationality. And equivalent for all countries, noted Thakur.

“In other words, the primary blame for this continued racist domination lies not with the SG, not with the UNSC, but with the GA and its failure to impose standards and accountability,” he declared.

Joseph Chamie, an independent consulting demographer and a former director of the UN Population Division, told IPS while it is understandable that P5 members may wish to maintain their disproportionate advantages, and in some cases, monopoly with respect to USG and higher UN appointments, the world has changed markedly over the past 75 years and appointments at those high levels need to take those changes fully into account.

Simply in terms of demographics, he argued, the P5 members represent substantially less of the world than in the past. In 1950 the P5 countries represented 36 percent of the world’s population; today they represent 26 percent.

In addition, he said, the educational levels, career experiences and professional dedication of men and women in developing countries have also increased markedly over the past seven decades and in most instances are comparable to those in developed countries.

“It should be obvious to any impartial observer of the repeated breaches of the 1992 General Assembly resolution concerning no national of a Member State should succeed a national of that state in a senior post,” he said.

While it is important to have gender equality at high levels of the UN, it is also important to avoid “ringfencing” roles and posts, which contributes to undermining the credibility, effectiveness and support of the United Nations system, said Chamie.

The Secretary-General’s decisions on future appointments to high level positions in the Organization, he said, would benefit greatly from being transparent, inclusive and merit-based.

Mandeep S. Tiwana, Chief Programmes Officer at CIVICUS, who was one of the signatories to the letter addressed to the British Prime Minister, told IPS a key factor holding the UN back from achieving the aims of the UN Charter is the assertion of narrowly defined geo-political interests by the big powers.

“If anything, the pandemic has taught us, it’s the need to invest in people centred multilateralism to meet the demands of the 21st century”

He said “it could be a beautiful thing if senior UN appointments reflected the diversity of member states while demonstrating a strong commitment to core UN values.”

Hard-nosed assertion of raw power by the P5 without consistent fidelity to international norms has caused much suffering in the world, declared Tiwana.

The writer is the author of the newly-released book on the United Nations titled “No Comment — And Don’t Quote me on That” –From the Sublime to the Hilarious. The book is available on amazon:
https://www.rodericgrigson.com/no-comment-by-thalif-deen/

  

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By Shammi Quddus
Mar 15 2021 (IPS-Partners)

My newsfeed on International Women’s Day: “Happy Women’s Day to my superwoman! You got promoted to Vice President at the bank, you are an amazing mom to our kids, you make sure a simple guy like me has his life in order and take care of your parents and in-laws with the utmost care. Salute!”

I wonder what the guy is doing since his wife seems to be doing the work of four people combined.

I scroll on.

“We are launching a campaign to celebrate the superwoman in your lives! Your mom, your wife, your sister they do much for us! Send us a recorded video and you can win a special discount for your next order.”

This has become standard fare of International Women’s Day in social and traditional media. While this type of superwoman hype feels good, it perpetuates certain harmful norms.

First, congratulating women for being superwomen is congratulating them for doing it all—working a full time job and shouldering caregiving for children and the elderly. Why are women doing it all? Do they have 36 hours in a day? What are their partners doing? By celebrating this definition of a superwoman, we reinforce the idea that women doing it all is the gold standard when in reality, it is a perpetuation of entrenched patriarchal norms that absolves men of taking up household responsibilities.

Second, the superwoman label takes permission away from women to seek help. Women who cannot do it all or refuse to are shamed and shunned. It puts immense pressure on all women to keep up the appearance of having it all together when in reality, many are struggling to balance work and family, and carve out a sliver of time for self-care. If anything, we need to do the opposite and communicate that juggling so many roles is unsustainable. Something has to give and something will give. Many women often end up quitting careers they love or suffer in silence from poor mental and physical health.

Third, it hides the fact that being a superwoman is a class issue. Women who can afford daycare or nannies can keep working with school-going kids. Having a family car makes pickups and drop-offs much easier. Having grandparents who live in the city and look after the young ones is a big relief. These advantages are not available to the millions of women who work in low-paid jobs. Such women are rarely picked up by media to be superwomen. The prerogative only belongs to the white collar, upper middle class who can afford the extra help.

So what can we do instead?

Enough with the superwoman label. It’s not helping women. It’s hurting women. Yes, there are women who do a million things for us. Thank them in person but have a conversation to figure out how the work can be shared more equitably in the home and workplace. These conversations need to take place with mothers, wives, sisters, daughters and even the women who work for us—the nannies, the cleaning ladies, the cooks. If you are a leader in an organisation, instead of celebrating the lone superwoman in the C-suite, ask yourself why your C-suite is not half female. Better yet, ask your women.

International Women’s Day was established more than a century ago to fight for equality. Let’s honour that vision by making sure personal and professional success is attainable not just by superwomen, but by all women.

Shammi Quddus is a Product Manager at Google. She is a wife and mother of two, and not a superwoman.

This story was originally published by The Daily Star, Bangladesh

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By Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury
SINGAPORE, Mar 15 2021 (IPS-Partners)

China is on the roll. Already the second largest economy in the world, it is poised to become the first sooner than expected, possibly within this decade. Small wonder that the focus of the globe should be on the lianghui currently being held in Beijing. This is the ‘two sessions,’ China’s annual Parliamentary meeting. They entail back- to- back sessions of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the highest advisory body, and the National People’s Congress (NPC), the principal legislative forum. There might lack the scintillating repartees of a debate in the House of Commons, and the thrill of the Question hour in Commonwealth Parliaments. But nonetheless would have an enormous impact on the lives of global citizens, including the proverbial man on the Clapham omnibus. That is because the sessions provide an insight into the plans and aspirations of the world’s most rising power.

Dr. Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury

These two significant events rolled in one were expected to propound and approve policies that would have significant knock-on effects on the global economy. By all counts, China’s rise is appearing to be increasingly inexorable. Decisions are being designed to reap maximum benefit out of the population of 1.4 billion and a middle class of 400 million. A major success over the past decade has been the lifting of over 100 million citizens from absolute poverty, over which President Xi Jinping and the Communist Party have recently declared “Complete victory”. Xi has called it a miracle that will “go down in history’’. The sessions would also mark the release of the nation’s fourteenth five- year plan, on the anniversary of the Party’s centennial of existence.

China is already in the process of implementing its ‘’dual circulation” strategy. It principally entails stimulating domestic demand, now facilitated by the burgeoning middle class (internal circulation) , as well as catering to the export market (external circulation) , though with reduced reliance on the latter. In other words, the country will continue to improve its participation in global trade, finance and technology, at the same time hedging against global market disruptions by sharpening focus on domestic consumption, production and innovation. This idea assumes importance given the backdrop of the trade spat with the United State, dating back to the Trump Administration. It now seems that the Chinese calculus is that even under President Joe Biden, the rivalry with the US, though somewhat less strident at least in language if not in substance will continue. All indications extrapolating from the ‘’two sessions “are that China will continue to have faith in the international trading system, but will keep its powder dry.

At the sessions Premier Li Keqiang announce a planned GDP rise of “over 6 per cent”’ for the year. He desisted from making a quantitative target last year because of Covid-19 related uncertainties. But despite the fact that the virus has originated in China, the country handled the crisis in an exemplary fashion, and was able to post a growth -rate of 2.3 percent, being the only major economy to achieve a positive number. So Premier Li’s declaration reflected a sense of confidence. In fact, the International Monetary Fund thinks China might do even better and rise by 8.1 per cent. Pundits feel that if the trend continues in a general fashion, China might overtake the US as the world’s largest economy by 2038, seven years ahead of predictions. This will put the nation well on the way to achieving as the somewhat demurely expressed aspiration of becoming a “’moderately prosperous country”.

But the Chinese eyes were fixed on more than development and prosperity. The anticipation of intense US competition led to a spike in defense spending. In this regard an increase of 6.8 percent, adding up to US $ 210 billion, surpassing last year’s 6.6 percent was announced. This will help China modernize its military, and expand its capabilities in newer domains of cyber, outer- space, deep- sea and electromagnetic warfare. In these dual- purpose sectors monies could also be sourced from other heads. China’s advance in areas of novel technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence, has been remarkable. These could enable China to leap-frog ahead, off- setting western current conventional military superiority. In many ways we may be witnessing a reversal of the past cold-war scenario when the Warsaw Pact powers were conventionally superior to the West or NATO, and the latter pinned its doctrine to the “trip-wire” strategy. Accordingly, NATO would unleash a nuclear response automatically, should there be a conventional crossing of lines by the adversary. Except that, China could soon have the capability to effect devastating consequences through non-kinetic strikes.

But an accompaniment of China’s rise must be studied circumspection. China need not have to “hide its capabilities and bide its time” as in the 1970s and 80s anymore, but nor can it afford to recklessly pursue the classic formula of “kill one to persuade a hundred”. China will need the world to accommodate its burgeoning position., While it is true much of the world is willing to do so, it is also true there is a pervasive fear of China among many, of not just its military might but also economic clout. The US will clearly remain a competitor for the rivalry is structural. But most analysts agree it need not come to war. The responsibility for its avoidance is in the perceived national self-interest of both China and the US.

For now, with much good news emanating out of the “two sessions”, the mood in China seems euphoric. The people see this as an important milestone in the fruition of what in Mandarin is called, their “Zhang Guomeng”, or “China Dream”. The Chinese are not Anglo-Saxons. But the current sentiments in that ethos would be the same as in nineteenth century England, as evident in that phlegmatic jingle, inspired by a speech of Disraeli, which was the origin of the term ‘jingoism’:

“We don’t want to fight,
But by jingo, if we do,
We ‘ve got the ships, we’ve got the men,
We’ve got the money too!”

Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury is the Honorary Fellow at the Institute of South Asia Studies, NUS. He is a former Foreign Advisor (Foreign Minister) of Bangladesh and President & Distinguished Fellow of Cosmos Foundation. The views addressed in the article are his own. He can be reached at: isasiac @nus.edu.sg

This story was originally published by Dhaka Courier.

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