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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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By Zahid Hussain
Oct 24 2018 (Dawn, Pakistan)

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

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

Zahid Hussain

Explore: Exploding population bomb

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

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

The Pakistani youth bulge: a ticking time bomb

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

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

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

Pakistan is sitting on a potential demographic disaster.

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

*Take a look: To be young in Pakistan *

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The writer is an author and journalist.

zhussain100@yahoo.com
Twitter: @hidhussain

This story was originally published by Dawn, Pakistan

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PHOTO: ANDREW BIRAJ/REUTERS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This story was originally published by The Daily Star, Bangladesh

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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• Africa Remains Resolute Heading to COP 24

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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• In Argentina, Agriculture Ignores the Right to Food

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The INF Treaty Still Matters

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

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

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

Russian Noncompliance

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Excerpt:

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

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By WAM
DUBAI, Oct 24 2018 (WAM)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

WAM/Tariq alfaham

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

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

Dr. Hanif Hassan Ali Al Qassim

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Excerpt:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Taiwan doing its part

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

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

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

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

Promoting circular economy

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

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

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

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

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

This story was originally published by The Manila Times, Philippines

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

Excerpt:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

By Ivar Andersen
Oct 23 2018 (IPS)

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

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

Recruitment Advisor

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This story was originally published by Arbetet Global

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

Excerpt:

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Did post-Soviet Russians drink much more vodka?

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

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

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

 

How did much poorer Russians afford more vodka?

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

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

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

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

 

How does vodka kill?

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

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

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

 

Why did Russian life expectancy fall after Gorbachev?

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

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

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

 

Stress kills

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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By WAM
VIENNA, Oct 23 2018 (WAM)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

WAM/Rola Alghoul/Esraa Ismail

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By GGGI
Oct 23 2018 (GGGI)

 

 

The Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) and Hanwha Q CELLS will hold the GGGI Energy Forum 2018 in Seoul, Republic of Korea.

The GGGI Energy Forum 2018 will take place as follows:
Date: Tuesday, October 30, 2018
Time: 3:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Venue: The Plaza Hotel, Seoul

Under the theme of “Renewable Energy Potential on the Korean Peninsula,” the GGGI Energy Forum 2018 will serve as a platform for 1) sharing energy transformation experience from different countries, including GGGI’s Members, 2) discussing the renewable energy potential on the Korean Peninsula and 3) understanding prospects of energy policy transition in the Republic of Korea and Japan.

There will be presentations by representatives of Germany, Japan and the Republic of Korea to discuss the renewable energy potential on the Korean Peninsula as well as the energy transition in Japan and Korea. The presentations will be followed by discussion among speakers and discussants, including participants from GGGI’s Member countries.

Hans-Josef Fell, President of the Energy Watch Group will speak about how bringing peace, prosperity and promoting green growth is key to achieving 100% renewable energy on the Korean Peninsula. He claims that renewables are a driver for peace. He added that political challenges are connected with fossil and nuclear energies and that renewables can solve political issues.

 

 

Izumi Kaizuka, Director of RTS Corporation will give a presentation on the current status and outlook of the Japanese PV market while Lee Kyung-ho, Director of the New and Renewable Energy Policy Division, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Republic of Korea will present on Korea’s Renewable Energy 3020 goal.

During the discussion session, participants from GGGI’s Member countries, including Denmark, Mongolia, Norway, the UK and energy experts in Korea will get an opportunity to share their countries’ energy transformation experience and more.

The clean energy transition is well under way, triggered by market forces and declining costs of renewable and storage technologies. Renewable-energy source technologies, such as wind power and solar are highly likely to surpass traditional fossil fuels in terms of usage. There are several ways to generate power from biomass, hydro, wind, solar, and geothermal sources. These renewable-energy source alternatives to fossil fuels are already becoming a significant part of our power-generation mix.

According to the New Climate Economy’s latest report, around $280 billion was invested in new renewable energy generation last year, continuing a six-year trend of outpacing global fossil fuel generation investments. As costs have plummeted, investment in renewables has soared, with increased investor interest driven partly by public commitments and rapidly maturing technologies. Government support policies have also played a pivotal role in the global increase of renewable energy investments. Renewable energy support policies have continued to expand across all regions, and nearly all countries now have at least one renewable energy target.

In the Republic of Korea, President Moon Jae-in set the Renewable Energy 3020 goal in November 2017, with the aim of increasing the proportion of energy generated from renewable energy to 20 percent of the total by 2030 from the current 7 percent. Korea’s neighboring country of Japan halted all its nuclear power generation following the Fukushima nuclear power plant explosion in the wake of an earthquake and subsequent tsunami in 2011. While overall emissions in Japan remain relatively high, new policies have the potential to positively affect the country’s long-term emissions trajectory.

The Korean producers of cleantech, storage and e-mobility technologies are leading worldwide. This leadership can turn the Korean peninsula into a flagship region for an ecologic, nuclear-free and green economy worldwide. It will also make a significant contribution to achieving the Paris Agreement targets, which aim to limit the global temperature rise between 1.5 and 2.0 degrees Celsius.

After successfully organizing the first GGGI Energy Forum in Seoul in 2017, GGGI and Hanwha Q CELLS will hold the second energy event in Seoul in 2018 to bring together GGGI’s Members and partners, leading energy experts, scholars and policy makers from both the private and public sectors to discuss the importance of shifting toward a renewable energy-driven economy and sustainable future.

Click here to read the program book for the GGGI Energy Forum 2018

 

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Kazakhstan boys swim in muddy water of Syr Darya river. Parliamentarians from Kazakhstan are advocating for youth employment opportunities, healthcare services, and educational possibilities at a regional, national and global level. Credit: Ninara/CC By 2.0

By Carmen Arroyo
UNITED NATIONS, Oct 23 2018 (IPS)

Parliamentarians from 36 countries met this weekend in Astana, Kazakhstan, to discuss the future of youth in Central Asia and the Asia-Pacific region. The gathering called “International Conference on Investing on Youth: Leaving No One Behind” took place on the Oct. 19 to 20, and the goal was to advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), set by the United Nations, with regards to youth.

Keizo Takemi, Member of Parliament (MP) from Japan and chair of the Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD), told IPS: “We would like to reach a broad consensus among the participants that investment in youth is a core part of the investment of human capital.”

Kazakhstan and the Asian Population and Development Association (APDA) have long been concerned with the future of youth in Asian countries. Parliamentarians from the region have turned to this issue, advocating for youth employment opportunities, healthcare services, and educational possibilities at a regional, national and global level.

Given that 60 percent of the world’s youth lives in Central Asia and the Asia-Pacific region, their concern with youth is justified. According to World Bank data, the majority of young people in these regions is literate, and healthy. Thus, the parliamentarians at Astana focused mainly on three issues: healthcare information and access, civil participation and increased employment opportunities for the youth.

Two hundred participants attended the conference at the Rixos President Astana Hotel. The two-day event was organised by the Parliament of Kazakhstan, the ministry of social development in Kazakhstan and the APDA, funded by the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA) through the Japan Trust Fund.

Event’s agenda

Of the 200 participants that attended the conference, 90 were from Kazakhstan and 110 from abroad. Among them, there were parliamentarians, international experts and representatives from U.N agencies, NGOs, academia and the private sector.

The two-day event opened with the remarks of G. I. Issimbayeva, deputy chairperson of the Mazhilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and closed with Takemi and Issimbayeva’s comments.

During the conference, there were four main sessions which included panels. The first three sessions took place on Friday. The first one focused on education and employment, featuring speakers such as Ato Brown, World Bank country manager, and Madina Abylkasymova, from the ministry of labour and social protection of population in Kazakhstan.

The second one talked about health, with speakers like Keizo Takemi and Soyoltuya Bayaraa, from UNFPA. The last session of the day concentrated on youth participation in civil, political and social affairs, with representatives such as Tatyana Lebedeva, Russia’s MP, and Bakhtyar Maken, Republic of Kazakhstan’s MP.

Finally, the fourth session occurred on Saturday, and it dealt with opportunities for youth in globalisation, with Vitalie Vremis U.N. Development Programme as moderator.

Takemi, Chairman at AFPPD, talked at the conference on improving universal access to health information and services for youth. He shared with IPS his thoughts on how health relates to gender. “There are many gender-related issues on investment in youth and in access to healthcare services. We, at AFPPD, have always kept a comprehensive framework on population related issues, including gender empowerment, investment in youth and active ageing,” he said.

UNFPA is another crucial organiser of the meeting. It has supported the region’s parliamentarians in investing in youth, by raising awareness through gatherings. In 2016 UNFPA, AFPPD and APDA launched the “G7: Global Conference of Parliamentarians on Population and Development,” where the participants committed to improve quality of education and health services, employment and gender equality among the youth.

All these issues remain intertwined, explained Takemi. “Each building block is related to each other. Therefore, when we highlight investment in youth, simultaneously we must take into account gender and ageing.”

No one left behind – including the youth

These gatherings aim to advance the SDGs and translate them to the national context. “The SDGs means that no one is left behind. That broad consensus can be the basis on which many MPs bridge national boundaries,” stated Takemi.

Specifically, the “International Conference on Investing on Youth” wanted to increase awareness of the need for a cross-sectoral and inter-ministerial approach to resolve the problems identified by the parliamentarians.

It also aimed to include policies related to the youth in their implementation of the SDGs at a national level. Those policies would vary depending on the country and the overall situation of their youth. With the World Bank’s Human Capital Project, countries can keep track of their youth’s needs. Takemi said: “I really hope the heads of the states recognise where they are through resources of the human capital through the World Bank.”

But one type of policy is not enough. A multilateral approach is needed. Takemi stated: “In order to achieve SDGs by 2030 we should have cross sectoral policy concept. Each goal and target can’t be achieved by isolated players and sectors.” He continued: “Investment in youth, education, vocational training, employment policies should be combined through a cross-sectoral conceptual framework, such as investment in human capital.”

Takemi concluded: “I myself recognise investment in youth should be the core of the investment in human capital.”

Related Articles

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• How Ghana’s Rapid Population Growth Could Become an Emergency and Outpace Both Food Production and Economic Growth
• Declining Birth Rates Not Exclusive to Wealthy Nations

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End Child Marriage. Credit: UNFPA

By Thalif Deen
OTTAWA, Canada, Oct 23 2018 (IPS)

The international community will be commemorating two milestones in the history of population and development next year: the 50th anniversary of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and the 25th anniversary of a Programme of Action (PoA) adopted at the1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo.

“Let’s use these important benchmarks to launch accelerated action – together. Starting here in Ottawa,” UNFPA Executive Director Dr Natalia Kanem told a gathering of over 150 parliamentarians from more than 60 countries who were meeting in the Canadian capital to review the progress made in several key socio-economic issues on the UN agenda, including reproductive health, maternal and infant mortality, family planning, female genital mutilation (FGM), child marriage, women’s empowerment and gender equality.

She said this is a time to reflect on some fundamental questions.

“Have we done justice to the vision that world leaders articulated nearly 25 years ago in Cairo? What have we achieved? Where is progress lagging? For whom? Why is it that life-saving sexual and reproductive health and rights interventions come into question time and again?,”

She pointed out that the world has made great progress in recent decades, as reflected in impressive declines in maternal deaths and child marriage rates.

Fewer women around the world are dying in pregnancy and childbirth. More women are using modern contraception. More girls are in school.

“Yet, more than 200 million women and girls are still waiting for modern contraception. And every year, there are still nearly 100 million unintended pregnancies,” said Dr Kanem.

And over 300,000 women die during pregnancy or childbirth every year while tens of thousands of girls continue to be married off every day—in child marriages. And the global epidemic of violence against women and girls, including the violence of female genital mutilation (FGM) persists, she warned.

Marie-Claude Bibeau, the Canadian Minister of International Development, who played a key role in hosting the Parliamentarians’ Conference, which concluded October 23, said her country is committed to lead the discussion on gender equality– and welcomes the present conference as a key stepping stone towards hosting the “Women Deliver Conference” in 2019.

“Canada firmly believes that if we want to maximize the impact of our actions and help eradicate poverty, we must passionately defend gender equality and the rights of women and girls so they can participate fully in society,” she added.

To this end, Canada has fully committed itself to mobilizing global support for the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and girls.

Both are key commitments in Canada’s “Feminist International Assistance Policy”.

As a vibrant discussion followed, Martha Lucia Micher, a parliamentarian from Mexico,
drove home the point that “women’s bodies were being politicized”.

Senator Catherine Noone of Ireland said some of those who opposed legalizing abortions in her country offered a convoluted theory that men will resort to more sex if abortion was made legal.

Dr Kanem said it was an outrage that so many women and girls have so few choices.

“Let’s turn outrage into action. Choice can change the world! Let’s expand rights and choices for all. This is key to gender equality and the only way to advance the ICPD and 2030 agendas.”

Meanwhile, UNFPA has its own ambitious aims for the 2030 deadline of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):
• Zero unmet need for family planning,
• Zero preventable maternal deaths and
• Zero gender-based violence and harmful practices against women and girls (including child marriage and female genital mutilation).

“And our actions towards these three zeros will be grounded in quality population data and evidence.”

“The 2020 census round is an important piece of this puzzle, and we are ramping up our preparations. When everyone is counted, we can identify and reach those still being left behind. That includes millions of women and girls,” she added.

Paying a tribute to parliamentarians, she said: “Your commitment to the principles and goals of the ICPD Programme of Action paves the way for further progress. Your defense of human rights, including reproductive rights; of gender equality; public participation and democratic principles is vital.”

“As parliamentarians, you have the power to transform the voices of your people into concrete action. You have the power to make a real difference. I appeal to you to protect the precious mandate that you share with UNFPA. Our women, girls and young people deserve no less,” she declared.

The post Despite Progress, Over 200 Million Women Still Waiting for Modern Contraception appeared first on Inter Press Service.

In the central park of the southern Mexican city of Tapachula, a camp was improvised, where thousands of migrants stopped to rest and wash before proceeding to the border with the United States, 2,000 kilometres away. People of all ages, entire families and many children are part of the caravan that began its desperate trek on Oct. 13 in Honduras. Credit: Javier García/IPS

By Daniela Pastrana
TAPACHULA, Mexico, Oct 22 2018 (IPS)

A long chain of people is winding its way along the highways of Chiapas, the southernmost Mexican state. It is moving fast, despite the fact that one-third of its ranks are made up of children, and it has managed to avoid the multiple obstacles that the governments of Honduras, Guatemala and now Mexico, under pressure from the United States, have thrown up in a vain effort to stop it.

Every attempt to make it shrink seems to have the opposite effect. And on Monday Oct. 22, some 7,000 Central Americans, most of them Hondurans, kept walking northward, in defiance of U.S. President Donald Trump’s warning to do everything possible to “stop the onslaught of illegal aliens from crossing” the U.S.-Mexico border."This is giving rise to something like a trail of ants, and we don't know where it's going to end…We're going to be seeing mass exoduses much more similar to those we see from Africa to Europe." -- Quique Vidal Olascoaga

The caravan that set out from San Pedro Sula, in northern Honduras, in the early hours of Oct. 13, has put the migration policy of the entire region in check. Trump took it up as the campaign theme for the Nov. 6 mid-term elections, and via Twitter, threatened Honduras with immediate withdrawal of any financial aid.

“People have to apply for asylum in Mexico first and if they fail to do that, the U.S. will turn them away,” Trump tweeted.

The caravan isn’t stopping. In nine days it has travelled a little more than 700 kilometres to reach Tapachula, a city of 300,000 inhabitants, close to the border, which has welcomed the migrants’ arrival with food, beverages and encouraging messages.

Groups of activists and human rights defenders are preparing to meet them in different parts of the country. “This is not a caravan, it’s an exodus,” say migrant advocates.

There is still a long road ahead, however. The migrants still have 2,000 kilometres to go before reaching the nearest Mexican-U.S. border crossing, in an area governed by criminal groups, which have made migrant smuggling one of the country’s most lucrative businesses.

In addition, the Mexican government has threatened to detain them if they leave Chiapas, where local legislation allows them to be in transit with few requirements because it is a border zone.

But none of this has prevented new groups of migrants from arriving every day to join the caravan.

The number of children in the arms of their parents is striking, as they walk kilometre after kilometer, cross rivers and border barriers, or wait for hours in crowded, unsanitary conditions, in suffocating temperatures.

The stories they tell are heartbreaking.

A line of more than five kilometres of migrants walked on Sunday, Oct 21, from Ciudad Hidalgo to Tapachula, 40 kilometers inside the state of Chiapas, in southern Mexico. There are 2,000 kilometres left to the U.S.-Mexico border, along a route that is partly controlled by organised crime groups. Credit: Javier García/IPS

“We don’t have a job, we don’t have medicine, we have nothing in our country, we can’t even afford to eat properly. I want to get to the United States to raise my children,” Ramón Rodríguez, a man from San Pedro Sula who arrived with his whole family to the Guatemalan-Mexican border on Oct. 17, told IPS in tears.

In the last decade, human rights organisations and journalists have documented the massive displacement of Central Americans toward the southern border of Mexico, and have repeatedly warned of a humanitarian crisis that is being ignored.

In 2016, the Global Report on Internal Displacement, published by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center, devoted a special section to an emerging phenomenon of displacement in Mexico and the countries of the so-called Northern Triangle of Central America (Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador).

In May 2017, Médecins Sans Frontières presented the report “Forced to Flee Central America’s Northern Triangle: A Neglected Humanitarian Crisis”, in which it warned of an exodus, caused above all by criminal violence in the region.

The Mesoamerican Migrant Movement, which has organised 14 caravans of mothers of migrants who have disappeared in Mexican territory, has also described the situation in the Northern Triangle as a “humanitarian tragedy”.

The violence, along with precarious labour and economic conditions, skyrocketed a few days ago when the government of Juan Orlando Hernandez announced hikes in the electricity rates.

According to versions given by Hondurans who arrived in Mexico, it was Bartolo Fuentes, a pastor and former legislator who has participated in several caravans in Mexico, who launched the call for a collective march to the United States.

They were to gather in the Great Metropolitan Central bus station in San Pedro Sula. Around one thousand people showed up.

Hundreds of Mexicans mobilised to help Central American migrants, many giving rides in their cars and trucks to members of the caravan, to ease their journey to Tapachula, where other supportive residents provided them with food and beverages. Credit: Javier García/IPS

“Many of us thought that in a group it was easier and safer, because we know that going through Mexico is dangerous,” a member of the caravan who asked for anonymity told IPS. “Later, messages began to arrive through Whatsapp (the instant messaging network), and people began to organise to flee the country,” he said.

By Oct. 15, another group had organised in Choluteca, in southern Honduras, and yet another in Tegucigalpa.

The Honduran government tried to close the border crossings, but was unable to stop some 3,000 people from leaving the country and crossing Guatemala. The detention and deportation of Pastor Fuentes did not stop them either. On Oct. 17, the caravan arrived in the city of Tecún Umán, on the border with Mexico.

The Mexican government had stepped up security at the border and the caravan was stranded on the bridge that joins the two countries. Desperation set in: on Oct. 19, the migrants crossed the police cordon and were dispersed with tear gas.

Faced with media pressure, the Mexican authorities offered “orderly passage” for groups of 30 to 40 people who were to take the steps to apply for refuge.

But it was actually a ruse, because the migrants were taken to an immigration station where they must stay 45 days, and have no guarantees of the regularisation of their immigration status.

The border bridge became a refugee camp, without humanitarian assistance from either government. The only thing the Guatemalan government provided were buses for those who wanted to “voluntarily” return to their country.

Exhausted, many decided to turn around, the disappointment plain to see on their faces.

However, the bulk of the caravan made the decision to swim or raft across the Suchiate River.

For more than 24 hours, images of thousands of people crossing the river circled the world, while other groups of migrants continued to arrive at the border to join the caravan that today numbers more than 7,000 people, according to human rights groups.

Some activists believe that, because of its size and the form it has taken, this caravan could fundamentally change migratory movements in Central America, with people increasingly turning to a new strategy of migrating in huge groups.

“This is giving rise to something like a trail of ants, and we don’t know where it’s going to end,” Quique Vidal Olascoaga, an activist with the organisation Voces Mesoamericanas, told IPS. “We’re going to be seeing mass exoduses much more similar to those we see from Africa to Europe.”

With reporting by Rodrigo Soberanes and Angeles Mariscal, from various places in the state of Chiapas.

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Morocco has in recent years emerged as a continental leader in terms of modelling green growth. Credit:Celso Flores/CC By 2.0

By Friday Phiri
PEMBA, Zambia, Oct 22 2018 (IPS)

Science has increasingly made it clear that the world is on an unsustainable growth model where economic development is occurring at the expense of the environment. The need for a well-balanced approach has therefore become a necessity rather than a luxury.

The green growth model, according to experts, is seen as having the required balanced approach that fosters economic growth and development while ensuring that natural assets continue to provide the resources and environmental services on which people’s well-being relies.

While Morocco has in recent years emerged as a continental leader in terms of modelling green growth, the country has an estimated green investment gap of USD24 billion.

The Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), an international treaty-based organisation that assists countries develop a green growth model, is actively supporting initiatives to help the North African country close this gap and transition to a green economy.

IPS had an opportunity to speak to Nicole Perkins, the GGGI country representative in Morocco on the specific aspects of support being offered, and how it relates to the green growth model being spearheaded by GGGI. Excerpts of the interview follow:

Inter Press Service (IPS): The government of Morocco has requested technical support from GGGI to support the transition to a green economy. The design of the project is dedicated to the development of inclusive green territories in order to contribute to Morocco’s goal of a national overall GHG emission reduction target of 42 percent below business-as-usual (BAU) emissions by 2030, and contribute to the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) target of closing the green investment gap of USD24 billion in conditional investments. Could you briefly shade more light on this project?

Nicole Perkins (NP): GGGI’s work in Morocco provides technical support to accompany the implementation of the National Sustainable Development Strategy, aimed at promoting a green, inclusive, integrated and sustainable development model at the territorial (regional) level, and the realisation of Morocco’s NDC number 9, which is to develop a model, low-carbon city centred on optimised energy, transport and waste management.

Our support focuses on the development of policies and incentives, identification and design of bankable projects, and assistance in mobilising funding for their implementation, in alignment with the advanced regionalisation process adopted by the Kingdom of Morocco.

On Oct. 23, 2017, GGGI and the Moroccan government signed in Rabat, a Memorandum of Understanding during a workshop they co-organised on the theme: green growth and development of the green territories in Morocco.

In June 2018, GGGI Morocco received two official letters requesting technical support from both the ministry of interior and the secretary of state for transport, for a total of eight measures in the areas of increasing sub-national access to climate finance, and sustainable mobility, which provides a solid focus for the 2019-2020 programme.

Nicole Perkins, the GGGI country representative in Morocco. Courtesy: Nicole Perkins

IPS: The general thematic area of support is green cities and territories. Could you explain in some detail, the concepts of green cities and territories? What are they, and how do they relate to the green growth model? 

NP: For GGGI, green cities are:

• Innovative and smart: This implies cities that provide a unique environment and an opportunity for innovation, through technology, information, communication and good governance – and the synthesis of these.

• Resource-efficient and based on circular economies: Waste-to-resource and circular economy to lower resource footprints. They are transformational and creative: they decouple growth from resource use.

• Climate smart and resilient: In pursuing low-carbon pathways in support of the Paris Agreement, and underpinned by resilient infrastructure, systems and communities.

• Inclusive and pro-poor: Green cities must provide livelihood opportunities beyond BAU. They are pro-poor, ‘connected’, accessible, and provide affordable solutions for all.

• Healthy and liveable: With an improved quality of life, cleaner air and accessible green spaces.

• Prosperous and bankable: Cities that are competitive, create opportunity and are attractive for (new) investment.

Green territories can be geographically defined as a region or province that inclusively encompass both the urban and rural populations. They leverage the characteristics of green cities and ensure healthy linkages between the urban and rural components in terms of access to economic opportunities and sustainable services such as transport, waste, water, energy, education and health.

IPS: Aside from the key strategic outcome of greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions, the project aims to achieve, among others, green jobs, sustainable services, air quality, ecosystem services, and enhanced adaptation to climate change. Briefly explain how the project intends to achieve these targeted outcomes?

NP: The programme aims to increase access to climate and green growth finance; strengthen national institutional capacity to develop policy in the transport/mobility sector; accelerate national and sub-national investments in the National Sustainable Development Strategy (NSDS), NDCs, and Sustainable Development Goals; and improve the enabling environment in the territories in order to catalyse pro-poor, pro-youth, inclusive, and gender-sensitive investments in environmental goods and services. To achieve these outcomes, GGGI in Morocco is focusing on: supporting the design, implementation and operationalisation of a multi-sectoral National Financing Vehicle, its institutional framework, capacity building, and mechanisms for monitoring and evaluation.

This will contribute to the NDC target of closing the green investment gap of USD24 billion in conditional investments and contribute to Morocco’s goal of a national overall GHG emission reduction target of 42 percent below BAU emissions by 2030.

Regarding the transport and mobility sector, GGGI is providing policy advice and project development services to increase access to sustainable transport and mobility, transition to green transport/mobility, and support the implementation of the National Sustainable Mobility Roadmap, contributing to the NDC target of 23 percent energy savings in the transport sector by 2030.

At a sub-national level, GGGI support is to catalyse the development of Morocco’s inclusive green territories and support the Regional Project Execution Agencies in selectively and strategically developing a pipeline of bankable, sustainable, inclusive and scalable projects in order to attract investments into Environmental Goods and Services and transition to a low carbon economy, contributing among others to Morocco’s NSDS target of 23 percent energy savings in the transport sector by 2030; 20 percent recycled materials rate by 2020; 50 percent wastewater reuse rate in inland cities by 2020; 60 percent wastewater treatment rate by 2020.

IPS:  What financing model have you used to raise funds for the project? Is it a wholly public financed project or a mixture? This comes on the back drop that Green cities—the roads, pavements, street lights are all public sector and are owned by governments not the private sector. 

NP: GGGI Morocco has been building ties with in-country priority donors and conducted comprehensive partner and donor consultations on a national level, which provide the foundation for the 2019 – 2020 biennial country programme. Both GGGI and Morocco’s various donors and international financing institution partners have indicated interest in supporting the government of Morocco’s requests for technical support and GGGI’s efforts to assist Morocco in implementing its NSDS territorial approach to transitioning to inclusive green growth. The structuring of project financing, and avenues for partner involvement and contribution is currently in process.

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The post Supporting Morocco’s Quest to Close USD24 Billion Green Investment Gap appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Excerpt:

Friday Phiri interviews NICOLE PERKINS, the GGGI country representative in Morocco

The post Supporting Morocco’s Quest to Close USD24 Billion Green Investment Gap appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Credit: HOPE Foundation

By Dr Iftikher Mahmood
DHAKA, Bangladesh, Oct 22 2018 (IPS)

Solar energy has long powered homes, businesses and portable electronics. Now, it’s powering a field hospital in the middle of the world’s fastest-growing refugee camp.

Last month, my organization, the HOPE Foundation for Women and Children of Bangladesh, opened the HOPE Field Hospital for Women in the Kutupalong mega-camp for Rohingya refugees.

Here, the population density is five times above the United Nations’ recommended standard for refugee camps, and there is a dire need for more health services among this vulnerable community.

UN Women estimates that more than half of the refugee population are women and girls—and UNFPA has estimated over 64,000 pregnant women will give birth this year—many of whom have been traumatized and are suffering from injuries caused by fires, brutality, rape, gunshots, and more.

The HOPE Field Hospital for Women is the first to be opened by a Bangladeshi NGO, and the only hospital in the camp that specializes in care for women. But there is another important distinction that we are equally proud of: our field hospital is significantly powered by solar energy, at a scale not seen anywhere else in the camps.

Credit: HOPE Foundation

Solar power is unique in its ability to be brought into remote areas, to be pollution free, and to scale easily. Before the new solar installations, there were numerous times when a lack of power put women and children at risk.

One example is during the recent monsoon season, when our midwives found themselves providing care in the dark after flooding brought power outages. They worked in the conditions they had to, but as you would imagine, they were quite concerned that in the dark they might make a mistake that could harm mother or the baby. But, when a mother goes into labor, you can’t exactly tell a baby to wait for the lights to come back on.

It’s not just monsoons that cause loss of power. The hot, humid conditions in southern Bangladesh are often responsible for disruptions to the electrical service.

This is another reason why it was important to HOPE to make sure that solar energy played a key role in powering our new facility. A generous donation from the family foundation of 8minutenergy Renewables’ CEO, called the Abundant Future Foundation, helped us do just that. Five solar-powered clinics, custom-built by SOLARKIOSK in Germany, now power our field hospital’s most important and power-dependent services.

They’re ensuring that labor and delivery rooms stay well lit, that our sterilization units maintain power and that our medications and vaccinations remain refrigerated at the appropriate temperature. We’ve also incorporated solar into other areas of the hospital power grid, using this technology to fuel our indoor lighting as well as lighting around the perimeter of the hospital.

Credit: HOPE Foundation

Now, our midwives won’t have to worry about delivering in the dark. And babies who need incubators and specialized care will stay safe and warm.

Nearly one million Rohingya refugees have crossed the border to Bangladesh since the Rohingya influx began a little over a year ago.

This is the world’s fastest-growing humanitarian crisis. The last thing any aid organization wants to have to worry about is loss of power during an operation or a life-saving intervention.

Solar will be a game-changer for our ability to provide high-quality, uninterrupted care, and there is room for growth in this area. Other organizations have utilized solar power on a smaller scale in the camps. For example, UNFPA has distributed solar-powered LED lights to all of the health facilities in the camps that are open 24/7.

But investment in renewable energy on a larger scale could provide a tremendous payoff in terms of lives saved here in Bangladesh, and in refugee camps around the globe. In Jordan last year, UNHCR opened a solar plant in the Za’atari refugee camp, which supports 80,000 Syrian refugees.

In Kenya, you’ll find Africa’s largest solar-powered borehole, providing clean drinking water for refugees in the Dadaab camp in the country’s arid northern border. Renewable energy is good for the planet and the pocketbook, too, reducing emissions and saving precious dollars that aid organizations can apply toward providing critical services and procuring medicines, materials and staff to help alleviate suffering.

The HOPE Field Hospital for Women is the first facility to apply solar technology at such a scale in the Rohingya camps. Hopefully we’re just the first of many.

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Dr Iftikher Mahmood is Founder and President, HOPE Foundation for Women and Children of Bangladesh

The post Solar Power Lights up the World’s Fastest-Growing Refugee Camp appeared first on Inter Press Service.