NO 100 October — November 2003 CALENDAR
| UN UPDATE | NGO AND OTHER NEWS | FOCUS |
| S-G’s Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change | |||
| On
3 November, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan announced the names of
the 16 members that will take part in a high-level panel, entitled
the Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change. The panel—to be
chaired by Anand Panyarachun, the former prime minister of Thailand—will
study global security threats and reform of the United Nations.
Mr. Annan announced his plans to
form the eminent person panel in his 23 September address to the
General Assembly. “The panel will focus primarily on threats
to peace and security. But it will also need to examine other global
challenges, insofar as these may influence or connect with those
threats,” he said. |
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| The
General Assembly has extended the term of United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees (UNHCR) Ruud Lubbers through the end of 2005, following
a recommendation by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
Mr. Lubbers, who has headed UNHCR
since 2001, has overseen programmes in West Africa, Angola and Afghanistan,
with more than 2.5 million refugees and displaced people having
returned to those countries under the agency’s repatriation
programmes. The agency is currently dealing with a refugee emergency
in Chad, where some 65,000 Sudanese fleeing fighting in the northern
Dafur region have arrived in recent months, and is assisting both
refugees and internally displaced in Liberia. |
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| The
European Union has awarded its annual human rights prize to UN Secretary-General
Kofi Annan and in special memory of his Special Envoy to Iraq, Sergio
Vieira de Mello, for their defense of human rights and democracy.
The 2003 Sakharov Prize for Freedom
of Thought was given to Mr. Annan “and all staff of the UN
in special memory of Mr. Vieira de Mello and many other UN officials
who have lost their lives in carrying out their work for peace in
the world.” All six main political groups in the 626-member
European Parliament agreed that the United Nations should be honoured
for its attempts to prevent war in Iraq. Mr. Annan will receive
the US$58,000 prize in January in Brussels. |
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| GA Adopts Convention Against Corruption | |||
| On
31 October the General Assembly adopted the United Nations Convention
Against Corruption, a treaty designed to strengthen international
cooperation against corruption and make it harder to hide stolen assets.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan called the treaty, which took less
than two years to negotiate, “a remarkable achievement”
that “sends a clear message that the international community
is determined to prevent and control corruption.”
Speaking to the General Assembly
shortly before its adoption, Mr. Annan said, “It warns the
corrupt that betrayal of the public trust will no longer be tolerated.
And it reaffirms the importance of core values, such as honesty,
respect for the rule of law, accountability and transparency, in
promoting development and making the world a better place for all.” |
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| UN Budget Ends the Year in the Red | |||
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According to Under-Secretary-General for Management Catherine Bertini, the United Nations’ regular budget will end the year US$12 million in debt unless some governments pay their outstanding dues by the end of the year. Reviewing the UN’s current finances and next budget, Ms. Bertini said all four major components of the budget—regular expenditures, peacekeeping, the two war crimes tribunals and the plan for renovating UN headquarters—will end the year in the red. According to figures issued by Ms. Bertini’s office, the regular
budget for 2003 is US$1.4 billion; the Rwandan and Yugoslav war
crimes tribunals will cost US$217 million; the total costs of all
peacekeeping operations is around US$2.25 billion; and the Capital
Master Plan—the proposed renovation of UN headquarters—is
operating on a US$25.5 million budget.
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| WFP Becomes 9th UNAIDS Cosponsor | |||
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The World Food Programme (WFP) has
become the ninth Cosponsor of the Joint United Nations Programme
on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). |
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| Consolidated Appeal 2004: US$3 billion | |||
| Speaking
at a meeting of government representatives, relief agencies and NGOs
on 18 November, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan launched the annual
Consolidated Appeal for 2004, amounting to US$3 billion, to go towards
humanitarian assistance for 45 million people in 21 countries—an
amount that Mr. Annan said should be viewed in the context of the
nearly US$2 billion received for Iraq alone this year. Stressing that the most needy beneficiaries were children, women and the elderly, Mr. Annan said that this aid is a right and not charity for people. The annual appeal is a product of the United Nations-led Consolidated Appeals Process (CAP), which builds strategic and coordinated responses to the humanitarian consequences of crises. It covers 21 crises, 17 of them in Africa, and emphasizes the importance of listening to people from communities ravaged by war, conflict, and natural disasters, and those struggling to rebuild. The Secretary-General noted, however, that the UN had received only 66% of the US$3 billion sought in the current 2003 appeal, and the funding levels remained “uneven” with some countries, such as Iraq, getting nearly all the money requested, while Liberia received only 24% of the funds requested. UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland said that although there are still too few donor nations, aid remains unpredictable. He added that unless there was a real increase in the levels of humanitarian assistance and efforts to ensure that funding goes to those who need it most, forgotten emergencies may remain inevitable. He pointed out that the UN is now reaching humanitarian beneficiaries in places where it was never able to work before, including the Democratic Republic of Congo and northern Uganda. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator Mark Malloch Brown said that the appeal was rather modest compared to the global needs since the average annual budget for development aid is US$55 billion and this appeal was “very targeted” for those in extreme need. He added that running strongly through this appeal is the view that populations and countries should graduate from humanitarian assistance and return to development assistance, noting that this transition is beginning to happen in Angola and Liberia, where peace agreements are opening up “tremendous opportunities” for the people as well as allowing the international aid agencies to provide more development aid. The 21 countries covered by the appeal are: Angola, Burundi, Chechnya and the nearby Russian republics, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Africa’s Great Lakes Region, Guinea, Ivory Coast (in conjunction with Burkina Faso, Ghana and Mali), Liberia, North Korea, the occupied Palestinian territory, Sierra Leone, Somalia, the southern Africa region, Sudan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Uganda, West Africa and Zimbabwe. |
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| Salil Shetty Named Director of MDG Campaign | |||
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United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP) Administrator Mark Malloch Brown has announced the appointment
of Salil Shetty (India) as Director of the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs) Campaign. Mr. Shetty and his team will be working closely
with UNDP and the broader UN system to promote the MDGs globally. |
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| 2003 Report on the World Social Situation | |||
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The focus of this year’s 2003
Report on the World Social Situation (2003 RWSS)—prepared by
the Division for Social Policy and Development of the Department
of Economic and Social Affairs—is social vulnerability. The
report finds that the causes and manifestations of vulnerability
have multiplied and changed greatly over the past decade, and now
include civil strife and the proliferation of conflicts, growing
inequalities within and among countries accentuated by globalization,
mixed outcomes of poverty reduction efforts, increased mobility
of populations, and changes in family structures. |
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| UNCTAD Identifies New FDI Patterns | |||
| According
to new estimates released by the United Nations Conference on Trade
and Development (UNCTAD), the share of the services sector in total
foreign direct investment (FDI) stock now amounts to approximately
60% at the global level, compared to less than 50% a decade ago. At
the same time, a new pattern of services FDI has emerged, with financial
and trading services—the traditional bulwarks of services stock—ceding
ground to new industries, UNCTAD reports. The overall rise in services stock—which applies to both developed and developing countries, and to both inward and outward investment—is mirrored by a decline in the share of manufacturing in FDI inward stock, from more than 40% in 1990 to currently 35%. The share of the primary sector also fell, from 10% to 6%, according to UNCTAD. Finance and trading stock decreased from 65% of all inward services stock in 1990 to 45% in 2001, while that of the new FDI service industries—including power generation and distribution, telecommunications and business services—rose from 17% to 44%. UNCTAD reports that the growth of FDI in services reflects two factors: the rise of the services economy in developed countries, where it now accounts for an average two-thirds of gross domestic product (GDP); and the opening up to FDI in services of all groups of economies. As many services are neither tradable nor storable, but must be produced where they are consumed, FDI is the dominant means of delivering them to foreign markets. The fact that services affiliates abroad are increasingly established by manufacturers in support of trade and other operations abroad also helps the ascendance of services in FDI. Their expansion is further fuelled by information emergence of international services production networks. UNCTAD says among the “up-and-coming” services industries are power generation and distribution (electricity, gas and water), telecommunications, and business services, such as machinery and equipment rental, computer-related activities, research and development, and advertising. In all industries, developed countries continue to dominate outward FDI stock; developing countries and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe account for less than 10% of the total in many industries. In absolute terms, FDI stock has grown in all sectors and almost all industries. Even in agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing, traditionally not an important focus of FDI, inward FDI stock more than doubled between 1990 and 2001. Inward stock in services, however, quintupled. In the primary sector, UNCTAD says that FDI is determined primarily by resource endowments, not by the industrial characteristics that affect investment in manufacturing and services. In resource-intensive activities, FDI is concentrated in countries that have high-quality, low-cost resources in abundance. While developing countries are rich in natural resources and attract considerable FDI, few internationally competitive firms in the primary sector come from these countries. FDI in most industries not only originates in developed countries but is also invested primarily in them, typically because this is where the markets are. However, UNCTAD finds there are some notable exceptions: in construction, for example, the FDI stock in developing countries exceeds that in developed countries, and the picture is similar in electricity, gas and water, where the stock size is not very different in the two country groups. In most manufacturing industries, the stock in developing countries is still several times smaller than in developed countries. UNCTAD’s estimates find that the gap is shrinking: developing countries’ manufacturing stock has risen from one-fifth that of the industrial world in 1990 to one-half in 2001. Food, beverages and tobacco, wood, machinery and equipment, and especially coal and petroleum products were among the industries to see the biggest reduction in this gap. Contact: Masataka Fujita, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/907 6217, fax +41-22/917 0194, e-mail <masataka.fujita @unctad.org>, website (www.unctad.org). |
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| World Bank’s Post-Conflict Fund | |||
| The
World Bank’s Post-Conflict Fund (PCF) disbursed a record US$13
million during the fiscal year 2003 supporting countries in the transition
from conflict to peace. It has approved a total of US$61.5 million
for 120 grants for the period 1998-2005, and Africa remains the region
receiving the most funds with 40% percent of approvals. Funding of
the PCF to date has been largely through the World Bank’s Development
Grant Facility (US$54 million of US$61 million) with the remainder
in small donor contributions. The Fund has engaged in new areas and countries—such as its three grants to Iraq for knowledge activities in development, water, and power—while maintaining its support to ongoing operations in 36 conflict-affected countries. The Bank says the activities in Iraq are being used for the collection and dissemination of statistics as part of a “watching brief” covering macro-economic and sectoral issues. “Although the amounts were very modest, the initial PCF grants to Iraq through UN partners gave us concrete partnerships to work on, and a jump-start on the needs assessment while broader issues were under discussion,” says Senior Social Development Specialist Colin Scott, the Fund’s Administrator. “The PCF has proven its value in filling a gap between emergency relief and development, not only in countries which have limited access to regular Bank funding like Somalia and Haiti, but also in many other conflict-affected countries or regions which have a need for this kind of support,” Mr. Scott said, adding that “In many of these cases, ‘post conflict’ really describes where we want to get to rather than our starting point.” In Somalia, a PCF grant is financing the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)/WB Country re-engagement Strategy in key areas such as macro-economic data analysis and dialogue, the livestock and meat industry, HIV/AIDS, and capacity building and training. Created in 1997, the PCF supports planning, piloting, and analysis of ground-breaking activities through funding to a range of partners to provide earlier and broader World Bank assistance to conflict-affected countries. The Bank says increased demand for funds is placing the PCF under considerable stress. At the end of June 2004, potential demands from Liberia, Cote d’Ivoire, Iraq and others are likely to overtake supply. According to the World Bank, 80% of the world’s 20 poorest countries have suffered a major civil war in the past 15 years. On average, countries coming out of war face a 50% chance of relapsing in the first five years of peace. Even with rapid progress after peace, it can take a generation or more just to return to pre-war living standards. A World Bank report, entitled Natural Resources and Conflict, argues that helping low-income countries diversify their economies away from a dependence on natural resources could significantly lower their risk of falling into conflict. Revenues from natural resources—seized by rebel groups through extortion or direct trade—have financed wars in low-income countries, prolonging hostilities and making them harder to resolve. The report found that doubling the income per capita in low-income countries roughly halved the risk of civil war. It proposed global action to cut conflict in low-income countries by: improving poor countries’ access to world markets by liberalizing trade, and cutting rich countries’ agricultural subsidies to farmers; increasing transparency and international scrutiny of revenues from natural resources projects by opening government income and resource company payments to independent oversight; and banning ransom insurance. Contact: Marianne Stigset, World Bank, 1818 H Street NW, Washington DC 20433, USA, telephone +1-202/458 4897, e-mail <mstigset@worldbank.org>, website (http://lnweb18.worldbank.org/ ESSD/sdvext.nsf/ 67ByDocName/ThePostConflictFund). |
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| On
21 October 2003, the Permanent Missions of Germany and Switzerland
convened a seminar at UN headquarters to share the results of independent
evaluations reviewing the impact of bilateral participation and funding
for Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper-related processes (PRSPs). The
studies were conducted by two independent consulting firms at the
request of the German and Swiss Development Corporations.
While acknowledging the importance
of bilateral engagement and support for the PRSP process, both studies
raised significant questions regarding the quality, content and
process underlying the drafting and implementation of poverty reduction
strategy papers. The report, issued by the German consulting firm
Bliss and Gaesing, criticized the PRSP process for ignoring the
macro-economic context of poverty alleviation and often glossing
over the deeper structural causes underpinning poverty in many developing
countries, including land tenure and caste systems. Similarly, the
Swiss report argued that PRSPs often paid insufficient attention
to a number of important external constraints impeding poverty alleviation
in developing countries, including Organisation for Economic Co-operation
and Development (OECD) trade policies, which were a significant
source of tension at the recent World Trade Organization Ministerial
in Cancun (see Go Between 99). |
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| IMF: Implementing Transparency Measures | |||
| On
10 October, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced that its
Executive Board has agreed on measures to further increase IMF’s
transparency, in particular by promoting the publication of more country
documents. IMF says it has increased the number of documents that
it has published over the past decade, but the number of country documents
(which must have the agreement of the country concerned) has been
uneven with some regions lagging behind others. The Board has encouraged more countries to agree to publication of their documents by adopting a policy of presumption that all country staff reports should be published. IMF says that presumed publication means that countries are expected—and strongly encouraged—to publish reports prepared by IMF staff on their economies. However, the country’s consent is still required. The presumption policy already applies to IMF policy documents, which address issues relevant to the global economy or international financial system. The Executive Board also considered the IMF’s deletion policy for country documents which covers exchange and interest rate matters and highly market sensitive material in vulnerability assessments and the banking and fiscal areas. Concerns were raised in the Board discussions that pressure to delete significant sections in documents might intensify with increased transparency. To address these concerns, it was agreed that IMF management might recommend that the Board withhold publication of a document if deletions were deemed to undermine the IMF’s overall assessment, and therefore, its credibility. Directors also agreed to apply the broad principles for deletions and corrections for country documents to policy papers. IMF says in practice this means that the positions adopted by IMF staff in policy papers will not be revised before publication, even when they differ from those expressed by the Executive Board. When there is a risk of confusion, the published version will clearly identify those staff positions that have not been endorsed by the Board. The next review of the IMF’s transparency policy is scheduled for June 2005. Contact: International Monetary Fund, 700 19th Street NW, Washington DC 20431, USA, telephone +1-202/623 7300, fax +1- 202/623 6278, e-mail <publicaffairs@imf.org>, website (www.imf.org). |
FAO Observes World Food Day | ||
| The
theme for this year’s World Food Day—International Alliance
Against Hunger—celebrated on 16 October, was seen as a means
to strengthen the global commitment to fighting hunger. United Nations
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Director-General Jacques Diouf
made an appeal for the Alliance as “a way to move forward together,
to reduce poverty and to guarantee the most basic of human rights—to
be free from hunger.” Speaking at FAO headquarters in Rome, Dr. Diouf said, “Nations must turn verbal commitments to fight hunger into practical programmes that address the underlying causes of hunger. I believe that we are now at the threshold of the end of this long struggle against global hunger.” To accelerate action to reduce world hunger, the International Alliance Against Hunger, which resulted from the June 2002 World Food Summit: five years later (see Go Between 92), provides a forum for advocacy, and is also meant to promote joint actions and efforts by its members. The Alliance encourages partners to offer assistance, whether training, policy advice, or help in developing hunger reduction strategies. Food producers and consumers, international organizations, scientists, academics, religious groups, NGOs, donors, policymakers and all those concerned about the problem of world hunger were already uniting in a number of countries, Dr. Diouf said. Several developing countries are establishing National Alliances. Among them Brazil, which is implementing the Zero Hunger Programme (see Go Between 97), Colombia, Ghana, Honduras, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Panama, Sierra Leone, Sudan and Uganda. Among the developed countries, the United States has initiated the establishment of an Alliance Against Hunger, while a few others are building coalitions with NGOs concerned with food security issues. Contact: Pierre Antonios, Information Officer, FAO, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, I-00100 Rome, Italy, telephone +39-06/5705 3473, e-mail <pierre.antonios@fao.org>, website (www.fao.org). |
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| Observing
World Food Day on 16 October, the World Food Programme (WFP) said
in spite of generous donations from the international community, millions
of people around the world would still go hungry, and WFP faces the
highest global food aid needs in its 40-year history. “It is simply unacceptable in this day and age that hunger and malnutrition remain the number one cause of death worldwide,” said James T. Morris, WFP Executive Director. “Millions are counting on us to remind the world of their daily struggle, and the best way for them to be heard is for all of us to speak with one loud voice.” WFP says progress towards the goal of halving the number of hungry people—almost 800 million in the developing world—by 2015 is being stymied by historically low levels of investment in agricultural development. “Clearly, no single organization can solve world hunger. Its causes are incredibly complex, and its solution requires more than food aid alone,” said Mr. Morris. “All of us—individuals, businesses, non-governmental organizations and governments—have a deep responsibility to join the campaign to end hunger.” He said partnerships with WFP’s traditional allies—the NGO community, UN agencies and governments—are stronger than ever as every day more than 1,200 NGOs and a host of UN agencies work alongside WFP to help deliver food aid. Working with the governments of the Group of 8 (G-8) and the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD), WFP plans to get 30 million African children who are not currently attending class into school. Drawing attention to the food aid situation on 16 October, WFP said among the people who would go hungry that day were hundreds of thousands of Liberians. Over 300,000 people struck by drought in Eritrea and countless others across southern Africa would receive less than a full ration from WFP. In the Teso District (Uganda), rebel violence has delayed the delivery of emergency food aid to 292,000 internally displaced people. In November, 680,000 elderly people and caregivers in North Korea will have their food rations slashed, WFP said. In Haiti, 6,000 people suffering from HIV/AIDS who lack nutritious food to help them cope with the disease will not receive food aid because no funds have been donated to kick-off the project. Contact: Caroline Hurford, Public Affairs Officer, WFP, Via Cesare Giulio Viola 68, I-00148 Rome, Italy, telephone +39-06/6513 2330, fax + 39-06/6513 2840, e-mail <caroline.hurford@wfp.org>, website (www.wfp.org). |
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| UN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in his message observing the International
Day for the Eradication of Poverty, 17 October, said that a world
not advancing towards the Millennium Development Goals will “not
be a world at peace.” Below are extracts from his speech. “Yesterday, we observed World Food Day. Today, we observe the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. This year, we are holding joint events in recognition of the close links between hunger and poverty. “Approximately 1.2 billion people struggle to survive on less than a dollar a day. An estimated 840 million suffer the gnawing pain of hunger, and as many as 24,000 people, many of them children, die every day as a result. People who are hungry are more susceptible to disease, and find their capacity to work diminished as well. Hunger also impairs children’s ability to learn, with consequences that are felt long after childhood is over. There is no time to lose if we are to reach the Millennium Development Goal—agreed by all the world’s countries—of halving by 2015 the proportion of people who live on less than a dollar a day and the proportion of people who suffer from hunger. “The achievement of that goal—and all the other Millennium Development Goals—depends on many things. But none is more vital than forging a truly global partnership for development—which is itself one of the Millennium Development Goals. Such a partnership requires bold reforms from many developing countries. But it also requires bold action from developed countries. “An essential component is a trading system that is both free and equitable. The failure of the recent World Trade Organization meeting in Cancún to reach agreement on reducing and ultimately phasing out tariff and non-tariff barriers is a source of great concern. These barriers shut out many developing countries from the markets of developed countries—stunting growth, stifling opportunity and starving millions of people who want to trade their way out of poverty. “The Monterrey and Johannesburg conferences on financing for development and sustainable development also set out key parameters and commitments for building a global partnership for development. Some progress has been made, but much more needs to be done to meet those commitments. “A world that is not advancing towards the Millennium Development Goals—a world mired in the deprivation of hunger, the prevalence of disease and the despair of poverty—will not be a world at peace. On this day, as we recall the link between poverty and hunger, let us also recall the link between development and peace. And in that spirit, let rich and poor alike rededicate themselves to achieving the Millennium Development Goals,” the Secretary-General concluded. The International Day was commemorated in Geneva with a roundtable, jointly organized by the United Nations Office in Geneva and the NGO ATD Fourth World Movement, with the theme “How do we face the challenges of eradicating poverty and guaranteeing full enjoyment of all human rights in partnership with the poorest?” Bertrand Ramcharan, Acting High Commissioner for Human Rights, chaired the roundtable, with the participation of Jean Fabre, Deputy Director of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Eugen Brand, Director-General of the ATD Fourth World Movement, and Yves Soudan, of Franciscans International. In his remarks, Mr. Ramcharan said, “most societies have the means to eradicate extreme poverty. The issue is therefore not one of resources primarily, but of governance and of will. Every country should have an anti-poverty strategy grounded in universal human rights.” Following the Acting High Commissioner’s remarks, a testimony was given by a person confronted by extreme poverty. The floor was then open for debate on how the poor and non-poor can meet the challenge to work with the poorest members of society to guarantee their human rights. Several participants mentioned that poverty is also the root of conflict, and that the fight against poverty should be among the global efforts towards peace. |
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| On
3 October 2003, Norwegian Environment Minister Borge Brende, the Chair
of the twelfth session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development
(CSD-12), briefed delegations, UN officials and NGO representatives
on preparations for the session, which is scheduled to take place
from 19-30 April 2004 at UN headquarters in New York. The high-level
segment of the meeting will take place from 28-30 April. CSD-12 will be preceded by a three-day preparatory committee for the International Meeting to Review Implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States (SIDS+10, see Go Between 99, and www.sidsnet.org). Mr. Brende reminded the audience that as CSD-12 is a “review year,” there will be no official negotiations. He described the 12th session as an opportunity for ministers, UN agencies and other stakeholders and NGOs, especially those involved in the three major themes—water, sanitation and human settlements—to evaluate the implementation of the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (see NGLS Roundup 94) and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs, see NGLS Roundups 102 & 104). Regarding Major Groups participation, Mr. Brende noted that Major Groups would have the opportunity to participate in all discussions at CSD-12, and not solely the multi-stakeholder dialogue within the high-level segment. The following “entry points” for Major Groups representatives are currently being developed and discussed by the CSD Bureau: — General debate: Major Groups will be included in the list of speakers of the general debate (details will be made available closer to the session). — Interactive review discussions on status and practical aspects of implementation: Major Groups will be integrated into all other sessions pertaining to the review exercise, which may include panel discussions, etc. Major Groups could be called upon during such interactive discussions to make comments on presentations, pose questions, participate in panels, and serve as resource persons or facilitators. Major Group experts and practitioners in the areas of water, sanitation and human settlements will be invited to share experiences and lessons learned and exchange practical approaches in implementation relevant to the issues being reviewed. — High-level segment: one session will be allocated to a multi-stakeholder interactive dialogue on the state of implementation within the three thematic areas between ministers and high-level representatives of Major Groups. — Closing session: provisions will be made during the closing session on 30 April for overall comments by Major Groups on the outcomes of the review session. The CSD Secretariat has issued its Guidelines for Major Groups (available online), including details for participation in inter-sessional and regional meetings and in the SIDS+10 review process, as well as accreditation to the CSD-12 itself. A background paper is being prepared by the CSD Secretariat summarizing views from Major Groups on overall progress on all areas as well as the three thematic areas. Major Group organizations wishing to submit written inputs to the background paper need to do so before 15 February 2004. Contact: Federica Pietracci, Major Groups Programme, Division for Sustainable Development, Department for Economic and Social Affairs, Two UN Plaza, Room DC2-2210, New York NY 10010, USA, fax +1-212/963 4260, e-mail <beyondwssd@un.org>, website (www.un.org/esa/sustdev). |
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| A
report by the United Nations Population Division of the Department
of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) shows the massive impact of
HIV/AIDS on all sectors of society, and warns that that the AIDS epidemic
will continue to have devastating consequences for decades to come
for virtually every sector of society. In many countries, the epidemic
is undermining the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs) adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2000 (see
NGLS Roundups 98, 105 & 106). The report, entitled The Impact of AIDS, documents the wide reaching impacts of HIV/AIDS on families and households, agricultural sustainability, business, the health sector, education, and economic growth. More than 42 million people worldwide are now living with HIV/AIDS. To fight the spread of the disease, the report calls for strong national leadership; increased resources; comprehensive programmes of HIV prevention services; and national strategies for the delivery of treatment and care. Key report findings: — HIV/AIDS has a devastating demographic impact, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, where the epidemic began earliest and HIV prevalence is highest. Recent UN projections show even more drastic losses over the coming decades, and about 100 million excess deaths are expected in these African countries by 2025. By 2025, AIDS is expected to cause 31 million excess deaths in India and 18 million more deaths in China. — The burdens of HIV/AIDS on families and households are staggering. Adult deaths, especially of parents, often cause the break-up of households, with children being sent to live with relatives or becoming homeless. — The loss of farm workers to HIV/AIDS has serious ramifications for food security. The ten most severely affected African countries will lose between 10-26% of their agricultural labour force by 2020. Among the consequences of the loss of farm workers are reduction in land under cultivation, decline in crop yields, and a shortage of labour during periods of high labour demand. — Business enterprises are heavily impacted by the AIDS epidemic as the most productive workers in the labour force often become too ill to work and eventually die. Ill workers are less productive, as are those workers who must care for ill family members. Also, the costs of paying health and death benefits and replacing experienced workers have serious financial implications for businesses and may cause them to become less competitive and eventually close down. — HIV/AIDS weakens the economy and stalls economic development. Where HIV prevalence is high, workers are afflicted and the labour force weakens and shrinks. As funds for investment and savings are often diverted to pay for health care and social welfare benefits for afflicted families, economic development stalls or loses ground. — HIV/AIDS seriously threatens the education of children as children in households affected by HIV/AIDS are often taken out of school to help at home with care-giving or income-generating activities. Teachers are also dying of AIDS, eroding the quality of education. — HIV/AIDS threatens the viability of health-care systems, especially those systems that were already inadequate in many affected countries even before HIV/AIDS struck. Treating AIDS and related opportunistic infections is placing heavy burdens on the health systems of a growing number of countries. The study suggests that immediate and concerted actions to prevent new infections and to treat and care for people living with HIV/AIDS will mitigate the destructive consequences of an unchecked epidemic. It concludes: “The course of the HIV/AIDS epidemic is by no means pre-determined. The eventual course of the disease depends on how individuals, communities, nations and the world respond to the HIV/AIDS threat today and tomorrow.” Contact: Joseph Chamie, Director of the United Nations Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, New York NY 10017, USA, telephone +1-212/963 3179, fax +1-212/963 2147, website (www.unpopulation.org). |
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| A
report, undertaken by an independent international team for the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO),
entitled EFA Global Monitoring Report 2003/4, Gender and Education
for All, The Leap to Equality, finds that girls in 54 countries—including
16 countries in sub-Saharan Africa as well as Pakistan and India—face
discrimination in getting an education. The report, part of the follow-up
to the Dakar World Education Forum held in Senegal in April 2000,
finds that in China, the most populous country in the world, boys
will continue to outnumber girls in secondary schools for many years
to come. “While not a complete surprise, these results are obviously a cause for deep concern,” Director-General of UNESCO Koïchiro Matsuura said. “Gender parity in education is a priority not only because inequality is a major infringement of fundamental human rights but because it represents an important obstacle to social and economic development.” Gender equality in education is one of the six goals of the Education For All (EFA) programme endorsed by 164 governments at the Forum in Dakar. As a first step to achieving equality, they set the target of 2005 to achieve equal enrolment of boys and girls in primary and secondary education. The report measures efforts being made in all parts of the world to enrol more girls in school. In the decade to 2000, the number of girls in primary school increased faster than that of boys, with the global Gender Parity Index (GPI) rising from 0.89 to 0.93 (a GPI of 1 indicates parity between the sexes). But 57% of the estimated 104 million primary-age children out of school worldwide are girls, which suggests that discrimination remains a pressing problem. Of the 128 countries for which data for the reference year 2000 is available, 52 have already achieved gender parity or will have done so by 2005 at primary and secondary level. The need to supplement family income is one of the main reasons why children do not attend classes, the report finds. According to the most recent estimates “18% of children aged 5-14 are economically active, amounting to some 211 million children, about half of whom are girls.” In addition, many more millions of children are involved in domestic labour, sometimes at great cost to their educational participation or success. “A much larger proportion of these children are girls than boys,” says Christopher Colclough, the director of the report. The report finds there are also numerous other barriers to girls’ education including early marriage, HIV/AIDS, conflict, and violence in schools. In Nepal, for example, 40% of girls are married by the time they are 15. In Southern Africa and the Caribbean, girls between 15-19 are infected by HIV/AIDS at rates four to seven times higher than boys, “a disparity linked to widespread exploitation, sexual abuse and discriminatory practices,” the report stresses. The report estimates that up to 100,000 girls directly participated in conflicts in at least 30 countries during the 1990s, as fighters, cooks, porters, spies, servants and sex slaves, and the vast majority of the world’s estimated 25 million internally displaced persons are women and children. The report also includes, for the first time, an EFA Development Index (EDI) that provides an overall view of the progress countries are making towards the four Dakar goals which can be most easily measured: universal primary education, adult literacy, quality of education (staying in school until grade 5) and gender parity. Contact: Sue Williams, Bureau of Public Information, Editorial Section, UNESCO, 7, Place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris 07 SP, France, e-mail <s.williams@unesco.org>, website (www.efareport.unesco.org). |
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| The
32nd session of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) General Conference took place from 29 September
-17 October in Paris, bringing together more than 3,000 participants,
including five Heads of State—Phillipines’ President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo; Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi; Kyrgyzstan’s
President Askar Akaev; French President Jacques Chirac; and Peruvian
President Alejandro Toledo—and more than 300 ministers who considered
fifty draft declarations.
The United States’ return
to UNESCO, which had left the organization in 1984, took effect
on 1 October 2003, but was celebrated on 29 September in the presence
of Laura Bush. With the return of the US and the recent joining
of Timor-Leste (June 2003), the number of UNESCO Member States now
stands at 190. UNESCO says of the countries that have left, only
Singapore has yet to rejoin the organization. “If we accomplish two steps—reducing
military expenditure and exploring the possibility that part of
our external debt could be traded against educational activities—we
will be ready to start the struggle to liberate the poor. The poor
are not free, if they don’t have the freedom to decide,”
Mr. Toledo said. “Globalization will not be sustainable if
it doesn’t include the poor, education, culture and technology,”
he added. |
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| During
the 32nd session of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO) General Conference, held in Paris from
29 September-17 October, participants adopted the International Declaration
on Human Genetic Data, which provides common ethical guidelines that
govern their collection, processing, storage and use. UNESCO—which
had previously developed the Universal Declaration on the Human Genome
and Human Rights, adopted in 1997—began an examination of human
genetic data issues in 1993 through its International Bioethics Committee
(IBC). The International Declaration on Human Genetic Data is the
result of the committee’s deliberations and international consultations. The Declaration seeks to ensure the respect of human dignity and the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, in keeping with the requirements of equality, justice and solidarity, while giving due consideration to freedom of thought and expression, including freedom of research. It also seeks to define the principles that should guide States in formulating their legislation and their policies on these issues. Collected from biological samples (blood, tissue, saliva, sperm, etc.), human genetic data play an increasingly important role as they allow scientists to identify diseases and hold the promise of new cures. According to UNESCO, genetic data banks are multiplying and expanding all over the world, and certain countries are already undertaking a genetic census of their population. According to the Declaration, “Each individual has a characteristic genetic makeup. Nevertheless, a person’s identity should not be reduced to genetic characteristics, since it involves complex educational, environmental and personal factors and emotional, social, spiritual and cultural bonds with others and implies a dimension of freedom.” Concerning procedures, the Declaration calls for collecting, treating, using and storing data on the basis of transparent and ethically acceptable procedures. It proposes that independent, multidisciplinary and pluralist ethics committees should be promoted and established at national, regional, local or institutional levels. At the collection stage, the Declaration emphasizes “prior, free, informed and express consent, without inducement by financial or other personal gain” of the person providing the data. Limitations are possible but “should only be prescribed for compelling reasons by domestic law, consistent with the international law of human rights.” The right to withdraw consent is affirmed, “unless such data are irretrievably unlinked to an identifiable person.” The right to decide whether or not to be informed of research results is also considered and the Declaration recommends that genetic counselling—non-directive, culturally adapted and consistent with the person’s best interest—be made available when genetic testing that may have significant implications for a person’s health is being considered. The Declaration stipulates that genetic data linked to an identifiable person not be disclosed nor made accessible to third parties, in particular employers, insurance companies, educational institutions and families, except for an important public interest reason in cases restrictively provided for by domestic law that is consistent with the international law of human rights. “The privacy of an individual participating in a study using human genetic data, proteomic data or biological samples should be protected and the data should be treated as confidential,” adds the text. The final articles of the Declaration cover its promotion and implementation, and action in the sphere of education, training and public information is recommended. The text also calls for entering into bilateral and multilateral agreements enabling developing countries to build up their capacity to participate in generating and sharing of scientific knowledge concerning human genetic data and related know-how. The text of the Declaration is available online (www.unesco.org/confgen/ 2003/genetic). Contact: Pierre Gaillard, Bureau of Public Information, Editorial
Section, UNESCO, 7, Place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris 07 SP, France,
e-mail <p.gaillard@unesco.org>,
website (www.unesco.org). |
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| As
of August 2003, the number of countries facing serious food shortages
throughout the world stands at 38, with 23 in Africa, eight in Asia,
five in Latin America and two in Europe, according to a United Nations
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) report entitled Foodcrops
and Shortages. In many of these countries, food shortages are being
compounded by the effect of the HIV/AIDS pandemic on food production,
marketing and transport. According to Foodcrops and Shortages, about 2.3 million people in Eritrea, are now reported to be facing severe food shortages as a result of last year’s drought, poverty and the lingering effects of the war with Ethiopia. Similarly, in Ethiopia, a recent multi-agency assessment indicated that the number of people in need of food assistance now stands at about 13.2 million. In the United Republic of Tanzania, prolonged drought conditions in several areas have affected a large number of households, with an estimated 1.9 million people in need of food assistance. The situation in northern and eastern areas of Uganda has deteriorated with the escalation of armed conflict, bringing the total number of those in need of emergency assistance to more than 1.6 million. The report finds that cereal production in 2003 decreased in Botswana and remained below average in Zimbabwe, Lesotho and Swaziland, as well as in parts of Namibia, Madagascar and Mozambique. FAO says substantial amounts of emergency food aid are still required in these areas, and mainly in Zimbabwe, where the needy are estimated to number some 5.5 million. Food assistance will also be required for 1.1 million returnees in Angola and for large groups affected by HIV/AIDS throughout the subregion. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, civil war continues to disrupt all agricultural activities and food insecurity and serious nutritional problems have been reported in several provinces. In the Near East, food supply prospects are generally favourable mainly due to the fact that harvests were good. A recent FAO/World Food Programme assessment mission to Iraq found that this year’s good agricultural production contrasts with the enormous economic difficulties faced by the majority of the population. In the Asian Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), aggregate cereal harvest has fallen this year by about 5% from the 2002 harvest due to an unusually cold winter and a dry spring that compromised cereal crops in parts of Kazakhstan, Georgia and Armenia. In El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, food assistance is being provided to targeted families in these countries, particularly women and children who have been seriously affected by natural disasters and recurrent economic shocks over the past few years. In Europe, cereal production has been considerably reduced this year by harsh winter conditions and an exceptionally hot and dry summer that reduced yields. With the bulk of the crops already gathered, aggregate cereal output in the European Union is now forecast at just 190 million tonnes, 12% lower than last year. In Canada, hot and dry conditions during July and early August diminished prospects for the main 2003 cereal crops, but overall production is still expected to be higher than last year’s drought-reduced level. In Oceania, the prospects for the developing winter grain crops in Australia have improved following widespread rains that fell on most of the main grain-growing areas. Contact: John Riddle, Information Officer, Global Information and Early Warning System on Food and Agriculture Commodities and Trade Division, FAO, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, I-00100 Rome, Italy, telephone +39-06/5705 3259, fax +39-06/5705 3699, e-mail <john.riddle@fao.org>, website (www.fao.org/giews/english/fs/fstoc.htm). |
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| Small
farmers in Africa risk being swept out of agriculture by a wave of
supermarket expansion unless they can participate in the new market,
the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned
during an FAO workshop on globalization, urbanization and food systems
in developing countries held in Rome in early October. “If we don’t help small farmers tap into the supply game and become players in this new market they will be left on the sidelines,” said FAO’s Kostas Stamoulis, who warned that it “could be catastrophic.” Thomas Reardon of Michigan State University argued that the rapid proliferation of supermarkets across East and Southern Africa was transforming the food systems which form the economic backbone of many developing countries. Changes to the supply and distribution of produce in countries such as South Africa, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Namibia, Botswana and Swaziland will have a direct impact on the lives of millions of small farmers, he said. Mr. Reardon warned that it may force them out of farming unless they are able to supply what supermarkets demand. In South Africa, supermarkets already account for more than 55% of national food retail, and their impact can be felt in the fruit and vegetable market in the region which has become integrated into a single, larger market. Propelled by the forces of globalization and urbanization, the rise of supermarkets across the developing world is an inevitable reality, Mr. Stamoulis said. An ever-increasing number of city dwellers will depend on supermarkets rather than traditional markets as their main food source. “A steep increase in the pace of urbanization combined with globalization and the influx of foreign direct investment mean that Africa will see far more dramatic changes in its food supply system than we have seen in developed countries,” he added. According to FAO, farmers need to have the resources and training to be able to actively participate in the rapidly transforming domestic market, and supermarket expansion should also be seen as an opportunity for small firms and farmers if they are enabled to participate. Potential assistance to these farmers could include: — Help organizing cooperatives and effective associations in order to be able to meet the scale and volume needed to supply a supermarket; — Credit schemes to obtain the technology needed to be able to meet the quality and safety standards demanded; and — Knowledge dissemination to place farmers in a stronger position ahead of complex negotiations. “This is also an opportunity for the private sector, NGOs and international development organizations to work together,” Mr. Stamoulis pointed out. “We cannot stop change but we can shape it.” Contact: Stephanie Holmes, FAO Press Office, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, I-00100 Rome, Italy, telephone +39-06/5705 6350, e-mail <stephanie.holmes@fao.org>, website (www.fao.org). |
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| According
to a report by the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights
for the occupied Palestine territory (OPT), Israel is using excessive
force in the OPT and is violating human rights in the name of counter-terrorism.
The report (E/CN.4/2004/6), entitled Question of the violation of
human rights in the occupied Arab territories, including Palestine,
says the situation continues to be a matter of grave concern, and
notes that, “Although the road map promoted by the Quartet [see
Go Between 97] offers some prospect of peace in the region, it is
important to record that the past six months have seen continued violations
of human rights and international humanitarian law.” In his capacity as Special Rapporteur, John Dugard visited the OPT and Israel at the end of June 2003, meeting a number of government and NGOs on both sides. He sought to assess Israeli operations in relation to international human rights laws and international humanitarian law. The resulting report highlighted two issues—the unlawful annexation of Palestinian territory and the restrictions on freedom of movement. It also focused on deaths, detentions, the demolition of property and settlements. While acknowledging Israel’s legitimate security concerns and its right to take strong action to prevent suicide bombings and other forms of terrorism, the Special Rapporteur says the lawfulness of Israel’s response is to be measured in accordance with the principle of proportionality. Mr. Dugard suggests that there ought to be a limit “to the extent to which human rights may be violated in the name of counter-terrorism.” Mr. Dugard notes that the wall separating Israel from the West Bank “has been frenetically pursued,” does not follow the de facto boundary line, and incorporates large areas of the West Bank into Israel, with over 210,000 Palestinians threatened with being effectively cut off from their farmlands, workplaces, schools and health clinics. “Annexation of this kind, known as conquest in international law, is prohibited by the Charter of the United Nations and the Fourth Geneva Convention,” he adds, calling for it to be condemned as unlawful annexation. “The restrictions on freedom of movement continue to create a humanitarian crisis in the OPT….These restraints on the movement of goods and persons give rise to unemployment, poverty, poor health care and interrupted education and, in addition, they result in the humiliation of the Palestinian people.” “The Special Rapporteur finds it difficult to accept that the excessive use of force that disregards the distinction between civilians and combatants, the creation of a humanitarian crisis by restrictions on the mobility of goods and people, the killing and inhuman treatment of children, the widespread destruction of property and, now, territorial expansion can be justified as a proportionate response to the violence and threats of violence to which Israel is subjected,” Mr. Dugard writes. The report is available online (http://domino.un.org/
UNISPAL.NSF/0/8976be248c8e02ae85256db1004dd7cc?OpenDocument). |
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| The
United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services’ (OIOS)
report on the accountability, efficiency and quality of the management
of the Organization during the past 12-month period (1 July 2002-30
June 2003) identified recoveries and potential savings to the UN amounting
to approximately US$37 million, of which more than US$15 million has
already been recovered and saved. The Office also collaborated with
the European Union Anti-fraud Office to investigate a misappropriation
of US$4.2 million by a former senior staff member of United Nations
Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), which led to prosecution
of the staff member by national authorities. The Oversight Office issued some 2,700 recommendations, calling for improvements to productivity and accountability for fraud, waste and abuse, half of which have already been implemented. The report highlights the new approach of the Office in identifying key risk areas for its oversight activities. This year, in order to prioritize and target oversight assignments more effectively, the Office applied its Risk Management Framework to its annual work plan. The areas that expose the Organization to the highest risks include safety and security, procurement and peacekeeping. Among highlights of the Office’s oversight activities and achievements indicated in the report are: — OIOS undertook change management consulting assignments for the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management (DGACM), the Office of Human Resources Management (OHRM) and the Department of Public Information (DPI). The Office assisted DGACM in ensuring a successful implementation of its reform agenda; supported OHRM in its transition from an administrative, transaction-based operation to a more strategically focused human resources management service; and supported DPI in identifying and validating departmental and divisional goals and developing a new planning process. — The audit of the United Nations Information Centres (A/57/747) emphasized the need for an urgent rethinking about the role and impact of those centres. DPI has already begun implementing many of the recommendations of the OIOS to more strategically align the work of the information centres with the Department’s goals. — An investigation of allegations of sexual exploitation of refugees in West Africa (A/57/465) produced evidence that, although not as widespread as alleged, there were cases of exploitation, including of very young refugees. Recommendations included referral to national authorities for prosecution of implicated individuals and better camp management. — As recommended by OIOS, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) introduced changes in project agreements with international non-governmental organizations. This resulted in more reliable financial information and competitive procurement, as well as greater transparency in project spending. Contact: Helene Thorup-Hayes, United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services, telephone +1/212-963 5241, e-mail <oiosnews@un.org>, website (www.un.org | |||