Africa - INTER PRESS SERVICE

This elderly woman was marginalized as a 'witch' in Southern Nigeria. Her face has been obscured to protect her identity. Credit: Peace Oladipo.

By Peace Oladipo
ABUJA , Feb 1 2024 (IPS)

One day in October 2020, Serah Akpan, 70, was seated in her house at Boki Local Government in Cross River, southern Nigeria, when she heard the murmurings of irate youth outside. Before she could grasp what was really happening, they had broken into her house, bundled her outside, and threatened to kill her for allegedly being a witch.

“They started cutting me with a cutlass. I was bleeding and crying, but no one cared at that point. They cut my leg so deep that, even now, I cannot walk by myself,” she said. 

Moments later, she was among a group of nine individuals who were accused of witchcraft and cast into a ferocious inferno, meant to end their lives in a horrifying manner.

While she and two others survived after being rescued by good samaritans and hospitalised, the others were burned beyond recognition. Now, she finds life difficult, as she was badly injured, is no longer able to walk, and is dependent on her children.

Witch hunting thrives  in Africa

Witch hunting is a serious problem across Africa. In Nigeria, severe acts of violence and abuse targeting elderly women due to accusations of witchcraft are prevalent, particularly in the southern region, where an intensified version of Christianity has been merged with native beliefs.

Elderly or disabled women who are labelled as witches are often subjected to banishment and isolation. In many instances, they are also at risk of facing lynching or enduring other horrifying forms of brutality.

This disturbing trend gained momentum in the 1990s across the region, partly influenced by popular films and opportunistic self-proclaimed prophets capitalising on people’s fears and spiritual mindsets for financial gain.

This remains an obstacle to realising the objectives laid out in the United Nations’ General Assembly’s Declaration on the Eradication of Violence Against Women, which was signed in December 1993.

The problem stems from violence against women, which is rampant in Africa and Nigeria, such that the UN in 2020 described it as a “pandemic within a pandemic.” From 2020 to 2022, 7,349 cases of gender-based violence were reported in the country.

The government turns a blind eye

Before leaving power in 2017, Yahya Jammeh the former president of Gambia, during his 22 years of ruling the country, branded several women as witches; they then experienced physical torture as a result of the accusation.

In September 2022, the Nigerian police stormed a seminar venue on “witch persecution” in Benue State, Nigeria, and chased away participants.

Experts argue that most governments on the continent are even part of the problem.

“The state is weak. When we take this issue to the police, they don’t pick up our calls because they think we are disturbing them. It is not a priority for the state.  Because of their quest for votes and popularity, the government won’t want to go against popular beliefs,” argues Dr. Leo Igwe, the founder of Advocacy for Alleged Witches.

Similarly, other governments in Africa have been unable to stop this gender-based violence in the form of witch branding in their countries. This is one of several reasons why achieving the Sustainable Development Goal on gender equality by 2030 appears uncertain in Africa.

According to Roslyn Mould, a humanist and human rights advocate in Ghana, “Witchcraft branding stems from the misuse of cultural beliefs and has become very detrimental to the most vulnerable, which includes elderly women in society.”

“Ghana is one of the countries in Africa that has witch camps created for people who have been banished from their community. It is detrimental to us internationally, especially when it comes to how we treat our women and mothers. This practice denies women their rights.

She stressed that the key solution isn’t closing the camps but ending the accusations. “Government officials sympathise but lack on-ground research or NGO collaboration. To make a difference, teaming up with traditional leaders is crucial. Even when found not guilty, grapple with persistent societal stigma. Their basic rights, like freedom, healthcare, and proper nutrition, are frequently compromised. It’s worth noting that nearly all accusations, approximately 99 percent, are targeted at women, making this a pressing women’s rights issue, with a majority of the accusations coming from me,” Roslyn added.

Hope Glitters in the Dark

In Malawi, witchcraft killings are still on the rise. The Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation reports that since 2019, mobs have unlawfully killed at least 75 individuals suspected of engaging in witchcraft in the country.

While Section 210 of Nigeria’s Criminal Code Act prescribes a two-year prison sentence for accusing someone of witchcraft or participating in related activities like making, selling, or using charms and engaging in unlawful practices, the actual enforcement of this law has been inconsistent.

But Ghana is taking a step forward to counter the problem, despite the odds. In 2022, following the lynching of a 90-year-old woman in July 2020, the Ghanaian parliament passed a bill that criminalized the practice of witchcraft accusations. The bill prohibits the declaration, accusation, or labelling of another person as a witch.

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau
!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+'://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js';fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, 'script', 'twitter-wjs');   Related Articles

• South Asian Women, Girls Need Responsive Legal System to Gender Violence
• Latin America Still Has a Long Way to Go to Eliminate Gender Violence
• Sexual Violence Survivors in Tigray Need Urgent Medical, Psychological and Economic Support

By External Source
Feb 1 2024 (IPS-Partners)

 

 
Counsel Hope

Yasmine Sherif is the Executive Director of Education Cannot Wait (ECW). A lawyer specialized in International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Law (LL.M), she has over 30 years of experience with the United Nations and international NGOs.

Ms. Sherif has served in some of the most crisis-affected areas of the world, including Afghanistan, the Middle East, the Balkans, Cambodia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sudan as well as in New York and Geneva. She has led high-level missions to numerous conflict and crisis-affected countries. Her expertise spans across the education, humanitarian, development, human rights, gender and peacekeeping spectrum.

She is the author of the book, The Case for Humanity: An Extraordinary Session, and a Champion for ‘No Lost Generation.’ In 2017, she received the annual award Sweden’s UN Friend of the Year, in 2020 she was awarded the Global Educator Award in the United States, and in 2022 she received on behalf of Education Cannot Wait, the prestigious Mother Teresa Award.

Ms. Sherif also received an award from the United Nations Association-USA Brooklyn Chapter in 2023, and was recently honored as a Listee in Marquis Who’s Who for her dedication to the field of international affairs and law, and leadership of ECW.

Full bio

ECW: We have just six years left to deliver on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including SDG 4. How can ECW and its strategic partners further accelerate and increase education access for children and adolescents impacted by emergencies and protracted crises?

ECW Executive Director Yasmine Sherif: There is a very clear, two-part response to this: first, conflict prevention and climate action; second, financing for the SDGs, in this case SDG4.

Just a few years ago, it was understood that there were 75 million children and adolescents impacted by armed conflicts, forced displacement and climate disasters whose education was either disrupted and/or did not yield learning outcomes. In 2021, Education Cannot Wait (ECW) conducted in-depth research endorsed by a panel of UN agency and NGO experts; the analysis concluded that the actual number was 222 million. Over the past 18 months, that number has increased, with millions more children and adolescents whose education is now disrupted in Ukraine, Gaza and Sudan, to mention just a few stark examples.

We must invest less in wars and violent means of conflict-resolution and invest more in peaceful conflict resolution and a more equitable distribution of the world’s resources between the Global North and the Global South. We cannot go on using violent means of conflict resolution that costs trillions of dollars and then try to manage the consequences with significantly less money.

According to the United Nations Spokesperson, the annual cost of the United Nations was estimated at US$3.59 billion, as approved by the UN General Assembly on 24 December 2023. This comes in addition to US$50 million for decisions taken by the UN Human Rights Council. Tragically, funding needs for all individual UN agencies seldom reach their actual needs. This can be compared to the trillions of dollars invested in and spent on war; more precisely: US$2,240,000,000,000 (US$2.2 Trillion), which “are spent on the war machines of the world,” according to the UN Spokesperson.

We must deeply reflect on why the United Nation – which represents everyone, which is the guardian of the UN Charter and multiple human rights conventions, and which is a multilateral organization that is doing so much good for humanity – receives radically less financing than the wars that cause so much inhumanity? This is the question of our time. We need to think with intellectual honesty and feel with authenticity. We need to take a hard look at these facts.

To manage the current global reality of financing priorities, Education Cannot Wait (ECW) deliberately requested a modest amount for our Strategic Plan 2023-2026: just US$1.5 billion to provide a quality education for 20 million crisis-affected children, adolescents and teachers – whose learning, teaching and lives are affected by armed conflicts, the climate crisis and forced displacement.

Over the past year, ECW’s Trust Fund has been replenished with US$900 million by our many committed and supportive strategic donors. We firmly believe that – in light of the UN Spokesperson’s statement above – the remaining financial resources needed to completely fund our collective efforts for over 226 million children’s education in crises do exist and will soon make their way to ECW, hence to all of our partners. The risk of not investing in these children’s lives, their future and that of their societies, will have irreversible, global implications. The world will not be able to withstand the shocks and disastrous consequences of this destructive approach for much longer, or as the late US President John F Kennedy once said: “Mankind [humankind] must put an end to war, or war will put an end to mankind [humankind].”

In this spirit, we must all make an ethical and responsible choice. In the education sector this means to fully fund and invest in education, grounded in principles of the UN Charter and international human rights law as endorsed and ratified by UN Member states. As the great poet Robert Frost wrote, “We have promises to keep…”. Indeed, we also have legal commitments to respect and uphold.

Keeping promises and respecting international law are serious undertakings and cannot be disregarded, forgotten or postponed. If we are to establish peaceful co-existence based on the UN Charter, human rights and sustainable development towards real peace and security, rhetoric alone is insufficient. Action, through funding, shows intention. Respecting democratically adopted laws and applying those objectively and equally are the strongest indicators of civilization in the 21st century.

Secondly, we must all work together to further translate the UN Secretary-General’s Reform and Common Agenda into action. Take the concept of the ‘humanitarian-development-peace nexus.’ This is not an abstract concept. It is a very concrete approach towards lasting peace. It means ensuring that immediate humanitarian aid no longer substitutes long-term development solutions, while at the same time recognizing the importance of humanitarian responses. The nexus means that we apply both humanitarian responses and development investments in parallel in mutually reinforcing ways towards sustainable peace.

In protracted crises, without exception, there are always immediate education needs. Indeed ‘education cannot wait until a crisis is over.’ The education of children and adolescents cannot be put on hold, depriving them of hope while furthering their suffering through critical learning time lost in their most formative years in life.

Most crises go on for decades, as in Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Syria, just to mention some of the over 70 conflicts and crises, according to the International Crisis Group. Immediate and life-saving education solutions are crucial, including the rapid provision of non-formal learning centres that also provide several intersectoral responses, such as school feeding, mental health and psycho-social services, school supplies and teacher training.

I recall arriving in central Mali in a situation of mass forced displacement and meeting with internally displaced children and their desperate mothers who were seriously distraught and isolated in the desert. There, UNICEF and Save the Children were trying to find solutions to those immense, urgent needs but without any funding to do so. Thanks to our design, ECW was able to immediately provide a substantive First Emergency Response investment.

I’ve seen the same heroic work by UNHCR, WFP, the Jesuit Refugee Service, Save the Children, Plan, NRC and other strategic partners of ECW along the border of Chad, in northern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in the Central African Republic (CAR), amongst others. In such horrific, soul-shattering situations, ECW’s First Emergency Response investment window quickly provides urgently needed seed funding to our partners on the ground, who then take immediate action to serve the children, their teachers, the Ministry of Education and host-communities, providing them with life-saving education support. ECW has invoked its First Emergency Window in 44 countries and contexts affected by armed conflicts, climate induced disasters and forced displacement.

Still, this does not replace sustainable development investments in the education sector. The top priority is to accelerate progress toward SDG4 and all SDGs, while also ending conflicts and preventing new ones. With additional resources we can ensure that crisis-affected children and adolescents, as well as their teachers, can quickly transit into a functional formal education system and make sure that the conditions for peace exist to ensure sustainability.

Refugees tend to be further left out, so an emphasis on their right to be included in the formal education system is another top priority for ECW. In all crisis-affected countries, it is just as important to support inclusion in the public system, alongside reconstruction and capacity development, as a means of creating sustainable and lasting solutions, peace and security.

Education Cannot Wait’s Multi-Year Resilience Programmes (MYRP), illustrate how we translate the humanitarian-development-peace nexus into results in 26 crisis-affected countries we serve, such as Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Chad, the DRC, Nigeria, Iraq and Ukraine, among others. In all 26 countries, humanitarian and development actors work closely together to deliver education through joint programming.

Still, while development in crises requires solid investments in capacity development and the empowerment of Ministries of Education, it also requires a whole-of-governance approach across several ministries, with the executive leadership on top – all moving with the same vision for education investments. The Ministry of Finance is a key ministry for national planning and budgeting, but so are the Ministries of Defence, Security and Interior. Unless we collectively work to end or mitigate the triggers for violent means of conflict resolution, we cannot apply this whole-of-government approach.

And we certainly cannot give justice to education as a development sector and as a sustainable basic service without adequate financial resources. The main challenges to a whole-of-government approach in advancing education in the Global South include continued wars, growing climate change and the lack of national financial resources to deliver crucial basic services, such as education.

It is important to again stress that sufficient financial resources are required to ensure continued and inclusive quality education that results in learning outcomes and endows students with the degrees needed for them to advance society. These financial resources for learning provide a clear pathway to higher education for all those children who dream of becoming teachers, doctors, nurses, lawyers, engineers, scientists and entrepreneurs.

I believe it can be disingenuous to invite crisis-affected children to tell the world of their dreams – knowing very well that they need a higher education to realize such dreams – if there is no serious intent to provide financial support required for their tertiary education, let alone for their secondary education.

Education Cannot Wait was created to respond to our in-country partners and the children, adolescents and teachers they serve without delay, by mobilizing the financial resources required for an inclusive and sustainable quality education from early childhood development through secondary school. This is a foundational pathway – but let us not lose sight of tertiary education. Together with government partners, UNESCO and UNHCR play an instrumental role to this end, yet more financing is needed.

Thirdly, Education Cannot Wait was also created to end competition over resources amongst education agencies and organizations. This is the third strategic objective of Education Cannot Wait’s mandate. We all need to work together: humanitarians and development actors – civil society, UN agencies, strategic donors, communities – under the leadership of the Ministry of Education. To prevent competition, this can best be achieved with a pooled funding mechanism and joint programming. This is already happening as ECW’s joint Multi-Year Resilience Programming illustrates. ECW investments have already delivered, through our partners, inclusive, quality education to over 9 million children and adolescents. This has been achieved precisely because we work together through bigger and better-coordinated joint programming, rather than in competition or through many smaller individual projects.

Cooperation and coordination are absolute imperative to draw on the added value and comparative advantage of each civil society organization, UN agency and local community towards a holistic approach. No one can do it all alone. It is simply impossible when looking at the actual learning crises in the world. In this regard, ECW transcends the false dichotomy between humanitarian aid and development aid as two distinct, separate approaches and instead places them in the crisis context, where we all find a common denominator and value the contribution, skills and mandate, of each actor and partner.

ECW: Education Cannot Wait has, as you mentioned, already reached more than 9 million crisis-affected girls and boys with quality, holistic education. ECW’s 2023-2026 Strategic Plan seeks to mobilize US$1.5 billion to reach 20 million more girls and boys. Why should donors, the private sector, philanthropic foundations and high-net-worth individuals invest in ECW?

ECW Executive Director Yasmine Sherif: From a macro-perspective, we know that education is the best investment we can make for sustainable economic and social development in any country. Many countries in Europe, such as Sweden and Switzerland, who were once either very poor or lacked other income-generating resources, made deliberate and strategic investments in education to build their countries’ economies and accelerate national development. In the same spirit, I meet so many Ministers of Education in the Global South who share the same vision and determination, but whose ministries are thwarted by a lack of financial resources.

For instance, the Minister of Education in South Sudan is strongly committed to educating every girl and every child in South Sudan to help build that young nation which has suffered so much. And while South Sudan, a country the size of Western Europe, received ECW’s biggest seed-fund investment wherein ECW invested US$40 million, the government also contributed by investing US$10 million and GPE also invested US$10 million. While all of us are working together, we still lack just US$25 million to meet the full needs for the coming three years, also bearing in mind the refugee flow from Sudan arriving in South Sudan. This is so easy to resolve: we simply need five partners to come in with US$5 million each, or ten partners to join with US$2.5 million each, and we have a fully funded joint programme for the coming three years.

The same can be said about Ukraine, where we all work together to invest both in First Emergency Responses and joint Multi-Year Resilience Programming. The commitment of the Ministry of Education is admirable in providing access to on-line education, which has significantly helped reduce learning losses. The Global Business Coalition for Education (GBCEd) has contributed nearly US$50 million in devices to help make this possible, and yet more resources are required.

Then, look across sub-Saharan Africa – including the Sahel, to Mali, Burkina Faso, and Chad – or the Middle East, with Lebanon being a case in point – such generous, refugee-hosting countries, despite their own challenges. They too, have vision and determination, yet without additional financing, we cannot fully support these governments, children and teachers in achieving their goals of quality education to rebuild their country and to care for the refugees they willingly host.

To make it worse, we now have Gaza, where more than 10,000 children have reportedly been killed as of mid-January, and the entire education system has been destroyed. Children will now face the loss of at least one school year, if not more, given the enormous need for reconstruction and a sustainable political solution. With the appointment of a Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza, the whole education system will need to be rebuilt, including significant infrastructure, healing through mental health and psychosocial services, teacher training and fees, school meals, school supplies, educational equipment, and so on. The task is Herculean, the needs are massive, and the costs will be epic. Yet, coming back to the statement of the UN Spokesperson mentioned earlier, trillions of dollars do exist and must be tapped into.

With the Green Climate Fund’s (GCF) fresh and bold commitment to working in fragile and conflict-affected contexts, ECW also stands ready to work with partners and the GCF to achieve its ambition. There has been an ongoing, systematic underinvestment in education for children and adolescents not only living on the frontlines of climate crises, but enduring armed conflicts and forced displacement midst the climate crises. It is time to connect the dots between climate action and investments in education for those left furthest behind.

By investing in education, we lay the foundation for socio-economic development, to advance climate change adaptation and mitigation, to boost national GDP, and can ensure – as this year’s International Day of Education theme suggests – “Learning for Peace.” This is far more cost-effective than using our financial resources for more wars that simply create more refugees, more human suffering and more extreme poverty. The vicious cycle must be broken.

By investing in education, we provide every child and adolescent impacted by armed conflicts, climate-induced disasters and forced displacement with a chance to draw on their resilience, heal from their experiences, develop fully and to prepare their future and unleash their potential. They will enrich their communities, countries and the world. We must always remember that we are all interconnected as one humanity. “Your liberation is my liberation, and my liberation is your liberation,” as someone wisely once said. This is not a naïve, shallow statement, but a rather a deeply profound understanding of our shared humanity.

I honestly believe that every human on earth would benefit from knowing and understanding human rights. Especially those with great responsibilities for humanity. Only then can we create a world based on human rights for all: just as the founders of the United Nations worded it in the UN Charter and subsequent conventions. This is when our priority-setting will shift from investing trillions in wars towards investing trillions in education and the other SDGs, including climate action, peace and security.

As for the young generation who are currently deprived of their human rights, starting with their basic right to an inclusive and continued quality education, we can and must invest financially in those left furthest behind from the SDGs; that is the over 226 million in emergencies and protracted crises, including in climate-induced disasters. Only then can we bring those left furthest behind closer to the SDG targets, empowering them to realize their inherent human rights and contribute to, and benefit from, each of the SDGs, towards peace and security.

We have so many inspiring Ministries of Education, communities, civil society partners and UN agencies who do the real, concrete, and truly noble work together in so many crisis-affected countries. With more funding they can accelerate access to quality education. They have the proven systems and the highly skilled teams in place and know exactly how to operate in crises. They have the partnerships and the trust with government counterparts and among communities. They even have the extraordinary skills of negotiating access to areas – and thereby, children and teachers – which are not under government control. ECW’s partners also deeply understand how to operate effectively in these contexts after decades of in-country presence and experience. All they need now is funding.

In light of this, ECW is not building its own delivery machine, and thus not competing for resources. On the contrary, we are a catalyst for our colleagues and partners. It is our job to serve them and give them the financial means to jointly deliver on ECW’s strategic objectives on coordination, cooperation, quality and accountability through a pooled funding mechanism. I believe that this approach represents a solid model of multilateralism and the UN Secretary-General’s reform as concerns delivering speedy responses, measurable results and sustainable outcomes in-country.

As a catalytic global fund in the UN multilateral system, which also extends to civil society and the private sector, ECW’s priority focus is on resource mobilization for pooled funding, global advocacy, joint programming, quality assurance and results. We want our colleagues and partners in-country to succeed together for children and adolescents.

We also have terrific partners with other global financing mechanisms, working closely with the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), the International Financing Facility for Education (IFFED), and the Education Outcome Impact Fund, among others. We have fantastic advocacy partners at the global level, such as the Global Coalition for Education (GCE) and civil society across the board, as well as Global Citizen, which has made education in emergencies and protracted crises one of its top three priorities for 2024. In this regard, I recommend reading the recently released book, ‘From Ideas to Impact’, by Michael Sheldrick, co-founder of Global Citizen, which brilliantly explains the power of partnerships and collective action.

A proven and innovative example of how the public sector and private sector can work together is that of the LEGO Foundation and the Government of Denmark, to which the Government of the United States has also contributed. Another stellar example is that of the Zurich Cantonal Bank and the Government of Switzerland. By matching funding and/or joining up in a complementary manner, substantive – and above all – sustainable and continued funding replenishes ECW’s Trust Fund.

All of us have complementary roles and mutually reinforcing approaches. We all agree that financing education is indeed both the biggest challenge and yet the greatest opportunity to address the global learning crisis and to empower those left furthest behind towards achieving the 2030 Agenda.

ECW: The UN Secretary-General has made firm commitments to reform the United Nations through the New Way of Working and Grand Bargain Agreements. How Is ECW supporting this UN reform agenda, and what can be done to scale-up ECW’s proven model?

ECW Executive Director Yasmine Sherif: At the United Nations, we are all naturally expected to implement the United Nations Secretary-General’s Reforms and system-wide policies. The reform states that we should focus on cooperation and joint programming, rather than competition over resources. This is what we should all do.

As multilateral global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises within the UN system, hosted by UNICEF, the ECW community feels a strong responsibility to ensure that we implement UN reforms and collectively keep advancing the principles and standards of the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

As all UN entities, ECW is a rights-based global fund. Thus, we are obliged to speak up for children, adolescents and their teachers and to create space for their voices to be heard – as ECW’s global #AfghanGirlsVoices advocacy campaign does for Afghan girls denied their right to education, and our support to the #HearTheirVoices advocacy campaign for children in Gaza. I would like to stress that civil society, youth advocates, as well as UN agencies and communities, are very impressive global advocates for every child’s right to an inclusive quality education and safe learning.

Furthermore, in line with the UN reform, and the UN Secretary-General’s policy of joint programming, ECW is committed to the New Way of Working and translates it into action. This means ending silos and discouraging competition. Having served in several UN agencies and a few civil society organizations over the past 34 years, I am familiar with most mandates and the added value of each. I must admit that heading ECW and serving as a catalyst for their funding and joint programming is a very rewarding experience.

In ensuring coordination (and preventing competition), ECW invests in – and works through – the multilateral UN Coordination System, represented by the Humanitarian and Resident Coordinators, the Cluster System composed of the government, UN agencies and civil society, as well as government- and UNHCR-led Working Groups for refugee education. Indeed, in-country coordination mechanisms exist and it is working. However, we need to continue to empower and support them.

ECW’s rapid growth and expansion into some of the toughest places on earth is due to our early decision to reverse the trend of parallel coordination mechanisms which are not always equipped for crises or may stir competition. Thus, instead of creating parallel structures of coordination, we decided from day one to invest in UN structures that have been in place for years and which are of immediate relevance to bring both humanitarian and development actors together with the governments and communities we serve. Through the UN’s established coordination structure, we included and built bridges to other coordination structures, so that their valuable commitment and contributions are also used for the common good.

The UN Secretary-General’s tireless leadership motivates ECW to keep advancing further and faster. The Secretary-General’s Transformative Education Summit in 2022 laid the ground for ECW’s High-Level Financing Conference in Geneva in 2023, co-hosted by Switzerland and ECW. The timing enabled us to mobilize more resources for education, which in turn are now expanding the outreach of quality education in crisis-affected countries.

Furthermore, based on the UN Secretary-General’s UN Reform and Common Agenda, ECW has made strides forward in the education sector and moved from an initial small handful of donors to now working with 25 strategic public and private sector donors in just a few years – with new donors joining every year: the latest new arrivals to the ECW Community being the Qatar Development Fund and the Government of Japan, while France dramatically increased its funding just a few months ago, following in the footsteps of Germany, the UK, the USA, Denmark, Canada, Norway, Finland, the LEGO Foundation and a number of other strategic donor partners [see donor chart in this Newsletter]. But more financing from current and potential donors is needed to meet the actual needs.

In our new Strategic Plan 2023-2026, we are calling for US$1.5 billion to reach 20 million children, adolescents and their teachers in four years through 2026. This allows everyone to be able to contribute adequate financing without overburdening anyone. This strategic approach is working; in just over a year, our strategic donors have contributed almost US$900 million to our Trust Fund for our new ECW Strategic Plan.

And, since our inception just a few years ago, ECW’s proven model has already generated more than US$1.6 billion for our Trust Fund, aligned with an additional US$3 billion in-country from other strategic donors, including governments. This illustrates ECW’s capacity to be a catalyst for coordination, resources and quality control to achieve collective learning outcomes in the education sector in crisis-affected contexts.

The ECW model ensures strong inclusion by our strategic donors and all partners so they have a voice and can participate strategically and substantively. As a result, we all operate as one collaborative team. Furthermore, we are agile and lean, with low overhead costs. This is possible because we look at host-governments, civil society, UN agencies and local communities as full members of our team. They are truly our colleagues, working on the ground and delivering tangible results. We are one ECW Community working together, visionary, courageous and relentless advocates and doers.

Our public donors are naturally keen to see results for their tax-payers money and the same applies to our private sector donors. Everyone wants to see results, and this is our shared commitment. In that sense, the ECW community has adopted an entrepreneurial spirit towards a shared cause. This entrepreneurial spirit motivates and inspires us to continually race for resources, quality and results.

We have a highly professional, deeply committed and solutions-oriented team in the ECW secretariat. Be it managing the financials to achieve top-notch audit reports, building strong partnerships with our strategic donors and bringing new ones on board, guiding the development of high-quality joint education programming and rapid responses, staying the course on accountability and safeguarding, and conducting impeccable and evidenced-based research and reporting.

We also have a very strong advocacy and communication approach, advocating globally through top-tier traditional and social media approaches which allow us to tell the world how everyone in the ECW Community is working together to achieve positive results for crisis-affected children and their teachers in the world’s most difficult contexts.

I bow to my relentlessly accountable, creative and professional team – they are all go-getters and change-makers, who have their hearts in the right place.

Yet, we all understand that we can continue to improve, to move faster and reach even more girls, boys and their teachers impacted by crises. It will take many more billions of dollars to fully rebuild the lives of over 226 million vulnerable children and adolescents who urgently need quality education.

Thankfully, recalling the UN Spokesperson’s statement, we know that the financial resources exist. It is just a matter of conscientious priority setting and funding choices being made. Do we incorrectly see the glass as half-empty and thus need to cut funding for those left furthest behind – or do we more correctly see the glass as overflowing so we can invest in humanity and the right to a quality education for the young generation.

As for the Grand Bargain, ECW exceeded the 25% target a couple of years ago. As a headquarter-based global fund – with no presence in the field and fully accountable for tax-payers money – it would be irresponsible to invest in local organizations without prior due diligence and oversight. All our non-UN grantees must go through a comprehensive process of eligibility assessments to ensure accountable financial processes, delivery and codes of conduct.

Our grantees – selected in-country through the coordination system – serve as the first accountable oversight actors on the ground. At the headquarter-level, ECW investments are provided on the condition that they invest in local actors that meet or preferably exceed the Grand Bargain target of 25%. This has proven a great arrangement. Funds are going where they are meant to go, while also building local capacities in financial management, delivery and reporting, and thus local empowerment, to take charge of their communities and countries.

Based on recent, independent, and external evaluations of ECW, the ECW model is a “proven model.” It is an effective and interesting model, and, as mentioned earlier, I believe one that can be replicated across the United Nations. We move with humanitarian speed and achieve development depth by reducing bureaucracy and raising accountability, by reducing competition and strengthening cooperation. While the UN is the multilateral global institution for peace and security, based on the UN Charter, we further benefit from the fact that the UN is by default also designed to respond to conflicts and disasters.

When COVID hit, ECW was able to immediately provide responses to COVID-affected countries in crises – acting with the “urgency of now” to quote Martin Luther King Jr. – by delivering First Emergency Response education support to over 30 million children and youth. As we took this action, strategic donors joined forces and kept replenishing the financial needs. By moving with speed into the crisis, we unlocked more resources.

When refugees and migrants faced appalling conditions in the Moria reception centre and other reception centres on the Greek Aegean Islands and we could not use public funding for an EU Member State, we found a solution together with two private foundations and organizations. Theirworld and the Dutch Postcode Lottery specifically earmarked their funding for education to the asylum-seekers, which ECW then invested in UNHCR, UNICEF, their local civil society partners and education administration. In cooperation with UNICEF and Theirworld, EU stepped in and funded this initiative. This eventually enabled transfer to the Government of Greece taking over the responsibility – with over 30,000 children adolescents benefitting thus far.

When the Taliban took over a couple of years ago, we immediately deployed an all-women mission to meet with the de facto Ministry of Education authorities to begin the long, but not impossible, advocacy struggle to get all girls back to learning and to continue our investments in girls’ education in some areas of Afghanistan, which are ongoing today. Today, we know that not all Taliban want to exclude secondary-school girls from school. We see a small step forward, a small window of opportunity. However, it is very painful for the majority of Afghan adolescent girls who are still waiting, and we must never forget them. We cannot rest until all of them can return to secondary school, as a matter of public policy.

When Sudan imploded, we immediately coordinated with UNHCR and travelled to neighbouring refugee-receiving countries making immediate emergency education investments in support of the Regional Refugee Response Plan, calling on public and private sector to follow suit. Sudan is experiencing a horrendous internal armed conflict with grave forced displacement – both internally and across the borders with half a million refugees having fled. In Chad, I met the children and their mothers crossing the border from Darfur, their eyes hollow and their little bodies traumatized by fear. UNHCR staff were sleeping in the reception areas on the Chadian border to provide a sense of safety and protection, while also meeting their immediate needs. I was very moved by the heroic response of UNHCR, an agency I served decades ago.

When Gaza exploded in 2023, ECW was able, thanks to our Executive Committee, to deliver an initial US$10 million immediately for mental health and psychosocial services to children through a well-coordinated response between UNRWA and UNICEF. The enormous needs for mental health and psychosocial services hardly need an explanation. It is a soul-shattering reality for these children. We were able to do something, but it is far from meeting their actual needs. A drop in the ocean.

As regards the ECW proven model, a large part of this relates to our governance structure, which comprises only 40 full-time secretariat staff, our High-Level Steering Group at the Ministerial and CEO levels, and our Executive Committee at the Directors’ level. We have invested much time in communication and dialogue over the years to bridge humanitarian and development narratives and approaches, building a shared spirit of trust and a collective commitment to connecting the dots for speed, results and sustainability. It is all about people working together with the same clarity of priorities, long-term vision and positive energy. This removes redundant bureaucratic hurdles which tend to arise where there is a lack of clarity in communication and different levels of energy.

We continue to revise our Operational Manual to make sure it is fit for purpose. It makes a huge difference when we put the children, their teachers and education at the centre of our vision – letting that vision determine how we operate. With a positive energy compounded by a clear roadmap and strategy, trust and professionalism, I believe all is possible. The ECW governance structure is proof that organizations operating in complex, dynamic environments can work very well by investing in open communication, bridge-building and in adopting an entrepreneurship spirit.

Back to the question as to why the private sector and high-net-worth individuals should invest in ECW and our mission for over 226 million crisis-affected girls, boys and teachers in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Middle East, Latin America, Ukraine or refugees fleeing to Europe, let me refer to the resources that actually exist amongst the world’s billionaires. The Gates Foundation recently stated on X/Twitter that “Globally, the net worth of the world’s 2,640 billionaires is at least $12.2 trillion. If every billionaire on earth donated 0.5% of their wealth, it would unlock $61 billion dollars…”

Besides the socio-economic, peace and stability reasons already mentioned, I think it is now a choice in approach and attitude that the private sector and high-net-worth individuals can adopt; either to be part of making a real difference for over 226 million crisis-affected children and adolescents and derive a deep sense of meaning from this, or to just sit by, doing nothing. Two of my three siblings are private sector entrepreneurs, and they are no less concerned with the education for crisis-affected children and humanity at large, than I am. It is just that I dedicate more time to it, as it is my full-time profession.

We should not underestimate the good-will and the altruism of the private sector and high-net-worth individuals. It is not all about opening markets. It is also about being a concerned human being or enterprise that cares for the world, for children and for future generations – standing ready to use some financial capital and strategic knowledge to contribute to solutions. I am convinced that one can be both a profitable entrepreneur and an impactful humanist.

ECW: Education Cannot Wait became operational in 2017. In just 6 years, you have mobilized billions, changed the lives of millions, and scaled-up your operations across the globe. What is your secret to success for ECW?

ECW Executive Director Yasmine Sherif: Let me say first: It is ECW and the larger ECW Community – governments, strategic public and private sector donors, UN agencies and civil society partners, as well as local communities – who, together, have changed the lives of millions of crisis-affected children.

I do not think it is a secret that great leadership and partnerships constitute a major part of ECW’s rapid growth. In specific, the credit goes to our UN Special Envoy for Global Education and ECW’s Chair of the High-Level Steering Group, the Rt. Hon. Gordon Brown, whom I greatly respect, and to the strong and unwavering support for ECW’s mission provided by the UN Secretary-General, the UN Deputy-Secretary-General, along with all members of the High-Level Steering Group and the Chairs and members of the Executive Committee, including donors, UN agencies, civil society, UN Member States, communities, foundations and private sector.

This ongoing support, close partnerships and firm commitment have created the extraordinary space and trust required for building an innovative, results-driven global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises within the UN system. Credit should also be given to UNICEF and Executive Director Catherine Russell, for being a gracious host to ECW. ECW and our governance structure have independence in all substantive work, while being supported by UNICEF administratively at the secretariat level and often by UNICEF field offices.

The other important ‘secret’ is to assemble a highly qualified, professional, creative team within the ECW secretariat. We all agree that human resources are the most important aspect in building an effective organization. The staff you recruit, their skills and unique qualifications, as well as compatible and complementary personalities, their potential and team-spirit are crucial factors. We receive no core-funding and are exclusively working with extra-budgetary funding, so everyone feels a sense of ownership in mobilizing resources.

At ECW we encourage innovative thinking and taking initiative. This is our culture. We do not shy away from debate and discussion to find solutions together. Our staff represent the full diversity of the United Nations, and we allow everyone to be who they are so they can be their best, while also respecting each other. However, we are not seeking conformity. The great British philosopher, Bertrand Russell, wrote several insightful books on authority, organizations and power; these are great readings for any leader or manager. At the end of the day, we are all committed to reducing redundant bureaucracy and to increasing accountability to those we serve – because abnormal problems require extraordinary solutions.

ECW: Congratulations! Your book “The Case for Humanity: An Extraordinary Session” has been a perennial best seller at the UN for years. What are three books that have most influenced you personally and/or professionally, and why would you recommend them to others?

ECW Executive Director Yasmine Sherif: Thank you. Although I am the author, I still read passages from it sometimes to remind myself to steadfastly hold on to my life-long belief in one humanity and not get discouraged in a world of so much division, chaos and suffering. The Case for Humanity is a semi-fictional book drawing on the authentic words and wisdom of over one hundred of the greatest human beings across time in arts, politics, and service of humanity – with all of them assembled in the UN Security Council. As I researched and wrote the book, I saw clearly how it is true that ‘great people think alike,’ and how their thoughts, writings and actions were fully consistent with the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

As for books that have influenced me, the ones I am most drawn to are books written by authors whose lives were an example, and who help me understand humanity. Nothing influences or inspires me more.

One book that has profoundly influenced me is “Man’s Search for Meaning” by Viktor Frankl, a Holocaust survivor. His entire lifework, research and manuscript were taken away from him when he was sent to Auschwitz, an experience he describes in the first part of the book. Without his manuscript and nothing else left in his life – and in spite of the unfathomable cruelty in the concentration camp – he ultimately decided to choose his response to this horrendous experience and applied his own research and theory, Logotherapy, which he describes in the second part of the book. He had an extraordinary strength to channel unspeakable suffering and pain into a whole new school of psychiatry: Logotherapy.

He also describes the day of liberation and how he treaded carefully to not step on the flowers or crops in the fields due to his deeply felt reverence for any form of life. This is very powerful reading, as are his concluding words: “So let us be alert – alert in a twofold sense: Since Auschwitz we know what man is capable of. And since Hiroshima we know what is at stake.” Understanding his response at a deeper level could resolve many of the problems in the world. His heart-wrenching testimony, his majestic prose and profound insights have had an immense impact in my own life and work.

I was so intensely moved by this book and its universality, that I gave a copy each to my daughter and son when they were teenagers. More than ten years later, they still quote Viktor Frankl when we discuss the state of the world, the human condition or when they contemplate choices in their own daily life. For this I am grateful.

“Beethoven and the Spiritual Path” by David Tame is another book that has influenced me both personally and professionally. My mother was a brilliant pianist and encouraged us from an early age to listen to and appreciate classical music. I was especially fascinated by Beethoven. I loved and still am inspired by his genius in transforming his unquenchable fire into the most magnificent symphonies or the most sublime piano concertos. Suffering from a loss in hearing since childhood and, eventually becoming completely deaf and yet delivering such beautiful music to the world: Imagine what genius, what passion, what determination! Through the book, one can also follow his own spiritual development gradually manifesting in his compositions – with Ode to Joy, from his last Symphony No. 9 – being the grand finale of his lifetime on earth. So, I picked up this book to understand him better as a human being and have read it more than once. He had a deep, grand soul which was connected to something greater than himself and that is why his music is truly immortal.

“Long Walk to Freedom” by Nelson Mandela is a classic and another universal treasure, like the two books above. It is a testimony to the kind of personality the world so desperately needs right now. Mandela’s long and painstaking journey is fascinating, inspiring, liberating and serves as a shining example for us all to follow. Starting off as an adviser to the local chief in his region during the apartheid regime, his decision to study law and take an active role in the resistance to apartheid resulted in him emerging as the leader of ANC. And, after 26 years in prison, he was elected President of a free South Africa. His is an extraordinary example of the strength of the human spirit and genuine leadership.

Naturally, Mandela left behind an immortal legacy that lives on today and continues to inspire billions around the world. His uncompromising commitment to justice and the sacrifices he personally made have helped us define the meaning of true leadership. Leadership is not simply a title or an appointment. It must be earned. It is earned through sacrifice, overcoming fear, and the freedom within, to stand by what is right for humanity.

As a human rights lawyer by training, I am certain that what is right for humanity is best defined in International Human Rights Law and related International Law. Still, one does not need to be a lawyer to understand this. The principle of the ‘Golden Rule’, which can be found in all major world religions would suffice: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” The Golden Rule is also the principle underpinning International Human Rights Law and related International Law. By applying it equally and without discrimination as to race, religion, ethnic group, gender or political opinion, we can establish a world order based on the rule of law, rather than ‘the rule by force.’

Mandela’s oft-quoted words: “Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world,” is of course of immediate professional relevance. Another important quote by Mandela, “May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears,” is worth mentioning. Because we need to make choices every day to live by hope: hope for justice, hope for human rights for all and hope for humanity. It can be very unhealthy and destructive to counsel our fears. I do not think anything that Mandela wrote or said was based on fear, out of expediency, or simply to please anyone. He said what his conscience dictated, he lived by his words, and he made a genuine difference for humanity. This made him both a living legend and a universal icon whose memory we must all keep alive.

Dag Hammarskjold’s “Markings” is also one of my favourite books. It is his diary with passages largely from his time as the UN Secretary-General. He was very deep, authentic and honest with himself. He had a vision and inner conviction. What stands out is his commitment to service at all costs. A man of sacrifices, service and ‘walking ethics.’ As one of my several role models when joining the UN, I have at least three copies of “Markings” spread around at home and have probably read the book ten times. It, too, is immortal, capturing universal truths in words and spirit.

I believe that Dag Hammarskjold was able to grasp that which is universally true for us all in whatever form or shape it takes place, when stating: “Unless there is a spiritual renaissance, the world will know no peace.” His statement connects with the ancient Greek axiom: “Know Thyself,” and Mahatma Gandhi’s well-known words: “You must be the change you wish to see.”

I believe that violent means of conflict resolution, the need for control and superiority, as well as greed, ego and fear are rooted in the unconscious human mind and soul, hence manifested in destruction at smaller or larger scale – the latter causing immense human suffering around the globe. It is all connected. Hammarskjold’s call for a “spiritual renaissance,” is a call for doing the inner work, of becoming conscious, so that we are in touch with ourselves at a deeper level, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. This creates a sense of reverence and gratitude; it enables us to distinguish right from wrong based on universal human rights; and, hence, muster the courage to protect and promote all of this in our daily life – irrespective of our role and function in this world and our purpose in our own lifetime.

This takes me to the final author who most influenced me. Since I love poetry and used to write more when I was younger, I continuously read passages by Rumi. Jalaluddin Rumi was an Islamic scholar, an expert in jurisprudence, a Sufi mystic, a poet and dancing dervish from Balkh Province in today’s Afghanistan; he is buried in Konya, Turkey. He is one of the most well-read poets worldwide. Rumi’s poetry and thoughts deeply touch anyone who reads, contemplates and, above all, feels his sayings and poetry.

Many of his readers will agree that he might be the most enlightened human guide for anyone interested in transforming oneself, and thereby our world. Rumi searched and found that which we are all searching – whether we are aware or not. Through his profound writings, Rumi cracks open the door and shares with us a glimpse.

ECW: A final question: why did you choose to work for international affairs at the global level and focus on human rights and now on education as a foundational human right?

ECW Executive Director Yasmine Sherif: I grew up in a multicultural home. A home of intellectual curiosity, the values of honesty and speaking truth to power, and the freedom to be emotionally authentic. I was blessed with a global worldview and made to feel like a global citizen from a very young age. My mother always told me: “Focus on service to others and all the rest will follow.” This is what inspired me to study international human rights and humanitarian law and to join the UN in my mid-20s. Working internationally for a better world is enriching at all levels and a career path that I highly recommend.

Besides all scientific literature and evidence on parenthood and early childhood education, my own personal experience also reinforces my conviction that early childhood development is the very basis for all subsequent education. It starts at home and during the early years and the formation of the brain, accompanied by well-trained teachers inspiring and nurturing learning for peace throughout adolescence. The first 18 years of life are the most formative years and are critically important for every child and adolescent on the globe. These are the years that our identity is shaped, and our core values are formed.

These are the crucial years that become the foundation in anyone’s life. Of course, it is never too late to learn, change and grow, as life is a journey of learning. However, getting the foundational education right during the first 18 years certainly helps advance and smooth that journey. This is why an inclusive and continued quality education cannot wait for any child, no matter who or where they are.

 

Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau
!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+'://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js';fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, 'script', 'twitter-wjs');  

Credit: Sirachai Arunrugstichai/Getty Images

By Andrew Firmin
LONDON, Feb 1 2024 (IPS)

The military must have expected an easier ride. Three years ago, it ousted Myanmar’s democratically elected government. But the coup has been met with fierce resistance, unleashing a bloody conflict with no end in sight.

Civil society has scrambled to respond to humanitarian needs, defend human rights and seek a path to peace. Last year, civil society organisations in Myanmar and the region developed and endorsed a five-point agenda that calls for an international response to end military violence, including through sanctions, an arms embargo and a referral of Myanmar to the International Criminal Court – a call the UN Security Council hasn’t so far heeded.

Civil society is also demanding that the key regional body, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), takes the conflict more seriously and engages beyond the junta, particularly with democratic forces and civil society.

So far civil society’s calls haven’t been heard. But intensifying violence proves that the approaches tried to far have failed. Staying on the same path is a recipe for further carnage.

Violence and repression

Three years on from the coup, the military doesn’t control significant sections of the ethnically diverse country. People’s defence forces are fighting an armed campaign in support of the ousted National Unity Government, often in alliance with long-established ethnic militia groups.

In October 2023, three armed groups in Myanmar’s north joined the conflict against the junta, forming the Brotherhood Alliance. The resulting offensive in Shan state saw the rebels capture the border town of Laukkai and cut off key trading routes with China. The UN stated that this was the biggest escalation in fighting since the coup. A ceasefire in the region was supposedly agreed in January following China-brokered talks, but fighting resumed.

It seems clear the junta won’t win this conflict any time soon. Morale among armed forces is collapsing and soldiers defecting, deserting or surrendering in growing numbers. Even pro-junta voices on social media have begun to criticise military leaders.

Pushed into a corner, the military is lashing out, committing mass killings, burning villages and unleashing indiscriminate airstrikes to compensate for its struggles on the ground. The deadliest strike so far came in April 2023, when 168 people, including 40 children, were reported killed in the village of Pa Zi Gyi.

This was no one-off. The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar has reported that the junta continues to bomb hospitals, schools, villages and camps for displaced people. Attacks on civilians include mass killings, torture, sexual violence and forced labour, and the junta also obstructs essential humanitarian aid supplies.

In September 2023, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, condemned this violence as ‘inhumanity in its vilest form’. Research suggests that most of the military’s senior commanders are responsible for war crimes.

The humanitarian impacts are deep. By the end of 2023, over 2.6 million people had been displaced, 628,000 of them since the Brotherhood Alliance launched its campaign. The UN assesses that 18.6 million need humanitarian help and 5.3 million need it urgently. But aid workers are being targeted: at least 142 were arrested or detained last year.

The restriction of humanitarian work is part of wider repression. Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a human rights organisation, reports that since the coup 4,468 people have been killed by the junta and pro-military groups. Almost 20,000 people are in detention, among them many activists and protesters charged with offences such as treason and sedition. Torture in prison is widespread, and 34 political prisoners died in detention in 2023.

The junta is doing everything it can to try to control the narrative. It’s believed that 64 journalists are currently detained. Internet shutdowns, website blocking and arrests for social media comments are routine occurrences. Last November, the junta took control of the Broadcasting Council, which oversees TV and radio outlets.

In August 2023, the junta extended the state of emergency, in effect since the coup, for a further six months. The elections that it promised on seizing power are nowhere in sight, and even if they eventually come, they won’t serve any purpose other than trying to legitimise military power.

International action needed

The junta faces strong domestic opposition and has no real international legitimacy but crucially, pressure from the regional body is weak.

ASEAN claims to be following a long-discredited plan, the Five-Point Consensus, which dates back to April 2021. The violence unleashed by the junta against civilians shows it can’t be trusted to act in good faith, but ASEAN still claims to believe it’s possible to involve it in an ‘inclusive dialogue’. At its annual summit in May 2023, ASEAN members reiterated their support for the failed plan, despite civil society’s calls.

ASEAN members are mostly repressive states, and some, including Cambodia and Thailand, have shown signs of seeking to normalise relations with the junta. ASEAN continues to allow junta representatives to attend some of its meetings. This year’s chair, Laos, is an authoritarian state that will have no interest in restoring democracy in Myanmar.

Elsewhere, however, the junta may be running out of friends. China was untroubled by military rule, but it doesn’t want unrest on its border. A potential breakthrough came from the US government in October 2023, when it imposed sanctions on the previously untouchable Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE), the state-owned corporation that’s the regime’s main source of foreign income. The European Union also stepped up its sanctions in December 2023, including against two companies providing arms and generating income for the junta.

It remains essential to keep the junta diplomatically isolated and to cut economic relations with the many companies it depends on, including MOGE. It’s vital to stop supplying arms to the junta and, above all, to stop selling it the jet fuel it needs to carry out airstrikes.

A UN Human Rights Council resolution adopted in April 2023 condemned the junta’s violence but failed to call for responses such as bans on the sale of weapons or aviation fuel. Events since then have made it sadly clear that decisive action can no longer wait.

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

 

Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau
!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+'://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js';fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, 'script', 'twitter-wjs');  

Antonio Berni, Unemployed, 1934

By Jan Lundius
STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Feb 1 2024 (IPS)

Karl Marx’s Manifesto of the Communist Party begins with the now worn-out phrase: “A spectre is haunting Europe – the spectre of communism. All the powers of old Europe have entered into a holy alliance to exorcise this spectre”. Nowadays the word “communism” could easily be substituted by “migration”. All over Europe, politicians claim that Europe is being destroyed by migrants. In country after country, ghosts of yesterday are awakened. Parliaments include xenophobic politicians who might be considered as inheritors of demagogs who once dragged Europeans into hate and bloodbaths.

Populists have successfully convinced voters that the greatest threat to their nations is neither inequality, nor climate change, but immigration. Politicized storytellers have found that fear of “the other” can be a means to gain power. Nevertheless, such a fear does not concern any “other” – respected professionals who move to another country are usually not labelled as “migrants”, neither are wealthy businessmen who acquire new passports as easily as they move their money around the world.

To obtain some insights to the often all overshadowing phenomenon of international migration, Jan Lundius recently met with Dr Omar Hammoud Gallego, a fellow at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Omar Hammoud Gallego

IPS: Your research deals with migration, as well as civil society’s connection with international organisations. How did this interest develop?

Hammoud Gallego: Like many of my colleagues and friends, I am the son of migrants. My parents came from different parts of the world and met, married and established themselves in a third country. However, this was not the main reason for me to focus on migration in my research. In 2015, while working for UNHCR in Colombia, where I was engaged in supporting internally displaced Colombians, I soon found out that there was a lack of serious, in-depth research about migration within Latin America. I began to read about regional migration and decided eventually to pursue a PhD on this topic.

IPS: Was it the specific situation in Colombia that made you shift your main interest from internal to regional migration?

Hammoud Gallego: Yes, over the last few years Colombia has received a huge influx of migrants and refugees from Venezuela (although they are recognised as refugees only in a handful of countries). A phenomenon that has not abided. More than 7,7 million migrants and refugees have left Venezuela as a result of political turmoil, socio-economic instability and an ongoing humanitarian crisis, roughly a quarter of the country’s population. While democratic backsliding in the country began with Hugo Chávez, the situation worsened considerably during the presidency of his successor since 2013, Nicolás Maduro. Most refugees, more than 6,5 million, are hosted in Latin American and Caribbean countries; close to three million in Colombia, one and a half million in Peru, and close to half a million in both Chile and Ecuador.

IPS: And the cause of this exodus is mainly political?

Hammoud Gallego: To a certain degree – yes. The Venezuelan government inept and corrupt handling of the economy and plummeting oil prices caused the output of PDVSA (the national oil company) to decrease substantially, leading to lower revenues for the government. As it happens with many countries with vast oil reserves, Venezuela developed into a rentier state, receiving most of its income through the export of oil. Since 2013, the country’s economy has suffered greatly. In 2018, the inflation was more than 63,000 percent compared with the previous year, while nearly 90 percent of the population lives in poverty. Furthermore, estimates by the UN and Human Rights Watch indicate that under Maduro’s administration close to 20,000 people have been subject to alleged extrajudicial killings.

IPS: Is the current situation in Venezuela still excruciating?

Hammoud Gallego: Yes, and the current geopolitical landscape seems to have favoured Maduro’s regime rather than debilitated him. The country is Russia’s most important trading and military ally in South America. Due to the energy crisis linked to Russia’s criminal invasion of Ukraine, the US government in October last year lifted sanctions on the Venezuelan oil and mining sector, which had been in place since early 2019. In spite of this influx of money and support, the situation continues to be severe and so far, few Venezuelans are returning to their country of origin. Many are instead making their way to the Darien Gap, through Panama and from there continue north until they reach the United States. Elections in Venezuela are scheduled for this year, but it is hard to know if Maduro will allow them to take place fairly and transparently.

IPS: How is UNHCR handling the Venezuelan refugee crisis?

Hammoud Gallego: The UNHCR is one of the few UN agencies which depends almost entirely on voluntary contributions. Every year UNHCR funding shifts depending on the outcome of its Global Appeal, the process in which it asks governments and some private donors to contribute to the support of refugees. In 2023, about 74 percent of these funds came from 10 donors only, with much of the funding earmarked for specific crises and only 15% of it consisted of multi-year funds. Commitments are constantly shifting and crises around the world compete for limited resources. For example, when a refugee crisis erupted due to war in Ukraine it meant that less funding was dedicated to Latin American countries hosting Venezuelan refugees, as well as UNHCR commitments in other parts of the world. However, there are many NGOs across the region that also make a concrete difference in the lives of many refugees. For instance, the NGO VeneActiva, which was founded and is led by Venezuelan migrant women and operates in Peru, is one of the best examples in the Latin American region of how civil society can step in and provide the support refugees need. Its digital platform contains key information that helps Venezuelan nationals to restart their lives in Peru. The NGO provides a variety of services, including psychological support and advice on how to regularise one’s migratory status.

IPS: You are currently living in the UK, a country where migration, like in other European nations, is high up on the political agenda. Can you provide us with some insights about how the migration issue is dealt with in the UK?

Hammoud Gallego: Over the last few years, the Conservative government in the UK has been facing a dilemma of its own making. The Brexit decision was supposed to lead to a decrease in immigration, and instead the opposite seems now to have been the case. Still, the lack of enough immigrants to fill in positions in the public sector, particularly in education, and health, and to take on seasonal work in agriculture and construction, has limited economic growth in the country. The health sector was exceptionally hard hit by both Covid and Brexit.

IPS: How is the governing political party affected by the migration issue?

Hammoud Gallego: Since 2010 the UK has had a Conservative-led government, with Conservative party leaders making migration a prime electoral issue. However, according to the latest polling data, it is estimated that 46 percent of voters would vote for the Labour Party in a general election, compared with 22 percent voting for the Conservative Party. Understandably, conservative politicians are worried about losing votes to the far right, and specifically to the Reform Party, and are trying to out-do the far-right by adopting absurd measures to deter the arrival of asylum seekers. One such scheme is the recent Rwanda asylum plan.

IPS: Could you elaborate on whether the Rwanda plan is a feasible project, or not, and why some Conservative politicians actually proposed such a solution for asylum seekers.

Hammoud Gallego: It is a proposal that foresees that some of the asylum seekers who arrive to the UK irregularly will be relocated to Rwanda for processing. Those successful in claiming asylum would remain in Rwanda. It is an absurd proposal based on two wrong assumptions. The first, is that most asylum seekers will know about the scheme. The reality is that the information most of them get, comes from unofficial sources, oftentimes from the smugglers that organise their journeys. Second, even if they knew about the scheme, it is unlikely that it will deter them. For most of them, the choice of a country depends on several factors: the language they speak, the network they have, etc… Also, on their way to the UK asylum seekers have often taken several risks, and suffered greatly, so the minimal risk of being sent to Rwanda will be seen as an acceptable risk for most of them. The reality is that what this plan will only push individuals not to apply for asylum once in the UK, and in many cases simply live in the country with an irregular status, akin to the reality of many Mexican and Central Americans in the US.

IPS: How do you view the future for asylum seekers and so called “economic” migrants?

Hammoud Gallego: It looks bad. I believe that climate change will exacerbate conflicts in many regions of the world, thus forcing people to move. Such challenge needs urgently to be dealt with, both internationally and locally, and it might already be too late. Investments in green energy are far too limited, viable resettlement programs are not in place, leaving asylum seekers no option but to embark on dangerous journeys. Also, one of the main myths surrounding economic migration is that as countries become wealthier, people will have less incentives to leave. The reality is that the poorest individuals in the Global South have always been the ones least likely to travel, as they lack the means to do that. The poor cannot afford to move. As countries become wealthier, the middle classes will seek to travel and migrate more.

IPS: What can be done for migrants who are already in place in Europe, and elsewhere?

Hammoud Gallego: Well thought-through integration policies forcefully implemented and sensible migration policies would be a good place to start. There are many examples of how integration can be conducted successfully. Nations like the UK are to a certain degree proof of this, with a prime minister of Indian origin, and the Mayor of London and First Minister of Scotland both sons of Pakistani immigrants. Considering sudden refugee crises, the way European countries responded to the Ukrainian crisis shows the way forward: let refugees move wherever best suits them, and you will avoid a humanitarian catastrophe. However, politics in Europe seems to be going in the opposite direction. In Germany, Sweden, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands and many other European nations anti-migration and nationalistic forces are gaining strength, not the least among young people who mistrust ageing and unrepresentative traditional parties. If everyone who voted in the election had been aged under 35, Geert Wilders’ Dutch Party for Freedom (PVV) might have won even more votes. In last year’s French presidential runoff, Marine le Pen won 39 percent of votes from people aged 18-24 and 49 percent of those aged 25-34, le Pen’s deputy is the 28 years old Jordan Bardella. Giorgia Meloni’s ruling Brothers of Italy was the preferred party among people under 35 years of age. I assume that the likely win of Donald Trump in the next US elections will boost European anti-migration politics.

IPS: What can immediately be done to address the issue of migrants and asylum seekers already in Europe, and maybe elsewhere as well?

Hammoud Gallego: If governments across Europe were to pursue sensible and evidence-based migration policies instead of replicating far-right talking points, it would be a start. Principled opposition politicians could, instead of focusing exclusively on migration to attract votes, focus more on those aspects of migration policies that might be improved, without resorting to a xenophobic rhetoric that normalises a polarising political discourse. Integration and inclusion are key for people coming to Europe. Integration is both a right and a duty, meaning that every member of a society has to adapt to and respect fundamental human rights, including democracy, the rule of law, freedom of speech and religion, as well as the rights to equality and non-discrimination.
Considering that migration has become a highly politicised issue it has been proposed that long-term immigrants ought to be given the right to vote, thus making their support more appealing to politicians and decision makers. A few countries, such as Chile and New Zealand, are allowing all residents to vote, hoping this would decrease polarisation and marginalisation, whether this will happen remains to be seen. Under all circumstances it would be desirable if we could live in a world where migrants were considered as fellow human beings, rather than as scapegoats for governments’ ineptitudes.

IPS UN Bureau

 

Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau
!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+'://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js';fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, 'script', 'twitter-wjs');  

Genocide Convention @75: A call for its application as a 'living force in world society'.
 
“Large countries can defend themselves by arms; small countries need the protection of laws.” Raphael Lemkin, the Polish lawyer who gave the crime of genocide its name, knew well what he was conveying with that note as he approached the diplomats at the United Nations ahead of the first regular session of the General Assembly in 1946.

By Alice Wairimu Nderitu
UNITED NATIONS, Feb 1 2024 (IPS)

It was a notion which haunted him well before the Second World War – from the history books his mother would read him, to the following of the 1921 trial of young Armenian Soghomon Teilerian.

Why, Lemkin asked his law school Professor, is there a name for the killing of one person, murder, but none for the killing of several people on the basis of their identity? The horrors of the Second World War, in which he lost forty-nine members of his family, further refined his understanding that genocide – a crime without a name – was a coordinated plan with different actions aiming to annihilate individuals because they belonged to a certain identity group.

On 9 December 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide – its first human rights treaty – by unanimous vote. It affirmed that genocide is a crime under international law, whether committed in times of peace or in times of war.

Alice Wairimu Nderitu

In just a few years, Lemkin named the nameless crime (using the prefix Greek genos-, meaning race or tribe, and the Latin suffix –cide, meaning killing), further defined it in hopes that it could be used at the Nuremberg trials, came to the United Nations to advocate for and contribute to the drafting of the Convention, and encouraged delegates to finally adopt this cornerstone text.

Despite this recognition, Lemkin was not restful. “The nations which have ratified the Genocide Convention must now make this convention a living force in their societies by introducing appropriate domestic legislation which will carry in itself a great educational message of respect, love and compassion for human beings beyond their boundaries, irrespective of religion, nationality and race.”

Lemkin was on point and his call could not be more urgent today. As back then, ratifying the Convention constitutes a first step but it is far from being enough. Ratification must be followed by concrete implementation, including through domestication at national level through establishing national legal and policy tools aimed at identifying and addressing early warning signs and ensuring accountability when the crime has been committed.

We know today that the commission of genocide constitutes the end result of a process for which there are warning signs. We also know that whether or not States have ratified the Convention, they are bound by the principle that genocide is a crime under international law, and they have an obligation to prevent and punish it.

In the 75 years since the adoption of the Convention, we have seen that when protection fails, it fails those who need it most. We are seeing this today, live-tweeted and streamed from more than a few places across the world.

Yet, nothing is preordained, and no outcome is inevitable, and the call for prevention resonates today even more strongly when and where the risk of this crime is higher.

At this juncture time in history, while acknowledging the tremendous challenges which continue to hinder our collective ability to prevent and respond, we must also pause to reflect on the road that has been traveled.

Since the moment of its adoption, the Convention has played a vital role in the development of international criminal law as we know it today. It defined the crime of genocide as the intended destruction, in whole or in part, of a racial, national, ethnic or religious group.

The formal definition of the crime in the Convention has been subsequently included in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court in 1998, as well as in the statutes of other jurisdictions, such as the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda, and the Extraordinary Chambers in Cambodia.

It has been ratified or acceded to by 153 States. Yet, 41 United Nations Member States have not done so.

As every 9 December, which is now a date internationally marked as the Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of this Crime, we will continue honoring all those who have lost their lives to genocide, the “crime of crimes.”

On the particular occasion of this 75th anniversary, with the legacy of the Convention at hand, we are urging all nations to renew their commitment to the Genocide Convention as a ‘living force’ in our societies.

There is much work ahead, for which the lessons learned from these past 75 years

Alice Wairimu Nderitu is Under-Secretary-General and Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide to the United Nations Secretary General.

Source: Africa Renewal, United Nations

IPS UN Bureau

 

Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau
!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+'://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js';fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, 'script', 'twitter-wjs');  

A family from the Q'eqchi Mayan indigenous people of Guatemala gathers to share a meal cooked with firewood. Life in many rural areas of Latin America continues to be marked by scarce resources and inequality, in comparison with urban areas. CREDIT: IDB

By Humberto Márquez
CARACAS, Jan 31 2024 (IPS)

Rural life in Latin America and the Caribbean continues to be marked by poverty and inequality compared to the towns and cities where the vast majority of the population lives. A new focus on rural life in the region could help reveal and address the challenges and neglect faced by people in the countryside.

“Many people in our countryside simply no longer have a way to live, without services or incentives comparable to those in the cities, producing less and for less pay, under the threat of more disease and poverty,” Venezuelan coffee producer Vicente Pérez told IPS."Many people in our countryside simply no longer have a way to live, without services or incentives comparable to those in the cities, producing less and for less pay, under the threat of more disease and poverty." -- Vicente Pérez

In Mexico, whose countryside was home to 24 million of its 127 million inhabitants at the beginning of this decade, according to the World Bank, a study by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) showed that eight out of every 10 rural inhabitants lived in poverty, and six in extreme poverty.

It was in the Mexican capital where experts from ECLAC and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) proposed this January “a new approach” to the concept of rural life in the region, to help public action to reduce inequality and contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The project’s director, Ramón Padilla, told IPS from Mexico City that “we need a new narrative about rural Latin America that goes beyond the traditional static and dichotomous vision, and that sees rural areas not as backward places, but as territories with great potential for development and connections.”

Building a new narrative “is important for a better visualization, treatment and reduction of inequalities in income, infrastructure, education, health, gender, etc.,” added Padilla, head of ECLAC’s Economic Development Unit in Mexico.

“Those who have access to electricity, drinking water, communications and transport to work or school in a big city are at a great distance from life in many depressed rural areas,” said Pérez, executive director of the Venezuelan Confederation of Agricultural Producers (Fedeagro).

A woman feeds livestock next to her house in rural Nicaragua. Housing and food conditions are often very precarious in the most depressed rural areas of Central America. CREDIT: FAO

Entrenched rural poverty

Hilda, the head of her household in Los Rufinos, a village of 40 families in the middle of a sandy dry forest in the northwestern department of Piura, Peru, told visitors from the Argentina-based Latfem regional feminist communication network what it is like to live without electricity and drinking water, to cook with firewood and, among other hardships, to get her granddaughters the schooling she did not have.

In their dirt-floored houses with fences and walls made of logs, plastic and tin sheeting, the women in Los Rufinos cook in the early hours of the morning for the men of the village who go to work in the agro-exporting fruit plants in Piura, the departmental capital.

“When there is no moon, the night is really dark, you can’t see a thing. It’s not like in the city, where there is so much light,” Hilda commented to the Latfem representatives.

In Peru, a country of 33.5 million inhabitants (80 percent urban and 20 percent rural), 9.2 million people are poor, according to the government statistics institute. Poverty measured by income affects 24 percent of the urban population and 41 percent of the rural population, while extreme poverty affects 2.6 percent of the urban population and 16.6 percent of the rural population.

Farther north, in a rural area of the department of Cundinamarca in central Colombia, Edilsa Alarcón showed on the television program “En los zapatos de” (In the Shoes of), on the Caracol network, how she goes every day to two small fields near her home to milk four cows, her family’s livelihood.

Women farmers work in a field in Guatemala. In rural areas of Latin America, women have more precarious or lower paid jobs than men, and barely a third of them have access to forms of land ownership. CREDIT: Juan L. Sacayón / UNDP

She carries 18 liters of milk on the back of a donkey every morning, which she sells for 14 dollars, barely enough to live on. She owns no land and her biggest expense is renting pastureland for 860 dollars a year.

Colombia’s rural areas are home to 12.2 million people (51.8 percent men and 48.2 percent women), 46 percent of whom live in poverty, according to ECLAC.

“Gente de Guate”, produced by Guatemalan Youtubers , collects and delivers food, household goods and even cash for families in the countryside who barely scrape by in houses with four walls made of corrugated metal sheeting, boards and logs, wood stoves and a few chickens running around among corn and cooking banana plants.

Of Guatemala’s 17.2 million inhabitants, 60 percent live in poverty and between 15 and 20 percent in extreme poverty, according to figures from official entities and universities. Half of the population lives in rural areas, where poverty affects two thirds of the overall population – and 80 percent of indigenous people – and extreme poverty affects nearly one-third of the total population.

Schoolchildren walk through a suburban area in Mexico. The need to secure services such as education, health and communications, along with better incomes, continues to drive the displacement of rural dwellers. CREDIT: IDB

Regional data

Some 676 million people live in Latin America and the Caribbean, of whom 183 million are poor (29 percent), and 72 million are in extreme poverty (11.4 percent), according to ECLAC data for 2022 and 2023.

While 553 million people (81.8 percent) live in towns and cities, 123 million (18.2 percent) live in rural areas. And while in urban areas poverty stands at 26.2 percent and extreme poverty at 9.3 percent, in rural areas 41 percent of the inhabitants are poor and 19.5 percent are extremely poor.

Gender inequality also persists, stubbornly. One figure that reflects it is that only 30 percent of rural women (58 million) have access to some form of land ownership, their jobs are often more precarious and less well paid, and at the same time they spend more time on household and family care tasks.

The exodus from the countryside continues, first to the cities of each country, then abroad. In countries like Venezuela many rural dwellers alternate their life and work between their plots of land in the countryside and a slum in a nearby town every few days. CREDIT: Correo SurErbol

Time to migrate from the countryside

Latin America has experienced a massive exodus from rural to urban areas in the 20th century and so far in the 21st. “In 1960, less than half of the region’s population lived in cities. By 2016 that proportion had risen to over 80 percent,” wrote Matías Busso, a researcher at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

This process, driven by the search for better employment opportunities and living conditions, first fueled the expansion of the region’s major cities – to form megalopolises such as São Paulo and Mexico City – and more recently migration to foreign destinations, such as the United States.

The largest migratory phenomenon abroad that the region has known, the exodus of more than seven million Venezuelans in the last decade, has involved numerous urban and suburban inhabitants, but also people from many rural areas.

Pérez said that, in addition, in countries like Venezuela there is now a tendency to move from the countryside to urban areas, “but not to the big cities, like Caracas or Maracaibo, but to nearby towns or small cities, maintaining their ties to the plot of land where the family has crops or a few animals.”

“New shantytowns form in small towns next to agricultural areas, such as coffee plantations in the Andes (southwest) or grain fields in the (central) Llanos, and people work for a few days in some urban job and then return to the countryside at the weekend. A sort of double life,” said Pérez.

View of a suburban area neighboring the city of Medellín, in northwestern Colombia, where urban and rural features are combined. ECLAC and IFAD are promoting a new narrative to consider the potential of many areas that should not be pigeonholed as exclusively urban or rural. CREDIT: Medellín city government

Seeking a new narrative

New realities such as these prompted the ECLAC-IFAD initiative to “overcome the traditional view that contrasts rural and urban areas, recognizing the existence of different degrees of rurality in the territories and greater interaction between them,” according to its advocates.

“The project seeks to replace the dominant narrative – which is reductionist and marginalizing – of rural areas as static and backwards, with one that recognizes the challenges and opportunities of today’s new rural societies,” said Peruvian economist Rossana Polastri, regional director of IFAD.

The basis of the initiative is that between what is defined as rural and urban – the limit in countries such as Mexico is to consider urban areas as those with more than 2,500 inhabitants and rural areas as those below that level – there is a variety, degree and wealth of possibilities and opportunities to address issues of equity and development.

Padilla from Mexico said that a first element of the work they propose is to collaborate with the public bodies in charge of designing and implementing policies for rural areas, since “technical work, well grounded in concepts and theories, has to go hand in hand with a dialogue with the public sector.”

“A second element is continuous dialogue with the communities. The new understanding has to be translated into participatory solutions, in which each community and each territory creates a new vision, a renewed plan for sustainable development,” said the head of the project to build a new approach to rural life in Latin America.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination, Yohei Sasakawa. Credit: Sasakawa Leprosy Initiative

By Busani Bafana
GENEVA, Jan 31 2024 (IPS)

Tuji Sode detached himself from his family and hid himself from the public, embarrassed by his condition, which in biblical times meant exclusion from society and even death.

Sode, a university student in Ethiopia, has Hansen’s Disease, also commonly known as leprosy. Leprosy is a bacterial disease that, left untreated, can cause severe disability and deformity.

Sode recalls the severe discrimination because of his leprosy. He developed a disability because the disease was detected too late for treatment. He admits to having tried different solutions to be cured.

“I did it myself and sought local remedies like holy water,” Sode said in a video message at the launch of the Global Appeal 2024 to End Stigma and Discrimination Against Persons Affected by Leprosy. 

“Discrimination restricts our opportunities for education, employment, and marriage, forcing us to detach from our families, lose property, and live a life that depends on begging,” said Sode, who called for global efforts to change the misconception about leprosy and fight entrenched stigmatization and discrimination.

Debilitating Discrimination

Sode’s pain was echoed by Kofi Nyarko, who represents a leprosy information service, IDEA, in Ghana.

“It is very painful,” Nyarko says. “[For] a disease like leprosy, if you get your treatment, you will be cured, but because of this discrimination against us, the disease affects us for many years, and it is hurting us a lot.”

Nyarko appealed to the World Health Organization (WHO) to help abolish all laws against people affected by leprosy.

Discrimination against people with leprosy continues unabated, reversing efforts to eliminate the disease that crops up in several countries in Asia, Africa, South America, and the United States.

More than 2 million people have leprosy, according to the WHO, and there are 200 000 new cases each year. The resultant discrimination against people affected by leprosy has prevented early detection and treatment, subjecting those affected to a life of hardship, poverty, and isolation. This is the drive behind the launch of the 2024 Global Appeal, calling for an end to “unwarranted discrimination that persons with leprosy continue to face.”

Speaking at the launch of the 2024 appeal, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said while the world was on track to eliminate the disease, medical interventions were not enough without addressing the conditions in which the disease thrives: discrimination and stigmatization.

“Although it has now been curable for more than 40 years, it still has the power to stigmatize,” Ghebreyesus said, emphasizing that eliminating leprosy requires renewed political commitment, access to services, and awareness-raising.

Ghebreyesus said the global appeal demonstrates a need for renewed commitment to end leprosy by 2030.

While the current WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination and the chair of the Nippon Foundation that supports the Sasakawa Leprosy (Hansen’s Disease) Initiative, Yohei Sasakawa, said leprosy was not a curse or a punishment from God but a disease that can be cured by early detection and with raised public awareness.

Sasakawa has committed his life to fighting against the discrimination of people affected by leprosy, visiting more than 120 countries and advocating for zero leprosy.

“Zero leprosy is not an impossible dream,” Sasakawa said in galvanizing global partners to act on eliminating discrimination and securing the rights of persons affected by leprosy.

“I ask for your cooperation so that together we can make the impossible possible,” said Sasakawa, who has pledged to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and hoist a banner at the summit to raise awareness about eliminating discrimination against people affected by leprosy.

The appeal, endorsed by the WHO, was launched with calls for a “world where no one is left behind because of a treatable disease, aiming to break the chains of discrimination and ensure dignity for all.” Discrimination is a major drawback to eliminating the transmission of leprosy, a centuries-old bacterial disease that affects the nerves, skin, eyes, and lining of the nose, causing severe disfigurement and disability.

The appeal organized by the Sasakawa Leprosy (Hansen’s Disease) Initiative, is part of its Don’t Forget Leprosy campaign. For nearly 50 years, the Nippon Foundation has worked hand in glove with the WHO to eliminate leprosy. Each year, it receives the support of influential partners from different fields to build solidarity and ensure that its message reaches far and wide.

Maya Ranavare, President of Apal in India, said the discrimination against persons affected by leprosy necessitates a collaborative effort by all, making it imperative for countries to enact laws and policies that acknowledge and address discrimination while involving persons affected by leprosy.

“Countries must also recognise their obligation to prevent third parties from discriminating against persons affected by leprosy as mandated by international and domestic law,” Ranavare said.

Deterring Discrimination

Leprosy was officially eliminated in the world as a public health problem in 2000 and in most countries by 2010. The WHO has set global numerical targets that link “elimination” to “interruption of transmission” in its most recent global strategy (2021–2030).

The Tanzania Leprosy Association has been working to end discrimination against persons affected by leprosy and their families, as this has excluded them from participating in economic and social activities.

“The discrimination has contributed to poverty and life hardship,” says Mohamed Mtumbi, Executive Secretary of the Association, noting that community sensitization through education has been the most effective way to change community perceptions about leprosy.

Mozammel Hoq, Secretary of the Rangpur Federation in Bangladesh, appealed to the WHO to ensure all policies formulated for persons affected by leprosy are properly implemented and that the WHO should form a welfare trust for them.

The UN Special Rapporteur on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Persons Affected by Leprosy, Beatriz Miranda-Galarza, highlighted that each year thousands of people, including women, children, and the elderly, face discrimination linked to leprosy. There were disempowering caregiving approaches that perceived people affected by leprosy as passive recipients of care.

“There is a demanding need for the establishment of a support and care system grounded in human rights principles,” Miranda-Galarza said, adding that states, countries, and international organizations must incorporate the fundamental rights of individuals affected to access quality care and support into their policy frameworks.

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau
!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+'://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js';fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, 'script', 'twitter-wjs');   Related Articles

• Pope, Sasakawa in Global Appeal for a Leprosy Free World
• We Must Do More to Remove People’s Negative Image of Leprosy from their DNA – Yohei Sasakawa

Excerpt:

Zero leprosy is not an impossible dream—Yohei Sasakawa, WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination at the Global Appeal 2024 to End Stigma and Discrimination Against Persons Affected by Leprosy

By Unnikrishnan Divakaran Nair and Nirupama Vinayan
LONDON, Jan 31 2024 (IPS)

The 28th Conference of Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) marked a pivotal moment in the global efforts to combat climate change. Held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) with the participation of delegates from around the world, COP28 showcased a commitment to drive genuine strides in climate action, bringing optimism and progress to the forefront. Here we explore the implications of COP28 outcomes for small and other vulnerable Commonwealth countries and identify the gaps that still need attention. Additionally, it will discuss concrete expectations for COP29, focusing on critical discussions held at COP28.

Unnikrishnan Divakaran Nair

COP28 Highlights

COP28 was distinctive in its comprehensive approach, covering a diverse range of topics crucial for addressing the climate crisis. Notable discussions included the First Global Stocktake, the Operationalization of the Loss and Damage Fund, the Business and Philanthropy Climate Forum, the UAE Leaders’ Declaration on the Global Climate Finance Framework, and the UAE Climate and Health Declaration.

First Global Stocktake

The First Global Stocktake at COP28 provided a comprehensive assessment of collective progress towards the goals of the Paris Agreement. It involved a thorough review of individual countries’ Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and their efforts to limit global temperature rise. This mechanism served as a vital tool for accountability and transparency, fostering a sense of shared responsibility among nations.

For the Commonwealth countries, the Global Stocktake offers an opportunity to showcase their commitment to climate action and demonstrate tangible progress. However, challenges persist in ensuring that the Stocktake remains fair and inclusive, addressing the diverse circumstances of the Commonwealth nations, including those that are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

Operationalization of Loss and Damage Fund

Addressing loss and damage associated with the impacts of climate change is a critical aspect of climate action. COP28 saw discussions on the operationalization of the Loss and Damage Fund, aiming to provide financial and technical assistance to countries facing the most severe consequences. For the Commonwealth nations, particularly those in low-lying regions, this initiative is crucial for building resilience and adapting to climate-induced challenges.

Nirupama Vinayan

Despite positive strides, gaps remain in determining the fund’s scale and ensuring swift disbursement to affected countries. COP29 must prioritize finalizing the operational details of the Loss and Damage Fund to ensure its effectiveness and responsiveness in times of need.

Business and Philanthropy Climate Forum

The Business and Philanthropy Climate Forum at COP28 facilitated crucial discussions on the role of private sector engagement and philanthropy in climate action. Commonwealth countries, with their diverse economies, can leverage partnerships with businesses and philanthropic organizations to accelerate sustainable initiatives.

However, challenges persist in ensuring that such collaborations align with the principles of climate justice and contribute to the overall well-being of communities. COP29 should focus on refining frameworks for private sector involvement, emphasizing transparency, accountability, and the alignment of business practices with climate goals.

UAE Leaders’ Declaration on the Global Climate Finance Framework

The UAE Leaders’ Declaration at COP28 outlined a framework for global climate finance, acknowledging the need for increased financial support to developing countries. For Commonwealth nations, many of which are developing economies, this declaration holds promise for accessing the necessary funds to implement ambitious climate actions.

Nevertheless, a significant gap exists in defining the specifics of the finance framework, including the sources of funding and the mechanisms for distribution. COP29 should prioritize establishing a clear and robust climate finance framework to ensure that developing Commonwealth countries receive the support needed for sustainable development.

UAE Climate and Health Declaration

The UAE Climate and Health Declaration emphasized the interconnectedness of climate change and public health. Commonwealth countries, facing diverse health challenges exacerbated by climate impacts, can benefit from a holistic approach that integrates climate and health policies.

While the declaration at COP28 recognized the importance of this intersection, concrete steps for implementation and resource allocation are crucial. COP29 should prioritize the development of strategies that integrate climate and health considerations, ensuring the well-being of Commonwealth populations in the face of a changing climate.

Shaping Expectations for COP29

COP28 concluded on a note of optimism and progress, with participants committing to genuine strides in climate action. However, acknowledging the herculean task ahead is essential. COP29, set to be held in Azerbaijan, becomes a crucial milestone for the international community.

Concrete expectations for COP29 include deciding on a new climate finance goal and framing new and ambitious NDCs. The Commonwealth, as a collective voice for equitable and sustainable growth, is expected to play a more prominent role in the global climate action scene. Ensuring that all parties move as one entity with a clear vision is imperative for deriving the desired outcomes and addressing the gaps highlighted at COP28.

Looking ahead, the international community anticipates decisive actions at COP29, setting the stage for framing new NDCs at COP30, hosted by Brazil. The Commonwealth’s involvement will be pivotal in achieving a sustainable and resilient future, fostering global cooperation and ensuring that no nation is left behind in the pursuit of a climate-safe world.

Unnikrishnan Divakaran Nair is the Head of Climate Change at the Commonwealth Secretariat covering 56 small and other vulnerable Commonwealth countries.

Nirupama Vinayan is an intern at the Commonwealth Secretariat working in the area of climate finance for the small and other vulnerable member countries of the Commonwealth.

IPS UN Bureau

 

Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau
!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+'://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js';fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, 'script', 'twitter-wjs');  

By Jomo Kwame Sundaram
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Jan 31 2024 (IPS)

Contractionary economic trends since 2008 and ‘geopolitical’ conflicts subverting international cooperation have worsened world conditions, especially in the poorest countries, mainly in Africa, leaving their poor worse off.

Jomo Kwame Sundaram

Conditions and prospects are so bad that two well-known globalisation cheerleaders have appealed to rich nations for urgent action. Former IMF Deputy Managing Director and World Bank Senior Vice-President, Professor Anne Krueger and influential Financial Times columnist Martin Wolf warn ominously of the dire consequences of inaction.

Deepening stagnation
Following tepid growth after the 2008 global financial crisis, Covid-19 disrupted supply chains worldwide. Then, post-pandemic recovery was disrupted by wars in Ukraine and then Gaza.

Food and energy prices soared briefly, largely due to market manipulation by opportunistic investors. Invoking the price hikes as a pretext, the US Fed and European Central Bank raised interest rates, deepening economic stagnation worldwide.

Countries which borrowed heavily during the earlier decade of unconventional monetary policies – especially ‘quantitative easing’, offering easy credit – now have to cope with increasingly unbearable debt burdens, particularly in the global South.

Earlier modest progress in reducing poverty – now termed ‘extreme poverty’ – and food insecurity has slowed sharply, if not worse. For many of the world’s poorest, progress has not only stopped but even been reversed.

The World Bank currently defines the poor as those with daily per capita incomes under US$2.15 in 2017 prices. It estimated those deemed poor fell from 1.87bn – 31% of the world’s population – in 1998 to a forecast of 690mn (9%) in 2023.

The rate of decline of poverty has slowed sharply: global poverty is forecast to fall by a little over three percentage points during 2013-23 – very much less than the 14 percentage points in the decade before 2013.

Poorest mainly in poor countries
The pace of poverty decline has slowed most in the world’s poorest nations. Wolf defines these countries as those deemed eligible for concessional loans from the World Bank Group’s soft-lending arm, the International Development Association (IDA).

Seventy-five countries are now considered eligible for IDA resources, including 39 in Africa. Some – e.g., Bangladesh, Nigeria and Pakistan – can also borrow on costlier terms from financial markets and the Group’s International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

In IDA-eligible countries, those in extreme poverty fell from 48% in 1998 to 26% in 2023. But this only involved a single percentage point decline over 2013-23, compared to 14 percentage points in the decade before.

Extreme poverty has mainly declined in better-off middle-income countries, with 497 million poor in IDA-eligible countries. With 72% of the world’s total of 691 million poor in IDA-eligible nations, the remaining 193 million were in other countries.

The population share in extreme poverty in countries not IDA-eligible fell from a fifth in 1998 to 3% in 2023, falling by only four percentage points during 2013-23. Expecting modest overall growth, Wolf expects this 3% share will be largely eliminated by 2030.

Hence, he argues that extreme poverty can only end if attention and resources are focused on the world’s poorest countries, where poverty is most concentrated and deeply entrenched.

Unequal debt burdens
Government debt is widespread, but especially debilitating in countries where the poor are most concentrated. The World Bank’s last International Debt Report notes such countries depend too much on unreliable and expensive funding.

The report acknowledges, “For the poorest countries, debt has become a nearly paralysing burden: 28 countries eligible to borrow from [IDA] are now at high risk of debt distress. Eleven are in distress.”

During 2012-21, the external debt share of IDA-eligible countries owed to private creditors jumped from 11.2% to 28.0%! Their debt service payments more than tripled from $26bn in 2012 to $89bn in 2022, as interest due jumped from $6.4bn to $23.6bn!

Meanwhile, the share of bondholders and other private lenders in total government debt fell from 37% in 2021 to 14% in 2022! As the US Fed raised interest rates sharply during 2022-23, investors dumped ‘high-risk’ poor borrowers, lending much less to those in most need.

With this ‘perfect storm’, debt distress should come as no surprise. The 2023 International Debt Report found 56% – over half – of IDA-eligible countries at risk of such distress.

Distress of the poorest
Wolf argues it is in rich nations’ interest and their obligation to provide poor countries with far more concessional finance. But such funding has actually declined in recent decades, especially with the end of the first Cold War over three decades ago.

The IDA is using its 20th replenishment for July 2022 to June 2025 to provide financing on concessional terms. The World Bank president has argued for a much bigger new replenishment ostensibly to accelerate growth, reduce poverty and address other challenges in the poorest countries.

IDA-eligible countries include many of the world’s worst-managed nations, often very fragile, vulnerable to shocks, and stuck in “hard to escape” poverty. But their problems have become pretexts to withhold or withdraw concessional finance from those most in need.

Much more concessional finance and other resources are needed for poor nations to develop sustainably. But reducing sustainable development to simply eliminating poverty, nowadays with climate action, will condemn the poorest developing countries to backwardness.

World financial arrangements have been crucial in undermining fair, sustainable development in poor countries. While it will be critical to enable these nations to overcome their current and imminent predicaments, far more fundamental reforms must quickly follow.

As the poorest developing countries are both weak and vulnerable, needed reforms are nowhere on the horizon. Instead, the ‘international community’ continues to kick the can down the road instead of undertaking bold reforms for the short and medium term.

IPS UN Bureau

 

Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau
!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+'://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js';fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, 'script', 'twitter-wjs');   Related Articles

• Rich Nations, IMF Deepen World Stagnation
• Open Veins of Africa Bleeding Heavily
• Inflation Phobia Hastens Recessions, Debt Crises
• 1980s’ Redux? New context, Old Threats
• China Debt Traps in the New Cold War
• Prioritise Pandemic Relief, Recovery: No Time for Debt Buybacks
• Neoliberal Finance Undermines Poor Countries’ Recovery

Credit: GMB AKASH / UNDP
 
Asia-Pacific countries experienced, on average, six natural disasters a year over the past three decades – about twice as many as developing countries of Latin America and the Caribbean and about three times as many as in sub-Saharan Africa.
 
Governments, central banks, financial supervisors, and multilateral institutions must coordinate and develop a comprehensive strategy to attract more private capital.

By Ritu Basu and Cheng Hoon Lim
WASHINGTON DC, Jan 31 2024 (IPS)

Countries in the Asia-Pacific region face a shortfall of at least $800 billion in climate financing. With public finances depleted by the pandemic, policymakers must unlock the vast potential of private capital to join the fight more effectively against global warming.

Doing so will demand a coordinated and multi-faceted approach by actors on all sides, from governments and central banks to financial supervisors and multilateral institutions. Important strategies include phasing out fossil-fuel subsidies, which have reached a record $1.3 trillion. It will also be key to expand carbon pricing, bridge critical data gaps, and promote innovative financing along with public-private partnerships.

Here’s an explainer based on our latest research, which draws on recent chapters of the Global Financial Stability Report on scaling up climate finance and other IMF studies on climate issues:

• Why is climate finance urgent? Progress is too slow. Global temperatures are set to surpass the critical 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold above pre-industrial levels. Efforts to halve 2019 levels of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 fall alarmingly short, targeting only an 11 percent reduction. Without stronger action, our warming planet imperils homes, health, and food security. Mobilizing more climate finance is vital not only for mitigating emissions but to build adaptive capacity through investments in climate resilient infrastructure. This is especially important for Asia, which is home to several of the largest emitters and a region acutely vulnerable to climate change due to high population density and geography.

• What makes Asia’s role pivotal? The region’s transition to greater sustainability has global implications. Asia contributed about two-thirds of global growth last year, and will again in 2024, but its heavy reliance on burning coal for energy means that it contributes more than half of harmful global greenhouse gas emissions. Asia’s economies recognize how climate hazards directly impact lives and livelihoods, and have made deeper commitments, as their revised Nationally Determined Contributions under the 2015 Paris Agreement show. Asia can aid the climate fight by demonstrating how to balance economic growth and environmental sustainability.

• How significant is the funding gap? Asia’s emerging market and developing economies need investment of at least $1.1 trillion annually to meet mitigation and adaptation needs. But they’re only getting $333 billion, mostly from sustainable debt instruments like green bonds, and public sources contribute more than half. Such a shortfall leaves these economies with a funding gap of at least $815 billion. China leads in attracting climate finance, making major strides in renewable energy adoption, and its collaborations with the EU have yielded crucial frameworks for sustainable finance, such as the Common Ground Taxonomy and stricter China Green Bond Principles.

• What are the biggest challenges? Pacific island countries and other small economies often have trouble accessing international capital markets or obtaining financing via global climate funds. In particular, they find it hard to meet stringent accreditation requirements of global climate funds as their capacity is already stretched thin and public investment management is challenging. For larger countries, green bonds may be as costly as conventional securities because investors appear to be less trusting of green characteristics in Asia’s sustainable debt instruments. These issues underscore the broader challenges for the region’s funding aspirations.

• What do countries say? A survey of 19 countries in Asia revealed important gaps in data, disclosures, and taxonomies, and that these are exacerbated by inconsistent national climate policies that can promote fossil fuel subsidies. These deficiencies undermine investor confidence in forward-looking targets and transition. Greenwashing also is a risk, respondents say, because it can call into question the legitimacy of environmental claims made by bond issuers. In addition, increasing geoeconomic fragmentation, including friend-shoring and fraying global supply chains, could threaten cooperative and collective action to contain climate change.

Action to unlock much more climate finance requires coordination among agencies overseeing climate initiatives, plus collaboration between local and global entities:

• How can Asia’s governments help? One way will be to comprehensively enhance the framework on data, taxonomies, and disclosures. They should phase out fossil fuel subsidies and expand carbon pricing, which would generate revenue for sustainable public investment. This would help boost investment in green technology, jobs, and growth, while supporting vulnerable households. Measures that strengthen macroeconomic and public investment management will help reduce risk premiums and funding costs, drive economic growth, and attract private capital.

• Where do central banks and financial supervisors fit in? They should promote global standards for transparent and consistent disclosures, while strengthening climate risk analyses and incorporating climate-related financial risks into prudential frameworks to enhance financial stability. Lastly, collaborating with multilateral standard setters to develop internal capacity is crucial for improving the clarity and reliability of ESG score ratings, fostering greater trust and understanding in these evaluations.

• What is the IMF’s role? The Fund is working with member countries to better detail climate-related economic risks and policies in surveillance and lending activities. The IMF also is strengthening data and statistics, including through capacity building and peer learning, to develop common standards for measuring and analyzing climate risk.

• Finally, our Resilience and Sustainability Trust can help vulnerable low- and middle-income countries catalyze financing from other sources by restoring sound macroeconomic management and building the institutional capacity of the public sector. Other multilateral organizations can provide more grant financing and concessional lending, and risk-mitigating mechanisms can help expand their lending capacity. Cooperation among multilateral institutions is essential to align efforts and resources to achieve a balanced allocation between mitigation and adaptation lending.

—This IMF blog reflects research by Cheng Hoon Lim, Ritu Basu, Yan Carriere-Swallow, Ken Kashiwase, Mahmut Kutlukaya, Mike Li, Ehraz Refayet, Dulani Seneviratne, Mouhamadou Sy, and Ruihua Yang.

IPS UN Bureau

 

Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau
!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+'://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js';fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, 'script', 'twitter-wjs');  

The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, with CAF President, Dr Patrice Motsepe while on tour in Africa. Some commentators have questioned the effectiveness of US foreign policy in Africa. Credit: CAF media

By Promise Eze
ABUJA, Jan 30 2024 (IPS)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s week-long tour across four African countries was aimed at strengthening the US-Africa relationship—a relationship, according to some commentators, already waning as China and Russia are increasing their influence.

Blinken made his first stop in Cape Verde, a small island in West Africa, where he engaged Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e Silva in discussions and reiterated the US dedication to deepening and expanding its collaborations with Africa. Continuing his diplomatic journey, he then proceeded to Ivory Coast, Nigeria, and concluded his tour in Angola.

While Blicken, on his tour, touted the US as a crucial economic and security ally for Africa, particularly during times of regional and global challenges, analysts say that US foreign policy towards Africa has suggested that the continent may have been “pushed to the back burner.” Their assertions are not baseless.

At the US-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington in November 2022, President Joe Biden made commitments to support democracy in Africa and announced his endorsement for a permanent seat for the African Union at the Group of 20. Biden also promised to visit the continent but that dream never materialised as Washington was preoccupied with a host of global challenges, such as the war in Gaza and the Russia-Ukraine war.

Addressing questions about Biden’s unsuccessful visit during an interview in Nigeria, Blinken defended the president by saying, “It is just the opposite. The President very much wants to come to Africa. We have [had] 17 cabinet-level or department-level officials come since the Africa Leaders Summit.”

US Counterproductive Counter-terrorism Fight

In Abidjan, the capital of Ivory Coast, Secretary of State Antony Blinken pledged USD 45 million to bolster security along the West African coast. This commitment extends the funding for an ongoing program in the region, bringing the total to USD 300 million. Blinken commended the Ivorian military for their counterinsurgency efforts in combating armed groups, acknowledging the difficulty of the region’s location between Mali and Burkina Faso and recognizing hotspots for violence in the Sahel.

For over two decades, the US has made consistent efforts to enhance security and promote democracy, particularly in the Sahel. However, despite these investments, terrorism persists, leading to frequent coups that pose a continuous threat to the stability of the continent.

Last year saw President Mohamed Bazoum of the Niger Republic—a crucial US ally—forcibly ousted from power by disgruntled US–trained military officers. This coup dealt a significant blow to Niger’s sprouting democracy, as President Bazoum had ascended to power through the country’s first democratic elections. Moreover, it marked a setback to the longstanding US endeavours to foster democracy in the Sahel.

Facing international pressure, the coup plotters justified their actions by pointing to President Bazoum’s perceived inability to effectively address the threat of insurgency in the country, despite substantial investments by the US in regional security.

Since 2012, the US has allocated more than USD 500 million in security assistance to Niger, positioning it as the leading recipient of US military aid in West Africa and the second-highest in sub-Saharan Africa.

In addition to having troops on the ground, the US currently operates a drone base in sub-Saharan Africa, a USD 100 million facility based in Agadez. However, despite these advancements, counterinsurgency operations funded by taxpayers have given rise to splinter groups associated with jihadist militancy, causing distress in villages and towns.

Experts attribute the insurgency in Sub-Saharan Africa to the US-led invasion of Libya, which failed to bring stability to the country and resulted in the proliferation of arms and violent groups across the region when foreign fighters, especially the Turareg rebels loyal to Libya’s dictator, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, fled the country after his death.

A recent report by the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, a US defense department research institution, indicates that the Sahel experienced the largest increase in violent events linked to militant Islamists in the past year compared to any other region in Africa, with 2,737 violent events. The report notes that attacks linked to militant Islamist groups in the Sahel have surged by 3,500% since 2016.

“If the US had not destabilised Libya, there is no way Nigeria, Mali, Niger, Chad, and Burkina Faso would have been in chaos,” argues Zainab Dabo, a Nigerian-based political analyst.

“With military takeovers in [West Africa], along with a general distrust for the West, Blinken is here to offer an irresistible package of promises in a bid to remain relevant, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, where Russia is gaining influence,’’ she added.

For the US, Russia’s expanding influence in Africa is a cause for worry. The rivalry between the two nations intensified significantly following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Russia justified its actions by citing the US-led NATO expansion in Ukraine, which it deemed a threat. Although the US has refrained from direct involvement in the conflict, it has provided substantial financial and military assistance to Ukraine.

Meanwhile, tensions between the US and Russia are escalating in Africa. This is evident as coup plotters, many of whom have undergone military training in the US, are now ditching the West to seek military support from the Russian-backed private military Wagner group in their efforts to combat terrorism. Russia is also actively seeking to gain influence in Africa and challenge the dominance of the dollar through the BRICS.

However, while the Biden administration is considering designating the Wagner Group, a Russian group, as a terrorist organisation for its human rights violations, the US has always shied away from its own misdeeds in Africa.

US military partnerships on the continent have been marred by a record of human rights abuses, fostering distrust of Western influence.

In Nigeria, where Blicken promised support for improved security, a US-Nigerian airstrike in 2017 hit a refugee camp in Raan, near the Cameroon border, killing at least 115.  Until today, no one has been held accountable for the massacre, and the victims have not gotten justice.

In Somalia, where the US military has conducted numerous airstrikes against the Islamic Jihad group Al-Shabaab for more than a decade, civilian casualties have become inevitable, many leaving family members in agony and with no hope of justice.

In 2020, Amnesty International slammed the US Africa Command (AFRICOM) for killing a woman and a young child in an airstrike in Somalia. Despite the families of the victims of this strike contacting the US Mission to Somalia, Amnesty International reported that neither US diplomatic staff nor AFRICOM had reached out to them to offer reparation.

US, China, Russia and the Scramble for Africa

According to Frank Tietie, a lawyer and human rights activist in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, Blinken’s visit coincides with a period when America’s influence is perceived to be at a low point in the recent scramble for Africa. Tietie maintains that the US needs to go beyond merely advocating for democracy and should actively match China and Russia’s efforts by deploying both financial and developmental resources.

Since 2003, Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) in Africa has experienced a substantial increase, rising from a modest USD 74.8 million in 2003 to USD 5.4 billion in 2018. Although it saw a decline to USD 2.7 billion in 2019, the trend reversed, despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, with a resurgence to USD 4.2 billion in 2020. However, concerns arise regarding China’s infrastructural investments and over USD 170 billion worth of loans in Africa, which are perceived as exploitative, given the expectation of natural resources in exchange.

During a meeting with President João Lourenço of Angola, Blinken praised the advancements in one of the US’s most significant investments in Africa: the construction of the Lobito Corridor, a crucial rail link for metals exports from the central African Copper Belt. However, for Tietie, who holds that the US is bent on containing the influence of Russia and China in Africa, such developments are insufficient.

“The gospel of democracy by the Americans [in Africa] has not been able to match the alluring and tantalising presence of the Chinese with their loans and offer to exploit natural resources in exchange for cash. The Americans must do more than ordinary promises, many of which we have had in the past that have not translated to growth and development for African countries,” Tietie told IPS.

For Dabo, Africa, which she described as “the land of opportunities,” will keep being exploited for its natural resources by the US and China if the US does not put its capacities to good use.

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau
!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+'://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js';fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, 'script', 'twitter-wjs');   Related Articles

• Nigerian Women Challenge ‘Colonialist’ Patriarchy
• France, Russia, ECOWAS in Battle for Soul of West Africa
• How Nigeria’s Legal System is Failing to Safeguard Widows’ Rights

UNRWA's funding is in jeopardy after allegations that some staff were involved in the Hamas' October 7 attack in Gaza. The concern is that UNRWA's humanitarian aid is crucial to the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. Credit: Hussein Owda/UNRWA

By Naureen Hossain
UNITED NATIONS, Jan 30 2024 (IPS)

The consequences of the investigation into the 12 United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) staffers allegedly linked to the October 7 Hamas attack in Israel have led to major donor countries pulling their support from the UN agency. However, the agency has appealed to the governments to continue the aid in the face of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

The first to suspend their funding was the United States on January 26. Since then, donor countries that have suspended funding include Britain, France, Germany, Finland, Canada, and the European Union.

The common reason cited was that funding would not be continued until an outcome was reached following an investigation into the allegations against the UNRWA staff members.

This UN agency is largely dependent on funding from donors, notably leading member states like the United States, which was its largest donor in 2022 with a contribution of more than USD 343 million. In that same year, the United States, Germany, and EU member states were among the largest individual donors, accounting for 61.4 percent of the agency’s overall funding.

Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric briefed reporters on Monday on the investigation into UNRWA after the Israeli government presented allegations that employees at UNRWA were involved in the October 7.

He confirmed that the UN Office of Internal Oversight (OIOS) has begun its investigation into the agency and that Secretary General António Guterres met with the head of OIOS to ensure that the investigation would be done “as swiftly and as efficiently as possible.”  He also informed reporters that Guterres would be meeting with the UN Permanent Representatives of UNRWA donor countries on Tuesday.

In a separate statement, Guterres expressed that he was “horrified by these accusations.” He also “strongly appealed to the governments that have contributions to, at least, guarantee the continuity of UNRWA’s operations.”

It is crucial that UNRWA’s operations continue in the current humanitarian crisis because 2 million civilians in Gaza depend on the aid it provides.

“No other organization than UNRWA has the infrastructure to do the work that they do,” said Dujarric.

UNRWA’s operations range from providing schooling to shelters to running health care centers. Since the current war between Israel and Hamas, at least 145 UNRWA facilities have been damaged.

In a recent situation report from UNRWA, it was stated that 1.7 million displaced people were sheltered across emergency shelters, both public and those run by UNRWA, adding that these shelters were congested. Only four out of 22 UNRWA health care centers are operational, and 152 staff members have been reported dead. Meanwhile, 3,000 out of the 13,000 UNRWA staff members, the majority of whom are Palestinian, are still in Gaza, continuing their work.

Despite its crucial presence and the urgent needs it addresses, allegations of staff members’ involvement with Hamas have undermined support for UNRWA. The Israeli government provided a dossier to the United States, which detailed the allegations that at least 10 percent of UNRWA were part of Hamas. This dossier has not been shared with the UN, according to Dujarric.

While current measures by UNRWA were to single out the 12 staffers accused and terminate their contracts, the suspension of funds by the major donor countries will have undeniably impacted the entire agency’s operations. The UN has warned that the current funding is insufficient to meet the requirements until February. The fear is that the funds will run out within weeks.

In a statement, UNRWA Commissioner-General Phillipe Lazzarini stated that “it would be immensely irresponsible to sanction an agency and an entire community it serves because of allegations of criminal acts against some individuals, especially at a time of war, displacement, and political crises in the region.”

Lazzarini urged UNRWA to “strengthen its framework for the strict adherence of all staff to humanitarian principles” by calling for an additional independent investigation by outside experts in addition to the OIOS investigation.

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau
!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+'://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js';fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, 'script', 'twitter-wjs');   Related Articles

• ICJ Orders Israel to Take All Measures to Prevent Genocide in Gaza
• Gaza Health Workers Struggling to Save Injured Without Medical Supplies, WHO Expert Warns
• Palestine: Nothing Can Justify Genocide, It’s Not the Time for Silence

Credit: Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)

By Sayuri Cocco Okada
BANGKOK, Thailand, Jan 30 2024 (IPS)

Quadrupling in size since 1950, the working age population in Asia and the Pacific now accounts for 67.2 per cent of the total population in the region and is set to peak at 3.3 billion by the mid-2030s.

Now is the moment for Asia and the Pacific to harness this demographic window by investing in a more resilient working age population.

In Asia and the Pacific, the challenges loom large. Two in three workers are in informal employment. If they fall sick, lose a job, have a disability or become old, they have no employment safeguards or social protection to navigate such disruptions and life contingencies.

Half the region’s workforce survives on $5.5 a day, barely enough to lift them out of, or shield them from sliding into, poverty. Unpaid care and domestic workers, are particularly vulnerable as they lack access to income and social protection.

A more resilient workforce is an important step towards eliminating poverty. Effective social protection can mitigate the need of families to resort to measures such as taking a child out of school or selling livestock. Critical ingredients to foster more resilient populations include more comprehensive and inclusive social protection systems and enhanced access to decent employment.

Universal non-contributory social protection schemes can ensure that all persons have access to basic income security to weather disruptions across the lifecycle to enable an adequate standard of living.

Access to universal schemes would also mitigate the risk of the working age population falling into poverty, particularly informal workers, persons with disabilities, women or migrant workers.

ESCAP simulations show that the combined impact of investing in a universal child, disability, maternity and old age benefit can reduce poverty by up to 91.2 per cent at the $3.65 International Poverty Line, and on average decrease inequality by 8.8 per cent for 25 countries in the region, at a cost ranging between 5.1 per cent and 2.6 per cent of GDP.

Figure 1. Investment in universal non-contributory child, disability, maternity and old age benefit can reduce poverty for the total population

While non-contributory schemes ensure a basic level of income security, they should be complemented by job-related contributory schemes to provide more comprehensive and higher levels of income security. However, in two thirds of countries, fewer than half the workforce is contributing into a scheme.

Tackling this challenge requires addressing legal barriers and incentive structures, simplifying administrative procedures, strengthening enforcement measures, as well as enhancing awareness and representation of informal workers.

Some positive measures are being implemented, through the expansion of voluntary or mandatory contributory schemes, adjusting eligibility criteria or providing pension credits for caregivers.

By helping to match labour demand and supply, Active Labour Market Policies (ALMPs) can support the working age population to find decent and productive work through public works, training, re-skilling or job-matching. ALMPs will be critical to smoothen the impacts of trends such as the green transition, population ageing and digitalisation, which will demand new skills whilst phasing out some existing ones.

A majority of studies on vocational and on-the-job training programmes identify increased employability and earnings for trainees throughout the region. In Viet Nam, for example, women who received job-training had a 12 percentage point higher wage than untrained women and men.

However, most countries spend on average only 0.2 per cent of GDP a year on ALMPs. There is a pressing need to invest in public employment programmes along with improving the quantity and quality of training schemes, and enhance collaboration with the private sector, whilst working towards formalising jobs and advancing the decent work agenda.

The impacts of the recent COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the fragility of hard-won development gains. Against the steady decline of extreme poverty over the past decades, in 2023, due to the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and cost of living crisis, 47 million people are expected to have fallen into extreme poverty.

Escalating frequency and intensity of climate change-related shocks will add further pressure on populations. Work-related contributory schemes such as unemployment insurance can act as an automatic stabiliser to build the first layer of resistance against these shocks.

However, unemployment benefits are available to a less than a quarter of the total workforce in the region. Well designed ALMPs can help people access employment opportunities, enhance productivity and increase earnings. When well-coordinated with social protection systems, such as in the case of Turkiye, they can help groups in vulnerable situations access training opportunities needed to re-engage in the labour market.

Other work-related social protection can also support mitigation measures, for example through directing public works programmes towards mangrove restoration or afforestation efforts.

Building the resilience of the working age population will be paramount to maintain and progress sustainable development in Asia and the Pacific. Through extending multipillar social protection systems across the lifecycle and ALMPs, countries are investing in a key group to build resilience to life contingencies, work transitions and climate change: a workforce that is able to override these disruptions and break through cycles of poverty.

Sayuri Cocco Okada is Social Affairs Officer at ESCAP.

IPS UN Bureau

 

Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau
!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+'://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js';fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, 'script', 'twitter-wjs');  

Students in a courtyard on the campus of the Francisco Gavidia University, a private institution in San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador. Central American education experts point out that higher education in the isthmus, both public and private, is precarious and expensive, unaffordable to the working-class and the poor. CREDIT: Edgardo Ayala / IPS

By Edgardo Ayala
SAN SALVADOR, Jan 30 2024 (IPS)

Decades of civil wars and a lack of long-term public education policies, among other problems, have made higher education in Central America precarious and costly in general.

In this region, made up of Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama, home to some 50 million inhabitants, the quality of education offered by public and private universities is poor, while costs are high even for those who can afford them.

Lagging behind

One way to measure the quality of higher education is through scientific production, which is almost nil in Central America."Unfortunately, higher education is not accessible to everyone, and this is unfair. A large number of graduates from public high schools do not have access to higher education." -- Oneyda Fuentes

“Higher education in Central America lags far behind in the scientific field,” Óscar Picardo, director of the Institute of Sciences at the private Francisco Gavidia University in El Salvador, told IPS.

To illustrate, Picardo pointed to the few patents or research products registered as their own creations by Central American universities, both public and private, in comparison with institutions in the rest of Latin America.

For example, he said, universities in Colombia have produced around 400 patents and Chilean universities around 800, while in Central America only the public University of Costa Rica (UCR) has produced 44.

In fact, two Costa Rican institutions stand out the most in the region: the UCR and the public Tecnológico de Costa Rica.

“We have very limited budgets for research, for attracting human talent, for retaining doctors, so we are left with a very complicated scenario,” Picardo said.

Investment in infrastructure has also been deficient, something that is quite clear to students in the region.

“The teachers have the knowledge, but the university falls short in technology, there is a lot of precariousness in that area,” Karla Rodas, a Salvadoran journalism graduate from the public University of El Salvador, told IPS.

Karla Rodas, a journalism graduate, visited the University of El Salvador in January to attempt to expedite her graduation process. In her view, professors have sufficient knowledge to teach, but the public institution lacks the necessary infrastructure to provide quality education. CREDIT: Edgardo Ayala / IPS

Rodas, 30, visited the university on Jan. 23 to ask about her graduation process, because due to different circumstances it has been postponed since she finished her studies in 2018.

With regard to the lack of investment in infrastructure, she added: “When I was at the university, there was a studio to produce radio programs, but it was definitely not the best equipment. There were no cameras either.”

Yakeline Corea, a journalism student at the public National Autonomous University of Honduras, had a similar experience.

“The curriculum is fine, but the university does not have all the resources to have good infrastructure, good laboratories, suitable for the level that is being taught,” Corea told IPS from Tegucigalpa, the country’s capital.

The 21-year-old student said she decided to pursue a university degree because it opens a door to aspire to a better future.

Other young people must be creative in finding ways to attend university, such as Omar Hurtarte, a student of agricultural production systems engineering at the public San Carlos University of Guatemala, founded in 1676, which was the first in Central America and the fourth in the Americas.

Hurtarte, a resident of Mixco, 13 kilometers west of Guatemala City, the capital, said he had to set up a small business to support himself at the university, mainly because of the associated costs, such as transportation, food and internet.

Tuition is free at the region’s public universities, even though they are mostly autonomous institutions, but there are many other costs associated with studying, especially for students who live outside the capital cities.

“It’s a small enterprise. I got an oven to make pizzas and a large pot to make chicharrones (pork cracklings), here in Mixco, in order to finance my studies,” the 36-year-old student said.

He added: “Through agronomy, I seek specialized, technological knowledge to contribute to the development of sustainable and efficient agricultural practices.”

Hurtarte is one of the lucky few who can study at university in his country.

According to a study by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), in Guatemala, a country of 19.6 million people, only 2.6 percent of the population between 18 and 26 years of age has begun university studies and the percentage of students who complete two years or more is even lower.

Figures from the Central American Higher University Council indicate that there are 242 universities in Central America, including the Dominican Republic, a Spanish-speaking Caribbean island nation that is part of the Central American Integration System.

Of this total, 27 are public and 215 are private, confirming the marked trend of privatization of the sector, not only in the isthmus but also in the rest of Latin America, as pointed out in a report published in 2023 by the specialized education website Educ@.

This growing trend, according to another report published by Educ@, is observed in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador and El Salvador, while Cuba has exclusively public education. In Argentina and Uruguay, private higher education enrollment represents less than 25 percent of the total.

The San Carlos University of Guatemala, founded in 1676 and the first in Central America, is the main center of higher education in that nation, where only 2.6 percent of the population between 18 and 26 years of age has begun university studies and the percentage of students who complete two years or more is even lower. CREDIT: Ricardo Miranda / IPS

Poor management

Regarding the low quality of education in Central America, Juan Pablo Escobar, dean of the faculty of Humanities at the private Rafael Landívar University in Guatemala, said the situation is “sad and not very promising,” especially in public institutions.

However, he pointed out that the shortcomings are not so much in the teaching itself, but in the disorderly management and the lack of public investment adequate to the needs, in the case of the public universities.

“I would not question the professionals and professors, but rather the structure, the logic behind it, the administration. The investment in public universities is not what would be expected, it does not achieve the desired impact,” Escobar told IPS from Guatemala City.

The dean pointed out that in the region there are public and private universities that, despite the challenges to be overcome, are committed to training good professionals. Others teach from a purely technical point of view, while yet others see education merely as a business.

However, despite the bleak outlook, institutions are making efforts to improve. They have opted for international accreditation, an evaluation process carried out by specialized agencies that verify compliance with basic standards.

The social conflicts and civil wars in most countries of the region in the 1980s reduced the capacity of the States to invest in education.

And while Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua were bleeding from their armed conflicts, Costa Rica experienced relative peace and was able to invest in health, education and other social areas, among other reasons that explain its progress in this area.

Both Picardo from El Salvador and Escobar from Guatemala concurred that in their countries there was no minimum political consensus to promote long-term educational strategies, but that this changed with the arrival of new governments.

Omar Hurtarte takes a break at the San Carlos University of Guatemala, where he is studying agricultural production systems engineering. To finance his studies, Hurtarte had to set up a small business making pizzas and pork cracklings. CREDIT: Ricardo Miranda / IPS

High costs

Higher education is also expensive in Central America even for those who can afford it, and excludes the majority of the population, who have scarce resources.

“Unfortunately, higher education is not accessible to everyone, and this is unfair. A large number of graduates from public high schools do not have access to higher education,” Oneyda Fuentes, a student of English language translation and interpretation at the private Evangelical University of El Salvador, told IPS.

Fuentes, 32 years old and in her second year of university, said she pays 100 dollars a month in tuition for online classes.

But last year, she explained, she took a course in person, which cost her 200 dollars a month, including related expenses, since she had to commute from her native Nejapa, a small town located 20 kilometers north of San Salvador, the country’s capital.

Fuentes pays for her studies with the freelance work she already does as a translator and interpreter, having previously taken English classes.

At the beginning of 2024, the minimum wage in El Salvador, which varies according to economic sectors, is around 300 dollars a month, similar to those of Honduras and Panama, while in Guatemala it averages 400 dollars and in Costa Rica it is close to 700 dollars, according to official data from each country.

In this context, the cost of studying at university in Central America is high, even in the public universities, which by law are free. This is true especially for young people from rural areas who must rent an apartment and pay for food in the cities where the campuses are located.

“When I decided to study, I moved to Tegucigalpa, because if I had to travel from my village, it was a 6-hour bus ride,” said Corea, the Honduran student, who is originally from El Membrillo in the municipality of Yaramanguila, in the southwest department of Intibucá.

She said she spends an average of 240 dollars a month to cover her expenses.

Although very few, in Central America there are also institutions that cater to upper-middle and upper-class students, which charge monthly fees of between 500 and 600 dollars.

At institutions focused on the middle classes, such as Rafael Landívar, run by the Catholic Society of Jesus, a degree in psychology can cost 275 dollars a month, said Dean Escobar.

“Higher education in Guatemala is very expensive. I say this as a PhD in education, as a dean and as a father, since I have two children already in university,” he said.

For his part, Picardo, the Salvadoran academic, commented that in education there is the paradox that, in order for it to be of good quality, it has to receive funds from somewhere.

“You cannot sustain a campus, a good level teaching staff, with good level laboratories, without financial backing; quality education is expensive,” he said.

Dr. Ameenah Gurib-Fakim

By Ameenah Gurib-Fakim
PORT LOUIS, Mauritius, Jan 29 2024 (IPS)

The Republic of Mauritius, an island nation, experienced its latest flash floods since the last bad one in 2013. These floods resulted in the loss of lives and hefty bills for car insurers with over 3000 cars have been damaged.

Unfortunately, we will go through more climate-related traumas because as an island nation we are sorely ill-prepared and we seem to be blithely oblivious to climate challenges especially when one takes a look at our development trajectory.

There is an urgent need to factor in resilience of our infrastructure; our adaptation strategy, the use of appropriate technology to inform and educate our people for better awareness and preparedness. When we look at recent tragedies, we cannot and must not put everything on the back of a changing climate, although I am sure the temptation is great in order to absolve one of his/her responsibilities. Urgent measures need to be put in place to counteract this new reality and also address our vulnerabilities.

There is no doubt that we will experience more devastating cyclones and they will take our economies back several decades.

It is the becoming increasingly clear that the way we urbanise, the resilience of our infrastructures, how ‘green’ we keep our buildings and landscape will all underscore how well we adapt to a changing climate.

Locally and in many parts of the world, there is a high proclivity to cut down big swath of forests, drain the ‘Ramsar-protected’ swamps which are the lungs the world; build bungalows on sea fronts; sacrifice century-old trees in the name of ‘development’; century-old drains which have survived the test of time, are now increasingly seeped in cement!

In many surrounding islands including Mauritius, buildings are seen popping up on the slopes of mountains. There’s also massive investment in infrastructure projects with no visibility on the ‘Environment Impact Assessments – EIA’ (absence of Freedom of Information Act in Mauritius prevents the public from accessing to these critical documents).

There’s also locally, no visibility on the Flood-prone zones which imply that people will keep building in these regions with the surreal consequences we have seen last week in Port Louis – cars piling up, flooded cemeteries reaching people’s homes, people being carried away by the sheer force of the water.

It is becoming abundantly clear that climate-related events will recur and we, as the human race, we have no choice but to adapt to our new realities. Time and time again, the rhetoric of ‘saving the planet’ is mentioned. It has to be brought home to all of us that Nature has existed before our appearance 200.000 years ago and will do well after we have gone. So let us not be presumptuous to even think that we can ‘tame’ or ‘save the planet’.. Our rhetoric must be couched in a the following language ‘how we save ourselves in the light of the crisis we have unleashed’!.. That would be more appropriate and much more in line of this truism which is facing us.

Part of our adaptation realities demand a culture of transparency, participatory-leadership, promote greater awareness among the general public on what’s at stake and more importantly, there has to be accountability from those who we vote to decide on our behalf. They cannot suddenly go mum when they are questioned or pass the buck to technical staff whose roles are, often purely advisory, when things start going south. The personal and material loss for the general public are simply too painful to see when entire lifetime efforts and savings are washed away by the gushing waters.

I am a resident of town called Quatre Bornes and which got badly affected by the recent floods. I am tempted to ask for this ‘confidential’ EIA report for the Quatre Bornes tram project so that we can be enlightened on the remedial actions going forward?

May be those who were at the helm in 2016 when the decision was taken to start this mega project can enlighten us ? No?

But this is where “Real politik” kicks in..

Those who were vociferously against this project during the electoral campaign, when they were in the Opposition (that was before they switched side and joined the winning party) are now its greatest defenders.

Some of those who actioned the decisions when in government are now in the Opposition and are expressing outsized aspirations for higher posts ..hmm.. at the next general elections??.

Really?

Transparency, Justice and Accountability are the virtues that the public demands what we certainly DONOT need are empty rhetoric and promises … The survival of our children and grandchildren depends on it and we have NO right to sacrifice their future through our inaction.

IPS UN Bureau

 

Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau
!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+'://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js';fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, 'script', 'twitter-wjs');  

Excerpt:

Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, PhD, Former President of the Republic of Mauritius

A glamping resort, One Open Sky Glamp, at Mahodand Lake in Swat, Pakistan, shows the lack of snow this winter (2023/4), compared with last year (2022/3). The uncertain weather conditions are having an impact on business. Credit: Noorulhuda Shaheen

By Zofeen Ebrahim
KARACHI, Jan 29 2024 (IPS)

Alpine skier, 28-year-old Muhammad Karim, has spent the winter with his eyes skyward, wishing and hoping for deep and abundant snow.  “My bread and butter depend on the snow,” said the Olympian, who is also a ski trainer, at Naltar Ski Resort, in the valley by the same name nestled in the Gilgit-Baltistan’s Karakoram mountain range.

Heading the ice-hockey and alpine skiing section run by the Ski Federation of Pakistan and with the national skiing competition looming just weeks away (held between February 14 and 20 in Naltar), Karim had been getting sleepless nights as it had not snowed after a slight sprinkling of “half an inch” in November, and there were chances the sporting event would be called off. 

But as predicted by the Meteorological Department, the snowfall began on January 28 and “will continue for a few days,” said Karachi-based Dr. Sardar Sarfaraz, chief meteorologist at the Pakistan Meteorological Department.

But it’s not yet good news.

“It’s too light,” said Karim, talking to IPS over the phone from Naltar. “We are still uncertain about the event,” he added.

Without prolonged cold winter days to follow the snowfall, the snow will melt away, said Sarfaraz, continuing: “Nor will it compensate for the almost 80–90 percent less precipitation the country faced in December and January.”

Snow falls have been late this year, as these photos of a Jeep in Shahi Ground in Kalam, Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa taken in January 2022 and 2024 show. Credit: Khalil Wahab

“It is too little, too late,” said Sher Mohammad, a cryosphere expert at the Nepal-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), over an email exchange.

This year has been quite unusual. It has been an almost snowless winter in the northern region of the Himalayan-Hindukush-Karakoram ranges.

“We usually experience the first snowfall by the end of October in some parts of G-B, and this continues well into March,” said Shehzad Shigri, director of the Gilgit-Baltistan Environmental Protection Agency, speaking to IPS from Gilgit city.

“Winter has been milder,” he said, due to the El Niño effect. The temperatures recorded by the seven weather stations, however, show “an increase by 0.5 degree Centigrade in the region, on average, since 1983, and a decrease of precipitation (rain and snow) by 8.4 mm,” said Shigri.

Arun Bhakta Shrestha, senior climate expert at ICIMOD, underscoring the impact of global warming, explained the “unusual absence of snowfall in the Himalayas, Hindu Kush, and Karakoram this winter, attributing it to “warmer temperatures and fewer cold days and nights.”

“Overall, in Pakistan, nights are getting warmer by 0.5°C, which means we are experiencing, on average, eight to ten fewer cold days,” corroborated Sarfaraz.

A satellite image of the snowfall in the Kalam Valley, Hindu Kush, over the winters of 2024 and 2023. Credit: ICIMOD

 

A satellite visual of the Hunza Valley shows the differences in snowfall over last and this winter. Credit: ICIMOD

 

“This weather anomaly disrupts normal climate patterns, influenced by extreme La Niña-El Niño conditions and alterations to the Western Disturbance [weather systems that cause precipitation in the Western Himalayan region during its winter months]. These shifts, emblematic of the climate crisis, pose a significant threat to mountain communities and water security in the HinduKush-Himalayan region,” warned Shrestha.

But Sarfaraz is adamant El Niño is not to blame for less than average rain.

“Less precipitation in winter isn’t due to El Niño, as it affects the summer and the monsoon rains,” he insisted, saying rains in winter, in Pakistan, are known to have a linkage with the North Atlantic Oscillation, which, “if positive, brings a good amount of rain, and when negative, brings less.”

It is also premature to attribute a one-off snowless winter to ‘climate change,’ as it is not proven scientifically, he added.

Last year, 2023, according to climate scientists, with average temperatures of 1.34–1.54°C, was the hottest year since 1850–1900—the so-called pre-industrial era. Many scientists predict that 2024 could be hotter.

Whether anthropogenic or natural, a change in the fragile mountain ecosystem can have far-reaching consequences for the communities compared to terrestrial ones, Shigri said.

If nights are sleepless, the days have not been any easier for skier Karim. “I spend the day getting weather updates and rescheduling our plans. In between, he said, he is bombarded with phone calls from anxious athletes from all over Pakistan asking whether the event will be held at all.

Artificial snow needed to be added on the slope of Wildbore. Credit: Ski Federation of Pakistan

 

Winter season snowfall over the past 18 years. Credit: Pakistan Meteorological Department

As a backup, the foundation had started making artificial snow. “We had managed to cover 20 percent of the Wildboar slope, where the competition is to be held, but another 30 percent needs to be covered before February 13,” said the trainer. Artificial snow is not only a costly venture; Karim said it also requires a certain temperature, without which the snow will melt. Having glided down natural snow since he was four, he was not too enthused about the imitation.

“You cannot slide as smoothly as you can on natural snow,” he explained.

But Karim is not the only one whose life depends on snow.

Like in Naltar, the bare slope in the ski resort of Malam Jabba, in KP’s Swat district, was being covered with artificial snow to generate some economic activity before it started snowing on the eve of January 27.

“The season has been pretty lean,” admitted Afkaar Hussain, spokesperson of the Malam Jabba Ski Resort. From catering to up to 3,500 customers per day last year, the number has come down to as many as 500 per day, with most arriving over weekends this year.

Hussain said people come from all over Pakistan, sometimes even for the weekend or just a day trip if they are close by, to enjoy snowfall, do skiing, snowboarding, ziplining, or just go up to the hotel at the top of the slope on a chairlift to capture the splendid snow-capped views.

“Last year this place was buzzing; I didn’t know when the day started and ended; this year I have been quite free, but I hope this bout of snow will bring tourists back to town, even though it’s a bit late and the holiday season is over in the plains,” he said.

Kalam, in the Swat Valley, in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where the first snow falls by mid-November and continues well into March, with snow up to eight feet, also got its share of snow on January 27.

“BBQ, endless cups of tea, and enjoying live music around a bonfire is a common sight in Kalam in the winter season,” recalled 30-year-old Noorulhuda Shaheen, adding that the flux of visitors was such that hotel rooms were booked months in advance—back in the day.

Snowfall late in January could be too late to save livelihoods this season. Credit: Noorulhuda Shaheen

Seeing what a roaring business this could be, he decided to open four luxury tented huts (where those with an adventurous streak do ‘glamping’) on the camping site of the famous Mahodand Lake, about an hour and a half jeep-drive from Kalam, in 2022.

“I did great when the spring started, but then in August, the floods dealt a death blow to tourism. Last year there was a good four feet of snow, but due to the county’s economic situation, business did not pick up. This winter season (starting from November 2023–March 2024), I was hoping I’d do well,” said Shaheen.

But till last week, with Kalam giving a deadpan look, it seemed highly unlikely people would go up to Mahodand Lake for glamping. However, he is hopeful about the late arrival of snow.

He hopes that once the snow stops falling and the sun comes out, people will flock to the valley.

“My huts are well equipped to keep tourists warm; it’s just magical out there right now,” he said after visiting the place after the snowfall.

But it is not just a lack of tourists that is worrisome.

The mountain people depend on natural resources for their livelihoods and practice small-scale agriculture. The impact of an almost snowless winter can be devastating for his people, said Shaheen. “It will mean our springs will dry up when the entire population is pastoral and dependent on subsistence farming and rearing livestock.”

A recent blog on ICIMOD’s website explains it best: “Snow cover usually acts as an insulating blanket, shielding dormant crops, allowing root growth, preventing frost penetration, and protecting soil from erosion. Reduced snowfall and erratic rains across the Himalayan region have the potential to cause adverse ecological impacts in the region, including on water and agroforestry.”

But if temperatures rise, which may well happen, as pointed out by Shigri, this late snowfall will be even more problematic. “It will lead to flash flooding and GLOFs (glacial lake outburst flooding) sweeping away homes, orchards, and livestock,” he said.

If this becomes the norm, repeated absences of snowfall may accelerate the receding of glaciers, said Islamabad-based climate change and sustainable development expert Ali Tauqeer Sheikh. “It’s also possible that instead of less water downstream, there could be much larger quantities if there are heat waves in the upper Indus basin. This may cause more early (than historical patterns) and irregular water flows,” he said.

While experts may dither over a sure-shot explanation for the current no-show/very little snow episode, Islamabad-based climate expert Imran Khalid, working with WWF-Pakistan, said these episodes with “either too little or too much precipitation” will continue to be experienced due to global warming.

“Therefore, plans and policies need to be in place to tackle such extreme scenarios.  These should entail enhancing the capacity of local communities to plan as well as utilizing instruments such as insurance mechanisms for an effective response,” he said.

“We should brace for the impacts,” agreed Vaqar Zakaria, the head of Hagler Bailly Pakistan, an environmental consultancy firm based in Islamabad, but rued: “We are not investing in the development of capacities, systems, and infrastructure to improve resilience; less water for crops, pastures, and micro- and even larger hydropower plants is what I would worry about most.”

And, added Sheikh, “Instead of raising alarm bells, we need to study the trends more closely and over longer periods of time rather than one or two seasons only.”.

Still, there are others who say Pakistan, not a major emitter but in the eye of a climate storm, could make a strong case for accessing the Loss and Damage Fund.

“The mechanisms for disbursement of funds (what little is available) are still in their infancy and, as such, cannot be relied upon to address the immediate needs of the communities,” said Khalid.

“I doubt our institutions would be able to submit a good proposal in time,” said Zakaria.

Therefore, said Khalid, with climate aberration episodes likely to recur, Pakistan must develop effective mechanisms for climate adaptation at the local level. “Having an effective adaptation scheme can serve to deter immediate loss and damage,” he pointed out.

Zakaria, however, remained skeptical. For those at the helm, he said, “the poor and vulnerable, hit the hardest by climate change, don’t figure in the resource allocation process.”
IPS UN Bureau Report

This feature is published with the support of Open Society Foundations.

 

Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau
!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+'://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js';fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, 'script', 'twitter-wjs');   Related Articles

• Under the Scorching Sun Kenyan Farmers Find New Ways to Beat Climate Change
• From Chemical Engineer to Climate Justice Avenger: A Journey with Yamide Dagnet
• Watching the Arctic Melt, Meteorologist’s Experience on Icebreaker Oden

Excerpt:

Whether the late snow in Pakistan’s Gilgit-Baltistan region is an anomaly or an indication of the impacts of climate change, which brings erratic and at times devastating weather patterns, experts in the region believe not enough is being invested in the development of capacities, systems, and infrastructure to improve resilience.
 

Credit: IMF

By Allison Holland and Ceyla Pazarbasioglu
WASHINGTON DC, Jan 29 2024 (IPS)

As 2024 starts, the good news is that there haven’t been any notable requests by a low-income country for comprehensive debt relief since Ghana’s, more than a year ago. Despite this, vulnerabilities remain, with high debt servicing costs a growing challenge for low-income countries.

Financing pressures due to relatively high interest payments and the pace at which low-income countries need to repay debt are straining budgets. That prevents these countries from spending more on essential services or the critical investment needed to attract business, create jobs, improve prosperity, and build climate resilience.

One important metric is the share of revenues the government collects from its population through taxes and other fees that goes to pay its foreign creditors. While the scale of the burden differs greatly across countries, it’s generally about two and a half times higher than a decade earlier.

This means for a typical low-income borrower the share has risen to about 14 percent, from about 6 percent, and as much as 25 percent, from about 9 percent in some economies. This is one of the key indicators used in the framework for assessing debt sustainability that signals a country might be at risk of needing financial support from the IMF or of missing a debt payment.

Low-income countries also have significant debt repayments falling due in the next two years. They need to refinance about $60 billion of external debt each year, about three times the average in the decade through 2020.

But with many competing demands for financing, including from advanced and emerging market economies that are also trying to adapt to climate change, there’s a significant risk of a liquidity crunch—failure to raise sufficient financing at an affordable cost. That could in turn lead to a destabilizing debt crisis.

To address this financing challenge, we must understand why it’s happening and what affected countries and the broader international community can do to help.

Exacerbating liquidity squeeze

One factor was higher government borrowing and deficits to mitigate the impact of the pandemic and other external economic shocks. This has increased the level of debt and consequently the cost of servicing it. It’s encouraging that this trend is reversing as countries bring primary deficits back in line with pre-pandemic levels.

In addition, central banks have significantly raised borrowing costs to tame inflation. That makes it costlier for governments to raise new debt or refinance existing debt. While central banks may be done raising rates, it is not clear when they will start to cut, and this uncertainty may be reflected in volatile financial market conditions.

Low-income countries have also increasingly borrowed from the private sector—with about one third of financing coming from private creditors in the last decade compared with about one fifth in the previous decade.

This reflected a slowdown in financing from multilateral development banks (MDBs) in the earlier part of the decade and through official development assistance (ODA) agencies over 2020-22 compared to borrowing needs. This shift has increased both financing costs and vulnerability to global financial shocks.

Avoiding a costly debt crisis

Building resilience in the face of these trends requires countries to act. Some countries have made progress— for instance, Angola,The Gambia, Nigeria, and Zambia have taken steps to implement significant energy subsidy reforms to create space for development spending.

But many are lagging behind, especially in efforts to increase revenues, such as broadening the tax base, reducing tax exemptions, and increasing the efficiency of tax administration.

For instance, the typical Sub-Saharan African country raised only 13 percent of gross domestic product in revenues in 2022, compared with 18 percent in other emerging economies and developing countries and 27 percent in advanced economies.

And those with high debt vulnerabilities can’t afford to wait. Policy reforms are needed to boost growth and capture more revenue from that growth, for instance, through tax reforms. This will directly improve countries’ key debt metrics and ensure they can avoid a costly debt crisis.

However, reforms take time to deliver results, so countries should also proactively work on mobilizing funding at lower costs, in particular grants. For some, this might mean turning to the IMF for help.

This is indeed one of our key roles—helping countries bridge a financing gap while working with them to strengthen their policy frameworks. Other partners, particularly MDBs or providers of ODA, may also be willing to extend financing, especially to support reforms that help address global challenges such as climate.

And official creditors face their own limitations. Efforts to ensure the IMF has sufficient resources to meet our members’ needs, together with efforts to scale-up MDB support, are critical. In the same vein, efforts to protect ODA budgets will ensure the least fortunate have the opportunity to participate more fully in the global economy.

More systemic solutions needed?

It is not yet clear whether country-driven actions and scaled-up multilateral financial support will be sufficient to address these challenges, but some analysts have begun questioning whether a more systemic approach to reprofiling or refinancing debt is needed.

Low-income countries can already seek debt relief through the Group of Twenty’s Common Framework, including to reduce their immediate debt servicing burden. To date the Common Framework has only been used to help countries reduce the level of debt (with the exception of the debt standstill agreed for Ethiopia).

But it was also intended to provide more temporary liquidity relief. However, to be effective in that role would require greater predictability and speed. There has been progress—the agreement on a debt treatment by official creditors for Ghana took less than half the time it took for Chad two years earlier—but continued engagement on technical issues, including through the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable (established last year by the IMF, World Bank and G20), is important.

Overall, the funding squeeze facing low-income countries must be closely monitored. A scenario where sufficient low-cost funding materializes is possible, but there are also scenarios where more ambitious reforms, stronger international cooperation, and faster improvements in the global debt restructuring architecture may be necessary to help them emerge stronger and more resilient.

Chuku Chuku, Neil Shenai and Madi Sarsenbayev contributed to this post.

Source International Monetary Fund (IMF)

IPS UN Bureau

 

Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau
!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+'://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js';fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, 'script', 'twitter-wjs');  

An area of illegal mining activity was raided by the Brazilian Federal Police in the eastern Amazon on Jan. 17, where their precarious installations and housing, as well as their equipment, were destroyed. The fight against illegal mining, especially in indigenous territories, intensified after a new tragedy of deaths of Yanomami indigenous people caused by encroaching garimpeiros or informal miners became headline news. CREDIT: Federal Police

By Mario Osava
RIO DE JANEIRO, Jan 29 2024 (IPS)

Artisanal mining, or “garimpo” as it is known in Brazil, has returned to the headlines as a factor in the deaths of Yanomami indigenous people, whose territory in the extreme north of Brazil suffers constant encroachment by miners, which has intensified in recent years.

In the first few days of the year, Yanomami spokespersons denounced new invasions of their land and the suspension of health services, in addition to the violence committed by miners or “garimpeiros”, which coincided with the fact that the military withdrew from areas they were protecting.

Furthermore, the media published new photos of extremely malnourished children. In response, the government promised to establish permanent posts of health care and protection in the indigenous territory.

“But what they are involved in there is not garimpo but illegal and inhumane mining practices,” said Gilson Camboim, president of the Peixoto River Valley Garimpeiros Cooperative (Coogavepe), which defends the activity as environmentally and socially sustainable when properly carried out.

“Garimpo is mining recognized by the Brazilian constitution, with its own legislation, which pays taxes, is practiced with an environmental license and respects the laws, employs many workers, strengthens the economy and distributes income,” he told IPS by telephone from the headquarters of his cooperative in Peixoto de Azevedo, a town of 33,000 people in the northern state of Mato Grosso.

Coogavepe was founded in 2008 with 23 members. Today it has 7,000 members and seeks to promote legal garimpo and environmental practices, such as the restoration of areas degraded by mining.

But it is difficult to salvage the reputation of this legal part of an activity whose damage is demonstrated by photos of emaciated children and families decimated by hunger and malaria, because the encroachment of miners pollutes rivers, kills fish and introduces diseases to which indigenous people are vulnerable because they have not developed immune defenses.

Garimpeiros and indigenous deaths

The humanitarian tragedy among the Yanomami people became big news in January 2023 when Sumaúma, an Amazonian online media outlet, denounced the deaths of 570 children under five years of age, due to malnutrition and preventable diseases, during the far-right government of former president Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022).

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who took office on Jan. 1, 2023, visited Yanomami territory and mobilized his government to care for the sick and expel illegal miners, destroying their equipment and camps. But a year later, the resumption of mining activity and a resurgence of hunger and deaths were reported.

Moreover, the entire extractivist sector has a terrible reputation due to tragedies caused by industrial mining. Two tailings dams broke in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais in 2015 and 2019, killing 289 people and muddying an 853-kilometer-long river and a 510-kilometer-long river.

Brazil is the world’s second largest producer of iron ore, following Australia. Iron ore is the main focus of industrial mining in the country.

Garimpo is mainly dedicated to gold, and accounts for 86 percent of its production. Garimpeiros also produce cassiterite (the mineral from which tin ore is extracted) and precious stones, such as emeralds and diamonds. Its major expansion, many decades ago, was along rivers in the Amazon jungle, to the detriment of indigenous peoples and tropical forests.

Indigenous people protest in the state of Roraima in northern Brazil against the invasion of Yanomami territory by garimpeiros or artisanal miners, who often practice illegally. CREDIT: Alberto César Araújo / Amazônia Real

Threat to the environment and health

Currently, 97.7 percent of the area occupied in Brazil by artisanal mining is in the Amazon rainforest, where it reaches 101,100 hectares, according to MapBiomas, a project launched by non-governmental organizations, universities and technology companies to monitor Brazilian biomes using satellite images and other data sources.

The production of gold uses mercury, which has contaminated many Amazonian rivers and a large part of their riverside population, including indigenous groups, such as the Munduruku people, who live in the basin of the Tapajós River, one of the great tributaries of the Amazon with an extension of 2,700 kilometers.

Garimpo dumps about 150 tons of mercury in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest every year, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) estimates. The fear is that the tragedy of Minamata, the Japanese city where mercury dumped by a chemical industry in the mid-20th century killed about 900 people and caused neurological damage in tens of thousands, may be repeated here.

Brazil produced 94.6 tons of gold in 2022, according to the National Mining Agency. But the way it is extracted varies greatly, based mainly on informal mining, of which illegal mining makes up an unknown percentage.

Three prices govern this production, according to Armin Mathis, a professor at the Núcleo de Altos Estudos Amazónicos of the Federal University of Pará, who lives in Belém, the capital of this Amazonian state, with 1.3 million inhabitants.

The price of gold in Brazil; the price of diesel, which represents a third of the cost of gold mining; and the cost of labor are the three elements that determine whether the garimpo business is profitable, the German-born PhD in political science, who has been studying this activity since he arrived in Brazil in 1987, explained to IPS from Belém.

This mining was in fact artisanal, but it began to use machines, especially the backhoe, in the 1980s, which is why diesel increased its costs. And unemployment and periods of economic recession, in the 1980s and in 2015-2016, made garimpo more attractive.

In those periods and the following years, invasions of Yanomami territory, which also extends through the state of Amazonas in southwestern Venezuela, became more massive and aggressive. But the consequences for the native people living in vast areas of the rainforest only become news on some occasions, like now.

Small airplanes seized by police and environmental authorities were at the service of illegal miners in Roraima, an Amazonian state in the extreme north of Brazil. This is where most of the Yanomami Indians live, currently the main victims of illegal, mechanized mining. CREDIT: Federal Police

From artisanal to mechanization

Mechanization has restructured the activity. Machines are expensive and require financiers. Entrepreneurs have emerged to manage the now more complex operations, as well as others who only own and rent out the equipment.

In addition, the owners of small airplanes that supply the mining areas and facilitate the trade of the extracted gold became more powerful. The hierarchy of the business has expanded.

“We must differentiate between garimpo and the garimpeiros. This is not a rhetorical distinction. The garimpeiro, who works directly in the extraction of gold, is more a victim than a perpetrator of illegal, predatory and criminal mining. The person responsible lives far away and gets rich by exploiting workers in slavery-like labor relations,” observed Mauricio Torres, a geographer and professor at the Federal University of Pará.

“The garimpeiro, depicted as a criminal by the media, pays for the damage,” he told IPS by telephone from Belém.

The workers recognize that they are exploited, but feel that they are a partner of the garimpo owner, as they earn a percentage of the gold obtained. They work hard because the more they work, the more they earn.

A large part of the garimpeiros along the Tapajós River, where this kind of mining has been practiced since the middle of the last century, are actually landless peasant farmers who supplement their income in the garimpo business, when agriculture or fishing does not provide what they need to support their families, Torres explained.

Therefore, agrarian reform and other government initiatives that offer sufficient income to this population could reduce the pressure of the garimpo on the environment in the Amazon rainforest, which affects the region’s indigenous and traditional peoples, he said.

The situation of the garimpeiros also differs according to the areas where they work in the Amazon jungle, Mathis pointed out. In the Tapajós River, where the activity has been taking place for a longer period of time and is already legal in large part, coexistence is better with the indigenous Munduruku people, some of whom also became garimpeiros.

In Roraima, a state in the extreme north on the border with Venezuela and Guyana, where a large part of the territory is made up of indigenous reserves, illegal mining is widespread and includes the more or less violent invasion of Yanomami lands.

On the other hand, as the local economy depends on gold, the population’s support for garimpo, even illegal and more invasive practices, is broader than elsewhere. There, former president Bolsonaro, a supporter of garimpo, won 76 percent of the votes in the 2022 runoff election in which he was defeated by Lula.

Another component that aggravates the violence surrounding garimpo and, therefore, the crackdown on the activity, is the expansion of drug trafficking in the Amazon rainforest. The informality of the mining industry has facilitated its relationship with organized crime, whether in the drug trade or money laundering, said Mathis from Belém.

Credit: Vladimir Zivojinovic/Getty Images

By Andrew Firmin
LONDON, Jan 26 2024 (IPS)

Serbia’s December 2023 elections saw the ruling party retain power – but amid a great deal of controversy.

Civil society has cried foul about irregularities in the parliamentary election, but particularly the municipal election in the capital, Belgrade. In recent times Belgrade has been a hotbed of anti-government protests. That’s one of the reasons it’s suspicious that the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) came first in the city election.

Allegations are that the SNS had ruling party supporters from outside Belgrade temporarily register as city residents so they could cast votes. On election day, civil society observers documented large-scale movements of people into Belgrade, from regions where municipal elections weren’t being held and from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro. Civil society documented irregularities at 14 per cent of Belgrade voting stations. Many in civil society believe this made the crucial difference in stopping the opposition winning.

The main opposition coalition, Serbia Against Violence (SPN), which made gains but finished second, has rejected the results. It’s calling for a rerun, with proper safeguards to prevent any repeat of irregularities.

Thousands have taken to the streets of Belgrade to protest about electoral manipulation, rejecting the violation of the most basic principle of democracy – that the people being governed have the right to elect their representatives.

Facts that can’t be ignored: Serbian NGO @CRTArs has just published its latest findings on the election in #Serbia & #Belgrade. According to CRTA, there was an "organised migration of voters", which had a decisive influence on the close result of the election in Belgrade. https://t.co/a8POlE5VTy

— Andreas Schieder (@SCHIEDER) December 23, 2023

A history of violations

The SNS has held power since 2012. It blends economic neoliberalism with social conservatism and populism, and has presided over declining respect for civic space and media freedoms. In recent years, Serbian environmental activists have been subjected to physical attacks. President Aleksandar Vučić attempted to ban the 2022 EuroPride LGBTQI+ rights march. Journalists have faced public vilification, intimidation and harassment. Far-right nationalist and anti-rights groups have flourished and also target LGBTQI+ people, civil society and journalists.

The SNS has a history of electoral irregularities. The December 2023 vote was a snap election, called just over a year and a half since the previous vote in April 2022, which re-elected Vučić as president. In 2022, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) pointed to an ‘uneven playing field’, characterised by close ties between major media outlets and the government, misuse of public resources, irregularities in campaign financing and pressure on public sector staff to support the SNS.

These same problems were seen in December 2023. Again, the OSCE concluded there’d been systemic SNS advantages. Civil society observers found evidence of vote buying, political pressure on voters, breaches of voting security and pressure on election observers. During the campaign, civil society groups were vilified, opposition officials were subjected to physical and verbal attacks and opposition rallies were prevented.

But the ruling party has denied everything. It’s slurred civil society for calling out irregularities, accusing activists of trying to destabilise Serbia.

Backdrop of protests

The latest vote was called following months of protests against the government. These were sparked by anger at two mass shootings in May 2023 in which 17 people were killed.

The shootings focused attention on the high number of weapons still in circulation after the wars that followed the break-up of Yugoslavia and the growing normalisation of violence, including by the government and its supporters.

Protesters accused state media of promoting violence and called for leadership changes. They also demanded political resignations, including of education minister Branko Ružić, who disgracefully tried to blame the killings on ‘western values’ before being forced to quit. Prime Minister Ana Brnabić blamed foreign intelligence services for fuelling protests. State media poured abuse on protesters.

These might have seemed odd circumstances for the SNS to call elections. But election campaigns have historically played to Vučić’s strengths as a campaigner and give him some powerful levers, with normal government activities on hold and the machinery of the state and associated media at his disposal.

Only this time it seems the SNS didn’t think all its advantages would be quite enough and, in Belgrade at least, upped its electoral manipulation to the point where it became hard to ignore.

East and west

There’s little pressure from Serbia’s partners to both east and west. Its far-right and socially conservative forces are staunchly pro-Russia, drawing on ideas of a greater Slavic identity. Russian connections run deep. In the last census, 85 per cent of people identified themselves as affiliated with the Serbian Orthodox Church, strongly in the sway of its Russian counterpart, in turn closely integrated with Russia’s repressive machinery.

The Serbian government relies on Russian support to prevent international recognition of Kosovo. Russian officials were only too happy to characterise post-election protests as western attempts at unrest, while Prime Minister Brnabić thanked Russian intelligence services for providing information on planned opposition activities.

But states that sit between the EU and Russia are being lured on both sides. Serbia is an EU membership candidate. The EU wants to keep it onside and stop it drifting closer to Russia, so EU states have offered little criticism.

Serbia keeps performing its balancing act, gravitating towards Russia while doing just enough to keep in with the EU. In the 2022 UN resolution on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it voted to condemn Russia’s aggression and suspend it from the Human Rights Council. But it’s resisted calls to impose sanctions on Russia and in 2022 signed a deal with Russia to consult on foreign policy issues.

The European Parliament is at least prepared to voice concerns. In a recent debate, many of its members pointed to irregularities and its observation mission noted problems including media bias, phantom voters and vilification of election observers.

Other EU institutions should acknowledge what happened in Belgrade. They should raise concerns about electoral manipulation and defend democracy in Serbia. To do so, they need to support and work with civil society. An independent and enabled civil society will bring much-needed scrutiny and accountability. This must be non-negotiable for the EU.

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

 

Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau
!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+'://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js';fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, 'script', 'twitter-wjs');  

The International Court of Justice orders Israel to “take all measures within its power” to prevent further bloodshed in Gaza in line with Genocide Convention obligations. The Court also calls for the immediate release of all hostages. The order was read by the Judge Joan E Donoghue, President of the Court. Credit: UN

By Cecilia Russell
JOHANNESBURG, Jan 26 2024 (IPS)

The International Court of Justice today told Israel to take all measures within its power to prevent a genocide in the Gaza Strip.

Judge Joan E. Donoghue, the court’s president, read the order directing the State of Israel to abide by temporary measures to stop the humanitarian crisis facing the Palestinian population in Gaza from worsening.

Donoghue said that the facts and circumstances were sufficient to conclude that some of the “rights claimed by South Africa and for which it is seeking protection (for the Palestinian people in Gaza) were plausible.”

The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the main court of the United Nations, issued its ruling in the case South Africa submitted regarding the application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip. You can read the full order here. 

“The court is not called upon for purposes of its decision on the request for the indication of provisional measures to establish the existence of breaches of obligations under the Genocide Convention, but to determine whether the circumstances require the indication of provisional measures for the protection of rights under that instrument,” she explained.

Quoting from UN General Assembly Resolution 96 of December 11, 1946, she said genocide shocks “the conscience of mankind.”

Before going through the list of provisional measures, she quoted high-profile members of the United Nations, including its Secretary General, António Guterres, who warned the Security Council on December 6, 2023, that health care in Gaza was collapsing.

“Nowhere is safe in Gaza, amid constant bombardment by the Israel Defense Forces and without shelter or the essentials to survive. I expect public order to break to completely break down soon, due to the desperate conditions rendering even limited humanitarian assistance impossible.”

He then went on to warn that the situation could get worse, “including epidemic diseases and increased pressure for mass displacement into neighboring countries. We are facing a severe risk of the collapse of the humanitarian system. The situation is fast deteriorating into a catastrophe, with potentially irreversible implications for Palestinians as a whole.”

Donoghue told the court that it considers the rights in question in the proceeding plausible.

“The court considers that the plausible rights in question in this proceeding, namely, the right of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to be protected from acts of genocide and related prohibited acts identified in Article 3 of the Genocide Convention and the right of South Africa to seek Israel’s compliance with the latter’s obligation under the convention, are of such a nature that prejudiced them and was “capable of causing irreparable harm.”

She pointed out that the provisional measures didn’t have to match those South Africa requested.

In terms of the order:

• Israel must, in accordance with its obligations under the Genocide Convention, take all measures within its power to prevent the commission of all acts within the scope of Article 2 of the Convention, which deals with the destruction of a group in whole or in part. This includes killing groups of members of the group, causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group, and deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part. It was also prevented from imposing measures that were intended to prevent births within the group. Article 2
• The court further considered that Israel must ensure, with immediate effect, that its military forces do not commit any of the acts designed to destroy a group, and the State of Israel must take measures within its power to prevent and punish the direct and public incitement to commit genocide in relation to the members of the Palestinian group in the Gaza Strip.
• The court ordered Israel to take immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance to address the adverse conditions of life faced by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
• Israel must also take effective measures to prevent the destruction and ensure the preservation of evidence related to allegations of acts within the scope of Articles 2 and 3 of the Genocide Convention against members of the Palestinian group in the Gaza Strip.
• Israel must submit a report to the court on all measures taken to give effect to the order within one month of the order. “The report so provided shall then be communicated to South Africa.

“The court reaffirms the decision given in the present proceedings and in no way prejudges the question of the jurisdiction of the court to deal with the merits of the case or any questions related to the admissibility of the application or to the merits themselves.”

She added that the court was gravely concerned about the fate of the hostages abducted during the attack in Israel on October 7, 2023, and held since then by Hamas and other armed groups, and called for their immediate and unconditional release.

 

Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau
!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+'://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js';fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, 'script', 'twitter-wjs');   Related Articles

• South Africa’s Genocide Case Flawed, Premature, Inaccurate, says Israel
• Palestine: Nothing Can Justify Genocide, It’s Not the Time for Silence