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<title>Rising Temperatures Drive Human-Wildlife Conflict in Zimbabwe</title>
<link>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/05/rising-temperatures-drive-human-wildlife-conflict-in-zimbabwe/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rising-temperatures-drive-human-wildlife-conflict-in-zimbabwe</link>
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<pubDate>Fri, 17 May 2024 08:05:50 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Ignatius Banda</dc:creator>
<category><![CDATA[Africa]]></category>
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<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.ipsnews.net/?p=185395</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Rising temperatures are being blamed for an increase in human-wildlife conflicts in Zimbabwe as animals such as snakes leave their natural habitat earlier than usual. High temperatures have also given rise to early fire seasons, driving wild animals into human-populated areas, authorities say, placing the lives of many in danger in a country with already […]]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<img width="300" height="225" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/20211024_061052-300x225.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="Dry conditions and extreme heat are changing natural wildlife habitat and behavior.Credit: Ignatius Banda/IPS" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/20211024_061052-300x225.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/20211024_061052-629x472.jpg 629w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/20211024_061052-200x149.jpg 200w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/20211024_061052.jpg 630w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Dry conditions and extreme heat are changing natural wildlife habitat and behavior. Credit: Ignatius Banda/IPSBy Ignatius Banda BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe, May 17 2024 (IPS) Rising temperatures are being blamed for an increase in human-wildlife conflicts in Zimbabwe as animals such as snakes leave their natural habitat earlier than usual.
High temperatures have also given rise to early fire seasons, driving wild animals into human-populated areas, authorities say, placing the lives of many in danger <a href="https://www.newsday.co.zw/amp/local-news/article/200019146/zim-faces-drug-shortages/">in a country with already compromised health services</a>.
This is also happening at a time when agencies such as the <a href="https://www.who.int./teams/environment-climate-change-and-health/climate-change-and-health/">World Health Organization are highlighting the link between climate change and health</a> and calling for increased research.
Globally, unprecedented <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/environment/2023719-extreme-heat-sparks-wildfires-health-warnings-around-the-world/">high temperatures are being blamed for devastating wildfires</a>, and low income African countries such as Zimbabwe that are bearing the brunt of climate change have not been spared.
At the beginning of the year, <a href="https://www.chronicle.co.zw/zim-records-141-snake-bites-in-one-week/">Zimbabwe’s health ministry reported a spike in the number of snake bites</a> as snakes moved into areas inhabited by humans.
Residents witnessing the upsurge of snakes within residential areas say this has coincided with extreme heat being experienced across the country, while snake catchers in the country’s cities are also recording booming business.
<a href="https://www.zimparks.org.zw/human-wildlife-conflict.html">Wildlife authorities say disappearing natural habitat for wildlife</a> has led to increasing endangerment for humans, while climate researchers have noted a link between rising temperatures and snake attacks.
The Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Authority (Zimparks) says brumation, the period snakes spend in hibernation, has been shortened by extended, unusually high temperatures as snakes move from their hiding places earlier than during normal seasonal temperatures.
Shorter winters and longer days have also become normal in a rapidly changing global climate, researchers note, forcing wildlife to adapt and, in some circumstances, move to human-populated areas.
This has led to a record number of snake bites, says Tinashe Farawo, the parks and wildlife spokesperson.
High temperatures in Zimbabwe are also being <a href="https://www.conservezim.com/2023/05/15/zimbabwe-records-60-spike-of-veld-incidents-and-deaths/">blamed for extended fire seasons</a> as dry conditions provide ideal conditions for the spread of veld fires.
And as the veld fires spread, dangerous wildlife such as snakes seek safety elsewhere, further endangering the lives of humans, Zimparks officials say.
Affected communities, however, find themselves in a fix regarding how to deal with this climate driven phenomenon.
<a href="https://www.herald.co.zw/zim-gazettes-laws-to-protect-animals/">It is a punishable offence in Zimbabwe to kill wildlife</a> and protected snake species even when humans feel their lives are threatened, highlighting the impact and complexity of climate change on biodiversity and ecological balance.
“As ecosystems change, people and wildlife roam farther in search of food, water and resources. The issue of human-wildlife conflict in Zimbabwe is increasingly gaining traction,” said Washington Zhakata, climate change management director in the environment ministry.
“Rising temperatures are affecting vegetation, food sources, access to water and much more. Ecosystems are gradually becoming uninhabitable for certain animals, forcing wildlife to migrate outside of their usual patterns in search of food and liveable conditions,” Zhakata told IPS.
Zimbabwe has in recent months <a href="https://www.chronicle.co.zw/extremely-high-temperatures-that-threaten-health-recorded-in-zimbabwe">registered record high temperatures</a> that have affected everything from crops to people’s health, at a time when global temperatures have also soared, triggering a raft of environmental, social, economic, and health challenges.
Researchers have noted that global warming has over the years disrupted biodiversity, forcing wildlife to move to more habitable regions, and, in the process, upsetting natural ecosystems.
“In many parts of sub-Saharan Africa, during periods of drought, people and their livestock are competing with wildlife for diminishing resources,” said Nikhil Advani, senior director of wildlife and climate resilience at the World Wildlife Fund.
Amid the challenges brought by climatic shifts, experts say improved interventions are needed to navigate increasing human-wildlife conflict.
Despite all evidence, least-developed countries such as Zimbabwe have struggled to mobilize and channel resources towards climate management programmes, exposing both humans and wildlife to open conflict.
“There are a number of interventions that can help mitigate human-wildlife conflict, for example, predator-proof bomas (safe areas) and early warning systems for wild animals in the area. One key thing is that communities need to see the benefits of living with wildlife,” Advani said.
While Zimbabwe has the Communal Areas Management for Indigenous Resources (CAMPFIRE) aimed at helping address issues such as human-wildlife conflict, <a href="https://www.sundaymail.co.zw/campfire-serving-no-purpose/">broader issues</a> that include the impact of climate change on ecology remain unaddressed, affected communities say.
“Initiatives like eco-tourism are an excellent way for communities to see the benefits of living with wildlife, as long as the tourism ventures have strong inclusion of local communities throughout the value chain,” Advani added.
With climate researchers warning that the globe will continue warming, concerns linger about the long-term impact of climate change on human-wildlife conflict as communities struggle to normalize cohabiting with dangerous animals.
“Already today we face an exponential increase, compared to 30 years ago, in climate and weather-related natural disasters. These disasters are causing catastrophic loss of life and habitat for people, pets, and wildlife,” Zhakata said.
IPS UN Bureau Report
 
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<title>Women Organize to Fight Coastal Erosion in Southeastern Brazil</title>
<link>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/05/women-organize-to-fight-coastal-erosion-in-southeastern-brazil/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=women-organize-to-fight-coastal-erosion-in-southeastern-brazil</link>
<comments>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/05/women-organize-to-fight-coastal-erosion-in-southeastern-brazil/#respond</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 17 May 2024 07:13:40 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Mario Osava</dc:creator>
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<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.ipsnews.net/?p=185347</guid>
<description><![CDATA[<img src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2023/09/BURNING-PLANET-illustration_text_100_2.jpg" alt="" width="100" height="108" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-181966" />
 
Sonia Ferreira watched as the sea toppled buildings all around her for years. Finally, the impact of the rise in sea levels wrecked her home in 2019. Fishermen find their access to a fishing port limited, affecting their livelihoods. The residents of the coastal town of Atafona in southeastern Brazil count their losses due to rising sea levels and climate change.
]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<img width="300" height="225" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/a-2-300x225.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="A view of the port of Atafona's fishing boats on the Paraíba do Sul River. The sedimentation of the mouth of the river makes it difficult for larger vessels to enter and they have started to operate in ports in other locations, with additional costs and losses for the economy of Atafona. CREDIT: Mario Osava / IPS" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/a-2-300x225.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/a-2-768x576.jpg 768w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/a-2-629x472.jpg 629w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/a-2-200x149.jpg 200w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/a-2.jpg 976w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />A view of the port of Atafona's fishing boats on the Paraíba do Sul River. The sedimentation of the mouth of the river makes it difficult for larger vessels to enter and they have started to operate in ports in other locations, with additional costs and losses for the economy of Atafona. Credit: Mario Osava/IPSBy Mario Osava ATAFONA, Brazil , May 17 2024 (IPS) Coastal erosion has been aggravated by climate change and has already destroyed more than 500 houses in the town of Atafona in southeastern Brazil. Movements led largely by women are working to combat the advance of the sea and generate economic alternatives.
Atafona, one of the six districts of<a href="https://www.sjb.rj.gov.br/home"> São João da Barra</a>, a municipality of 37,000 inhabitants, is 310 kilometers by road northeast of Rio de Janeiro. It is a town with its own identity. Fishermen, who were joined by middle-class families from nearby large cities, built their vacation homes there.
Sonia Ferreira did so in 1980, when she lived in Rio de Janeiro. She moved permanently to Atafona in 1997, when she witnessed the disappearance of the three blocks that separated her house from the beach. In 2008, she saw the town’s tallest building—four stories—collapse across the street from her house.
She has photos recording the downfall of the building that housed a supermarket and a bakery on the first floor and a hotel upstairs. Her house would have been the next victim, but the sea granted her an 11-year grace period. “I will only leave when the wall around the house falls,” she would tell her family when they pressured her to move to a safer place.
<div id="attachment_185349" style="width: 639px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="wp-image-185349" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/aa-1.jpg" alt="Sonia Ferreira, 79, president of SOS Atafona, stands next to what is left of the rubble of a four-story building, toppled by the sea in 2008. CREDIT: Mario Osava / IPS" width="629" height="472" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/aa-1.jpg 976w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/aa-1-300x225.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/aa-1-768x576.jpg 768w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/aa-1-629x472.jpg 629w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/aa-1-200x149.jpg 200w" sizes="(max-width: 629px) 100vw, 629px" />Sonia Ferreira, 79, the president of SOS Atafona, stands next to the remains of a four-story building that the sea toppled in 2008. Credit: Mario Osava/IPS</div>
But from 2019 to 2022, the sea level started to rise again. “In 2019, the first piece of the wall fell. I fixed up the little house at the back of the lot and moved in, but I kept the big house with the furniture until 2022, when the water reached the house and the floor gave way,” she told IPS at her current home, near her daughter’s house.
“The sea does not hit in overpowering waves, but erodes the sandy soil, infiltrates underneath the buildings, undermines their structures, and the house is basically left hanging in the air,” she described.
In late 2022, she decided to demolish the “big house” in a painful process after sadly seeing the wall fall down in pieces. But then she could not live in the small house in the backyard, which was invaded by a large amount of sand, so she was taken in by her daughter. Widowed, she has two other children who live abroad.
At the age of 79, Sonia Ferreira channels her love for the area as president of SOS Atafona, an association with about 200 active residents, mostly women, who debate and lobby the public authorities for solutions to stop the advance of the sea and other problems in the neighborhood.
<div id="attachment_185350" style="width: 639px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="wp-image-185350" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/aaa-2.jpg" alt="Sonia Ferreira stands in front of what was left of her home, which she decided to demolish in 2022, after coastal erosion knocked down its outer walls and washed out the sandy base, leaving just columns. CREDIT: Mario Osava / IPS" width="629" height="472" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/aaa-2.jpg 976w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/aaa-2-300x225.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/aaa-2-768x576.jpg 768w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/aaa-2-629x472.jpg 629w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/aaa-2-200x149.jpg 200w" sizes="(max-width: 629px) 100vw, 629px" />Sonia Ferreira stands in front of what was left of her home, which she decided to demolish in 2022 after coastal erosion knocked down its outer walls and washed out the sandy base, leaving just columns. Credit: Mario Osava/IPS</div>
Fishermen Suffer Climate Injustice
“Fishermen have been hit the hardest,” she said, as vacationers have resources such as other homes.
The original settlers are the main victims of climate injustice in Atafona. The rising sea level and the intensification of the northeast wind not only destroyed their houses but also exacerbated the siltation at the mouth of the Paraíba do Sul River, limiting the access of boats to the fishing port on the river through a narrow channel.
Faced with the difficulties, the larger vessels prefer to deliver their fish to distant ports, some 100 kilometers to the north or south, at the expense of the local economy, lamented Elialdo Mirelles, president of the São João da Barra Fishermen’s Colony.
<div id="attachment_185352" style="width: 639px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="wp-image-185352" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/aaaa-1.jpg" alt="The president of the São João da Barra Fishing Colony, Elialdo Meirelles, is photographed at the repair port for fishing boats on the Paraiba do Sul River, near its mouth. CREDIT: Mario Osava / IPS" width="629" height="472" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/aaaa-1.jpg 976w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/aaaa-1-300x225.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/aaaa-1-768x576.jpg 768w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/aaaa-1-629x472.jpg 629w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/aaaa-1-200x149.jpg 200w" sizes="(max-width: 629px) 100vw, 629px" />The president of the São João da Barra Fishing Colony, Elialdo Meirelles, is photographed at the repair port for fishing boats on the Paraiba do Sul River, near its mouth. Credit: Mario Osava/IPS</div>
Meirelles estimates that about 400 fishing families lost their homes on Convivência Island, which was in the Paraíba do Sul River delta, where the problems began.
Only 200 families were given new houses by the government, while the rest were dispersed or have been living for years with the benefit of “social rent,” a small sum from the municipality to help pay for rental housing.
That is why he believes that the houses engulfed by the sea in the entire area numbered much more than the 500 or so estimated by the city government and that the erosion actually began before the 1960s, which is the time frame indicated by researchers.
<div id="attachment_185353" style="width: 639px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="wp-image-185353" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/aaaaa.jpg" alt="Dunes are growing and threatening the streets and coastal housing in a part of Atafona beach, after the sea and sand destroyed more than 500 houses on the beach closest to the mouth of the Paraiba do Sul river. CREDIT: Mario Osava / IPS" width="629" height="472" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/aaaaa.jpg 976w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/aaaaa-300x225.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/aaaaa-768x576.jpg 768w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/aaaaa-629x472.jpg 629w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/aaaaa-200x149.jpg 200w" sizes="(max-width: 629px) 100vw, 629px" />Dunes are growing and threatening the streets and coastal housing in a part of Atafona Beach after the sea and sand destroyed more than 500 houses on the beach closest to the mouth of the Paraiba do Sul river. Credit: Mario Osava/IPS</div>
“I was born on Convivencia Island in 1960, where my grandfather and father lived. My father lost two houses there, I lost two, and two of my brothers lost one each. The northeast wind was the cause,” he said. In 1976, the government began to remove settlers from the island, and the last ones left in the 1990s.
Then many families living in Pontal, the end point of the river’s right bank, also lost their homes. “Five streets were submerged,” he noted. As the island disappeared, that mainland area lost a barrier against the wind, he said."The sea does not hit in overpowering waves, but erodes the sandy soil, infiltrates underneath the buildings, undermines their structures, and the house is basically left hanging in the air." —Sonia Ferreira 
Meirelles, who sought a new home away from the shoreline on his own, represents 680 registered fishermen in his entire municipality of São João da Barra, 56 percent of whom are from Atafona.
Causes of coastal erosion
“Climate change definitely aggravated the problem unleashed by several factors, especially human action that reduced the river’s flow,” said Eduardo Bulhões, marine geographer and professor at the <a href="https://www.uff.br/">Fluminense Federal University</a>.
The main factor was the transfer of water from the Paraiba do Sul river to the Guandu river system, which supplies nine million inhabitants of outlying areas of Rio de Janeiro and was inaugurated in 1954. Since then, there have been expansions that have drastically reduced the flow of water in the river that runs into Atafona.
The river rises near São Paulo and crosses almost the entire state of Rio de Janeiro—in other words, a densely populated area of 1,137 km. Its waters, destined for other cities, industries, and hydroelectric generation, lost the volume and strength to carry sediment to the delta at the mouth as a barrier against the sea.
In addition to engulfing Convivencia Island and many blocks of Atafona, the sea advanced upstream, salinizing many kilometers of water table and affecting the municipality’s water supply.
The collapse of houses due to erosion is also caused by their irregular construction on dunes that have always existed in the town and are growing on part of the beach, said Bulhões.
The northeast wind, which is intensified by climate change and pushes the waters that erode the constructions and the sands that threaten to clog the coastal road and nearby houses, contributes to this, he said.
A solution to coastal erosion depends on studies to identify long-term feasibility and effectiveness, and the city government is preparing terms of reference to contract the studies, reported Marcela Toledo, São João da Barra’s secretary of environment and public services.
Women-led projects
This municipality is also located in an area impacted by oil exploration in the Campos basin, offshore Rio de Janeiro state. Due to environmental requirements, the state-owned oil company Petrobras, the main explorer, is financing the Pescarte Environmental Education Project to mitigate and compensate for these impacts, carried out by the <a href="https://uenf.br/portal/">North Fluminense State University (UENF)</a>.
In the project, which is focused on fishing as the most affected activity, women constitute the vast majority. The main proposals approved were refrigeration plants, industrial kitchens, fishmeal factories and processing plants, said Geraldo Timoteo, a professor at the UENF and the head of Pescarte.
In the Pescarte team, initially looking at environmental education and now at production, 48 out of a total of 59 employees are women. Of the 14 supervisors, 11 are women.
<div id="attachment_185354" style="width: 639px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="wp-image-185354" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/aaaaaaa.jpg" alt="Fernanda Pires, an activist seeking solutions that add value to fish, runs the Arte Peixe cooperative, which produces eight types of fish and shrimp snacks in Atafona, Brazil. CREDIT: Mario Osava / IPS." width="629" height="472" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/aaaaaaa.jpg 976w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/aaaaaaa-300x225.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/aaaaaaa-768x576.jpg 768w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/aaaaaaa-629x472.jpg 629w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/aaaaaaa-200x149.jpg 200w" sizes="(max-width: 629px) 100vw, 629px" />Fernanda Pires, an activist seeking solutions that add value to fish, runs the Arte Peixe cooperative, which produces eight types of fish and shrimp snacks in Atafona, Brazil. Credit: Mario Osava/IPS.</div>
The organization of artisanal fishermen and their families is the central objective of the long-term (2014–2035) project. It also seeks to increase income through expanding the use of fish and providing better access to markets and cooperatives.
Now the idea is to promote aquaculture based on experiments conducted at the UENF.
Pescarte has also accumulated knowledge about the world of fishermen. It conducted two censuses in the 10 participating municipalities in 2016 and 2023, Timoteo told IPS.
In the second one, 46 percent of the people interviewed were women and 21 percent of them were responsible for 100 percent of the family income. In 37.9 percent of the cases, they shared this responsibility with their husbands.
Fernanda Pires is one of the participants of Pescarte in Atafona. Her activism for fish processing as a way of adding value is reflected in her practice as leader of the Arte Peixe cooperative, which produces eight types of fish and shrimp snacks.
Founded in 2006 by her mother, Arte Peixe has 20 female members, seven of whom work directly in production. The profits are limited, serving as a supplement to the main income obtained from other work or employment. Pires is a municipal employee, but new markets open up prospects for better profits in the future.
The leading role played by women in overcoming the problems in Atafona, threatened by coastal erosion and the decline in fishing, is perhaps due to the fact that “they study more, and have greater concern for the future, and a stronger sense of community,” said Bulhões.
In Pescarte, its directors observe that while men prioritize fishing in itself, upgrading their boats and equipment, and are absent from the city, spending more and more time at sea every day, women take care of processing the fish, sales and adding value; that is, they focus more on the future of the activity and of their lives.
IPS UN Bureau Report
Note: This feature is published with the support of Open Society Foundations. 
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<title>More Diversified Trade Can Make Middle East & Central Asia More Resilient</title>
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<pubDate>Fri, 17 May 2024 06:13:31 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Jihad Azour</dc:creator>
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<description><![CDATA[Dislocations from the pandemic, geoeconomic fragmentation, and Russia’s war in Ukraine have shifted world trade dynamics. While this has created challenges, the redirection of trade has also generated new opportunities, particularly for the Caucasus and Central Asia. Since the war began, the region’s economies have shown continued resilience and trade activity in many countries has […]]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<img width="300" height="169" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/More-Diversified_-300x169.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/More-Diversified_-300x169.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/More-Diversified_.jpg 624w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Credit: WTOBy Jihad Azour WASHINGTON DC, May 17 2024 (IPS) Dislocations from the pandemic, geoeconomic fragmentation, and Russia’s war in Ukraine have shifted world trade dynamics. While this has created challenges, the redirection of trade has also generated new opportunities, particularly for the Caucasus and Central Asia.

Since the war began, the region’s economies have shown continued resilience and trade activity in many countries has surged, fueled in part by alternative trade routes. In 2022, Armenia, Georgia, and the Kyrgyz Republic saw their share of trade excluding oil and gas with major partners such as China, the European Union, Russia, and the United States rise as much as 60 percent. 
Hence, despite some moderation, gross domestic product growth in the Caucasus and Central Asia is projected to remain robust at 3.9 percent in 2024 before picking up to 4.8 percent in 2025.
Trade volumes between China and Europe via Central Asia have more than quadrupled. Though this route, known as the Middle Corridor, represents a small fraction of overall trade between China and Europe, it holds significant promise for economic development in the Caucasus and Central Asia and its integration into global supply chains.
Shifting trade patterns have also opened opportunities elsewhere. For example, countries in the Middle East and North Africa, such as Algeria, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar, roughly doubled their energy exports to the European Union in 2022–23 to meet surging demand for non-Russian oil and gas.
<img src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/shifting-trade_.jpg" alt="" width="539" height="539" class="aligncentral size-full wp-image-185391" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/shifting-trade_.jpg 539w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/shifting-trade_-100x100.jpg 100w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/shifting-trade_-300x300.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/shifting-trade_-144x144.jpg 144w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/shifting-trade_-472x472.jpg 472w" sizes="(max-width: 539px) 100vw, 539px" />
More recently, <a href="https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDYsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmltZi5vcmcvZW4vQmxvZ3MvQXJ0aWNsZXMvMjAyNC8wMy8wNy9SZWQtU2VhLUF0dGFja3MtRGlzcnVwdC1HbG9iYWwtVHJhZGU_dXRtX21lZGl1bT1lbWFpbCZ1dG1fc291cmNlPWdvdmRlbGl2ZXJ5IiwiYnVsbGV0aW5faWQiOiIyMDI0MDUxMy45NDY5MzY1MSJ9.1AagWSugbjulwIWvct3d6tss-c3lpW-W9FHwHCKve9U/s/1796871065/br/242326117879-l" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Red Sea shipping attacks</a> stemming from the conflict in Gaza and Israel have not only disrupted maritime trade and impacted neighboring economies but also increased the level of uncertainty.
Suez Canal transits are down more than 60 percent since the conflict in Gaza and Israel began as ships are rerouted around the Cape of Good Hope. Cargo volumes also have contracted sharply in Red Sea ports such as Jordan’s Al Aqaba and Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah. However, some trade has been redirected within the region, including to Dammam, Saudi Arabia, on the Persian Gulf.
Persistent Red Sea disruptions could have sizable economic consequences for the most exposed economies. An illustrative scenario in our most recent <a href="https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDcsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmltZi5vcmcvZW4vUHVibGljYXRpb25zL1JFTy9NRUNBL0lzc3Vlcy8yMDI0LzA0LzE4L3JlZ2lvbmFsLWVjb25vbWljLW91dGxvb2stbWlkZGxlLWVhc3QtY2VudHJhbC1hc2lhLWFwcmlsLTIwMjQ_dXRtX21lZGl1bT1lbWFpbCZ1dG1fc291cmNlPWdvdmRlbGl2ZXJ5IiwiYnVsbGV0aW5faWQiOiIyMDI0MDUxMy45NDY5MzY1MSJ9.Fhz9lFd6k3VJbssR7B95Lc0RkzRqeri4Gqo4MAk7kKk/s/1796871065/br/242326117879-l" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Regional Economic Outlook</a> shows that countries on the Red Sea (Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Yemen) could lose about 10 percent of their exports and close to 1 percent of GDP on average if disruptions continue through the end of this year.
<img src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/red-sea_.jpg" alt="" width="539" height="539" class="aligncentral size-full wp-image-185392" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/red-sea_.jpg 539w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/red-sea_-100x100.jpg 100w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/red-sea_-300x300.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/red-sea_-144x144.jpg 144w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/red-sea_-472x472.jpg 472w" sizes="(max-width: 539px) 100vw, 539px" />
In the current uncertain landscape of international trade, strategic foresight and proactive policy reforms will be the key factors enabling countries to achieve trade and income gains. Addressing the challenges posed by these shocks and seizing the opportunities ahead will require that countries tackle longstanding trade barriers arising from elevated nontariff restrictions, infrastructure inadequacies, and regulatory inefficiencies.
Targeted policy reforms can help do this, though preparation is crucial. Reducing nontariff trade barriers, boosting infrastructure investment, and enhancing regulatory quality could help increase trade by up to 17 percent on average over the medium term, our research shows, while economic output could be 3 percent higher. This would also enhance resilience against future trade shocks.
<img src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/policy-gains_.jpg" alt="" width="539" height="539" class="aligncentral size-full wp-image-185393" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/policy-gains_.jpg 539w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/policy-gains_-100x100.jpg 100w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/policy-gains_-300x300.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/policy-gains_-144x144.jpg 144w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/policy-gains_-472x472.jpg 472w" sizes="(max-width: 539px) 100vw, 539px" />
Past reforms show effective action is possible. Uzbekistan has enhanced its attractiveness to foreign investors and deepened its integration into the global economy eliminating currency controls and improving the business environment. Saudi Arabia grew its non-oil economy and attracted international businesses through its Vision 2030 reform plan, which included easing regulatory constraints on trade and investment. 
Azerbaijan’s investment in the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, a key segment of the Middle Corridor, highlights the potential of infrastructure investment, increasing cargo capacity between Asia and Europe. These initiatives underscore the transformative power of targeted policy reforms in adapting to and thriving within the global trade landscape. 
Countries in the Middle East and North Africa can mitigate ongoing shipping disruptions by improving their supply chain management, securing new suppliers in the most affected sectors, seeking alternate shipping routes, and assessing air freight capacity needs. 
In the medium term, countries can increase their resilience to trade disruptions by strengthening and expanding regional linkages and connectivity. In turn, investing in transportation infrastruc¬ture, including by developing innovative sea–land routes, would be important.
Building a more diversified trade profile—spanning partners, products, and routes—would significantly bolster the region’s ability to withstand disruptions. Shifting trade patterns present a unique opportunity for countries to redefine their place in the global economic framework.
This IMF blog reflects contributions by Bronwen Brown and other staff across the Middle East and Central Asia Department. It is based on <a href="https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMTEsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmltZi5vcmcvLS9tZWRpYS9GaWxlcy9QdWJsaWNhdGlvbnMvUkVPL01DRC1DQ0EvMjAyNC9BcHJpbC9FbmdsaXNoL2NoMy5hc2h4P3V0bV9tZWRpdW09ZW1haWwmdXRtX3NvdXJjZT1nb3ZkZWxpdmVyeSIsImJ1bGxldGluX2lkIjoiMjAyNDA1MTMuOTQ2OTM2NTEifQ.iKIFa9lar5F3aSOliUuUbOHg6fBKLmRCuquri3rRHuQ/s/1796871065/br/242326117879-l" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Chapter 3</a> of the <a href="https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMTIsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmltZi5vcmcvZW4vUHVibGljYXRpb25zL1JFTy9NRUNBL0lzc3Vlcy8yMDI0LzA0LzE4L3JlZ2lvbmFsLWVjb25vbWljLW91dGxvb2stbWlkZGxlLWVhc3QtY2VudHJhbC1hc2lhLWFwcmlsLTIwMjQ_dXRtX21lZGl1bT1lbWFpbCZ1dG1fc291cmNlPWdvdmRlbGl2ZXJ5IiwiYnVsbGV0aW5faWQiOiIyMDI0MDUxMy45NDY5MzY1MSJ9.z9azRFDwCDozI1fy3daGcm7gmm90PMp9g65Je6HyvxE/s/1796871065/br/242326117879-l" rel="noopener" target="_blank">April 2024 Regional Economic Outlook for the Middle East and Central Asia</a>, “Trade Patterns amid Shocks and a Changing Geoeconomic Landscape.” The authors of the chapter are Apostolos Apostolou, Hasan Dudu, Filippo Gori, Alejandro Hajdenberg, Thomas Kroen, Fei Lui, and Salem Mohamed Nechi.
IPS UN Bureau
 
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<title>Afghan Women Struggle with Soaring Mental Health Issues</title>
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<pubDate>Thu, 16 May 2024 11:14:03 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>External Source</dc:creator>
<category><![CDATA[Gender]]></category>
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<description><![CDATA[The author is an Afghanistan-based female journalist, trained with Finnish support before the Taliban take-over. Her identity is withheld for security reasons]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<img width="300" height="225" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/mentalhealthafghanistan1-300x225.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="Since the Taliban's return to Afghanistan in 2021, numerous women grapple with profound mental health challenges, often in silence, fearing repercussions for speaking out. Credit: Learning Together" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/mentalhealthafghanistan1-300x225.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/mentalhealthafghanistan1-200x149.jpg 200w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/mentalhealthafghanistan1.jpg 629w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Since the Taliban's return to Afghanistan in 2021, numerous women grapple with profound mental health challenges, often in silence, fearing repercussions for speaking out. Credit: Learning TogetherBy External Source May 16 2024 (IPS) Afghanistan is grappling with a growing crisis of mental illness, particularly among its women, as highlighted in a United Nations report. Officials from the mental health department at Herat regional hospital have observed a concerning uptick in the number of women afflicted by psychological disorders in the province.
According to these officials, nearly eighty percent of individuals seeking treatment for depression are women and girls. The medical center witnesses a daily influx of one hundred patients seeking assistance.
“Every day, 100 people come for treatment, and more than two-thirds of them are women”, according to one of the doctors of the Association of Clinical Psychologists in Herat, who did not want to be named in the report due to security issues.
Nearly 400 people have been sent to further treatment within one month and the numbers continue to increase daily. Most patients are given psychological counseling but those with severe illness are referred to the regional mental hospital in Herat.
Several factors contribute to the surge in mental illness among women. Economic hardships have intensified, while the oppressive rule of the Taliban has cast a shadow over their future prospects. Additionally, a widespread increase in domestic violence against women, coupled with restrictions on female education and employment, compounds the issue.
“I often experience sudden panic attacks,” shared Marjan, a patient at the hospital. “My heart feels weak, and I constantly battle lethargy. The ban on my education has plunged me into depression,” she lamented.
With tears in her eyes and pain in her voice, she complained how long she and other women would continue to be imprisoned within the four walls of their homes and live with uncertainty of the future.
Marjan continues, “I am the third wife of my husband, and I am always subjected to violence and beatings by my husband or my husband’s wives.”
In some regions, such as Herat, polygamous marriages are common, leading to intra-family conflicts where women bear the brunt of the repercussions.
Marjan, a victim of such a marriage, disclosed her failed suicide attempts and attributed her plight to the Taliban. Forced into marriage by her father during the Taliban regime, she was compelled to relinquish her role as a civil activist and former employee of a human rights organization under the previous government.
“Now, I am left with mere memories of a life that no longer exists,” she lamented bitterly.
Nafas Gul, a mother of five also in Herat Province narrates her story. Her daughter, sixteen-year-old Shirin Gul, is severely depressed, judging from her regular cries and calling her home prison, her mother explains. Shirin no longer attends school.
Memories have made most girls and women depressed. A large number of them have stayed at home, unable to work or acquire education.
<div id="attachment_185386" style="width: 639px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="size-full wp-image-185386" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/mentalhealthafghanistan2.jpg" alt="In Afghanistan, many victims of domestic violence struggle to find assistance in overstretched healthcare systems. Credit: Learning Together" width="629" height="472" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/mentalhealthafghanistan2.jpg 629w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/mentalhealthafghanistan2-300x225.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/mentalhealthafghanistan2-200x149.jpg 200w" sizes="(max-width: 629px) 100vw, 629px" />In Afghanistan, many victims of domestic violence struggle to find assistance in overstretched healthcare systems. Credit: Learning Together</div>
With the return of the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2021, women have been deprived of their rights, especially the right to work and education. The majority of women in Herat are against recognizing the legitimacy of the Taliban government, rather they say that recognition should be given in return for improving the status of women. 
Doctors caution that without intervention, the number of individuals suffering from depression, particularly in Herat province, will continue to escalate.
 
Excerpt: The author is an Afghanistan-based female journalist, trained with Finnish support before the Taliban take-over. Her identity is withheld for security reasons]]></content:encoded>
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<title>Solomon Islands: A Change More in Style than Substance</title>
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<pubDate>Thu, 16 May 2024 06:21:51 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Andrew Firmin</dc:creator>
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<description><![CDATA[There’s change at the top in Solomon Islands – but civil society will be watching closely to see whether that means a government that’s grown hostile will start doing things differently. Jeremiah Manele is the new prime minister, emerging from negotiations that followed April’s general election. He’s part of OUR Party, led by outgoing four-time […]]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<img width="300" height="200" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Saeed-Khan_-300x200.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Saeed-Khan_-300x200.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Saeed-Khan_.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Credit: Saeed Khan/AFP via Getty ImagesBy Andrew Firmin LONDON, May 16 2024 (IPS) There’s change at the top in Solomon Islands – but civil society will be watching closely to see whether that means a government that’s grown hostile will start doing things differently.
Jeremiah Manele is the new prime minister, emerging from negotiations that followed April’s general election. He’s part of OUR Party, led by outgoing four-time prime minister Manasseh Sogavare. The party came first, winning 15 of 50 constituencies, but several incumbents who stood for it lost their parliamentary seats, and Sogavare only narrowly held his. Weakened, Sogavare stood aside to allow Manele to prevail as the consensus candidate of the post-election coalition his party stitched together.
China in the spotlight
Voters had to wait to have their say. The election was supposed to be held in 2023 but the government <a href="https://lens.civicus.org/solomon-islands-democracy-on-hold/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">postponed it</a>. It claimed it couldn’t afford to hold the election and host the Pacific Games in the same year, and temporarily suspended constitutional provisions through a parliamentary vote. The opposition <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/aug/11/solomon-islands-pms-election-delay-push-a-power-grab-linked-to-china-pact-opposition-leader-says" rel="noopener" target="_blank">accused</a> Sogavare of a power grab and questioned his commitment to democracy.
Political debate in recent years has been dominated by the government’s relations with China, a major funder of the 2023 Pacific Games. Sogavare pivoted towards China shortly after becoming prime minister for the fourth time in 2019. Until then, Solomon Islands was among the small number of states that still recognised Taiwan instead of China. The move was controversial, made with no consultation after an election in which it hadn’t been an issue.
Sogavare then signed a series of agreements with China, including a highly secretive <a href="https://apnews.com/article/china-solomon-islands-security-agreement-de468190f3e0cf40c160e19ceebfedf1" rel="noopener" target="_blank">security cooperation deal</a>. For civil society, this raised the concern that Solomon Islands police could be trained in the same repressive techniques used in China, and Chinese security forces could be deployed if unrest broke out. The country has experienced several bouts of conflict, including ethnic unrest and violent protests started by young unemployed men, with some violence targeting people of Chinese origin. Such conflict followed controversial post-2019 election manoeuvres that returned Sogavare to power, and surged again in 2021 over the government’s relations with China. Sogavare <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-26/solomon-islands-pm-blames-foreign-powers-for-civil-unrest/100652048" rel="noopener" target="_blank">blamed</a> ‘foreign powers’ for the 2021 unrest.
China is making extensive economic diplomacy efforts to encourage states to switch allegiance and has developed a keen interest in Pacific Island nations, long neglected by western powers. Its efforts are paying off, with <a href="https://lens.civicus.org/changing-times-in-oceania/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Kiribati</a> and Nauru also abandoning Taiwan in recent years. The Pacific Islands cover a vast oceanic territory, and a major Chinese foreign policy objective is to <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-does-china-want-in-the-pacific-diplomatic-allies-and-strategic-footholds-184147" rel="noopener" target="_blank">break up</a> the island chains it sees as encircling it and constraining its reach. It’s long been suspected of coveting a naval base in Solomon Islands.
Further, while the populations may be small, each state has an equal vote in the United Nations, and the more allies China has, the more it can shield itself from criticism of its many human rights violations. 
China didn’t just help pay for the Games. It provides <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-01/china-trying-to-buy-solomon-islands-port-australia-urged-to-stop/101277348" rel="noopener" target="_blank">direct funding</a> to pro-government members of parliament, and has been accused of outrightly trying to bribe politicians. Daniel Suidani, a strong opponent of deals with China, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/solomons-china-ottawa-1.6864461" rel="noopener" target="_blank">claims</a> to have been offered bribes to change his position. Suidani was premier of Malaita Province, until 2023, when he was <a href="https://thediplomat.com/2023/04/former-malaita-premier-and-noted-china-critic-seeks-us-visa/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">ousted</a> in a no-confidence vote following the central government’s apparent intervention. Police then <a href="https://monitor.civicus.org/explore/solomon-islands-protests-around-malaita-province-no-confidence-vote-dispersed-while-nurses-union-remains-suspended/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">used teargas</a> against protesters who supported him.
China’s attempts to exert influence extend to the media. Last year, it was reported that the Solomon Star newspaper had <a href="https://www.ifj.org/media-centre/news/detail/category/press-releases/article/solomon-islands-china-funds-newspaper-for-favourable-coverage-in-the-pacific" rel="noopener" target="_blank">received funding</a> from the Chinese state in return for agreeing to publish pro-China content. 
Disinformation favourable to China also <a href="https://apnews.com/article/solomon-islands-election-sogavare-china-taiwan-4a854a3580786bdcdd3cf6db1d73555a" rel="noopener" target="_blank">circulated</a> during the campaign. A Russian state-owned news agency falsely reported that the US government was planning what it called an ‘electoral coup’, a lie repeated by the Chinese Communist Party’s Global Times newspaper. During the campaign, Sogavare also doubled down on his support for China, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-20/solomon-islands-prime-minister-defends-chinese-governance-style/103606172" rel="noopener" target="_blank">heaping praise</a> on its political system and suggesting that democracy might open the door to same-sex marriage, which he portrayed as incompatible with his country’s values.
At the same time as China’s media influence has grown, the Solomon Islands government has gained a reputation for attacking media freedoms. It took <a href="https://www.publicmediaalliance.org/pma-solomon-islands-government-must-respect-broadcasters-independence/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">full control</a> of the public broadcaster, the Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation, giving itself the power to directly appoint the broadcaster’s board, and made an attempt to vet all of its news and current affairs programmes, which it dropped after backlash. Following an <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfXX0QaNLWw" rel="noopener" target="_blank">investigation</a> of relations with China by Australia’s public broadcaster, the government <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/aug/25/solomon-islands-to-ban-foreign-journalists-who-are-not-respectful-report" rel="noopener" target="_blank">threatened</a> to bar foreign journalists from entering the country if they run stories it deems ‘disrespectful’, <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/solomon-islands-is-threatening-to-ban-foreign-journalists-heres-why/afv5mxyvg" rel="noopener" target="_blank">accusing</a> media of spreading ‘anti-China sentiments’.
Following criticism, the government also threatened to investigate civil society and <a href="https://monitor.civicus.org/updates/2019/10/30/solomon-islands-government-orders-probe-civil-society-calling-pm-step-down/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">accused</a> civil society organisations of fraudulently receiving funds. It’s clear that the other side of the coin of closer relations with China has been growing hostility towards dissent.
Looking forward
China was far from the only issue in the campaign, and many voters emphasised <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/solomon-islands-election-watched-by-us-china-amid-pacific-influence-contest-2024-04-12/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">everyday concerns</a> such as the cost of living, the state of education, healthcare and roads, and the economy. Some <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/15/as-solomon-islands-election-looms-chinas-influence-on-the-pacific-country-draws-scrutiny" rel="noopener" target="_blank">criticised</a> politicians for spending too much time talking about foreign policy – and will be judging the new government by how much progress it makes on these domestic issues.
The good news is that the vote appears to have been competitive, and so far there’s been no repeat of the post-election violence seen after the 2019 vote. That’s surely a positive to build on.
But Sogavare isn’t gone from politics, taking a new position as finance minister. Meanwhile, Manele, foreign minister in the old government and viewed as another pro-China figure, is unlikely to take a new foreign policy direction. But there’s some hope, at least for civil society, that he’ll be a less <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/30/solomon-islands-manasseh-sogavare-election-2024-sibc-results" rel="noopener" target="_blank">polarising</a> and more conciliatory politician than Sogavare. The first test will be how the new government handles its relations with civil society and the media. The government should prove it isn’t in China’s pocket by respecting civic freedoms.
Andrew Firmin is CIVICUS Editor-in-Chief, co-director and writer for <a href="https://lens.civicus.org/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">CIVICUS Lens</a> and co-author of the <a href="https://civicus.org/index.php/state-of-civil-society-report-2023" rel="noopener" target="_blank">State of Civil Society Report</a>.
 
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<title>The US a Direct Partner in the Israeli War</title>
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<pubDate>Thu, 16 May 2024 05:18:11 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Ramzy Baroud</dc:creator>
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<description><![CDATA[A major mistake we often commit in our analysis of the US political discourse on the Gaza war is that we assume that the US and Israel behave as if they are two political entities with separate agendas and sets of priorities. Nothing could be further from the truth. From the start of the war, […]]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<img width="300" height="136" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Gazans-are-on-the_-300x136.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Gazans-are-on-the_-300x136.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Gazans-are-on-the_.jpg 624w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Gazans are on the move again as Israeli forces intensify bombardments. 13 May 2024. Credit: UNRWABy Ramzy Baroud SEATTLE, Washington, May 16 2024 (IPS) A major mistake we often commit in our analysis of the US political discourse on the Gaza war is that we assume that the US and Israel behave as if they are two political entities with separate agendas and sets of priorities.

Nothing could be further from the truth. From the start of the war, top US officials including President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken saw themselves as the guardians of Israeli interests. Blinken attended Israel’s first War Council meeting as if an Israel official, and Biden carried on reiterating that he is a Zionist.
Despite purported difference on various matters between Tel Aviv and Washington, for example, the nature and size of Israel’s military operation in Rafah, their interests remain identical: defeating Palestinians, restoring Israeli so-called deterrence, returning to the status quo in the region, and reigning in Israel’s enemies, including Iran, Hezbollah and Yemen’s Ansarullah.
The US is a direct partner in the Israeli war: defeating any UN attempt at calling for immediate, unconditional, and binding ceasefire, arming Israel with billions of dollars of the deadliest weapons and fighting, directly – as in the case of Yemen – or indirectly against Israel’s regional enemies who are showing solidarity with the Palestinians.
That context in mind, the dangerous comments by Senator Graham are consistent with the Biden’s administration actions regarding Gaza.
Sure, Israel is yet to drop a nuclear bomb, but it has dropped enough US bombs over the besieged Strip to create the impact of nuclear weapons. 75 percent of Gaza has been destroyed, and about 5 percent of the population have been killed or wounded. This was done by Biden and his supposedly softer approach, if compared to Graham, to the war.
This is indeed madness, but, in a sense, it also reflects a degree of desperation.
Israel is losing in Gaza. Not ‘losing’ as in failing to achieve its objectives, but losing militarily against Palestinian groups who are employing successful guerrilla warfare tactics.
After over 7 months of war, the fighting is back exactly where it started; and while Palestinians are perfecting their resistance craft, Israel is losing more soldiers at a much higher rate.
Comments about nuclear bombing Gaza comes within this context, that of Israel’s failure, if not desperation. US and Israeli officials know well that the war has been lost, or, at best, cannot be won. 
But also losing the war means a fundamental shift in the power paradigm in the Middle East, the kind of change that neither Netanyahu, Graham nor their ilk can afford.
On November 5, Israel’s minister of heritage also spoke about the possibility of nuking Gaza, using Israeli mainstream media to communicate his ideas. Graham is now saying the same thing, using US mainstream media as an outlet to convey the same notion.
There is much to learn here about the nature of the relationship between both countries, but also this language teaches us that top politicians in Tel Aviv and Washington realize that the limits of traditional warfare have been reached yet failed to alter the reality on the ground in any way, aside from massacring tens of thousands of innocent civilians. 
Dr Ramzy Baroud is a journalist and Editor of The Palestine Chronicle. He is the author of six books. His latest book, co-edited with Ilan Pappé, is “Our Vision for Liberation: Engaged Palestinian Leaders and Intellectuals Speak out”. Dr. Baroud is a Non-resident Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA). The link to his website follows: <a href="http://www.ramzybaroud.net/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">www.ramzybaroud.net</a>
IPS UN Bureau
 
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<title>US Senators Threaten Criminal Court & Advise Israel to Nuke Gaza</title>
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<pubDate>Thu, 16 May 2024 05:08:31 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Thalif Deen</dc:creator>
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<description><![CDATA[As the ancient Greek saying goes: those whom the Gods wish to destroy, they first drive them mad. Perhaps destruction is too far-fetched here, but madness is closer home—in Washington DC With the 7-month-old Israeli-Gaza conflict showing no positive signs of a permanent solution, there is a lingering sense of growing political craziness in Capitol […]]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<img width="300" height="200" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/US-Senators-Threaten_-300x200.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/US-Senators-Threaten_-300x200.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/US-Senators-Threaten_.jpg 624w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS, May 16 2024 (IPS) As the ancient Greek saying goes: those whom the Gods wish to destroy, they first drive them mad. Perhaps destruction is too far-fetched here, but madness is closer home—in Washington DC
With the 7-month-old Israeli-Gaza conflict showing no positive signs of a permanent solution, there is a lingering sense of growing political craziness in Capitol Hill, the seat of the US government, once described as Israeli-occupied territory. 

Last week Lindsey Graham, a senior Republican senator from South Carolina, who once chaired the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, implicitly advised Israel it should drop nuclear bombs over Gaza—perhaps ignorant of the fact that a nuclear fallout will also destroy parts of Israel.
In a TV interview, Graham advised Israel: “Do whatever you have to do to survive as a Jewish state”—as he compared Israel’s war on Gaza to the US war with Japan during World War II.
“When we were faced with destruction as a nation after Pearl Harbor, fighting the Germans and the Japanese, we decided to end the war by bombing Hiroshima and Nagasaki with nuclear weapons,” Graham said in an interview with NBC News’ Meet the Press.
Meanwhile, Tim Walberg, a Republican House member said wiping out Gaza “should be like Hiroshima and Nagasaki” “Get it over quick”, he advised Israel.
Ramzy Baroud, a journalist and Editor of The Palestine Chronicle told IPS: “Sure, Israel is yet to drop a nuclear bomb, but it has dropped enough US bombs over the besieged Strip to create the impact of nuclear weapons.”
He pointed out that 75 percent of Gaza has been destroyed, and about 5 percent of the population have been killed or wounded. This was done by Biden and his supposedly softer approach, if compared to Graham, to the war.
“This is indeed madness, but, in a sense, it also reflects a degree of desperation,” said Baroud.
Meanwhile, 12 US Republican senators, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, have openly threatened the International Criminal Court (ICC) with sanctions if they target Israeli officials.
The threat is directed at both ICC officials and their family members — if and when, the Court moves forward with international arrest warrants against Israeli leaders over the war in Gaza.
“Target Israel and we will target you. If you move forward with the measures indicated in the report, we will move to end all American support for the ICC, sanction your employees and associates, and bar you and your families from the United States,” read the April 24 letter.
“You have been warned,” the letter added.
Norman Solomon, executive director, Institute for Public Accuracy, told IPS the goal posts on the USA’s political field have been dragged rightward since last autumn by the combined forces of standard militarism, craven political jockeying, biased mass-media coverage and ferocious pro-Israel messaging.
The countervailing force in the United States is coming from grassroots opposition to Israel’s mass murder and rejection of its support provided by the U.S. political establishment.
Often led by activists in such organizations as Jewish Voice for Peace and If Not Now, the highly visible protests last fall and winter seeded the ground for the upsurge in student-led protests in recent weeks on U.S. college campuses, he said.
This nonviolent grassroots resistance to Israeli genocide and oppression of Palestinian people has shocked the traditional American Zionist establishment and its allies in the leadership of the Democratic Party.
“The growing resistance has also provoked an extreme reactionary response from right-wing media outlets such as Fox News and many dozens of Republicans in Congress who have vocally and mendaciously denounced efforts to end the slaughter, which is subsidized by U.S. taxpayers to the benefit of both the fascistic Israeli government and military contractors based in the United States”, he argued.
“The flagrantly racist and ethnocentric reactions of Republican leaders, combined with the rhetorical Democratic vacillation that continues to support the Israeli-inflicted carnage in Gaza, comprise the two wings of U.S. governance. Most young Americans, in particular, are now emphatically opposed to both wings enabling the genocide,” he noted.
This is an ongoing political struggle over whether the U.S. government will continue to support Israel as it pursues its systematic slaughter of civilians in Gaza, declared Solomon, national director, RootsAction.org and author of, “War Made Invisible: How America Hides the Human Toll of Its Military Machine.”
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/campus-protests-gaza" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/campus-protests-gaza</a>
Meanwhile, according to the World Nuclear Association, the Chernobyl nuclear accident in 1986 was the result of a flawed reactor design that was operated with inadequately trained personnel.
The resulting steam explosion and fires released at least 5% of the radioactive reactor core into the environment, with the deposition of radioactive materials in many parts of Europe.
The United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation concluded in 2006 that, apart from some 5000 thyroid cancers (resulting in 15 fatalities), “there is no evidence of a major public health impact attributable to radiation exposure 20 years after the accident.”
“And some 350,000 people were evacuated as a result of the accident, but resettlement of areas from which people were relocated is ongoing”.
In their letter to Karim A. Khan, ICC Prosecutor, the 12 Senators say: “We write regarding reports that the International Criminal Court (ICC) may be considering issuing international arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials. Such actions are illegitimate and lack legal basis, and if carried out will result in severe sanctions against you and your institution”.
By issuing warrants, you would be calling into question the legitimacy of Israel’s laws, legal system, and democratic form of government. Issuing arrest warrants for the leaders of Israel would not only be unjustified, it would expose your organization’s hypocrisy and double standards.
“Neither Israel nor the United States are members of the ICC and are therefore outside of your organization’s supposed jurisdiction. If you issue a warrant for the arrest of the Israeli leadership, we will interpret this not only as a threat to Israel’s sovereignty but to the sovereignty of the United States.”
IPS UN Bureau Report
 
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<title>From Dorms to Demonstrations</title>
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<pubDate>Wed, 15 May 2024 08:58:46 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Jeremi Suri</dc:creator>
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<description><![CDATA[The campus protests that have spread to universities in every part of the United States are not about the war between Israel and Hamas, despite the heated rhetoric around this topic. Most of the students who are protesting know little about the conflict, its history and its ramifications for international politics. Few of them cared […]]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<img width="300" height="136" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Protesters-demonstrate_-300x136.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Protesters-demonstrate_-300x136.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Protesters-demonstrate_.jpg 624w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Protesters demonstrate outside the Columbia University campus in New York City. Credit: UN Photo/Evan Schneider
   
The campus protests across the US aren’t primarily about the Israel-Hamas war but stem from other, deep-seated issues: alienation and radicalisation. By Jeremi Suri AUSTIN, Texas, May 15 2024 (IPS) The campus protests that have spread to universities in every part of the United States are not about the war between Israel and Hamas, despite the heated rhetoric around this topic. Most of the students who are protesting know little about the conflict, its history and its ramifications for international politics.

Few of them cared deeply about the issue before the horrifying Hamas attack on Israelis on 7 October 2023 and the militaristic response of Israel’s government. What motivates the protests are two historical dynamics that long pre-date the current moment: alienation and radicalisation.
College students in the United States and other countries are more alienated from older generations than their recent predecessors. Crucial years in their social and emotional development were distorted by Covid-19, when they were forced to connect digitally rather than in-person. 
They formed bonds with other young people in similar circumstances, but they did not build relationships with teachers, coaches, employers or other adult mentors. Many feel on their own, abandoned. 
And the collective desire in so many societies to forget about Covid-19 means that they cannot talk about how it affected them. The denial of their reality by most adults makes students cynical. I see it in my own students who are talented, but somewhat hopeless.
Under attack 
Cynicism and hopelessness have seeded anger (and sometimes violence) because struggling students feel that they are frequently under attack from politicians in the US. As I have <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/29/opinions/campus-protests-university-of-texas-israel-gaza-suri/index.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">written elsewhere</a>, the Republican Party has waged a war on universities for at least a decade. 
Elected officials like House Speaker Mike Johnson, Representative Elise Stefanik, Senator Ted Cruz, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Texas Governor Greg Abbott have attacked faculty and students for pursuing racial and gender justice, for demanding forgiveness of exorbitant tuition loans and for seeking access to safe abortions. Republican policy positions run against the views of the vast majority of college students.
For this reason, Republicans across the United States have created barriers to political participation for young people. Republicans simply do not want them to vote, and when they vote, Republicans often allege ‘fraud’. Some obvious examples of voter suppression stand out. 
States like Florida and Texas require voters to register a month in advance with a proof of permanent address, which is often difficult for students to document. These and other states also place voting locations close to older voters, farther from universities and downtown residential areas. 
Gerrymandering means that rural areas with older voters are overrepresented; dense urban areas with younger voters are underrepresented. And Republicans across the United States are seeking to limit early and absentee voting — flexible voting options that young people who work and study full time value.
Alienation from Republican politicians has contributed to widespread student distrust of university leaders who frequently succumb to the pressures of Republicans (as happened with the firing of the presidents of Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania) or the demands of donors aligned with Republicans. Students almost universally blame university leaders for giving in to the interests that have disrespected and disenfranchised young, educated citizens.
Unfortunately, the Democratic Party has failed to draw the support of young people either. For the Democrats, the problem is not offensive positions, but a party structure that is dominated by older, mainstream politicians. They are boring for young people, they lack any connection to their world, and they seem too compromised and unprincipled. 
In the case of President Biden, students see a decent but old man who is more of a political operator than a moral leader on issues that matter to them — including climate change, social justice and humanitarianism.
A feeling of homelessness 
That is where the Israel-Hamas war influences the protests so urgently. Despite the extreme violence and suffering in the Middle East, many college students see a consistency in US support for Israel, with few conditions, that frustrates them. Why isn’t a Democratic president able to exert more influence to change the behaviour of the Israeli government in Gaza, where civilians are currently starving? 
Why isn’t a Democratic president able to press Arab allies, especially Egypt and Saudi Arabia, to help civilians? For students who do not appreciate the complexities of foreign policy, the White House appears to be playing an old game in a world with urgent new problems.
Between Republicans and Democrats – the only two choices in the US political system – young people feel homeless. They have become radicalised because they believe that they must find new ways to get around the parties and express their demands. Campus protests today, as in the 1960s, are a form of extra-political opposition. 
The students want to side-line Republicans and force Democrats to move far left. The arguments for ‘divestment’ are efforts to reduce the power of banks and financial interests in the Democratic Party and restore influence to ordinary citizens. 
The demands for abandoning support to Israel are part of an agenda to shift US foreign policy away from traditional allies and Realpolitik.
Tragically, the radical impulse frequently manifests itself as anti-Semitism, which is reprehensible. In their naivete, many of the campus protesters see American Jews as a central element of the mainstream Democratic Party and, therefore, a source of the party’s resistance to their more progressive impulses. 
Biden’s long ties to Israel appear to corroborate this mistaken point of view. Jews appear to be the powerful people in Washington and Jerusalem, and, therefore, they are to blame, according to protesters, for blockage on change that young people so desperately want. Students often articulate this judgement with language that is personal, offensive and threatening to all Jews.
Liberal and conservative Jews are revolted by what they see from campus anti-Semitism. Republicans take advantage of protester anti-Semitism to condemn, yet again, students and universities as a whole. 
They pressure campus leaders to deploy force against the protesters, and they extol the bravery of police officers who break-up student encampments. The crackdowns lead to further student alienation and radicalisation, and the cycle of protest and reaction continues to spiral toward more anger, anti-Semitism and violence.
For historians, this is all very familiar. The cycles of protest and reaction are common in moments, like our own, when the basic conditions for the rising and educated members of society do not match established institutions of power and influence. Young people feel locked out, unrepresented and trapped. 
They feel they can only make change by challenging institutions. And that is what they are doing. The older, established figures in society might sympathise at times, but they still hold tight to existing institutions, they resist major reforms, and they ultimately call in the police.
The cycle only breaks when a new generation gains power and pursues real reforms, as happened in numerous societies after the 1960s — with the end of the Vietnam War and the rise of détente and Ostpolitik. We need comparable reforms in policy and power today. We cannot turn back the clock to before Covid-19 or October 7.
Jeremi Suri holds the Mack Brown Distinguished Chair for Leadership in Global Affairs at the University of Texas in Austin. He is a professor in the University’s Department of History and the LBJ School of Public Affairs. Professor Suri is the author and editor of several books, most recently: <a href="https://www.publicaffairsbooks.com/titles/jeremi-suri/civil-war-by-other-means/9781541758544/?fbclid=IwAR3G6Yikqbvo46ysW8udwuwBBIFAfiFliJFWEY5iQlSccron70irneQddj0" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Civil War By Other Means: America’s Long and Unfinished Fight for Democracy</a>.
Source: International Politics and Society <a href="https://www.ips-journal.eu/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">(IPS)-Journal</a> published by the International Political Analysis Unit of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Hiroshimastrasse 28, D-10785 Berlin
IPS UN Bureau
 
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<title>Chronicle of a Catastrophe Foretold</title>
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<pubDate>Wed, 15 May 2024 08:41:42 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Jomo Kwame Sundaram</dc:creator>
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<description><![CDATA[The IMF warns of a decade ahead of ‘tepid growth’ and ‘popular discontent’, with the poorest economies worst off. But as with inaction on Gaza, little is being done multilaterally to avert the imminent catastrophe. Grim IMF prognosis Noting the world economy has lost $3.3 trillion since 2020, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina […]]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[By Jomo Kwame Sundaram KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia , May 15 2024 (IPS) The IMF warns of a decade ahead of ‘tepid growth’ and ‘popular discontent’, with the poorest economies worst off. But as with inaction on Gaza, little is being done multilaterally to avert the imminent catastrophe. 

Grim IMF prognosis 
Noting the world economy has lost $3.3 trillion since 2020, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva announced this grim warning before last month’s Spring meetings of the Bretton Woods institutions. 
<div id="attachment_157782" style="width: 190px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2018/09/jomo_180.jpg" alt="" width="180" height="212" class="size-full wp-image-157782" />Jomo Kwame Sundaram</div>Instead of prioritising economic recovery, finance ministers and central bank governors in Washington agreed to continue policies worsening the situation. After all, curbing inflation helps preserve the value of financial assets.
Current policies suppressing demand are justified as necessary for financial stabilisation. They do nothing to address the various ‘supply-side disruptions’ mainly responsible for ongoing inflationary pressures. 
These include the ‘new geopolitics’, the COVID-19 pandemic, wars, illegal unilateral sanctions, and market manipulation. Thus, ostensibly counter-inflationary measures have worsened pressures perpetuating stagnation. 
Brave new world! 
The new Cold War of the last decade and other geo-political considerations increasingly shape economic and financial policies worldwide. Powerful nations have weaponised their formulation, implementation and enforcement. 
Years of economic stagnation have diminished productive and competitive capabilities. Meanwhile, recent geopolitics has changed geoeconomic relations, hegemony and its discontents. Laws, regulations and judicial processes are increasingly deployed for political – and economic – advantage.
Thus, Western governments have generated inflationary pressures with their economic and geopolitical policies, even if inadvertently. Perceptions of strategic decline are mainly attributable to the ostensibly market-based policies pursued.
The European Central Bank has followed US Fed interest rate hikes from 2022. Both still maintain high interest rates, ostensibly to keep inflation in check. Unsurprisingly, most developing country monetary authorities have had to raise interest rates to reduce capital flight and bolster their exchange rates.
Such interest rate hikes by central banks have raised the costs of funds, squeezing both consumption and investment. Raising interest rates has proved blunt and limited, while more appropriate measures have curbed inflation more effectively. 
Instead of checking inflation due to supply disruptions, higher interest rates have squeezed both investment and consumption spending by both the private sector and government. Such cuts have hurt demand, jobs and incomes worldwide. 
Although interest rate hikes worldwide have been contractionary, other US macroeconomic policies since the 2008 global financial crisis have maintained full employment in the world’s largest economy, with limited gains for most others. 
Policymakers’ hands tied 
Many developing country governments borrowed heavily in the late 1970s, mainly from Western commercial banks. But after the US Fed sharply raised interest rates from 1979, severe sovereign debt distress paralysed many heavily indebted governments in Latin America and Africa for at least a decade. 
Much more government borrowing, increasingly from bond markets in the decade before 2022, exposed many developing economies to debt stress. This can be much worse than in the 1980s, as debt levels are higher, with more diverse creditors. 
With borrowing exposure much higher and more market-based, with less from banks, debt resolution is much more difficult. Many governments have also guaranteed state-owned enterprise borrowings, with some even doing so for well-connected private enterprises.
Meanwhile, policymakers in developing countries today are even more constrained by their circumstances. Vulnerable to market vicissitudes and with fewer macroeconomic policy instruments available, they face pro-cyclical policy biases due to market pressures and supportive institutions.
Besides financial market pressures for fiscal austerity, multilateral financial institutions like the IMF impose such conditions on countries seeking emergency credit and other debt relief. 
All this has led to deep government expenditure cuts, especially for public investments, crucial for recovery of the real economy. Hence, governments commit not to spend despite the urgent need for such counter-cyclical expenditure. 
Voluntary vulnerability? 
Central bank independence typically implies greater sensitivity to market pressures and private financial interests rather than national and government policy priorities. 
Instead of strengthening national capacities and capabilities, central bank independence and autonomous fiscal policy authorities have disarmed developing country governments in the face of greater external vulnerability.
This toxic mix may well keep vulnerable governments in protracted debt peonage, unable to free themselves from its yoke, let alone give them the room to create conditions for renewed growth. 
Economic liberalisation and globalisation have irreversibly transformed developing economies, with lasting consequences. Export opportunities have become more limited, not least due to the weaponisation of economic policies. 
Meanwhile, most developing countries have turned to private creditors despite higher interest rates and borrowing costs. But even private market lending to the poorest nations has dried up since 2022 after the US Fed raised interest rates sharply. 
With higher Fed interest rates, finance has abandoned developing countries for ‘safety’ in US markets. As debt service costs soared, distress risks have risen sharply. 
Hence, many economies in the Global South are barely growing, especially after earlier collapses of commodity prices, which later worsened due to falling demand as supplies rose due to earlier investments. 
IPS UN Bureau
 
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<title>Ocean Action on Global Agenda as Negotiations to Save Biodiversity Deepen</title>
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<pubDate>Wed, 15 May 2024 02:07:04 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Joyce Chimbi</dc:creator>
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<description><![CDATA[The oceans are as fascinating as they are mysterious. Home to the largest animals to ever live on Earth and billions of the tiniest, the top 100 meters of the open oceans host the majority of sea life, such as fish, turtles, and marine mammals. But there is another world far below the surface. In […]]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<img width="300" height="225" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Delegates-say-the-survival-of-humanity-is-interlinked-with-the-sustainable-use-of-ocean-and-marine-biodiversity-resources.-Photo-Joyce-Chimbi--300x225.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="Delegates say the survival of humanity is interlinked with the sustainable use of ocean and marine biodiversity resources. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Delegates-say-the-survival-of-humanity-is-interlinked-with-the-sustainable-use-of-ocean-and-marine-biodiversity-resources.-Photo-Joyce-Chimbi--300x225.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Delegates-say-the-survival-of-humanity-is-interlinked-with-the-sustainable-use-of-ocean-and-marine-biodiversity-resources.-Photo-Joyce-Chimbi--629x472.jpg 629w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Delegates-say-the-survival-of-humanity-is-interlinked-with-the-sustainable-use-of-ocean-and-marine-biodiversity-resources.-Photo-Joyce-Chimbi--200x149.jpg 200w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Delegates-say-the-survival-of-humanity-is-interlinked-with-the-sustainable-use-of-ocean-and-marine-biodiversity-resources.-Photo-Joyce-Chimbi-.jpg 630w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Delegates say the survival of humanity is interlinked with the sustainable use of ocean and marine biodiversity resources. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPSBy Joyce Chimbi NAIROBI, May 15 2024 (IPS) The oceans are as fascinating as they are mysterious. Home to the largest animals to ever live on Earth and billions of the tiniest, the top 100 meters of the open oceans host the majority of sea life, such as fish, turtles, and marine mammals. But there is another world far below the surface. In the belly of the ocean, there are seamounts—underwater mountains that rise 1,000 meters or more from the seafloor.

It is within this context that negotiations on critical science, technical skills, and technology deepened on the second day of the 26th session of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical, and Technological Advice (SBSTTA) of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Putting ocean action on the global agenda is a top priority to ensure conservation and sustainable use of marine and coastal biodiversity. Emphasizing an urgent need for further work on ecologically or biologically significant marine areas.
“The survival of humanity is interlinked with the sustainable use of ocean and marine biodiversity resources. We rely on the ocean for food, relaxation, and inspiration. But now the ocean is under threat, and that threat is being passed on to our lives on land. We have to invest time, money, and every resource possible to save our oceans and, by doing so, save ourselves. Our biggest revenue comes from fisheries, and now we have to worry about rising sea level as we are a low-lying island,” Eleala Avanitele from the Forest Peoples Program in Tuvalu told IPS.
Scientists warn that Tuvalu, the fourth-smallest country in the world, is sinking due to its vulnerability to rising sea levels, as the nation comprises nine low-lying coral atolls and islands. Across the globe, the world is in a crisis as oceans provide 50 percent of all oxygen on Earth and 50 to 80 percent of all life on Earth. This life is now at stake.
Thus far, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, also known as the Biodiversity Plan, has been front and centre during ongoing negotiations, as it is a strategic plan for the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), a global agreement that covers all aspects of biological diversity and is considered a framework for governments and the whole of society.
Harrison Ajebe Nnoko Ngaaje from Ajemalebu Self Help (Ajesh) in Cameroon told IPS that his organization is a CSO registered in Cameroon, Ghana, Tanzania, and the USA to create synergies and collaboration within and beyond the continent for the restoration, protection, and sustainable management of key biodiversity areas.
“Conservation and sustainable use of marine and coastal biodiversity is very critical to Cameroon due to its vast and unique ecosystem and biodiversity. Limbe Beach, for instance, has shiny black sandy beaches made of lava sand from the Mt. Cameroon eruptions, an active volcano in the south-west region of Cameroon. We have mangroves under serious threat of degradation. Ajesh is strongly focused on marine protected area management and the conservation of marine aquatic ecosystems.”
More than half of all marine species could be in danger of extinction by 2100. Nearly 60 percent of the world’s marine ecosystems have been altered or handled unsustainably. Marine, coastal, and island biodiversity were discussed within the context of the Biodiversity Plan. Target 3 of the Plan aims to ensure and enable that by 2030 at least 30 percent of terrestrial and inland water areas, and of marine and coastal areas, especially areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services, are effectively conserved and managed.
The main goal of the SBSTTA discussions was to find and fix areas that need more attention under the Convention in order to help carry out the Biodiversity Plan for marine, coastal, and island biodiversity.
Despite the Conference of the Parties adopting the program of work on marine and coastal biological diversity at its fourth meeting in 1998 and the program of work on island biodiversity in 2006, the world is significantly behind schedule when it comes to the conservation and sustainable use of marine and coastal biodiversity. Nevertheless, CBD continues to prioritize and facilitate cooperation and collaboration with relevant global and regional organizations and initiatives with regard to marine and coastal biodiversity.
“It is very important that civil society, youths, and Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) are part of the SBSTTA process, observing and being allowed the opportunity to make remarks. Parties make decisions but these actors also implement and are at the forefront of facing the consequences of biodiversity loss,” Ngaaje says.
Onyango Adhiambo, a youth delegate from academia and research under the International University Network on Cultural and Biological Diversity, supported Ngaaje’s remarks.
“Young people will need to understand the science, technical skills, and technology at play in saving our planet, for soon we will need to step in and step up. The future, which is now at stake, belongs to us, and when called upon to intervene on what the parties agree to, we must do so efficiently, effectively, and sustainably to save natural resources for future generations,” Adhiambo said.
Highlights from the session included a recognition of the importance of science for decision-making and that there are many areas of the programmes of work on marine and coastal biodiversity and on island biodiversity that have not been fully implemented and for which enhanced capacity-building and development, in particular for least developed countries and small island developing states, are needed.
The 2022 Biodiversity Plan says that we can get back on track by creating “ecologically representative, well-connected, and fairly governed systems of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures, recognizing indigenous and traditional territories, where applicable, and integrating them into larger landscapes, seascapes, and the ocean, while ensuring that any sustainable use, where appropriate in such areas, is fully consistent with conservation outcomes, recognizing and respecting the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities, including over their traditional territories.”
Equally important is the agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction, which was adopted on June 19, 2023.
Collaboration in ocean conservation beyond national boundaries was strongly encouraged on issues such as marine genetic resources, including the fair and equitable sharing of benefits; measures such as area-based management tools, including marine protected areas; environmental impact assessments; and capacity-building and the transfer of marine technology.
IPS UN Bureau Report
 
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<title>Educating the Mind Without Educating the Heart is No Education at All</title>
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<pubDate>Tue, 14 May 2024 17:34:29 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Yasmine Sherif</dc:creator>
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<description><![CDATA[The words above, by the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, serve as a reminder that we still have a long way to go to in educating ourselves. In doing so, we will naturally ensure that the young generation can access an inclusive quality education and use their knowledge to build a world of justice, equity, peace […]]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<img width="300" height="169" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/ecw_140524_-300x169.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/ecw_140524_-300x169.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/ecw_140524_-629x353.jpg 629w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/ecw_140524_.jpg 630w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />By Yasmine Sherif NEW YORK, May 14 2024 (IPS) The words above, by the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, serve as a reminder that we still have a long way to go to in educating ourselves. In doing so, we will naturally ensure that the young generation can access an inclusive quality education and use their knowledge to build a world of justice, equity, peace and security.

Yet, with brutal atrocities and horrific conflicts relentlessly spreading in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gaza, the Sudan and Ukraine – in addition to another 50 devastating conflicts taking place around the world – we cannot say in all honesty that we are using our hearts. It would also be dishonest to claim that since the proclamation of the UN Charter in San Francisco we have built a world based on human rights, peace and security.
Instead, the gulf between the rule of law and today’s wicked reality is only widening. In this dark abyss, millions upon millions of vulnerable and innocent children and youth are pleading for humanity and crying out for respect of their inherent human rights, starting with the foundational right to an inclusive quality education in a protective learning environment.
We have created a divided, bitter world reminiscent of a bloody battlefield. A world of destruction, disregard for human life and the earth itself. One begs to ask the question whether it really matters if we have advanced in technology while we are losing our humanity. Or, as Martin Luther King Jr said: “Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men.” 
Consequently, over 226 million children and adolescents currently living in these battlefields cannot access a quality education – with many also losing their mothers, fathers, siblings, limbs, homes and future. It is quite astonishing how destructive the mind can be in the absence of emotional intelligence or the education of the heart.
Schools, teachers and students are purposely and blatantly targeted, adolescent girls are subjugated and pushed into the shadows, and both girls and boys are victimized by wars and systematic violations of their inherent human rights. It has been going on for so long now that the abnormal has almost become normal. This cannot continue.
When will we respond to the universal and collective commitments outlined in the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Sustainable Development Goals? When will we realize the right of every child to an education in a safe learning environment?
It will only come the day that we begin to educate our hearts as well as our minds.
An educated heart cannot turn a blind eye to the unrelenting destruction of human life or nature. An educated heart acts to prevent the growing inequities in the world. An educated heart finds it unbearable to ignore the right of 226 million children to a quality education.
According to Education Cannot Wait’s strategic partner Educo, humanitarian appeals to meet education demands have dramatically increased more than sevenfold in the last decade – from US$517 million to US$3.785 billion – while contributions have only increased fourfold over the same period, from US$190 million to US$805 million.
The gap is daunting and the consequences for children caught in emergencies and protracted crises are beyond devastating. Indeed, this growing funding gap will result in dangerous consequences for the world. According to Educo’s analysis, “88% of the countries and territories in humanitarian crises have significant or fundamental challenges for achieving the SDG goal (SDG4) for education.”
In forgotten crises, such as Bangladesh, the Central African Republic, Chad, Lebanon, Yemen and beyond, we have instead contributed to creating a generational gap and perpetuating cycles of violence, poverty, forced displacement and further inequality.
There is also a significant gap between the Global North and Global South. In OECD countries, around 7% of GDP is spent on primary and secondary education per student every year. In some countries, such as Luxembourg, it rises to as much as US$25,000 a year per student.
On the other hand, according to the <a href="https://educationcannotwait.us18.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6baddf6a91b194dcd2e82ac11&id=d34136fb81&e=9415dd8371" rel="noopener" target="_blank">IMF</a>: “In sub-Saharan Africa, the median education budget was equal to about 3.5% of GDP in 2020 – below the international recommendation of at least 4% of GDP. Recent IMF analysis reveals that achieving the key Sustainable Development Goal of universal primary and secondary school enrollment by 2030 may require doubling education expenditures as a share of GDP, including from both public and private funding sources.”
An educated heart cannot accept these figures and leave millions of young lives and the potential of their futures behind. The resources exist. Referring to Martin Luther King Jr’s quote above, the question is how we choose to use these resources. We can either continue on the path of destruction or take a more constructive and responsible approach.
By crowding in resources from the public and private sectors, we have the chance to educate both the hearts and the minds of an entire generation. A generation that may be the one establishing human rights, peace and security for all, while creating a world of shared values that rests on the rule of law, rather than the rule by force.
In this month’s high-level interview with <a href="https://educationcannotwait.us18.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6baddf6a91b194dcd2e82ac11&id=fb113b520a&e=9415dd8371" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Amy Clarke</a>, Co-Founder and Chief Impact Officer for Tribe Impact Capital LLP, we explore a promising new modality to connect private sector capital to sustainable results, environment and building a better world. In joining forces with Education Cannot Wait, Amy Clarke says: “As ECW works tirelessly to address the immediate educational needs of these children, it’s crucial we also forge a path toward a future that promises fairness, justice and equity.” As such, Tribe Impact Capital LLP stands out as one of our private sector partners that lead with both their heart and mind. They show us that it is indeed possible.
It has been said that the longest journey we can make is the one between the mind and the heart. At this point in time, when the world is engulfed in utter destruction, when nearly a quarter of billion children and teachers are losing limbs, life and hope under the rubble of their targeted schools, it is time for us all to set sail on that journey.
Yasmine Sherif is Executive Director Education Cannot Wait (ECW)
IPS UN Bureau
 
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<title>SBSTTA and SBI—Biodiversity Meetings Crucial for the Global South Begin</title>
<link>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/05/sbstta-and-sbi-biodiversity-meetings-with-great-significance-for-the-global-south/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=sbstta-and-sbi-biodiversity-meetings-with-great-significance-for-the-global-south</link>
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<pubDate>Tue, 14 May 2024 07:35:17 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Stella Paul</dc:creator>
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<description><![CDATA[More than 1,400 delegates are present at two crucial meetings, where the topic of preserving the planet's ongoing biodiversity for the benefit of humanity is under discussion. Under the spotlight are the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, synthetic biology, the detection and identification of living modified organisms, and, critically, biodiversity and health. ]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<img width="300" height="225" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/SBSTTA-1-300x225.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="Over 1,400 delegates, including 600 representing parties or signatories from over 150 countries and a significant delegation of Indigenous Peoples and other observer organizations, including women’s groups are attending two crucial biodiversity meetings in Nairobi, Kenya. Credit: Stella Paul/IPS" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/SBSTTA-1-300x225.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/SBSTTA-1-629x472.jpg 629w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/SBSTTA-1-200x149.jpg 200w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/SBSTTA-1.jpg 630w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Over 1,400 delegates, including 600 representing parties or signatories from over 150 countries and a significant delegation of Indigenous Peoples and other observer organizations, including women’s groups are attending two crucial biodiversity meetings in Nairobi, Kenya. Credit: Stella Paul/IPSBy Stella Paul NAIROBI, May 14 2024 (IPS) The 26th meeting of the Subsidiary Body of Scientific, Technical, and Technological Advisors (SBSTTA) of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD) started in Nairobi, Kenya, on Monday. Over 1,400 delegates, including 600 representing signatories or parties from over 150 countries, are present for the seven-day meeting at the headquarters of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). A large number of members from Indigenous Peoples and other observer organizations, including women’s groups, are also attending the meetings.
SBSTTA will be followed by the meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Implementation (SBI), another subsidiary body of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The SBI will take place from May 20–29 at the same venue.
Opening the meeting on Monday morning, David Cooper, the Acting Executive Secretary of the <a href="https://www.cbd.int/">UN Convention on Biological Diversity</a>, called on the delegates for a successful meeting.
“A key part of ensuring the implementation of the <a href="https://www.unep.org/resources/kunming-montreal-global-biodiversity-framework?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwl4yyBhAgEiwADSEjeLU1hj83Vf05fIdyEANGT4J4OO-3AnGIDvn8YfX8mt_0UWzg6fPGLxoC4PkQAvD_BwE">Global Biodiversity Framework</a> is to monitor the progress and that’s why finalizing a monitoring framework includes authenticators for the parties to report on. I would like to give my sincere appreciation to all those working on putting together a comprehensive set of authenticators. I encourage you to make full use of what we have achieved so far and let’s make this meeting a success,” Cooper said.
IPS, which is exclusively covering the meetings, has insights into the meetings and presents here the brief history of both the meetings and their significance in larger global biodiversity protection, especially in the global south, including the implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), the legally binding international biodiversity treaty adopted by the nations in December 2022
SBSTTA: History, Mandate and Role in the COP
SBSTTA was established 30 years ago, in 1994, as a subsidiary body of the CBD during the first meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the CBD in Nassau, Bahamas. Article 25 of the CBD, which mandated its creation, tasked it with giving the COP timely advice regarding the application of the Convention.
Since then, SBSTTA ‘s main role has been providing assessments of scientific, technical, and technological information relevant to the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity. It typically meets once or twice a year to review and assess relevant scientific information, including reports submitted by Parties, relevant organizations, and stakeholders. Its discussions cover a wide range of topics, including biodiversity loss, ecosystem services, invasive species, genetic resources, and biotechnology.
The main output of SBSTTA meetings is a set of recommendations to the COP, which are based on the scientific and technical assessments conducted during its sessions. These recommendations provide guidance to Parties and other stakeholders on key issues related to the implementation of the CBD.
For example, in 2007, SBSTTA recommended that the biodiversity COP consider the potential impacts of synthetic biology on biodiversity and ecosystems and encourage Parties to undertake further research, risk assessments, and regulatory measures to address any potential risks associated with the release of synthetic organisms into the environment.
This recommendation was later taken up by the CBD COP, leading to the adoption of decisions on synthetic biology, including Decision XIII/17, which encouraged Parties to continue their efforts to address the potential positive and negative impacts of synthetic biology on biodiversity, and take a precautionary approach.
A more recent example is the SBSTTA’s recommendation from 2018 that the COP should encourage Parties to mainstream biodiversity considerations into sectoral and cross-sectoral policies, plans, and programs, including those pertaining to agriculture, fisheries, forestry, tourism, energy, and infrastructure.
The CBD COP later agreed with this suggestion, which led to the adoption of decisions and guidelines on mainstreaming biodiversity across sectors. One of these was Decision XIV/4, which asked Parties to do more to mainstream biodiversity into relevant sectors and to encourage synergies between the goals of sustainable development and biodiversity conservation.
SBSTTA and Genetically Modified Mosquitoes
SBSTTA-26 has a large number of issues on its agenda. Most prominent among them are: 1) creating a monitoring framework for the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework; 2) synthetic biology; 3) detection and identification of living modified organisms; and 4) biodiversity and health.
It is expected that under the detection and identification of living modified organisms, genetically engineered mosquitoes for Malaria prevention will be discussed. Research on genetically engineered mosquitoes for malaria control has been an area of interest and investigation for several years, although little information is available on it in the public domain.
Scientists in many countries, including in the United States and Brazil, have been exploring various genetic modification techniques to create mosquitoes that are resistant to the malaria parasite or are unable to transmit the disease. One approach involves genetically modifying mosquitoes to produce antibodies that neutralize the malaria parasite when it enters their bodies.
The other approach is to use “Gene Drive Technology,” which involves modifying mosquitoes in a way that ensures the modified genes are passed on to a high proportion of their offspring. Already, many field trials of genetically engineered mosquitoes have been conducted or are underway in different parts of the world, most notably those conducted by the company Oxitec in Brazil and the Cayman Islands.
At the SBSTTA, scientific and technical advisors will look closely at the important environmental and ethical considerations related to GE mosquitoes. According to the World Health Organization’s <a href="https://www.who.int/teams/global-malaria-programme/reports/world-malaria-report-2023">2023 World Malaria Report,</a> there has been an increase in malaria infections all over the world as a result of climate change. However, several countries and organizations have serious reservations against the release of GM mosquitoes, which they believe may have an irreversible and devastating impact on local biodiversity. One of the most vocal organizations against GE/GM mosquitoes has been Friends of the Earth, a US-based environmental advocacy group. Dana Perls, senior program manager at Friends of the Earth, said, “Significant scientific research on genetically engineered mosquitoes is still needed to understand the potential public health and environmental threats associated with the release of this novel genetically engineered insect.”
The SBSTTA is expected to witness passionate discussions, especially from environmental NGOs and faith-based organizations, including the need to ensure that communities are properly informed and engaged in decision-making processes, especially in the global south.
<div id="attachment_185362" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="wp-image-185362 size-full" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/SBSTTA2.jpg" alt="The agenda for the meetings includes creating a monitoring framework for the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, synthetic biology, detection and identification of living modified organisms, and biodiversity and health. Credit: Stella Paul/IPS" width="630" height="473" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/SBSTTA2.jpg 630w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/SBSTTA2-300x225.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/SBSTTA2-629x472.jpg 629w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/SBSTTA2-200x149.jpg 200w" sizes="(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px" />The agenda for the meetings includes creating a monitoring framework for the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, synthetic biology, detection and identification of living modified organisms, and biodiversity and health. Credit: Stella Paul/IPS</div>
SBI: Most Crucial Agenda Items
The SBI was established under the CBD during the third meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the CBD in 1996. The SBI’s mandate includes providing guidance and recommendations to the COP on matters related to the implementation of the CBD as well as identifying obstacles and challenges that may hinder effective implementation.
Like SBSTTA, SBI also typically meets once or twice a year to conduct its work. Its discussions cover a wide range of topics related to the implementation of the CBD, including national biodiversity strategies and action plans, financial resources and mechanisms, capacity-building, and technology transfer.
Chaired by Chirra Achalender Reddy of India, the SBI in Nairobi has placed several items on its agenda. However, the most crucial ones among them are: 1) resource mobilization and financial mechanisms; 2) a review of the progress in national target setting; and 3) the updating of national biodiversity strategies and action plans.
As IPS recently reported, only a handful of countries have so far been able to submit their updated biodiversity action plans, while the rest are said to be facing multiple challenges in doing so, including a lack of capacity. In fact, Kenya, the host country of these meetings, has not been able to submit their updated action plan yet.
On Monday, in her inaugural address during the opening ceremony of SBSTTA, Ingrid Andersen, the Executive Director of UNEP, acknowledged that a lack of capacity to revise and update their action plans has been reported by several member states. “Capacity building is a serious issue and at the SBSTTA and SBI, this will be seriously discussed,” Andersen said.
David Ainsworth, the Communications Director of UNCBD, said that the capacity is lacking in several areas, including communications (where countries do not know how to communicate to different ministries the need for working together to develop their biodiversity action plans), finance (lack of funding, budgetary constraints), and knowledge.
“Perhaps the most crucial of these is finance and this will be seriously discussed at the SBI,” Ainsworth said.
IPS UN Bureau Report
 
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<h1 class="section">Related Articles</h1>
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<li><a href="https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/05/biodiversity-masterplan-negotiations-crucial-science-technology-implementation-underway/" >Biodiversity Masterplan: Negotiations on Crucial Science, Technology for Implementation Underway</a></li>
</ul></div> Excerpt: More than 1,400 delegates are present at two crucial meetings, where the topic of preserving the planet's ongoing biodiversity for the benefit of humanity is under discussion. Under the spotlight are the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, synthetic biology, the detection and identification of living modified organisms, and, critically, biodiversity and health. ]]></content:encoded>
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<title>Bringing the World’s Food Production in Line with Global Climate Goals</title>
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<pubDate>Tue, 14 May 2024 04:53:24 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Dan Drollette Jr</dc:creator>
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<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.ipsnews.net/?p=185356</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Food systems—how we grow, transport, prepare, and dispose of the food we eat—are responsible for roughly one-third of all global greenhouse gas emissions. And those gases are changing the climate, which in turn is disrupting the food supply. It would seem to be a classic vicious circle. To compound the problem, the intertwined fates of […]]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<img width="300" height="199" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/New-technology-in_-300x199.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/New-technology-in_-300x199.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/New-technology-in_.jpg 624w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />New technology in harvesting and preserving rain water has helped farmers in Kenya grow more and healthier crops year-round even in a changing climate. Credit: FAO/Christena DowsettBy Dan Drollette Jr NORTHAMPTON, Massachusetts, May 14 2024 (IPS) Food systems—how we grow, transport, prepare, and dispose of the food we eat—are responsible for roughly one-third of all global greenhouse gas emissions. And those gases are changing the climate, which in turn is disrupting the food supply. It would seem to be a classic vicious circle.

To compound the problem, the intertwined fates of food and climate change have taken remarkably long to be recognized: It was only last December that the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) unveiled its non-binding “food systems roadmap” for bringing the world’s food production in line with global climate goals. 
Why it took so long for food to be “on the table” at international conferences about climate change is something that Emile Frison delves into for the special issue of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. In his article “<a href="https://thebulletin.org/premium/2024-05/we-cannot-afford-another-lost-year-for-food-and-climate-action" rel="noopener" target="_blank">We cannot afford another lost year for food and climate action</a>,” Frison says that part of the problem so far has been imagery: “When we think of climate change … [w]hat we almost certainly don’t think of is the burger sitting juicy on the dinner plate, the cow in the barn, or the ready-made lasagna steaming fresh from the microwave.”
Along similar lines, an <a href="https://thebulletin.org/premium/2024-05/interview-catherine-bertini-on-eliminating-hunger-in-a-changing-climate" rel="noopener" target="_blank">interview with food systems expert Catherine Bertini</a> focuses on the difficulties of reconciling the United Nations’ twin (and perhaps not entirely compatible) goals of eliminating global hunger and stabilizing global climate. 
But while the problems involved in creating more sustainable food systems may have taken a long time to be recognized and be large in size, they are not insurmountable. In fact, there are many approaches to solving them.
One is to use the latest in high-tech genetic editing tools to make crops with increased yields, greater resiliency to extreme weather, and more resistance to the new diseases introduced as formerly temperate zones become warmer and the reach of what were formerly exclusively tropical pests and diseases expands.
 “Appropriately enough in the Century of Biology, that means turning to genetic tools such as CRISPR,” write the authors of “<a href="https://thebulletin.org/premium/2024-05/we-need-to-act-now-to-ensure-global-food-security-and-reduce-agricultural-greenhouse-gas-emissions" rel="noopener" target="_blank">We need to act now to ensure global food security and reduce agricultural greenhouse gas emissions</a>.”
A whole other tack involves looking to the past and bringing back some traditional, indigenous food sources—many of which are extraordinarily well-suited to the Global South but over time fell by the agricultural wayside. 
In “<a href="https://thebulletin.org/premium/2024-05/what-if-potatoes-grew-on-trees-an-interview-with-the-breadfruit-institutes-diane-ragone" rel="noopener" target="_blank">What if potatoes grew on trees</a>,” Diane Ragone, founder of Hawaii’s Breadfruit Institute, describes the organization’s successful effort to bring back the low-cost, sustainable, locally grown foodstuff known as breadfruit. 
She highlights the importance of several projects, years in the making, to interview people across the Pacific Islands about their traditional cultural practices regarding this food’s planting, cultivating, harvesting, and storing—and to document their knowledge in photographs, recordings, and videotapes.
This type of holistic approach is also a key part of what has come to be known as “regenerative agriculture,” which deals with not just food production but also with how agricultural practices can enrich the soil and the environment. 
In “<a href="https://thebulletin.org/premium/2024-05/regenerative-agriculture-sequesters-carbon-but-thats-not-the-only-benefit-and-shouldnt-be-the-only-goal" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Regenerative agriculture sequesters carbon—but that’s not the only benefit and shouldn’t be the only goal</a>,” Jessica Villat, a researcher affiliated with the Harvard University Extension School, explains how practices aimed at better sequestering carbon—including the planting of cover crops, using non-chemical fertilizers, applying integrated pest management, and not tilling cropland—can succeed.
Not only that; these practices go to the heart of efforts to increase biodiversity, better control wildfire, and improve water quality and availability, as well.
Human society faces tremendous challenges in remaking its food system in an age of climate change, but it has some powerful tools at hand and a number of different approaches to take in possibly transforming a vicious circle into a virtuous cycle.
Source: Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
IPS UN Bureau
 
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<title>Biodiversity Masterplan: Negotiations on Crucial Science, Technology for Implementation Underway</title>
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<pubDate>Mon, 13 May 2024 14:43:25 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Joyce Chimbi</dc:creator>
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<description><![CDATA[The triple planetary crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, and waste are escalating. At the current pace, the world is on track to lose one quarter of all plant and animal species by 2030, with one species already dying out every 10 minutes. One million species face extinction. Human activity has already altered three-quarters […]]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<img width="300" height="256" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/x-300x256.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="Hector Alan Valdes Suarez from the Global Youth Biodiversity Network speaks about the youth perspective being an invaluable asset in the implementation of the Biodiversity Plan. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/x-300x256.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/x-554x472.jpg 554w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/x.jpg 630w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Hector Alan Valdes Suarez from the Global Youth Biodiversity Network speaks about the youth perspective being an invaluable asset in the implementation of the Biodiversity Plan. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPSBy Joyce Chimbi NAIROBI, May 13 2024 (IPS) The triple planetary crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, and waste are escalating. At the current pace, the world is on track to lose one quarter of all plant and animal species by 2030, with one species already dying out every 10 minutes. One million species face extinction. Human activity has already altered three-quarters of the land on Earth and two-thirds of the ocean.
Against this backdrop, the 26th session of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA) of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) opened today in Nairobi, Kenya. 
Hector Alan Valdes Suarez from the Global Youth Biodiversity Network told IPS that SBSTTA “seeks to build momentum to achieve global and national ambitious goals to halt and reverse the ongoing monumental biodiversity crises.”
Multidisciplinary and open to participation by all parties to the convention, SBSTTA comprises government representatives competent in the relevant field of expertise to ensure that policies are informed by the best available science at the time. SBSTTA has met 25 times to date. The ongoing 26th meeting will acknowledge contributions to the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework—also known as the Biodiversity Plan—hashed out at meetings in Kunming, China, and Montreal, Canada, in 2022.
As an open-ended intergovernmental scientific advisory body set up to provide the Conference of the Parties (COP) and, as appropriate, its other subsidiary bodies, with timely advice relating to the implementation of the CBD, SBSTTA “provides a platform for actors outside the Convention, such as youths, women, non-government organizations, and Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs), to observe negotiations on crucial science and also assess how they are or could contribute to, the Convention on Biological Diversity. The Convention is unique as actors outside the CBD can lobby for their views to be included through a Party to the Convention,” he says.
The Convention, which entered into force in December 1993, is the first global agreement to cover all aspects of biological diversity. Senka Barudanovic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Chair of the SBSTTA Bureau, said the 26th meeting of SBSTTA is “especially important as we are at a critical moment in time to ensure that our actions are guided by a robust foundation of scientific and technical knowledge, tools, and guidelines.”
“The good news is that there is a wealth of knowledge and experience for us to use and build on as we walk this journey together for effective conservation, sustainable use, and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits from the use of biodiversity.”
The six-day meeting seeks to forge agreement among delegates from 196 parties to the CBD on issues pertaining to the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, also known as <a href="https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cbd.int%2Fgbf%2Fdefault.shtml&data=05%7C02%7CList-COP15-Journalists%40cbd.int%7Cab3b531927294e623f8408dc708a6af8%7C0f9e35db544f4f60bdcc5ea416e6dc70%7C0%7C0%7C638508986997936946%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=B6duUfdYOJIJURfmwB24Q6JUu5zH1XthlhRkRRKPLBk%3D&reserved=0">The Biodiversity Plan</a>. Hard science and a multi-disciplinary approach are high on the SBSTTA 26 agenda as pertains to the implementation of the plan, specifically how the scientific and technical needs of all parties, including the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), among other developing countries, will be met.
Suarez said as parties to the CBD resume negotiations on crucial science and technology, “it is to develop and agree on a monitoring framework to track progress and implementation of the Biodiversity Plan. There are four goals and 23 targets so the indicators are globally uniform to track whether these targets are being achieved and they should be flexible and adaptable to the national context. In my view, many of these indicators are addressing actors outside the convention, such as youths, women, and Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs), and their representation at the meeting to hear what the parties are saying is critical.”
“These actors are contributing to the goal of the Biodiversity Plan at local levels, and their contributions ought to be recognized too, so they matter, and the decisions taken by the parties affect these actors the most, especially women and young people. The process is much more than agreeing on the right science and technical skills to reverse biodiversity loss. Increased accountability and transparency are key even as we gather to agree on how to measure success towards reaching set goals and consistency of reporting at the global level, hence the need for parties to continuously consult,” she said.
The gathering recognizes these concerns, as there are at least 80 representatives of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, as well as observer organizations, participating in the meeting. Indigenous people’s voices are key, as they suffer disproportionately from loss of biodiversity and environmental degradation. Their lives, survival, development chances, knowledge, environment, and health conditions depend on the successful implantation of the plan.
Cyri Wafula Nyongesa from the International University Network on Cultural and Biological Diversity agrees, telling IPS that even as scientists hash out hard science, technical, and technological knowledge to support the implementation of the Biodiversity Plan, there is a need to look at existing gaps in its implementation framework. These gaps include the need for capacity building and reporting frameworks that are simple and also draw connections between global and national plans.
As agreed in a landmark decision of CBD COP 15 in December 2022, the UN-driven strategy is the world’s masterplan to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030, and sets out a pathway to reach the global vision of a world living in harmony with nature by 2050 using four goals and 23 targets. The goals are to protect and restore nature, to prosper with nature, to share benefits fairly, and to invest in and collaborate for nature’s benefit.
“One year and a half after the Biodiversity Plan was historically adopted, parties to the CBD must now fine-tune the important details that will take the world from agreement to action,” said David Cooper, Acting Executive Secretary of the CBD. “The subsidiary body is leveraging science and technology to help the parties to the CBD deliver on their commitment to people and nature.”
Ongoing discussions are firmly framed within the CBD overall agenda to address all threats to biodiversity and ecosystem services, including threats from climate change, through scientific assessments, the development of tools, incentives, and processes, the transfer of technologies and good practices, and the full and active involvement of relevant stakeholders.
Delegates have resolutely set the ball rolling towards reporting on the monitoring framework, the national status of implementation, and the mobilization of financial resources for the Biodiversity Plan. The ultimate goal is to fast-track the implementation of sustainable solutions to biodiversity loss, restore ecosystems, and protect indigenous rights.
IPS UN Bureau Report
 
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<title>South Africa will be President of G20 in 2025: Two much-needed Reforms it Should Drive</title>
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<pubDate>Mon, 13 May 2024 06:30:08 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Danny Bradlow</dc:creator>
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<description><![CDATA[South Africa will play an important international role in 2025 as president of the G20. The G20 is a group of 19 countries as well as the African Union and the European Union. Between them they represent 85% of global economy, 75% of world trade and 67% of global population. The G20 defines itself as […]]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<img width="300" height="200" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/imf_333-300x200.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/imf_333-300x200.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/imf_333.jpg 540w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Credit: IMFBy Danny Bradlow PRETORIA, South Africa, May 13 2024 (IPS) South Africa will play an important international role in 2025 <a href="https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/cabinet-confident-sa-will-deliver-successful-g20-summit" rel="noopener" target="_blank">as president of the G20</a>. The G20 is a group of 19 countries as well as the African Union and the European Union. Between them they <a href="https://www.oecd.org/g20/about/#:%7E:text=What%20is%20the%20G20%3F,thirds%20of%20the%20world's%20population." rel="noopener" target="_blank">represent 85% of global economy, 75% of world trade and 67% of global population</a>. The G20 defines itself as the premier multilateral forum for international economic cooperation.

During its G20 presidential year, South Africa will host a summit of heads of state and government. It will also be responsible for organising and <a href="https://www.g20.in/content/dam/gtwenty/Indias_G20_Presidency-A_Synopsis.pdf" rel="noopener" target="_blank">chairing about 200 meetings</a> of ministers and officials. These will come from the G20 members, invited countries and international organisations like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
The meetings will focus on issues such as the challenges facing the global economy and whether the current arrangements for global economic governance are able to respond effectively.
The G20 presidency, therefore, presents South Africa with an opportunity to promote reforms in global economic governance. But there are constraints. It will inherit an agenda from Brazil, the current G20 chair. And it will have to respond to developments in the current dynamic and complex global environment.
<div id="attachment_185339" style="width: 180px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Danny-Bradlow_22.jpg" alt="" width="170" height="170" class="size-full wp-image-185339" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Danny-Bradlow_22.jpg 170w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Danny-Bradlow_22-100x100.jpg 100w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Danny-Bradlow_22-144x144.jpg 144w" sizes="(max-width: 170px) 100vw, 170px" />Danny Bradlow</div>The <a href="https://meetings.imf.org/en/Index" rel="noopener" target="_blank">IMF/World Bank spring meetings</a> held in April in the US suggest some achievable objectives for the G20 next year. There was a great deal of discussion about the inability of current arrangements to adequately address global challenges like climate, public health, inequality, poverty and digitalisation.
There’s not necessarily agreement on how to prioritise these challenges. And, unfortunately, the views of the rich states, which prioritise issues like carbon emissions, dominate the discussions. For example, the World Bank highlighted the fact that, in the 2023 financial year, it increased the funds loaned for climate-related purposes by more than <a href="https://www.devcommittee.org/content/dam/sites/devcommittee/doc/documents/2024/Final_DC2024-0002.pdf" rel="noopener" target="_blank">20%, allocating 41%</a> of all its lending to climate.
But its <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/world-bank-country-opinion-surveys/context-data" rel="noopener" target="_blank">own survey of its borrower countries</a> shows that climate ranks number 11 on the list of priorities of its borrower states. Health, education, agriculture and food security, and water and sanitation rank much higher. Nevertheless, at least two gaps became evident in the discussions.
The first relates to IMF reform. The second concerns the relationship between international organisations and their member states.
South Africa should aim to fill these gaps. It should encourage the G20 to commission two studies on the scale and scope of the challenges that the international community faces, and propose some responses. Ideally, it should convince the G20 to commission these studies in 2024 so that it can begin discussing policy responses in 2025.
This kind of approach has been effective. Over the last few years, the multilateral development banks have been the subject of G20-commissioned studies. This has led to proposals designed to make them “<a href="https://www.devcommittee.org/content/dam/sites/devcommittee/doc/statements/2024/DCS2024-0031-DC Chair-Spring Statement..pdf" rel="noopener" target="_blank">bigger and better</a>”.
Shortcomings
The need for IMF reform is becoming more urgent. It is adapting its operations to deal with <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jiel/article/26/1/17/7003371" rel="noopener" target="_blank">the macro-economic impacts of issues like climate, gender and inequality</a>. The IMF has created a <a href="https://www.imf.org/en/Topics/Resilience-and-Sustainability-Trust" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Resilience and Sustainability</a> Trust that is providing financing to 18 countries, primarily for adaptation. It is reviewing its <a href="https://www.imf.org/en/About/Factsheets/Sheets/2023/imf-world-bank-debt-sustainability-framework-for-low-income-countries#:%7E:text=What%20is%20the%20debt%20sustainability,now%20and%20in%20the%20future." rel="noopener" target="_blank">Debt-Sustainability Framework for Low-Income Countries</a> so that it incorporates these “new” issues.
These changes are being made in an opaque and unpredictable way, however. The IMF has not made publicly available the principles and procedures it uses when deciding what aspects of these “new” issues to take on. 
It can’t accurately assess the full impacts of these issues unless it understands how communities, workers, businesses and civil society organisations will respond to the social and environmental impacts of specific policy and fiscal initiatives with macroeconomic implications. It cannot gain this information without consulting these groups.
This means it must engage more with a broader range of stakeholders than it did when it focused exclusively on more traditional macroeconomic and financial stability concerns. These new issues, therefore, raise questions about the appropriate form for the relationship between the IMF and its member states.
At the spring meetings, the <a href="https://www.devcommittee.org/en/devcommittee/home" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Development Committee</a> of the World Bank and the IMF “<a href="https://www.devcommittee.org/content/dam/sites/devcommittee/doc/statements/2024/DCS2024-0031-DC Chair-Spring Statement..pdf" rel="noopener" target="_blank">reiterated the importance of accountability mechanisms in enhancing development outcomes and stimulating internal learning and feedback</a>.”
Yet the IMF remains the only international financial institution without an independent accountability mechanism.
The second gap relates to the fact that developing countries are spending <a href="https://carnegieendowment.org/2024/01/17/why-debt-relief-matters-to-wealthy-west-pub-91395#:%7E:text=Sixty%20percent%20of%20low%2Dincome,on%20either%20health%20or%20education." rel="noopener" target="_blank">more on external debt service than on health and education</a>. This is undermining their efforts to deal with climate change, inequality and sustainable development goals. Some discussants also regretted that there was a <a href="https://data.one.org/data-dives/net-finance-flows-to-developing-countries/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">net outflow of funds from the global south to the global north</a>.
As <a href="https://africanarguments.org/2024/04/climate-finance-did-the-imf-world-bank-spring-meetings-move-the-dial/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">some have noted</a>, the amount of funding committed to new development financing initiatives by rich countries is paltry compared to what’s needed. This has led, for example, economic ministers from <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2024/apr/25/ministers-of-germany-brazil-south-africa-and-spain-why-we-need-a-global-tax-on-billionaires" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Brazil, Germany, South Africa and Spain to call for a global tax on billionaires</a>.
This is an important and creative idea. But the proposal raises difficult questions about state sovereignty and about the design of the institutions of global governance.
What’s needed
While multilateral development banks have been the subject of G20-commissioned studies, the IMF has not undergone a similar examination.
South Africa should commission a group of experts to study how the IMF should change to take on these new issues. The study should look at IMF governance, operational policies and practices, and its financial needs. The purpose would be to identify the current shortcomings in structures and functions.
Experts should also think of ways to make the IMF more responsive to the needs and priorities of all its member states and their citizens.
Second, South Africa should call for a study of how best to divide responsibility between states and the international financial institutions. This is particularly important when it comes to the environmental and social impacts of operations.
The purpose would be to understand how the roles and functions of these institutions are evolving and how this is affecting their relations with their member states. The study could propose ways to ensure that the structure and functions of institutions are both respectful of state sovereignty and appropriate for the responsibilities that the institutions are assuming.
Raising a global wealth tax for developmental purposes could be one example used in this study.
Danny Bradlow is a Professor/Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Advancement of Scholarship, University of Pretoria. In addition to his position at the University of Pretoria, he is also a Compliance Officer in the Social and Environmental Compliance Unit of the UNDP and Co-Chair of the Academic Circle on the Right to Development, which advises the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Development.
Source: The Conversation– a nonprofit, independent news organization dedicated to unlocking the knowledge of experts for the public good. The <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-pretoria-1645" rel="noopener" target="_blank">University of Pretoria</a> provides funding as a partner of The Conversation AFRICA. 
IPS UN Bureau
 
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<title>General Assembly Strengthens Palestine’s Status at UN — with New Privileges</title>
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<pubDate>Mon, 13 May 2024 06:08:01 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Thalif Deen</dc:creator>
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<description><![CDATA[The United States and its closest political and military ally, Israel, once again found themselves isolated last week when 143 of the UN’s 193 member states approved a resolution enhancing the role of Palestine providing it with new diplomatic privileges. And the US, meanwhile, has implicitly threatened to cut off funding– if and when the […]]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<img width="300" height="136" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Results-of-the-General_-300x136.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Results-of-the-General_-300x136.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Results-of-the-General_.jpg 624w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Results of the General Assembly's vote on the resolution on the status of the Observer State of Palestine. 10 May 2024. Credit: UN Photo/Manuel ElíasBy Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS, May 13 2024 (IPS) The United States and its closest political and military ally, Israel, once again found themselves isolated last week when 143 of the UN’s 193 member states approved a resolution enhancing the role of Palestine providing it with new diplomatic privileges.
And the US, meanwhile, has implicitly threatened to cut off funding– if and when the UN provides legitimacy to Palestine. But that legitimacy is not likely to be achieved as long the US continues to exercise its veto to deny Palestine the status of a full-fledged UN member state. 

Currently, Palestine is “a non-member observer state”– a recognition granted by the U.N. General Assembly back in 2012. But any application to become a full U.N. member needs to be approved by the Security Council and at least by two-thirds of the General Assembly.
Ian Williams, President of the New York-based Foreign Press Association (FPA) told IPS: ”I have observed the Israeli reaction to Palestinian approaches for three decades. Israel derides and devalues the UN but is fervent in its opposition to a Palestinian presence. But Israel never walks out, They know that the UN resolutions are their sole legal claim to legitimacy.”
One has to rephrase Groucho Marx’s comments on being excluded from an exclusive club, why would Palestine want to be part of the Club that allows a criminal disreputable member like Israel a platform? The best answer is that it exposes the criminality of Israel and the duplicity of the US. 
Sadly, he said, every unprincipled US veto for Israel erodes Washington’s diplomatic standing and lends support to tyrants in Moscow, Damascus and elsewhere, making the US an accomplice to genocide in general not just in the Middle East. 
“One suspects that if Israel declared that pi equals three, the State Department would wield its veto to support it, and have its diplomats prove it with maps and diagrams,” said Williams.
The US, which has consistently vetoed Security Council resolutions on UN membership for Palestine, voted against last week’s General Assembly resolution, along with Israel, Argentina, Czechia, Hungary—and four small island developing states, namely., Micronesia, Nauru, Palau and Papua New Guinea—probably under US pressure.
Perhaps so did some of the 25 countries that abstained from voting: Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Fiji, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malawi, Marshall Islands, Monaco, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Paraguay, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and Vanuatu.
Sarah Leah Whitson, Executive Director, Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), told IPS the US government’s threat to cut funding to the UN if it recognizes Palestinian statehood is a shameful effort to bully a global body into submission. 
“Blocking Palestinian self-determination for no reason other than to pacify a rogue Israeli government is the rock bottom of a moral bankruptcy decades in the making,” she said.
According to the UN, Palestine’s new status will include:
<ul>1. To be seated among Member States in alphabetical order 
2. Make statements on behalf of a group 
3. Submit proposals and amendments and introduce them 
4. Co-sponsor proposals and amendments, including on behalf of a group 
5. Propose items to be included in the provisional agenda of the regular or special sessions and the right to request the inclusion of supplementary or additional items in the agenda of regular or special sessions 
6. The right of members of the delegation of the State of Palestine to be elected as officers in the plenary and the Main Committees of the General Assembly 
7. Full and effective participation in UN conferences and international conferences and meetings convened under the auspices of the General Assembly or, as appropriate, of other UN organs</ul>
Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man, Israel Palestine Research Director at DAWN, told IPS the General Assembly vote makes it clearer than ever that the United States is the last remaining barrier blocking Palestinians from any measure of self-determination. 
“America is facing growing isolation in the world due to its unquestioned backing of Israel and refusal to support Palestinian rights”, he noted.
Elaborating further, Williams said, apart from annoying (Israel’s Ambassador Gilad) Erdan, an interesting side effect of Palestine’s new privileges is that the delegation moves from a seat in the gallery to the main body of the General Assembly, sandwiched between Panama, which supported Palestine’s bid, and Palau, which never has, and whose ambassador is also the Pacific Atoll’s recently accredited representative to Israel. 
“Let us hope, Palestinian representative Riyad Mansour’s team is hospitable to their new neighbor and has time for informative chats about shared histories since ironically the US had thwarted Palau’s own statehood with a threatened veto for many years because the islanders refused access to US nuclear weapons on its territory!’ 
Presumably Palau’s staunch anti-nuclear stance is flexible enough to accommodate Israel’s nuclear weapons and refusal to sign the NPT, declared Williams, a former President of the UN Correspondents Association (UNCA).
According to a transcript of the Security Council meeting, Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer of the observer State of Palestine, recounted the devastating impacts of the ongoing war in Gaza, with over 35,000 Palestinians killed, a further 80,000 injured and over two million displaced.
“No words can capture what such loss and trauma signify for Palestinians, their families, their communities and for our nation as whole,” he said.
He added that the Palestinians in Gaza have been pushed to the “very edge” of the Strip “to the very brink of life” with “bombs and bullets haunting them”.
Mansour said despite the attacks and destruction, the flag of Palestine “flies high and proud” in Palestine and across the globe, becoming a “symbol raised by all those who believe in freedom and it’s just rule”.
“It is true that we will not disappear, but the lives lost cannot be restored,” he stated.
Mansour said after holding observer status for 50 years, “we wish from all those who invoke the UN Charter to abide by the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination guaranteed by the Charter.”
Ambassador FU Cong of China, a permanent member of the Security Council, said Palestine should have the same status as Israel– and that Palestinian people should enjoy the same rights as Israeli people.
“It is the common responsibility of the international community to support and advance the process of Palestinian independent Statehood, and provide strong support for the implementation of the two-State solution and a lasting peace in the Middle East,” he said
He pointed out that the United States has repeatedly used its veto “in an unjustified attempt” to obstruct the international community’s efforts to correct the “historical injustice long visited on Palestine”.
“It is not commensurate with the role of a responsible major country,” he said.
He also recalled the overwhelming support for the General Assembly resolution, reaffirming the right of Palestinian people to self-determination, and recommending that the Security Council reconsider favourably its application to join the United Nations
“China welcomes this historic resolution, which reflects the will of the international community,” Ambassador Fu declared.
IPS UN Bureau Report
 
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<title>The World Must Not Abandon the Mothers of Gaza</title>
<link>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/05/world-must-not-abandon-mothers-gaza/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=world-must-not-abandon-mothers-gaza</link>
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<pubDate>Fri, 10 May 2024 19:04:09 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Natalia Kanem 2</dc:creator>
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<description><![CDATA[As millions of children and families celebrate their mothers, my thoughts turn to the pregnant women and new mothers our teams at UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, support in more than 130 countries around the world. And I hold in my heart all those who, tragically, will never live to see […]]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<img width="300" height="168" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/The-Al-Helal-Al_-300x168.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/The-Al-Helal-Al_-300x168.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/The-Al-Helal-Al_.jpg 624w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />The Al-Helal Al-Emirati maternity hospital in Rafah is one of the last remaining functioning health facilities in southern Gaza. Midwives are delivering more than 70 babies per day in dire conditions and while drastically under-supplied. Credit: UNFPA Palestine/Bisan OudaBy Natalia Kanem UNITED NATIONS, May 10 2024 (IPS) As millions of children and families celebrate their mothers, my thoughts turn to the pregnant women and new mothers our teams at UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, support in more than 130 countries around the world. And I hold in my heart all those who, tragically, will never live to see their newborns.

More than 800 women a day – one woman every two minutes – die needless deaths from entirely preventable complications of pregnancy and childbirth. The situation is particularly dire for women and girls caught up in the world’s escalating crises and conflicts. Globally, more than half of all maternal deaths take place in countries affected by humanitarian crisis or fragility.
<div id="attachment_185331" style="width: 210px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/NataliaKanem_.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="265" class="size-full wp-image-185331" />Natalia Kanem</div>In Gaza, women face appalling conditions before, during and after birth. At a moment when new life is beginning, what should be a moment of joy is being overshadowed by death, destruction and despair. Severely limited access to health services and emergency obstetric care put the lives of women and newborns at risk.
Today, major hospitals lie in ruins across Gaza and not a single health facility is fully operational following more than 440 attacks on health care since the war began in October.
At the Al-Helal Al-Emirati Maternity Hospital, one of Gaza’s few remaining health facilities and now the main facility for pregnant women in Rafah, at the time of writing there are only five beds for deliveries and around 60 deliveries every day. Women hoping to give birth on the ward are told to bring their own mattress and pillow.
“We are delivering babies nonstop,” says midwife Samira Hosny Qeshta. “We tell the woman who has just given birth: we need the bed. Get up and sit on a chair.” 
Most women have had no prenatal care, she says. They just arrive at the hospital hoping for the best. Many are suffering from infections, due to the unhygienic living conditions in the overcrowded camps, where hundreds of people may share a single toilet and there is a lack of clean water and hygiene supplies.
“We live in a tent, and every time it rains the tent floods, and our beds get wet,” says Suhad. She is nine months pregnant and scheduled for a C-section. Hours later, she will be back in the tent.
“It will be extremely difficult after the birth,” she says. “From the physical pain to the ice cold – and there are no clothes for the baby. What has she done to be born into a situation like this?”
Even if their babies are delivered safely, thousands of women like Suhad face the inevitable question: What next? How will they keep their newborn clean, warm, fed, alive?
Many of these mothers are themselves too dehydrated and malnourished to breastfeed their children, and there is no formula to be had.
UNFPA has delivered reproductive health kits that have enabled safe births for more than 20,000 women in Gaza. We have set up a mobile maternity clinic in Rafah, with two more on the way. Hundreds of UNFPA-trained midwives are supporting pregnant women and new mothers unable to access a health clinic or hospital. 
We have also distributed hygiene supplies, diapers, baby clothes, blankets and other essential items to thousands of new mothers. Yet all of this is just a drop in an ocean of need.
The world must not abandon the mothers of Gaza. They, their newborns, and all civilians must be protected and their needs met. Hospitals and health workers must never be targets. 
From time immemorial, cultures across the globe have honoured the sacredness of motherhood. On this Mother’s Day, let us pay tribute to that sacred bond by remembering all the women who create, protect and nurture life, even under the most catastrophic circumstances. 
The mothers in flooded tents or fleeing bombs. The mothers of hostages still waiting for their families to be made whole. The mothers and newborns fighting for their lives in overcrowded hospital wards without adequate medicines or supplies. 
They need life-saving health services and support. They need dignity. Above all, they need peace. This war must end now.
Dr. Natalia Kanem is <a href="https://www.unfpa.org/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">UNFPA</a> Executive Director
IPS UN Bureau
 
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<title>Latin America and the Caribbean Hit with Record-Breaking Heat and Other Climate Effects in 2023</title>
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<pubDate>Fri, 10 May 2024 07:04:35 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Alison Kentish</dc:creator>
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<description><![CDATA[The World Meteorological Organization’s State of the Climate in Latin America and the Caribbean report documents the Region’s struggles with the devastating impacts of climate change, and urges action to reduce the burden of disasters.]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<img width="300" height="201" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/JAK_IPS_COASTDOMINICA-300x201.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="The coastal village of Scotts Head, Dominica: The 2023 State of the Climate in Latin America and the Caribbean report is calling for robust early warning systems to safeguard small island developing states from rising sea levels and other impacts of climate change. Credit: Alison Kentish/IPS" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/JAK_IPS_COASTDOMINICA-300x201.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/JAK_IPS_COASTDOMINICA-768x513.jpg 768w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/JAK_IPS_COASTDOMINICA-1024x685.jpg 1024w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/JAK_IPS_COASTDOMINICA-629x421.jpg 629w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />The coastal village of Scotts Head, Dominica: The 2023 State of the Climate in Latin America and the Caribbean report is calling for robust early warning systems to safeguard small island developing states from rising sea levels and other impacts of climate change. Credit: Alison Kentish/IPSBy Alison Kentish DOMINICA, May 10 2024 (IPS) Every year for the last four years, a collaborative effort involving scientists and other experts has assessed the state of the climate in Latin America and the Caribbean. The findings have revealed increasingly alarming trends for the world’s second-most disaster-prone region.
<a href="https://library.wmo.int/records/item/68891-state-of-the-climate-in-latin-america-and-the-caribbean-2023">The latest report</a> by the <a href="https://wmo.int/">World Meteorological Organization</a> published on May 8, confirmed that 2023 was the hottest year on record. The Atlantic region experienced a rapid rise in sea levels, surpassing the global average and threatening the coastlines of several small island developing states. The spike in temperatures hit agriculture hard, worsening food insecurity, while wildlife populations suffered. Meanwhile, heavy rainfall triggered floods and landslides, with significant fatalities and economic losses across the region.
“In all types of climatic and environmental variables, records were broken during the year 2023. In terms of the amount of heat in the ocean, sea level rise, ice loss in the Antarctic Sea and the retreat of glaciers, Latin America and the Caribbean have been seriously affected by the effects of El Niño, which are of course added to those of climate change induced by human presence,” said Professor Celeste Saulo, WMO Secretary General.
The report highlighted Category 5 Hurricane Otis, which hit near Acapulco, Mexico, as one of the strongest hurricanes on record in the Eastern Pacific. It also underscored the impacts of heavy rainfall, such as the deadly landslide in Sao Sebastiao, Brazil, and noted that the Negro River in the Amazon hit record low levels, while low water levels restricted shop traffic in the Panama Canal.
“In 2023, around 11 million people in the region were affected by disasters. Out of all these, climate-related disasters were the majority, resulting in over 20 billion US dollars in economic losses,” Acting Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction, Paola Albrito, told the report’s launch.
“We are unfortunately seeing this play out now in Brazil, where devastating floods have taken almost 100 lives and displaced over 160,000 people to date.”
Albrito told the launch that in order to meet their commitments to the Sustainable Development Goals, countries must reduce the burden of disasters.
“This starts by accelerating the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, in line with the agreed Regional Action Plan, which was updated last year,” she stated.
The UN Disaster risk official is calling for integrated disaster risk reduction into development financing to close funding gaps. Presently, just 1% of official development assistance in Latin America and the Caribbean goes towards disaster prevention.
She urged countries in this Region to take advantage of the opportunity presented by the UN Secretary General’s <a href="https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/early-warnings-for-all#:~:text=The%20%22Early%20Warnings%20for%20All,by%20the%20end%20of%202027.&text=If%20playback%20doesn't%20begin%20shortly%2C%20try%20restarting%20your%20device.,-More%20videos%20on">Early Warnings for All Initiative</a> to enhance multi-hazard warning systems and emphasized the importance of <a href="https://www.undrr.org/news/latin-america-and-caribbean-will-increase-its-disaster-preparedness-through-strengthened">heightened collaboration</a> in disaster preparedness and risk management between the European Union and Latin American and Caribbean intergovernmental organizations to improve response mechanisms and enhance resilience to natural disasters.
The report acknowledges progress made in using meteorological data for health surveillance, particularly in disease monitoring, citing it as a “move towards stronger public health strategies.” The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the importance of this area and the need to address gaps in disease surveillance.
“Climate change is a threat to global health that directly and indirectly affects health, well-being, and health equity. It exacerbates existing public health challenges in the Americas, such as food and water insecurity, air pollution, and the transmission of vector-borne diseases,” said Dr. Jarba Barbosa, Director of the Pan American Health Organization.
One of Barbosa’s first actions as PAHO Director was the relaunch of an initiative for the elimination of more than 30 diseases and health conditions from countries in the Americas. He says social and environmental conditions contribute significantly to elimination efforts, but climate change continues to challenge experts’ understanding of the epidemiology of many of those diseases.
“This is why member states have asked PAHO to develop a new policy to strengthen action of the health sector to respond to climate change with equity. This will be presented to our governing bodies in 2024, so that the Region of the Americas can have climate resilient and low carbon health systems, adopting a climate justice approach to increase equity in health,” he said.
The collaborative effort behind the 4th State of the Climate report involved over 30 national meteorological and hydrological services and regional climate centres, 60 scientists and experts and the support of organizations like the Food and Agriculture Organization and the Pan American Health Organization.
Partners say the report is a valuable resource to enhance regional risk knowledge and provides critical benchmarks for countries to better understand and address the growing climate risks they face.
IPS UN Bureau Report
 
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</ul></div> Excerpt: The World Meteorological Organization’s State of the Climate in Latin America and the Caribbean report documents the Region’s struggles with the devastating impacts of climate change, and urges action to reduce the burden of disasters.]]></content:encoded>
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<title>Biden ‘Moving the Goal Post’ With Threat to Withhold Bombs from Israel</title>
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<pubDate>Fri, 10 May 2024 05:57:58 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Brett Wilkins</dc:creator>
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<description><![CDATA[While some Palestine defenders on Wednesday welcomed U.S. President Joe Biden’s threat to withhold bombs and artillery shells from Israel if it launches a major invasion of Rafah, critics noted that an invasion is already underway and accused the American leader of walking back a previous “red line” warning against an Israeli assault on the […]]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<img width="300" height="136" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Destruction-in-northern-Gaza_-300x136.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Destruction-in-northern-Gaza_-300x136.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Destruction-in-northern-Gaza_.jpg 624w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Destruction in northern Gaza. Rubble may contain a lot of unexploded ordnance. Credit: UNRWA By Brett Wilkins SAN FRANCISCO, USA, May 10 2024 (IPS) While some <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/tag/palestine" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Palestine</a> defenders on Wednesday welcomed U.S. President Joe Biden’s threat to withhold bombs and artillery shells from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/tag/israel" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Israel</a> if it launches a major invasion of Rafah, critics noted that an invasion is already underway and accused the American leader of walking back a previous “red line” warning against an Israeli assault on the southern <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/tag/gaza" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Gaza</a> city.

Biden said for the first time that he’ll stop sending bombs, artillery shells, and other arms to Israel if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians forcibly displaced from other parts of the embattled Gaza Strip are sheltering alongside around 280,000 local residents.
Referring to Israel’s use of <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/bombing-gaza" rel="noopener" target="_blank">U.S.-supplied</a> 2,000-pound bombs—which can destroy an entire city block and have been used in some of the war’s worst atrocities—Biden <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/08/politics/joe-biden-interview-cnntv/index.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">told</a> CNN’s Erin Burnett that “civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which they go after population centers.”
Even the U.S. military—which has killed more foreign civilians than any other armed force on the planet since the end of World War II—won’t use 2,000-pound bombs in urban areas. But Israel does, including when it launched a strike to assassinate a single Hamas commander by <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/gaza-refugee-camp" rel="noopener" target="_blank">dropping the munitions</a> on the Jabalia refugee camp last October, killing more than 120 civilians.
“If they go into Rafah, I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities,” Biden said Wednesday.
Israeli forces have already gone into Rafah, and it was reported Tuesday that Biden was taking the unusual step of <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/israel-bombing" rel="noopener" target="_blank">delaying</a> shipments of two types of Boeing-made bombs to Israel to send a message to the country’s far-right government. 
It was, however, a mixed message, as the president also earlier in the day reaffirmed his support for Israel’s war on Gaza, which the International Court of Justice <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/watch-live-international-court-of-justice-delivers-ruling-in-israel-genocide-case" rel="noopener" target="_blank">said</a> is “plausibly” genocidal in a preliminary ruling in January.
Critics noted the shifting and subjective language used by Biden—who <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/guterres-rafah-invasion" rel="noopener" target="_blank">previously said</a> that any Israeli invasion of Rafah would constitute a “red line” resulting in unspecified consequences.
“He said invading Rafah was a red line. Israel invaded Rafah anyway, bombing buildings, burning and crushing children to death,” political analyst Omar Baddar <a href="https://twitter.com/OmarBaddar/status/1788340071638171938" rel="noopener" target="_blank">said</a> on social media. “Biden is now moving the goal post by adding a completely subjective descriptor: ‘Major.’ Now Israel has a green light to destroy Rafah in slow motion.”
During the course of the seven-month Israeli assault on Gaza—which has killed, maimed, or left missing more than 124,000 Palestinians—Biden has said Israel has killed “too many civilians” with its “indiscriminate bombing,” even as he’s pushed for more and more military aid for the key ally.
Wednesday’s interview came on the heels of Biden’s <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/senate-israel-aid" rel="noopener" target="_blank">approval</a> of a $14.3 billion emergency military aid package to Israel, <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/u-s-aid-to-israel-2666833315" rel="noopener" target="_blank">multiple moves</a> to sidestep Congress to fast-track armed assistance, nearly $4 billion in previously authorized annual military aid, and diplomatic cover in the form of <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/us-vetoes-ceasefire" rel="noopener" target="_blank">several</a> United Nations Security Council vetoes.
Reporting that the Biden administration will delay a highly anticipated report on whether Israel is using U.S. military aid in compliance with international law also <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/biden-approves-arms-sale-to-israel" rel="noopener" target="_blank">drew backlash</a> Tuesday from human rights advocates.
Referring to Israel’s U.S.-funded anti-missile system, Biden continued his supportive rhetoric during Wednesday’s CNN interview, telling Burnett that “we’re going to continue to make sure Israel is secure in terms of Iron Dome and their ability to respond to attacks.”
But the president added that Israel’s use of devastating weaponry against civilians is “just wrong,” and that “we’re not going to supply the weapons and artillery shells.”
Some peace groups welcomed Biden’s threat to withhold bombs and artillery shells from Israel, even while urging him to do more to stop his ally’s genocidal onslaught.
“Biden’s statement is as necessary as it is over overdue,” Jewish Voice for Peace executive director Stefanie Fox said in a statement. “The U.S. already bears responsibility for months of Israeli military has killed, the two million Palestinians being intentionally brought to the brink of famine, the decimation of all universities and almost every hospital in Gaza.”
“Today’s statement shows that Biden can no longer ignore the will of the majority of Americans who want a permanent cease-fire, release of all hostages, and an end to U.S. complicity in Israeli war crimes,” Fox added.
Source: Common Dreams
Brett Wilkins is a staff writer for Common Dreams.
IPS UN Bureau
 
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<title>Inclusivity, Impact, and Innovation Needed to Meet SDGs, UN Civil Society Conference Hears</title>
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<pubDate>Thu, 09 May 2024 17:12:06 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Joyce Chimbi</dc:creator>
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<description><![CDATA[The world is neither on track to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) nor is it leveraging emerging opportunities to effectively address global concerns such as extreme hunger, poverty, conflict, and climate change. Global concerns have outpaced existing structures for international cooperation and coping. To forge a global perspective, the United Nations Office in Nairobi […]]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<img width="300" height="202" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/The-United-Nations-Office-at-Nairobi-is-hosting-the-2024-United-Nations-Civil-Society-Conference-on-9-and-10-May-under-the-theme-Shaping-a-Future-of-Global-and-Sustainable-Progress.-Photo-Joyce-Chimbi-300x202.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="The United Nations Office at Nairobi is hosting the 2024 United Nations Civil Society Conference on May 9 and 10, under the theme Shaping a Future of Global and Sustainable Progress. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/The-United-Nations-Office-at-Nairobi-is-hosting-the-2024-United-Nations-Civil-Society-Conference-on-9-and-10-May-under-the-theme-Shaping-a-Future-of-Global-and-Sustainable-Progress.-Photo-Joyce-Chimbi-300x202.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/The-United-Nations-Office-at-Nairobi-is-hosting-the-2024-United-Nations-Civil-Society-Conference-on-9-and-10-May-under-the-theme-Shaping-a-Future-of-Global-and-Sustainable-Progress.-Photo-Joyce-Chimbi-629x423.jpg 629w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/The-United-Nations-Office-at-Nairobi-is-hosting-the-2024-United-Nations-Civil-Society-Conference-on-9-and-10-May-under-the-theme-Shaping-a-Future-of-Global-and-Sustainable-Progress.-Photo-Joyce-Chimbi.jpg 630w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />The United Nations Office at Nairobi is hosting the 2024 United Nations Civil Society Conference on May 9 and 10, under the theme Shaping a Future of Global and Sustainable Progress. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPSBy Joyce Chimbi NAIROBI, May 9 2024 (IPS) The world is neither on track to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) nor is it leveraging emerging opportunities to effectively address global concerns such as extreme hunger, poverty, conflict, and climate change. Global concerns have outpaced existing structures for international cooperation and coping.
To forge a global perspective, the United Nations Office in Nairobi is currently hosting the 2024 United Nations Civil Society Conference under the theme Shaping a Future of Global and Sustainable Progress. Bringing together more than 2,000 participants from civil society organizations, academic institutions, think tanks, member states, private sector companies, UN entities, change-makers, and other relevant stakeholders from across the globe.
“That civil society engagement remains a critical cog in the wheel of development is well established. Greater collaboration between civil society organizations, governments, and the private sector can therefore not be more urgent at this time as we gear up for the Summit of the Future,” says Carole Ageng’o, Global Initiatives Lead & Africa Regional Representative at HelpAge International.
“Indeed, civil society participation will contribute greatly towards meeting the aspiration of an international system that is better prepared to manage the challenges we face now and, in the future, for the sake of all humanity and for future generations.”
Since 1947, sixty-eight civil society conferences have resulted in successful outcomes due to previous interactions with civil society organizations. The ongoing conference is the premier event on the civil society calendar at the United Nations and the first of the UN’s civil society conferences to be held in Africa.
Born in Zimbabwe and currently working in South Africa as a human rights defender, Constance Mukarati told IPS that the role of civil society organizations and, more so, human rights defenders cannot be overstated towards ensuring that no one is left behind.
“For us, SDG 5 is really SDG 1. As a matter of urgency, women and girls everywhere must have equal rights and opportunities. We are still in an era where girl child education is not a priority and a gathering such as this is an opportunity for a revolution in how we think about issues of national and global concern, how we talk about these issues, who is in the room and how we execute and implement commitments towards sustainable development,” says Mukarati from the African Initiative of Women Human Rights Defenders.
The ongoing gathering of civil society and other stakeholders is on track to provide preliminary discussions and data ahead of the world’s leaders’ <a href="https://www.un.org/en/summit-of-the-future">Summit of the Future</a> on September 22–23, 2024, at the UN Headquarters in New York. The Summit is part of a monumental effort to reset global cooperation towards accelerating efforts to meet our existing international commitments and take concrete steps to respond to emerging challenges and opportunities.
Ultimately, the Summit of the Future is about rethinking what multilateralism means in a world characterized by plummeting levels of trust in public institutions, glaring wealth inequalities, and a majority of the world’s population in underdeveloped and developing nations being left furthest behind, falling deeper into extreme hunger and poverty. To address global concerns, the Summit will produce three international frameworks: the Pact for the Future (available as a <a href="https://www.un.org/en/summit-of-the-future/pact-for-the-future-zero-draft">zero draft</a>), the <a href="https://www.un.org/techenvoy/global-digital-compact">Global Digital Compact</a>, and the <a href="https://www.un.org/en/summit-of-the-future/declaration-on-future-generations">Declaration on Future Generations</a>.
“It is highly urgent that the UN systems relook and redesign how they engage its global citizenry so that the citizens can in turn engage the UN more effectively. This is what is needed to bring the SDGs back on track. What are people saying about the multiple challenges they face today? There is a feeling within the civil society movement that governments’ voices are prioritized within the UN system. This engagement is unique and highly relevant for our voices as activists and human rights defenders, which will inform and influence the direction that the Summit of the Future takes,” Eric Omondi, a Nairobi-based activist, told IPS.
This is a historic gathering aimed at galvanizing collaboration and reinforcing civil society organizations engagement in sustainable development. “We recognize that our generation stands at a critical junction where every action we take can significantly shape the future of our shared planet,” said Florence Syevuo, Executive Director, SDG Kenya Forum, and Co-Chair, Coalition for the UN We Need, Nairobi.
She stressed that the need to recognize the urgency of addressing global concerns such as climate change has never been more tangible as the effects of human interactions with nature become even more evident, underpinning why the outcome of the conference matters to all.
The Civil Society Conference and the Summit of the Future are critical platforms for deepening the engagement of citizens in international cooperation. As a prelude to the Summit of the Future, the Civil Society Conference features in-depth dialogues, a variety of workshops, and exhibits centered on three main objectives: inclusivity, impact, and innovation.
Inclusivity helps broaden the scope of discourse on global issues by enhancing the visibility and impact of diverse voices. On impact, participants are shaping global multi-stakeholder coalitions to advocate for and push the key issues that will be the outcome of the September Summit of the Future. On innovation, the two-day gathering is redefining the interaction between civil society and intergovernmental processes, showcasing a new model of collaboration that spans generations and sectors.
“The inclusion of youths and young voices in the SDG processes and other related commitments must become a priority. I recently completed my studies in law at Kampala International University and I intend to use my legal knowledge to amplify the most pressing problems facing young people in the global south and the communities in which they live,” Kiconco Shallom Esther, a youth participant from Uganda, told IPS.
As the curtain fell on the first day of the landmark civil society conference, there was consensus around the need to promote civil society’s insights and initiatives to bolster the Member State-led Summit of the Future process. Further emphasizing that a reinvigorated, organized civil society group can more effectively hold governments and powers accountable for progress towards a just, fair, and equitable shared future.
IPS UN Bureau Report
 
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<title>The Bleak déjà vu in Darfur</title>
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<pubDate>Thu, 09 May 2024 07:23:40 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>James Elder</dc:creator>
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<description><![CDATA[As dawn breaks over Darfur, my return after two decades feels heavy. Many millions are suffering once again. Twenty years ago, I was part of the humanitarian effort to make a difference. That was in the early 2000s, when celebrities and world-famous journalists would make the trek in a well-intentioned effort to focus attention on […]]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<img width="300" height="117" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Food-is-distributed-to_-300x117.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Food-is-distributed-to_-300x117.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Food-is-distributed-to_.jpg 624w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Food is distributed to Sudanese refugees in Koufron, Chad. Credit: WFP/Jacques David
   
Meanwhile, a former UN staff member who worked for a decade in Sudan’s Darfur region for the African Union-United Nations mission, UNAMID, has told UN News how she had to “avoid stepping on the bodies in the streets” as she fled for her life to neighbouring Chad. March 2024.By James Elder DARFUR, Western Sudan, May 9 2024 (IPS) As dawn breaks over Darfur, my return after two decades feels heavy. Many millions are suffering once again. Twenty years ago, I was part of the humanitarian effort to make a difference. That was in the early 2000s, when celebrities and world-famous journalists would make the trek in a well-intentioned effort to focus attention on the atrocities across Darfur.

But despite years of progress, this return is difficult; something akin to a bleak déjà vu. Indeed, in many respects, this time it is much, much worse for children and women. Sudan’s Darfur region has long been plagued by conflict, displacement, and unimaginable suffering. 
But now, as Sudan is torn apart by warring parties, there are no Hollywood actors, nor coordinated, concerted international pressure from politicians and media, to tackle what is the largest displacement crisis for children on the planet.
Darfur faces one of the world’s worst man-made disasters, yet so few people are talking about. After a year of fighting, more than 4.5 million children have been displaced. That’s more children than the entire population of many countries.
My initial experience 20 years ago left an indelible mark on me. Now, two decades later, I find myself standing once again on the soil of Darfur, the landscape hardly changed, but the problems all too familiar. 
There’s a frightful, familiar pattern to this current war. The fighting has been brutal. The ceasefires almost non-existent. The clashes spreading. And the atrocities many, with girls and women so frequently targeted. 
“If they couldn’t carry it, they burnt it”
Talking to the people, most of whom are displaced, I hear familiar themes from 20 years ago. Fighters didn’t just battle each other but looted whatever they could find, including basics like beds, mattresses, blankets, pots and pans or clothes. They took everything and, as an elderly woman told me in the city of Genenia: “If they couldn’t carry it, they burnt it.”
As I travel across West Darfur, I see evidence of a rebuilt life demolished once again, this time for the next generation. There were schools, health clinics and water systems less than 20 years old that now, after intense fighting, have been destroyed. 
Lifesaving services that protect children and families again on the brink of collapse. Frontline workers like nurses, teachers, doctors, have not been paid in months. They are running out of medicines. Safe water is sparse.
Similarly, for those who were children the last time I was in Darfur it is again a desolate place. University students and graduates, mostly young men but some women – young people who wanted a job in economics, medicine or IT – are now refugees in Chad with next to nothing. They crave the tiniest opportunity.
Dreams on hold
In the chaos of this war, the brightest minds have been forced to abandon their studies, their ambitions shattered. As 22-year-old Haida said to me in Darfur: “I had a dream – to study medical science. I was living that dream. Now I have nothing. I do not dream. Sadness is my friend.” 
Her gentle voice, perfect clarity, and utter grief floor me. I can only imagine how much more attention Sudan would get if the world could meet young Sudanese women like Haida.
Or Ahmed, 20, now in Farchana, Chad: “I cannot afford to dream here.” How then to reawaken their dreams? Those in power need to negotiate a ceasefire, and ensure aid is no longer blocked – from any side. 
Those in the region need to show leadership. Those in donor countries need to show compassion – and translate that into funding to address immediate needs.
I speak to Nawal, 24, from Zelinge in West Darfur, for whom the stress of war had become so much that she delivered her baby, at home, two months premature. And then, as she was giving birth, Nawal’s house was bombed. Miraculously, she and her baby survived, but when I met her, the baby was badly malnourished. I will always remember the look of this mother, as she whispered to me, head bowed, “I am a nutritionist, but look at my child’.
She was ashamed. I thought she was heroic. She had walked for a day to get her baby to a facility where the baby could receive treatment from UNICEF, but without additional resources and improved access, she will be one of the few lucky ones.
James Elder is UNICEF’s spokesperson. Follow him <a href="https://twitter.com/1james_elder?lang=en" rel="noopener" target="_blank">@1james_elder</a>
IPS UN Bureau
 
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<title>Dissenting Voices at Nairobi Soil Health Forum Over Increased Fertilizer Use</title>
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<pubDate>Thu, 09 May 2024 05:56:48 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Isaiah Esipisu</dc:creator>
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<description><![CDATA[As the Africa Fertilizer and Soil Health Summit convened in Nairobi to review the progress made in terms of increasing fertilizer use in line with the 2006 Abuja Declaration, experts, practitioners, activists, and even government officials pointed out that accelerated fertilizer use may not be the magic bullet for increased food production in Africa. During […]]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<img width="300" height="200" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Allan-Ligare-from-Mzuri-Organics-in-Kakamega-County-showcasing-howe-insects-are-used-to-make-fertiliser-300x200.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="Allan Ligare from Mzuri Organics in Kakamega County showcasing how insects are used to make fertilizer. Credit: Isaiah Esipisu/IPS" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Allan-Ligare-from-Mzuri-Organics-in-Kakamega-County-showcasing-howe-insects-are-used-to-make-fertiliser-300x200.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Allan-Ligare-from-Mzuri-Organics-in-Kakamega-County-showcasing-howe-insects-are-used-to-make-fertiliser-629x419.jpg 629w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Allan-Ligare-from-Mzuri-Organics-in-Kakamega-County-showcasing-howe-insects-are-used-to-make-fertiliser.jpg 630w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Allan Ligare from Mzuri Organics in Kakamega County showcasing how insects are used to make fertilizer. Credit: Isaiah Esipisu/IPSBy Isaiah Esipisu NAIROBI, May 9 2024 (IPS) As the Africa Fertilizer and Soil Health Summit convened in Nairobi to review the progress made in terms of increasing fertilizer use in line with the 2006 Abuja Declaration, experts, practitioners, activists, and even government officials pointed out that accelerated fertilizer use may not be the magic bullet for increased food production in Africa.
During the opening ceremony of the summit, Kenya’s Prime Cabinet Secretary, Musalia Mudavadi, who was also the guest of honor, said that in Kenya, there are places where fertilizer has been used optimally, but maize yields have stagnated.
“Though fertilizers are estimated to contribute more than 30 percent of the crop yield, we have witnessed in our country that fertilizer alone cannot sustain increased agricultural productivity and production,” he said.
Studies have also shown that the use of nitrogen-based fertilizers has had a significant impact on soil acidity in many African countries, which is a major constraint on crop production and the sustainable intensification of smallholder farming systems.
According to an ongoing research project known as <a href="https://www.cabi.org/projects/guiding-acid-soil-management-investments-in-africa/">Guiding Acid Soil Management Investments in Africa</a> (GAIA), 15 percent of all agricultural soils in Africa are affected by acidity issues and this has led to land degradation, decreased availability of soil nutrients to plants, and decreased plant production and water use.
According to Dr George Oduor, a soil scientist and international research consultant, African farmers should now consider or scale up the use of the Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM) approach with a focus on return on investment and consider the use of lime on acidic soils.
“There is a need for governments in Africa to develop locally responsive tools that can advise farmers on how to combine different organic and inorganic fertilizers, how and when to intercrop with legumes for nitrogen fixation, and what crops to prioritize in different agroecological zones,” said Oduor in an interview with IPS.
However, some activists feel that there is a need for a complete shift from synthetic fertilizers to organic methods of farming such as agroecology, the regenerative agriculture (RA) approach, and permaculture, among other sustainable farming techniques.
“The heavy financial burden placed on African nations to support the purchase of expensive, imported fertilizers drains local economies and diverts funds from more sustainable local agricultural investments,” said Bridget Mugambe, the Programme Coordinator at the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA).
She called on governments and policymakers at the summit and across Africa to recognize the enormous potential of agroecology to sustainably increase food security and food sovereignty, so as to reduce poverty and hunger while conserving biodiversity and respecting indigenous knowledge.
So far, Kenya is one of the African countries that is in the process of developing policies for agroecology. The country also launched the National Agriculture Soil Management Policy (NASMP) alongside the Nairobi AFSH summit. The policy will help facilitate the restoration and maintenance of agricultural soils in order to increase productivity, improve food security, and contribute to poverty reduction while conserving soil and water resources for future generations.
Within the local governments, Murang’a County in Central Kenya was the first to develop the legal framework for agroecology, through which the government can easily allocate resources for organic fertilizer and pesticide production.
“The main reason why we had to pioneer in this is that our region is highly impacted by climate change, and therefore agroecology became a priority as a way of adapting to the phenomenon,” said Daniel Gitahi, the Director for Agriculture Value Chains, Policy, and Strategy.
“The second reason is that, as a county government, we observed that our yields were going down despite optimal use of fertilizers, and after research, we discovered that our soils had become more acidic due to overuse of nitrogen based fertilizers,” he said.
Other solutions showcased at the summit include the use of ‘bokashi’ fermented organic fertilizer, which has transitioned from small-scale production to a commercial scale in a few African countries.
“I have been able to transform my tea plantation using bokashi; as well, I no longer use fertilizers on my maize farm in West Pokot County, and yet my yields have almost doubled,” said Esther Bett, the Executive Director at the Resources Oriented Development Initiative (RODI Kenya).
RODI Kenya is already packaging and selling bokashi fertilizers through agrovet shops across the country, and has the capacity to produce up to 10 tonnes per month.
Allan Ligare from Mzuri Organics in Kakamega County, working in collaboration with the International Centre for Insect Ecology (ICIPE), brought along organic fertilizer made using black soldier flies while in the process of making animal feeds. “This fertilizer contains all the important nutrients; it adds organic matter to the soil; and it helps in the retention of soil moisture,” he said.
A 2022 <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-11336-z">study</a> published in the Nature scientific journal found that insect frass fertilizers made from all the insect species had adequate concentrations and contents of macronutrients, nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K)], secondary nutrients (calcium, magnesium, and sulphur), and micronutrients (manganese, copper, iron, zinc, boron, and sodium).
The main objective of the 2024 AFSH Summit is to highlight the central role of soil health transformation in stimulating sustainable, pro-poor productivity growth in African agriculture and food systems and to adopt the 10-year Africa Fertilizer and Soil Health Action Plan.
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<title>Choose Hope: Standing at the Crossroads of the Future</title>
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<pubDate>Wed, 08 May 2024 18:20:20 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Hiroko Ogushi</dc:creator>
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<description><![CDATA[We are at the tipping point in human history, facing major existential crises. The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has heightened the risk of a nuclear weapon being used since the Cold War. Furthermore, the climate crisis is accelerating. In these crises, the most affected are those in vulnerable situations. Amidst all these crises, the […]]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<img width="300" height="169" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/hiroko_-300x169.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/hiroko_-300x169.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/hiroko_-629x353.jpg 629w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/hiroko_.jpg 630w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Future Action Festival Organizing CommitteeBy Hiroko Ogushi TOKYO, Japan, May 8 2024 (IPS) We are at the tipping point in human history, facing major existential crises. The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has heightened the risk of a nuclear weapon being used since the Cold War. Furthermore, the climate crisis is accelerating. In these crises, the most affected are those in vulnerable situations.

<div id="attachment_185309" style="width: 260px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Future-Action-Festival-Poster_.jpg" alt="" width="250" height="313" class="size-full wp-image-185309" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Future-Action-Festival-Poster_.jpg 250w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Future-Action-Festival-Poster_-240x300.jpg 240w" sizes="(max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px" />Future Action Festival Poster. Credit: Yukie Asagiri, INPS Japan</div>Amidst all these crises, the UN Summit of the Future will be held for the first time in September to strengthen global cooperation and revitalize the multilateral approach to tackle these challenges. It will be a once-in-a-generation opportunity to shift the course of humanity to a peaceful world where no one is left behind.
Toward the Summit, together with some youth-led civil society organizations in Japan, we decided to organize the “Future Action Festival” to create momentum to strengthen solidarity toward a peaceful and sustainable future.
The Future Action Festival Organizing Committee comprising of representatives from six organizations, including GeNuine, Greenpeace Japan, Japan Youth Council, Kakuwaka Hiroshima, Youth for TPNW, and Soka Gakkai International (SGI) youth, was established in the summer of 2023.Among all the global challenges, we decided to focus on addressing two major existential threats today – <a href="https://www.nuclear-abolition.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">nuclear weapons</a> and the <a href="https://sdgs-for-all.net/goal-12-2" rel="noopener" target="_blank">climate crisis</a>.
While youth engagement in these issues is more crucial than ever, there is also a need to cultivate awareness among youth in being agents of change. The event is not a summit, but a “festival” that is led by, with and for the youth and highlights the aspect of joyfulness in youth coming together for a better future.
To achieve a unique event, the committee engaged with as many actors as possible towards the festival. Throughout the process, the festival was joined by multiple stakeholders, including NGOs, private sectors, artists, and UN representatives, in many ways. 
Engagement with corporations played a significant role in making the festival possible and raising awareness in the private sector. For example, Japan Climate Leaders Partnership (JCLP), which comprises of more than 240 corporations targeting zero-emission, agreed with the purpose of our event and supported us since the establishment of the organizing committee. In the end, the sponsorship and participation by more than 160 corporations not only supported the event financially but opened new possibilities in the sense of corporations’ involvement in abolishing nuclear weapons.
<div id="attachment_185307" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Future-Action-Festival_1.jpg" alt="" width="630" height="320" class="size-full wp-image-185307" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Future-Action-Festival_1.jpg 630w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Future-Action-Festival_1-300x152.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Future-Action-Festival_1-629x319.jpg 629w" sizes="(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px" />Future Action Festival convened at Tokyo’s National Stadium on March 24, drawing approximately 66,000 attedees. Credit: Yukie Asagiri, INPS Japan</div>
The festival included entertainment elements performed by professional singers, comedians, YouTubers, and marching bands. The participation and active promotion of the event by those in the entertainment sector mobilized many people, including those who were not very much interested in the thematic issues, making the event uniquely engaging. 
Finally, the engagement with the UN expanded the reach and possibilities of the festival. For example, one of the major advocates and partners of the event was the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in Tokyo. Since the beginning of its preparation, UNIC supported us in gaining credibility with diverse stakeholders, especially corporations and artists. In addition, the first Assistant Secretary-General for Youth Affairs Felipe Paullier sent us a video message which called upon youth participants to work together for a world without nuclear weapons and a world that is sustainable for all. At the end of the event, the Rector of the United Nations University Professor Tshilidzi Marwala gave his remarks, emphasizing the significance of the role played by youth in tackling these global issues. The partnership with the UN became the core driving force for the event’s success.
The strong partnerships and youth engagement resulted in the success of the festival held at the Japan National Stadium in Tokyo on March 24th. It gathered more than 60,000 participants at the venue and was viewed by over 500,000 people online through livestream. 
<div id="attachment_185308" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Tshilisi-Marwala_.jpg" alt="" width="630" height="348" class="size-full wp-image-185308" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Tshilisi-Marwala_.jpg 630w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Tshilisi-Marwala_-300x166.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Tshilisi-Marwala_-629x347.jpg 629w" sizes="(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px" />Tshilisi Marwala, President of the UN University and UN Under-Secretary-General (Center) who endorsed the joint statement from the organizing committee, acknowledged the critical importance of young voices in shaping the Summit’s agenda and urged them to “be a beacon of hope and a driving force for change. Credit: Yukie Asagiri, INPS Japan</div>
One of the key purposes of the event was to deliver youth voices to the UN. Toward the festival, the organizing committee conducted a youth awareness survey on nuclear weapons, the climate crisis, and the UN. About 120,000 responses from individuals ranging between their 10s to 40s were collected from November 2023 to February 2024. The results showed that young people have a high level of awareness on climate issues and that they think that nuclear weapons are not necessary. The youth want to contribute to addressing these issues. At the same time, more than half of the respondents find it difficult to have hope for the future. About eighty percent of all the respondents felt that youth voices are not reflected enough in national and government policies. Young people are dissatisfied with the status quo and seek a systemic change.
Based on the outcome, the organizing committee created a joint statement intended for the UN Summit of the Future to ensure youth voices are heard and reflected in the discussion process. The statement was handed over to Prof. Marwala at the event. 
<img src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/UN-Civil-Society_.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="84" class="alignright size-full wp-image-185311" />This is only the beginning of our journey to create a great momentum of youth standing up for a better future. As a next step to amplify youth voices, we plan to communicate with MOFA, a focal point of the Summit of the Future. We, the organizing committee, will also participate in the UN Civil Society Conference that will take place in Nairobi, Kenya in May, which is a key milestone for civil society to give their input to the Member States. We hope to convey the survey results to the co-chairs and UN high-level officials during the conference. In addition, at a national level, we will engage with the government, the UN, and like-minded organizations to contribute to the Pact for the Future in a meaningful way.
In addressing daunting global issues, we may feel a sense of hopelessness sometimes. However, through this festival, we learned that when diverse stakeholders of different background unite to create change, their solidarity serves as a beacon of hope for the youth. It is our responsibility to create a world where young people feel hopeful. Starting from youth in Japan, we will move forward, taking concrete steps to extend our local and global solidarity together with the UN and multiple stakeholders.
<iframe width="630" height="355" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/steEfm0ayrI" title="Future Action Festival" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe> 
Future Action Festival Filmed and edited by Katsuhiro Asagiri, Yukie Asagiri and Kevin Lin of INPS Japan Media. 
Hiroko Ogushi is a Committee Member, Future Action Festival Organizing Committee Co-representative, Soka Gakkai International (SGI) youth
This article is brought to you by <a href="https://www.ipsnews.net/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">IPS Noram</a>, in collaboration with <a href="https://inpsjapan.com/en/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">INPS Japan</a> and <a href="https://sgi-peace.org/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Soka Gakkai International</a>, in consultative status with UN ECOSOC.
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<title>Beyond the Fields: Unraveling Zambia’s Drought Crisis and the Urgent Call for Climate-Health Solutions</title>
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<pubDate>Wed, 08 May 2024 09:09:14 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Friday Phiri</dc:creator>
<category><![CDATA[Climate Change]]></category>
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<description><![CDATA[For most families in Zambia, April is traditionally a month of plenty—it is typically the beginning of a harvest season for various food and cash crops. Both fresh and dried maize, groundnuts, pumpkins, and a whole variety of both traditional and exotic food crops are usually in full supply and readily available for consumption, supporting […]]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<img width="135" height="300" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Farmer-Pemba-2-135x300.jpeg" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="Laban Munsaka of Pemba District in Southern Province, farm is impacted by El Nino climate-induced prolonged dry spell. Credit: Friday Phiri/IPS" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Farmer-Pemba-2-135x300.jpeg 135w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Farmer-Pemba-2-461x1024.jpeg 461w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Farmer-Pemba-2-212x472.jpeg 212w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Farmer-Pemba-2.jpeg 486w" sizes="(max-width: 135px) 100vw, 135px" />Laban Munsaka of Pemba District in Southern Province, farm is impacted by El Nino climate-induced prolonged dry spell. Credit: Friday Phiri/IPSBy Friday Phiri LUSAKA, May 8 2024 (IPS) For most families in Zambia, April is traditionally a month of plenty—it is typically the beginning of a harvest season for various food and cash crops. Both fresh and dried maize, groundnuts, pumpkins, and a whole variety of both traditional and exotic food crops are usually in full supply and readily available for consumption, supporting household food security and nutrition.
Similarly, during this period, most families’ income levels tend to be high and sound, supportive of family demands ranging from school fees to health care and grocery needs, as they sell various cash crops. It is, in summary, the beginning of the crop marketing season and a period of positive expectations.
This farming season, however, the story of millions of households, including that of Laban Munsaka of Pemba District in Southern Province, is gravely depressing. Munsaka’s family is part of the over six million people from over a million households in Zambia estimated to be facing acute food shortages and possible malnutrition until the next growing season, which is twelve months away.
Due to the El Nino climate-induced prolonged dry spell, half of the estimated 2.2 million hectares of maize planted in the 2023–24 farming season have been destroyed. According to Zambia’s President, Hakainde Hichilema, the debilitating dry spell lasted for more than five weeks at a time when farmers needed rain the most.
“In view of these challenges, urgent and decisive action is required from all of us,” Hichilema said in his address when he declared the situation a disaster and national emergency, earlier in March 2024. “The government, in accordance with the Disaster Management Act No. 13 of 2010, and other relevant legislation, declares the prolonged dry spell a national disaster and emergency,” he said, adding that the prolonged dry spell had affected 84 of the country’s 116 districts, negatively impacting more than a million farming households.
“It’s really difficult to compare last season to what has happened this farming season,” Munsaka narrates. “I harvested 100 by 50kg bags of maize last season but I don’t know what we might get from this destroyed field, it is just zero work this season,” he laments, pointing at his destroyed maize crop field.
With a relatively huge family of over 20 members to support, Munsaka is not only worried about the eminent food insecurity but also nutrition and other health-related challenges that may likely emerge from poor nutrition intake.
“I have a bigger family,” he says. “As you know, in such situations, our focus is only on food availability. Our focus is survival. We don’t usually care about the nutrition component.”
With dwindling pasture for grazing and expected water scarcity for livestock, animal welfare is likely to be compromised, leading to possible disease outbreaks such as nutritional anthrax, putting at risk both animal and human populations.
In a climate-induced drought environment, Munsaka’s worries about food insecurity, reduced nutrition options and eminent health challenges may not be far-fetched. There is increasing scientific evidence indicating how climate change is, and continues to significantly impact the physical, biological, and mental health of individuals.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) sixth assessment report (AR6), climate-related illnesses, premature deaths, malnutrition in all its forms, and threats to mental health and well-being are increasing.
For example, scientific evidence indicates that dwindling water security is leading to rising cases of waterborne diseases and an overall collapse of sanitation and hygiene, while frequent and intensified droughts and floods are said to be contributing to loss of agricultural productivity, leading to food insecurity and subsequently malnutrition.
Similarly, science experts are pointing fingers at rising temperature conditions as a contributing factor to the expansion of vector-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue fever into higher altitudes and previously colder regions of the world.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that if urgent interventions to tame climate change are not implemented, approximately 250,000 additional deaths per year could be recorded from malnutrition, malaria, diarrhea, and heat stress alone. This is in addition to estimated economic losses of USD 2-4 billion per year by 2030.
While the situation is as dire as described, health is not part of the mainstream agenda of climate negotiations at global level.
It is worth noting, however, that there have been efforts at the global and regional levels to address the impacts of climate change on health. At COP26 in Glasgow, the health community reached an important milestone in bringing human health at the forefront of climate change work.
For the first time in the UNFCCC negotiations, a health programme was promoted, led by the UK government as the President of COP26, the World Health Organization (WHO), Health Care Without Harm (HCWH) and the UNFCCC Climate Champions.
Two of the programme’s key initiatives were to support countries in developing climate resilient and low carbon sustainable health systems, with countries announcing their commitments to develop and invest in climate resilient and low carbon sustainable health systems and facilities.
Since COP26, <a href="http://www.amref.org">Amref Health Africa</a>, working with WHO and other partners, has been leading climate and health efforts, culminating into the first ever Health Day dedicated to health issues at COP28, at which stakeholders made further commitments in a health declaration.
As parties prepare for the UNFCCC 60th session of the Subsidiary Bodies (SB60) in Bonn, Germany, next month, the health community is also gearing to continue playing an active role in the negotiations.
“This is the time to seize the growing momentum across the globe, on the need to pool resources, knowledge, and creativity towards a forward-looking climate and health agenda to respond not only to the challenges of today but also anticipate the challenges of tomorrow,” says Desta Lakew, Amref Health Africa Group Director for Partnerships and External Affairs. “We must encourage and foster collaborations across disciplines, including environmental science, public health, epidemiology, economics, and social sciences, to address the multifaceted nature of climate change impacts on health.”
Based on this call, Amref Zambia is actively engaging the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment (MGEE) on the intersectionality of climate change and health, in view of not only the current situation but also future circumstances likely to emerge from the negative effects of climate change on the health sector.
Amref Zambia Country Manager, Viviane Sakanga, expresses delight at the opportunity to engage and Amref’s desire to collaborate on key climate and health interventions for better health outcomes amid the climate crisis.
“Evidence is abounding on how climate change is affecting health. It is for this reason that we believe, and have included the climate crisis as a key social determinant and driver of change in our 2023–2030 Corporate Strategy. We are keen to collaborate on climate and health,” said Sakanga when she recently met with the Director of Green Economy and Climate Change at the Ministry, Ephraim Mwepya Shitima.
On his part, Shitima welcomed Amref’s patronage and pledged the department’s readiness to work with like-minded institutions for meaningful climate action at all levels and in all sectors.
Ephraim Mwepya Shitima said, “it may interest you to know that Zambia identified the health sector for climate intervention as early as 2007. In implementing Article 4.9 of the Climate Convention, the COP in 2001, established the Least Developed Countries (LDC) work programme that included the National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPAs) to support LDCs to address the challenge of climate change given their particular vulnerability. In 2007, Zambia identified health as one of the priority sectors that required support under this work programme. Equally, the National Adaptation Plan (NAP), which was submitted last year also highlights health as a priority sector. We are therefore delighted and welcome your active involvement in the climate change and health action space.”
Amidst all, Munsaka and other millions of Zambians affected by the current and future climate-induced challenges are yearning for holistic support interventions focused not only food availability but also nutrition and health.
With the situation already declared a disaster by the Republican President, government and stakeholders continue to seek for integrated interventions.
Note: The author is Climate Change Health Advocacy Lead at <a href="https://amref.org/">Amref Health Africa</a>
 
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<title>The Enormous Risks & Uncertain Benefits of an Israeli Strike Against Iran’s Nuclear Facilities</title>
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<pubDate>Wed, 08 May 2024 07:42:16 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Assaf Zoran</dc:creator>
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<description><![CDATA[Iran’s unprecedented attack on Israel on April 13 has significantly escalated the tensions between the countries. For the first time, a declared and extensive Iranian military operation was carried out on Israeli territory. Now, the decision on how to respond rests with Israel. A direct war between the two countries now no longer seems unlikely. […]]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<img width="300" height="163" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/View-of-Tehran_-300x163.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/View-of-Tehran_-300x163.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/View-of-Tehran_.jpg 624w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />View of Tehran, Iran's capital. Among other things, the JCPOA envisages lifting of sanctions, bringing “tangible economic benefits for the Iranian people”. Credit: Unsplash/Anita FilabiBy Assaf Zoran CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts, May 8 2024 (IPS) Iran’s unprecedented attack on Israel on April 13 has significantly escalated the tensions between the countries. For the first time, a declared and extensive <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/iran-israel-attack-what-weapons-launched-how-air-defenses-worked/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Iranian military operation</a> was carried out on Israeli territory. Now, the decision on how to respond rests with Israel. A direct war between the two countries now no longer seems unlikely.

Israel now realizes that it <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog-april-18-2024/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">underestimated the consequences</a> of its attack on an Iranian facility in Damascus that killed several senior members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps earlier this month. However, the exceptionally large scope of Iran’s response and the direct impact on Israeli soil is viewed in Israel as a disproportionate action that significantly escalates the conflict.
Despite the interception of most of the weapons launched by Iran and the lack of significant damage on Israeli territory, the outcome of the Iranian attack could have been vastly different due to the uncertainties of combat. Consequently, in Israel, there is a strong focus on Iran’s intentions and Tehran’s willingness to risk a direct confrontation.
Since Israel does not want to depend solely on defense and aims to prevent the normalization of attacks on its territory, it appears resolute to respond, reinforce its deterrence, and inflict a significant cost that will make Iran’s decision-makers think twice before attacking similarly again.
While some in Israel advocate for <a href="https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/israel-iran-strikes-live-coverage/card/some-western-officials-expect-israel-to-respond-quickly-to-iran-s-attack-Z981aOiNOj1uT5HWpm6x" rel="noopener" target="_blank">a robust immediate response</a> to project power and display independence despite international pressures, others prefer a more cautious and measured reaction to limit the risk of escalating into a major regional war.
<img src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/iaea_22.jpg" alt="" width="624" height="131" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-185296" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/iaea_22.jpg 624w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/iaea_22-300x63.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 624px) 100vw, 624px" />
Several main response options are under consideration, possibly in combination: a diplomatic move, such as forming a regional defensive coalition against Iran and its armed allies in the “axis of resistance,” or revitalizing international efforts against Iran’s nuclear program; a covert kinetic operation, like past operations attributed to Israel targeting nuclear or missile facilities; or an overt kinetic military initiative, such as a missile or aircraft strike on Iranian territory.
Both covert and overt kinetic actions can vary in intensity and target different sectors—military, governmental, or nuclear. 
Currently, there is significant attention on the potential for Israel to execute a kinetic move against Iranian nuclear sites, covertly or overtly. Iran itself recently closed these facilities due to security concerns—a move noted by the international community, including the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, who <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/iran-closed-nuclear-facilities-for-a-day-following-attack-on-israel-says-iaea-chief/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">stated</a> that inspectors have been temporarily withdrawn.
Within Israel, some perceive the current situation as an <a href="https://www.jpost.com/israel-hamas-war/article-796936" rel="noopener" target="_blank">opportunity to impair</a> Iran’s nuclear program, considered a primary national security threat. The possibility of a military strike is <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/17/world/middleeast/israel-iran-attack-netanyahu.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">reportedly under examination</a>. In contrast, Meir Ben-Shabbat, former head of the National Security Council, suggested that Israel should target the Iranian nuclear program <a href="https://www.israelhayom.com/2024/04/15/irans-attack-means-israel-has-an-opening-derailing-its-nuclearization/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">through diplomatic avenues</a>.
The ability to execute an extensive and effective kinetic operation against Iran’s nuclear facilities on a short notice is doubtful. Such a move is also likely to lead to upheaval in the Middle East, contrary to Israeli officials’ statements that a military response <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/war-cabinet-said-set-on-forceful-response-to-iran-but-one-that-wont-spark-wider-war/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">will not lead</a> to a full-scale war with Iran.
Conversely, a precise strike on nuclear facilities in Isfahan, Natanz, Araq, or Fordow could not only rekindle international attention toward Iran’s nuclear aspirations, it would also affirm Israel’s commitment to act after several years <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Natanz_incident" rel="noopener" target="_blank">without significant action</a> in that regard. In doing so, Israel could demonstrate resolve, conveying clearly that it does not accept the nuclear precedent Iran has established in recent years and is willing to take decisive action if necessary, even if opposed or not supported by the international community.
Moreover, a successful attack on a heavily protected target would highlight Israel’s superior capabilities and would undermine the new game rules that Iran attempted to establish. This, in turn, could decrease the likelihood of future attacks on Israeli territory.
Regionally, attacking a nuclear site could bolster Israel’s image as the sole nation daring enough to confront Iran and counter its provocations, particularly following the security breach on October 7. This action could effectively demonstrate Israel’s determination, showcase its military edge.
However, an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities carries significant drawbacks.
In the short term, it would considerably increase the likelihood of a retaliatory response from Tehran, potentially even more severe, targeting sensitive locations in Israeli territory, and possibly extending to American and Jordanian interests in the region. This could inhibit the possibility of employing measured escalation levels and quickly lead to a broader conflict.
Hezbollah, which Iran sees as one of its assurances in case of an attack on its nuclear facilities, might be compelled to intensify its assaults against Israel.
Moreover, an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities may have the opposite result of prompting an escalation in Iran’s nuclear developments, a pattern previously observed in response to kinetic actions attributed to Israel. 
Such an attack could be used by Tehran as a justification and motivation to progress toward nuclear weapons development, confirming that conventional deterrence is insufficient. In recent years—and in past months even more so—senior Iranian figures have increasingly <a href="https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2024/02/13/former-iranian-official-hints-at-nuclear-weapons-program/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">hinted at this possibility</a>.
An overt attack on Iran could also diminish Israel’s legitimacy and international support, which momentarily recovered amid a historic low following the war in Gaza. This erosion could jeopardize diplomatic efforts to establish renewed coalitions and strategies against Iran.
Although it is crucial for Israel to impose a significant cost on Iran in response to its April 13 attack to deter further aggressive actions in the region, targeting nuclear facilities might be strategically disadvantageous. 
The costs could heavily outweigh the benefits, and Israel should be prudent to focus on a proportionate response, such as targeting missile and drone infrastructures in Iran or other Iranian assets in the region.
At the same time, it is vital to invest in a substantial political response, such as forming a defensive coalition against the resistance axis and incorporating into it countries threatened by Iran under international auspices. Amid an emerging contest of superpowers in the region and beyond, such a political response also presents an opportunity to foster closer ties and strengthen commitments between these nations and the West.
Assaf Zoran is a research fellow with the Project on Managing the Atom and International Security Program at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. He is an attorney with 25 years of experience addressing policy and operational issues in the Middle East, engaging in strategic dialogue with decision-makers in Israel and other regions.
Source: Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
IPS UN Bureau
 
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<title>Trade Liberalisation Kicked Away African Development Ladder</title>
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<pubDate>Wed, 08 May 2024 07:17:01 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Jomo Kwame Sundaram</dc:creator>
<category><![CDATA[Africa]]></category>
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<description><![CDATA[Africans have long been promised trade liberalisation would accelerate growth and structural transformation. Instead, it has cut its modest production capacities, industry and food security. Berg helped sink Africa The 1981 Berg Report was long the World Bank blueprint for African economic reform. Despite lacking support in theory and experience, Africa’s comparative advantage was supposedly […]]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[By Jomo Kwame Sundaram KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, May 8 2024 (IPS) Africans have long been promised trade liberalisation would accelerate growth and structural transformation. Instead, it has cut its modest production capacities, industry and food security. 

Berg helped sink Africa 
The <a href="https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/702471468768312009/pdf/multi-page.pdf" rel="noopener" target="_blank">1981 Berg Report</a> was long the World Bank blueprint for African economic reform. Despite lacking support in theory and experience, Africa’s comparative advantage was supposedly in export agriculture. 
<div id="attachment_157782" style="width: 190px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2018/09/jomo_180.jpg" alt="" width="180" height="212" class="size-full wp-image-157782" />Jomo Kwame Sundaram</div>Once obstructionist government interventions were gone, farmers’ previously repressed productive potential would spontaneously achieve export-led growth. But there has been no sustained African agricultural export boom since.
Instead, Africa has been transformed from a net food exporter in the 1970s into a net importer. Over the next two decades, its share of world non-oil exports fell by more than half from the early 1980s. 
Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) export growth from the late 20th century has mainly been due to foreign direct investment (FDI) from Asia, especially China and India. Nevertheless, Africa’s share of world exports has declined.
High growth in Asian economies contributed most to raising primary commodity prices, especially for minerals, until they collapsed from 2014. 
Underdeveloped agriculture 
African agriculture has been undermined by decades of low investment, stagnation and neglect. Public spending cuts under structural adjustment programmes (SAPs) have also depleted infrastructure (roads, water supply, etc.), undermining output. 
SAPs’ neglect of infrastructure and agriculture left many developing nations unable to respond to new agricultural export opportunities. Meanwhile, projections ignored the fate of African food security.
SAPs undermined the already poor competitiveness of African smallholder agriculture. Unsurprisingly, most of the poorest and least developed African countries were projected to be net losers in the Bank’s more ‘realistic’ World Trade Organization (WTO) <a href="https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dda_e/dda_e.htm" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Doha Round</a> trade liberalisation scenarios. 
Uneven partial trade liberalisation and subsidy reduction have mixed implications. These vary with the food shares of national imports and household spending.
Wishful development thinking 
World Bank research claimed African countries would gain $16 billion from ‘complete’ trade liberalisation. But this scenario was never envisaged for the Doha Round negotiations – virtually abandoned two decades ago.
Nonetheless, the Bank claimed SSA would gain considerably because “farm employment, the real value of agricultural output and exports, the real returns to farm land and unskilled labor, and real net farm incomes would all rise substantially in capital scarce SSA countries with a move to free merchandise trade”. 
Total welfare gains envisaged for SSA minus South Africa were slightly over half of one per cent. But <a href="https://documents.worldbank.org/en/publication/documents-reports/documentdetail/202871468318342109/agricultural-trade-reform-and-the-doha-development-agenda" rel="noopener" target="_blank">World Bank projections</a> for the overall effects of multilateral agricultural trade liberalisation expected significant losses for SSA. 
Gains worldwide would mainly accrue to major food exporters, primarily from the <a href="https://www.cairnsgroup.org/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Cairns Group</a>, largely from rich countries. The rich world has long dominated food agricultural exports with indirectly subsidised farming. 
Lowering agricultural subsidies in the North has thus raised some imported food prices in developing countries. Also, most African governments cannot easily substitute lost tariff revenue with other new or higher taxes.
After years of trying, developing countries have virtually given up trying to ‘level the playing field’ by cutting OECD governments’ agricultural subsidies, import tariffs and non-tariff barriers. 
Gains from liberalisation? 
Greater trade liberalisation in manufactures, enhanced by the WTO non-agricultural market access (NAMA) agreement, has also undermined African industrialisation. 
Limited African market access to affluent country markets has been secured through preferential market access agreements rather than trade liberalisation. <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/241891939_Maladjusted_African_Economies_and_Globalisation" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Mkandawire</a> noted trade liberalisation would entail losses for Africa with the end of European Union preferential treatment under the <a href="https://thebusinessprofessor.com/en_US/global-international-law-relations/lome-convention-definition" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Lome Convention</a>.
Hence, the likely overall impacts of trade liberalisation on Africa were recognised as mixed and uneven. The economic welfare of SSA – without Zambia, South Africa and members of the Southern African Customs Union – was supposed to rise after a decade by three-fifths of one per cent by 2015! 
The Doha agreement envisaged then emphasised manufacturing trade liberalisation. Despite gains for some developing countries, SSA minus South Africa would lose $122 billion as SAPs accelerate deindustrialisation. 
SSA minus South Africa would lose $106 billion to agricultural trade liberalisation due to poor infrastructure, export capacities, and ‘competitiveness’. Hence, partial trade liberalisation – and subsidy reduction – have uneven and mixed implications. 
Fraudulent policy advice 
With <a href="https://www.networkideas.org/featured-articles/2007/08/modelling-the-impact-of-trade-liberalisation/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">more realistic</a> assumptions, SSA gains from trade liberalisation would be more modest. As economic growth generally precedes export expansion, trade could help foster virtuous circles but cannot enhance productive capacities and capabilities on its own. 
<a href="https://unctad.org/about" rel="noopener" target="_blank">UNCTAD</a> has long emphasised growth’s importance for trade expansion, especially the weak investment-export nexus. This accounts for many countries’ failure to expand and diversify their exports. 
Rapid resource reallocation is much more difficult without high growth and investment rates. For <a href="https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/463235" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Gerry Helleiner</a>, “Africa’s failures have been developmental, not export failure per se”. <a href="https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w6562/w6562.pdf" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Dani Rodrik</a> argued Africa’s ‘marginalisation’ is not due to trade performance. 
<a href="https://documents.worldbank.org/en/publication/documents-reports/documentdetail/340561468742798271/can-africa-claim-the-21st-century" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Africa’s export collapse</a> in the 1980s and 1990s involved “a staggering annual income loss of US$68 billion – or 21 per cent of regional GDP”. Former World Bank economist <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1011378507540" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Bill Easterly</a> blamed these lost decades on SAPs.
<a href="https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WP/Issues/2016/12/30/North-South-Trade-Is-Africa-Unusual-2657" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Nonetheless</a>, “Africa overtrades compared with other developing regions in the sense that its trade is higher than would be expected from the various determinants of bilateral trade”. 
Trade liberalisation has significantly reduced trade, industrial, technology and investment policy space for developing countries. Unsurprisingly, food security and manufacturing have been especially badly hit.
IPS UN Bureau
 
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<title>Amid Record Displaced Persons, Migrant Remittances Spike—New IOM Report</title>
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<pubDate>Wed, 08 May 2024 05:36:09 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Ignatius Banda</dc:creator>
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<description><![CDATA[While there have been a record number of displaced people worldwide, according to a new report by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), migrant remittances are promoting human development. Millions of people from developing countries rely on money sent from abroad by relatives, helping drive local economies marked by high unemployment and poverty, according to […]]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<img width="300" height="225" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/IMG_20230908_163830-300x225.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="Migrants use a cross-border bus in Bulawayo to enter South Africa. Credit: Ignatius Banda/IPS" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/IMG_20230908_163830-300x225.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/IMG_20230908_163830-629x472.jpg 629w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/IMG_20230908_163830-200x149.jpg 200w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/IMG_20230908_163830.jpg 630w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Migrants use a cross-border bus in Bulawayo to enter South Africa. Credit: Ignatius Banda/IPSBy Ignatius Banda BULAWAYO, May 8 2024 (IPS) While there have been a record number of displaced people worldwide, according to a new report by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), migrant remittances are promoting human development.

Millions of people from developing countries rely on money sent from abroad by relatives, helping drive local economies marked <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/migration/overview/">by high unemployment and poverty</a>, according to humanitarian agencies that include the World Bank.
The IOM report released on May 7, 2024, comes at a time of increasing global crises such as war and famine that have forced millions out of their home countries, while migrants fleeing economic hardships are also making perilous journeys in search of better employment opportunities.
The IOM estimates that there are currently 281 million international migrants worldwide, while another 117 million people have been displaced by natural disasters, violence, conflict, and other causes.
The humanitarian agency says these numbers represent the highest in modern-day records.
Increased migration has in turn fed a spike in remittances, with a jump of more than 650 percent from 2000 to 2022, <a href="https://worldmigrationreport.iom.int/?utm_source=UN+Palais&utm_campaign=c7e6a28765-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2024_05_02_08_19&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-c7e6a28765-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D">the IOM World Migration Report 2024</a> says.
International remittances shot up from USD128 billion to USD831 billion in 22 years, and the IOM notes that COVID-19 travel restrictions did not disrupt migration trends.
“Of that USD831 billion in remittances, USD647 billion were sent by migrants to low- and middle-income countries. These remittances can constitute a significant portion of those countries’ GDPs, and globally, these remittances now surpass foreign direct investment in those countries,” the IOM says.
The World Migration Report 2024 also comes at a time when African immigrants especially are losing their lives in the high seas as they attempt to cross into Europe.
For the migrants who make it to the shore, the promise of better lives has been shattered by what critics say are populist right wing political parties who are whipping up anti-migrant emotions.
The IOM, however, says a more balanced telling of the migrant’s story is needed if the world is to better understand what has routinely been termed a global crisis.
“Migration, an intrinsic part of human history, is often overshadowed by sensationalized narratives. However, the reality is far more nuanced than what captures headlines,” the IOM notes.
“Most migration is regular, safe, and regionally focused, directly linked to opportunities and livelihoods. Yet, misinformation and politicization have clouded public discourse, necessitating a clear and accurate portrayal of migration dynamics,” the IOM added.
Amid such challenges, the IOM says the earnings of the migrants are not only helping address host labour market deficits but, more importantly, boosting remittances and driving the human development index in their home countries.
“The World Migration Report 2024 helps demystify the complexity of human mobility through evidence-based data and analysis,” IOM Director General Amy Pope said at the May 7 launch in Bangladesh.
In explaining the location of the launch, the IOM explained in a press release:
“By choosing Dhaka as the report’s launch site, IOM not only highlights the country’s efforts in supporting vulnerable migrants and fostering pathways for regular migration but also recognizes Bangladesh’s important role in shaping global migration discourse and policy.”
At a time when migration has become a hot button in developed countries, Bangladesh is being seen as a model for the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration’s Champion country.
“As one of the GCM champion countries, Bangladesh will not only continue to act upon the pledges it has made for its domestic context but will also take up emerging issues and challenges pertaining to migration and development for informed deliberations at the international level,” said Hasan Mahmud, the Bangladeshi foreign minister.
The Asian country “has demonstrated a strong commitment to addressing migration issues and implementing policies that safeguard migrants’ rights,” the IOM says.
These sentiments also come at a time of anti-immigrant sentiment and xenophobia, which analysts say have slowed efforts to promote human development through remittances.
“In a world grappling with uncertainty, understanding migration dynamics is essential for informed decision-making and effective policy responses, and the World Migration Report advances this understanding by shedding light on longstanding trends and emerging challenges,” Pope said.
“We hope the report inspires collaborative efforts to harness the potential of migration as a driver for human development and global prosperity,” DG Pope said.
Researchers say there is still more to be done to understand the urgency of the challenges and opportunities brought by migration.
“It is the insecurity that citizens face—economic and existential—that feeds the sense of crisis,” said Loren Landau, professor at the University of Witwatersrand’s African Centre for Migration and Society in South Africa.
For now, there does not appear to be anything that will stop the migration trend, with the IOM calling for “meaningful action in addressing the challenges and opportunities of human mobility.”
IPS UN Bureau Report
 
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<title>How do Taxes Drive the Sustainable Development Goals?</title>
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<pubDate>Tue, 07 May 2024 08:05:54 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Thomas Beloe and Ahtesham Khan</dc:creator>
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<description><![CDATA[Tax revenue remains the most sustainable source of income for governments and plays a crucial role in financing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It diminishes the need for international assistance and contributes to the repayment of burdensome debt, ultimately strengthening a country’s ability to withstand external shocks. In 2022, UNDP, in partnership with the Governments […]]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<img width="300" height="200" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Tax-revenue-is-the_-300x200.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Tax-revenue-is-the_-300x200.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Tax-revenue-is-the_.jpg 624w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Tax revenue is the most sustainable source of income for countries to finance the Sustainable Development Goals, reducing the need for international assistance. Credit: UNDP GuatemalaBy Thomas Beloe and Ahtesham Khan UNITED NATIONS, May 7 2024 (IPS) Tax revenue remains the most sustainable source of income for governments and plays a crucial role in financing the <a href="https://www.undp.org/sustainable-development-goals" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Sustainable Development Goals</a> (SDGs). It diminishes the need for international assistance and contributes to the repayment of burdensome debt, ultimately strengthening a country’s ability to withstand external shocks.

In 2022, UNDP, in partnership with the Governments of Finland and Norway, launched the <a href="https://www.taxforsdgs.org/about" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Tax for SDGs Initiative</a> with the aim to help countries enhance domestic resource mobilization and advance their progress towards the SDGs. 
Under the Initiative, taxation is considered both a tool for revenue collection and a policy instrument to encourage sustainable growth strategies and influence behaviour towards desired outcomes related to climate, nature, well-being and governance. 
In 2023, Tax for SDGs made significant headway, signing a total of 22 Country Engagement Plans (CEPs). Through the CEPs, the Tax for SDGs supports governments in addressing tax avoidance, tax evasion and other illicit financial flows, particularly through technical assistance and cooperation facilitation. 
It also supports them in aligning their tax and fiscal policies with the SDGs and incorporates perspectives from developing countries into regional and international discussions about taxation.
Additionally, Tax for SDGs has launched the draft <a href="https://www.taxforsdgs.org/stf" rel="noopener" target="_blank">SDG Taxation Framework (STF) (Diagnostics)</a>, a tool designed to help national governments assess and align their tax systems with the SDGs effectively. 
The draft STF (Diagnostics) was piloted in nine focus countries (Armenia, Bhutan, Djibouti, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Togo, Uzbekistan and Zimbabwe) for selected SDGs based on countries’ priorities. Over 1,500 personnel from 74 government entities have been trained and reported capacity enhancement.
In the words of Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator: “The success of the Tax for SDGs Initiative is a testament to the collaborative efforts among nations, international organizations, academia and civil society. Together, we have exchanged best practices, knowledge and lessons learned, creating a community dedicated to enacting real change.”
<div id="attachment_185285" style="width: 634px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/UNDP-Tax-for_.jpg" alt="" width="624" height="355" class="size-full wp-image-185285" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/UNDP-Tax-for_.jpg 624w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/UNDP-Tax-for_-300x171.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 624px) 100vw, 624px" />UNDP Tax for SDGs works with governments to strengthen domestic resource mobilization to finance the Sustainable Development Goals. Credit: UNDP</div>
The Tax for SDGs Initiative includes the joint OECD/UNDP <a href="https://www.tiwb.org/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Tax Inspectors Without Borders</a> (TIWB) initiative, which operates 59 ongoing programmes across Africa, Asia and the Pacific, the Arab States, Europe and Central Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean. 
It is a unique approach to capacity building that deploys experts to developing country tax administrations to provide practical, hands-on assistance on current audit cases and related international tax issues.
With support from international partners and countries, including France, India and Italy, TIWB has secured in 2023, US$230 million in additional tax revenue collected by developing countries and $1.11 billion in additional tax revenue assessed, totalling $2.30 billion collected and $6.05 billion assessed overall since its launch in 2015.
To facilitate the inclusion of developing countries in global tax discussions, the Tax for SDGs Initiative held several events. These included a <a href="https://www.taxforsdgs.org/event/pursuing-well-being-equity-and-healthy-societies-through-sustainable-fiscal-policies" rel="noopener" target="_blank">session</a> with the World Health Organization during the UN General Assembly in September and the second <a href="https://www.taxforsdgs.org/dialogue-2023" rel="noopener" target="_blank">2023 Dialogue on Tax and SDGs</a>, which convened 400 policymakers from 61 countries, including 14 ministers, alongside tax officials, diplomats and thought leaders from 48 organizations.
These discussions enhanced understanding of the connections between taxation and the SDGs, fostered peer-to-peer exchange, developed interdisciplinary tax approaches, and explored innovative tax measures for sustainable development.
Moreover, the Initiative organized missions, workshops and a national dialogue with parliamentarians, youth, researchers and taxpayers to assist tax authorities in capacity building and implementing SDG-aligned policies.
Marcos Neto, in his opening speech at the 2024 ECOSOC Financing for Development Forum side event on Tax for SDGs, emphasized the work of the Initiative: “By building on the success of the Tax for SDGs Initiative, we aim to provide countries with the tools and expertise needed to align their tax and budget policies with sustainable development objectives.”
“The success of the Tax for SDGs Initiative is a testament to the collaborative efforts among nations, international organizations, academia and civil society,” said Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator.
Tax for SDGs achieved significant progress across regions. In Africa, it launched Country Engagement Plans and Tax Inspectors Without Borders programmes, emphasizing digitalization and policy integration such as Tax and Gender Initiatives. 
In Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States, Tax for SDGs facilitated the implementation of key legislative reforms in Armenia and Uzbekistan. The Arab States, with the support of the Initiative, improved digital tax administration and climate-related tax policies, notably in Lebanon and Egypt. 
Tax for SDGs also initiated programmes in Peru and Saint Lucia and contributed to digitization reforms in Honduras. In the Asia-Pacific region, fiscal policies were strengthened, and taxpayer trust was built through strategic partnerships. 
This impactful work highlights the keen interest of governments in collaborating with UNDP to create policies that finance sustainable growth and advance the implementation of the SDGs.
UNDP remains committed to collaborating with partners and donors to advance initiatives such as Tax for SDGs. As Bjørg Sandkjær, State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway, mentioned at the Finance for Development Forum: “We greatly appreciate the partnership with UNDP and other partners within the Tax for SDGs Initiative. I believe that the report showcases some impressive achievements, and hopefully, this Initiative will expand to other territories, with new partners joining us.”
UNDP Tax for SDGs will continue working with governments to strengthen domestic resource mobilization for financing the SDGs, while also enhancing the capacity of tax administrations to tackle tax avoidance, tax evasion and other illicit financial flows.
Contact Tax for SDGs at taxforsdgs@undp.org, and follow the UNDP Sustainable Finance Hub on X.
Thomas Beloe is Acting Director, Sustainable Finance Hub, UNDP; Ahtesham Khan is Head of UNDP Tax for SDGs
Source: UNDP
IPS UN Bureau
 
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<title>A Russian Veto Threatens to Trigger a Nuclear Arms Race in Outer Space</title>
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<pubDate>Tue, 07 May 2024 08:01:33 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Thalif Deen</dc:creator>
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<description><![CDATA[When the 15-member UN Security Council failed last month to adopt its first-ever resolution on outer space—co-sponsored by the US and Japan—the Russian veto led to speculation whether this was a precursor for a future nuclear arms race in the skies above. The vetoed resolution was expected to “affirm the obligation of all States parties […]]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<img width="300" height="129" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/satellite-300x129.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="A view of the Earth and a satellite as seen from outer space. Credit: NASA via UN News" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/satellite-300x129.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/satellite-629x270.jpg 629w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/satellite.jpg 630w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />A view of the Earth and a satellite as seen from outer space. Credit: NASA via UN NewsBy Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS, May 7 2024 (IPS) When the 15-member UN Security Council failed last month to adopt its first-ever resolution on outer space—co-sponsored by the US and Japan—the Russian veto led to speculation whether this was a precursor for a future nuclear arms race in the skies above.
The vetoed resolution was expected to “affirm the obligation of all States parties to fully comply with the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, including not to place in orbit around the Earth any objects carrying nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction, install such weapons on celestial bodies or station such weapons in outer space in any other manner.” 

Randy Rydell, Executive Advisor, Mayors for Peace, and a former Senior Political Affairs Officer at the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), told IPS that the Security Council’s record on disarmament issues has long suffered from the same plague that has also tormented the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva: namely the veto and the CD’s “consensus rule.”
Sadly, this vote on the outer space resolution should surprise no one, he said.
The world is facing a crisis of the “rule of law” in disarmament. Key treaties have failed to achieve universal membership, failed to be negotiated, failed to enter into force, failed to be fully incorporated into domestic laws and policies of the parties, and failed to be fully implemented, while other treaties have actually lost parties, he pointed out.
While the Outer Space Treaty will remain in force despite this unfortunate vote, Rydell argued, the specters of the existing nuclear arms race proliferating one day into space, along with unbridled competition to deploy non-nuclear space weapons, have profound implications not just for the future of disarmament but also for the peace and security of our fragile planet.
“The Charter’s norms against the threat of use of force and the obligation to resolve disputes peacefully remain the most potentially effective antidotes to the contagion unfolding before us, coupled with new steps not just “toward” but “in” disarmament”.
“I hope the General Assembly’s Summit of the Future in September will succeed in reviving a new global commitment to precisely these priorities,” declared Rydell
By a vote of 13 in favor to 1 against (Russian Federation) and 1 abstention (China), the Council rejected the draft resolution, owing to the negative vote cast by a permanent member.
Besides the US, UK and France, all 10 non-permanent members voted for the resolution, including <a href="https://pmnewyork.mfa.gov.dz/">Algeria</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/EcuadorONU">Ecuador</a>, <a href="https://www.un.int/guyana/">Guyana</a>, <a href="https://www.un.emb-japan.go.jp/itprtop_en/index.html">Japan</a>, <a href="https://foreign.gov.mt/en/Embassies/PR_New_York/Pages/PR_New_York.aspx">Malta</a>, <a href="https://mozambique-un.org/">Mozambique</a>, <a href="https://overseas.mofa.go.kr/un-en/index.do">Republic of Korea</a>, <a href="https://un.slmission.gov.sl/">Sierra Leone</a>, <a href="https://www.gov.si/en/representations/permanent-mission-to-the-united-nations-new-york/">Slovenia</a> and <a href="https://www.eda.admin.ch/missions/mission-new-york/en/home.html">Switzerland</a>.
Jackie Cabasso, Executive Director, Western States Legal Foundation, told IPS it is impossible, amidst the current geopolitical rivalries and fog of propaganda, to evaluate the ramifications of the Security Council’s failure to adopt this resolution—though it does underscore the dysfunction in the Security Council created by the P-5’s veto power.
“Russia and China have long been proponents of negotiations for a comprehensive treaty on the Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space, and in 2008 and 2014 submitted draft treaty texts to the moribund Conference on Disarmament,” she said.
The United States, under both the Bush and Obama administrations, rejected those drafts out of hand, said Cabasso, whose California-based WSLF is a non-profit public interest organization that seeks to abolish nuclear weapons as an essential step in securing a more just and environmentally sustainable world.
A week after its April 24 veto, Russia submitted a new draft resolution to the U.N. Security Council that goes farther than the U.S.-Japan proposal, calling not only for efforts to stop weapons from being deployed in outer space “for all time,” but for preventing “the threat or use of force in outer space.”
The resolution reportedly states this should include bans on deploying weapons “from space against Earth, and from Earth against objects in outer space.” By definition, this would include anti-satellite weapons.
With new nuclear arms races underway here on earth, with the erosion and dismantling of the Cold War nuclear arms control architecture, and with the dangers of wars among nuclear armed states growing to perhaps an all-time high, it certainly remains true, as recognized by the UN General Assembly in 1981, that “the extension of the arms race into outer space [is] a real possibility.”
“We are in a global emergency and every effort must be made to lower the temperature and create openings for diplomatic dialogue among the nuclear-armed states. To this end, the U.S. and its allies should call Russia’s bluff (if that’s what they think it is) and welcome its proposed new resolution in the Security Council,” declared Cabasso.
Speaking after the vote, the representative of the United States said that this is not the first time the Russian Federation has undermined the global non-proliferation regime, according to a report in UN News. “It has defended—and even enabled—dangerous proliferators.”
Moreover, with its abstention, the US said, China showed that it would rather “defend Russia as its junior partner” than safeguard the global non-proliferation regime, she added.
“There should be no doubt that placing a nuclear weapon into orbit would be unprecedented, unacceptable, and deeply dangerous.”
The US said Japan had gone to great lengths to forge consensus, with 65 cross-regional co-sponsors who joined in support.
Japan’s representative said he deeply regretted the Russian Federation’s decision to use the veto to break the adoption of “this historic draft resolution.”
Notwithstanding the support of 65 countries that co-sponsored the document, one permanent member decided to “silence the critical message we wanted to send to the world,” he stressed, noting that the draft resolution would have been a practical contribution to the promotion of peaceful use and the exploration of outer space.
The representative of the Russian Federation, noting that the Council is again involved in “a dirty spectacle prepared by the US and Japan, said, “This is a cynical ploy. We are being tricked.”
Recalling that the ban on placing weapons of mass destruction in outer space is already enshrined in the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, he said that Washington, D.C., Japan, and their allies are “cherry-picking” weapons of mass destruction out of all other weapons, trying to “camouflage their lack of interest” in outer space being free from any kinds of weapons.
The addition to the operative paragraph, proposed by the Russian Federation and China, does not delete from the draft resolution a call not to develop weapons of mass destruction and not to place them in outer space, he emphasized.
Meanwhile, outlining the treaty’s history, Cabasso said that in Article IV of the Outer Space Treaty, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1967, States Parties agreed “not to place in orbit around the earth any objects carrying nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction, install such weapons on celestial bodies, or station such weapons in outer space in any other manner.”
Yet, according to the UN Yearbook, by 1981, member states had expressed concern in the General Assembly that “rapid advances in science and technology had made the extension of the arms race into outer space a real possibility, and that new kinds of weapons were still being developed despite the existence of international agreements.”
In his May 1 testimony to the House Armed Services subcommittee, John Plumb, the first Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy, claimed that “Russia is developing and—if we are unable to convince them otherwise—to ultimately fly a nuclear weapon in space which will be an indiscriminate weapon” that would not distinguish among military, civilian, or commercial satellites.
In February, President Vladimir Putin declared that Russia has no intention of deploying nuclear weapons in space. It is troubling, therefore, that on April 24, Russia vetoed the first-ever Security Council resolution on an arms race in outer space, said Cabasso.
The resolution, introduced by the United States and Japan, would have affirmed the obligation of all States Parties to fully comply with the Outer Space Treaty, including its provisions to not deploy nuclear or any other kind of weapon of mass destruction in space. China abstained.
Before the resolution was put to a vote, Russia and China had proposed an amendment that would have broadened the call on all countries—beyond banning nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons—to “prevent for all time the placement of weapons in outer space and the threat of use of force in outer space.” The amendment was defeated, she said.
This article is brought to you by <a href="https://www.ipsnews.net/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">IPS Noram</a>, in collaboration with <a href="https://inpsjapan.com/en/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">INPS Japan</a> and <a href="https://sgi-peace.org/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Soka Gakkai International</a>, in consultative status with UN ECOSOC.
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<title>Working to Keep Náhuat, the Language of the Pipil People, from Vanishing in El Salvador</title>
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<pubDate>Mon, 06 May 2024 21:52:40 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Edgardo Ayala</dc:creator>
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<description><![CDATA[A group of children participating in an immersion program in Náhuat, the language of the Pipil people and the only remaining pre-Hispanic language in El Salvador, are the last hope that the language will not die out. “This effort aims to keep Náhuat alive and that is why we focus on the children, for them […]]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<img width="300" height="169" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/a-1-300x169.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="Elena López (left), one of two teachers who teach Náhuat to children in Nahuizalco, in western El Salvador, leads one of the morning's learning practices, in which the children, walking in circles, sing songs in the language of their ancestors, the Pipil people. CREDIT: Edgardo Ayala / IPS" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/a-1-300x169.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/a-1-768x432.jpg 768w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/a-1-629x354.jpg 629w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/a-1.jpg 976w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Elena López (left), one of two teachers who teach Náhuat to children in Nahuizalco, in western El Salvador, leads one of the morning's learning practices, in which the children, walking in circles, sing songs in the language of their ancestors, the Pipil people. CREDIT: Edgardo Ayala / IPSBy Edgardo Ayala NAHUIZALCO, El Salvador , May 6 2024 (IPS) A group of children participating in an immersion program in Náhuat, the language of the Pipil people and the only remaining pre-Hispanic language in El Salvador, are the last hope that the language will not die out.
“This effort aims to keep Náhuat alive and that is why we focus on the children, for them to continue and preserve this important part of our culture,” Elena López told IPS during a short snack break for the preschoolers she teaches."This effort aims to keep Náhuat alive and that is why we focus on the children, for them to continue and preserve this important part of our culture." -- Elena López 
López is part of the Náhuat Cuna project, which since 2010 has sought to preserve and revive the endangered indigenous language through early immersion. She is one of two teachers who teach it to children between the ages of three and five at a preschool center in Nahuizalco, a municipality in the department of Sonsonate in western El Salvador.
At risk of disappearing
“When a language dies, the basis of indigenous cultures and territories becomes extinct with it,” says the report <a href="https://www.filac.org/informe-regional-revitalizacion-de-lenguas-indigenas-2/">Revitalization of Indigenous Languages</a>, according to which the 500 Amerindian languages still spoken in Latin America are all in a situation of greater or lesser threat or risk.
In Mesoamerica, which includes Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica, 75 indigenous languages are spoken, says the study by the Fund for the Development of the Indigenous Peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean (FILAC).
With the exception of Mexico, Guatemala is the most linguistically diverse in this group of countries, with 24 native languages. The most widely spoken is K’iche’, of Mayan origin, and the least is Xinca, of unknown origin.
Brazil is the most ethnically and linguistically diverse country in Latin America, with between 241 and 256 indigenous peoples and between 150 and 186 languages.
<div id="attachment_185276" style="width: 639px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="wp-image-185276" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/aa.jpg" alt="A picture of some of the children learning Náhuat in the town of Nahuizalco, in western El Salvador, through an early language immersion program, in an effort by Don Bosco University to keep the endangered language alive. Teacher Elsa Cortez sits next to them. CREDIT: Edgardo Ayala / IPS" width="629" height="357" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/aa.jpg 720w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/aa-300x170.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/aa-629x357.jpg 629w" sizes="(max-width: 629px) 100vw, 629px" />A picture of some of the children learning Náhuat in the town of Nahuizalco, in western El Salvador, through an early language immersion program, in an effort by Don Bosco University to keep the endangered language alive. Teacher Elsa Cortez sits next to them. CREDIT: Edgardo Ayala / IPS</div>
Around 25 percent of these languages are at risk of extinction unless something is urgently done, the report warns. It is estimated that Latin America is home to more than 50 million people who self-identify as indigenous.
“These languages are losing their usage value…families are increasingly interrupting the natural intergenerational transmission of the languages of their elders, and a slow but sure process of moving towards the hegemonic language is observed, with speakers making Spanish or Portuguese their predominant language of use,” the report states.
The causes of the danger of the disappearance of these Amerindian languages are varied, the report points out, such as the interruption of intergenerational transmission, when the language is no longer passed on from generation to generation.
And that is exactly what the Náhuat Cuna project aims to revert by focusing on young children, who can learn from Náhuat speakers who did receive the language from their parents and grandparents and speak it fluently.
<div id="attachment_185277" style="width: 639px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="wp-image-185277" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/aaa-1.jpg" alt="Two children pretend to purchase and sell fruits and vegetables speaking in Náhuat, as part of the teaching exercises at Náhuat Cuna in western El Salvador, a preschool for new generations of Salvadorans to learn the nearly extinct Amerindian language. CREDIT: Edgardo Ayala /IPS" width="629" height="396" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/aaa-1.jpg 720w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/aaa-1-300x189.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/aaa-1-629x396.jpg 629w" sizes="(max-width: 629px) 100vw, 629px" />Two boys pretend to purchase and sell fruits and vegetables speaking in Náhuat, as part of the teaching exercises at Náhuat Cuna in western El Salvador, a preschool for new generations of Salvadorans to learn the nearly extinct Amerindian language. CREDIT: Edgardo Ayala /IPS</div>
López is one of these people. She belongs to the last generation of speakers who acquired it naturally, as a mother tongue, speaking it from a very young age with her parents and grandparents, in her native Santo Domingo de Guzmán, also in the department of Sonsonate.
“That’s how I was born and grew up, speaking it at home. And we never stopped speaking it, among my sisters and brothers, but not with people outside the house, because they discriminated against us, they treated us as Indians but in a derogatory way, but we never stopped speaking it,” said Lopez, 65.
Indeed, for reasons of racism and classism, indigenous populations have been marked by rejection and contempt not only from the political and economic elites, but also by the rest of the mestizo or mixed-race population, which resulted from the mixture of indigenous people with the Spaniards who started arriving in Latin America in the sixteenth century.
“They have always looked down on us, they have discriminated against us,” Elsa Cortez, 43, the other teacher at the Nahuizalco Náhuat Cuna, told IPS.
And she added: “I feel satisfied and proud, at my age it is a luxury to teach our little ones.”
Both López and Cortez said they were grateful that the project hired them as teachers, since they had no prior teaching experience, and in a context in which discrimination and social rejection, in addition to ageism, make it more difficult to find formal employment.
Before joining the project, Cortez worked full time making comales, which are circular clay griddles that are placed over a wood fire to cook corn tortillas. She also sold baked goods, and continues to bake bread on weekends.
López also worked making comales and preparing local dishes, which she sold in her neighborhood. Now she prefers to rest on the weekends.
All is not lost
When IPS visited the Náhuat Cuna preschool in Nahuizalco, the three-year-olds were performing an exercise: they stood in front of the rest of the class of about ten children and introduced themselves by saying their first name, last name and other basic greetings in Náhuat.
Later they identified, in Náhuat, pictures of animals and elements of nature, such as “mistun” (cat), “qawit” (tree) and “xutxit” (flower). The students started their first year in the center in February, and will spend two years there.
The five-year-olds are the most advanced. Together, the two groups totaled about twenty children.
<div id="attachment_185279" style="width: 610px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="wp-image-185279" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/aaaa.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="400" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/aaaa.jpg 600w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/aaaa-300x200.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" />Jorge Lemus (blue shirt), director of El Salvador’s Náhuat/Pipil Language Revitalization Program and the driving force behind the Náhuat Cuna project, which teaches the language to children between the ages of three and five, is photographed with indigenous women of the Pipil people in Nahuizalco in western El Salvador. CREDIT: Don Bosco University</div>
At the end of their time at the Cuna, they will go to regular school in Spanish, with the risk that they will forget what they have learned. However, to keep them connected to the language, the project offers Saturday courses where they begin to learn grammar and how to write the language.
There is a group of 15 teenagers, mostly girls, who started at the beginning of the project and speak the language fluently, and some even teach it online.
The initiative is promoted by the <a href="https://www.udb.edu.sv/udb/">Don Bosco University</a> of El Salvador, and supported by the municipalities where they operate, in Nahuizalco and Santo Domingo de Guzmán. The Santa Catarina Masahuat branch will also be reopened soon.
Santo Domingo de Guzmán is home to 99 percent of the country’s few Náhuat speakers, who number around 60 people, Jorge Lemus, director of El Salvador’s Náhuat/Pipil Language Revitalization Program and main promoter of the Náhuat Cuna project, told IPS.
“In three decades I have seen how Náhuat has been in decline, and how the people who speak it have been dying out,” stressed Lemus, who is also a professor and researcher of linguistics at the School of Languages and Education at Don Bosco University, run by the Salesian Catholic order.
According to the academic, the last three indigenous languages in El Salvador in the 20th century were Lenca, Cacaopera and Náhuat, but the first two disappeared by the middle of that century, and only the last one survives.
“The only one that has survived is Náhuat, but barely, as there are perhaps just 60 speakers of the language. When I started working on this there were about 200 and the number continues to shrink,” said Lemus.
The only way to keep the language alive, he said, is for a new generation to pick it up. But it will not be adults, who could learn it as a second language but will continue speaking Spanish; it must be a group of children who can learn it as native speakers.
The expert clarified that, although they come from the same linguistic trunk, the Náhuat spoken in El Salvador is not the same as the Nahuatl spoken in Mexico, and in fact the spelling is different.
In Mexico, Nahuatl has more than one million speakers in the Central Valley, he said.
In El Salvador, in 1932, the Pipil people stopped speaking their language in public for fear of being killed by the government forces of General Maximiliano Hernández, who that year brutally cracked down on an indigenous and peasant uprising demanding better living conditions.
At that time, society was dominated by aristocratic families dedicated to coffee cultivation, whose production system plunged a large part of Salvadorans, especially peasants and indigenous people, into poverty.
Lemus argued that for a language to make a decisive comeback and become a vehicle for everyday communication would require a titanic effort by the State, similar to the revival of the Basque language in Spain, Maori in New Zealand or even Israel’s resuscitation of Hebrew, which was already a dead language.
But that is not going to happen in El Salvador, he said.
“The most realistic thing we want to achieve is to keep the language from disappearing, and for the new generation of Náhuat-speaking people to grow and multiply. If we have 60 speakers now, in a few years we will hopefully still have 50 or 60 speakers, from this new generation, and they will keep it alive in the communities and continue speaking it,” he said.
For her part, López wants to continue working towards this goal in order to leave the country her legacy.
Speaking in Náhuat, the preschool teacher said: “I really like teaching this language because I don’t want it to die, I want the children to learn and speak it when I am dead.”
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<title>Many African Nations Making Progress in the Rule of Law</title>
<link>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/05/many-african-nations-making-progress-rule-law/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=many-african-nations-making-progress-rule-law</link>
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<pubDate>Mon, 06 May 2024 08:37:33 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Kingsley Ighobor</dc:creator>
<category><![CDATA[Africa]]></category>
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<description><![CDATA[The United Nations Office of Rule of Law and Security Institutions (OROLSI) supports the promotion of the rule of law, security, and peace in conflict-affected countries. In an interview with Kingsley Ighobor of Africa Renewal, Alexandre Zouev discusses OROLSI’s initiatives in Africa, rule of law on the continent, recent coups and their ramifications, and youth’s […]]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<img width="300" height="168" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/A-member-of-an-Explosive_-300x168.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/A-member-of-an-Explosive_-300x168.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/A-member-of-an-Explosive_.jpg 624w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />A member of an Explosive Ordnance Disposal team brushes sand off a mortar shell during a demonstration held by the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) in Mogadishu, Somalia. Credit: UN PHOTO Tobin JonesBy Kingsley Ighobor UNITED NATIONS, May 6 2024 (IPS) The United Nations Office of Rule of Law and Security Institutions (OROLSI) supports the promotion of the rule of law, security, and peace in conflict-affected countries.

In an interview with Kingsley Ighobor of Africa Renewal, Alexandre Zouev discusses OROLSI’s initiatives in Africa, rule of law on the continent, recent coups and their ramifications, and youth’s role in fostering peace and development. 
The following are excerpts:
What’s the Office of the Rule of Law and Security Institutions about? 
We deal mostly in five major areas, which are: the Police Division, Justice and Corrections Service, Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Section, Security Sector Reforms, and Mine Action Service. 
<div id="attachment_185265" style="width: 190px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Alexandre-Zouev.jpg" alt="" width="180" height="174" class="size-full wp-image-185265" />Alexandre Zouev</div>We work for our beneficiaries globally, but especially in Africa because most of our peacekeeping operations and many special political missions are in Africa. 
How would you assess the current state of the rule of law in Africa? 
As you know, lately, we’ve witnessed some global geopolitical tensions that don’t help the rule of law. Over the last one to two years, the rule of law eroded globally, in many, if not the majority of countries. Latest data indicate that up to 6 billion people globally live in a country where the rule of law is weakened. We are concerned about this trend. 
Talking about Africa, especially sub-Saharan Africa, the rule of law deteriorated in more than 20 countries. However, I must note that about 14 African countries managed to strengthen their rule of law over the last 12 months, including Kenya, Liberia, Tanzania and Cote d’Ivoire. 
Do you ascribe the deterioration of the rule of law in African countries to geopolitical challenges? 
Of course, global challenges to peace and security have implications for the rule of law. In terms of organizing elections or managing the judiciary or penitentiary, many African countries still depend on external technical assistance. 
In many of these situations, there are also internal drivers such as a lack of access to justice, the absence of adequately trained law enforcement and an independent judiciary. So, it’s a combination of regional and global instability and internal factors. 
There appears to be a resurgence of military coups, especially in West Africa.
You are right. We have witnessed the military taking power, especially in the greater Sahel Region. It doesn’t help the rule of law if, instead of a civilian justice system, you have military forces playing a role in political and judicial systems. 
How are you helping these countries address these challenges?
As I said earlier, Africa is our major focus, especially sub-Saharan Africa. And it’s due to different reasons: some gaps in the rule of law in some countries and because of certain development challenges. Generally, poverty is very much linked to criminality and ill-functioning judiciary systems. Budget deficits and lack of effective fiscal management will prevent any state from allocating adequate resources to the rule of law sector. In an ideal situation, the rule of law should be very well-resourced but not every state can afford it.
Do you also work with, for example, civil society organizations in countries? 
We invest efforts in working with civil society organizations. In our view, women and youths are very important agents of peace. We have many strategic frameworks with the African Union (AU). The AU and the EU are two major regional organizations partnering with UN Peacekeeping, including my office. 
At the sub-regional level, we have different degrees of engagement. For example, we partner with the <a href="https://igad.int/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Inter-Governmental Authority on Development</a> (IGAD), <a href="https://unowas.unmissions.org/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel</a>(UNOWAS), <a href="https://www.ecowas.int/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Economic Community for West African States</a> (ECOWAS), <a href="https://www.sadc.int/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Southern Africa Development Commission</a> (SADC), and other subregional organizations.
<div id="attachment_185266" style="width: 634px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Maïmouna-Zoungrana-winner_.jpg" alt="" width="624" height="333" class="size-full wp-image-185266" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Maïmouna-Zoungrana-winner_.jpg 624w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Maïmouna-Zoungrana-winner_-300x160.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Maïmouna-Zoungrana-winner_-280x150.jpg 280w" sizes="(max-width: 624px) 100vw, 624px" />Téné Maïmouna Zoungrana, winner of the 2022 Trailblazer Award for Women Justice and Corrections Officers, trains prison officers on managing incidents in prisons. They rehearse intervention techniques to control inmates in case of an incident. Credit: MINUSCA/Herve Cyriaque Serefio</div>
How important are security sector reforms (SSR) to the rule of law? 
It’s a small but very important part of my office because SSR deals with sometimes sensitive military and security issues with important political implications. And not all governments want to be scrutinized. 
To support SSR requires reliable statistics. For example, how much is being spent on the military, civil defense, secret services? When states request, we can help bring to them best practices and ways in which to build the capacity of their security sector. You do this kind of work with full respect to independent decision-making by host countries, their sovereignty, confidentiality of processes, and non-disclosure of information to third parties. 
Do you support countries where there are no peace operations? 
Absolutely. OROLSI has a system-wide service provider mandate. We are increasingly focusing on prevention, which is much more cost effective. One of the main tools we developed for that is the institutional development advisory programme. We piloted this programme in the Sahel region. We deploy institutional development advisors to help national governments and the UN system address the main challenges facing the rule of law and security institutions. 
So, the IDAs are not transactional or mission-driven like assistance. We rely on the resident capacity within the UN system. We work with other UN partners, especially United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)— OHCHR because, in many cases, the rule of law requires the promotion of a culture of human rights. So, IDAs help integrate inter-agency collaboration. It has so far proven very successful.
Many countries confront violent extremist groups such as Boko Haram. What role do you play in helping tackle this problem? 
Peacekeeping was not established in the UN system for counter-terrorism operations. Therefore, we collaborate closely with the <a href="https://www.un.org/counterterrorism/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Office of Counterterrorism</a> (OCT), and the <a href="https://www.ipinst.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/pdfs_terrorism-directory_5-CTED.pdf" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Counterterrorism Committee Executive Directorate</a> (CTED), which was established by the Security Council.
Almost all UN agencies and departments are involved in the prevention of violent extremism. And we are no exception. Our comparative advantage lies in building the capacity of host states to counter terrorism and prevent violent extremism through strengthened rule of law and security institutions and programmes to assist affected populations including through community policing and DDR. 
If you look at some terrorist organizations such as ISIS, it’s not only about men and women fighting with arms; they have their families, sometimes even children, who are indoctrinated. Some left their countries, and to reintegrate them is not easy. 
Do you see positive outcomes from your work in Africa? 
Generally, we are getting a lot of resources from the assessed budgets of the United Nations and extra-budgetary contributions of our donors, but it’s not sufficient. 
Investment in any kind of reform or capacity building in the rule of law sector is a multi-year exercise; you cannot do it overnight, in one week, or one month. We are going in the right direction, but maybe not with the speed that I would like. 
<div id="attachment_185267" style="width: 634px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Bangui-Central-African_.jpg" alt="" width="624" height="333" class="size-full wp-image-185267" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Bangui-Central-African_.jpg 624w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Bangui-Central-African_-300x160.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Bangui-Central-African_-280x150.jpg 280w" sizes="(max-width: 624px) 100vw, 624px" />Bangui, Central African Republic, 20 July 2023: The Appeals Chamber of the Special Criminal Court (SCC) delivered its judgement in the so-called “Paoua” case, on 20 July 2023 in Bangui. Credit: MINUSCA / Francis Yabendji-Yoga</div>
Do the closures of peacekeeping missions in Africa, such as in Mali, complicate your work? 
What complicates our work is not the closure or liquidation of missions; it’s how it happened in a hostile environment and under unrealistically short timelines. evacuating, liquidating, phasing out and drawing down missions can be challenging. However, we successfully closed our missions in Liberia, Cote d’Ivoire, and Mozambique. 
Countries like Mali and Sudan are, maybe, more challenging environments. To close our mission in Mali, which was one of the largest missions with about 13,000 personnel, thousands of vehicles, and armored carriers, the government gave the Security Council only six months. It was almost mission impossible, but we managed to do it. 
What role do you think young Africans can play in fostering peace and development of the continent? 
As you know, the Secretary-General has an <a href="https://www.un.org/youthenvoy/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Envoy on Youth</a>. I believe in investment in our future, which young people represent. It doesn’t matter if it’s in Africa, Asia, or Europe, it’s important to involve young people—for the sake of not only my generation but also that of my children and grandchildren. 
When young people are educated, they become important agents of change. I am not necessarily talking about political or legal education. Sometimes, it may be engagement in sports or cultural events. 
Can you envision an Africa without war? 
Dr. Martin Luther King said, “I have a dream.” I, too, have a dream that one day we will shut down this shop [his office]. If there are no wars and no conflicts, there will be no need for peacekeeping. 
Looking into certain developments in sub-Saharan Africa, the Maghreb in the north of Africa, you saw what happened in Libya over the last few years; you see what’s going on in Sudan; in Somalia, we still have the confrontation between al Shabaab and the Somali government. 
Realistically, we cannot stop these conflicts overnight. So long as they exist, we should invest more in certain types of peacekeeping operations, perhaps AU-led. I believe that African problems can be solved by Africans. 
We need partnerships with regional organizations such as the EU and the AU, and other sub-regional organizations in Africa. The private sector should play a special role, including African business leaders. Some of them already invest in peacebuilding and sustainable economic systems. 
We need to get the best out of all of us.
Source: Africa Renewal, United Nations
Africa Renewal is a United Nations digital magazine that covers Africa’s economic, social and political developments, and the challenges the continent faces and solutions to these by Africans themselves, including with the support of the United Nations and international community.
IPS UN Bureau
 
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<title>Civil Society Scores LGBTQI+ Rights Victory in Dominica</title>
<link>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/05/civil-society-scores-lgbtqi-rights-victory-dominica/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=civil-society-scores-lgbtqi-rights-victory-dominica</link>
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<pubDate>Mon, 06 May 2024 07:30:57 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Ines M Pousadela</dc:creator>
<category><![CDATA[Civil Society]]></category>
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<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.ipsnews.net/?p=185262</guid>
<description><![CDATA[On 22 April, Dominica’s High Court struck down two sections of the country’s Sexual Offences Act that criminalised consensual same-sex relations, finding them unconstitutional. This made Dominica the sixth country in the Commonwealth Caribbean – and the fourth in the Eastern Caribbean – to decriminalise same-sex relations through the courts, and the first in 2024. […]]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<img width="300" height="234" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/David-Levingstone_-300x234.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/David-Levingstone_-300x234.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/David-Levingstone_.jpg 597w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />By Inés M. Pousadela MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay, May 6 2024 (IPS) On 22 April, Dominica’s High Court struck down two sections of the country’s Sexual Offences Act that criminalised consensual same-sex relations, finding them unconstitutional. This made Dominica the sixth country in the Commonwealth Caribbean – and the fourth in the Eastern Caribbean – to decriminalise same-sex relations through the courts, and the first in 2024.

Similar decisions were made in <a href="https://lens.civicus.org/antigua-and-barbuda-a-step-forward-for-lgbtqi-rights/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Antigua and Barbuda</a>, <a href="https://lens.civicus.org/another-breakthrough-for-lgbtqi-rights-in-the-caribbean/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">St Kitts and Nevis</a> and <a href="https://lens.civicus.org/barbados-third-times-a-trend/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Barbados</a> in 2022 – but progress then threatened to stall. Change in Dominica revives the hopes of LGBTQI+ activists in the five remaining English-speaking Caribbean states – Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines – that still criminalise same-sex relations. Sooner than later, one of will be next. A small island has made a big difference.
<iframe width="630" height="663" frameborder="0"scrolling="no" style="overflow-y:hidden;" src="https://create.piktochart.com/embed/63837181-lgbtqi-rights-commonwealth-caribbean_04-24" ></iframe>
Winds of change
The criminalisation of consensual gay sex in the Anglophone Caribbean dates back to the British colonial era. All former British colonies in the region inherited identical criminal laws against homosexuality targeting either LGBTQI+ people in general or gay men in particular. They typically retained them after independence and through subsequent criminal law reforms. 
That’s what happened in Dominica, which became independent in 1978. Its 1998 <a href="https://www.dominica.gov.dm/laws/1998/act1-1998.pdf" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Sexual Offences Act</a> retained criminal provisions dating back to the 1860s. Section 16 of that law made sex between adult men, described as ‘buggery’, punishable with up to 10 years’ imprisonment and possible compulsory psychiatric confinement.
The offence listed in section 14, ‘gross indecency’, was initially punishable by up to five years in jail if committed by two same-sex adults. A 2016 amendment <a href="https://www.humandignitytrust.org/country-profile/dominica/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">increased the penalty</a> to 12 years.
As in other Caribbean countries with similar provisions, prosecutions for these crimes have been rare in recent decades, and have never resulted in a conviction. But they’ve been effective in stigmatising LGBTQI+ people, legitimising social prejudice and hate speech, enabling violence, including by police, obstructing access to essential social services, particularly healthcare, and denying people the full protection of the law.
Change has begun only in the past decade, but it’s been rapid. Bans on same-sex relations were overturned by the courts in Belize in 2016 and Trinidad and Tobago in 2018. More soon followed.
The legal case
In July 2019, an unnamed gay man identified as ‘BG’ filed a legal case challenging sections 14 and 16 of the Sexual Offences Act. The <a href="https://caribbean.loopnews.com/index.php/content/government-dominica-responds-high-court-ruling-buggery-laws" rel="noopener" target="_blank">defendants</a> named in the complaint were the Attorney General, the Bishop of Dominica’s capital Roseau, the Anglican Church and the Methodist Church. The Dominica Association of Evangelical Churches was also listed as an interested party.
The lawsuit was supported by Minority Rights Dominica (MiRiDom), the country’s main LGBTQI+ advocacy group, and three international allies: the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, the University of Toronto’s International Human Rights Program and Lawyers Without Borders. The law was challenged as discriminatory and an enabler of violence against LGBTQI+ people.
The High Court heard the case in September 2022, and on 22 April 2024, Justice Kimberly Cenac-Phulgence issued a ruling setting out the reasons why sections 14 and 16 violated the applicant’s constitutional rights to liberty, freedom of expression and privacy, and were therefore null and void.
The backlash
LGBTQI+ advocates around the world welcomed the court ruling, <a href="https://www.unaids.org/en/resources/presscentre/pressreleaseandstatementarchive/2024/april/20240422_dominica" rel="noopener" target="_blank">as did UNAIDS</a> – the United Nations agency leading the global effort to end HIV/AIDS. But resistance wasn’t long in coming.
Religious institutions, which hold a lot of influence in Dominica, were quick to decry gains in LGBTQI+ rights as losses in moral values. The day after the ruling was announced, Dominica’s Catholic Church published a <a href="https://dominicanewsonline.com/news/homepage/homepage-carousel/statement-from-the-catholic-church-on-court-decision-recognizing-same-sex-adults-rights/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">statement</a> reaffirming its position that sex should only take place within a heterosexual marriage and, while expressing compassion towards LGBTQI+ people, reiterated its belief in the centrality of traditional marriage and family. The Seventh-day Adventists expressed alarm about the potential of the court ruling to lead to same-sex unions and marriages. Some faith leaders voiced outright bigoty, with one prominent figure <a href="https://dominicanewsonline.com/news/homepage/homepage-carousel/pastor-rodney-weighs-in-on-same-sex-ruling/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">calling</a> sexual acts between persons of the same sex an ‘abomination’.
The road ahead
Having decriminalised same-sex relations, Dominica is now ranked 116th out of 198 countries on Equaldex’s Equality Index, which rates countries according to their LGBTQI+ friendliness. There’s clearly much work to be done. Outstanding issues include protection against discrimination in employment and housing, marriage equality and adoption rights. LGBTQI+ activists will also continue to push for the recognition of non-binary genders, the legalisation of gender change and the prohibition of conversion therapy.
<iframe width="630" height="546" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="overflow-y:hidden;" src="https://create.piktochart.com/embed/34a0dca2ab68-dominica-lgbtqi-rights"></iframe>
The Equality Index makes clear that, as in all the Caribbean countries that have recently decriminalised same-sex relations, changes to laws remain far ahead of social attitudes, with considerable public homophobia. As the instant conservative reactions to the court ruling suggest, changing laws and policies isn’t nearly enough. Shifting social attitudes must now be a top priority.
Dominican LGBTQI+ activists know this, which is why they’ve been working to challenge prejudice and foster understanding since long before launching their legal challenge – and why they see the court victory as not the end of a journey but a stepping stone to further change.
<img src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/daryl-phillip_.jpg" alt="" width="602" height="211" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-185260" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/daryl-phillip_.jpg 602w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/daryl-phillip_-300x105.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 602px) 100vw, 602px" />
The challenge for Dominica’s LGBTQI+ civil society is to replace the vicious circle of legal prohibition, which has reinforced social stigma, with a virtuous one in which legal progress normalises the presence and social acceptance of LGBTQI+ people, which in turn enables effective access to legally enshrined rights.
But they’ll take heart from being part of a broader regional and global trend. While working to ensure rights are realised domestically, they’ll also offer a powerful example that change can result to the circa <a href="https://www.humandignitytrust.org/lgbt-the-law/map-of-criminalisation/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">64 countries</a> around the world that still criminalise gay sex, including the five holdouts in the Commonwealth Caribbean. More progress will come.
Inés M. Pousadela CIVICUS Senior Research Specialist, co-director and writer for <a href="https://lens.civicus.org/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">CIVICUS Lens</a> and co-author of the <a href="https://lens.civicus.org/reports/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">State of Civil Society Report</a>.
 
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<title>1.8 Million More Palestinians Doomed to Poverty if Gaza War Persists</title>
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<pubDate>Mon, 06 May 2024 06:34:24 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Naureen Hossain</dc:creator>
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<description><![CDATA[Nearly seven months into the Gaza war, the UN warns that to rebuild and restore the buildings lost in this period, it would take several decades, and to revitalize Palestine’s economy, it would be a great undertaking. Meanwhile, the great losses in housing and public services and the economic stall only threaten to push even […]]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<img width="300" height="200" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/UNRWA-photograph-credit-UNRWA-Photo-Ashraf-Amra-300x200.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="The unprecedented destruction in the Gaza Strip in Palestine would condemn more that 1.8 million people to poverty if the war persists. Credit: Ashraf Amra/UMRWA" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/UNRWA-photograph-credit-UNRWA-Photo-Ashraf-Amra-300x200.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/UNRWA-photograph-credit-UNRWA-Photo-Ashraf-Amra-629x419.jpg 629w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/UNRWA-photograph-credit-UNRWA-Photo-Ashraf-Amra.jpg 630w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />The unprecedented destruction in the Gaza Strip in Palestine would condemn more that 1.8 million people to poverty if the war persists. Credit: Ashraf Amra/UMRWABy Naureen Hossain UNITED NATIONS, May 6 2024 (IPS) Nearly seven months into the Gaza war, the UN warns that to rebuild and restore the buildings lost in this period, it would take several decades, and to revitalize Palestine’s economy, it would be a great undertaking. Meanwhile, the great losses in housing and public services and the economic stall only threaten to push even more Palestinians into poverty.
Last week, the UNDP and the Economic and Social Commission in Western Asia (ESCWA) released an update to their joint report, ‘The Gaza War: Expected Socio-Economic Impacts on the State of Palestine,’ first released in November 2023. The initial report projected that the war would see a projected loss of over 12 percent in Palestine’s GDP and an increase in the poverty rate of over 25 percent if it persisted for a three-month period as metrics for the losses that the state of Palestine would incur as a result of the war.
The latest report reveals the predicted losses that Palestine will suffer after nine months of the conflict. According to projections that estimate the war’s duration up to a nine-month period, the poverty rate could exceed 60 percent. As Director of the Regional Bureau for the Arab States for UNDP Abdallah Al Dadari explained to reporters, an additional 1.8 million people have fallen into poverty in Palestine since the beginning of the war.
Under the UNDP’s Human Development Index (HDI), it’s projected that at six months, Palestine will have seen a significant drop, reaching 0.677 compared to 0.716 in 2022, which sets back human development by 17 years. This will only decrease based on certain metrics, such as reduced life expectancy, a decline in the gross national income (GNI), and reduced years of schooling.
In Gaza alone, the setback in development exceeds more than 30 years under this scenario, as it suffered a drop of 0.598 percent in 2023, compared to 0.705 percent in 2022. Should the war persist for nine months, the HDI will likely see a decrease of 0.551 percent, which sets Gaza back to the 1980s.
Almost all economic activities in Gaza have taken a sharp decline since the start of the war, the report stated, with all major sectors reporting significant losses during the last quarter of 2023. This has had ripple effects across the entire occupied Palestinian territory. The unemployment rate in Palestine reached 57 percent in the first quarter of 2024, as over 507,000 jobs were lost across the territory, including 160,000 workers from the West Bank.
Palestine’s GDP has also declined by 22.5 percent for the year 2023 and could further decrease by 51 percent in 2024. The war has undoubtedly aggravated the socioeconomic costs that will impact post-war recovery and development across the state of Palestine.
“Every additional day of fighting is only adding to the cost of rebuilding,” Al Dadari told reporters during a virtual briefing. Since the war began in October 2023, the destruction and damage to physical infrastructure, amounting to USD 341.2 million in education (schools and universities), USD 503.7 million in WASH, and USD 553.7 million in health facilities, directly affect basic needs provision in Gaza. The report notes that foreign aid for reconstruction and recovery of basic service infrastructure will be essential for the re-establishment of these services, and it will take decades and considerable financial resources to restore socioeconomic conditions in Gaza to pre-war levels.
Over thirty of Gaza’s hospitals have been destroyed since the war began, and over 400 schools and universities have been totally or partially destroyed under military fire.
Al Dadari emphasized the importance of bringing immediate emergency relief into Gaza that would help bring in emergency shelters. He remarked that a 3-year programme would cost up to USD 3 billion, with the overall cost ranging anywhere from USD 40 to 50 billion to rebuild the lost infrastructure in the long term. To even make room for the temporary emergency shelters and facilities that will be needed, efforts will need to be made to clear out the reported 37 million tons of debris in Gaza.
In addition to addressing the immediate needs of civilians in Gaza, UNDP will also be focused on planning a reconstruction plan with the full support of the UN and its organizations. “Our main concern is to be ready on any possible day to bring in the shelters and any necessary services. That is what we are doing in resource mobilization,” said Al Dadari.
“Unlike previous wars, the destruction in Gaza today is unprecedented in scope and scale, and coupled with the loss of homes, livelihoods, natural resources, infrastructure, and institutional capacities, it may have deep and systemic impacts for decades to come,” said ESCWA Executive Secretary Rola Dashti.
“Unprecedented levels of human losses, capital destruction, and the steep rise in poverty in such a short period of time will precipitate a serious development crisis that jeopardizes the future of generations to come,” said UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner.
IPS UN Bureau Report
 
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<title>LDCs Need Concessional Grants, Not Loans, Say Experts</title>
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<pubDate>Mon, 06 May 2024 06:29:49 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Rafiqul Islam</dc:creator>
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<description><![CDATA[Olaide Bankole was born and raised in Nigeria, and he observed how climate change was evident in the country with temperature rises and rainfall variability and how drought, desertification, and sea level rises have been affecting its people. He is also aware of how rising sea levels threaten southern Nigerian cities like Lagos and coastal […]]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[Olaide Bankole was born and raised in Nigeria, and he observed how climate change was evident in the country with temperature rises and rainfall variability and how drought, desertification, and sea level rises have been affecting its people. He is also aware of how rising sea levels threaten southern Nigerian cities like Lagos and coastal […]]]></content:encoded>
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<title>Media Freedom Declining Across Europe, With Implications for Rule of Law</title>
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<pubDate>Fri, 03 May 2024 10:28:38 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Ed Holt</dc:creator>
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<description><![CDATA[<td colspan="2" style="padding: 0px 10px;">
<h4 class="p1"><a style="color: #0b599e;">World Press Freedom Day 2024</a> </td></h4>
 ]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<img width="300" height="225" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Slovak-protest-picture-2-300x225.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="Protestors gathered in Bratislava on May 2, 2024 to protest against changes to the public broadcaster, RTVS. The placard in the picture reads: RTVS on a flat-screen TV; STVR about a flat earth. Credit: Ed Holt/IPS" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Slovak-protest-picture-2-300x225.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Slovak-protest-picture-2-629x472.jpg 629w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Slovak-protest-picture-2-200x149.jpg 200w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Slovak-protest-picture-2.jpg 630w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Protestors gathered in Bratislava on May 2, 2024 to protest against changes to the public broadcaster, RTVS. The placard in the picture reads: RTVS on a flat-screen TV; STVR about a flat earth. Credit: Ed Holt/IPSBy Ed Holt BRATISLAVA, May 3 2024 (IPS) A new report has warned media freedom in the EU is close to “breaking point” in many states amid rising authoritarianism across the continent.
In its latest annual <a href="https://www.liberties.eu/en/stories/media-freedom-report-2024-blog/45029">report covering 2023</a>, the Berlin-based Civil Liberties Union for Europe (Liberties) highlighted widespread threats, intimidation and violence against journalists and attacks on the independence of public broadcasters in the EU, with roll backs in media freedom down to “deliberate harm or neglect by national governments”.
The group says its research confirms a continuation of alarming trends seen in the previous year, including heavy media ownership concentration, insufficient ownership transparency rules, and threats to the independence and finances of public service media,
And it warns the decline in media freedom seen in a number of EU member states has the potential to pose a direct threat to democracy.
“Media freedom is falling across Europe, and what we see, not just in Europe but in many places around the world, is that where media freedom declines, the rule of law declines too,” Eva Simon, Senior Advocacy Officer at Liberties, told IPS.
<div id="attachment_185246" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="wp-image-185246 size-full" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Slovak-Radio-building-3.jpg" alt="The Slovak Radio building in Bratislava, part of the RTVS public broadcaster. Credit: Ed Holt/IPS" width="630" height="473" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Slovak-Radio-building-3.jpg 630w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Slovak-Radio-building-3-300x225.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Slovak-Radio-building-3-629x472.jpg 629w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Slovak-Radio-building-3-200x149.jpg 200w" sizes="(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px" />The Slovak Radio building in Bratislava, part of the RTVS public broadcaster. Credit: Ed Holt/IPS</div>
The Liberties report, compiled with 37 rights groups in 19 countries, comes as other media freedom watchdogs and rights groups warn of growing concentration of media ownership, lack of ownership transparency, surveillance and violence against journalists in EU countries, government capture of public broadcasters, and rising restrictions on freedom of expression.
Press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) released its annual World <a href="https://rsf.org/en/2024-world-press-freedom-index-journalism-under-political-pressure?data_type=general&year=2024">Press Freedom Index</a> today (April 3, 2024), warning that politicians in some EU countries are trying to crack down on independent journalism. They single out a number of leaders as being “at the forefront of this dangerous trend,” including Hungary’s pro-Kremlin prime minister, Viktor Orban, and his counterpart in Slovakia, Robert Fico.
It also highlights concerns for press freedom in other places, such as Malta, Greece, and Italy, pointing out that in the latter—which fell in the Index’s rankings this year—a member of the ruling parliamentary coalition is trying to acquire the second biggest news agency (AGI), raising fears for future independence of media.
“One of the main themes of this year is that the institutions that should be protecting media freedom, for example, governments, have been undermining it,” Pavol Szalai, head of the EU/Balkans desk at RSF, told IPS.
Like Liberties, RSF has cited particular concern about media freedom in Hungary and Slovakia among EU states.
Media freedom has been on the decline in Hungary for more than a decade, as autocratic leader Orban has, critics say, steadily cracked down on independent journalism. His party, Fidesz, has de facto control of 80 percent of the country’s media, and while independent media outlets still exist, their sustainable funding is under threat as state advertising is funneled to pro-government outlets.
The government’s effective control of Hungary’s public broadcaster is another major concern.
“Capturing public broadcasters limits access to information and that can have a huge impact on formulating political opinions and then how people vote,” said Simon.
Hungary is also suspected of having arbitrarily monitored journalists using the controversial Pegasus software.
RSF and Liberties both say their worry is not just what is happening to media freedom in Hungary, but that what Orban has done has provided a blueprint for other autocratic leaders to follow.
“Leaders in Europe are being inspired by Orban in his war against independent media. Just look at Fico in Slovakia, who has declared war on independent media,” said Szalai.
For years, Fico has repeatedly attacked and denigrated independent media and journalists.
In 2018, investigative journalist Jan Kuciak—who had been looking into alleged corruption by people close to Fico’s government— and his fiancée Martina Kusnirova were murdered. Critics said Fico’s rhetoric against journalists had contributed to creating an atmosphere in society that allowed those behind the killings to believe they could act with impunity.
Independent journalists continue to face harassment and abuse from Smer MPs today.
Since being elected Prime Minister for the fourth time last autumn, Fico and the governing coalition led by his Smer party have continued their attacks. They also refuse to communicate with critical media, claiming they are biased.
It has also approved legislation—which is expected to be passed in parliament within weeks—that will see the country’s public broadcaster, RTVS, completely overhauled and, critics say, effectively under the control of the government.
“If the bill is passed and signed into law in its current form, RTVS will become a mouthpiece for government propaganda,” said Szalai.
The government has rejected criticism over the bill and argued changes to RTVS are necessary because it is no longer objective, is persistently critical of the government, and is not fulfilling its remit as a public broadcaster to provide balanced and objective information and a plurality of opinions. A senior official at the Slovak Culture Ministry who is among the favorites to take over as head of the public broadcaster in its new form has since suggested that people who support the flat-earth theory should be invited onto shows to air their opinions on the broadcaster.
The bill has led to public protests and threats of a mass strike from current RTVS employees.
However, against this grim backdrop, media watchdogs say new EU legislation provides hope for an improvement in media freedom.
The recently-passed European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), which takes full effect across the EU in August next year, will, among others, ban governments from pursuing journalists to reveal their sources by deploying spyware, force media to disclose full ownership information, introduce transparency measures for state advertising, and checks on media concentration. It also provides a mechanism to prevent very big online platforms from arbitrarily restricting press freedom.
Another key measure in the legislation is that it enshrines the editorial independence of public service media, setting out that leaders and board members of public media organizations be selected through “transparent and non-discriminatory procedures for sufficiently long terms of office.”
“It is a good law that creates a very important base [for ensuring media freedom], which can be built on in the future. More safeguards [to media freedom] could be added to it in the future,” said Simon.
Szalai agreed, highlighting that the legislation was legally binding for member states. He admitted it had some shortcomings—for example, under some exceptions, journalists could be forced to reveal sources—but emphasized that it would take precedence over any national legislation, “and so governments cannot ignore it or try to get around it.”
But its implementation will be down to individual governments and authorities—something, that media freedom organizations have said must be closely watched.
A new EU body, the European Board for Media Services, is to be set up to oversee the implementation of the laws.
“It is important to make sure that the forces attacking media freedom are held back by this law. It will be up to the European Commission to hold governments to account on its implementation, and the Commission needs to consider press freedom as a priority after the European Parliament elections [in June] and to check on the EMFA’s implementation and take measures against any countries that violate it,” said Szalai.
IPS UN Bureau Report
 
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<h4 class="p1"><a style="color: #0b599e;">World Press Freedom Day 2024</a> </td></h4>
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http://www.feedvalidator.org/check.cgi?url=http%3A//www.ipsnews.net/feed/

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