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22. <title>The Enormous Risks &#038; Uncertain Benefits of an Israeli Strike Against Iran’s Nuclear Facilities</title>
23. <link>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/05/enormous-risks-uncertain-benefits-israeli-strike-irans-nuclear-facilities/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=enormous-risks-uncertain-benefits-israeli-strike-irans-nuclear-facilities</link>
24. <comments>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/05/enormous-risks-uncertain-benefits-israeli-strike-irans-nuclear-facilities/#respond</comments>
25. <pubDate>Wed, 08 May 2024 07:42:16 +0000</pubDate>
26. <dc:creator>Assaf Zoran</dc:creator>
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37. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.ipsnews.net/?p=185297</guid>
38. <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. [&#8230;]]]></description>
40. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><font color="#999999"><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" /><p class="wp-caption-text">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 Filabi</p></font></p><p>By Assaf Zoran<br />CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts, May 8 2024 (IPS) </p><p>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.<br />
41. <span id="more-185297"></span></p>
42. <p>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.</p>
43. <p>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.</p>
44. <p>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.</p>
45. <p>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.</p>
46. <p><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" /></p>
47. <p>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.</p>
48. <p>Both covert and overt kinetic actions can vary in intensity and target different sectors—military, governmental, or nuclear. </p>
49. <p>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.</p>
50. <p>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>.</p>
51. <p>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.</p>
52. <p>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.</p>
53. <p>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.</p>
54. <p>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.</p>
55. <p>However, an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities carries significant drawbacks.</p>
56. <p>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.</p>
57. <p>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.</p>
58. <p>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. </p>
59. <p>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>.</p>
60. <p>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.</p>
61. <p>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. </p>
62. <p>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.</p>
63. <p>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.</p>
64. <p><em><strong>Assaf Zoran</strong> 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.</p>
65. <p><strong>Source</strong>: Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists</em></p>
66. <p>IPS UN Bureau</p>
67. <p>&nbsp;</p>
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76. <title>Trade Liberalisation Kicked Away African Development Ladder</title>
77. <link>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/05/trade-liberalisation-kicked-away-african-development-ladder/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=trade-liberalisation-kicked-away-african-development-ladder</link>
78. <comments>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/05/trade-liberalisation-kicked-away-african-development-ladder/#respond</comments>
79. <pubDate>Wed, 08 May 2024 07:17:01 +0000</pubDate>
80. <dc:creator>Jomo Kwame Sundaram</dc:creator>
81. <category><![CDATA[Africa]]></category>
82. <category><![CDATA[Development & Aid]]></category>
83. <category><![CDATA[Economy & Trade]]></category>
84. <category><![CDATA[Food and Agriculture]]></category>
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89.  
90. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.ipsnews.net/?p=185290</guid>
91. <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 [&#8230;]]]></description>
93. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>By Jomo Kwame Sundaram<br />KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, May 8 2024 (IPS) </p><p>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.<br />
94. <span id="more-185290"></span></p>
95. <p><strong>Berg helped sink Africa</strong><br />
96. 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. </p>
97. <p><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" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Jomo Kwame Sundaram</p></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. </p>
98. <p>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. </p>
99. <p>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.</p>
100. <p>High growth in Asian economies contributed most to raising primary commodity prices, especially for minerals, until they collapsed from 2014. </p>
101. <p><strong>Underdeveloped agriculture</strong><br />
102. 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. </p>
103. <p>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.</p>
104. <p>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. </p>
105. <p>Uneven partial trade liberalisation and subsidy reduction have mixed implications. These vary with the food shares of national imports and household spending.</p>
106. <p><strong>Wishful development thinking</strong><br />
107. 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.</p>
108. <p>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”. </p>
109. <p>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. </p>
110. <p>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. </p>
111. <p>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.</p>
112. <p>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. </p>
113. <p><strong>Gains from liberalisation?</strong><br />
114. Greater trade liberalisation in manufactures, enhanced by the WTO non-agricultural market access (NAMA) agreement, has also undermined African industrialisation. </p>
115. <p>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>. </p>
116. <p>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! </p>
117. <p>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. </p>
118. <p>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. </p>
119. <p><strong>Fraudulent policy advice</strong><br />
120. 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. </p>
121. <p><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. </p>
122. <p>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. </p>
123. <p><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.</p>
124. <p><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”. </p>
125. <p>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.</p>
126. <p>IPS UN Bureau</p>
127. <p>&nbsp;</p>
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143. </ul></div> ]]></content:encoded>
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148. <title>Amid Record Displaced Persons, Migrant Remittances Spike—New IOM Report</title>
149. <link>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/05/amid-record-displaced-persons-migrant-remittances-spike-new-iom-report/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=amid-record-displaced-persons-migrant-remittances-spike-new-iom-report</link>
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151. <pubDate>Wed, 08 May 2024 05:36:09 +0000</pubDate>
152. <dc:creator>Ignatius Banda</dc:creator>
153. <category><![CDATA[Development & Aid]]></category>
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167.  
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169. <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 [&#8230;]]]></description>
171. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><font color="#999999"><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" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Migrants use a cross-border bus in Bulawayo to enter South Africa. Credit: Ignatius Banda/IPS</p></font></p><p>By Ignatius Banda<br />BULAWAYO, May 8 2024 (IPS) </p><p>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.<br />
172. <span id="more-185292"></span></p>
173. <p>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.</p>
174. <p>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.</p>
175. <p>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.</p>
176. <p>The humanitarian agency says these numbers represent the highest in modern-day records.</p>
177. <p>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&amp;utm_campaign=c7e6a28765-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2024_05_02_08_19&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_term=0_-c7e6a28765-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D">the IOM World Migration Report 2024</a> says.</p>
178. <p>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.</p>
179. <p>“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&#8217; GDPs, and globally, these remittances now surpass foreign direct investment in those countries,” the IOM says.</p>
180. <p>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.</p>
181. <p>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.</p>
182. <p>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.</p>
183. <p>“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.</p>
184. <p>“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.</p>
185. <p>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.</p>
186. <p>“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.</p>
187. <p>In explaining the location of the launch, the IOM explained in a press release:</p>
188. <p>“By choosing Dhaka as the report&#8217;s launch site, IOM not only highlights the country&#8217;s efforts in supporting vulnerable migrants and fostering pathways for regular migration but also recognizes Bangladesh&#8217;s important role in shaping global migration discourse and policy.”</p>
189. <p>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&#8217;s Champion country.</p>
190. <p>“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.</p>
191. <p>The Asian country “has demonstrated a strong commitment to addressing migration issues and implementing policies that safeguard migrants&#8217; rights,” the IOM says.</p>
192. <p>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.</p>
193. <p>“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.</p>
194. <p>“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.</p>
195. <p>Researchers say there is still more to be done to understand the urgency of the challenges and opportunities brought by migration.</p>
196. <p>“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&#8217;s African Centre for Migration and Society in South Africa.</p>
197. <p>For now, there does not appear to be anything that will stop the migration trend, with the IOM calling for &#8220;meaningful action in addressing the challenges and opportunities of human mobility.&#8221;</p>
198. <p>IPS UN Bureau Report</p>
199. <p>&nbsp;</p>
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214. <title>How do Taxes Drive the Sustainable Development Goals?</title>
215. <link>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/05/taxes-drive-sustainable-development-goals/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=taxes-drive-sustainable-development-goals</link>
216. <comments>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/05/taxes-drive-sustainable-development-goals/#respond</comments>
217. <pubDate>Tue, 07 May 2024 08:05:54 +0000</pubDate>
218. <dc:creator>Thomas Beloe  and Ahtesham Khan</dc:creator>
219. <category><![CDATA[Development & Aid]]></category>
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230. <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 [&#8230;]]]></description>
232. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><font color="#999999"><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" /><p class="wp-caption-text">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 Guatemala</p></font></p><p>By Thomas Beloe  and Ahtesham Khan<br />UNITED NATIONS, May 7 2024 (IPS) </p><p>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.<br />
233. <span id="more-185286"></span></p>
234. <p>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. </p>
235. <p>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. </p>
236. <p>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. </p>
237. <p>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.</p>
238. <p>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. </p>
239. <p>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.</p>
240. <p>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.”</p>
241. <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" /><p class="wp-caption-text">UNDP Tax for SDGs works with governments to strengthen domestic resource mobilization to finance the Sustainable Development Goals. Credit: UNDP</p></div>
242. <p>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. </p>
243. <p>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.</p>
244. <p>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.</p>
245. <p>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. </p>
246. <p>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.</p>
247. <p>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.</p>
248. <p>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: &#8220;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.&#8221;</p>
249. <p>&#8220;The success of the Tax for SDGs Initiative is a testament to the collaborative efforts among nations, international organizations, academia and civil society,&#8221; said Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator.</p>
250. <p>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. </p>
251. <p>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.  </p>
252. <p>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. </p>
253. <p>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.</p>
254. <p>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: &#8220;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.&#8221;</p>
255. <p>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.</p>
256. <p>Contact Tax for SDGs at taxforsdgs@undp.org, and follow the UNDP Sustainable Finance Hub on X.</p>
257. <p><em><strong>Thomas Beloe</strong> is Acting Director, Sustainable Finance Hub, UNDP; <strong>Ahtesham Khan</strong> is Head of UNDP Tax for SDGs</p>
258. <p><strong>Source</strong>: UNDP</em></p>
259. <p>IPS UN Bureau</p>
260. <p>&nbsp;</p>
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269. <title>A Russian Veto Threatens to Trigger a Nuclear Arms Race in Outer Space</title>
270. <link>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/05/russian-veto-threatens-trigger-nuclear-arms-race-outer-space/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=russian-veto-threatens-trigger-nuclear-arms-race-outer-space</link>
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272. <pubDate>Tue, 07 May 2024 08:01:33 +0000</pubDate>
273. <dc:creator>Thalif Deen</dc:creator>
274. <category><![CDATA[Armed Conflicts]]></category>
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287.  
288. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.ipsnews.net/?p=185281</guid>
289. <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 [&#8230;]]]></description>
291. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><font color="#999999"><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" /><p class="wp-caption-text">A view of the Earth and a satellite as seen from outer space. Credit: NASA via UN News</p></font></p><p>By Thalif Deen<br />UNITED NATIONS, May 7 2024 (IPS) </p><p>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.</p>
292. <p>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.”<br />
293. <span id="more-185281"></span></p>
294. <p>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.”</p>
295. <p>Sadly, this vote on the outer space resolution should surprise no one, he said.</p>
296. <p>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.</p>
297. <p>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.</p>
298. <p>“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”.</p>
299. <p>“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</p>
300. <p>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.</p>
301. <p>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>.</p>
302. <p>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.</p>
303. <p>“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.</p>
304. <p>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.</p>
305. <p>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.”</p>
306. <p>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.</p>
307. <p>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.”</p>
308. <p>“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.</p>
309. <p>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.”</p>
310. <p>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.</p>
311. <p>“There should be no doubt that placing a nuclear weapon into orbit would be unprecedented, unacceptable, and deeply dangerous.”</p>
312. <p>The US said Japan had gone to great lengths to forge consensus, with 65 cross-regional co-sponsors who joined in support.</p>
313. <p>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.”</p>
314. <p>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.</p>
315. <p>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.”</p>
316. <p>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.</p>
317. <p>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.</p>
318. <p>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.”</p>
319. <p>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.”</p>
320. <p>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.</p>
321. <p>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.</p>
322. <p>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.</p>
323. <p>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.</p>
324. <p><strong>Note:</strong> This article is brought to you by IPS Noram, in collaboration with INPS Japan and Soka Gakkai International, in consultative status with UN ECOSOC.</p>
325. <p>IPS UN Bureau Report</p>
326. <p>&nbsp;</p>
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336. </ul></div> ]]></content:encoded>
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339. </item>
340. <item>
341. <title>Working to Keep Náhuat, the Language of the Pipil People, from Vanishing in El Salvador</title>
342. <link>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/05/working-keep-nahuat-language-pipil-people-vanishing-el-salvador/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=working-keep-nahuat-language-pipil-people-vanishing-el-salvador</link>
343. <comments>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/05/working-keep-nahuat-language-pipil-people-vanishing-el-salvador/#respond</comments>
344. <pubDate>Mon, 06 May 2024 21:52:40 +0000</pubDate>
345. <dc:creator>Edgardo Ayala</dc:creator>
346. <category><![CDATA[Civil Society]]></category>
347. <category><![CDATA[Development & Aid]]></category>
348. <category><![CDATA[Editors' Choice]]></category>
349. <category><![CDATA[Education]]></category>
350. <category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
351. <category><![CDATA[Headlines]]></category>
352. <category><![CDATA[Human Rights]]></category>
353. <category><![CDATA[Indigenous Rights]]></category>
354. <category><![CDATA[Latin America & the Caribbean]]></category>
355. <category><![CDATA[Population]]></category>
356. <category><![CDATA[Regional Categories]]></category>
357. <category><![CDATA[TerraViva United Nations]]></category>
358. <category><![CDATA[El Salvador]]></category>
359. <category><![CDATA[indigenous languages]]></category>
360. <category><![CDATA[Nahuat]]></category>
361.  
362. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.ipsnews.net/?p=185274</guid>
363. <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. &#8220;This effort aims to keep Náhuat alive and that is why we focus on the children, for them [&#8230;]]]></description>
365. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><font color="#999999"><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&#039;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" /><p class="wp-caption-text">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</p></font></p><p>By Edgardo Ayala<br />NAHUIZALCO, El Salvador , May 6 2024 (IPS) </p><p>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.</p>
366. <p><span id="more-185274"></span>&#8220;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,&#8221; 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<br /><font size="1"></font></p>
367. <p>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.</p>
368. <p><strong>At risk of disappearing</strong></p>
369. <p>&#8220;When a language dies, the basis of indigenous cultures and territories becomes extinct with it,&#8221; 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.</p>
370. <p>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).</p>
371. <p>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&#8217;iche&#8217;, of Mayan origin, and the least is Xinca, of unknown origin.</p>
372. <p>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.</p>
373. <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" /><p class="wp-caption-text">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</p></div>
374. <p>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.</p>
375. <p>&#8220;These languages are losing their usage value&#8230;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,&#8221; the report states.</p>
376. <p>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.</p>
377. <p>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.</p>
378. <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" /><p class="wp-caption-text">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</p></div>
379. <p>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.</p>
380. <p>&#8220;That&#8217;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,&#8221; said Lopez, 65.</p>
381. <p>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.</p>
382. <p>&#8220;They have always looked down on us, they have discriminated against us,&#8221; Elsa Cortez, 43, the other teacher at the Nahuizalco Náhuat Cuna, told IPS.</p>
383. <p>And she added: &#8220;I feel satisfied and proud, at my age it is a luxury to teach our little ones.&#8221;</p>
384. <p>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.</p>
385. <p>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.</p>
386. <p>López also worked making comales and preparing local dishes, which she sold in her neighborhood. Now she prefers to rest on the weekends.</p>
387. <p><strong>All is not lost</strong></p>
388. <p>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.</p>
389. <p>Later they identified, in Náhuat, pictures of animals and elements of nature, such as &#8220;mistun&#8221; (cat), &#8220;qawit&#8221; (tree) and &#8220;xutxit&#8221; (flower). The students started their first year in the center in February, and will spend two years there.</p>
390. <p>The five-year-olds are the most advanced. Together, the two groups totaled about twenty children.</p>
391. <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" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Jorge Lemus  (blue shirt), director of El Salvador&#8217;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</p></div>
392. <p>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.</p>
393. <p>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.</p>
394. <p>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.</p>
395. <p>Santo Domingo de Guzmán is home to 99 percent of the country&#8217;s few Náhuat speakers, who number around 60 people, Jorge Lemus, director of El Salvador&#8217;s Náhuat/Pipil Language Revitalization Program and main promoter of the Náhuat Cuna project, told IPS.</p>
396. <p>&#8220;In three decades I have seen how Náhuat has been in decline, and how the people who speak it have been dying out,&#8221; 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.</p>
397. <p>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.</p>
398. <p>&#8220;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,&#8221; said Lemus.</p>
399. <p>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.</p>
400. <p>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.</p>
401. <p>In Mexico, Nahuatl has more than one million speakers in the Central Valley, he said.</p>
402. <p>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.</p>
403. <p>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.</p>
404. <p>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&#8217;s resuscitation of Hebrew, which was already a dead language.</p>
405. <p>But that is not going to happen in El Salvador, he said.</p>
406. <p>&#8220;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,&#8221; he said.</p>
407. <p>For her part, López wants to continue working towards this goal in order to leave the country her legacy.</p>
408. <p>Speaking in Náhuat, the preschool teacher said: &#8220;I really like teaching this language because I don&#8217;t want it to die, I want the children to learn and speak it when I am dead.&#8221;</p>
409. ]]></content:encoded>
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412. </item>
413. <item>
414. <title>Many African Nations Making Progress in the Rule of Law</title>
415. <link>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/05/many-african-nations-making-progress-rule-law/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=many-african-nations-making-progress-rule-law</link>
416. <comments>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/05/many-african-nations-making-progress-rule-law/#respond</comments>
417. <pubDate>Mon, 06 May 2024 08:37:33 +0000</pubDate>
418. <dc:creator>Kingsley Ighobor</dc:creator>
419. <category><![CDATA[Africa]]></category>
420. <category><![CDATA[Armed Conflicts]]></category>
421. <category><![CDATA[Crime & Justice]]></category>
422. <category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
423. <category><![CDATA[Headlines]]></category>
424. <category><![CDATA[Human Rights]]></category>
425. <category><![CDATA[IPS UN: Inside the Glasshouse]]></category>
426. <category><![CDATA[TerraViva United Nations]]></category>
427. <category><![CDATA[IPS UN Bureau]]></category>
428.  
429. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.ipsnews.net/?p=185268</guid>
430. <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&#8217;s [&#8230;]]]></description>
432. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><font color="#999999"><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" /><p class="wp-caption-text">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 Jones</p></font></p><p>By Kingsley Ighobor<br />UNITED NATIONS, May 6 2024 (IPS) </p><p>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.<br />
433. <span id="more-185268"></span></p>
434. <p>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&#8217;s role in fostering peace and development. </p>
435. <p><em><strong>The following are excerpts:</strong></em></p>
436. <p><strong>What&#8217;s the Office of the Rule of Law and Security Institutions about? </strong></p>
437. <p>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. </p>
438. <p><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" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Alexandre Zouev</p></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. </p>
439. <p><strong>How would you assess the current state of the rule of law in Africa? </strong></p>
440. <p>As you know, lately, we&#8217;ve witnessed some global geopolitical tensions that don&#8217;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. </p>
441. <p>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&#8217;Ivoire. </p>
442. <p><strong>Do you ascribe the deterioration of the rule of law in African countries to geopolitical challenges? </strong></p>
443. <p>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. </p>
444. <p>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&#8217;s a combination of regional and global instability and internal factors. </p>
445. <p><strong>There appears to be a resurgence of military coups, especially in West Africa.</strong></p>
446. <p>You are right. We have witnessed the military taking power, especially in the greater Sahel Region. It doesn&#8217;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. </p>
447. <p><strong>How are you helping these countries address these challenges?</strong></p>
448. <p>As I said earlier, Africa is our major focus, especially sub-Saharan Africa. And it&#8217;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. </p>
449. <p><strong>Do you also work with, for example, civil society organizations in countries? </strong></p>
450. <p>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. </p>
451. <p>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.</p>
452. <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" /><p class="wp-caption-text">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</p></div>
453. <p><strong>How important are security sector reforms (SSR) to the rule of law? </strong></p>
454. <p>It&#8217;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. </p>
455. <p>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. </p>
456. <p><strong>Do you support countries where there are no peace operations? </strong> </p>
457. <p>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. </p>
458. <p>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. </p>
459. <p><strong>Many countries confront violent extremist groups such as Boko Haram. What role do you play in helping tackle this problem? </strong></p>
460. <p>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.</p>
461. <p>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.  </p>
462. <p>If you look at some terrorist organizations such as ISIS, it&#8217;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. </p>
463. <p><strong>Do you see positive outcomes from your work in Africa? </strong></p>
464. <p>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&#8217;s not sufficient. </p>
465. <p>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. </p>
466. <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" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Bangui, Central African Republic, 20 July 2023: The Appeals Chamber of the Special Criminal Court (SCC) delivered its judgement in the so-called &#8220;Paoua&#8221; case, on 20 July 2023 in Bangui. Credit: MINUSCA / Francis Yabendji-Yoga</p></div>
467. <p><strong>Do the closures of peacekeeping missions in Africa, such as in Mali, complicate your work? </strong></p>
468. <p>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&#8217;Ivoire, and Mozambique. </p>
469. <p>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. </p>
470. <p><strong>What role do you think young Africans can play in fostering peace and development of the continent? </strong></p>
471. <p>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&#8217;t matter if it&#8217;s in Africa, Asia, or Europe, it&#8217;s important to involve young people—for the sake of not only my generation but also that of my children and grandchildren. </p>
472. <p>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. </p>
473. <p><strong>Can you envision an Africa without war? </strong></p>
474. <p>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. </p>
475. <p>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&#8217;s going on in Sudan; in Somalia, we still have the confrontation between al Shabaab and the Somali government. </p>
476. <p>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. </p>
477. <p>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. </p>
478. <p>We need to get the best out of all of us.</p>
479. <p><em><strong>Source</strong>: Africa Renewal, United Nations</em></p>
480. <p><em>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.</em></p>
481. <p>IPS UN Bureau</p>
482. <p>&nbsp;</p>
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491. <title>Civil Society Scores LGBTQI+ Rights Victory in Dominica</title>
492. <link>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/05/civil-society-scores-lgbtqi-rights-victory-dominica/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=civil-society-scores-lgbtqi-rights-victory-dominica</link>
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494. <pubDate>Mon, 06 May 2024 07:30:57 +0000</pubDate>
495. <dc:creator>Ines M Pousadela</dc:creator>
496. <category><![CDATA[Civil Society]]></category>
497. <category><![CDATA[Crime & Justice]]></category>
498. <category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
499. <category><![CDATA[Gender Violence]]></category>
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503. <category><![CDATA[Latin America & the Caribbean]]></category>
504. <category><![CDATA[LGBTQ]]></category>
505. <category><![CDATA[TerraViva United Nations]]></category>
506. <category><![CDATA[CIVICUS 2023]]></category>
507. <category><![CDATA[IPS UN Bureau]]></category>
508.  
509. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.ipsnews.net/?p=185262</guid>
510. <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. [&#8230;]]]></description>
512. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><font color="#999999"><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" /></font></p><p>By Inés M. Pousadela<br />MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay, May 6 2024 (IPS) </p><p>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.<br />
513. <span id="more-185262"></span></p>
514. <p>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.</p>
515. <p><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></p>
516. <p><strong>Winds of change</strong></p>
517. <p>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. </p>
518. <p>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.</p>
519. <p>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.</p>
520. <p>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.</p>
521. <p>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.</p>
522. <p><strong>The legal case</strong></p>
523. <p>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.</p>
524. <p>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.</p>
525. <p>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.</p>
526. <p><strong>The backlash</strong></p>
527. <p>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.</p>
528. <p>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’.</p>
529. <p><strong>The road ahead</strong></p>
530. <p>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.</p>
531. <p><iframe width="630" height="546" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="overflow-y:hidden;" src="https://create.piktochart.com/embed/34a0dca2ab68-dominica-lgbtqi-rights"></iframe></p>
532. <p>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.</p>
533. <p>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.</p>
534. <p><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" /></p>
535. <p>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.</p>
536. <p>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.</p>
537. <p><em><strong>Inés M. Pousadela</strong> 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>.</em></p>
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547. <title>1.8 Million More Palestinians Doomed to Poverty if Gaza War Persists</title>
548. <link>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/05/1-8-million-more-palestinians-doomed-to-poverty-if-gaza-war-persists/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=1-8-million-more-palestinians-doomed-to-poverty-if-gaza-war-persists</link>
549. <comments>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/05/1-8-million-more-palestinians-doomed-to-poverty-if-gaza-war-persists/#respond</comments>
550. <pubDate>Mon, 06 May 2024 06:34:24 +0000</pubDate>
551. <dc:creator>Naureen Hossain</dc:creator>
552. <category><![CDATA[Aid]]></category>
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567.  
568. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.ipsnews.net/?p=185255</guid>
569. <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 [&#8230;]]]></description>
571. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><font color="#999999"><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" /><p class="wp-caption-text">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</p></font></p><p>By Naureen Hossain<br />UNITED NATIONS, May 6 2024 (IPS) </p><p>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.<span id="more-185255"></span></p>
572. <p>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.</p>
573. <p>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.</p>
574. <p>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.</p>
575. <p>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.</p>
576. <p>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.</p>
577. <p>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.</p>
578. <p>“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.</p>
579. <p>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.</p>
580. <p>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.</p>
581. <p>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.</p>
582. <p>“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.</p>
583. <p>“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.</p>
584. <p>IPS UN Bureau Report</p>
585. <p>&nbsp;</p>
586. <div id="authorarea"><a class="twitter-follow-button" href="https://twitter.com/IPSNewsUNBureau" data-show-count="false" data-lang="en" data-size="large">Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau</a><br />
587. <script>!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+'://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js';fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, 'script', 'twitter-wjs');</script>  <a href="https://www.instagram.com/ipsnewsunbureau/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img style="display: block; border: 0px; min-height: auto; outline: none; text-decoration: none;" src="http://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2020/11/instagram-logo-ipsnewsunbureau_3_.jpg" width="200" height="44" /></a></div>
588. ]]></content:encoded>
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590. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
591. </item>
592. <item>
593. <title>LDCs Need Concessional Grants, Not Loans, Say Experts</title>
594. <link>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/05/ldcs-need-concessional-grants-not-loans-say-experts/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=ldcs-need-concessional-grants-not-loans-say-experts</link>
595. <comments>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/05/ldcs-need-concessional-grants-not-loans-say-experts/#respond</comments>
596. <pubDate>Mon, 06 May 2024 06:29:49 +0000</pubDate>
597. <dc:creator>Rafiqul Islam</dc:creator>
598. <category><![CDATA[Aid]]></category>
599. <category><![CDATA[Climate Change]]></category>
600. <category><![CDATA[Climate Change Finance]]></category>
601. <category><![CDATA[Climate Change Justice]]></category>
602. <category><![CDATA[COP29]]></category>
603. <category><![CDATA[Development & Aid]]></category>
604. <category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
605. <category><![CDATA[Global]]></category>
606. <category><![CDATA[Headlines]]></category>
607. <category><![CDATA[Humanitarian Emergencies]]></category>
608. <category><![CDATA[Sustainable Development Goals]]></category>
609. <category><![CDATA[TerraViva United Nations]]></category>
610. <category><![CDATA[Bangladesh]]></category>
611. <category><![CDATA[Climate Justice]]></category>
612. <category><![CDATA[IPS UN Bureau]]></category>
613. <category><![CDATA[IPS UN Bureau Report]]></category>
614. <category><![CDATA[Least Developed Countries (LDCs)]]></category>
615.  
616. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.ipsnews.net/?p=185252</guid>
617. <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 [&#8230;]]]></description>
619. <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 [&#8230;]]]></content:encoded>
620. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/05/ldcs-need-concessional-grants-not-loans-say-experts/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
621. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
622. </item>
623. <item>
624. <title>Media Freedom Declining Across Europe, With Implications for Rule of Law</title>
625. <link>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/05/media-freedom-declining-across-europe-with-implications-for-rule-of-law/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=media-freedom-declining-across-europe-with-implications-for-rule-of-law</link>
626. <comments>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/05/media-freedom-declining-across-europe-with-implications-for-rule-of-law/#respond</comments>
627. <pubDate>Fri, 03 May 2024 10:28:38 +0000</pubDate>
628. <dc:creator>Ed Holt</dc:creator>
629. <category><![CDATA[Democracy]]></category>
630. <category><![CDATA[Editors' Choice]]></category>
631. <category><![CDATA[Europe]]></category>
632. <category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
633. <category><![CDATA[Freedom of Expression]]></category>
634. <category><![CDATA[Headlines]]></category>
635. <category><![CDATA[Human Rights]]></category>
636. <category><![CDATA[Press Freedom]]></category>
637. <category><![CDATA[Sustainable Development Goals]]></category>
638. <category><![CDATA[TerraViva United Nations]]></category>
639. <category><![CDATA[IPS UN Bureau]]></category>
640. <category><![CDATA[IPS UN Bureau Report]]></category>
641. <category><![CDATA[World Press Freedom Day]]></category>
642. <category><![CDATA[World Press Freedom Day 2024]]></category>
643.  
644. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.ipsnews.net/?p=185243</guid>
645. <description><![CDATA[<td colspan="2"  style="padding: 0px 10px;">
646. <h4 class="p1"><a style="color: #0b599e;"><em><strong>World Press Freedom Day 2024</strong></em></a> </td></h4>
647. <br>]]></description>
649. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><font color="#999999"><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" /><p class="wp-caption-text">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</p></font></p><p>By Ed Holt<br />BRATISLAVA, May 3 2024 (IPS) </p><p>A new report has warned media freedom in the EU is close to “breaking point” in many states amid rising authoritarianism across the continent.<span id="more-185243"></span></p>
650. <p>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”.</p>
651. <p>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,</p>
652. <p>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.</p>
653. <p>“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.</p>
654. <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" /><p class="wp-caption-text">The Slovak Radio building in Bratislava, part of the RTVS public broadcaster. Credit: Ed Holt/IPS</p></div>
655. <p>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.</p>
656. <p>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&amp;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.</p>
657. <p>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.</p>
658. <p>“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.</p>
659. <p>Like Liberties, RSF has cited particular concern about media freedom in Hungary and Slovakia among EU states.</p>
660. <p>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.</p>
661. <p>The government’s effective control of Hungary’s public broadcaster is another major concern.</p>
662. <p>“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.</p>
663. <p>Hungary is also suspected of having arbitrarily monitored journalists using the controversial Pegasus software.</p>
664. <p>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.</p>
665. <p>“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.</p>
666. <p>For years, Fico has repeatedly attacked and denigrated independent media and journalists.</p>
667. <p>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.</p>
668. <p>Independent journalists continue to face harassment and abuse from Smer MPs today.</p>
669. <p>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.</p>
670. <p>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.</p>
671. <p>“If the bill is passed and signed into law in its current form, RTVS will become a mouthpiece for government propaganda,” said Szalai.</p>
672. <p>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.</p>
673. <p>The bill has led to public protests and threats of a mass strike from current RTVS employees.</p>
674. <p>However, against this grim backdrop, media watchdogs say new EU legislation provides hope for an improvement in media freedom.</p>
675. <p>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.</p>
676. <p>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.”</p>
677. <p>“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.</p>
678. <p>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.”</p>
679. <p>But its implementation will be down to individual governments and authorities—something, that media freedom organizations have said must be closely watched.</p>
680. <p>A new EU body, the European Board for Media Services, is to be set up to oversee the implementation of the laws.</p>
681. <p>“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.</p>
682. <p>IPS UN Bureau Report</p>
683. <p>&nbsp;</p>
684. <div id="authorarea"><a class="twitter-follow-button" href="https://twitter.com/IPSNewsUNBureau" data-show-count="false" data-lang="en" data-size="large">Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau</a><br />
685. <script>!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+'://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js';fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, 'script', 'twitter-wjs');</script>  <a href="https://www.instagram.com/ipsnewsunbureau/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img style="display: block; border: 0px; min-height: auto; outline: none; text-decoration: none;" src="http://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2020/11/instagram-logo-ipsnewsunbureau_3_.jpg" width="200" height="44" /></a></div>
686. <p>IPS UN Bureau, IPS UN Bureau Report,</p>
687. <div id='related_articles'>
688. <h1 class="section">Related Articles</h1>
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693.  
694.  
695. </ul></div> <p>Excerpt: </p><td colspan="2"  style="padding: 0px 10px;">
696. <h4 class="p1"><a style="color: #0b599e;"><em><strong>World Press Freedom Day 2024</strong></em></a> </td></h4>
697. <br>]]></content:encoded>
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699. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
700. </item>
701. <item>
702. <title>UN Secretary-General&#8217;s message for World Press Freedom Day</title>
703. <link>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/05/un-secretary-generals-message-world-press-freedom-day/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=un-secretary-generals-message-world-press-freedom-day</link>
704. <comments>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/05/un-secretary-generals-message-world-press-freedom-day/#respond</comments>
705. <pubDate>Fri, 03 May 2024 06:13:35 +0000</pubDate>
706. <dc:creator>Guterres</dc:creator>
707. <category><![CDATA[Biodiversity]]></category>
708. <category><![CDATA[Climate Change]]></category>
709. <category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category>
710. <category><![CDATA[Multimedia]]></category>
711. <category><![CDATA[Press Freedom]]></category>
712. <category><![CDATA[Video]]></category>
713. <category><![CDATA[IPS UN Bureau]]></category>
714.  
715. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.ipsnews.net/?p=185239</guid>
716. <description><![CDATA[The world is going through an unprecedented environmental emergency which poses an existential threat to this and future generations. People need to know about this – and journalists and media workers have a key role in informing and educating them. Local, national and global media outlets can highlight stories about the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, [&#8230;]]]></description>
718. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><font color="#999999"><img width="300" height="170" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/un-wpfd2024_-300x170.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/un-wpfd2024_-300x170.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/un-wpfd2024_-629x356.jpg 629w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/un-wpfd2024_.jpg 630w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></font></p><p>By Antonio Guterres<br />UNITED NATIONS, May 3 2024 (IPS-Partners) </p><p>The world is going through an unprecedented environmental emergency which poses an existential threat to this and future generations.<br />
719. <span id="more-185239"></span></p>
720. <p>People need to know about this – and journalists and media workers have a key role in informing and educating them.</p>
721. <p>Local, national and global media outlets can highlight stories about the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, and environmental injustice.</p>
722. <p>Through their work, people come to understand the plight of our planet, and are mobilized and empowered to take action for change.</p>
723. <p>Media workers also document environmental degradation. And they provide evidence of environmental vandalism that helps to hold those responsible to account.</p>
724. <p>It is no surprise that some powerful people, companies and institutions will stop at nothing to prevent environmental journalists from doing their jobs.</p>
725. <p>Media freedom is under siege. And environmental journalism is an increasingly dangerous profession.</p>
726. <p>Dozens of journalists covering illegal mining, logging, poaching and other environmental issues have been killed in recent decades. </p>
727. <p>In the vast majority of cases, no one has been held to account.</p>
728. <p>UNESCO reports that in the past fifteen years, there have been some 750 attacks on journalists and news outlets reporting on environmental issues. And the frequency of such attacks is rising.</p>
729. <p>Legal processes are also misused to censor, silence, detain and harass environmental reporters, while a new era of climate disinformation focuses on undermining proven solutions, including renewable energy. </p>
730. <p>But environmental journalists are not the only ones at risk.</p>
731. <p>Around the world, media workers are risking their lives trying to bring us news on everything from war to democracy.</p>
732. <p>I am shocked and appalled by the high number of journalists killed in Israeli military operations in Gaza.</p>
733. <p>The United Nations recognizes the invaluable work of journalists and media professionals to ensure that the public is informed and engaged.</p>
734. <p>Without facts, we cannot fight mis- and disinformation. Without accountability, we will not have strong policies in place.</p>
735. <p>Without press freedom, we won&#8217;t have any freedom.</p>
736. <p>A free press is not a choice, but a necessity.</p>
737. <p>Our World Press Freedom Day is very important. And so, I call on governments, the private sector and civil society to join us in reaffirming our commitment to safeguarding press freedom and the rights of journalists and media professionals around the world.</p>
738. <p><iframe width="630" height="355" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ETbrH_uqU-U" title="UN Secretary-General&#39;s message for World Press Freedom Day 2024" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
739. <p>&nbsp;</p>
740. <div id="authorarea">
741. <a href="https://twitter.com/IPSNewsUNBureau" class="twitter-follow-button" data-show-count="false" data-lang="en" data-size="large">Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau</a><br />
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743. ]]></content:encoded>
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745. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
746. </item>
747. <item>
748. <title>Disinformation in the Super Election Year</title>
749. <link>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/05/disinformation-super-election-year/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=disinformation-super-election-year</link>
750. <comments>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/05/disinformation-super-election-year/#respond</comments>
751. <pubDate>Fri, 03 May 2024 04:29:10 +0000</pubDate>
752. <dc:creator>Jurgen Neyer</dc:creator>
753. <category><![CDATA[Democracy]]></category>
754. <category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
755. <category><![CDATA[Global]]></category>
756. <category><![CDATA[Global Governance]]></category>
757. <category><![CDATA[Headlines]]></category>
758. <category><![CDATA[Human Rights]]></category>
759. <category><![CDATA[IPS UN: Inside the Glasshouse]]></category>
760. <category><![CDATA[TerraViva United Nations]]></category>
761. <category><![CDATA[IPS UN Bureau]]></category>
762.  
763. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.ipsnews.net/?p=185237</guid>
764. <description><![CDATA[The year 2024 seems to be a year of big decisions. The European Parliament elections in June and the US presidential election in November… politics and the media are talking of a showdown between democracy and disinformation. Add the elections in Russia and India to that and almost half of the world’s population will be [&#8230;]]]></description>
766. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><font color="#999999"><img width="300" height="136" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/A-voters-finger-is_-300x136.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/A-voters-finger-is_-300x136.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/A-voters-finger-is_.jpg 624w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><p class="wp-caption-text">A voter's finger is dyed with ink after casting a vote in elections. In this super election year, truths become a rare commodity, and the struggle for the sovereignty of interpretation of reality takes centre stage. Credit: UN Photo/Marco Dormino</p></font></p><p>By Jürgen Neyer<br />BERLIN, Germany, May 3 2024 (IPS) </p><p>The year 2024 seems to be a year of big decisions. The European Parliament elections in June and the US presidential election in November… politics and the media are talking of a showdown between democracy and disinformation. Add the elections in Russia and India to that and almost half of the world’s population will be casting their vote this year.<br />
767. <span id="more-185237"></span></p>
768. <p>According to EU High Representative Josep Borrell, ‘malicious foreign actors’ are trying to win the ‘<a href="https://www.dw.com/de/europawahlen-im-visier-von-desinformationskampagnen/a-68098170" rel="noopener" target="_blank">battle of narrative</a>’. Disinformation is being pumped out, aimed at dividing society and undermining trust in state institutions, <a href="https://www.bundesregierung.de/breg-de/schwerpunkte/umgang-mit-desinformation/was-ist-desinformation-1875148" rel="noopener" target="_blank">as stated by the German Federal Government</a>. </p>
769. <p>Social media is purportedly being used to spread lies, disinformation and deep fakes, which is <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aap9559" rel="noopener" target="_blank">rapidly generating false information</a> and creating filter bubbles and echo chambers. It is also being claimed that artificial intelligence, deep fakes and personalised algorithms are building on the already existing uncertainty, reducing confidence in democratic institutions.</p>
770. <p><strong>Does this threaten the very core of democracy?</strong></p>
771. <p>There are a number of major counterpoints to the theory that a social media-driven flood of disinformation is posing a threat to democracy. Firstly, there is the term itself. We can distinguish ‘disinformation’ from simply ‘false information’ on the basis of whether there was any malicious intent. </p>
772. <p>False information is a mistake; disinformation is an outright lie. However, the line between the two is often difficult to draw. How do we know whether someone is acting maliciously unless we are mind readers?</p>
773. <p>The term ‘disinformation’ is often a misnomer, all too often applied in political spheres to anyone who simply takes a different view. This has been (and still can be) frequently observed on both sides of the debate surrounding the dangers of the coronavirus in recent years. </p>
774. <p>There are still no empirically meaningful studies that demonstrate that disinformation, filter bubbles and echo chambers have had any clear impact. Far from it, <a href="https://www.sciencemediacenter.de/alle-angebote/science-response/details/news/die-verbreitung-von-desinformation/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">most studies</a> show a low prevalence of disinformation, with little to no demonstrable effects. There even seems to be a link between intensive media use and a differentiated opinion.</p>
775. <p>There has never been a greater amount of high-quality knowledge available at such a low cost than we have today.</p>
776. <p>It is also unclear whether disinformation campaigns are capable of having a lasting effect at all. Even Lutz Güllner, the head of strategic communications at the European External Action Service, who is responsible for the EU’s efforts to prevent Russian interference in the elections to the European Parliament, admits that <a href="https://www.bundesregierung.de/breg-de/schwerpunkte/umgang-mit-desinformation/desinformation-interview-ead-2010706" rel="noopener" target="_blank">nothing is actually known about thi</a>s.</p>
777. <p> <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-020-0833-x" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Existing</a>  <a href="https://www.mzes.uni-mannheim.de/d7/de/publications/journal-article/populist-alternative-news-use-and-its-role-for-elections-web-tracking-and-survey-evidence-from-two-campaign-periods" rel="noopener" target="_blank">empirical</a> studies suggest that disinformation makes up just a small fraction of the information available online and even then only reaches a small minority. Most users are <a href="https://www.sciencemediacenter.de/alle-angebote/science-response/details/news/die-verbreitung-von-desinformation/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">well aware</a> that self-proclaimed influencers and dubious websites should not necessarily be regarded as trustworthy sources of information.</p>
778. <p>The most important counterargument is perhaps the fact that there has never been a greater amount of high-quality knowledge available at such a low cost than we have today. Media libraries, blogs, political talk shows on TV, simple and inexpensive digital access to a variety of daily newspapers and other magazines&#8230; it has never been easier for anyone to access information. </p>
779. <p>Forty years ago, most people lived in an information desert, reading one newspaper and possibly watching the news on one television channel. Not a shred of information diversity. But the internet and social media have since brought about a huge increase in plurality when it comes to forming opinions, albeit often hand in hand with increased uncertainty. </p>
780. <p>However, this has shaped the modern era from as early as the 16th century, when the printing press was invented. Plurality is the epistemic foundation of an open society. From this point of view, it is a condition for democracy, not a threat to it.</p>
781. <p><strong>The problem lies elsewhere</strong></p>
782. <p>It is important not to misunderstand these counterarguments though. There are indeed dangers on a more abstract and yet more fundamental level. The core problem with ensuring a stable democracy is not with people lying and using information strategically to manipulate others’ opinions — that is nothing new. </p>
783. <p>Rather, it is because in Europe today, we move in different arenas of truth that are increasingly difficult to reconcile.</p>
784. <p><a href="https://www.ipg-journal.de/regionen/europa/artikel/onkel-putins-geschichtsstunde-7322/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">In an interview with Tucker Carlson</a>, Russian President Vladimir Putin explained in detail why he thought Ukraine belonged to Russia. He didn’t necessarily lie but expressed a subjective truth built on historical constructions, which he probably truly believes in, as bizarre as that might sound to many Western ears. </p>
785. <p>Likewise, the rhetoric iterated by Trump supporters that the Democratic Party is leading America into the abyss may not really qualify as a lie spread against their better knowledge; it is the presumed sincerity, not the lie, that should concern us. </p>
786. <p>In modern society, incontrovertible truths become a rare commodity, and the struggle for the sovereignty of interpretation of reality takes centre stage. Unfortunately, the myth that we like to believe, that there is only a single truth in this day and age, which can be fact-checked, holds little water.</p>
787. <p>Liberals and conservatives, right and left, feminists and old white men must keep talking to each other. Then we have no reason to fear malicious foreign actors or even a battle of narrative.</p>
788. <p>In the philosophical debate, the underlying difficulty of determining truth can be found in an argument dating back to Aristotle about what actually constitutes truth. The general consensus today is that the truthful content of propositions cannot be directly derived from reality (facts) but can only be verified by way of other propositions. </p>
789. <p>This dismantles the idea that some kind of congruence between proposition and reality can be determined. This ‘coherence theory of truth’ responds to the problem by understanding as true only those propositions that can be applied without contradiction to a larger context of propositions that we have already accepted as true. So, truth is what complements our construction of the world (and our prejudices) without contradiction.</p>
790. <p>But if agreement with conviction becomes the key criterion instead of facts, then the truth threatens to become intersectional, subjective and specific to context; the truth for some almost inevitably becomes a falsehood for others. How is this relevant to the current debate on disinformation? </p>
791. <p>For the US, it first means that 100 million potential Trump supporters are neither (exclusively) liars, nor idiots. Rather, they live in a world that combines a firm belief in traditional values, a rejection of East Coast intellectualism and a reluctance towards post-modern contingency. It is a philosophy consisting of mutually reinforcing aspects that provide a fixed framework for classifying new information. One where there is no need for fact-checkers or experts.</p>
792. <p>How can we and should we deal with such a fundamental dispute? Democracy is not a philosophical room for debate; there are always times when incompatible and harshly spoken positions clash. We must learn to weather these storms while preventing the truth from drifting away. </p>
793. <p>This is not simply a matter of fact-checking, but rather continually renewing society’s understanding of the foundation of truth. Liberals and conservatives, right and left, feminists and old white men must keep talking to each other. Then we have no reason to fear malicious foreign actors or even a battle of narrative</p>
794. <p><em><strong>Jürgen Neyer</strong> is Professor of European and International Politics at the European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder) and Founding Director of the European New School of Digital Studies (ENS). He is currently researching the links between technological innovation and international conflicts.</p>
795. <p><strong>Source</strong>: International Politics and Society (IPS), published by the Global and European Policy Unit of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Hiroshimastrasse 28, D-10785 Berlin.</em></p>
796. <p>IPS UN Bureau</p>
797. <p>&nbsp;</p>
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806. <title>Rainy Chiloé, in Southern Chile, Faces Drinking Water Crisis</title>
807. <link>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/05/rainy-chiloe-southern-chile-faces-drinking-water-crisis/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=rainy-chiloe-southern-chile-faces-drinking-water-crisis</link>
808. <comments>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/05/rainy-chiloe-southern-chile-faces-drinking-water-crisis/#respond</comments>
809. <pubDate>Thu, 02 May 2024 17:37:19 +0000</pubDate>
810. <dc:creator>Orlando Milesi</dc:creator>
811. <category><![CDATA[Biodiversity]]></category>
812. <category><![CDATA[Civil Society]]></category>
813. <category><![CDATA[Conservation]]></category>
814. <category><![CDATA[Development & Aid]]></category>
815. <category><![CDATA[Economy & Trade]]></category>
816. <category><![CDATA[Editors' Choice]]></category>
817. <category><![CDATA[Energy]]></category>
818. <category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category>
819. <category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
820. <category><![CDATA[Food and Agriculture]]></category>
821. <category><![CDATA[Headlines]]></category>
822. <category><![CDATA[Integration and Development Brazilian-style]]></category>
823. <category><![CDATA[Latin America & the Caribbean]]></category>
824. <category><![CDATA[Natural Resources]]></category>
825. <category><![CDATA[Projects]]></category>
826. <category><![CDATA[Regional Categories]]></category>
827. <category><![CDATA[TerraViva United Nations]]></category>
828. <category><![CDATA[Water & Sanitation]]></category>
829. <category><![CDATA[Chile]]></category>
830. <category><![CDATA[Drought]]></category>
831. <category><![CDATA[peatland]]></category>
832.  
833. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.ipsnews.net/?p=185229</guid>
834. <description><![CDATA[The drinking water supply in the southern island of Chiloé, one of Chile&#8217;s rainiest areas, is threatened by damage to its peatlands, affected by sales of peat and by a series of electricity projects, especially wind farms. The peat bog (Moss sphagnum magellanicum) known as &#8220;pompon&#8221; in Chile absorbs and retains a great deal of [&#8230;]]]></description>
836. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><font color="#999999"><img width="300" height="225" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/a-300x225.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="Residents of the municipality of Castro, in Chiloé, an archipelago in southern Chile, demonstrate in the streets of their city, in front of the Gamboa Bridge, expressing their fear of threats to the water supply that they attribute to the lack of protection of peatlands, which are key to supplying water for the island&#039;s rivers. CREDIT: Courtesy of Chiloé en defensa del Agua" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/a-300x225.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/a-768x576.jpg 768w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/a-629x472.jpg 629w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/a-200x149.jpg 200w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/a.jpg 976w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Residents of the municipality of Castro, in Chiloé, an archipelago in southern Chile, demonstrate in the streets of their city, in front of the Gamboa Bridge, expressing their fear of threats to the water supply that they attribute to the lack of protection of peatlands, which are key to supplying water for the island's rivers. CREDIT: Courtesy of Chiloé en defensa del Agua</p></font></p><p>By Orlando Milesi<br />SANTIAGO, May 2 2024 (IPS) </p><p>The drinking water supply in the southern island of Chiloé, one of Chile&#8217;s rainiest areas, is threatened by damage to its peatlands, affected by sales of peat and by a series of electricity projects, especially wind farms.</p>
837. <p><span id="more-185229"></span>The peat bog (Moss sphagnum magellanicum) known as &#8220;pompon&#8221; in Chile absorbs and retains a great deal of water, releasing it drop by drop when there is no rain. In southern Chile there are about 3.1 million hectares of peatlands."We condemn the fact that the extraction of peat is permitted in Chiloé when there is no scientifically proven way for peat to be reproduced or planted.... there is no evidence of how it can regenerate." ¨-- Daniela Gumucio<br /><font size="1"></font></p>
838. <p>Peat is a mixture of plant debris or dead organic matter, in varying degrees of decomposition, neither mineral nor fossilized, that has accumulated under waterlogged conditions.</p>
839. <p>The pompon is the main source of water for the short rivers in Chiloé, an archipelago of 9181 square kilometers and 168,000 inhabitants, located 1200 kilometers south of Santiago. The local population makes a living from agriculture, livestock, forestry, fishing and tourism, in that order.</p>
840. <p>&#8220;We don&#8217;t have glaciers, or thaws. Our water system is totally different from that of the entire continent and the rest of Chile. Since we don&#8217;t have glaciers or snow, our rivers function on the basis of rain and peat bogs that retain water and in times of scarcity release it,” Daniela Gumucio told IPS by telephone.</p>
841. <p>The 36-year-old history and geography teacher said that the Chiloé community is concerned about the supply of drinking water for consumption and for small family subsistence farming.</p>
842. <p>Gumucio is a leader of the <a href="https://www.anamuri.cl/">National Association of Rural and Indigenous Women (Anamuri)</a> and chairs the Environmental Committee of Chonchi, the municipality where she lives in the center of the island.</p>
843. <p>This long narrow South American country, which stretches between the Andes Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, has 19.5 million inhabitants and is facing one of the worst droughts in its history.</p>
844. <p>It&#8217;s strange to talk about water scarcity in Chiloé because it has a rainy climate. In 2011 more than 3000 millimeters of water fell there, but since 2015 rainfall began to decline.</p>
845. <p>In 2015 rainfall totaled 2483 millimeters, but by 2023 the amount had dropped to 1598 and so far this year only 316, according to data from the Quellón station reported to IPS by the <a href="http://www.meteochile.gob.cl/">Chilean Meteorological Directorate</a>.</p>
846. <p>The forecast for April, May, and June 2024 is that below-normal rainfall will continue.</p>
847. <p>A water emergency was declared in the region in January and the residents of nine municipalities are supplied by water trucks.</p>
848. <p>To supply water to the inhabitants of the 10 municipalities of Chiloé, the State spent 1.12 million dollars to hire water trucks between 2019 and 2024. In Ancud alone, one of the municipalities, the expenditure was 345,000 dollars in that period.</p>
849. <p>&nbsp;</p>
850. <div id="attachment_185231" style="width: 639px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="wp-image-185231" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/aa.png" alt="A close-up shot of a peat bog in a watershed on the island of Chiloé, which has the ability to absorb water 10 times its weight. Because of this property, those who extract it today, without any oversight, dry it, crush it and pack it in sacks to sell it to traders who export it or sell it in local gardening shops. CREDIT: Courtesy of Gaspar Espinoza" width="629" height="353" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/aa.png 720w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/aa-300x168.png 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/aa-629x353.png 629w" sizes="(max-width: 629px) 100vw, 629px" /><p class="wp-caption-text">A close-up shot of a peat bog in a watershed on the island of Chiloé, which has the ability to absorb water 10 times its weight. Because of this property, those who extract it today, without any oversight, dry it, crush it and pack it in sacks to sell it to traders who export it or sell it in local gardening shops. CREDIT: Courtesy of Gaspar Espinoza</p></div>
851. <p>&nbsp;</p>
852. <p><strong>Alert among social activists</strong></p>
853. <p>The concern among the people of Chiloé over their water supply comes from the major boost for wind energy projects installed on the peat bogs and new legislation that prohibits the extraction of peat, but opens the doors to its use by those who present sustainable management plans.</p>
854. <p>Several energy projects are located in the Piuchén mountain range, in the west of Chiloé, where peat bogs are abundant.</p>
855. <p>&#8220;They want to extend a high voltage line from Castro to Chonchi. And there are two very large wind farm projects. But to install the turbines they have to dynamite the peat bog. This is a direct attack on our water resource and on our ways of obtaining water,” Gumucio said.</p>
856. <p>In 2020, the French company <a href="https://www.engie.cl/">Engie</a> bought three wind farms in Chiloé for 77 million dollars: San Pedro 1 and San Pedro 2, with a total of 31 wind turbines that will produce 101 megawatts (MW), and a third wind farm that will produce an additional 151 MW.</p>
857. <p>In addition, 18 kilometers of lines will be installed to carry energy to a substation in Gamboa Alto, in the municipality of Castro, and from there to the national power grid.</p>
858. <p>Another 92 turbines are included in the Tabla Ruca project, between the municipalities of Chonchi and Quellón.</p>
859. <p>&nbsp;</p>
860. <div id="attachment_185232" style="width: 639px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="wp-image-185232" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/aaa.jpg" alt="Peat bogs accumulate and retain rainwater in the wetlands of Chiloé and release it drop by drop to river beds in times of drought. CREDIT: Courtesy of Gaspar Espinoza" width="629" height="353" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/aaa.jpg 720w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/aaa-300x168.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/aaa-629x353.jpg 629w" sizes="(max-width: 629px) 100vw, 629px" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Peat bogs accumulate and retain rainwater in the wetlands of Chiloé and release it drop by drop to river beds in times of drought. CREDIT: Courtesy of Gaspar Espinoza</p></div>
861. <p>Engie describes its initiatives as part of the transition to a world with zero net greenhouse gas emissions, thanks to the production of clean or green energy.</p>
862. <p>Leaders of 14 social and community organizations expressed their concerns in meetings with regional authorities, but to no avail. Now they have informed their communities and called on the region&#8217;s authorities to protect their main water source.</p>
863. <p>Local residents marched in protest on Mar. 22 in Ancud and demonstrated on Apr. 22 in Puente Gamboa, in Castro, the main municipality of the archipelago.</p>
864. <p>Thanks to peatlands, the rivers of Chiloé do not dry up. The peat bogs accumulate rainwater on the surface, horizontally, and begin to release it slowly when rainfall is scarce.</p>
865. <p>For the same reason, peat is dup up and sold for gardening. In 2019 Chile exported 4600 tons of peat.</p>
866. <p>The wind energy projects are set up in areas of raised peat bogs, known as ombrotophic, located at the origin of the hydrographic basins.</p>
867. <p>“We have had a good response in the municipal council of Chonchi, where the mayor and councilors publicly expressed their opposition to approving these projects,” said Gumucio.</p>
868. <p>&nbsp;</p>
869. <div id="attachment_185234" style="width: 639px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="wp-image-185234" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/aaaa.png" alt="Dozens of trees have been felled in Chiloé to install wind turbines and make way for high-voltage towers that will transmit green energy to Chile's national power grid, without benefiting the inhabitants of the Chiloé archipelago. CREDIT: Courtesy of Gaspar Espinoza" width="629" height="353" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/aaaa.png 720w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/aaaa-300x168.png 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/aaaa-629x353.png 629w" sizes="(max-width: 629px) 100vw, 629px" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Dozens of trees have been felled in Chiloé to install wind turbines and make way for high-voltage towers that will transmit green energy to Chile&#8217;s national power grid, without benefiting the inhabitants of the Chiloé archipelago. CREDIT: Courtesy of Gaspar Espinoza</p></div>
870. <p>&nbsp;</p>
871. <p><strong>The other threat to peatlands</strong></p>
872. <p>The second threat to the Chiloé peat bogs comes from <a href="https://www.bcn.cl/leychile/navegar?idNorma=1202472">Law 21.660</a> on environmental protection of peatlands, published in <a href="https://www.diariooficial.interior.gob.cl/#openModalMenu">Chile&#8217;s Official Gazette</a> on Apr. 10.</p>
873. <p>This law prohibits the extraction of peat in the entire territory, but also establishes rules to authorize its use if sustainable management plans are presented and approved by the Agricultural and Livestock Service, depending on a favorable report from the new <a href="https://www.bcn.cl/portal/leyfacil/recurso/servicio-de-biodiversidad-y-areas-protegidas">Biodiversity and Protected Areas Service</a>.</p>
874. <p>The peatland management plan aims to avoid the permanent alteration of its structure and functions.</p>
875. <p>Those requesting permits must prove that they have the necessary skills to monitor the regeneration process of the vegetation layer and comply with the harvesting methodology outlined for sustainable use.</p>
876. <p>But local residents doubt the government&#8217;s oversight and enforcement capacity</p>
877. <p>&#8220;We condemn the fact that the extraction of peat is permitted in Chiloé when there is no scientifically proven way for peat to be reproduced or planted&#8230;. there is no evidence of how it can regenerate,” said Gumucio.</p>
878. <p>The activist does not believe that sustainable management is viable and complained that the government did not accept a petition for the law to not be applied in Chiloé.</p>
879. <p>&#8220;We have a different water system and if this law is to be implemented, it should be on the mainland where there are other sources of water,” she said.</p>
880. <p>But according to Gumucio, everything seems to be aligned to deepen the water crisis in Chiloé.</p>
881. <p>“The logging of the forest, the extraction of peat, and the installation of energy projects all contribute to the drying up of our aquifers and basins. And in that sense, there is tremendous neglect by the State, which is not looking after our welfare and our right to have water,” she argued.</p>
882. <p>&nbsp;</p>
883. <div id="attachment_185235" style="width: 639px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="wp-image-185235" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/aaaaa.png" alt="Peatland is part of the vegetation of the island of Chiloé, but is threatened by unsupervised exploitation, which the authorities hope to curb with a recently approved law, whose regulations are to be ready within the next two years. CREDIT: Courtesy of Gaspar Espinoza" width="629" height="353" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/aaaaa.png 720w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/aaaaa-300x168.png 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/aaaaa-629x353.png 629w" sizes="(max-width: 629px) 100vw, 629px" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Peatland is part of the vegetation of the island of Chiloé, but is threatened by unsupervised exploitation, which the authorities hope to curb with a recently approved law, whose regulations are to be ready within the next two years. CREDIT: Courtesy of Gaspar Espinoza</p></div>
884. <p>&nbsp;</p>
885. <p><strong>Scientists express their view</strong></p>
886. <p>Six scientists from various Chilean universities issued a public statement asserting that the new law is a step in the right direction to protect Chile&#8217;s peatlands.</p>
887. <p>In their statement, scientists Carolina León, Jorge Pérez Quezada, Roy Mackenzie, María Paz Martínez, Pablo Marquet and Verónica Delgado emphasize that the new law “will require the presentation of a sustainable management plan” to exploit peat that is currently extracted without any controls.</p>
888. <p>They add that management plans must now be approved by the competent authorities and that those who extract peat will be asked to “ensure that the structure and functions of the peatlands are not permanently modified.”</p>
889. <p>They also say that the regulations of the law, which are to be issued within two years, “must establish the form of peat harvesting and post-harvest monitoring of the peat bog to protect the regeneration of the plant, something that has not been taken into consideration until now.”</p>
890. <p>They point out that the new law will improve oversight because it allows monitoring of intermediaries and exporters who could be fined if they do not comply with the legislation.</p>
891. <p>“While it is true that there is concern among certain communities and environmental groups, we believe that these concerns can be taken into account during the discussion of the regulations,” they say.</p>
892. <p>The scientists reiterate, however, that “peatlands are key ecosystems for mitigating the national and planetary climate and biodiversity crisis” and admit that “significant challenges remain to protect them, although this is a big step in the right direction.”</p>
893. ]]></content:encoded>
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895. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
896. </item>
897. <item>
898. <title>We Should Aim to be at Peace with Nature, Says David Cooper of UN Convention on Biological Diversity</title>
899. <link>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/05/we-should-aim-to-be-at-peace-with-nature-says-david-cooper-of-un-convention-on-biological-diversity/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=we-should-aim-to-be-at-peace-with-nature-says-david-cooper-of-un-convention-on-biological-diversity</link>
900. <comments>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/05/we-should-aim-to-be-at-peace-with-nature-says-david-cooper-of-un-convention-on-biological-diversity/#respond</comments>
901. <pubDate>Thu, 02 May 2024 05:19:45 +0000</pubDate>
902. <dc:creator>Stella Paul</dc:creator>
903. <category><![CDATA[Active Citizens]]></category>
904. <category><![CDATA[Biodiversity]]></category>
905. <category><![CDATA[Climate Action]]></category>
906. <category><![CDATA[Climate Change]]></category>
907. <category><![CDATA[Conservation]]></category>
908. <category><![CDATA[Democracy]]></category>
909. <category><![CDATA[Development & Aid]]></category>
910. <category><![CDATA[Editors' Choice]]></category>
911. <category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category>
912. <category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
913. <category><![CDATA[Global]]></category>
914. <category><![CDATA[Headlines]]></category>
915. <category><![CDATA[Natural Resources]]></category>
916. <category><![CDATA[Peace]]></category>
917. <category><![CDATA[Sustainability]]></category>
918. <category><![CDATA[Sustainable Development Goals]]></category>
919. <category><![CDATA[TerraViva United Nations]]></category>
920. <category><![CDATA[IPS UN Bureau]]></category>
921. <category><![CDATA[IPS UN Bureau Report]]></category>
922. <category><![CDATA[UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)]]></category>
923.  
924. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.ipsnews.net/?p=185179</guid>
925. <description><![CDATA[In a world faced with habitat loss and species extinction, climate change, and pollution, it’s crucial that countries develop their national action plans and create a society that lives in harmony with nature, says David Cooper, Acting Executive Secretary of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), in an exclusive interview with IPS. And in [&#8230;]]]></description>
927. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><font color="#999999"><img width="300" height="169" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/14965637357_f63713fa2a_c-300x169.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/14965637357_f63713fa2a_c-300x169.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/14965637357_f63713fa2a_c-768x432.jpg 768w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/14965637357_f63713fa2a_c-629x354.jpg 629w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/14965637357_f63713fa2a_c.jpg 800w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Bee-harvesting in an urban setting. Preparations are underway for the 16th Biodiversity Convention of the Parties (COP16) in Cali, Valle del Cauca. Credit: USDA</p></font></p><p>By Stella Paul<br />HYDERABAD & MONTREAL, May 2 2024 (IPS) </p><p>In a world faced with habitat loss and species extinction, climate change, and pollution, it’s crucial that countries develop their national action plans and create a society that lives in harmony with nature, says David Cooper, Acting Executive Secretary of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), in an exclusive interview with IPS.<span id="more-185179"></span></p>
928. <p>And in a year where more than 4 billion people across the globe are expected to participate in elections, Cooper believes that politicians should put biodiversity on their manifestos.</p>
929. <p>Since taking the reins from the previous Executive Director, Elizabeth Mrema, Cooper has been at the forefront of steering the CBD towards the implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework.</p>
930. <p>Later this year, world leaders will gather in Cali, Colombia for the <a href="https://www.cbd.int/meetings/COP-16">16th Biodiversity Convention of the Parties (COP16)</a> slated for October 21 to November 1, 2024 for which preparations are currently underway.</p>
931. <p>Cooper gives insight into the core issues that will be on the top of the COP16 agenda, the current status of biodiversity finance, including the newly operationalized biodiversity fund, the upcoming meetings of the scientific and technical bodies of the CBD, the current status of <a href="https://www.cbd.int/nbsap">National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAP) </a>and what is likely to unfold in the coming months in Digital Sequence Information (DSI).</p>
932. <div id="attachment_185184" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="wp-image-185184 size-full" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/David-Cooper-1-1.jpg" alt="David Cooper, Acting Executive Secretary of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)." width="630" height="560" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/David-Cooper-1-1.jpg 630w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/David-Cooper-1-1-300x267.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/David-Cooper-1-1-531x472.jpg 531w" sizes="(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px" /><p class="wp-caption-text">David Cooper, Acting Executive Secretary of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).</p></div>
933. <p><strong>Biodiversity Finance: On Track but at Slow Pace </strong></p>
934. <p>The UN Biodiversity Convention aims to mobilize at least USD 20 billion per year by 2025 and at least USD 30 billion per year by 2030 for biodiversity-related funding from all sources, including the public and private sectors.</p>
935. <p>However, the current situation with biodiversity funding shows that while progress is happening, it’s not fast enough. Some countries and groups are trying hard to give more money to projects that help nature, but overall, it’s still below expectations, and there are unfilled promises, Cooper acknowledges.</p>
936. <p>“We need to see a serious road map,” Cooper says, “All countries, in particular the donor country community, have to see how we are going to achieve at least that USD 20 billion by 2025 because that&#8217;s imminent.”</p>
937. <p>He called on big donors to honor their commitments.</p>
938. <p>“It&#8217;s really important that the big donors who promise money actually follow through and give the money they said they would. We need everyone to work together to make sure there&#8217;s enough money to protect our plants, animals, and the places they live,” Cooper says. &#8220;Certainly, we need to see all countries put efforts behind all of the goals and targets of the framework and that, of course, includes those on financial resources.”</p>
939. <p>Cooper welcomed the decision by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) to establish a new fund, the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund. He said the CBD secretariat was working closely with Carlos Manuel Rodriguez, the GEF CEO, and his team.</p>
940. <p>“We then saw a number of contributions to that fund coming. The contribution from Canada is a significant one of 200 million Canadian dollars. Other significant donations came from Germany, Spain, Japan, and most recently, Luxembourg. Actually, the contribution from Luxembourg, if we look at its pro rata, given the size of the Luxembourg economy, is also quite generous, even though it&#8217;s only USD 7 million in total.”</p>
941. <p><strong>National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs)</strong></p>
942. <p>It’s not only about funding, Cooper says, but countries showing their commitment to their agreements, including developing NBSAPs. He acknowledged that very few countries had submitted so far.</p>
943. <p>“It’s only a few countries so far, and Spain, Japan, China, France, Hungary, and Ireland have submitted their NBSAPS, as well as the European Union,” says Cooper.</p>
944. <p>While he is optimistic that all the countries will develop their targets, he recognizes that it’s a complex process.</p>
945. <p>“I think most countries are in the process of developing their national targets, which is the first thing they&#8217;re supposed to do. But this is a process that is also supposed to engage all the different sectors of the economy and all the different parts of society, with the engagement of local communities, indigenous peoples, businesses, and so on.”</p>
946. <p>The CBD supports the countries through the complexities.</p>
947. <p>“The developing countries in particular have been supported through the Global Environment Facility. We&#8217;ve also been organizing a number of regional dialogues so that countries can share their experience as they move forward,” Cooper says.</p>
948. <p>At COP15, it was decided that all countries should submit their NBSAPs, if possible, before COP16.</p>
949. <p>“If they&#8217;re not able to submit their full NBSAPS by then, then at least they should provide their updated national targets. So, we do expect many, many countries to have progressed on their NBSAPs by COP16. Immediately prior to COP16, there will be another meeting of the subsidiary body on implementation to also take stock of where we are on that.”</p>
950. <p><strong>COP16: What’s In, What’s Out</strong></p>
951. <p>The core focus of CBD COP16 is likely to revolve around the adoption and implementation of the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. This framework sets out the global targets and goals for biodiversity conservation and sustainable use for the next decade and beyond. Key aspects of the framework may include targets related to halting biodiversity loss, promoting sustainable resource management, enhancing ecosystem resilience, and ensuring equitable sharing of the benefits derived from biodiversity.</p>
952. <p>“I think I can highlight four key areas for COP 16,” says Cooper. “The first is that we have to see, and we have to have demonstrated progress in terms of implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework. That means national targets are set. That means NBSAPs developed in at least a majority of countries. That means funds are flowing, which means, as I said before, a credible path towards this USD 20 billion by 2025 target. It also means the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund should be receiving more funds and supporting more projects.”</p>
953. <p>The second core issue will be the fair and equitable sharing of benefits from the use of Digital Sequence Information (DSI) on genetic resources. There was an agreement made at COP15 to establish this mechanism, but no details were fleshed out at that time, so those details are now being negotiated in an intergovernmental working group.</p>
954. <p>“Of course, the establishment of such a mechanism with a fund would give another major boost to the Convention because it would bring in another source of funding.”</p>
955. <p>The third area would be finance, he says.</p>
956. <p>“The fourth area that I would highlight is the need to further strengthen the role of indigenous peoples and local communities as key actors.”</p>
957. <p>He also points out that there&#8217;s a number of other issues, such as the issue of biodiversity and health and synthetic biology, that need to be managed, including looking at a risk assessment and risk management for, for instance, gene-edited mosquitoes.</p>
958. <p>“They&#8217;ve determined that the theme of the COP will be peace with nature, which is a broad theme that will include many, many issues,” he reveals.</p>
959. <p><strong> Plastic Pollution Treaty and CBD’s Role </strong></p>
960. <p>The fourth session of the <a href="https://www.unep.org/inc-plastic-pollution/session-4">Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-4)</a> on plastic pollution in April 2024 at the Shaw Center in Ottawa, Canada, aims to develop an internationally legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment, to end plastic pollution by 2040.</p>
961. <p>Ending plastic pollution is also one of the biodiversity targets, Cooper says, adding that the CBD is actively involved in the logistical organization of INC-4.</p>
962. <p>“Also, the reduction of waste from plastics and pollution from plastics is one of the elements of target 7 of the Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. So, we are seeing the success of INC-4 negotiations as hugely important for the implementation of the Framework,” he says.</p>
963. <p><strong>What to Watch out for Between Now and COP16</strong></p>
964. <p>Although all eyes will be on the COP16 negotiations, there are a number of global events taking place in the next few months that will contribute to the agenda and determine the level of the world’s preparedness for the conference.</p>
965. <p>“The most important ones are obviously the SBSTTA (Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical, and Technological Advice) and the SBI (Subsidiary Body on Implementation), then this working group on Digital Sequence Information that will take place in August,” Cooper says.</p>
966. <p>Like the SBI, SBSTTA is a subsidiary body established under the CBD. While the SBI specifically assists in reviewing progress in the implementation of the Convention and identifies obstacles to its implementation, among other functions, SBSTTA plays a crucial role in ensuring that decisions made under the CBD are informed by the best available scientific evidence and technical expertise.</p>
967. <p>“Then we have the G7 and G20 processes coming up, which are important processes to show leadership. The CBD COP itself will be followed by the COPs of climate change and desertification, making the linkage between these. Also, we expect Colombia and the indigenous peoples will host just before COP, a pre-cop focusing on indigenous peoples and local communities and their roles,” Cooper says.</p>
968. <p>Finally, as a record 64 countries across the world hold their elections this year to elect a new national government, does this provide a unique opportunity to speak about biodiversity and should biodiversity, like climate change, be made an election issue?</p>
969. <p>“Definitely,” says Cooper.</p>
970. <p>“If we look at many of the extreme events that people suffered from, particularly last year, whether these be fires, wildfires, droughts, storms, or floods, you know, these are largely attributed by the media to climate change. Climate change is increasing the probability and severity of these events, but these events are also happening because of ecosystem degradation because we haven&#8217;t been managing biodiversity and ecosystems well. So, I think we all have an opportunity to make this message and these links clearer. Politicians have a particular responsibility to do so, and I hope more of them will do so as these various elections in various parts of the world pan out.”</p>
971. <p>IPS UN Bureau Report</p>
972. <p>&nbsp;</p>
973. <div id="authorarea"><a class="twitter-follow-button" href="https://twitter.com/IPSNewsUNBureau" data-show-count="false" data-lang="en" data-size="large">Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau</a><br />
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975. <div id='related_articles'>
976. <h1 class="section">Related Articles</h1>
977. <ul>
978. <li><a href="https://www.ipsnews.net/2023/12/finance-at-cop28-after-the-euphoria-come-questions-galore/" >Finance at COP28: After the Euphoria, Come Questions Galore</a></li>
979. <li><a href="https://www.ipsnews.net/2023/11/time-to-convert-climate-change-rhetoric-into-action-says-wfps-gernot-laganda/" >Time to Convert Climate Change Rhetoric into Action, Says WFP’s Gernot Laganda</a></li>
980. <li><a href="https://www.ipsnews.net/2022/12/global-biodiversity-framework-good-compromise/" >Global Biodiversity Framework: A ‘Good Compromise’</a></li>
981. </ul></div> ]]></content:encoded>
982. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/05/we-should-aim-to-be-at-peace-with-nature-says-david-cooper-of-un-convention-on-biological-diversity/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
983. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
984. </item>
985. <item>
986. <title>How Israel Has Used US Weapons to Commit War Crimes</title>
987. <link>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/05/israel-used-us-weapons-commit-war-crimes/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=israel-used-us-weapons-commit-war-crimes</link>
988. <comments>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/05/israel-used-us-weapons-commit-war-crimes/#respond</comments>
989. <pubDate>Thu, 02 May 2024 04:17:06 +0000</pubDate>
990. <dc:creator>Julia Conley</dc:creator>
991. <category><![CDATA[Armed Conflicts]]></category>
992. <category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
993. <category><![CDATA[Headlines]]></category>
994. <category><![CDATA[Human Rights]]></category>
995. <category><![CDATA[IPS UN: Inside the Glasshouse]]></category>
996. <category><![CDATA[Middle East & North Africa]]></category>
997. <category><![CDATA[TerraViva United Nations]]></category>
998. <category><![CDATA[IPS UN Bureau]]></category>
999.  
1000. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.ipsnews.net/?p=185226</guid>
1001. <description><![CDATA[The report from Amnesty International USA comes ahead of a May 8 deadline for the Biden administration to certify that Israel is complying with international and domestic laws. With just over a week until the deadline for the Biden administration to certify that Israel&#8217;s use of U.S.-supplied weapons is adhering to domestic and international law, [&#8230;]]]></description>
1003. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><font color="#999999"><img width="300" height="136" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Northern-Gaza-lies_-300x136.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Northern-Gaza-lies_-300x136.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Northern-Gaza-lies_.jpg 624w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Jadallah Northern Gaza lies in ruins after months of bombardments. Credit: WFP/Ali</p></font></p><p>By Julia Conley<br />NEW YORK, May 2 2024 (IPS) </p><p>The report from Amnesty International USA comes ahead of a May 8 deadline for the Biden administration to certify that Israel is complying with international and domestic laws.<br />
1004. <span id="more-185226"></span></p>
1005. <p>With just over a week until the deadline for the Biden administration to certify that Israel&#8217;s use of U.S.-supplied weapons is adhering to domestic and international law, <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/tag/amnesty-international" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Amnesty International</a> USA submitted a report to the federal government detailing how American bombs and other weapons have been used in Israeli attacks that could constitute war crimes.</p>
1006. <p>The White House, <a href="https://www.amnestyusa.org/press-releases/u-s-made-weapons-used-by-government-of-israel-in-violation-of-international-law-and-u-s-law/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">said</a> the human rights group, must inform Congress that <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/tag/israel" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Israel</a> is violating humanitarian laws by May 8 as part of the National Security Memorandum on Safeguards and Accountability with Respect to Transferred Defense Articles and Defense Services (NSM-20) process, and &#8220;must immediately suspend the transfer of arms to the Israeli government.&#8221;</p>
1007. <p>Amnesty&#8217;s <a href="https://www.amnestyusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/4.29.2024-NSM-20-AIUSA-submission-re-Israel.pdf" rel="noopener" target="_blank">report</a> focuses on several attacks on civilian infrastructure in which Israel used bombs and other weapons made by U.S. companies including Boeing, as well as practices used by the Israeli government and Israel Defense Forces (IDF) since they began bombarding <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/tag/gaza" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Gaza</a> in October in retaliation for a Hamas-led attack.</p>
1008. <p>Four of the IDF attacks took place in <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/tag/rafah" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Rafah</a>, where Israel is reportedly preparing a ground offensive after forcibly displacing more than 1 million Palestinians to the southern city and carrying out airstrikes for months.</p>
1009. <p>The four strikes in December and January killed at least 95 civilians, including 42 children, despite the U.S. and Israel&#8217;s repeated claims that the IDF is targeting Hamas fighters.</p>
1010. <p>&#8220;The evidence is clear and overwhelming: the government of Israel is using U.S.-made weapons in violation of international humanitarian and human rights law, and in a manner that is inconsistent with U.S. law and policy.&#8221;</p>
1011. <p>&#8220;In all four attacks,&#8221; reported Amnesty, &#8220;there was no indication that the residential buildings hit could be considered legitimate military objectives or that people in the buildings were military targets, raising concerns that these strikes were direct attacks on civilians and civilian objects and must therefore be investigated as war crimes.&#8221;</p>
1012. <p>The strikes, which included one on a five-story building inhabited by the Nofal family, were carried out with GBU-39 Small Diameter Bombs—made in the U.S. by Boeing.</p>
1013. <p>&#8220;The evidence is clear and overwhelming: the government of Israel is using U.S.-made weapons in violation of international humanitarian and human rights law, and in a manner that is inconsistent with U.S. law and policy,&#8221; <a href="https://www.amnestyusa.org/press-releases/u-s-made-weapons-used-by-government-of-israel-in-violation-of-international-law-and-u-s-law/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">said</a> Amanda Klasing, national director for government relations with Amnesty International USA. &#8220;In order to follow U.S. laws and policies, the United States must immediately suspend any transfer of arms to the government of Israel.&#8221;</p>
1014. <p>Boeing was also the manufacturer of Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs) that were used in October 2023 in &#8220;two deadly, unlawful airstrikes on homes full of Palestinian civilians,&#8221; according to satellite imagery examined by Amnesty&#8217;s weapons experts and remote sensing analysts.</p>
1015. <p>Those attacks killed 43 civilians, nearly half of whom were children.</p>
1016. <p>Other patterns in Israel&#8217;s assault on Gaza, including its use of a <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/israel-northern-gaza" rel="noopener" target="_blank">24-hour mass evacuation notice</a> early on in its current escalation, ordering more than 1.1 million people in Gaza City and northern Gaza to go to the southern part of the enclave; its use of indiscriminate attacks with both U.S.- and Israel-made weapons; its use of arbitrary &#8220;administrative detention&#8221;; and its denial of <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/gaza-children-starvation" rel="noopener" target="_blank">humanitarian assistance</a>, all show that the Biden administration&#8217;s continued material support for the IDF violates U.S. and international law, Amnesty said.</p>
1017. <p>As <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/biden-israel-aid" rel="noopener" target="_blank">progressives in the U.S. Congress</a> have warned, Section 620I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2378-1) bars the federal government from providing military aid to any country that is blocking U.S. humanitarian aid.</p>
1018. <p>Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant&#8217;s announcement on October 9, 2023 of a &#8220;complete siege on Gaza&#8221; with &#8220;no electricity, no food, no water, no gas&#8221; allowed in has deprived the enclave of equipment needed to provide healthcare to tens of thousands of people wounded in Israel&#8217;s attacks, as well as <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/women-babies-gaza" rel="noopener" target="_blank">pregnant women and newborns</a>, the elderly, and people facing chronic illnesses. </p>
1019. <p>It has also placed Gaza&#8217;s 2.3 million Palestinians at risk of a &#8220;government-engineered famine,&#8221; said Amnesty, with dozens of people, including children, already having starved to death.</p>
1020. <p>&#8220;It&#8217;s shocking that the Biden administration continues to hold that the government of Israel is not violating international humanitarian law with U.S.-provided weapons when our research shows otherwise and international law experts disagree,&#8221; said Klasing. </p>
1021. <p>&#8220;The International Court of Justice found the risk of genocide in Gaza is plausible and ordered provisional measures. President [Joe] Biden must end U.S. complicity with the government of Israel&#8217;s grave violations of international law and immediately suspend the transfer of weapons to the government of Israel.&#8221;</p>
1022. <p>The report comes days after Biden signed a military aid package including $17 billion more for the IDF, after approving multiple weapons transfers to Israel since October.</p>
1023. <p>Ahead of the May 8 NSM-20 deadline, a coalition of more than 90 lawyers—including at least 20 who work in the Biden administration—is <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/04/29/lawyers-israel-arm-sales-biden-00154958" rel="noopener" target="_blank">preparing to send a letter</a> to Attorney General Merrick Garland warning that Israel&#8217;s practices in Gaza likely violate the Arms Export Control Act, the Leahy Laws, and the Geneva Conventions, which prohibit disproportionate attacks on civilians.</p>
1024. <p>While spokespeople for the Biden administration have repeatedly <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/israel-international-law" rel="noopener" target="_blank">said</a> publicly that the White House does not accept allegations that Israel has violated international humanitarian law—and made the U.S. complicit—the letter is just the latest sign of widening dissent within the government regarding Gaza.</p>
1025. <p>Senior U.S. officials recently <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/leaked-state-department-memo" rel="noopener" target="_blank">told</a> Secretary of State Antony Blinken in an internal memo that Israel lacks credibility as it continues to claim it is adhering international law.</p>
1026. <p>&#8220;This is a moment where the U.S. government is violating its own laws and policy,&#8221; a Department of Justice staffer who signed the new letter, <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/04/29/lawyers-israel-arm-sales-biden-00154958" rel="noopener" target="_blank">told</a> <em>Politico</em>. &#8220;The administration may be seeing silence or only a handful of resignations, but they are really not aware of the magnitude of discontent and dissent among the rank and file.&#8221;</p>
1027. <p><em><strong>Julia Conley</strong> is a staff writer for Common Dreams.</em></p>
1028. <p><em><strong>Source</strong>: Common Dreams</em></p>
1029. <p>IPS UN Bureau</p>
1030. <p>&nbsp;</p>
1031. <div id="authorarea">
1032. <a href="https://twitter.com/IPSNewsUNBureau" class="twitter-follow-button" data-show-count="false" data-lang="en" data-size="large">Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau</a><br />
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1034. ]]></content:encoded>
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1037. </item>
1038. <item>
1039. <title>Press Freedom and Climate Journalism: United in Crisis</title>
1040. <link>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/05/press-freedom-climate-journalism-united-crisis/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=press-freedom-climate-journalism-united-crisis</link>
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1042. <pubDate>Wed, 01 May 2024 16:50:39 +0000</pubDate>
1043. <dc:creator>Farhana Haque Rahman</dc:creator>
1044. <category><![CDATA[Armed Conflicts]]></category>
1045. <category><![CDATA[Climate Change]]></category>
1046. <category><![CDATA[Crime & Justice]]></category>
1047. <category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category>
1048. <category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
1049. <category><![CDATA[Global]]></category>
1050. <category><![CDATA[Headlines]]></category>
1051. <category><![CDATA[Human Rights]]></category>
1052. <category><![CDATA[Press Freedom]]></category>
1053. <category><![CDATA[TerraViva United Nations]]></category>
1054. <category><![CDATA[IPS UN Bureau]]></category>
1055. <category><![CDATA[World Press Freedom Day 2024]]></category>
1056.  
1057. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.ipsnews.net/?p=185213</guid>
1058. <description><![CDATA[<td colspan="2"  style="padding: 0px 10px;">
1059. <h4 class="p1"><a style="color: #0b599e;"><em><strong>World Press Freedom Day 2024</strong></em></a> </td></h4>
1060. <br>&#160;<br>]]></description>
1062. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><font color="#999999"><p class="wp-caption-text"><td colspan="2"  style="padding: 0px 10px;">
1063. <h4 class="p1"><a style="color: #0b599e;"><em><strong>World Press Freedom Day 2024</strong></em></a> </td></h4>
1064. <br>&nbsp;<br></p></font></p><p>By Farhana Haque Rahman<br />ROME, May 1 2024 (IPS) </p><p>Journalism is in crisis, again. The challenges to press freedom are enormous and multi-faceted and they are deepening &#8212; in “free” and open societies as well as autocracies. And there are no simple solutions.</p>
1065. <p>For individuals and entire media outlets the crisis is existential.<br />
1066. <span id="more-185213"></span></p>
1067. <p><div id="attachment_152010" style="width: 210px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2017/09/farhana200.png" alt="" width="200" height="163" class="size-full wp-image-152010" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Farhana Haque Rahman</p></div>Nearly 100 journalists and media workers have been killed since the Israel-Gaza war began last October &#8212; the worst death toll in a conflict zone in decades, the <a href="https://cpj.org/2024/04/journalist-casualties-in-the-israel-gaza-conflict/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Committee to Protect Journalists</a> says. Others have been arrested, wounded or gone missing. Family members have also been killed. Some journalists understandably believe they are targeted by Israeli forces.</p>
1068. <p>Beyond the threat to life and limb, tens of thousands of media jobs were lost in 2023 and the trend this year is no better. Entire outlets have shut down, or been taken over and/or dumbed down.</p>
1069. <p>In our world of enhanced digital chaos, and the font of bigotry and disinformation which is social media, audiences are as increasingly fractured as the news outlets they choose to turn to. </p>
1070. <p>Bots and AI-generated deep fakes will compound all this politicised confusion and mistrust. Torrents of trivia, subtle scare-mongering and old-fashioned intimidation are a potent combination in the erosion of freedoms and democracy. </p>
1071. <p>Russia has seen a mass exodus of journalists. Hong Kong is a shadow of its former self. Myanmar’s regime is a killer and jailer of reporters. But in an increasingly polarised US, by some counts, over two-thirds of Americans say they don’t trust their mass media. There is excellent reporting happening but much will pass unseen, or dismissed outright.</p>
1072. <p>South Africa’s membership-based Daily Maverick shut down for an entire day in April to draw attention to how market failure was endangering independent journalism.</p>
1073. <p>“Without journalism, our democracy and economy will break down,” the outlet declared.</p>
1074. <p>How all these very different factors are coming together is clearly seen in the media coverage of our global climate breakdown and broader threats to our environment.</p>
1075. <p>The environment is not just a highly dangerous topic to cover – sometimes akin to conflict reporting – but it has become a cesspit of corporate propaganda emitted by polluting industries, some of them giant state-owned entities, as well as their partners in disinformation ensconced in politics, academia, “non-profit” foundations AND the mass media themselves.</p>
1076. <p>UNESCO is dedicating World Press Freedom Day this year to the importance of journalism and freedom of expression in the context of the current global environmental crisis. As UNESCO says: “Independent journalists as well as scientists are crucial actors in helping our societies to separate facts from lies and manipulation in order to take informed decisions, including about environmental policies.”</p>
1077. <p>“Investigative journalists are also shedding light on environmental crimes, exposing corruption and powerful interests, and sometimes paying the ultimate price for doing their job.”</p>
1078. <p>As India, the world’s largest democracy, holds elections 10 years after Narendra Modi first took over as prime minister, Reporters Without Borders noted that at least 13 of the 28 journalists killed in India since then were working on stories linked to the environment, mainly land seizures and illegal mining. Several were killed while investigating the so-called sand mafia, an organized crime network supplying the construction industry. </p>
1079. <p>Reporters Without Borders ranked India 161st out of 180 countries in its 2023 <a href="https://rsf.org/en/index" rel="noopener" target="_blank">World Press Freedom Index</a>.</p>
1080. <p>In the Global South, indigenous, local, and independent journalists and communicators are particularly vulnerable to  violence and intimidation while working in remote areas without adequate backup and resources.</p>
1081. <p>But in the world’s industrialized democracies – those that blazed the trail of bio-diversity mass extinction, pollution and emissions of greenhouse gases overheating our planet – major media outlets are actively aiding and abetting fossil fuel companies by partnering them.</p>
1082. <p>As laid clear in <a href="https://drilled.media/news/drilled-mediagreenwashing?ref=drilled.ghost.io" rel="noopener" target="_blank">a report</a> by the outlets Drilled and DeSmog, many major media outlets have “an internal brand studio that crafts editorials, videos, even events and entire podcasts for advertisers, many of which are fossil fuel companies.” </p>
1083. <p>“The likes of Politico, Reuters, Bloomberg, the NYT, the Washington Post, and the Financial Times are all creating content for oil companies that directly contradicts what their climate reporters are publishing. And we know from peer-reviewed research that at most one-third of people can actually tell the difference between advertorial content and reporting.”</p>
1084. <p>Journalists, particularly those covering the climate crisis and collapse of eco-systems, also have to confront those almost intangible contradictions that thwart efforts to engage and inform the public. </p>
1085. <p>How does one communicate the magnitude of the dangers facing us and our planet to a global audience already bowed down under a barrage of awfulness? How does one resist what one US political scientist referred to as the “banality of crazy”? </p>
1086. <p>He was referring to Donald Trump’s violent, sexist and racist rhetoric which has been heard so often that it sometimes barely stirs a media reaction, but the phrase could be used to describe other kinds of dangerously acceptable new-normal.</p>
1087. <p>There is no one easy answer to all this. Freedom of the press rests on just that. It also depends on our own integrity and credibility.</p>
1088. <p><em><strong>Farhana Haque Rahman</strong> is Senior Vice President of IPS Inter Press Service and Executive Director IPS Noram; she served as the elected Director General of IPS from 2015-2019. A journalist and communications expert, she is a former senior official of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and the International Fund for Agricultural Development.</em></p>
1089. <p>IPS UN Bureau</p>
1090. <p>&nbsp;</p>
1091. <div id="authorarea">
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1094. <p>Excerpt: </p><td colspan="2"  style="padding: 0px 10px;">
1095. <h4 class="p1"><a style="color: #0b599e;"><em><strong>World Press Freedom Day 2024</strong></em></a> </td></h4>
1096. <br>&#160;<br>]]></content:encoded>
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1099. </item>
1100. <item>
1101. <title>World Press Freedom Day 2024</title>
1102. <link>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/05/world-press-freedom-day-2024/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=world-press-freedom-day-2024</link>
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1104. <pubDate>Wed, 01 May 2024 08:49:20 +0000</pubDate>
1105. <dc:creator>External Source</dc:creator>
1106. <category><![CDATA[Crime & Justice]]></category>
1107. <category><![CDATA[Multimedia]]></category>
1108. <category><![CDATA[Press Freedom]]></category>
1109. <category><![CDATA[TerraViva United Nations]]></category>
1110. <category><![CDATA[Video]]></category>
1111. <category><![CDATA[IPS UN Bureau]]></category>
1112. <category><![CDATA[World Press Freedom Day 2024]]></category>
1113.  
1114. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.ipsnews.net/?p=185222</guid>
1115. <description><![CDATA[&#160; Journalism is in crisis &#8211; again. The challenges to press freedom are enormous and multi-faceted. And they are deepening both in “free” and open societies as well as autocracies. In 2023, 45 journalists lost their lives while pursuing their duty globally. As of December 1, 2023, 363 journalists were imprisoned worldwide. Nearly 100 journalists [&#8230;]]]></description>
1117. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><font color="#999999"><img width="300" height="205" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/WPF_2024-300x205.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/WPF_2024-300x205.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/WPF_2024-629x429.jpg 629w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/WPF_2024.jpg 630w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></font></p><p>By External Source<br />May 1 2024 (IPS-Partners) </p><p>&nbsp;</p>
1118. <p>Journalism is in crisis &#8211; again. </p>
1119. <p>The challenges to press freedom are enormous and multi-faceted.<br />
1120. <span id="more-185222"></span></p>
1121. <p>And they are deepening both in “free” and open societies as well as autocracies. </p>
1122. <p>In 2023, 45 journalists lost their lives while pursuing their duty globally. </p>
1123. <p>As of December 1, 2023, 363 journalists were imprisoned worldwide. </p>
1124. <p>Nearly 100 journalists and media workers have been killed since the Israel-Gaza war began last October. </p>
1125. <p>This is the worst death toll in a conflict zone in decades. </p>
1126. <p>Beyond the threat to life, tens of thousands of media jobs were lost in 2023. </p>
1127. <p>In this era of digital dominance, social media has increasingly fractured audiences. </p>
1128. <p>We are witnessing the subtle erosion of freedoms and democracy. </p>
1129. <p>Russia has seen a mass exodus of journalists. </p>
1130. <p>Hong Kong is a shadow of its former self. </p>
1131. <p>Myanmar’s regime is a killer and jailer of reporters. </p>
1132. <p>Over two-thirds of Americans say they don’t trust their mass media. </p>
1133. <p>There is excellent reporting happening, but much will pass unseen, or dismissed outright. </p>
1134. <p>Especially when it comes to reports on climate change and the state of our planet. </p>
1135. <p>But at least 13 of the 28 journalists killed in India were working on stories linked to the environment.<br />
1136. Several were killed while investigating the so-called sand mafia, an organized crime network supplying the construction industry. </p>
1137. <p>This year, UNESCO is dedicating World Press Freedom Day to the importance of journalism and freedom of expression in the context of the current global environmental crisis.</p>
1138. <p><iframe width="630" height="355" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ttkMQ1fWhMA" title="World Press Freedom Day 2024" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
1139. <p>&nbsp;</p>
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1147. <item>
1148. <title>Gaza Journalist Describes 33 Harrowing Days in Israeli Custody</title>
1149. <link>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/05/gaza-journalist-describes-33-harrowing-days-israeli-custody/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=gaza-journalist-describes-33-harrowing-days-israeli-custody</link>
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1151. <pubDate>Wed, 01 May 2024 08:07:14 +0000</pubDate>
1152. <dc:creator>Doja Daoud</dc:creator>
1153. <category><![CDATA[Armed Conflicts]]></category>
1154. <category><![CDATA[Crime & Justice]]></category>
1155. <category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
1156. <category><![CDATA[Headlines]]></category>
1157. <category><![CDATA[Human Rights]]></category>
1158. <category><![CDATA[Middle East & North Africa]]></category>
1159. <category><![CDATA[Press Freedom]]></category>
1160. <category><![CDATA[TerraViva United Nations]]></category>
1161. <category><![CDATA[IPS UN Bureau]]></category>
1162. <category><![CDATA[World Press Freedom Day 2024]]></category>
1163.  
1164. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.ipsnews.net/?p=185220</guid>
1165. <description><![CDATA[<td colspan="2"  style="padding: 0px 10px;">
1166. <h4 class="p1"><a style="color: #0b599e;"><em><strong>World Press Freedom Day 2024</strong></em></a> </td></h4>
1167. <br>&#160;<br>]]></description>
1169. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><font color="#999999"><img width="300" height="200" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Diaa-Al-Kahlout_-300x200.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Diaa-Al-Kahlout_-300x200.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Diaa-Al-Kahlout_.jpg 624w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Diaa Al-Kahlout, pictured after his return to Gaza after more than a month in Israeli detention, said he was interrogated over his journalism by Israel's army and security service. Credit: Courtesy of Diaa Al-Kahlout</p></font></p><p>By Doja Daoud<br />NEW YORK, May 1 2024 (IPS) </p><p>Diaa Al-Kahlout, the veteran Gaza bureau chief for the Qatari-funded London-based newspaper <a href="https://www.alaraby.co.uk/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Al-Araby Al-Jadeed</a>, had been <a href="https://www.alaraby.co.uk/author/14440/%D8%B6%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%A1-%D8%AE%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%84" rel="noopener" target="_blank">covering</a> the <a href="https://cpj.org/full-coverage-israel-gaza-war/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Israel-Gaza</a> war for two months when he became part of the news.<br />
1170. <span id="more-185220"></span></p>
1171. <p>On December 7, Al-Kahlout was <a href="https://cpj.org/2023/12/cpj-calls-for-release-of-al-araby-al-jadeed-gaza-correspondent-diaa-al-kahlout/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">detained</a> along with members of his family by Israeli forces in a mass arrest in Beit Lahya in northern Gaza. Over 33 days in Israeli custody, he said he was interrogated about his journalism and subjected to <a href="https://www.newarab.com/news/tna-journalist-diaa-al-kahlout-tortured-israeli-prison" rel="noopener" target="_blank">physical and psychological mistreatment</a>.</p>
1172. <p>Al-Kahlout is one of more than <a href="https://cpj.org/2024/03/attacks-arrests-threats-censorship-the-high-risks-of-reporting-the-israel-hamas-war/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">two dozen</a> Palestinian journalists <a href="https://cpj.org/2024/01/palestinian-journalists-are-being-imprisoned-by-israel-in-record-numbers/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">arrested</a> by Israel since it launched a widespread bombardment of Gaza following the Hamas <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67039975" rel="noopener" target="_blank">October 7 raid</a> on Israel. After his release, Al-Kahlout made the “unbearable” decision to leave Gaza for Egypt, from where he spoke to CPJ about his experience covering the war, his detention, and the journalism environment in Gaza. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.</p>
1173. <p><strong>How did you manage to report at the beginning of the war, before your arrest?</strong></p>
1174. <p>For the first time, I faced problems covering a war. I had prepared my home for emergencies and wars, like installing solar power, allowing me to work normally in such situations. I lived in a relatively safe area in Beit Lahya. By the third or fourth day of the war, I started losing my journalistic tools like electricity, my phone, and laptop and primarily relied on my mobile phone. </p>
1175. <p>We had to buy an Israeli SIM card at a very high price because everyone needed it. This was the first time this happened in any war, but despite this, I continued to work day and night for 61 days, despite the difficult conditions — and this was before being arrested.</p>
1176. <p>At the start, there were many journalists in the north, but in the second month of the war, I became one of the important sources. I was shooting videos and sending them for publication without compensation; I was helping everyone, including major channels. People in Gaza were very cooperative because they knew I was a journalist, so they gave me priority to charge my phone so my coverage could continue.</p>
1177. <p><strong>You manage a team of journalists. How did the hardships you describe affect that?</strong></p>
1178. <p>My colleagues are also my friends, as we have a personal relationship from years of working and collaborating on coverage from Gaza. Within days, communication with them was almost completely cut off. Unfortunately, I couldn’t play my usual role in assigning tasks, editing stories, and verifying the materials [and had to leave this to colleagues in regional offices]. </p>
1179. <p>With great difficulty, we managed to continue our work, although there was no problem finding stories. As a journalist in Gaza now, you find stories everywhere you go, and a thousand stories can be told in a thousand ways.</p>
1180. <p><strong>After about two months of covering the war, Israel detained you for 33 days. What happened?</strong></p>
1181. <p>At about 7 or 8 a.m. on December 7, 2023, the Israeli army ordered all the men in our area to come down from their houses and gather in a nearby area. They stripped us of our clothes, leaving us only in our underwear in the cold, handcuffed us from behind, and blindfolded us. Even so, we were not afraid at all. We are civilians and were taken out of our homes.</p>
1182. <div id="attachment_185219" style="width: 634px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/A-video-image_.jpg" alt="" width="624" height="422" class="size-full wp-image-185219" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/A-video-image_.jpg 624w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/A-video-image_-300x203.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 624px) 100vw, 624px" /><p class="wp-caption-text">A video image shown by the BBC on December 8 depicts the mass arrest of Palestinians from Beit Lahya in Gaza. The Israel Defense Forces told the BBC that “IDF fighters and Shin Bet officers detained and interrogated hundreds of terror suspects” on December 7. (Screenshot: Video obtained by BBC)</p></div>
1183. <p>We stayed at <a href="https://apnews.com/article/palestinians-detained-israel-hamas-gaza-war-0ecbc338e4024add059b87b38022086d" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Zikim base</a> [in Israel], where we were <a href="https://www.alaraby.co.uk/entertainment_media/%D8%B6%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%A1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%83%D8%AD%D9%84%D9%88%D8%AA-%D8%A8%D8%B9%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D9%81%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AC-%D8%B9%D9%86%D9%87-%D8%AA%D8%B1%D9%83%D9%91%D8%B2-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%AD%D9%82%D9%8A%D9%82-%D9%85%D8%B9%D9%8A-%D8%AD%D9%88%D9%84-%D8%B9%D9%85%D9%84%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B5%D8%AD%D8%A7%D9%81%D9%8A" rel="noopener" target="_blank">interrogated and I was asked about my journalistic work</a>. I was interrogated twice, once by the Israeli army and once by the Shin Bet [Israeli security service]. In the latter, the interrogator asked me about a report published in Al-Araby Al-Jadeed in 2018 about a failed Israeli unit operation in Gaza. [Al-Araby Al-Jadeed <a href="https://www.alaraby.co.uk/7-%D8%B4%D9%87%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%A1-%D9%88%D9%85%D9%82%D8%AA%D9%84-%D8%B6%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%B7-%D8%A5%D8%B3%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%A6%D9%8A%D9%84%D9%8A-%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B4%D8%AA%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%83%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%AC%D9%86%D9%88%D8%A8-%D9%82%D8%B7%D8%A7%D8%B9-%D8%BA%D8%B2%D8%A9" rel="noopener" target="_blank">published</a> <a href="https://www.alaraby.co.uk/%22%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%85%22-%D8%AA%D9%83%D8%B4%D9%81-%D8%AA%D9%81%D8%A7%D8%B5%D9%8A%D9%84-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D9%85%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D8%B3%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%A6%D9%8A%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%AF%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%B4%D8%B1%D9%82-%D8%AE%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%8A%D9%88%D9%86%D8%B3" rel="noopener" target="_blank">several</a> <a href="https://www.alaraby.co.uk/%D8%A5%D8%B3%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%A6%D9%8A%D9%84-%D8%AA%D8%BA%D8%AA%D8%A7%D9%84-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D9%87%D8%AF%D8%A6%D8%A9-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%BA%D8%B2%D8%A9-%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%AF%D9%91-%D9%81%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%B7%D9%8A%D9%86%D9%8A-%D9%8A%D9%81%D8%A7%D8%AC%D8%A6-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%AD%D8%AA%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%84" rel="noopener" target="_blank">reports</a> about the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/nov/11/at-least-six-palestinians-killed-in-israeli-raid-in-gaza" rel="noopener" target="_blank">botched </a><a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2018-12-03/ty-article/report-israeli-soldiers-cover-blown-in-gaza-botched-op-because-of-their-accents/0000017f-f5ac-d47e-a37f-fdbcbd890000" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Israeli</a> <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2019-07-09/ty-article/.premium/israels-botched-commando-op-hamas-in-gaza-what-really-happened-idf/0000017f-e6d9-df5f-a17f-ffdff3a60000" rel="noopener" target="_blank">operation</a>.]</p>
1184. <p>I was blindfolded and forced to sit in a squatting position on a sand hill, with the soldier behind me continuing to hit me. During the interrogation, they also asked why I was in contact with leaders in Hamas. </p>
1185. <p>I answered that I speak with various personalities due to my work and request statements for publication. Their response was, “You’re a terrorist, you son of a dog,” and they started mocking and bullying me, then put tape around my mouth because I was arguing with them.</p>
1186. <p>After about 12 hours, we were moved by a bus to the <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-01-03/ty-article/.premium/number-of-gazans-detained-in-israel-jumps-150-witness-soldiers-abuse-detainees/0000018c-ca0b-d6c4-ab8d-ebbf60380000" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Sde Teiman</a> <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-04-04/ty-article/.premium/doctor-at-idf-field-hospital-for-detained-gazans-we-are-all-complicit-in-breaking-law/0000018e-a59c-dfed-ad9f-afdfb5ce0000" rel="noopener" target="_blank">military base</a> belonging to the Israeli army. I stayed in this detention center, moving between several barracks, for 33 days. They assigned me the number 059889. Of course, no one called us by our names, we all had numbers called out in Hebrew, which we do not speak.</p>
1187. <p>Every day in detention, they would separate us and move us between barracks. The food consisted of moldy bread. I spent almost the entire time in a squatting position on my knees, which caused me inflammation and severe pain. When I was arrested, my weight was 130 kilograms [286 pounds], and I lost 45 kilograms [99 pounds] in detention.</p>
1188. <p>During the <a href="https://www.alaraby.co.uk/video/%D8%AD%D9%83%D8%A7%D9%8A%D8%A7-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%B1%D8%A8%D9%8A/%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%B3%D9%84-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%B1%D8%A8%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AC%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%AF-%D8%B6%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%A1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%83%D8%AD%D9%84%D9%88%D8%AA-%D9%8A%D8%B1%D9%88%D9%8A-%D8%AA%D9%81%D8%A7%D8%B5%D9%8A%D9%84-%D8%A7%D8%B9%D8%AA%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%87-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%BA%D8%B2%D8%A9" rel="noopener" target="_blank">detention period</a>, I was interrogated three times in the same manner, focusing on [my work with] Al-Araby Al-Jadeed and on Al-Jazeera [where I did not work] with questions about why I was in contact with Palestinian leaders in Gaza, and about my sources that I relied on to publish my journalistic reports in the newspaper. </p>
1189. <p>I told them I was a known journalist, that leaders would send us reports for publication, and that we did not publish everything we received but only what we could verify.</p>
1190. <p>I was subjected to torture called “<a href="https://www.addameer.org/ar/content/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%B9%D8%B0%D9%8A%D8%A8-%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B9%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%84%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D8%A7%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%A9" rel="noopener" target="_blank">ghosting</a>” daily, which involves being handcuffed with the hands upward or behind the back while blindfolded, in addition to significant psychological torture alongside physical torture. Even going to the bathroom was on their schedule.</p>
1191. <p>Twenty days after my detention, a new person was detained and told me about the statements issued about me [by my <a href="https://www.alaraby.co.uk/entertainment_media/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%AD%D8%AA%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%84-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D8%B3%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%A6%D9%8A%D9%84%D9%8A-%D9%8A%D8%B9%D8%AA%D9%82%D9%84-%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%B3%D9%84-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%B1%D8%A8%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AC%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%AF-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%BA%D8%B2%D8%A9-%D8%B6%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%A1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%83%D8%AD%D9%84%D9%88%D8%AA" rel="noopener" target="_blank">outlet</a> and <a href="https://cpj.org/2023/12/cpj-calls-for-release-of-al-araby-al-jadeed-gaza-correspondent-diaa-al-kahlout/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">rights groups</a>] — and I learned that these statements were issued the same days I was tortured.</p>
1192. <p>On the 32nd day, the chief prison officer, prison officials, and Shin Bet came with prisoners from a prison in the Negev [in southern Israel]. They started calling out numbers, and the last name — or rather, number — on the list was mine. They gave us medicine to relax our bodies from the exhaustion of detention, and if they found anyone called out was injured or sick, they would not release them.</p>
1193. <p>On the 33rd day, we were transferred to a bus that roamed around before they removed the blindfolds and unshackled us, and I found myself in front of the Kerem Shalom crossing [into Gaza].</p>
1194. <p>Detention left its mark on me, both psychologically and health-wise. The most significant issue I face is with my vision, as I cannot see well due to being blindfolded for 33 consecutive days and nights. My vision was excellent before my arrest. In detention, we were beaten and “ghosted” if any part of our eyes showed. </p>
1195. <p>I have severe chest inflammation and acute vertebral inflammation, resulting in leg pain, in addition to malnutrition, and lack of sleep. Before my travel, the cracks in my skin caused by detention conditions resulted in pus and severe pain. In addition to the bruises still on my body, I can’t sleep or rest normally since my release. </p>
1196. <p>I behave as if I were still in prison; even my sleep was affected by the prison experience and what I suffered. I would sleep in the same position we were forced into during detention.</p>
1197. <p>After my release, I stayed in the journalists’ tent [a designated area for the press] in [the southern Gaza city of] Rafah for two months, where I tried to get back to work and to make sure my family is okay, but that was hindered by the blackouts and the lack of journalistic devices. </p>
1198. <p>I was hoping to get back to the north to my family, but day after day I lost hope that the war would end and I decided to leave for Egypt, which happened on March 10, and my family joined me on March 13. They arrived tired and sick, and we began the journey of treatment.</p>
1199. <p><em>[Editor’s note: CPJ could not independently verify Al-Kahlout’s description of torture, but it is in line with human rights groups’ <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/the-brutal-conditions-facing-palestinian-prisoners" rel="noopener" target="_blank">descriptions</a> of the treatment of some Palestinians in Israeli custody. Reached by CPJ’s New York headquarters about Al-Kahlout’s allegations of mistreatment, the Israeli military’s North America spokesperson said: “The individuals detained are treated in accordance with international law. The IDF has never, and will never, deliberately target journalists. The IDF protocols are to treat detainees with dignity. Incidents in which the guidelines were not followed will be looked into.” CPJ in New York also emailed the Shin Bet about Al-Kahlout’s interrogation over a 2018 article, but did not immediately receive a reply.]</em></p>
1200. <p><strong>Have you returned to work? What are your plans?</strong></p>
1201. <p>Mentally, I am not capable of resuming work. I am still pursuing treatments and medications, and monitoring my health condition and that of my family. I don’t even have the basic work tools like a laptop.</p>
1202. <p>We are currently waiting for visa procedures and to travel to [the Qatari capital of] Doha. But Doha will also be unknown to us. I hope my family and I can adapt to the new situation. My media institution supported me, but the situation in Gaza and the constant worry for the rest of my family in Beit Lahya kept me in perpetual terror. I feel anxious and tired.</p>
1203. <p>I lost all my possessions; <a href="https://www.newarab.com/news/israeli-forces-torch-al-araby-reporters-home-amid-detention" rel="noopener" target="_blank">my house</a> and my family’s house were destroyed, I lost my new car, and my small piece of land. Suddenly, we lost everything.</p>
1204. <p><strong>How do you compare covering this war to previous ones?</strong></p>
1205. <p>From the first day, it has been impossible to comprehensively cover the war. We lost our main sources of information [as <a href="https://cpj.org/2023/11/cpj-expresses-grave-concern-over-4th-communications-blackout-in-gaza/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">blackouts</a> hindered reporting and official sources became harder to reach] and no one can document all this destruction. </p>
1206. <p>Unfortunately, there is a significant lack of information and an inability to grasp the extent of the bombing and strikes happening in Gaza. This has prevented journalists from fully performing their jobs.</p>
1207. <p>Dozens of very important stories of victims have been missed amid the killings and madness. The truth is, that the outside world sees only 10% of the actual reality in Gaza, and what we see is unimaginable. As journalists, we should simply apologize because we can’t cover everything. I used to be able to get all the news, and today, many significant stories haven’t been covered.</p>
1208. <p>Given the scale of the <a href="https://www.icj-cij.org/node/203454" rel="noopener" target="_blank">genocide</a>, the lack of empathy has been striking. I’ve been working in journalism since 2004 and have never seen this level of destruction in any war I covered, and I have covered all the wars on Gaza since then. </p>
1209. <p>In the past, we treated the killing of five people as a massacre, but today in Gaza, a massacre means 100 and more. People have become numbers and we don’t know the details of their stories, that is if we even know of their deaths.</p>
1210. <p>Unfortunately, the absence of the internet and the lack of quick alternatives pose a real dilemma, and a journalist who loses his equipment cannot replace it. Almost all press offices were lost, and hospitals have become the main headquarters for journalists.</p>
1211. <p>Journalists in Gaza have found no respect. Amid all these difficulties in covering and reporting events, there was another challenge: trying to survive, securing food and drink, and protecting the family. Moving even an inch in Gaza now is madness.</p>
1212. <p>The Palestinian journalists couldn’t fully deliver the picture due to the massive bombings and <a href="https://cpj.org/2023/10/cpj-statement-on-news-blackout-in-gaza/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">communication blackouts</a> that stopped stories from getting out. What was shared were just bits of breaking news, and the deeper stories were lost or silenced because <a href="https://cpj.org/data/people/hamza-al-dahdouh/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">journalists</a> <a href="https://cpj.org/data/people/mustafa-thuraya/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">were targeted</a>, there was no security, and essential supplies like electricity and the internet, and work tools like laptops were missing.</p>
1213. <p>The people of Gaza and the journalists there suffered injustice in this coverage, which was made worse by the absence of foreign journalists who could have helped complete the story.</p>
1214. <p><em><strong>Doja Daoud</strong> is CPJ’s Middle East and North Africa representative. Before joining CPJ in March 2022, Daoud worked for the pan-Arab newspaper Al-Araby al-Jadeed as a writer and news editor focusing on press freedom and media monitoring. She also contributed to Lebanese news outlets and co-founded Alternative Press Syndicate, a local union group for journalists.</em></p>
1215. <p>IPS UN Bureau</p>
1216. <p>&nbsp;</p>
1217. <div id="authorarea">
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1220. <p>Excerpt: </p><td colspan="2"  style="padding: 0px 10px;">
1221. <h4 class="p1"><a style="color: #0b599e;"><em><strong>World Press Freedom Day 2024</strong></em></a> </td></h4>
1222. <br>&#160;<br>]]></content:encoded>
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1225. </item>
1226. <item>
1227. <title>The Tragic Death of Palestinian Journalists</title>
1228. <link>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/05/tragic-death-palestinian-journalists/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=tragic-death-palestinian-journalists</link>
1229. <comments>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/05/tragic-death-palestinian-journalists/#respond</comments>
1230. <pubDate>Wed, 01 May 2024 07:35:33 +0000</pubDate>
1231. <dc:creator>Alon Ben-Meir</dc:creator>
1232. <category><![CDATA[Armed Conflicts]]></category>
1233. <category><![CDATA[Crime & Justice]]></category>
1234. <category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
1235. <category><![CDATA[Headlines]]></category>
1236. <category><![CDATA[Human Rights]]></category>
1237. <category><![CDATA[Middle East & North Africa]]></category>
1238. <category><![CDATA[Press Freedom]]></category>
1239. <category><![CDATA[TerraViva United Nations]]></category>
1240. <category><![CDATA[IPS UN Bureau]]></category>
1241. <category><![CDATA[World Press Freedom Day 2024]]></category>
1242.  
1243. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.ipsnews.net/?p=185216</guid>
1244. <description><![CDATA[<td colspan="2"  style="padding: 0px 10px;">
1245. <h4 class="p1"><a style="color: #0b599e;"><em><strong>World Press Freedom Day 2024</strong></em></a> </td></h4>
1246. <br>&#160;<br>]]></description>
1248. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><font color="#999999"><img width="300" height="136" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Over-120-journalists-have_-300x136.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Over-120-journalists-have_-300x136.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/Over-120-journalists-have_.jpg 624w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Over 120 journalists have lost their lives in Gaza since 7 October. Credit: Unsplash/Engin Akyurt</p></font></p><p>By Alon Ben-Meir<br />NEW YORK, May 1 2024 (IPS) </p><p>It is only fitting, against the backdrop of World Press Freedom Day, to recount the horror being inflicted on journalists and reporters around the world, which is increasing day by day. To tell the story of the mounting death of journalists in Gaza, it is essential to put into perspective the plight of journalists around the world.<br />
1249. <span id="more-185216"></span></p>
1250. <p>The random imprisonment of journalists is rampant in many countries; more than 800 journalists have been <a href="https://rsf.org/en/779-journalists-were-jailed-2023-547-will-spend-new-year-s-eve-prison" rel="noopener" target="_blank">incarcerated</a>, and nearly 550 marked the beginning of 2024 from prison; hundreds have been killed, and countless others are harassed to prevent them from decimating information deemed unfavorable to their respective governments.</p>
1251. <p>More than half of these journalists are detained in just four countries – China, Myanmar, Belarus, and Vietnam. Other than these four countries, others do not lag much behind, including Turkey, Russia, China, Afghanistan, and Mexico, which is one of the deadliest countries for journalists. In this regard, it is also important to point out the danger and death that journalists are facing in another war zone in Ukraine. </p>
1252. <p>According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), since the start of the war in February 2022, Russian forces have reportedly <a href="https://rsf.org/en/more-100-journalists-victims-russian-crimes-during-two-years-covering-war-ukraine" rel="noopener" target="_blank">killed</a> 11 journalists and wounded at least 35; 12 others were detained, and two journalists are currently missing, while 233 media outlets were ordered to close down.</p>
1253. <p>Regardless of how egregious these violations are against journalists, tragically, these statistics pale in comparison to what has and still is taking place in the Israel-Hamas in Gaza. </p>
1254. <p>The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reported that 97 journalists and media workers were <a href="https://cpj.org/2024/04/journalist-casualties-in-the-israel-gaza-conflict/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">confirmed</a> dead in Gaza: among them, a staggering 92 Palestinian journalists, which has by far exceeded the death toll of journalists in any other war zone in recent memory. </p>
1255. <p>In comparison, only two Israelis and three Lebanese journalists were killed. Overall, according to CPJ, 16 journalists were reported injured, four are still missing, and 25 journalists were arrested. On top of that, there are routine assaults, threats and intimidation, cyberattacks, crippling censorship, and even the killing of family members to prevent journalists from doing their job.</p>
1256. <p>The question is why such a disproportionate number of Palestinian journalists were killed in Gaza, and if there is anything that can be done to minimize this inexcusable death that transcends reason and even the horrific reality of a war that crossed the threshold of inhumanity. There are four reasons behind the astounding number of Palestinian journalists who were killed in particular.</p>
1257. <p>First, many Palestinians who were embedded in civilian communities were killed by the initial Israeli bombing that leveled dozens of buildings, killing hundreds of civilians and, among them, many journalists.</p>
1258. <p>Second, many journalists who were trying to report from the front line of the battles between Israel and Hamas were killed in the crossfire. Sadly, they threw caution to the wind and ended up paying with their lives.</p>
1259. <p>Third, many other Palestinian journalists were killed as collateral damage for being in the wrong place and at the wrong time.</p>
1260. <p>Finally, several journalists were deliberately targeted to prevent them from reporting on the scene. There is no definitive number of journalists in this category, as Israel vehemently denies the deliberate killing of Palestinian journalists.</p>
1261. <p>Sadly, other than the need for Palestinian journalists to exercise extra caution, it is critically important to increase the pressure on both Israel and Hamas to take every precautionary measure to prevent journalists from being killed simply because they are dedicated to reporting on what they see and hear. </p>
1262. <p>This is, of course, easier said than done. Nevertheless, RSF and CPJ should leave no stone unturned to expose the culprits behind this atrocious murder of journalists. The UN and the EU should also take every measure at their disposal to prevent the undue death of Palestinian journalists. </p>
1263. <p>The freedom of the press is the heart and soul of any true democracy, and Western democracies must answer the call.           </p>
1264. <p><em><strong>Dr. Alon Ben-Meir</strong> is a retired professor of international relations, most recently at the Center for Global Affairs at New York University. He taught courses on international negotiation and Middle Eastern studies.</em></p>
1265. <p>IPS UN Bureau</p>
1266. <p>&nbsp;</p>
1267. <div id="authorarea">
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1270. <p>Excerpt: </p><td colspan="2"  style="padding: 0px 10px;">
1271. <h4 class="p1"><a style="color: #0b599e;"><em><strong>World Press Freedom Day 2024</strong></em></a> </td></h4>
1272. <br>&#160;<br>]]></content:encoded>
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1274. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
1275. </item>
1276. <item>
1277. <title>The Deadliest Days for Journalists in War Zones</title>
1278. <link>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/05/deadliest-days-journalists-war-zones/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=deadliest-days-journalists-war-zones</link>
1279. <comments>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/05/deadliest-days-journalists-war-zones/#respond</comments>
1280. <pubDate>Wed, 01 May 2024 06:42:40 +0000</pubDate>
1281. <dc:creator>Thalif Deen</dc:creator>
1282. <category><![CDATA[Armed Conflicts]]></category>
1283. <category><![CDATA[Crime & Justice]]></category>
1284. <category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
1285. <category><![CDATA[Headlines]]></category>
1286. <category><![CDATA[Human Rights]]></category>
1287. <category><![CDATA[IPS UN: Inside the Glasshouse]]></category>
1288. <category><![CDATA[Middle East & North Africa]]></category>
1289. <category><![CDATA[Press Freedom]]></category>
1290. <category><![CDATA[TerraViva United Nations]]></category>
1291. <category><![CDATA[IPS UN Bureau]]></category>
1292. <category><![CDATA[IPS UN Bureau Report]]></category>
1293. <category><![CDATA[World Press Freedom Day 2024]]></category>
1294.  
1295. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.ipsnews.net/?p=185211</guid>
1296. <description><![CDATA[<td colspan="2"  style="padding: 0px 10px;">
1297. <h4 class="p1"><a style="color: #0b599e;"><em><strong>World Press Freedom Day 2024</strong></em></a> </td></h4>
1298. <br>&#160;<br>]]></description>
1300. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><font color="#999999"><img width="300" height="300" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/safety-of-journalists_-300x300.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/safety-of-journalists_-300x300.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/safety-of-journalists_-100x100.jpg 100w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/safety-of-journalists_-144x144.jpg 144w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/safety-of-journalists_-472x472.jpg 472w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/05/safety-of-journalists_.jpg 623w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></font></p><p>By Thalif Deen<br />UNITED NATIONS, May 1 2024 (IPS) </p><p>The seven- month-long war in Gaza is perhaps the only military conflict in contemporary history which has claimed the lives of over 100 journalists, including targeted killings.<br />
1301. <span id="more-185211"></span></p>
1302. <p>As of April 26, according to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), preliminary investigations have shown at least 97 journalists and media workers were among the more than 35,000 killed since the war began on October 7—with more than <a href="https://www.ochaopt.org/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">34,000 Palestinian deaths</a> in Gaza and the West Bank and <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-revises-death-toll-oct-7-hamas-attack-around-1200-2023-11-10/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">1,200 deaths</a> in Israel. </p>
1303. <p>And, according to a count by the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF), at least 103 journalists have been killed by Israeli strikes in Gaza in the past five months, “one of the deadliest ever wars for the media” compiled by RSF.</p>
1304. <p>Christophe Deloire RSF secretary-general, said these 103 journalists are not numbers, they are 103 voices that Israel has silenced, 103 fewer witnesses of the catastrophe unfolding in Palestine, 103 lives extinguished”. </p>
1305. <p>If the numbers show anything, it is that since 7 October, “no place in Gaza is safe, no journalist in Gaza is spared, and the massacre has not stopped. We reiterate our urgent appeal to protect journalists in Gaza”, he added.</p>
1306. <p>CPJ said it is investigating all reports of journalists and media workers killed, injured, or missing in the war, “which has led to the deadliest period for journalists since CPJ began gathering data in 1992.”</p>
1307. <p>Dr. Simon Adams, President of the Center for Victims of Torture (CVT), which works with torture survivors and human rights defenders around the world, told IPS the more egregious the atrocity, the greater the necessity to bury the truth under the rubble of airstrikes or hide it away in a dark prison. </p>
1308. <p>Israel is targeting journalists because it fears their ability to expose the horrors unfolding in Gaza, he said. </p>
1309. <p>“For far too long Israel has been able to operate with impunity in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and this has included occasionally killing reporters, like the Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, in 2022”. </p>
1310. <p>But since 7 October, Dr Adams pointed out, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have elevated this to a whole new level: routinely bombing, shooting or arresting journalists just for reporting from the frontlines and bearing witness to war crimes. </p>
1311. <p>He said far too many of these deaths have resulted from precision airstrikes on reporters who are clearly identified as such. </p>
1312. <p>“With almost 100 journalists and media workers now dead, to claim these deaths are accidental is not only incredulous, it is insulting to the memory of professionals who lived their lives in service of truth and accuracy,” said Dr Adams whose organization has a number of refugee clients who are former journalists and have been arrested and persecuted in their home countries.</p>
1313. <p>These cases, he said, should all be reported to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and those responsible should be held accountable. Being a journalist is not a crime, but systematically killing them is.</p>
1314. <p>And he added: “World Press Freedom Day (May 3) should be celebrated with a black armband this year.”</p>
1315. <p>“Since the Israel-Gaza war began, journalists have been paying the highest price— their lives—to defend our right to the truth. Each time a journalist dies or is injured, we lose a fragment of that truth,” said CPJ Program Director Carlos Martínez de la Serna. </p>
1316. <p>“Journalists are civilians who are protected by international humanitarian law in times of conflict. Those responsible for their deaths face dual trials: one under international law and another before history’s unforgiving gaze.” </p>
1317. <p>Expressing deep concern last month, the <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/Pages/Home.aspx" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Human Rights Council</a>-appointed experts<strong>*</strong> highlighted the alarming toll on journalists and media workers in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, particularly in Gaza.</p>
1318. <p>“We are alarmed at the extraordinarily high numbers of journalists and media workers who have been killed, attacked, injured and detained in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, particularly in Gaza, in recent months blatantly disregarding international law,” the experts <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/02/gaza-un-experts-condemn-killing-and-silencing-journalists" rel="noopener" target="_blank">said</a>.</p>
1319. <p>They said they noted “disturbing reports” of attacks against media workers despite being clearly identifiable in jackets, helmets and vehicles marked “press”, seemingly indicating a “deliberate strategy” by Israeli forces to obstruct and silence critical reporting.</p>
1320. <p>Since 7 October, by their count, 122 journalists and media workers have lost their lives in the Gaza Strip, with many others sustaining injuries.  </p>
1321. <p>Four Israeli journalists were killed by Hamas on 7 October, when fighters from the extremist group which controls Gaza and other Palestinian militants, attacked Israeli communities in southern Israel.</p>
1322. <p>“We condemn all killings, threats and attacks on journalists and call on all parties to the conflict to protect them,” they said.</p>
1323. <p>Dozens of Palestinian journalists have also been detained by Israeli forces in both Gaza and in the West Bank where harassment, intimidation and attacks on journalists have increased since the Hamas terror attacks.</p>
1324. <p>According to the Paris-based UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, more than 1,600 journalists have been killed since 1993.</p>
1325. <p>Other threats against journalists, online and off-line, continue to grow, especially in non-conflict zones. </p>
1326. <p>It is at a record high, while online violence &#8211; <u><a href="https://webarchive.unesco.org/web/20220625110103/https:/en.unesco.org/publications/thechilling" rel="noopener" target="_blank">particularly against women journalists</a></u> &#8211;  and harassment spurs on self-censorship and, in some cases, physical attacks.</p>
1327. <p>Journalists have also increasingly been attacked <u><a href="https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000374206" rel="noopener" target="_blank">while covering protests</a></u>, by various actors, including both security forces and protest participants.</p>
1328. <p>Numerous reports and studies confirm that threats inordinately affect <u><a href="https://www.unesco.org/en/safety-journalists/safety-women-journalists" rel="noopener" target="_blank">women journalists</a></u> and those who represent minority groups, said UNESCO.</p>
1329. <p><em><strong>*</strong>The UN experts include: <strong>Irene Khan</strong>, Special Rapporteur on the protection and promotion of freedom of opinion and expression; <strong>Francesca Albanese</strong>, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967; <strong>Mary Lawlor</strong>, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders; <strong>Morris Tidball-Binz</strong>, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; and <strong>Ben Saul</strong>, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism.</em></p>
1330. <p>IPS UN Bureau Report</p>
1331. <p>&nbsp;</p>
1332. <div id="authorarea">
1333. <a href="https://twitter.com/IPSNewsUNBureau" class="twitter-follow-button" data-show-count="false" data-lang="en" data-size="large">Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau</a><br />
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1335. <p>Excerpt: </p><td colspan="2"  style="padding: 0px 10px;">
1336. <h4 class="p1"><a style="color: #0b599e;"><em><strong>World Press Freedom Day 2024</strong></em></a> </td></h4>
1337. <br>&#160;<br>]]></content:encoded>
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1340. </item>
1341. <item>
1342. <title>‘I Couldn’t Remain Silent’: Son Fights for Uyghur Journalist’s Release from Chinese Prison</title>
1343. <link>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/04/couldnt-remain-silent-son-fights-uyghur-journalists-release-chinese-prison/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=couldnt-remain-silent-son-fights-uyghur-journalists-release-chinese-prison</link>
1344. <comments>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/04/couldnt-remain-silent-son-fights-uyghur-journalists-release-chinese-prison/#respond</comments>
1345. <pubDate>Tue, 30 Apr 2024 06:13:04 +0000</pubDate>
1346. <dc:creator>Iris Hsu</dc:creator>
1347. <category><![CDATA[Asia-Pacific]]></category>
1348. <category><![CDATA[Crime & Justice]]></category>
1349. <category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
1350. <category><![CDATA[Headlines]]></category>
1351. <category><![CDATA[IPS UN: Inside the Glasshouse]]></category>
1352. <category><![CDATA[Press Freedom]]></category>
1353. <category><![CDATA[TerraViva United Nations]]></category>
1354. <category><![CDATA[IPS UN Bureau]]></category>
1355. <category><![CDATA[World Press Freedom Day 2024]]></category>
1356.  
1357. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.ipsnews.net/?p=185207</guid>
1358. <description><![CDATA[<td colspan="2"  style="padding: 0px 10px;">
1359. <h4 class="p1"><a style="color: #0b599e;"><em><strong>World Press Freedom Day 2024</strong></em></a> </td></h4>
1360. <br>&#160;<br>]]></description>
1362. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><font color="#999999"><img width="300" height="225" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/Journalist-Qurban-Mamut-300x225.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/Journalist-Qurban-Mamut-300x225.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/Journalist-Qurban-Mamut-200x149.jpg 200w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/Journalist-Qurban-Mamut.jpg 624w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Journalist Qurban Mamut (left) visited his son Bahram Sintash in Washington, D.C. in 2017. Shortly after Mamut's return to China, he was arrested. Credit: Courtesy of Bahram Sintash.</p></font></p><p>By Iris Hsu<br />TAIPEI, Taiwan, Apr 30 2024 (IPS) </p><p>The last time Bahram Sintash saw his journalist father was in 2017. Qurban Mamut, an influential Uyghur editor had come to the United States for a visit but upon his return to Xinjiang in northwest China, he disappeared.<br />
1363. <span id="more-185207"></span></p>
1364. <p>Sintash later learned that his father had been swept up in China’s 2017 <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-22278037" rel="noopener" target="_blank">crackdown</a> on Uyghurs and other mostly Muslim ethnic groups. China has said its policies in Xinjiang, which involve reeducation camps, forced sterilization, and family separations, are in the name of counter-terrorism, but 51 United Nations member countries have <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/10/23/un-member-countries-condemn-chinas-crimes-against-humanity#:~:text=Fifty%2Done%20United%20Nations%20member,abuses%20in%20the%20Xinjiang%20region." rel="noopener" target="_blank">accused</a> the government of “crimes against humanity.”</p>
1365. <p>Mamut, as a prominent intellectual who edited the state-owned Xinjiang Civilization and Tepakkur magazines, was sentenced to 15 years for “political crimes,” according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/05/world/asia/china-xinjiang-uighur-intellectuals.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">news reports</a>. According to Sintash, his father’s decades of journalism drew the attention of the Chinese government in its efforts to quash the Uyghur cultural industry.</p>
1366. <p>After initially fearing that speaking out could harm his 74-year-old father’s case, Sintash decided to go public about the detention in <a href="https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/journalist-10182018151224.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">2018</a>; in 2020, he joined the U.S. Congress-funded Radio Free Asia (RFA) in Washington, D.C. to be a “voice of voice-less Uyghurs.”</p>
1367. <p>The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) spoke with Sintash about his father’s love of journalism, restrictions on the press in Xinjiang, and what he knows of Mamut’s detention. </p>
1368. <p>This interview has been edited for length and clarity. The Chinese foreign ministry did not reply to CPJ’s email requesting comment on Mamut’s arrest and sentencing.</p>
1369. <p><strong>What can you tell us about your father’s detention?</strong></p>
1370. <p>I initially thought my father was detained in 2018, but later learned it was actually in late 2017. Communication with my family in Urumqi [the capital of Xinjiang] has been severed since then, with China cutting off our ability to talk in late 2017 and early 2018. My mother told me, “We can no longer talk to you,” leaving me without any information about my father. </p>
1371. <p>In September of the following year, I sought to find out what had happened to him. Eventually, one of my neighbors who also lives overseas informed me that my father had been taken away from our neighborhood. This neighbor had heard the news from their family who witnessed my father being taken from his home. I was shocked by this revelation.</p>
1372. <p>At the same time, I was considering what actions to take. I felt that raising my voice was the right decision, but I was extremely cautious. I was unsure of the exact steps to take or the words to use, as anything I said could potentially endanger my father further, given China’s unpredictable actions.</p>
1373. <p><strong>What was the media environment like in Xinjiang before your father’s arrest?</strong></p>
1374. <p>In 2016, a well-known writer, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/winter-olympics-beijing-uyghur-boycott-cd07c6dcbdaa1fcef818d9d5ee03362b" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Yalqun Rozi</a>, was detained and later sentenced to 15 years [for attempting to subvert the Chinese state], a fate similar to that of my father. My father visited the United States in January 2017 and stayed for a month, during which time he learned about the detention of Yalqun, a close friend. Yalqun had not been sentenced at that point but was under arrest, likely due to his publication of sensitive topics.</p>
1375. <p>Yalqun had written extensively on various subjects, including Uyghur welfare, and had contributed many essays to my father’s journal, Xinjiang Civilization. Their past collaboration made my father concerned that Yalqun’s arrest might not be an isolated case.</p>
1376. <p>Yalqun’s detention marked the beginning of a broader <a href="https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/intellectuals-genocide-10082023140540.html#:~:text=The%20Dui%20Hua%20Foundation%2C%20which,arrested%2C%20and%20imprisoned%20since%202016." rel="noopener" target="_blank">crackdown on Uyghur intellectuals</a>. China targeted Uyghur intellectuals first in order to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/05/world/asia/china-xinjiang-uighur-intellectuals.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">more successfully repress</a> Uyghur identity. They began by arresting individuals and then expanded their investigation to a larger network of Uyghurs.</p>
1377. <p>My father understood that this could happen, but we were uncertain about China’s next steps. After 2017, under [Chinese President] Xi Jinping’s leadership, the situation became <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/xi-china-repression-uyghurs-xinjiang-1871161" rel="noopener" target="_blank">increasingly dire</a>, reflecting the tense atmosphere of that time.</p>
1378. <p><strong>Can you tell us about Xinjiang Civilization, the magazine your father edited from 1985 until 2017?</strong></p>
1379. <p>The content in the magazine mainly focuses on culture, history, current affairs, the identity of Uyghurs, examining the shortcomings of the Uyghur nation and society, and opinion pieces. This was the main content before 2017, primarily when my dad was the sole editor-in-chief.</p>
1380. <p>Interestingly, all the names of the journal’s editorial board members were removed in the third issue of 2017 just half a month before the <a href="https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/china-xinjiang-uyghurs-muslims-repression-genocide-human-rights#:~:text=When%20did%20mass%20detentions%20of%20Muslims%20start%3F&#038;text=An%20estimated%20eight%20hundred%20thousand,U.S.%20government%20officials%20%5BPDF%5D." rel="noopener" target="_blank">mass detentions</a> began in 2017. The content of the journal dramatically changed in its last publication. It now became filled with red Communist propaganda. </p>
1381. <p>Many of the members on the board were subsequently taken to re-education camps, including my dad. At least two of other members, Abduqadir Jalalidin and <a href="https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/professors-09182018151339.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Arslan Abdulla</a>, as well as my dad were sentenced to long prison terms.</p>
1382. <p>Before the magazine’s third issue in 2017, its content mainly focused on Uyghur culture and literary works. However, after that issue, it primarily began publishing political content, which mostly revolves around studying Xi Jinping’s ideology. </p>
1383. <p>The next editor even wrote an open letter titled “Protecting the security of the ideological sphere is my priority,” in which he promised not to publish anything promoting “separatism,” “terrorism,” or “two-faced” behavior. The letter followed two articles written by Uyghur officials calling the readers to “protect the unity of the nations with hearts and protect the homeland with loyalty.”</p>
1384. <p><strong>What was your father’s relationship to his journalistic work? </strong></p>
1385. <p>My father was the sole editor; there were no secondary editors. However, he had two assistants who could be considered as secondary editors, but their main role was typing and assisting with computer-related tasks. My father worked tirelessly, often putting in 16-hour days. He would work at the office, come home for a quick meal, and then continue working late into the night, spending countless hours at his desk.</p>
1386. <div id="attachment_185206" style="width: 634px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/Qurban-Mamut_.jpg" alt="" width="624" height="439" class="size-full wp-image-185206" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/Qurban-Mamut_.jpg 624w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/Qurban-Mamut_-300x211.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 624px) 100vw, 624px" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Qurban Mamut (left) and Bahram Sintash (second from left) with their family in Xinjiang, China in 1989. Credit: Courtesy of Bahram Sintash</p></div>
1387. <p><strong>Your father was quite well known for his journalism. How was he seen in the Uyghur community? </strong></p>
1388. <p>My father was an exceptional teacher, not through writing himself, but by curating and compiling works from other writers. He focused on selecting the right topics, aiming to present the truth without imposing his own opinions on the journal.</p>
1389. <p>He steered clear of politics, especially avoiding any praise of the Chinese Communist Party or spreading its propaganda, which some writers and editors did to secure better positions and ensure their safety. My father, however, sought out authentic voices who could present genuine work, which is why the journal promoted many unknown writers who eventually became famous. The platform allowed them to express the truth.</p>
1390. <p>While my father didn’t publicly express his own views, he was frequently interviewed on TV talk shows due to his extensive knowledge of Uyghur culture. These appearances contributed to his fame. During the 1990s and 2000s, there was a period when Uyghurs enjoyed a degree of freedom to discuss their identity, language, and other aspects of their culture — a stark contrast to the current situation.</p>
1391. <p><strong>Did your father face retribution for his journalism before his imprisonment? </strong></p>
1392. <p>My father was called in for questioning in 2004, although he didn’t face persecution or punishment. This was related to an opinion piece published in his journal about the Uyghur language. At that time, Xinjiang authorities were starting to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2021/dec/10/this-is-our-voice-the-uyghur-traditions-being-erased-by-chinas-cultural-crackdown" rel="noopener" target="_blank">phase out</a> the Uyghur language from schools and universities, replacing it with Chinese in subjects like mathematics and other majors.</p>
1393. <p>The writer of the piece was arrested, and my father was questioned by the security bureau and China’s intelligence department. To avoid worrying us, my father never shared the full details of what happened.</p>
1394. <p><strong>You believe your father was arrested for his journalism. Why? </strong></p>
1395. <p>After his retirement in 2011 [from Xinjiang Civilization], my father didn’t stop working. He continued to serve on the editorial board of Xinjiang Civilization, and became the head editor of a newly established magazine called Tepakkur. The magazine, published by the state-run <a href="https://baike.baidu.hk/item/%E6%96%B0%E7%96%86%E9%9D%92%E5%B0%91%E5%B9%B4%E5%87%BA%E7%89%88%E7%A4%BE/4059520" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Xinjiang Juvenile Publishing House</a>, or <a href="http://m.cptoday.cn/press/view/225" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Chiso</a>, gained popularity due to my father’s reputation. “Tepakkur” means “think.” </p>
1396. <p>My father, invited to be the editor-in-chief, established this magazine to have more freedom and flexibility in selecting topics.It was not available digitally, only in print, and this was just before the <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/09/09/china-massive-crackdown-muslim-region" rel="noopener" target="_blank">mass arrests</a> began around 2014-2015. As a result, I don’t have a copy and haven’t read the articles, but the journal was well-regarded by its readers.</p>
1397. <p><strong>Can you tell us about your work at RFA? Has your father’s imprisonment made you rethink your personal safety, especially while covering Xinjiang?</strong></p>
1398. <p>I joined RFA because my fear diminished as I became more vocal in advocating for other Uyghurs. I couldn’t remain silent; I had to speak the truth. My mindset became open, ready to face any challenge. Many Uyghurs, concerned for their safety and their families’, avoid RFA and don’t pursue journalism there. But for me, there were no limits. I saw RFA as the only true voice for Uyghurs worldwide, so I joined to work for my people.</p>
1399. <p>As for my efforts to free my father, it’s been an emotionally challenging task. I’ve been in constant communication with organizations, governments, NGOs, and even the United Nations, explaining my father’s situation and speaking to the media. My work extends beyond my father to all Uyghurs and our culture, which I learned to preserve from my father.</p>
1400. <p><em><strong>Iris Hsu</strong> is CPJ’s China representative. Prior to joining CPJ, Hsu interned at Human Rights Watch, Center for Arms Control and Nonproliferation, and the Atlantic Council. Hsu obtained her master’s degree in international affairs from American University. She speaks Mandarin and French and lives in Taipei. </em></p>
1401. <p>IPS UN Bureau</p>
1402. <p>&nbsp;</p>
1403. <div id="authorarea">
1404. <a href="https://twitter.com/IPSNewsUNBureau" class="twitter-follow-button" data-show-count="false" data-lang="en" data-size="large">Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau</a><br />
1405. <script>!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+'://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js';fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, 'script', 'twitter-wjs');</script>&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/ipsnewsunbureau/" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2020/11/instagram-logo-ipsnewsunbureau_3_.jpg" style="display: block; border: 0px; min-height: auto; outline: none; text-decoration: none;" height="44" width="200"></a></div>
1406. <p>Excerpt: </p><td colspan="2"  style="padding: 0px 10px;">
1407. <h4 class="p1"><a style="color: #0b599e;"><em><strong>World Press Freedom Day 2024</strong></em></a> </td></h4>
1408. <br>&#160;<br>]]></content:encoded>
1409. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/04/couldnt-remain-silent-son-fights-uyghur-journalists-release-chinese-prison/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
1410. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
1411. </item>
1412. <item>
1413. <title>Drought  and Unequal Water Rights Threaten Family Farms in Chile</title>
1414. <link>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/04/drought-and-unequal-water-rights-threaten-family-farms-in-chile/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=drought-and-unequal-water-rights-threaten-family-farms-in-chile</link>
1415. <comments>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/04/drought-and-unequal-water-rights-threaten-family-farms-in-chile/#respond</comments>
1416. <pubDate>Tue, 30 Apr 2024 06:06:17 +0000</pubDate>
1417. <dc:creator>Orlando Milesi</dc:creator>
1418. <category><![CDATA[Climate Change Justice]]></category>
1419. <category><![CDATA[Combating Desertification and Drought]]></category>
1420. <category><![CDATA[Development & Aid]]></category>
1421. <category><![CDATA[Editors' Choice]]></category>
1422. <category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category>
1423. <category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
1424. <category><![CDATA[Food and Agriculture]]></category>
1425. <category><![CDATA[Headlines]]></category>
1426. <category><![CDATA[Latin America & the Caribbean]]></category>
1427. <category><![CDATA[Regional Categories]]></category>
1428. <category><![CDATA[Sustainable Development Goals]]></category>
1429. <category><![CDATA[TerraViva United Nations]]></category>
1430. <category><![CDATA[Water & Sanitation]]></category>
1431. <category><![CDATA[Agribusiness]]></category>
1432. <category><![CDATA[Chile]]></category>
1433. <category><![CDATA[Climate Justice]]></category>
1434. <category><![CDATA[family farming]]></category>
1435. <category><![CDATA[IPS UN Bureau]]></category>
1436. <category><![CDATA[IPS UN Bureau Report]]></category>
1437. <category><![CDATA[rainwater harvesting]]></category>
1438. <category><![CDATA[water scarcity]]></category>
1439.  
1440. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.ipsnews.net/?p=185130</guid>
1441. <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" />
1442. <br><br>
1443. For the rural farmers in Chile, a combination of climate change-induced mega droughts, water policies that make access unaffordable and a State that either doesn’t want to or dares not intervene in the water market means family enterprises are dying out.
1444. ]]></description>
1446. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><font color="#999999"><img width="300" height="225" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/a-4-300x225.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="Rosa Guzmán harvests tomatoes on her family farm in San Pedro, in the municipality of Quillota, 126 kilometers north of Santiago, the Chilean capital, where she is unable to extend her crops due to lack of funds, which prevents her from drilling deeper wells to obtain water and combat the drought. CREDIT: Orlando Milesi / IPS" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/a-4-300x225.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/a-4-768x576.jpg 768w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/a-4-629x472.jpg 629w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/a-4-200x149.jpg 200w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/a-4.jpg 976w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Rosa Guzmán harvests tomatoes on her family farm in San Pedro, in the municipality of Quillota, 126 kilometers north of Santiago, the Chilean capital, where she is unable to extend her crops due to lack of funds, which prevents her from drilling deeper wells to obtain water and combat the drought. Credit: Orlando Milesi/IPS</p></font></p><p>By Orlando Milesi<br />QUILLOTA, Chile , Apr 30 2024 (IPS) </p><p>Lack of water threatens the very existence of family farming in Chile, forcing farmers to adopt new techniques or to leave their land.</p>
1447. <p>The shortage is caused by a 15-year drought and exacerbated by the unequal distribution arising from the Water Code decreed in 1981 by the 1973-1990 dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet, which turned water into a tradable commodity and gave its owners rights in perpetuity.<br />
1448. <span id="more-185130"></span></p>
1449. <p>In addition, there are problems such as the accumulation of water rights in the hands of large agro-export companies and real estate speculation with the land of small farmers who are forced to sell.</p>
1450. <p>“We have no water for human consumption,” Julieta Cortés, 52, president of the Rural Women&#8217;s Association of the municipality of Canela, told IPS. &#8220;In Canela, more than 80 percent of the population depends on the water truck that delivers 50 liters of water per person per day. It&#8217;s hard to get by with that amount.&#8221;</p>
1451. <p>Located in the Coquimbo region, 400 kilometers north of Santiago, Canela, with a population of just over 11,000, was known for its goat herds, now reduced by half. Local farmers also used to grow wheat and barley. Today, the fruit trees are drying up and the livestock are dying of thirst.</p>
1452. <p>In contrast, the extensive plantations of avocados for export are irrigated and green on the slopes of the dry valleys.</p>
1453. <p>Chile&#8217;s agro-exports are one of its major sources of income, together with mining. In 2023, the agro-export sector accounted for 3.54 percent of GDP, or 10.09 billion dollars.</p>
1454. <p>Water problems are concentrated in isolated rural areas that lack technical, economic, and infrastructure capacities.</p>
1455. <p>&#8220;Family and small farmers do not have access to water rights controlled by those who have money and can buy and transfer them,” Cortés said in a telephone interview.</p>
1456. <p>“The lower part of the Choapa River flows through my municipality and none of us who live here have access to the water that is used upstream in the Los Pelambres mine and the large agro-industries along the way,” she said.</p>
1457. <p>&nbsp;</p>
1458. <div id="attachment_185132" style="width: 639px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="wp-image-185132" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/aa-3.jpg" alt="Hills stand out for their greenery in Quillota, north of Santiago, Chile, with avocado plantations that reach to the top, covering many hectares. They are able to avoid water shortages thanks to water use rights held by large agro-exporters, which allow them to evade the effects of the drought and send their abundant production abroad. CREDIT: Orlando Milesi / IPS" width="629" height="472" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/aa-3.jpg 720w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/aa-3-300x225.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/aa-3-629x472.jpg 629w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/aa-3-200x149.jpg 200w" sizes="(max-width: 629px) 100vw, 629px" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Hills stand out for their greenery in Quillota, north of Santiago, Chile, with avocado plantations that reach to the top, covering many hectares. They are able to avoid water shortages thanks to water use rights held by large agro-exporters, which allow them to evade the effects of the drought and send their abundant production abroad. Credit: Orlando Milesi/IPS</p></div>
1459. <p>&nbsp;</p>
1460. <p><strong>The Issue Is Not Lack of Water, but Inequality</strong></p>
1461. <p>In the publication Guardianas del Agua (Guardians of the Water), published by the German Heinrich Boll Stiftung Foundation, Macarena Salinas and Isaura Becker reported that 47.2 percent of the rural Chilean population had no formal drinking water supply or irrigation.</p>
1462. <p>In this South American country, some 950 communities are not part of the Rural Drinking Water Program (RWP) and obtain water from informal sources such as wells, springs and water trucks. “We have a privatized water model where the focus and priority has always been to maintain the right to property over the human right of access to water.” -- Evelyn Vicioso<br /><font size="1"></font></p>
1463. <p>The publication reported that between 2016 and 2021, the State invested 150 million dollars to use water trucks to supply the areas suffering from scarcity.</p>
1464. <p>“While the RWP committees and cooperatives need drinking water and are supplied through emergency measures, there are individuals and companies that have surplus water and can profit from the sale of water using tanker trucks,” write Salinas and Becker.</p>
1465. <p>Therefore, they point out, “rather than a lack of water, there is an unequal distribution of the resource.&#8221;</p>
1466. <p>The drought in Canela has been repeated in other areas of this long, narrow country of 19.5 million people living between the Andes Mountains and the Pacific Ocean.</p>
1467. <p>The shortage of rainfall has lasted for 15 years, with a brief respite in 2023. It is unclear what will happen in 2024.</p>
1468. <p>In Canela, farmers survive by using recycled water from washing machines and bathrooms, water harvested from rooftops or with fog catchers, systems used to capture or trap microscopic water droplets from mist, which are widely used in Chile.</p>
1469. <p>“We have been reinventing ourselves. We have even rescued water from the dew. Many of us have adopted new techniques; others have moved away,” Cortés said from her community, Carquindaña.</p>
1470. <p>Rosa Guzmán, 57, and her three brothers own a 40-hectare property in San Pedro, a community of some 5,000 inhabitants in the municipality of Quillota, 126 kilometers north of Santiago in the Valparaíso region.</p>
1471. <p>They only grow four hectares of vegetables and 2.5 hectares of avocados because they do not have the money to expand their crops.</p>
1472. <p>“Sometimes we run out of water for the house because the wells are 10 meters deep. They are filled from two canals that rarely have water,” she said during a tour of the family&#8217;s farm with IPS.</p>
1473. <p>Guzmán is director of the <a href="https://www.anamuri.cl/">National Association of Rural and Indigenous Women (Anamuri)</a> and president of her community&#8217;s environmental organization, San Pedro Digno.</p>
1474. <p>Anamuri is an organization founded in 1998, composed solely of women, which organizes and promotes development among rural and indigenous women in this country. It also builds relationships of equality, regardless of gender, class, and ethnicity, on the basis of respect between people and nature.</p>
1475. <p>“I used to collect medicinal herbs on the banks of the canal, but now there are none. The natural springs have dried up. This is a serious problem, and there are people who have no water to drink, which is a grave issue,&#8221; she said.</p>
1476. <p>According to the rural activist, the State has abandoned small-scale agriculture.</p>
1477. <p>“It would be very different if the State were to put more of a priority on small-scale agriculture and give us soft credits or subsidies. It has to pay attention to what is happening because, at this rate, it pains me to say it, family farming could disappear in Chile,” she said.</p>
1478. <p>&nbsp;</p>
1479. <div id="attachment_185133" style="width: 639px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="wp-image-185133" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/aaa-2.jpg" alt="Water stored in a small reservoir allows the Guzmán siblings to maintain vegetable production on their 40-hectare plot of land, of which only 10 percent is planted due to a lack of resources. It is one of the few surviving family farms in the municipality. CREDIT: Orlando Milesi / IPS" width="629" height="472" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/aaa-2.jpg 720w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/aaa-2-300x225.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/aaa-2-629x472.jpg 629w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/aaa-2-200x149.jpg 200w" sizes="(max-width: 629px) 100vw, 629px" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Water stored in a small reservoir allows the Guzmán siblings to maintain vegetable production on their 40-hectare plot of land, of which only 10 percent is planted due to a lack of resources. It is one of the few surviving family farms in the municipality. Credit: Orlando Milesi/IPS</p></div>
1480. <p>&nbsp;</p>
1481. <p><strong>Agro-export Model in the Spotlight</strong></p>
1482. <p>Water scarcity directly affects farmers&#8217; livelihoods and way of life and often leads to complex environmental problems.</p>
1483. <p>“The lack of safe water impacts household and community economies, especially for families who depend on small-scale family farming for their food,” write Salinas and Becker.</p>
1484. <p>Guzmán criticized the agro-export model and called for a return to planting wheat, lentils and chickpeas, products that form part of Chile&#8217;s food security. But, she stressed, in order to do so, soft loans or subsidies are needed.</p>
1485. <p>“We need food sovereignty. But if small farmers suffer losses every year, many end up selling their land. We want to live well without losing our identity and our know-how,” she underlined.</p>
1486. <p>Sociologist Evelyn Vicioso, executive director of <a href="https://chilesustentable.net/">Sustainable Chile</a>, criticized the agro-export model because “it is super intensive in water use and is extremely irresponsible with regard to crops. But above all, because it does not solve a problem nationally: the availability of water for many communities,” she said.</p>
1487. <p>“We particularly depend on small-scale family farming for food, and if it disappears, we have a problem of costs and distribution. The big farmers think about ensuring food sovereignty for any country except their own communities,” she told IPS in Santiago.</p>
1488. <p>&nbsp;</p>
1489. <div id="attachment_185134" style="width: 639px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="wp-image-185134" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/aaaa-2.jpg" alt="Hernán Guzmán, one of four siblings who own a plot of land in Quillota, inspects a small area dedicated to growing basil that is destined, along with other vegetables, for the market in the nearby port city of Valparaíso, in central Chile. CREDIT: Orlando Milesi / IPS" width="629" height="472" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/aaaa-2.jpg 720w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/aaaa-2-300x225.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/aaaa-2-629x472.jpg 629w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/aaaa-2-200x149.jpg 200w" sizes="(max-width: 629px) 100vw, 629px" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Hernán Guzmán, one of four siblings who own a plot of land in Quillota, inspects a small area dedicated to growing basil that is destined, along with other vegetables, for the market in the nearby port city of Valparaíso, in central Chile. Credit: Orlando Milesi/IPS</p></div>
1490. <p>&nbsp;</p>
1491. <p><strong>Watershed Management Slow To Take Off</strong></p>
1492. <p>To advance climate justice in a scenario of water scarcity, many experts agree on the need to manage watersheds with representative councils.</p>
1493. <p>“Our country has a gigantic mass of mountains, but today we do not have a management system that allows us to link what happens in the headwaters with what is happening further downstream,” said Vicioso.</p>
1494. <p>She listed a string of failures to create watershed councils, as there have been 25 attempts since 1994 and only one is functioning.</p>
1495. <p>There is no will to create them, especially among water rights owners.</p>
1496. <p>“We have a privatized water model where the focus and priority have always been to maintain the right to property over the human right of access to water,” said Vicioso.</p>
1497. <p>Salinas and Becker regret that the 2005 reforms to the Water Code are not retroactive.</p>
1498. <p>“This generates the conditions for the holders of water use rights to exploit the water with a strictly economic focus, thus discouraging the development of uses not involving extractive industries, such as ancestral and ecological uses,” they argue.</p>
1499. <p>The regulation hinders integrated management of the water cycle, as it does not consider the river basin as the minimum unit, does not establish mechanisms to jointly manage surface and groundwater, and allows rivers to be sectioned off.</p>
1500. <p>&nbsp;</p>
1501. <div id="attachment_185135" style="width: 639px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="wp-image-185135" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/aaaaa-1.jpg" alt="Evelyn Vicioso, executive director of the non-governmental organization Sustainable Chile, sits in her office in Santiago where she monitors the water situation among small farmers and coordinates actions to defend the human right to water. CREDIT: Orlando Milesi / IPS" width="629" height="472" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/aaaaa-1.jpg 720w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/aaaaa-1-300x225.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/aaaaa-1-629x472.jpg 629w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/aaaaa-1-200x149.jpg 200w" sizes="(max-width: 629px) 100vw, 629px" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Evelyn Vicioso, executive director of the non-governmental organization Sustainable Chile, sits in her office in Santiago, where she monitors the water situation among small farmers and coordinates actions to defend the human right to water. Credit: Orlando Milesi/IPS</p></div>
1502. <p>&nbsp;</p>
1503. <p><strong>Land speculation</strong></p>
1504. <p>In Quillota there is a growing sale of agricultural land to real estate companies that resell it as non-productive family recreational plots.</p>
1505. <p>Thus, native trees disappear and the hope of reviving family farming is waning.</p>
1506. <p>“Land has become a business. It sells for 60 million pesos (60,000 dollars) per half a hectare that sometimes does not even have water. That value attracts people to sell,” Guzmán said.</p>
1507. <p>These plots will increase the demand for water and deforestation because the government&#8217;s Agriculture and Livestock Service (SAG) has no oversight capacity.</p>
1508. <p>“All the hills are being parceled out and water is brought to these people with water trucks,” said Guzmán.</p>
1509. <p>Migration from the countryside has been driven by climate change.</p>
1510. <p>In Canela, said Cortés, it used to be young people who moved away. But now it is entire families who go to nearby cities in search of access to water.</p>
1511. <p>According to Guzmán, “young people do not want to stay in the countryside and women say that it is not even profitable to raise chickens.”</p>
1512. <p>Cortés is grateful for the water from trucks, but stresses that the underlying problem is restoring watershed management.</p>
1513. <p>“To rebuild this, resources must be allocated. And for that, we need forestation to make barriers to retain the scarce rainfall and restore the hydrological system,” she said.</p>
1514. <p>Vicioso complained that “there is a lack of protection of the glaciers, which are the headwaters of the basins where the water comes from.”</p>
1515. <p>The sociologist also urged a rethinking of the intensive use of water in productive activities.</p>
1516. <p>“We have an underlying political problem with water that has a high market value and a State that does not dare, does not want, and does not seek the tools to intervene in this deregulated market, just like in drug trafficking,” she said.</p>
1517. <p>IPS UN Bureau Report</p>
1518. <p>&nbsp;</p>
1519. <div id="authorarea"><a class="twitter-follow-button" href="https://twitter.com/IPSNewsUNBureau" data-show-count="false" data-lang="en" data-size="large">Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau</a><br />
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1521. <div id='related_articles'>
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1527. </ul></div> <p>Excerpt: </p><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" />
1528. <br><br>
1529. For the rural farmers in Chile, a combination of climate change-induced mega droughts, water policies that make access unaffordable and a State that either doesn’t want to or dares not intervene in the water market means family enterprises are dying out.
1530. ]]></content:encoded>
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1532. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
1533. </item>
1534. <item>
1535. <title>Transgender Health Rights Boosted by Hospitals&#8217; ‘Separate Room’ Policy</title>
1536. <link>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/04/transgender-community-health-rights-boosted-by-hospitals-separate-room-policy/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=transgender-community-health-rights-boosted-by-hospitals-separate-room-policy</link>
1537. <comments>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/04/transgender-community-health-rights-boosted-by-hospitals-separate-room-policy/#respond</comments>
1538. <pubDate>Tue, 30 Apr 2024 04:10:47 +0000</pubDate>
1539. <dc:creator>Ashfaq Yusufzai</dc:creator>
1540. <category><![CDATA[Asia-Pacific]]></category>
1541. <category><![CDATA[Civil Society]]></category>
1542. <category><![CDATA[Development & Aid]]></category>
1543. <category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
1544. <category><![CDATA[Gender]]></category>
1545. <category><![CDATA[Gender Identity]]></category>
1546. <category><![CDATA[Headlines]]></category>
1547. <category><![CDATA[Health]]></category>
1548. <category><![CDATA[Human Rights]]></category>
1549. <category><![CDATA[Humanitarian Emergencies]]></category>
1550. <category><![CDATA[LGBTQ]]></category>
1551. <category><![CDATA[Sustainable Development Goals]]></category>
1552. <category><![CDATA[TerraViva United Nations]]></category>
1553. <category><![CDATA[IPS UN Bureau]]></category>
1554. <category><![CDATA[IPS UN Bureau Report]]></category>
1555. <category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
1556.  
1557. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.ipsnews.net/?p=185194</guid>
1558. <description><![CDATA[Transgender people and civil society organizations have welcomed the decision of the chief minister in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, to allocate separate rooms in hospitals for the transgender community so they can avail themselves of uninterrupted healthcare. “We demand that all provinces follow suit and announce facilities for more than 500,000 transgender people in the country,” [&#8230;]]]></description>
1560. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><font color="#999999"><img width="300" height="200" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/IMG-20240408-WA0008-300x200.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="The community frequently targets transgender people. Now they are able to welcome new measures that mean they will be able to safely access health care. Credit: Yusufzai Ashfaq/IPS" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/IMG-20240408-WA0008-300x200.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/IMG-20240408-WA0008-629x419.jpg 629w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/IMG-20240408-WA0008.jpg 630w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><p class="wp-caption-text">The community frequently targets transgender people. Now they are able to welcome new measures that mean they will be able to safely access health care. Credit: Yusufzai Ashfaq/IPS</p></font></p><p>By Ashfaq Yusufzai<br />PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Apr 30 2024 (IPS) </p><p>Transgender people and civil society organizations have welcomed the decision of the chief minister in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, to allocate separate rooms in hospitals for the transgender community so they can avail themselves of uninterrupted healthcare.</p>
1561. <p>“We demand that all provinces follow suit and announce facilities for more than 500,000 transgender people in the country,” Farzana Shah, president of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Transgender Association, told IPS.<span id="more-185194"></span></p>
1562. <p>On April 6, KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur announced separate rooms for transgender persons in public hospitals after complaints that they aren’t getting admissions because they face violence in the facilities.</p>
1563. <p>“In the last year, about 47 transgender people have died because of violence, and 90 have been injured. Many injured transgender people die due to delayed treatment. In most cases, we can&#8217;t get healthcare at hospitals,&#8221; Shah, 40, said.</p>
1564. <p>The Chief Minister’s directives to reserve rooms have received a positive response.</p>
1565. <p>Members of a delegation of transgender people who recently met him quoted Gandapur as saying, &#8220;Provision of better health facilities to transgender persons in the province is our priority. We will help the underprivileged community.&#8221;</p>
1566. <p>Arzoo Khan, a social activist, is overwhelmed.</p>
1567. <p>“In all 38 district-level hospitals, we now have a separate room. Previously, the hospitals denied admission to our colleagues,” Khan said.</p>
1568. <p>&#8220;The problem we face is that most transgender people have been deserted by their families because of social repercussions. People look down on transgender people.&#8221;</p>
1569. <p>“We don’t have anyone to help us; therefore, the government’s support is a highly welcome step,” Khan said.</p>
1570. <p>In addition to the allocation of space, the government also provided land for a separate graveyard for transgender people.</p>
1571. <p>Civil society activist Jamal Khan said that there are several instances when the local communities have denied the burial of eunuchs because they don’t consider them Muslims.</p>
1572. <p>“They earn their livelihoods through dancing at marriage parties and on other festive occasions where they have social acceptability,” he said. &#8220;The allocation of separate hospitals’ rooms and land for graveyards are really commendable measures that will lead to the protection and respect of transpeople.&#8221;</p>
1573. <p>Transgender people are often deprived of last rituals, like giving them baths and performing their funerals after deaths.</p>
1574. <p>Sobia Khan, another leader, said they are deeply vulnerable and subject to abuse and violent attacks, despite being a cheap source of entertainment.</p>
1575. <p>“Some transgender people also have HIV/AIDS and other potentially fatal diseases for which they need continuous medication,” Sobia said.</p>
1576. <p>The attitude of the police towards the group was also bad, she added</p>
1577. <p>&#8220;More often than not, police beat up our members; they pull them by their collars and drag them into the streets.&#8221;</p>
1578. <p>Khan claimed that her parents have been excluding her for the past ten years.</p>
1579. <p>“Peshawar, the capital of KP, is home to 9,000 transgender persons; most of them have lost connections with their families and they were regarded as sinners and hence ditched by near and dear ones,” Sobia said.</p>
1580. <p>Where the group was targeted by violence, the perpetrators were seldom brought to justice, which emboldens others to mistreat transgender people.</p>
1581. <p>“Sexual harassment of trans people is a common sight. Everyone thinks that we are sex workers, which is untrue because we only dance. Many are raped,” she said.</p>
1582. <p>Police officer Rahim Shah told IPS that many transgender people were invited to marriage parties where they danced for money.</p>
1583. <p>Shah claimed that upon their return from the performance at night, robbers targeted them and killed or injured those who attempted to resist.</p>
1584. <p>&#8220;In cases of murder or transgender injuries, their family members don’t come to receive dead bodies for burial or look after the wounded in hospitals,&#8221; he said. Their problems are complex, as they neither enjoyed respect in the community nor in their families.</p>
1585. <p>Sumaira Shah, 29, narrates her ordeal after running away from home.</p>
1586. <p>“My family was staunchly opposed to dancing and my father and brothers used to beat me every day, forcing me to quit dancing as it was a source of dishonoring the family but it was my fashion,” she said.</p>
1587. <p>&#8220;Sick of daily taunts and beatings, I ran away from my native Swat district to Peshawar when I was just 14,&#8221; she said. Since then, I haven’t seen any of my relatives. Shah said she welcomed the hospital room policy.</p>
1588. <p>“A month ago, a hospital in Peshawar sent me back home with some medicines despite having a high fever,” she said.</p>
1589. <p>She said, &#8220;People frequently threaten me when I decline their offer for sex relations, and I&#8217;m afraid because many of our seniors have died at the hands of gangsters when they didn&#8217;t comply with their demand for illicit relations.&#8221;</p>
1590. <p>Social rights activist Pervez Ahmed appreciates the government&#8217;s new initiatives.</p>
1591. <p>He claimed that this was the first time the government had made an effort to safeguard the health of those who had lost their parents&#8217; support and faced harsh rejection from the community.</p>
1592. <p>Ahmed said that the government has already included transgender people in a free health insurance program, under which they can avail themselves of USD 12,000 per year.</p>
1593. <p>IPS UN Bureau Report</p>
1594. <p>&nbsp;</p>
1595. <div id="authorarea"><a class="twitter-follow-button" href="https://twitter.com/IPSNewsUNBureau" data-show-count="false" data-lang="en" data-size="large">Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau</a><br />
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1597. <div id='related_articles'>
1598. <h1 class="section">Related Articles</h1>
1599. <ul>
1600. <li><a href="https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/02/new-anti-rape-crisis-centre-brings-hope-for-sexual-abuse-survivors-in-pakistan/" >New Anti-Rape Crisis Centre Brings Hope for Sexual Abuse Survivors in Pakistan</a></li>
1601. <li><a href="https://www.ipsnews.net/2023/09/skyrocketing-inflation-puts-food-security-in-pakistan-at-risk/" >Skyrocketing Inflation Puts Food Security in Pakistan at Risk</a></li>
1602. </ul></div> ]]></content:encoded>
1603. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/04/transgender-community-health-rights-boosted-by-hospitals-separate-room-policy/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
1604. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
1605. </item>
1606. <item>
1607. <title>Using Industrial Waste to Fight Pollution in Brazil</title>
1608. <link>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/04/using-industrial-waste-fight-pollution-brazil/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=using-industrial-waste-fight-pollution-brazil</link>
1609. <comments>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/04/using-industrial-waste-fight-pollution-brazil/#respond</comments>
1610. <pubDate>Mon, 29 Apr 2024 18:34:33 +0000</pubDate>
1611. <dc:creator>Mario Osava</dc:creator>
1612. <category><![CDATA[Climate Action]]></category>
1613. <category><![CDATA[Climate Change]]></category>
1614. <category><![CDATA[Development & Aid]]></category>
1615. <category><![CDATA[Economy & Trade]]></category>
1616. <category><![CDATA[Editors' Choice]]></category>
1617. <category><![CDATA[Energy]]></category>
1618. <category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category>
1619. <category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
1620. <category><![CDATA[Food and Agriculture]]></category>
1621. <category><![CDATA[Green Economy]]></category>
1622. <category><![CDATA[Headlines]]></category>
1623. <category><![CDATA[Integration and Development Brazilian-style]]></category>
1624. <category><![CDATA[Latin America & the Caribbean]]></category>
1625. <category><![CDATA[Projects]]></category>
1626. <category><![CDATA[Regional Categories]]></category>
1627. <category><![CDATA[TerraViva United Nations]]></category>
1628. <category><![CDATA[Alternative Energy]]></category>
1629. <category><![CDATA[Biogas]]></category>
1630. <category><![CDATA[Biomethane]]></category>
1631. <category><![CDATA[Brazil]]></category>
1632.  
1633. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.ipsnews.net/?p=185197</guid>
1634. <description><![CDATA[Biogas sounds like redemption, the conversion of the sinner. Its production involves extracting energy from filth, from the most disgusting environmental pollution, and at the same time avoiding the worsening of the global climate crisis. The Industrial and Commercial Solid Waste Treatment Center (Cetric) is dedicated to extracting biogas from the waste that abounds in [&#8230;]]]></description>
1636. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><font color="#999999"><img width="300" height="225" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/a-6-300x225.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="Loana Defaveri, technical manager of Cetric, is photographed at the bioenergy ecopark in Chapecó in southwestern Brazil. The aerial photo in the background shows the various components of the complex, which receives industrial waste and produces biogas, electricity, biomethane and other by-products. CREDIT: Mario Osava / IPS" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/a-6-300x225.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/a-6-768x576.jpg 768w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/a-6-629x472.jpg 629w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/a-6-200x149.jpg 200w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/a-6.jpg 976w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Loana Defaveri, technical manager of Cetric, is photographed at the bioenergy ecopark in Chapecó in southwestern Brazil. The aerial photo in the background shows the various components of the complex, which receives industrial waste and produces biogas, electricity, biomethane and other by-products. CREDIT: Mario Osava / IPS</p></font></p><p>By Mario Osava<br />CHAPECÓ, Brazil , Apr 29 2024 (IPS) </p><p>Biogas sounds like redemption, the conversion of the sinner. Its production involves extracting energy from filth, from the most disgusting environmental pollution, and at the same time avoiding the worsening of the global climate crisis.</p>
1637. <p><span id="more-185197"></span>The <a href="https://cetric.com.br/">Industrial and Commercial Solid Waste Treatment Center (Cetric)</a> is dedicated to extracting biogas from the waste that abounds in the municipality where it is based, Chapecó, in southern Brazil. “Making use of industrial waste is an important and innovative niche in Brazil, opening up new paths for the emerging biogas market.” -- Heleno Quevedo<br /><font size="1"></font></p>
1638. <p>With a population of 255,000 and numerous meat processing plants, Chapecó is a main hub in the western part of the state of Santa Catarina, the largest national producer and exporter of pork and also a major poultry producer.</p>
1639. <p>For this reason, biogas production is proliferating in the region, using manure from pig farms, partly due to pressure from environmental authorities to prevent animal waste from continuing to contaminate rivers and soil to the detriment of the environment and human health.</p>
1640. <p>On Apr. 3, the <a href="https://fiesc.com.br/">Federation of Santa Catarina Industries</a> launched the Decarbonization Hub program, with the goal of treating 100 percent of swine manure in the next 10 years, among other challenges to meet the agreements to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It does not seem feasible, but it points in the right direction.</p>
1641. <p>The Cetric group of companies was founded in 2001 with a specific mission: to take care of waste from nearby agribusiness and other smaller sources, from its evaluation and collection to its transportation, processing and disposal.</p>
1642. <p>It then expanded nationally. Today it is active in 12 of Brazil&#8217;s 26 states, with four Bioenergy Ecoparks, including the first one in Chapecó, 17 transshipment units with warehouses and 19 emergency teams at strategic points.</p>
1643. <p>“Making use of industrial waste is an important and innovative niche in Brazil, opening up new paths for the emerging biogas market,” said Heleno Quevedo, an energy engineer and creator of the news portal <a href="https://energiaebiogas.com.br/">Energía e Biogás</a>, in a telephone interview with IPS from Santo André, a city neighboring São Paulo, also in the south.</p>
1644. <div id="attachment_185199" style="width: 639px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="wp-image-185199" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/aa-5.jpg" alt="The photo shows a truck running 100 percent on biomethane and, in the background, the industrial waste landfill in Chapecó, in southwestern Brazil. The company Cetric acquired another 28 trucks that will use fuel from its own production. CREDIT: Mario Osava / IPS" width="629" height="472" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/aa-5.jpg 720w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/aa-5-300x225.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/aa-5-629x472.jpg 629w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/aa-5-200x149.jpg 200w" sizes="(max-width: 629px) 100vw, 629px" /><p class="wp-caption-text">The photo shows a truck running 100 percent on biomethane and, in the background, the industrial waste landfill in Chapecó, in southwestern Brazil. The company Cetric acquired another 28 trucks that will use fuel from its own production. CREDIT: Mario Osava / IPS</p></div>
1645. <p><strong>Industrial waste as a business</strong></p>
1646. <p>Cetric&#8217;s business is the management of waste wherever it is, not just landfills, chemical engineer Loana Defaveri, the company&#8217;s technical manager, told IPS. Guidance on the handling of this material in industries is part of their activity.</p>
1647. <p>The company also acts in emergencies, such as accidents with dangerous loads on highways, cities or production sites. It is a kind of firefighter in these cases and deploys specialized personnel with the necessary tools and vehicles for prompt assistance, dispersed throughout 19 locations in the country.</p>
1648. <p>In mid-April, a team dealt with a spill of propionic acid, used to preserve food, when a truck overturned in Paraná, a neighboring state. The most frequent are accidents involving trucks carrying fuel such as ethanol and diesel, Defaveri said at the company&#8217;s facilities.</p>
1649. <div id="attachment_185200" style="width: 639px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="wp-image-185200" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/aaa-4.jpg" alt="The CSTR reactor is more productive than covered lagoon biodigesters because temperature, acidity and other indicators of the substrate that generates biogas are controlled. CREDIT: Mario Osava / IPS" width="629" height="472" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/aaa-4.jpg 720w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/aaa-4-300x225.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/aaa-4-629x472.jpg 629w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/aaa-4-200x149.jpg 200w" sizes="(max-width: 629px) 100vw, 629px" /><p class="wp-caption-text">The CSTR reactor is more productive than covered lagoon biodigesters because temperature, acidity and other indicators of the substrate that generates biogas are controlled. CREDIT: Mario Osava / IPS</p></div>
1650. <p>A Command Center, a rotating team of four people, monitors by video the fleet of more than 200 Cetric trucks 24 hours a day from the company&#8217;s headquarters and the emergencies addressed.</p>
1651. <p>But the ecopark in Chapecó is the heart, the center of innovations and the circular economy of the Cetric Group, which is involved in a range of activities.</p>
1652. <p>Bioenergy production began in 2005, but was suspended due to the scarcity and low durability of biogas equipment. It resumed 15 years later and now has five covered lagoon biodigesters and a continuous stirred tank reactor, known as CSTR.</p>
1653. <p>Only organic material is used for this purpose. The waste collected by the company is class 1, hazardous waste, generally chemical, and class 2, which includes inert waste such as iron scrap or concrete, and waste that degrades, such as organic waste, which is the bioenergy part.</p>
1654. <div id="attachment_185201" style="width: 639px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="wp-image-185201" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/aaaa-4.jpg" alt="Four generators produce one megawatt of electricity with the biogas produced at Cetric's own ecopark. This power supplies the consumption of the Brazilian company's industrial solid waste treatment complex. CREDIT: Mario Osava / IPS" width="629" height="472" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/aaaa-4.jpg 720w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/aaaa-4-300x225.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/aaaa-4-629x472.jpg 629w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/aaaa-4-200x149.jpg 200w" sizes="(max-width: 629px) 100vw, 629px" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Four generators produce one megawatt of electricity with the biogas produced at Cetric&#8217;s own ecopark. This power supplies the consumption of the Brazilian company&#8217;s industrial solid waste treatment complex. CREDIT: Mario Osava / IPS</p></div>
1655. <p>&nbsp;</p>
1656. <p><strong>Biogas from landfills and biodigesters</strong></p>
1657. <p>From the large landfill covered with impermeable black tarpaulin, which accumulates most of the garbage, biogas is extracted that only serves to generate heat, because it contains little methane, Defaveri explained. Burning this biogas reduced 80 percent of the firewood previously consumed in the ecopark.</p>
1658. <p>For electricity generation and the refining that converts it into biomethane, the biogas that comes out of the biodigesters, which has 71 percent methane, and the reactor, with 73 percent, is used, she said.</p>
1659. <p>In this energy sector, four biogas generators produce one megawatt of power, electricity estimated to be sufficient for the company&#8217;s consumption.</p>
1660. <p>Another part of the biogas is refined by membranes, activated carbon and other processes to remove carbon dioxide (CO2) and sulfuric acid (H2S) to obtain biomethane, which is the fuel used by a 100 percent gas truck and 15 other hybrid trucks that consume gas and diesel.</p>
1661. <p>Another 28 trucks recently acquired in Chapecó will also use 100 percent biomethane or natural gas as fuel, as the two gases are equivalent.</p>
1662. <p>&nbsp;</p>
1663. <div id="attachment_185202" style="width: 639px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="wp-image-185202" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/aaaaa-2.jpg" alt="A truck stores biomethane in yellow cylinders, ready to supply trucks transporting industrial waste being treated at the Cetric Ecopark in Chapecó, a municipality in southern Brazil. CREDIT: Mario Osava / IPS" width="629" height="472" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/aaaaa-2.jpg 720w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/aaaaa-2-300x225.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/aaaaa-2-629x472.jpg 629w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/aaaaa-2-200x149.jpg 200w" sizes="(max-width: 629px) 100vw, 629px" /><p class="wp-caption-text">A truck stores biomethane in yellow cylinders, ready to supply trucks transporting industrial waste being treated at the Cetric Ecopark in Chapecó, a municipality in southern Brazil. CREDIT: Mario Osava / IPS</p></div>
1664. <p>&nbsp;</p>
1665. <p><strong>Productivity still low</strong></p>
1666. <p>But production is still not very efficient, despite the progress represented by the CSTR reactor. “We only produce 10 percent of our biogas potential, but we are increasing productivity with technological advances, new investments and personnel training,” Defaveri noted.</p>
1667. <p>Cetric Chapecó currently produces 250 cubic meters of methane per hour and intends to reach 1,500 cubic meters per hour, i.e. six times the volume, which requires heavy investment and also depends on the substrate, as they call the input, she said.</p>
1668. <p>The effluent resulting from this process undergoes a complex treatment, which includes waste separation, sand filters, membranes, electrolysis and even a reverse osmosis device.</p>
1669. <p>This makes it possible to obtain water of sufficient quality for reuse in washing vehicles and other equipment, chemical engineer Diego Molinet told IPS. The solid part goes to composting for processing that can result in biofertilizer.</p>
1670. <p>The effluent cannot be used as fertilizer, a common practice among small biogas producers such as pig farmers, because it can saturate the soil, with an excess of some components, such as phosphorous, said Molinet.</p>
1671. <p>&nbsp;</p>
1672. <div id="attachment_185204" style="width: 639px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="wp-image-185204" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/aaaaaa-1.jpg" alt="Diego Molinet, a chemical engineer at Cetric, holds in his hands the result of the treatment of effluents from the industrial waste treatment process, with production of biogas and biomethane: a glass with clean water for non-potable reuse and another glass with solid material that can be converted into fertilizer after composting. CREDIT: Mario Osava / IPS" width="629" height="472" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/aaaaaa-1.jpg 720w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/aaaaaa-1-300x225.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/aaaaaa-1-629x472.jpg 629w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/aaaaaa-1-200x149.jpg 200w" sizes="(max-width: 629px) 100vw, 629px" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Diego Molinet, a chemical engineer at Cetric, holds in his hands the result of the treatment of effluents from the industrial waste treatment process, with production of biogas and biomethane: a glass with clean water for non-potable reuse and another glass with solid material that can be converted into fertilizer after composting. CREDIT: Mario Osava / IPS</p></div>
1673. <p>Effluent treatment also produces ARLA 32, a pure urea compound that is mandatory in heavy vehicle exhaust to reduce the emission of pollutant gases, such as nitrogen oxide. It is of growing use in the automotive industry.</p>
1674. <p>“Cetric enjoys a good reputation” and plays an important role in Chapecó by preventing the city from having to send its industrial waste to other municipalities, Marck Gehlen, the city government director of the environment, told IPS.</p>
1675. <p>Its emergency service has already controlled several accidents in the city. One was a fire at a fuel distribution company, whose rapid control prevented contamination of water courses and risks to the population, said Gehlen, an environmental engineer who has worked in the sector for more than 10 years, three years as director.</p>
1676. <p>One concern is the sometimes dangerous truckloads of industrial waste that crisscross the city, he admitted.</p>
1677. <p>With four meatpacking plants on the periphery of the city, Chapecó has had some problems, such as the stench emitted by the plants, although that was brought under control years ago. In general, the companies have adopted measures to avoid environmental damage and one of them has already transferred potentially polluting activities away from the city.</p>
1678. <div id='related_articles'>
1679. <h1 class="section">Related Articles</h1>
1680. <ul>
1681. <li><a href="https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/04/solar-power-biogas-empower-women-farmers-brazil/" >Solar Power and Biogas Empower Women Farmers in Brazil</a></li>
1682. <li><a href="https://www.ipsnews.net/2023/07/biomethane-tested-brazil-sanitation-input/" >Biomethane Tested in Brazil as a Sanitation Input</a></li>
1683. </ul></div> ]]></content:encoded>
1684. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/04/using-industrial-waste-fight-pollution-brazil/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
1685. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
1686. </item>
1687. <item>
1688. <title>Lao PDR Lawmakers Meet to Further ICPD25 Programme of Action</title>
1689. <link>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/04/lao-pdr-lawmakers-meet-to-further-icpd25-programme-of-action/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=lao-pdr-lawmakers-meet-to-further-icpd25-programme-of-action</link>
1690. <comments>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/04/lao-pdr-lawmakers-meet-to-further-icpd25-programme-of-action/#respond</comments>
1691. <pubDate>Mon, 29 Apr 2024 13:47:28 +0000</pubDate>
1692. <dc:creator>IPS Correspondent</dc:creator>
1693. <category><![CDATA[Conferences]]></category>
1694. <category><![CDATA[Development & Aid]]></category>
1695. <category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
1696. <category><![CDATA[Gender]]></category>
1697. <category><![CDATA[Gender Violence]]></category>
1698. <category><![CDATA[Headlines]]></category>
1699. <category><![CDATA[Population]]></category>
1700. <category><![CDATA[Sustainable Development Goals]]></category>
1701. <category><![CDATA[TerraViva United Nations]]></category>
1702. <category><![CDATA[Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD)]]></category>
1703. <category><![CDATA[Asian Population and Development Association (APDA)]]></category>
1704. <category><![CDATA[IPS UN Bureau]]></category>
1705. <category><![CDATA[IPS UN Bureau Report]]></category>
1706. <category><![CDATA[Parliamentarians working to meet SDG's]]></category>
1707.  
1708. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.ipsnews.net/?p=185190</guid>
1709. <description><![CDATA[A recent workshop of lawmakers heard that targeted interventions would be necessary to meet the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), its Programme of Action (PoA), and Lao PDR&#8217;s national commitments to ICPD25 at the Nairobi Summit 2019. The Workshop on Harnessing Demographic Dividend through the Roadmap to 2030 for Lao PDR aimed to [&#8230;]]]></description>
1711. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><font color="#999999"><img width="300" height="111" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/apda-300x111.png" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="Delegates at the workshop on Harnessing Demographic Dividend through the Roadmap to 2030 for Lao PDR. Credit: APDA" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/apda-300x111.png 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/apda-768x284.png 768w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/apda-629x233.png 629w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/apda.png 851w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Delegates at the workshop on Harnessing Demographic Dividend through the Roadmap to 2030 for Lao PDR. Credit: APDA</p></font></p><p>By IPS Correspondent<br />VIENTIANE, Apr 29 2024 (IPS) </p><p>A recent workshop of lawmakers heard that targeted interventions would be necessary to meet the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), its Programme of Action (PoA), and Lao PDR&#8217;s national commitments to ICPD25 at the Nairobi Summit 2019.<span id="more-185190"></span></p>
1712. <p>The Workshop on Harnessing Demographic Dividend through the Roadmap to 2030 for Lao PDR aimed to equip parliamentarians with the knowledge and strategies necessary to address the critical population and development challenges confronting Lao PDR.</p>
1713. <p>Thoummaly Vongphachanh, MP and Chair of Social and Cultural Affairs Committees, National Assembly, told the workshop in her opening address that collective action was important for tackling population and development challenges.</p>
1714. <p>Edcel Lagman, MP Philippines and acting Chair of AFPPD, addressed the ICPD&#8217;s emphasis on individual rights, gender equality, and the correlation between development and women&#8217;s empowerment. With this in mind, he urged parliamentarians to enact rights-based policies that promote gender equality and social justice, incorporating population dynamics into development planning.</p>
1715. <p>UNFPA Representative to Lao PDR, Dr Bakhtiyor Kadyrov, reiterated the organization&#8217;s commitment to supporting parliamentarians and government initiatives in addressing population and development challenges, emphasizing the importance of inclusive policies and partnerships to ensure no one is left behind.</p>
1716. <p>A representative of DoP/MPI, Kaluna Nanthavongduangsy, provided an overall overview of the ICPD and its POA, along with Lao PDR&#8217;s national commitments to ICPD25, at the Nairobi Summit 2019. He said its commitment was based on five pillars.</p>
1717. <ul>
1718. <li>Managing and using demographic benefits and investing in youth.</li>
1719. <li>Addressing climate change and its impact on the public sector and social protection.</li>
1720. <li>Promoting health and well-being, including rights to sexual and reproductive health.</li>
1721. <li>Enhancing the availability and use of demographic information.</li>
1722. <li>Strengthening partnerships and mobilizing resources.</li>
1723. </ul>
1724. <p>Latdavanh Songvilay, Director General of the Macroeconomic Research Institute, Lao Academy of Social and Economic Sciences, outlined various challenges hindering the realization of the demographic dividend in Lao PDR. These challenges may include barriers to education and employment, inadequate healthcare infrastructure, and socio-cultural factors impacting women&#8217;s empowerment and reproductive health.</p>
1725. <p>Her presentation offered valuable insights into the complex interplay between demographic changes, socio-economic development, and policy formulation in Lao PDR. By identifying opportunities and addressing challenges, her analysis was crucial for the parliamentarians to make informed decisions and identify targeted interventions that could maximize the benefits of the demographic transition.</p>
1726. <p>The Lao’s Family Welfare Promotion Association’s Executive Director, Dr Souphon Sayavong, emphasized the importance of comprehensive approaches that combine legal frameworks, law enforcement, survivor support services, and community engagement to combat SGBV effectively.</p>
1727. <p>He also noted that harmful practices, such as child marriage and other forms of gender-based violence, needed targeted interventions to raise awareness, provide support to survivors, and change social norms that perpetuate harmful practices.</p>
1728. <p>Sayavong also said that there were socio-economic consequences of gender inequality and SGBV, emphasizing their detrimental effects on individual well-being, community development, and national progress.</p>
1729. <p>Dr Mayfong Mayxay, Member of Parliament and Vice-Rector of the University of Health Sciences, Ministry of Health, Lao PDR, said it was crucial to identify and tackle the various problems encountered by young people, including drug addiction, school dropout, early marriage, adolescent pregnancy, and inadequate nutrition during pregnancy.</p>
1730. <p>He said additional issues like substance abuse, smoking, and alcohol consumption needed targeted interventions, including prevention programmes and awareness campaigns. School dropout issues were often socioeconomic, so it was important to find strategies including scholarships, vocational training opportunities, and community-based support systems to ensure that young people can access education and pursue their aspirations.</p>
1731. <p>During his presentation, he highlighted the risks associated with early marriage and adolescent pregnancies, which pose significant health risks for both mothers and children.</p>
1732. <p>Mayxay emphasized the importance of comprehensive sexual education, access to reproductive health services, and legal reforms to address these issues and protect the rights of young girls.</p>
1733. <p>He underscored the importance of promoting maternal and child health, including the need for nutritional education, prenatal care services, and support systems to address malnutrition and its adverse effects on maternal and child health outcomes.</p>
1734. <p>Solutions he suggested involved holistic approaches encompassing education, healthcare, community support, and policy reforms, to empower young people and ensure their health and well-being.</p>
1735. <p>Dr Usmonov Farrukh, interim Executive Director of AFPPD, reiterated AFPPD&#8217;s commitment to supporting parliamentarians’ advocacy on population and development in the Asia-Pacific in his closing speech, emphasizing collective action and partnership.</p>
1736. <p>Vongphachanh’s closing remarks summed up the priorities agreed to in the meeting of the 14 National Commitments at the first National Conference on Population and Development, Demographic Change, held in 2023. She said opportunities, challenges, and policy levers to achieve demographic dividends, women’s empowerment and prevention and response to GBV and harmful practices, commitment to their programme of Family Planning 2030, and the health and future of the young population, particularly the resolutions for social issues they are facing such as drug use, school dropout, early marriage, and adolescent pregnancy, were crucial.</p>
1737. <p>Note: This workshop was supported by AFPPD and APDA, the UNFPA, and the Japan Trust Fund.</p>
1738. <p>&nbsp;</p>
1739. <div id='related_articles'>
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1745. </ul></div> ]]></content:encoded>
1746. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/04/lao-pdr-lawmakers-meet-to-further-icpd25-programme-of-action/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
1747. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
1748. </item>
1749. <item>
1750. <title>WHO Africa Advances African Science by Promoting Peer-Reviewed Research</title>
1751. <link>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/04/who-africa-advances-african-science-by-promoting-peer-reviewed-rese/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=who-africa-advances-african-science-by-promoting-peer-reviewed-rese</link>
1752. <comments>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/04/who-africa-advances-african-science-by-promoting-peer-reviewed-rese/#respond</comments>
1753. <pubDate>Mon, 29 Apr 2024 09:55:10 +0000</pubDate>
1754. <dc:creator>Maina Waruru</dc:creator>
1755. <category><![CDATA[Africa]]></category>
1756. <category><![CDATA[Development & Aid]]></category>
1757. <category><![CDATA[Editors' Choice]]></category>
1758. <category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
1759. <category><![CDATA[Headlines]]></category>
1760. <category><![CDATA[Health]]></category>
1761. <category><![CDATA[Humanitarian Emergencies]]></category>
1762. <category><![CDATA[Population]]></category>
1763. <category><![CDATA[Poverty & SDGs]]></category>
1764. <category><![CDATA[Sustainable Development Goals]]></category>
1765. <category><![CDATA[TerraViva United Nations]]></category>
1766. <category><![CDATA[IPS UN Bureau]]></category>
1767. <category><![CDATA[IPS UN Bureau Report]]></category>
1768. <category><![CDATA[SDGs for All]]></category>
1769. <category><![CDATA[World Health Organization (WHO)]]></category>
1770.  
1771. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.ipsnews.net/?p=185185</guid>
1772. <description><![CDATA[The World Health Organization&#8217;s African regional office and partners published over 25 peer-reviewed articles in scientific journals in 2023 as part of efforts to address the imbalance in global research and ensure that Africa was better represented in the production of health research academic literature, a new report shows. The office, through its Universal Health Coverage, Communicable [&#8230;]]]></description>
1774. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><font color="#999999"><img width="300" height="200" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/Hep-C-patient-300x200.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="The WHO’s Africa office has published research in 25 peer-reviewed journals in attempt to address the imbalance of research as part of the 2030 SDG agenda, which is to ‘leave no-one behind,’ and a move toward universal health coverage. Credit: WHO" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/Hep-C-patient-300x200.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/Hep-C-patient-629x419.jpg 629w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/Hep-C-patient.jpg 630w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><p class="wp-caption-text">The WHO’s Africa office has published research in 25 peer-reviewed journals in attempt to address the imbalance of research as part of the 2030 SDG agenda, which is to ‘leave no-one behind,’ and a move toward universal health coverage. Credit: WHO</p></font></p><p>By Maina Waruru<br />NAIROBI, Apr 29 2024 (IPS) </p><p>The World Health Organization&#8217;s African regional office and partners published over 25 peer-reviewed articles in scientific journals in 2023 as part of efforts to address the imbalance in global research and ensure that Africa was better represented in the production of health research academic literature, a new report shows.<span id="more-185185"></span></p>
1775. <p>The <a href="https://www.afro.who.int/sites/default/files/2024-04/UCN%20Cluster%20Report_2023.pdf?utm_source=Newsweaver&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_term=Click+on+the+image+to+view+the+report&amp;utm_content=Tag%3AEnding+Disease+in+Africa&amp;utm_campaign=Ending+disease+in+Africa%3A+Responding+to+communicable+and+noncommunicable+diseases+2023">office</a>, through its Universal Health Coverage, Communicable and Non-Communicable Diseases (UCN) Cluster, published on a range of health challenges and diseases, including the risk of zoonotic disease in countries ranging from Uganda, Malawi, Tanzania, Ghana, and Nigeria, investigating infectious and non-infectious diseases, and public health approaches to ease Africa’s disease burden. </p>
1776. <p>This research is critical to the continent, says Africa&#8217;s Regional Director, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti.</p>
1777. <p>“The WHO African Region arguably bears one of the greatest burdens of disease globally. This has always been exacerbated by poverty, which, in the decade prior to COVID-19, was on the decline. Now, however, these gains have been reversed, not only by COVID-19 but by a series of severe shocks during the 2020–2022 period,&#8221; said Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, the Regional Director for Africa,&#8221; she told IPS.</p>
1778. <p>“Major threats include climate change, global instability, slowing economic growth, and conflict. This makes it ever more important that we at the WHO Regional Office for Africa focus on the central promise of the 2030 SDG agenda, which is to ‘leave no one behind’, using a health systems strengthening approach to move towards universal health coverage.”</p>
1779. <p>According to the <em>Ending Disease in Africa: Responding to Communicable and Noncommunicable Diseases 2023 </em>report<em> </em>released in April, WHO scientists were able to publish their work in reputable journals, including the Social Sciences and Humanities Open, supporting Africa&#8217;s efforts to raise her scientific research production, estimated at only 2 percent of the world&#8217;s total.</p>
1780. <p>The works also found homes in open access journals, including America’s Public Library of Science (PLOS), where they are accessible for free by the scientific community and the general public.</p>
1781. <p>Besides Africa-based scientific publications such as the <a href="https://njpar.com.ng/home/article/view/221">Nigerian Journal of Parasitology</a>, highlighting the need to support the role local publications can play in elevating African science and, by extension, helping address imbalances in global research.</p>
1782. <p>“A country’s ability to create, acquire, translate, and apply scientific and technological advancements is a major determinant of its socioeconomic and industrial development. Many of Africa’s current and future health challenges can only be addressed by conducting research on population-based approaches towards effective disease prevention and control, which are then translated into policy and practice,” the report noted in introducing the work.</p>
1783. <p>“Despite Africa’s disproportionate burden of disease, the region produced 0.7 percent of global research in 2000, 1.3 percent in 2014 and an estimated 2 percent more recently. In response, the UCN Cluster and partners published over 25 peer-reviewed articles in scientific journals in 2023 as part of efforts to address the imbalance in global research, and ensure regional representation in academic literature.”</p>
1784. <div id="attachment_185189" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="wp-image-185189 size-full" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/mental-healthcare-in-Ghana.jpg" alt="According to the Ending Disease in Africa Responding to Communicable and Noncommunicable Diseases WHO scientists were able to publish their work in reputable journals supporting Africa's efforts to raise her scientific research production, estimated at only 2 percent of the world's total. Credit: WHO" width="630" height="420" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/mental-healthcare-in-Ghana.jpg 630w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/mental-healthcare-in-Ghana-300x200.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/mental-healthcare-in-Ghana-629x419.jpg 629w" sizes="(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px" /><p class="wp-caption-text">According to the Ending Disease in Africa: Responding to Communicable and Noncommunicable Diseases, WHO scientists were able to publish their work in reputable journals, supporting Africa&#8217;s efforts to raise her scientific research production, which is estimated at only 2 percent of the world&#8217;s total. Credit: WHO</p></div>
1785. <p>In Ghana, the WHO team conducted a “community-based cross-sectional study” to investigate occurrences of skin ulcers, whose findings showed the importance of integrating multiple skin diseases on a common research platform in findings published by <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0292034">PLOS One</a>, while in Tanzania, a “spatio-temporal modelling” of routine health facility data to better guide community-based malaria interventions on the mainland was done.</p>
1786. <p>Some of the papers the WHO-Africa says were examples of “operational and implementation research,” conducted to identify and ensure the successful adoption and adaptation of evidence-based interventions in both clinical and public health on the continent.</p>
1787. <p>They include findings from an impact assessment of a school-based preventive chemotherapy programme for neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), <a href="https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/who-wer9748-621-632">schistosomiasis, and soil-transmitted helminth</a> control in Angola, where used drugs were found to have little impact in controlling the diseases. These findings were published in <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0010849">PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases</a>.</p>
1788. <p>“This highlighted the need for a comprehensive understanding of individual, community, and environmental factors associated with transmission and consideration for a community-wide control programme,” it concluded.</p>
1789. <p>The Springer Nature&#8217;s Malaria Journal published the team&#8217;s research on treatment-seeking behavior among parents of children with malaria-related fever in Malawi. It captured  the need for targeted health interventions among communities in low socioeconomic settings and those living far from health facilities.</p>
1790. <p>In Nigeria, an article based on experiences in Nigeria using a novel schistosomiasis community data analysis tool, developed by the UCN Cluster, emphasized the usefulness of the tool for strategic planning purposes, allowing the tool to be deployed around Africa for the management of the disease. Blood flukes (trematode worms) from the genus Schistosoma are the primary cause of the acute and chronic parasitic disease schistosomiasis.</p>
1791. <p>Research on health policy and systems, the aim being to better understand how &#8220;collective health goals&#8221; are reached. This was done through a range of disciplines, including economics, sociology, anthropology, political science, and public health.</p>
1792. <p>One such journal article was published by  Elsevier’s <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssaho.2023.100625">Social Sciences and Humanities Open</a>, looking at five decades of infectious disease outbreaks on the continent and recommending  that concerted public health action may help reduce outbreaks, as well as drawing important conclusions for disease preparedness and prevention activities.</p>
1793. <p>Quite critically, the experts undertook “knowledge translation” work, the application of knowledge by various actors to deliver the benefits of global and local innovations in strengthening health systems and improving health.</p>
1794. <p>“In the African context, knowledge translation generally includes an aspect of localization, considering local perspectives and approaches and the effects of the social, cultural, political, environmental, and health system context on an intervention’s impact,” the experts explain.</p>
1795. <p>In 2023, the UCN Cluster translated and localized several global knowledge products for use in Africa, including one on oral diseases, a malady suffered by about 44 percent of the population in the region.</p>
1796. <p>Africa, the document observes, has experienced the “steepest rise globally in oral diseases over the last three decades,&#8221;  even as spending on treatment costs remains “extremely low,&#8221; thus the need to share the newest information on their management.</p>
1797. <p>Away from scientific research, the report reveals that Mauritius became the first country in Africa to fully implement WHO’s package of tobacco control measures, while at the same time WHO-Africa launched an initiative to support better access to breast and cervical cancer detection, treatment, and care services in Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, and Zimbabwe.</p>
1798. <p>Equally important, WHO Africa, in collaboration with Nigerian authorities, introduced the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine into routine immunization schedules, targeting more than 7 million girls, the largest number in a single round of HPV vaccination in Africa.</p>
1799. <p>Success stories emerged in Algeria, which successfully &#8216;interrupted&#8217; the transmission of schistosomiasis after reporting zero indigenous cases for the past three years, in January 2024, and in Cape Verde, which became the third country to be certified as malaria-free.</p>
1800. <p>Note: This article is brought to you by IPS Noram in collaboration with INPS Japan and <a href="https://www.sokaglobal.org/">Soka Gakkai International</a> in consultative status with ECOSOC.</p>
1801. <p>IPS UN Bureau Report</p>
1802. <p>&nbsp;</p>
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1812. </ul></div> ]]></content:encoded>
1813. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/04/who-africa-advances-african-science-by-promoting-peer-reviewed-rese/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
1814. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
1815. </item>
1816. <item>
1817. <title>Education Cannot Wait Interviews Amy Clarke, Co-Founder and Chief Impact Officer for Tribe Impact Capital LLP</title>
1818. <link>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/04/education-cannot-wait-interviews-amy-clarke-co-founder-chief-impact-officer-tribe-impact-capital-llp/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=education-cannot-wait-interviews-amy-clarke-co-founder-chief-impact-officer-tribe-impact-capital-llp</link>
1819. <comments>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/04/education-cannot-wait-interviews-amy-clarke-co-founder-chief-impact-officer-tribe-impact-capital-llp/#respond</comments>
1820. <pubDate>Mon, 29 Apr 2024 07:00:30 +0000</pubDate>
1821. <dc:creator>External Source</dc:creator>
1822. <category><![CDATA[Armed Conflicts]]></category>
1823. <category><![CDATA[Climate Change]]></category>
1824. <category><![CDATA[Education]]></category>
1825. <category><![CDATA[Education Cannot Wait. Future of Education is here]]></category>
1826. <category><![CDATA[Human Rights]]></category>
1827. <category><![CDATA[Education Cannot Wait (ECW)]]></category>
1828. <category><![CDATA[IPS UN Bureau]]></category>
1829.  
1830. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.ipsnews.net/?p=185178</guid>
1831. <description><![CDATA[&#160; Amy Clarke is Co-Founder and Chief Impact Officer of the multi award-winning Tribe Impact Capital, a dedicated impact wealth manager and B Corps, based in London. She has over 29 years of experience in sustainability, both leading in-house teams (Microsoft and Bank of America) and as a management consultant specialising in climate and sustainability [&#8230;]]]></description>
1833. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><font color="#999999"><img width="300" height="172" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/ecw_290424_1-300x172.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/ecw_290424_1-300x172.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/ecw_290424_1-629x360.jpg 629w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/ecw_290424_1.jpg 630w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></font></p><p>By External Source<br />Apr 29 2024 (IPS-Partners) </p><p>&nbsp;</p>
1834. <p>Amy Clarke is Co-Founder and Chief Impact Officer of the multi award-winning <a href="https://tribeimpactcapital.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Tribe Impact Capital</a>, a dedicated impact wealth manager and B Corps, based in London. She has over 29 years of experience in sustainability, both leading in-house teams (Microsoft and Bank of America) and as a management consultant specialising in climate and sustainability (PwC and EY). Amy serves as a Trustee to B Lab UK and is also an Advisor to fellow B Corps, Greenheart Consulting and Black Seed Ventures. She sits on the Global Steering Group of the Global Ethical Finance Initiative (GEFI) and the Investment Committee of The Blue Cross (having previously served as a Trustee). Amy has both BSc and MSc degrees in environmental studies. In her spare time, she serves as Head of Catering and Entertainment for her three-legged rescue Staffordshire Bull Terrier.</p>
1835. <p><strong>ECW: Education Cannot Wait and Tribe Impact Capital share a joint ambition to ensure children impacted by armed conflicts, climate change and other protracted crises can realize their potential through a quality education. How can our two organizations work together to make this goal a reality?</strong></p>
1836. <p><strong>Amy Clarke:</strong> Education Cannot Wait (<a href="https://www.educationcannotwait.org/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">ECW</a>) is on the ground fighting for the educational rights of children around the world who are placed in harm’s way. These vulnerable children face a reality filled with instability and uncertainty – an unacceptable condition for any child&#8217;s upbringing. 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.</p>
1837. <p>At Tribe Impact Capital, we recognize the transformative power of responsible investment. The finance sector plays a pivotal role in shaping global economies and societies by investing in businesses and governments around the world. Through impactful investment strategies, we can seed the conditions for a sustainable, resilient and regenerative future.</p>
1838. <p>Together, our organisations can explore the development of innovative financial instruments that can support the work of ECW today, while also preparing for a stable, thriving future. By leveraging our expertise in impact investing alongside ECW&#8217;s on-the-ground insights, we can work towards an integrated solution that not only educates children today, but also equips them to lead tomorrow.</p>
1839. <p><img src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/ecw_290424_2.jpg" alt="" width="630" height="631" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-185175" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/ecw_290424_2.jpg 630w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/ecw_290424_2-100x100.jpg 100w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/ecw_290424_2-300x300.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/ecw_290424_2-144x144.jpg 144w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/ecw_290424_2-471x472.jpg 471w" sizes="(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px" /></p>
1840. <p><strong>ECW: Tribe Impact Capital is focused on ‘Changing Wealth Management for Good’. Can you explain how you do this, why it’s important to think sustainably when investing, and why Tribe Impact Capital puts girls and women first in everything you do? </strong></p>
1841. <p><strong>Amy Clarke:</strong> Tribe was established to help wealth owners reconnect their values with their capital, and to deliver a more holistic risk-based approach to the management of wealth, all wrapped up in a mission-driven model – a B Corporation.</p>
1842. <p>We are committed to demonstrating that wealth can simultaneously generate positive financial returns and tangible social and environmental impact. This commitment is integral not only to reduce potential risks within investment portfolios, but also to addressing broader challenges facing people and planet. Tribe was established to show what was possible when you build a mission-driven business from cradle to crave – from how it’s governed, to how it invests, to how it advocates for change. We’re not perfect, but we’re built to serve a broad group of stakeholders, and we’re committed to being a better version of ourselves every day. Our desire to succeed is firmly rooted in our mission. We passionately believe that there is more to wealth than money and that finance can be a force for good.</p>
1843. <p>Our emphasis on empowering women and girls stems from an acute awareness of the persistent inequalities within the financial system. The finance sector lacks diversity across the board, and, for women, this often looks like disparities in career opportunities as well as challenges accessing investment resources that resonate with their goals and values. We know women are interested in sustainable and impact investing. As an example, a recent Lombard Odier <a href="https://www.lombardodier.com/contents/corporate-news/responsible-capital/2024/march/do-women-investors-really-think.html#:~:text=This%20could%20have%20implications%20for,or%20match%20more%20traditional%20investments" rel="noopener" target="_blank">survey</a> of their female clients and business partners showed a clear preference for sustainable investments among women. Not supporting this preference hinders broader societal progress. We are a gender diverse business and are committed to the work we do to support female wealth holders. Half of our clients are women, and that’s a statistic we are proud of.</p>
1844. <p><img src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/ecw_290424_3.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="555" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-185176" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/ecw_290424_3.jpg 600w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/ecw_290424_3-300x278.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/ecw_290424_3-510x472.jpg 510w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /></p>
1845. <p><strong>ECW: You are a leader within the B Corp movement, a network of businesses that use business as a force for good. Can you tell us more about the B Corp movement, how its members are driving change, and why purpose-driven B Corps should partner with an organization like ECW? </strong></p>
1846. <p><strong>Amy Clarke:</strong> B Corporations believe that business should be a force for good – we are mission-driven businesses. We serve a broader community of stakeholders, not just shareholders, who have vested interests in our business – whether that’s our employees, our suppliers, or the communities who depend on us to do our jobs well. We believe people and the planet are as important as profit. In fact, profit can only truly be generated when people and the planet are factored into the decision-making process and given equal weight. Businesses that extract more value than they create cannot be truly sustainable. Running your business with a clear sense of purpose and mission opens up exciting opportunities for innovation and growth. And with that in mind, why wouldn’t the B Corps community stand shoulder to shoulder with ECW – we’re the same breed!</p>
1847. <p><strong>ECW: You have a strong background in environmental science, with some 30 years of experience in corporate sustainability and impact investing. How can we connect education action with climate action to deliver on the targets outlined in the Paris Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals? </strong></p>
1848. <p><strong>Amy Clarke:</strong> Nelson Mandela famously stated that education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world. This rings especially true in the context of the climate crisis. To navigate and mitigate the complexities of climate change, we must educate people not only about the challenges but also about the practical solutions they can implement. That said, the way we educate people is profoundly important. As the saying goes, knowledge is silver but true wisdom is gold. We have to teach people how to think, not just what to think. Intellectual curiosity is what has led us to some of the most spectacular innovations in human history. But it is wisdom that has helped prevent us falling into the precipice. If we are to tackle the climate crisis, how we educate, where we educate, and what we teach will define whether we succeed or fail.</p>
1849. <p><img src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/ecw_290424_4.jpg" alt="" width="630" height="537" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-185177" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/ecw_290424_4.jpg 630w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/ecw_290424_4-300x256.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/ecw_290424_4-554x472.jpg 554w" sizes="(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px" /></p>
1850. <p><strong>ECW: We all know that ‘leaders are readers’ and that reading skills are key to every child&#8217;s education. What are three books that have most influenced you personally and/or professionally, and why would you recommend them to others?</strong></p>
1851. <p><strong>Amy Clarke:</strong> Gosh, there are far too many to write about here!</p>
1852. <p>I’d have to choose a book from my childhood for my first book and that would be Tolkien’s <em>The Hobbit</em> and <em>The Lord of the Rings</em> trilogy. I first read them when I was about 11 and was completely struck by two of the messages in those books. First, you are never too small to have an impact. As Dame Anita Roddick famously said: “if you think you’re too small to have an impact, try going to bed with a mosquito in the room”. The second is that hope is never lost. You may struggle to find it, but it’s always out there. You just have to believe. And look. Those are such important lessons for children to learn.</p>
1853. <p>The second would be <em>Parable of the Sower</em> by Octavia Butler. It is unbelievably prescient, a little bit disturbing and really gets you thinking about the human condition. It is also just an excellent book written by a hugely talented woman.</p>
1854. <p>And the final would be the one I am reading at the moment, <em>The Master and His Emissary</em> by Iain McGilchrist. It’s up there with <em>Straw Dogs</em> by John Gray as something that will challenge everything you ever thought. It’s an utterly fascinating and thought-provoking masterpiece on the brain, spirituality and the human condition. And a must read if we are to truly understand ourselves as a species and why we do what we do.</p>
1855. <p>&nbsp;</p>
1856. <div id="authorarea">
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1859. <div id='related_articles'>
1860. <h1 class="section">Related Articles</h1>
1861. <ul>
1862. <li><a href="https://ipsnews.net/francais/2024/04/29/education-sans-delai-sentretient-avec-amy-clarke-co-fondatrice-et-directrice-de-limpact-de-tribe-impact-capital-llp-capital-dimpact-de-tribe-sarl/" >FEATURED TRANSLATION – FRENCH</a></li>
1863. </ul></div> ]]></content:encoded>
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1867. <item>
1868. <title>Latin America&#8217;s Shifting Demographics Could Undercut Growth</title>
1869. <link>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/04/latin-americas-shifting-demographics-undercut-growth/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=latin-americas-shifting-demographics-undercut-growth</link>
1870. <comments>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/04/latin-americas-shifting-demographics-undercut-growth/#respond</comments>
1871. <pubDate>Mon, 29 Apr 2024 06:31:56 +0000</pubDate>
1872. <dc:creator>Gustavo Adler  and Rodrigo Valdes_2</dc:creator>
1873. <category><![CDATA[Development & Aid]]></category>
1874. <category><![CDATA[Economy & Trade]]></category>
1875. <category><![CDATA[Headlines]]></category>
1876. <category><![CDATA[Human Rights]]></category>
1877. <category><![CDATA[Latin America & the Caribbean]]></category>
1878. <category><![CDATA[Poverty & SDGs]]></category>
1879. <category><![CDATA[TerraViva United Nations]]></category>
1880. <category><![CDATA[IPS UN Bureau]]></category>
1881.  
1882. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.ipsnews.net/?p=185172</guid>
1883. <description><![CDATA[Latin America’s workforce grew by nearly 50 percent in the two decades before the pandemic, helping boost economic growth. Now demographic trends are turning, and likely to weigh on growth in the coming years. We expect growth in Latin America to average about 2 percent per year in the next five years, below its already [&#8230;]]]></description>
1885. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><font color="#999999"><img width="300" height="86" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/GettyImages-via-IMF_-300x86.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/GettyImages-via-IMF_-300x86.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/GettyImages-via-IMF_.jpg 538w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Credit: andresr /istock by GettyImages via IMF</p></font></p><p>By Gustavo Adler  and Rodrigo Valdés<br />WASHINGTON DC, Apr 29 2024 (IPS) </p><p>Latin America’s workforce grew by nearly 50 percent in the two decades before the pandemic, helping boost economic growth. Now demographic trends are turning, and likely to weigh on growth in the coming years.<br />
1886. <span id="more-185172"></span></p>
1887. <p>We expect growth in Latin America to average about 2 percent per year in the next five years, below its already low historical average. These projections are also considerably weaker than those for other emerging market economies across Europe and Asia, which are also <a href="https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMTAsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmltZi5vcmcvZW4vQmxvZ3MvQXJ0aWNsZXMvMjAyNC8wNC8xMC93b3JsZC1tdXN0LXByaW9yaXRpemUtcHJvZHVjdGl2aXR5LXJlZm9ybXMtdG8tcmV2aXZlLW1lZGl1bS10ZXJtLWdyb3d0aD91dG1fbWVkaXVtPWVtYWlsJnV0bV9zb3VyY2U9Z292ZGVsaXZlcnkiLCJidWxsZXRpbl9pZCI6IjIwMjQwNDIzLjkzNzQ1MjYxIn0.sSMkHH9CKI5fTyOxRktghPoKZiX8KdboLG259znFpNo/s/1796871065/br/241195677182-l" rel="noopener" target="_blank">expected to slow</a> but still grow by 3 percent and 6 percent annually, respectively.</p>
1888. <p>This weaker outlook party reflects long-standing challenges of low investment and slow productivity growth. The additional challenge this time is that the demographics are turning, and the labor force won’t grow as fast as before.</p>
1889. <p><strong>Turning Demographics</strong></p>
1890. <p>Population growth will continue decelerating, falling from about 1 percent per year in the two decades preceding the pandemic to about 0.6 annually in the next five years. This is not necessarily bad news as a growing population does not automatically mean rising income per capita—the most relevant measure of wellbeing. </p>
1891. <p>Although a larger population means a larger labor force and aggregate output, it also means a larger number of people among whom output is shared. Still, growing the economy through a larger population can help in other ways, including by increasing revenues to repay high debt levels.</p>
1892. <p><img src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/weakness_.jpg" alt="" width="624" height="624" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-185170" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/weakness_.jpg 624w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/weakness_-100x100.jpg 100w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/weakness_-300x300.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/weakness_-144x144.jpg 144w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/weakness_-472x472.jpg 472w" sizes="(max-width: 624px) 100vw, 624px" /></p>
1893. <p>More importantly, the demographic dividend is fading as the region’s population is aging and the share of the working-age population is peaking. This means that the share of the population able to generate income will stop growing. It is an important change as this share had been growing until now, enabling the labor force to grow 0.5 percent per year since 2000. In contrast, we expect no growth in the share of working-age population over the next five years, on average.</p>
1894. <p><strong>Boosting participation</strong></p>
1895. <p>Keeping the labor force engine running will require boosting labor force participation. And some of this is expected to happen, as the share of working-age jobseekers is projected to continue rising.</p>
1896. <p>But for this to become a reality, it will be key to further integrate women into the labor force. Their participation remains low, at only 52 percent of working-age women compared to 75 percent of men.</p>
1897. <p><img src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/shifthing_.jpg" alt="" width="538" height="538" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-185171" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/shifthing_.jpg 538w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/shifthing_-100x100.jpg 100w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/shifthing_-300x300.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/shifthing_-144x144.jpg 144w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/shifthing_-472x472.jpg 472w" sizes="(max-width: 538px) 100vw, 538px" /></p>
1898. <p>Policies can help. Expanding childcare programs and providing more training for women can help raise female participation, as we have discussed in recent country reports, including for <a href="https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMTMsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmltZi5vcmcvZW4vUHVibGljYXRpb25zL0NSL0lzc3Vlcy8yMDIzLzA3LzMxL0JyYXppbC0yMDIzLUFydGljbGUtSVYtQ29uc3VsdGF0aW9uLVByZXNzLVJlbGVhc2UtU3RhZmYtUmVwb3J0LVN0YWZmLVN1cHBsZW1lbnQtYW5kLTUzNzMyOD91dG1fbWVkaXVtPWVtYWlsJnV0bV9zb3VyY2U9Z292ZGVsaXZlcnkiLCJidWxsZXRpbl9pZCI6IjIwMjQwNDIzLjkzNzQ1MjYxIn0.2Dk6cD0U14AUiZ4KanFxXBK_izdCBl0DWY3ixdqyjeM/s/1796871065/br/241195677182-l" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Brazil</a> and <a href="https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMTQsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmltZi5vcmcvZW4vUHVibGljYXRpb25zL0NSL0lzc3Vlcy8yMDIzLzEwLzMxL01leGljby0yMDIzLUFydGljbGUtSVYtQ29uc3VsdGF0aW9uLVByZXNzLVJlbGVhc2UtYW5kLVN0YWZmLVJlcG9ydC01NDEwMjM_dXRtX21lZGl1bT1lbWFpbCZ1dG1fc291cmNlPWdvdmRlbGl2ZXJ5IiwiYnVsbGV0aW5faWQiOiIyMDI0MDQyMy45Mzc0NTI2MSJ9.MA911ONb5Jyklplf20W98J0wBSABoVph4dhObDWYqCE/s/1796871065/br/241195677182-l" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Mexico</a>. </p>
1899. <p>Ensuring that household taxation does not discourage secondary household earners and eliminating asymmetric childcare and parental leave benefits between men and women, that ultimately discourage hiring of women or affect their pay, can also help bring more women into the labor force.</p>
1900. <p>Countries can also grow their workforce by providing vocational training opportunities, raising the retirement age, eliminating disincentives for work after retirement and adopting policies that facilitate employment of older workers.</p>
1901. <p><a href="https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMTUsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmltZi5vcmcvZW4vQmxvZ3MvQXJ0aWNsZXMvMjAyMy8xMi8xOC9sYXRpbi1hbWVyaWNhLWNhbi1ib29zdC1lY29ub21pYy1ncm93dGgtYnktcmVkdWNpbmctY3JpbWU_dXRtX21lZGl1bT1lbWFpbCZ1dG1fc291cmNlPWdvdmRlbGl2ZXJ5IiwiYnVsbGV0aW5faWQiOiIyMDI0MDQyMy45Mzc0NTI2MSJ9.nm8piRRjUfxl5KeB6cD3dXJiahWYaObenGQs0JXb2Uk/s/1796871065/br/241195677182-l" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Tackling crime</a>—an important factor behind migrant outflows in some parts of the region—should also be on the agenda.</p>
1902. <p>But also, as demographics become less favorable, countries will need to put more effort into raising labor <a href="https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMTYsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmltZi5vcmcvLS9tZWRpYS9GaWxlcy9QdWJsaWNhdGlvbnMvUkVPL1dIRC8yMDIyL29jdG9iZXItMjAyMi9FbmdsaXNoL2JhY2tncm91bmQtcGFwZXItMy1lbi5hc2h4P3V0bV9tZWRpdW09ZW1haWwmdXRtX3NvdXJjZT1nb3ZkZWxpdmVyeSIsImJ1bGxldGluX2lkIjoiMjAyNDA0MjMuOTM3NDUyNjEifQ.B4nX_SiO-5-ee1fr05SzcgQ0Qs_GYUdob3VikHUPEhc/s/1796871065/br/241195677182-l" rel="noopener" target="_blank">productivity growth</a>, by tackling poor governance, stringent business regulations, and widespread informal work (which constrains firms’ growth and the associated productivity gains). </p>
1903. <p>This will help raise living standards even amid demographic headwinds.</p>
1904. <p>Latin America’s many years of hard work to strengthen macroeconomic frameworks has paid off. Countries successfully navigated the last two large global economic recessions and avoided a painful repeat of past crises. </p>
1905. <p>Now they must take advantage of this resilience to focus on boosting potential growth, a persistent challenge that’s mounting as demographic fortunes turn. </p>
1906. <p><em><strong>Source:</strong> International Monetary Fund (IMF)</em></p>
1907. <p>IPS UN Bureau</p>
1908. <p>&nbsp;</p>
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1916. <item>
1917. <title>Cuban Family Harnesses Biogas and Promotes its Benefits</title>
1918. <link>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/04/cuban-family-harnesses-biogas-promotes-benefits/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=cuban-family-harnesses-biogas-promotes-benefits</link>
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1920. <pubDate>Fri, 26 Apr 2024 15:46:57 +0000</pubDate>
1921. <dc:creator>Luis Brizuela</dc:creator>
1922. <category><![CDATA[Climate Action]]></category>
1923. <category><![CDATA[Development & Aid]]></category>
1924. <category><![CDATA[Economy & Trade]]></category>
1925. <category><![CDATA[Editors' Choice]]></category>
1926. <category><![CDATA[Energy]]></category>
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1928. <category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
1929. <category><![CDATA[Food and Agriculture]]></category>
1930. <category><![CDATA[Green Economy]]></category>
1931. <category><![CDATA[Headlines]]></category>
1932. <category><![CDATA[Integration and Development Brazilian-style]]></category>
1933. <category><![CDATA[Latin America & the Caribbean]]></category>
1934. <category><![CDATA[Projects]]></category>
1935. <category><![CDATA[TerraViva United Nations]]></category>
1936. <category><![CDATA[Agroecology]]></category>
1937. <category><![CDATA[Biodigester]]></category>
1938. <category><![CDATA[Biogas]]></category>
1939. <category><![CDATA[Cuba]]></category>
1940. <category><![CDATA[Solar Energy]]></category>
1941.  
1942. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.ipsnews.net/?p=185163</guid>
1943. <description><![CDATA[Just to obtain a good fertilizer it was worth building a biodigester, says Cuban farmer Alexis García, who proudly shows the vegetables in his family&#8217;s garden, as well as the wide variety of fruit trees that have benefited from biol, the end product of biogas technology. García and his wife Iris Mejías organically grow all [&#8230;]]]></description>
1945. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><font color="#999999"><img width="300" height="200" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/a-5-300x200.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="Preschool teacher Iris Mejías and her husband Alexis García, a retired university professor, stand next to the geomembrane biodigester that since December 2023 provides about four cubic meters of biogas daily for their agricultural activities and the needs of their home in the semi-urban neighborhood of Sierra Maestra, in the municipality of Boyeros on the south side of Havana. CREDIT: Jorge Luis Baños / IPS" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/a-5-300x200.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/a-5-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/a-5-629x420.jpg 629w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/a-5.jpg 976w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Preschool teacher Iris Mejías and her husband Alexis García, a retired university professor, stand next to the geomembrane biodigester that since December 2023 provides about four cubic meters of biogas daily for their agricultural activities and the needs of their home in the semi-urban neighborhood of Sierra Maestra, in the municipality of Boyeros on the south side of Havana. CREDIT: Jorge Luis Baños / IPS</p></font></p><p>By Luis Brizuela<br />HAVANA, Apr 26 2024 (IPS) </p><p>Just to obtain a good fertilizer it was worth building a biodigester, says Cuban farmer Alexis García, who proudly shows the vegetables in his family&#8217;s garden, as well as the wide variety of fruit trees that have benefited from biol, the end product of biogas technology.</p>
1946. <p><span id="more-185163"></span>García and his wife Iris Mejías organically grow all the agricultural products that make them self-sufficient, on the land around their home in the semi-urban neighborhood of Sierra Maestra, in the municipality of Boyeros on the south side of Havana.“We need a greater culture and awareness about renewable energies. There is resistance among some places and people. On the other hand, there are the high prices which do not foment the rapid expansion of technologies and equipment.” -- Alexis García<br /><font size="1"></font></p>
1947. <p>“I used to use a little urea, but because of the economic situation it has become very difficult to import this and other fertilizers. The bioproducts are an opportunity to make up for that shortage and, in some cases, function as pesticides,” García, a 62-year-old retired university professor who is now dedicated to his crops, told IPS.</p>
1948. <p>Biol is the liquid effluent with a certain degree of stabilization that comes out of the biodigester, once the process of anaerobic digestion of organic matter, which includes animal manure, crop waste and/or liquid waste, has been completed. It is rich in nutrients for crops and for restoring soil through fertigation.</p>
1949. <p>García pointed out that the challenges of obtaining energy and the need to process manure prompted the installation of the geomembrane biodigester, which as of December 2023 provides about four cubic meters of biogas per day.</p>
1950. <p>This is one of the three types of biodigesters most used at a small and medium scale in Cuba, together with the mobile type, also known as the Indian model, and the fixed dome or Chinese biodigester.</p>
1951. <p>“I had read a little about it and wanted to have a biodigester. With some savings we decided to start building one. In addition to the support of our sons Alexis and Alexei, we had the backing and advice of José Antonio Guardado,&#8221; coordinator of the Biogas Users Movement (MUB), said García.</p>
1952. <p>Founded in 1983, the MUB brings together some 3,000 farmers who use this technology in this Caribbean island nation of 11 million people.</p>
1953. <div id="attachment_185165" style="width: 639px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="wp-image-185165" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/aa-4.jpg" alt="Preschool teacher Iris Mejías uses biogas to cook food, which gives her autonomy, saves money and improves the quality of life in her home in the south of the Cuban capital. CREDIT: Jorge Luis Baños / IPS" width="629" height="419" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/aa-4.jpg 720w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/aa-4-300x200.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/aa-4-629x419.jpg 629w" sizes="(max-width: 629px) 100vw, 629px" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Preschool teacher Iris Mejías uses biogas to cook food, which gives her autonomy, saves money and improves the quality of life in her home in the south of the Cuban capital. CREDIT: Jorge Luis Baños / IPS</p></div>
1954. <p><strong>Biogas opportunities</strong></p>
1955. <p>Mejías, 59, said that “with biogas you lose the fear of not having enough fuel for cooking. It provides security.&#8221;</p>
1956. <p>Meiías, a teachers at a preschool for the young children of working mothers, says that when the economic crisis became more severe in the 1990s, she cooked with firewood, charcoal, kerosene and even coconut shells to prepare her family&#8217;s daily meals.</p>
1957. <p>“If you cook with electrical equipment, you depend on the power supply, or if you have a gas cylinder (liquefied petroleum gas), you worry that it will run out and you won&#8217;t have a spare. In both cases the biodigester saves money,&#8221; she said.</p>
1958. <p>Mejías said it is easier to cook food for domestic animals and heat water “without smut or smoke that makes it necessary to wash your hair every day or makes it difficult to take care of your hands.”</p>
1959. <p>Studies show that methane is a potent greenhouse gas, with a warming power 80 times greater than that of carbon dioxide (CO2).</p>
1960. <p>Proper management of the biological methane resulting from the decomposition of agricultural residues and manure can generate value and be a cost-effective solution to avoid water and soil contamination.</p>
1961. <p>Therefore, its extraction and use as energy, especially in rural and semi-urban environments, can be a solution to reduce electricity consumption and help combat climate change.</p>
1962. <p>According to García, the island could receive greater energy benefits if there were clear incentives for the installation of biodigesters.</p>
1963. <p>Although the acute domestic economic crisis has had a very negative impact on the national swine and cattle herd, “many dairies and pig farms do not know what to do with the daily output of manure. In fact, our biodigester is fed from nearby facilities where it is piled up and they give it to us for free,” he said.</p>
1964. <div id="attachment_185166" style="width: 639px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="wp-image-185166" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/aaa-3.jpg" alt="Alexis García dries coffee beans next to solar panels installed on the roof of his house in southern Havana. The possibility of storing energy with the back-up of recovered batteries provides the family with approximately three hours of autonomy during blackouts. CREDIT: Jorge Luis Baños / IPS" width="629" height="419" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/aaa-3.jpg 720w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/aaa-3-300x200.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/aaa-3-629x419.jpg 629w" sizes="(max-width: 629px) 100vw, 629px" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Alexis García dries coffee beans next to solar panels installed on the roof of his house in southern Havana. The possibility of storing energy with the back-up of recovered batteries provides the family with approximately three hours of autonomy during blackouts. CREDIT: Jorge Luis Baños / IPS</p></div>
1965. <p><strong>Other incentives</strong></p>
1966. <p>Cuba has a biogas production potential of 615,595 cubic meters per year from agricultural and industrial production, according to the Bioenergy Atlas 2022.</p>
1967. <p>That volume represents 189,227 tons of oil equivalent per year or 710,095 megawatt hours (MWh) per year. Of the total, 63 percent comes from agricultural production, he said.</p>
1968. <p>In García&#8217;s opinion, Cuba&#8217;s rural environment “is in a better position to achieve the desired energy independence. But economic facilities would be necessary, such as loans for the construction of biodigesters, bonuses for people to produce that energy and access to buy lamps, pots and even refrigerators that use biogas.”</p>
1969. <p>Of Cuba&#8217;s 11 million inhabitants, about 23 percent, some 2.3 million people, live in rural areas, according to official statistics.</p>
1970. <p>On the other hand, it is estimated that there are some 5,000 biodigesters on the island, although conservative estimates by specialists consider it possible to expand the network to 20,000 family units.</p>
1971. <p>Experts argue that the direct use of biogas is more efficient than transforming it into electricity.</p>
1972. <p>A significant percentage of Cuba&#8217;s four million households use electricity as the main energy source for cooking and heating water for bathing, which represents about 40 percent of consumption.</p>
1973. <p>Cuba is a country highly dependent on fuel imports.</p>
1974. <p>During the last five years, in parallel to the deterioration of the domestic economic situation, the decline of the main sources of foreign currency and the strengthening of the U.S. embargo, the authorities have faced increasing difficulties in meeting the demand for fuel.</p>
1975. <p>About 95 percent of Cuba&#8217;s electricity generation relies on fossil fuels. The government aims to increase clean sources from the current five percent to around 30 percent of electricity generation by 2030.</p>
1976. <p>“Imagine what it would mean if not all, at least most of the houses in the Cuban countryside had a biodigester or solar panels. Any strategy that encourages independence from the national power grid, or that provides energy, would be very positive,” said García.</p>
1977. <p>In recent years, the international Biomas-Cuba project (2009-2022) focused on helping to understand the importance of renewable energy sources in rural environments, the role of on-farm biodigesters and waste treatment systems in swine facilities.</p>
1978. <p>The initiative, financed by the <a href="https://www.eda.admin.ch/deza/en/home/sdc.html">Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (Cosude)</a>, was coordinated by the <a href="https://www.umcc.cu/indio-hatuey/">Indio Hatuey Experimental Station</a>, a research center attached to the University of the western province of Matanzas, and involved related institutions in several of the country&#8217;s 15 provinces.</p>
1979. <p>Ministerial Order 395 of the <a href="https://www.minem.gob.cu/">Ministry of Energy and Mines</a> of 2021 stipulated that each of Cuba&#8217;s 168 municipalities must have a biogas development program and strategy, and coordinate its management and implementation with their respective provinces.</p>
1980. <p>In addition, the non-governmental Cuban Society for the Promotion of Renewable Energy Sources and Respect for the Environment (Cubasolar), together with the MUB, encourages training workshops and the advice of specialists.</p>
1981. <div id="attachment_185168" style="width: 639px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="wp-image-185168" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/aaaa-3.jpg" alt="Banana clusters can be seen growing in the backyard of the García-Mejías home in southern Havana. Both the vegetables in the nursery and the fruit trees benefit from biol, the end product of biogas technology, which provides fertilizer. CREDIT: Jorge Luis Baños / IPS" width="629" height="419" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/aaaa-3.jpg 720w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/aaaa-3-300x200.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/aaaa-3-629x419.jpg 629w" sizes="(max-width: 629px) 100vw, 629px" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Banana clusters can be seen growing in the backyard of the García-Mejías home in southern Havana. Both the vegetables in the nursery and the fruit trees benefit from biol, the end product of biogas technology, which provides fertilizer. CREDIT: Jorge Luis Baños / IPS</p></div>
1982. <p><strong>Moving towards energy independence</strong></p>
1983. <p>One of the aspirations of the García-Mejías family is to achieve energy sustainability for their home and agricultural production.</p>
1984. <p>“We foresee the construction of a second biodigester, but this one will have a mobile dome, which should provide two cubic meters of biogas per day, but much more efficiently, and with a higher pressure. With a higher volume we can benefit some neighbors,” García said.</p>
1985. <p>On the roof of their house, six 720-watt solar panels backed up by recovered batteries give them autonomy of approximately three hours of electricity in the event of a power failure.</p>
1986. <p>“We plan to install a wind turbine, as well as a solar heater made of plastic pipes. We want to set up a demonstration area in the house to show the advantages of renewable energies and demonstrate how everything we do is done using these energy sources,&#8221; said the former professor.</p>
1987. <p>“We need a greater culture and awareness about renewable energies. There is resistance among some places and people. On the other hand, there are the high prices which do not foment the rapid expansion of technologies and equipment,” García said when IPS asked him in his home about the obstacles to increasing the household use of renewables.</p>
1988. <p>“People hear about the biodigester and think it&#8217;s difficult. It takes a little work, but then the benefits are many. There is a lack of information in the media. People come to us looking for help in building biodigesters. We also receive students, which opens up an opportunity for the new generations to grow up with the culture of using nature in a sustainable way,&#8221; he added.</p>
1989. <div id='related_articles'>
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1996. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
1997. </item>
1998. <item>
1999. <title>Climate Crisis in Mountains: Borderless Struggle for Frontline Communities</title>
2000. <link>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/04/climate-crisis-in-mountains-borderless-struggle-for-frontline-communities/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=climate-crisis-in-mountains-borderless-struggle-for-frontline-communities</link>
2001. <comments>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/04/climate-crisis-in-mountains-borderless-struggle-for-frontline-communities/#respond</comments>
2002. <pubDate>Fri, 26 Apr 2024 09:03:53 +0000</pubDate>
2003. <dc:creator>Tanka Dhakal  and Diwash Gahatraj</dc:creator>
2004. <category><![CDATA[Asia-Pacific]]></category>
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2033. Climate change-induced flooding has devastated the lives of people living on the Indian and Nepalese sides of the Hindu Kush Himalaya. Although the floods have destroyed their lives and livelihoods, as this cross-border collaboration narrates, neither community has received any substantial compensation.
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2039. <title>Niger’s Military Coup Triggers Child Marriages, Sex Work in Neighboring Countries</title>
2040. <link>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/04/nigers-military-coup-triggers-child-marriages-sex-work-neighboring-countries/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=nigers-military-coup-triggers-child-marriages-sex-work-neighboring-countries</link>
2041. <comments>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/04/nigers-military-coup-triggers-child-marriages-sex-work-neighboring-countries/#respond</comments>
2042. <pubDate>Fri, 26 Apr 2024 06:32:52 +0000</pubDate>
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2044. <category><![CDATA[Africa]]></category>
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2062. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.ipsnews.net/?p=185150</guid>
2063. <description><![CDATA[A group of young girls aged between 15 and 17 sit tight, following attentively a lesson being taught by a Mualim (Islamic teacher) in a makeshift madrassah (Qur’anic school) located in one of the impoverished townships of Benin’s economic capital, Cotonou. They arrived in Benin recently, fleeing poverty, hunger, climate change, and rising insecurity in [&#8230;]]]></description>
2065. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><font color="#999999"><img width="300" height="158" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/child-bride-300x158.png" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="Girl refugees from Niger now living in Benin, often end up as child brides. Graphic: IPS" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/child-bride-300x158.png 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/child-bride-768x403.png 768w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/child-bride-1024x538.png 1024w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/child-bride-629x330.png 629w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/child-bride.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Girl refugees from Niger now living in Benin, often end up as child brides. Graphic: IPS</p></font></p><p>By Issa Sikiti da Silva<br />COTONOU/BENIN , Apr 26 2024 (IPS) </p><p>A group of young girls aged between 15 and 17 sit tight, following attentively a lesson being taught by a Mualim (Islamic teacher) in a makeshift madrassah (Qur’anic school) located in one of the impoverished townships of Benin’s economic capital, Cotonou. They arrived in Benin recently, fleeing poverty, hunger, climate change, and rising insecurity in their home country, Niger, in the aftermath of the military coup that toppled democratically-elected president Mohamed Bazoum.<span id="more-185150"></span></p>
2066. <p>Among them are Saida, 15, and Aminata, 16, who are already “married” to Abdou, 22, and Anwar, 25, two Niger youths who have been living in Benin for some time. The lessons are over and Saida heads outside the overcrowded compound where her husband, Abdou, came to pick up his wife on a rundown motorbike.</p>
2067. <p>“She has not been feeling well lately and I think she might be pregnant,” Abdou says without embarrassment. Asked about the circumstances leading to the couple becoming husband and wife, he says: “If in Benin or where you come from, this seems strange, it is normal in Niger for a young girl to become someone’s wife as soon as she reaches 15.”</p>
2068. <p>Niger has one of highest prevalence rates of child marriages in the world, where 76% of girls are married before their 18th birthday and 28% are married before the age of 15, according to <a href="https://www.girlsnotbrides.org/learning-resources/child-marriage-atlas/atlas/niger/">Girls Not Brides figures</a>.</p>
2069. <p>Child marriage is most prevalent in Maradi (where 89% of women aged 20–24 were already married by age of 18), Zinder (87%), Diffa (82%) and Tahoua (76%). Girls as young as 10 years old in some regions are married, and after the age of 25, only a handful of young women are unmarried, according to the Girls Not Brides statistics.</p>
2070. <p><strong>Steady increase </strong></p>
2071. <p>However, Abdou says there has been a steady increase in such cases since the military coup due to the social and economic meltdown triggered by regional and international sanctions, which left Niger’s economy hanging in balance. France, a former colonial power, suspended development and budget aid to Niger, vowing not to recognize the new military authorities. In 2021, The French Development Agency (AFD) <a href="https://www.rfi.fr/en/africa/20230729-france-suspends-development-budget-aid-to-niger-following-military-coup">committed €97 million to Niger</a>.  Moreover, the World Bank recently warned that 700,000 more people will fall into extreme poverty this year in Niger. In addition, nearly two million children could be out of school, including 800,000 girls.</p>
2072. <p>Multiple suspensions of development aid from several countries and organizations <a href="https://www.rfi.fr/fr/afrique/20231011-au-niger-la-fin-de-l-aide-internationale-repr%C3%A9sente-un-manque-%C3%A0-gagner-consid%C3%A9rable">will result in a shortfall</a> of nearly US$1.2 billion in 2024 (more than 6% of the country&#8217;s GDP).</p>
2073. <p>“Life has become unlivable since the coup and the closure of borders. In addition, insecurity has risen, forcing farmers to stay away from their fields. In other parts, climate change has rendered farmland useless; it is a triple tragedy for Niger, but the authorities continue to talk nonsense on TV,” says a Benin-based Islamic teacher identified only as Oumarou, who fled to Cotonou in the aftermath of the coup.</p>
2074. <p>“And as a result, many families are left penniless and dependent on humanitarian assistance. Consequently, some families are seeking help from their relatives and family friends living in Benin and Togo to take their daughters under their care. Niger’s people help each other a lot and prioritize community life over individual interests.</p>
2075. <p>“The girls arrive in these two countries and are quickly dispatched to Niger&#8217;s households, where they work as domestic workers without pay. Yes, they don’t get paid because they eat and sleep there and are made to feel as if they are part of the family.”</p>
2076. <p>However, Oumarou says that as time goes by, these people begin to feel that they can no longer carry the burden. That is where they pass a message through the elders to Niger youths who want a wife to come and discuss.</p>
2077. <p><strong>Suitors wanted </strong></p>
2078. <p>“As soon as a suitor is found, we inform the girls’ parents, who, in most cases, do not hesitate to allow the marriage to proceed. As God-fearing people, we cannot let the youth take a girl without doing a formal religious ceremony.</p>
2079. <p>Asked if he was aware that he was committing a crime by acting as an accomplice to child marriages, he became defensive and politicized the issue: “What’s criminal and illegal in that procedure? How can you describe our good gesture to help these poverty-stricken girls rebuild their lives as a crime?</p>
2080. <p>“Okay, if it’s indeed a crime. How do you say about France, which has been stealing our natural resources, notably our uranium, for decades without giving us anything in return? And what about the crimes committed by the West during the colonial era in Africa? Did anyone investigate those crimes and bring the perpetrators to book or make reparations for what they did?” the man said, storming out of the room where the interview was taking place.</p>
2081. <p>However, not everyone in Niger is God-fearing and therefore does not follow the religious procedure. Anwar says her wife told him that she owes him her life after rescuing her from the abusive family where she was working as a donkey.</p>
2082. <p>“I have been taking care of her ever since as a wife and a little sister. I don’t need anyone’s permission or blessings to make her my wife. We have been living under the same roof since last year and that’s a sign of marriage,” he says with a wide smile.</p>
2083. <p>Aminata describes the hell she went through while working for one of these families. “They make you work like a slave, right from Fajr [Islamic dawn prayer] up to Isha [evening prayer] and even beyond. It’s very stressful. Most of the time, you don’t even eat well. They keep yelling at you whenever you make a slight mistake. Anwar is a good man and a caring husband,” she says through a translator.</p>
2084. <p>Anwar says most of these girls do not have a formal (western) education. “That’s why they cannot understand French. They only speak their vernacular language and some Arabic because they only attend Qur’anic school.”</p>
2085. <p>Niger has one of the highest illiteracy rates in the world, and very few girls attend formal school, as priority is given to boys. The Niger literacy rate for 2021 was 37.34%, a 2.29% increase from 2018.</p>
2086. <p>Factors that contribute to this, including high dropout rates, high illiteracy rates, insufficient resources and infrastructure, unqualified teachers, weak local governance structures, and high vulnerability to instability, have been blamed for the low level of educational attainment, <a href="https://www.usaid.gov/niger/fact-sheet/jul-12-2023-niger-education-fact-sheet-july-2023">according to the</a> United States Agency for International Development (USAID).</p>
2087. <p>“I want to ensure that she gets a good education now that she is in Benin, far away from that rotten country, where the system does not allow girls, especially in the rural areas, to attend school,” Anwar, who himself did not finish high school, says.</p>
2088. <p><strong>Niger girls no longer “God-fearing”? </strong></p>
2089. <p>While child brides jostle for makeshift husbands to take care of them away from their impoverished and famine-hit country, in other parts of Benin, street life has become the way of survival for some Niger women. “Niger men used to mock us, saying that their women were God-fearing and not immoral like us. Now the trend has been reversed. Look at the way those two Niger girls out there are shoving for a wealthy client,” Susan, a Beninese sex worker, says.</p>
2090. <p>She claims the girls arrive in the “workplace” every evening well covered from head to toe but take it off and put on some sexy clothes, only to wear them again after the end of the shift. “Now, who fears God the most? The hypocrites or the people like us who have nothing to hide?”</p>
2091. <p>Prostitution is illegal but remains prevalent in big cities and near major mining and military sites. UNAIDS estimates there are 46,630 sex workers in the country. Some sources say poverty, forced marriages, rising insecurity, and climate change continue to push many girls into prostitution, sometimes with the complicity of their families and <em>marabouts </em>(witchdoctors).</p>
2092. <p>A source close to Nigerian and Ivorian pimping syndicates says there is a huge appetite for Niger girls in several countries across the region, including Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, and Ghana. Asked why it is the case, the source says: “From what I heard, girls from other countries, including Benin, Togo, Ghana, and Nigeria, have been used many times and are big-headed, while Niger girls seem fresh, disciplined, respectful, and docile. That’s why they make good wives. The demand has been growing since the coup.”</p>
2093. <p>The source says the three countries (Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger) desire to quit the regional bloc, Ecowas, will have a negative effect on the sex trafficking business as it will curtail the free movement of people and goods across the region. <a href="https://www.iom.int/news/women-and-girls-most-trafficked-niger-iom-study#:~:text=Niamey%20%E2%80%93%20Women%20and%20girls%20constitute,of%20victims%20of%20human%20trafficking.">According to a 2022 report</a> by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), women and girls constitute 69% of victims and survivors of trafficking in Niger.</p>
2094. <p>While Niger’s military authorities reinforce their grip on power and castigate the West’s neo-colonialist and imperialist attitude and Ecowas’ interference in Niger’s internal affairs, life seems to be getting harder in this uranium-producing West African nation, forcing thousands of underage girls and women to seek a better life elsewhere.</p>
2095. <p>A researcher who recently returned to Benin from Niger says: “You must live in Niger right now to understand what is going on there. Forget what you see on state TV. If residents of the big cities, like the capital Niamey, are trying harder to stay alive, many people are hopeless in the countryside because the humanitarian situation is terrific.</p>
2096. <p>“Those who say development aid does not work are lying because they have never been on the ground to see for themselves.”</p>
2097. <p>Note: The names have been changed to protect their identities.</p>
2098. <p>IPS UN Bureau Report</p>
2099. <p>&nbsp;</p>
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2107. <item>
2108. <title>Gaza Teetering on the Brink of Mass Starvation</title>
2109. <link>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/04/gaza-teetering-brink-mass-starvation/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=gaza-teetering-brink-mass-starvation</link>
2110. <comments>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/04/gaza-teetering-brink-mass-starvation/#respond</comments>
2111. <pubDate>Fri, 26 Apr 2024 05:59:37 +0000</pubDate>
2112. <dc:creator>Jacob Batinga</dc:creator>
2113. <category><![CDATA[Armed Conflicts]]></category>
2114. <category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
2115. <category><![CDATA[Headlines]]></category>
2116. <category><![CDATA[Human Rights]]></category>
2117. <category><![CDATA[IPS UN: Inside the Glasshouse]]></category>
2118. <category><![CDATA[Middle East & North Africa]]></category>
2119. <category><![CDATA[TerraViva United Nations]]></category>
2120. <category><![CDATA[IPS UN Bureau]]></category>
2121.  
2122. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.ipsnews.net/?p=185149</guid>
2123. <description><![CDATA[As we pass 200 days of war, the population of northern Gaza is teetering on the brink of mass starvation. Oxfam analysis found that the 300,000 people in northern Gaza had been forced to survive on an average of 245 calories per day from January to March—less than a single can of beans, and well [&#8230;]]]></description>
2125. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><font color="#999999"><img width="300" height="225" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/Palestinians-in-Rafah_-300x225.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/Palestinians-in-Rafah_-300x225.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/Palestinians-in-Rafah_-200x149.jpg 200w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/Palestinians-in-Rafah_.jpg 624w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Palestinians in Rafah, Gaza form a line to collect water in an Oxfam distribution. Credit: Oxfam</p></font></p><p>By Jacob Batinga<br />PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania, Apr 26 2024 (IPS) </p><p>As we pass 200 days of war, the population of northern Gaza is teetering on the brink of mass starvation. Oxfam analysis found that the 300,000 people in northern Gaza had been forced to survive on an average of <a href="https://www.oxfamamerica.org/press/people-in-northern-gaza-forced-to-survive-on-245-calories-a-day-less-than-a-can-of-beans-oxfam/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">245 calories per day from January to March</a>—less than a single can of beans, and well below the recommended daily intake of 2,100 calories.<br />
2126. <span id="more-185149"></span></p>
2127. <p>While we have seen an uptick in the flow of aid entering Gaza in recent weeks, the trickle of humanitarian assistance combined with an absence of commerce and public services are nowhere near sufficient to address widespread hunger or the shelter, hygiene, and sanitation conditions that are fatal in these circumstances.  </p>
2128. <p>The last report from the Integrated Phase Classification system, the official body that collects and analyzes food security data, found that <a href="https://www.ipcinfo.org/ipcinfo-website/alerts-archive/issue-97/en/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">would occur in northern Gaza by May at the latest</a>. Dozens of children have already died from starvation and malnutrition, often worsened by disease, and two out of the three criteria for declaring famine have already been met. </p>
2129. <p>Since an official declaration is a lagging indicator, it is quite possible that famine already exists in areas of northern Gaza. We cannot wait for a famine declaration to act to prevent the needless, widespread death of civilians,</p>
2130. <p>While the threat of starvation is most severe in the north, malnutrition is ubiquitous throughout Gaza. The IPC’s report in March found that almost everyone in Gaza was facing “high levels of acute food insecurity,” with 95% of the population in a Phase 3 food crisis or worse. In the month since the report was release, conditions have deteriorated further. </p>
2131. <p>In addition to the limited availability of food, the ability to find or buy a nutritious, varied diet is not feasible across Gaza. For the little fruit and vegetables still available, extreme price rises due to scarcity have put them out of reach for most people. Specialized nutrition products and centers to treat malnourished children are difficult or impossible to find. </p>
2132. <p>Despite the overwhelming evidence of extreme hunger, the government of Israel’s obstruction of humanitarian access persists. But denial of humanitarian access is not the only issue. While increasing the quantities of food entering Gaza would be a welcome step, a proper response to this catastrophe simply cannot be implemented under present conditions.</p>
2133. <p>Hunger and its impacts are not only due to lack of food, but also are exacerbated by Israel’s near-complete destruction of Gaza’s civilian infrastructure. Over 200 days of incessant bombardment has decimated Gaza’s healthcare infrastructure, water and sanitation services—including Oxfam-supported projects—and emergency response support, leaving people even more vulnerable to deadly disease. </p>
2134. <p>The government of Israel has not restored the flow of electricity and has dramatically curtailed the importation of fuel, without which wells, water treatment facilities, bakeries, hospitals, and individual businesses and households cannot function. This collapse of vital services and infrastructure means that our calculations of food trucks entering Gaza gives only a partial view of the need. </p>
2135. <p>An increase in caloric intake is not all that is necessary to combat extreme hunger – acute malnutrition requires immediate medical intervention, especially for children. This kind of medical intervention is simply not possible while bombs continue to fall and amid the collapse of essential services. </p>
2136. <p>Our colleagues in Gaza at Oxfam and partner organizations are under constant risk of bombardment. Almost all staff in Gaza have been displaced, often multiple times, and many are living in tents or makeshift shelters with their families. They are struggling to find food for themselves and their families, regularly skipping meals for days at a time so their children can eat. </p>
2137. <p>They face constant risks to their lives: with over 200 killed since October, Gaza is the deadliest place in the world to be an aid worker. Under these unimaginable circumstances, Oxfam and partners are still bravely distributing what they can in the form of food, clean water, materials to provide safer sanitation, and hygiene products. However, the kind of humanitarian response necessary to stave off the threat of famine cannot even begin under these conditions. </p>
2138. <p>Even as children are starved to death and aid workers are routinely killed in Israeli airstrikes, the Biden administration is <a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-ukraine-israel-pacific-glance-0af96be97c47496f88506a21ebe1ddab" rel="noopener" target="_blank">doubling down on providing weapons and aid for Israel&#8217;s military operation in Gaza</a>. Recently proposed transfers included some of the highest risk weapons, like the MK-84 2,000-pound bomb, which have flattened entire neighborhoods and are implicated in some of the highest casualty attacks in Gaza. </p>
2139. <p>To maintain its policy of unconditional military support for Israel, the administration is taking its &#8216;see no evil, hear no evil&#8217; policy to absurd and deadly lengths, refusing to even condition, much less suspend, arms transfers to Israel. The United States must halt its arms sales to Israel and recognize its own contribution to Gaza’s still climbing death toll. This is long overdue. </p>
2140. <p>Oxfam is calling for a permanent ceasefire, the return of all hostages and the release of unlawfully detained Palestinian prisoners, for countries to immediately stop supplying arms to Israel <a href="https://www.oxfamamerica.org/press/more-than-250-humanitarian-and-human-rights-organisations-call-to-stop-arms-transfers-to-israel-palestinian-armed-groups/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">and Palestinian armed groups</a>, and for full humanitarian aid access. </p>
2141. <p>The global response for Gaza must include both adequate and nutritious food for everyone, the full restoration of hospitals and health services, water, and sanitation infrastructure and for all reconstruction materials to be allowed across the border. </p>
2142. <p>Every day without a ceasefire is a day closer to exponential death and suffering in Gaza. We must see action now. </p>
2143. <p><em><strong>Jacob Batinga</strong> is Oxfam America Humanitarian Policy Fellow.</em></p>
2144. <p>IPS UN Bureau</p>
2145. <p>&nbsp;</p>
2146. <div id="authorarea">
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2153. <item>
2154. <title>Harnessing Science-Policy Collaboration: The Vital Role of IPBES Stakeholders in Achieving Global Nature Targets</title>
2155. <link>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/04/harnessing-science-policy-collaboration-vital-role-ipbes-stakeholders-achieving-global-nature-targets/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=harnessing-science-policy-collaboration-vital-role-ipbes-stakeholders-achieving-global-nature-targets</link>
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2157. <pubDate>Fri, 26 Apr 2024 05:28:45 +0000</pubDate>
2158. <dc:creator>Anne Larigauderie</dc:creator>
2159. <category><![CDATA[Biodiversity]]></category>
2160. <category><![CDATA[Conferences]]></category>
2161. <category><![CDATA[Editors' Choice]]></category>
2162. <category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category>
2163. <category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
2164. <category><![CDATA[Global]]></category>
2165. <category><![CDATA[Headlines]]></category>
2166. <category><![CDATA[Indigenous Rights]]></category>
2167. <category><![CDATA[Natural Resources]]></category>
2168. <category><![CDATA[Sustainability]]></category>
2169. <category><![CDATA[TerraViva United Nations]]></category>
2170. <category><![CDATA[IPS UN Bureau]]></category>
2171.  
2172. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.ipsnews.net/?p=185146</guid>
2173. <description><![CDATA[In December 2022, the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) saw governments worldwide unite behind a set of ambitious targets aimed at addressing biodiversity loss and restoring natural ecosystems, through the Global Biodiversity Framework – known now as the Biodiversity Plan. As the world gears up [&#8230;]]]></description>
2175. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><font color="#999999"><img width="240" height="300" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/9_UNO_IPBES_Fotostudio-Helle-Kammer-240x300.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="Dr. Anne Larigauderie, IPBES Executive Secretary" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/9_UNO_IPBES_Fotostudio-Helle-Kammer-240x300.jpg 240w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/9_UNO_IPBES_Fotostudio-Helle-Kammer-768x960.jpg 768w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/9_UNO_IPBES_Fotostudio-Helle-Kammer-819x1024.jpg 819w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/9_UNO_IPBES_Fotostudio-Helle-Kammer-378x472.jpg 378w" sizes="(max-width: 240px) 100vw, 240px" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Dr. Anne Larigauderie, IPBES Executive Secretary</p></font></p><p>By Anne Larigauderie<br /> BONN, Germany, Apr 26 2024 (IPS) </p><p>In December 2022, the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) saw governments worldwide unite behind a set of ambitious targets aimed at addressing biodiversity loss and restoring natural ecosystems, through the Global Biodiversity Framework – known now as the Biodiversity Plan.<br />
2176. <span id="more-185146"></span></p>
2177. <p>As the world gears up to meet these critical commitments for people and nature, success depends very directly on the concrete choices and actions of people from every region, across all disciplines and at every level of decision-making. In this collaborative effort, non-governmental stakeholders of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) are vital actors, in addition to the 146 Governments who are members of IPBES.</p>
2178. <p>But who are IPBES stakeholders? Any individual or organization that can benefit from or contribute to the science-policy work of IPBES is an IPBES stakeholder. They include individual scientists, knowledge-holders, experts and practitioners, as well as institutions, organizations, and groups operating within and beyond the fields of biodiversity and nature’s contributions to people.</p>
2179. <p>There are two main self-organized groups of IPBES stakeholders: <a href="https://onet.ipbes.net/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ONet</a> and <a href="https://www.ipbes.net/IIFBES" target="_blank" rel="noopener">IIFBES</a>. ONet provides a broad space for individuals and organizations to exchange knowledge, align actions and deepen engagement with the work of IPBES—with subgroups from the social sciences, young career researchers and many more. IIFBES is a network to bring together the expertise, perspectives and interests of Indigenous Peoples and local communities interested in IPBES&#8217;s work. Both of these ‘umbrella’ groups are instrumental in amplifying diverse voices, knowledge systems, and experience, to strengthen science-policy for biodiversity and nature’s contributions to people. This is important not only in support of IPBES, but also to the success of the Biodiversity Plan.</p>
2180. <p>IPBES stakeholders contribute to the achievement of the Biodiversity Plan in three distinct ways. Firstly, they fortify the scientific foundations underpinning policies to protect biodiversity and nature’s contributions to people. Their expertise, channeled into the IPBES assessments, was instrumental in shaping the targets and indicators of the Biodiversity Plan. IPBES stakeholders will also continue to play a central role in ensuring that the actions to meet these targets are grounded in robust scientific knowledge and evidence.</p>
2181. <p>Secondly, IPBES stakeholders are equipped with the resources and tools provided by IPBES: including Assessment Reports and their summaries for policymakers, to advocate for and effect change. These resources offer invaluable insights into national, regional, and global thematic issues. When considered by decision-makers, they become catalysts for evidence-based policies. Effective dissemination and uptake of these resources are paramount in translating global targets into tangible, on-the-ground initiatives that address local challenges. Consequently, stakeholders can make a substantial contribution by widely disseminating IPBES products and providing information for their effective use.</p>
2182. <p>Thirdly, IPBES stakeholders have a tremendous opportunity to engage in the international forums where policy decisions are explored and made. Their active involvement and participation in decision-making bodies within these forums, coupled with their own extensive networks, foster the exchange of knowledge and resources. Collaborations forged in these settings bridge the gap between science and policy. Many IPBES stakeholders are active participants in the CBD processes, for instance, facilitating the exchange of information between these two bodies and thereby driving the Biodiversity Plan’s effective implementation.</p>
2183. <p>Only through collective action and close collaboration between international institutions, policy actors, scientists, local and Indigenous communities, and other relevant stakeholders can we seamlessly translate science into policy and practice, ultimately achieving the goals of the Biodiversity Plan. This is why more individuals and organizations should seize the opportunity to become active IPBES stakeholders. Joining the IPBES community is not only a commitment to a sustainable future for people and nature but is also a positive response to the pressing global biodiversity crisis.</p>
2184. <p><em><strong>Dr. Anne Larigauderie</strong> is the Executive Secretary of IPBES (<a href="http://www.ipbes.net/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">www.ipbes.net</a>) – the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, which provides objective scientific assessments about the state of knowledge regarding the planet’s biodiversity, ecosystems and the contributions they make to people, as well as options and actions to protect and sustainably use these vital natural assets.</em></p>
2185. <p>IPS UN Bureau</p>
2186. <p>&nbsp;</p>
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2194. <title>AI Policy Can&#8217;t Ignore Climate Change: We Need Net Zero AI Emissions</title>
2195. <link>https://www.ipsnews.net/2024/04/ai-policy-cant-ignore-climate-change-need-net-zero-ai-emissions/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=ai-policy-cant-ignore-climate-change-need-net-zero-ai-emissions</link>
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2197. <pubDate>Thu, 25 Apr 2024 16:37:46 +0000</pubDate>
2198. <dc:creator>Philippe Benoit</dc:creator>
2199. <category><![CDATA[Energy]]></category>
2200. <category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category>
2201. <category><![CDATA[Global]]></category>
2202. <category><![CDATA[Headlines]]></category>
2203. <category><![CDATA[TerraViva United Nations]]></category>
2204. <category><![CDATA[Artificial Intelligence Regulation]]></category>
2205.  
2206. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.ipsnews.net/?p=185126</guid>
2207. <description><![CDATA[Artificial intelligence provides amazing potential for advancement across fields, from medicine to agriculture to industry to the entertainment business, even as it generates significant concerns. AI can also improve the efficiency of energy production and use in ways that can reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But AI requires a lot of computational capacity, powered by electricity [&#8230;]]]></description>
2209. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><font color="#999999"><img width="300" height="169" src="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/netzeroaiemissions-300x169.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="AI must have net zero emissions to uphold our climate goals. Credit: Shutterstock - Governments, businesses and others should integrate the need for net zero AI emissions into their discussions on addressing AI’s impacts" srcset="https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/netzeroaiemissions-300x169.jpg 300w, https://www.ipsnews.net/Library/2024/04/netzeroaiemissions.jpg 629w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><p class="wp-caption-text">AI must have net zero emissions to uphold our climate goals. Credit: Shutterstock</p></font></p><p>By Philippe Benoit<br />WASHINGTON DC, Apr 25 2024 (IPS) </p><p>Artificial intelligence provides amazing potential for advancement across fields, from medicine to agriculture to industry to the entertainment business, even as it generates <a id="m_-6680249184623153149OWA3e69dac4-3cce-c250-a06c-09fc43bf264c" href="https://variety.com/2023/digital/features/hollywood-ai-crisis-atificial-intelligence-eliminate-acting-jobs-1235697167/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://variety.com/2023/digital/features/hollywood-ai-crisis-atificial-intelligence-eliminate-acting-jobs-1235697167/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1714140698048000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2zpjvJq1W2kJ4x9FBySNCU"> significant concerns</a>. AI can also improve the efficiency of energy production and use in ways <a id="m_-6680249184623153149OWAfa5f73a6-15b7-f62b-f4a7-f6f8a727d363" href="https://www.icef.go.jp/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/AI-Climate-Roadmap-ICEF-Dec-1-2023.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.icef.go.jp/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/AI-Climate-Roadmap-ICEF-Dec-1-2023.pdf&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1714140698048000&amp;usg=AOvVaw30yKD7a4Is1ZgAx0CuNe6m"> that can reduce greenhouse gas emissions</a>.<span id="more-185126"></span></p>
2210. <p>But AI requires a lot of computational capacity, powered by <a id="m_-6680249184623153149OWA9d13faf6-c005-1072-029e-33923f45cc02" href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/03/13/climate/electric-power-climate-change.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/03/13/climate/electric-power-climate-change.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1714140698048000&amp;usg=AOvVaw25V55MxsPadmepWUn3Q0TG"> electricity which can in turn generate additional emissions</a>.</p>
2211. <p>Unfortunately, according to the <a id="m_-6680249184623153149OWAf2ec8f28-07f2-6a52-0d9f-8937d0c44989" href="https://www.iea.org/reports/net-zero-by-2050" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.iea.org/reports/net-zero-by-2050&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1714140698048000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3sU9s1mSavIsiJ2XaSD6A9"> climate modeling of the International Energy Agency</a> and others, there isn’t room for a new additional source of energy emissions. Consequently, AI must have net zero emissions to uphold our climate goals.</p>
2212. <p>AI can lower emissions in a multitude of activities across a variety of sectors. For example, <a id="m_-6680249184623153149OWA4307fa99-8c5b-50d3-3be1-a09232277334" href="https://www.icef.go.jp/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/AI-Climate-Roadmap-ICEF-Dec-1-2023.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.icef.go.jp/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/AI-Climate-Roadmap-ICEF-Dec-1-2023.pdf&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1714140698048000&amp;usg=AOvVaw30yKD7a4Is1ZgAx0CuNe6m"> AI can help</a> reduce the emissions from manufacturing, food systems and road transport while increasing zero-carbon electricity production from solar and wind farms.</p>
2213. <p>As AI and the necessity for more electricity production take off and possibly accelerate even beyond current projections, it is important to manage potentially significant increases in greenhouse gas emissions that would undermine our climate goals<br />
2214. <br /><font size="1"></font>But recent reports point to burgeoning demand, <a id="m_-6680249184623153149OWA63864bbb-292b-71b7-d869-8053b51bacce" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/03/07/ai-data-centers-power/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/03/07/ai-data-centers-power/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1714140698048000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3ZUIvRN3pTEiTrP-2OAzU6"> notably in the U.S</a>., for more electricity production, driven in part by the computing needs of AI. With that comes <a id="m_-6680249184623153149OWAc9b72c43-9dcb-66f0-35b5-3ad9c2182028" href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/03/13/climate/electric-power-climate-change.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/03/13/climate/electric-power-climate-change.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1714140698048000&amp;usg=AOvVaw25V55MxsPadmepWUn3Q0TG"> related rising emissions</a>.</p>
2215. <p>Moreover, as Nividia announced its <a id="m_-6680249184623153149OWAe9e18cd8-f9f7-3a92-5490-0e2ce8c77b33" href="https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/18/24105157/nvidia-blackwell-gpu-b200-ai" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/18/24105157/nvidia-blackwell-gpu-b200-ai&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1714140698048000&amp;usg=AOvVaw05OcoV_N81oyE-Aksv2D1k"> newest, most powerful AI performance chip</a>, rising demand for AI and the electricity it needs will likely increase even further. And this will happen not just in <a id="m_-6680249184623153149OWAcdc928b8-1439-c03b-7177-96bf4cfedc44" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/03/07/ai-data-centers-power/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/03/07/ai-data-centers-power/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1714140698048000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3ZUIvRN3pTEiTrP-2OAzU6"> the U.S</a>., but worldwide, as reflected in <a id="m_-6680249184623153149OWA9cbfd05d-8862-7d8a-32f7-70192a7d76a9" href="https://www.business-standard.com/world-news/saudi-arabia-plans-40-billion-investment-in-artificial-intelligence-124032100025_1.html#:~:text=The%20government%20of%20Saudi%20Arabia,how%20people%20live%20and%20work." target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.business-standard.com/world-news/saudi-arabia-plans-40-billion-investment-in-artificial-intelligence-124032100025_1.html%23:~:text%3DThe%2520government%2520of%2520Saudi%2520Arabia,how%2520people%2520live%2520and%2520work.&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1714140698048000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2Q2_D0AH5NzUCLHabZ2U_x"> Saudi Arabia’s plan to invest $40 billion in AI</a>.</p>
2216. <p>While there may be some efficiency gains because of AI, we can anticipate a net increase in electricity demand, particularly as the entertainment industry and others develop new and creative uses for AI.</p>
2217. <p>This AI-driven increase will likely begin within the next several years, well before the power network has had the time to convert from the current fossil fuel-based system to a low-emissions renewables-dominated one.</p>
2218. <p>Consequently, expect more emissions from the power sector in the near term. Over the longer term, it will also reduce the available <a id="m_-6680249184623153149OWA2cf65834-0877-85dc-9fb3-2ba834a6596a" href="https://www.mcc-berlin.net/en/research/co2-budget.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.mcc-berlin.net/en/research/co2-budget.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1714140698048000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1OxdtZJr8BKuQE2K6_x1bz"> carbon budget</a>, which is the amount of future emissions that can be accommodated within <a id="m_-6680249184623153149OWA376288a0-a528-20d7-1f1d-5f6034a1c3f9" href="https://unfccc.int/most-requested/key-aspects-of-the-paris-agreement" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://unfccc.int/most-requested/key-aspects-of-the-paris-agreement&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1714140698048000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1mdjzFQXOYrw5Ls8PJNEl5"> internationally agreed temperature targets</a>.</p>
2219. <p>The IEA’s <a id="m_-6680249184623153149OWA39644e94-8e03-730c-82d9-74e39191d53f" href="https://www.iea.org/reports/global-energy-and-climate-model/net-zero-emissions-by-2050-scenario-nze" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.iea.org/reports/global-energy-and-climate-model/net-zero-emissions-by-2050-scenario-nze&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1714140698048000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2ubnfikJ9t6zVvXYzMzneX"> Net Zero Emissions by 2050</a> climate scenario and similar climate pathways are built on <a id="m_-6680249184623153149OWAda6831e2-b607-8863-3ced-89a72de955e9" href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/11/net-zero-emissions-cop26-climate-change/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/11/net-zero-emissions-cop26-climate-change/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1714140698048000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1EgkhaEP0KeLQdekeCvdXS"> balanc</a>ing carbon dioxide emissions from the energy sector and carbon dioxide <a id="m_-6680249184623153149OWA8124a578-648f-7829-a823-79c16b093841" href="https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-outlook-2023" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-outlook-2023&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1714140698048000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1x_u_hzyoSF5nkEJrp6ZQw"> removals</a>. Deploying renewables, energy efficiency, fuel switching and other low-carbon technologies are keys to lowering emissions to a level that can be balanced through removals.</p>
2220. <p>Unmanaged AI, however, may hamper this effort, as its thirst for electricity results in a potential new source of emissions to be eliminated. AI needs to “pay for itself” regarding the climate by having net zero emissions and, preferably, even net negative emissions.</p>
2221. <p>How can we accomplish this? First, there must be a concerted effort to power data centers and other AI-related infrastructure through renewables in a manner that does not cannibalize low-emissions electricity generation projects for households and other consumers. Governments and the private sector — including local or remote data center users and private capital — must work together to increase investment in and accelerate renewables deployment.</p>
2222. <p>A second possible tool is to add a high load computational surcharge for AI users and possibly other large computer activities, such as <a id="m_-6680249184623153149OWA154b8f52-8799-25a1-34f3-9b85f19e34b5" href="https://www.forbes.com/advisor/investing/cryptocurrency/bitcoins-energy-usage-explained/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.forbes.com/advisor/investing/cryptocurrency/bitcoins-energy-usage-explained/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1714140698048000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2NqAzIG8FUu7U9xp4ELiBB"> cryptocurrency mining</a>, to help finance additional investment in renewables.</p>
2223. <p>Third, AI’s climate impact should be added to discussions on managing possible negative effects, such as AI’s potential for <a id="m_-6680249184623153149OWA1b547017-96a8-659a-5dbe-afa781ea8c71" href="https://apnews.com/article/artificial-intelligence-davos-misinformation-disinformation-climate-change-106a1347ca9f987bf71da1f86a141968" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://apnews.com/article/artificial-intelligence-davos-misinformation-disinformation-climate-change-106a1347ca9f987bf71da1f86a141968&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1714140698049000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3b1mVdK2RJUP3xlnJkBSLe"> misinformation</a> and <a id="m_-6680249184623153149OWA80fb1c8c-ddc3-6b52-dd8b-b30226e6c447" href="https://variety.com/2023/digital/features/hollywood-ai-crisis-atificial-intelligence-eliminate-acting-jobs-1235697167/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://variety.com/2023/digital/features/hollywood-ai-crisis-atificial-intelligence-eliminate-acting-jobs-1235697167/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1714140698049000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0IJuvjdSTajDCtxRp8zToT"> disruptions to job markets</a>. For example, the United Nations recently approved a <a id="m_-6680249184623153149OWAda439afe-7bd8-acdc-9f88-c16ce5834298" href="https://www.state.gov/united-nations-general-assembly-adopts-by-consensus-u-s-led-resolution-on-seizing-the-opportunities-of-safe-secure-and-trustworthy-artificial-intelligence-systems-for-sustainable-development/#:~:text=The%20resolution%20supports%20the%20Biden,frameworks%20for%20harnessing%20AI%27s%20benefits%2C" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.state.gov/united-nations-general-assembly-adopts-by-consensus-u-s-led-resolution-on-seizing-the-opportunities-of-safe-secure-and-trustworthy-artificial-intelligence-systems-for-sustainable-development/%23:~:text%3DThe%2520resolution%2520supports%2520the%2520Biden,frameworks%2520for%2520harnessing%2520AI%2527s%2520benefits%252C&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1714140698049000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2l6rE8d7zMc6RGw7yf71BQ"> U.S.-led resolution</a> to make AI “safe, secure and trustworthy.” Similar initiatives need to be expanded to address AI’s potential emissions impact.</p>
2224. <p>Fourth, and potentially most effectively, AI needs to be turned on itself to find mechanisms that result in net zero emissions and even make net negative emissions possible. This should include the development of innovative emissions reduction measures, as well as more ways to increase zero-carbon electricity production <a id="m_-6680249184623153149OWA11e0891b-2863-19e0-0b6c-b3481a188be7" href="https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/26/climate/ai-energy-nuclear-fusion-climate-intl/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/26/climate/ai-energy-nuclear-fusion-climate-intl/index.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1714140698049000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0EO4rb8R6Z9HXPfsPe_6bv"> with a focus on achievable solutions</a>.</p>
2225. <p>There is also a need for better methodologies to measure both the increase and the savings in emissions that AI generates. This fourth pole should involve a combination of private sector-led action, inter-governmental initiatives and public-private research efforts.</p>
2226. <p>As AI and the necessity for more electricity production take off and possibly accelerate even beyond current projections, it is important to manage <a id="m_-6680249184623153149OWAffb35363-d09c-d39e-adca-ea731614b560" href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/03/13/climate/electric-power-climate-change.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/03/13/climate/electric-power-climate-change.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1714140698049000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3dSBc9A4zeyzU7LBURh9Mo"> potentially significant increases in greenhouse gas emissions</a> that would undermine our climate goals. Governments, businesses and others should integrate the need for net zero AI emissions into their discussions on addressing AI’s impacts.</p>
2227. <p>This oped was first published in The Hill</p>
2228. <p><i><strong>Philippe Benoit</strong> is the managing director at </i><i><a id="m_-6680249184623153149OWA58bfe966-c3ed-a262-cddc-06dc079ab622" href="http://www.gias2050.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.gias2050.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1714140698049000&amp;usg=AOvVaw100S331z2nXe1aNJRXL9Ne">Global Infrastructure Advisory Services 2050</a></i><i>. He previously held energy sector management positions at the International Energy Agency and the World Bank</i><i>, and most recently was adjunct senior research scholar at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy.</i></p>
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