Communications chief Melissa Fleming also called the Netflix film The Swimmers, “a wakeup call” and a “hugely welcome step” for everyone to stand in solidarity with refugees.
Although Yusra and Sara Mardini were forced to flee Syria’s civil war in 2015, the biographical drama, which Netflix dropped on Wednesday, makes clear that they took their bravery and humanitarian spirit with them as Yusra went on to compete in two Olympic games.
“At a very young age, they become heroes for millions, saving people who were in peril at sea,” explained Ms. Fleming at the screening, held at UN Headquarters in New York. “And while they had to re-start from scratch, they managed to achieve their dreams through persistence and hard work”.
Shared humanity
In illustrating the dignity, resilience, and enormous potential of these two young women, The Swimmers gives voice to all refugees.
“It allows the audience not only to feel compassion for those forcibly displaced but identify with them – imagine they’re in their shoes,” the UN official said at a preview screening earlier this month.
While the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, and other parts of the Organization have for worked for decades to protect the lives and livelihoods of those forced to flee war, violence and persecution, Ms. Fleming acknowledged that the task is becoming “increasingly challenging as displacement is getting more and more complex”.
A human lens
The true story begins with the teenage sisters, who were competitive swimmers, escaping the Syrian conflict.
It shows their treacherous sea journey to Europe, when the engine on their boat cuts out mid-crossing and the sisters jumped into the water with two others and, swimming for several hours, guided the sinking dingy to safety, saving the lives of some 18 people onboard.
It continues to follow Yusra as she competes in the Rio 2016 Olympics. She would go on to compete in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, and in 2017, at age 19, became the youngest ever UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador.
Who is a refugee
Like many around the world, the word ‘refugee’ meant little to Yusra – until she was forced to flee her home.
“When I was living in Syria…no one educated me about it,” she said
“This movie is going to put the conversation on the table of what a refugee is, of what we want to change”.
Education systems have to…teach the stories of migrants and refugees – UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador
UNHCR NY Director Ruven Menikdiwela said, the film stands as “a powerful reminder that while refugees are individuals who have fled from conflict, war or persecution and need support, they also bring with them their incredible talents and diverse skills to the communities that welcome them”.
Shifting perceptions
Before altering the way people view refugees, she emphasized that they must first understand them.
“Education systems have to change…be more open, they have to teach the stories of migrants and refugees,” the UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador explained.
Yusra was confident that The Swimmers would help educate people on the potential and value of all refugees, reminding that “we have to treat everyone the same”.
Meanwhile, acclaimed Egyptian-Welsh director Sally El Hosaini hoped that the film alters “tired stereotypes of both refugees and young Arab women,” asserting that they are just regular people “who’ve had to make unimaginable choices…in search of a safer, better life”.
Ruven Menikdiwela (UNHCR), Sally El Hosaini (Director and Writer), Yusra Mardini (UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador), Matthias Schweighöfer (Actor), and Racheline Benveniste (Netflix), stand outside of the UN ECOSOC Chamber for a special pre-screening of Netflix film “The Swimmers”.
Advocating for refugees
Yusra’s astonishing story is not just one in a million, but one in 103 million – the current number of forcibly displaced people globally.
While not everyone can swim the 100-metre butterfly at the Olympics, Yusra continues to use her talent and success in speaking for refugees and influencing attitudes.
“The Olympic Games changed the way I think about being a refugee,” she said.
“I walked into the stadium in Rio, and I realized that I can inspire so many people. I realized that ‘refugee’ is just a word, and what you do with it is the most important thing.”
‘This is only the beginning’
Beyond swimming, Yusra’s plans to continue as a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador; establish a charitable foundation on sports and education; further her studies; and perhaps, take up acting.
Despite being in the Hollywood spotlight, the young advocate has not lost sight of her calling.
“A lot still has to change for refugees,” she says. “This is not the end. This is just the beginning.”
Speaking at a joint press conference, Miguel Angel Moratinos, the High Representative of the UNAOC, and Nasser Bourita, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates, spoke about the Forum and its results. They also hailed the large, high-level participation that enriched the dialogue that took place during the two-day gathering.
‘People are hungry for peace’
“In a very complex geopolitical context, we spoke here in Fez of peace, of understanding, of mutual respect, of commitment to live together,” Mr. Moratinos told journalists, adding: “This is something that people need…They are hungry for peace. And I think that’s what we need to remember”.
The High Representative noted the Forum’s outcome text, known as the Fez Declaration, calling it a “roadmap for the international community, including the Alliance of Civilizations” and pointed to the Moroccan example that should be an inspiration to all.
“The Moroccan model has yielded concrete results in terms of urgent needs for mutual respect, for brotherhood, peace, for understanding,” he explained.
In his opening remarks to the Forum on Tuesday, UN chief António Guterres hailed Fez “with its rich and secular history, [as] the ideal place to meet and engage in reflection on the state of our world.”
Time to affirm tolerance, dialogue and understanding
Noting that “the presence of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, gave a special character to this meeting”, Mr. Nasser Bourita hailed the success of the Fez meeting in terms of participation but also the nature of the dialogues and discussions, pointing out that “the meeting came at a time when the world needs to affirm the value of dialogue, understanding and tolerance.”
“The international situation today requires us to listen to the language of reason, the language of wisdom, and to assert that the values of dialogue are basic values, and that despite differences in interests and differences in religion and race, this humanity has a lot in common,” he asserted.
Reinforcing Mr. Moratinos’ comments, the Foreign Minister elaborated on what Morocco stands for, and what the city of Fez represents, stating: “What has succeeded in Morocco can succeed in the world. What Morocco was able to do at the national level in terms of harmony and coexistence over the centuries, could be a source of inspiration for other regions.”
UN Photo
‘We need to build on the Fez Declaration’
In an interview with UN News, Antonio Vitorino, the Director General of the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM), said the agency he heads up is present worldwide, in 80 countries, “but we undoubtedly have very important operations on the African continent for the protection and support of migrants.”
He explained that 80 per cent of African migrants leave one African country for another African country. “It shows the importance of the action of IOM throughout the African continent. And we hope that this first meeting of the Alliance of Civilizations here in Africa is an essential moment to confirm our commitment to the protection of migrants.”
Asked how he viewed the adopted Fez Declaration, Mr. Vitorino said, “Declarations are always important – politically. But it’s not enough. We need to build on the Declaration. And we are committed.”
“Every day, everywhere, along with people who need us, IOM aims to translate the essence of the Declaration into concrete actions, to protect migrants, to support safe, orderly and regulated migration, and to fight against human trafficking, which is an attack against the fundamental rights of migrants.”
Dialogue across generations
In other activities on Wednesday, some 100 youth participants from different countries gathered at Fez’s University of Euromed to talk about “the future they want”. They emphasized the importance of intergenerational dialogue and the benefits that the younger generation could bring to the table in terms of countering hate rhetoric.
Ali Mahmoud from Lebanon, one of the participants at the Youth event told UN News that he and his counterparts in an association called ‘Adiyan’ are working on a programme to push back against hate speech and its impact on Lebanese society, whether psychologically or physically, through workshops and campaigns targeting everyone in the country.
Overall, the Fez Forum saw animated participation by about 42 participants at the ministerial level, 90 heads of regional organizations and 12 former Heads of State or Government, a high point for the Alliance’s meetings, as stated by the Moroccan Foreign Minister.
Since its inception, the UNAOC has become a leading United Nations platform for intercultural dialogue, understanding and cooperation. It has connected governments, lawmakers, local authorities, civil society organizations, the media, and individuals devoted to promoting understanding across diverse communities.
Ms. DiCarlo referred to the latest wave of Russian missile and drone strikes in Ukraine which, she said, terrorized the citizens of several cities (Kyiv, Odesa, Lviv, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhia).
With winter approaching, the attacks, she said, “renew fears that this winter will be catastrophic for millions of Ukrainians, who face the prospect of months of frigid weather with no heating, electricity, water, or other basic utilities”.
All regions affected
The UN peacebuilding chief went on to catalogue some of the reported consequences of the most recent strikes, from the death of a new-born baby in a maternity hospital in the Zaporizhzhia region, which was hit overnight, to dozens of civilian deaths in residential buildings in Kyiv and nearby towns.
According to Ukrainian officials and media reports, the country’s energy supply has been decimated; even before the latest barrage, practically no large thermal or hydroelectric power plants were left intact. All regions of Ukraine have introduced emergency shutdowns, and several regions are reported to be completely disconnected from electricity. Neighbouring Moldova has also been adversely affected.
Humanitarian efforts to support the Ukrainian people have ramped up, said Ms. DiCarlo: more than 430,000 people have received some sort of direct winter assistance in the past weeks, and nearly 400 generators have been distributed to ensure energy in hospitals, schools, and other critical facilities.
“The United Nations strongly condemns these attacks and demands that the Russian Federation immediately cease these actions,” declared Ms. DiCarlo, calling for accountability for any violations of the laws of war, and reiterating that attacks targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure are prohibited under international humanitarian law.
“The world cannot afford a nuclear catastrophe’
Ms. DiCarlo expressed deep concern at the situation at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, in Zaporizhzhia.
Despite reported shelling at the plant over the weekend, key equipment at the site remains intact, she said, and there are no immediate nuclear safety or security concerns.
However, she went on, “this is the result of sheer luck. We do not know how long this luck will last. The world cannot afford a nuclear catastrophe”.
The Under-Secretary-General briefed the Council that, a matter of hours before her address, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had reported that the plant is relying on diesel generators to power cooling and essential nuclear safety functions.
Prisoner exchange
Ms. Di Carlo was able to point to one ray of light in an otherwise downbeat assessment of the situation – a prisoner exchange.
Russia and Ukraine, she said, had reported the release of 35 Russian and 36 Ukrainian prisoners. She called on both parties to continue such releases, and to ensure that they fulfil their obligations under international law, in particular, the Third Geneva Convention, which relates to the treatment of prisoners of war.
All Member States and international organizations, said Ms. DiCarlo, must support efforts to prevent a man-made humanitarian catastrophe in Ukraine this winter.
“The resulting shocks”, she concluded, “would exact a heavy price, not only on Ukrainians, but on us all.
The International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on 25 November, followed by the global 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence, is a moment to reflect on, renew, amplify, and strategize to achieve commitments to eliminate violence against women by 2030. Ending violence against women is possible, but only if we act together, now, says the United Ntions.
Opinion by Jacqui Stevenson (kuala lumpur, malaysia)
Inter Press Service
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Nov 23 (IPS) – Violence against women is a global crisis, prevalent in every community and society around the world. Globally, estimates published by WHO indicate that about 1 in 3 (30%) of women worldwide have been subjected to either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime. Yet, there is limited coordination and insufficient funding to truly address the scale of the issue.
This has catastrophic consequences for the individual women affected, who have their rights violated, bodily integrity and psychological wellbeing undermined and health harmed. It also has ramifications across society, including the costs of providing services to respond to violence and the financial impact of violence itself.
While these costs are borne across sectors, including health, policing, social services and education, among others, often efforts to reduce or prevent violence against women suffer from limited budgets and siloed funding streams. The invisible costs borne by women, and their children, families and communities, are also missing from many responses.
While nearly three out of four countries have policy infrastructure in place to support multisectoral action to address violence against women and girls, only 44 percent of countries report having a national budget line item to provide health services to address violence against women. Recent analysis indicates that foreign donors play a critical role in financing GBV interventions but funding is limited and uncertain, and fails to comply with human rights principles.
Bridging the gap between policy and implementation is critical if efforts to reduce violence against women are to meet the urgency and scale required.
Ending violence against women is an urgent legal, moral and ethical imperative. Effective interventions to reduce, prevent and respond to gender-based violence in all its forms must be a priority for all governments. In addition to ending the violation of women’s human rights and the perpetuation of gender inequality that violence against women represents, interventions to end gender-based violence contribute to achieving the sustainable development goals and more broadly to furthering the development of societies.
Effective coordinated investments are a key part of achieving this necessary aim, but it is important to underscore that the case for ending violence does not turn on return for investment.
Recognising the challenges introduced by siloed budgets, UNDP and UNU-IIGH collaborated on a project, with the support of the Republic of Korea, to produce new tools and evidence on “participatory planning and paying models”. These models engage diverse community stakeholders in defining their own solutions and establishing sustainable financing for local GBV action plans.
The approach prioritises the need to engage with diverse policymakers and stakeholders at the local level to generate effective solutions to address violence against women that are both contextually relevant and locally led. The pilots were implemented in Indonesia, Peru and the Republic of Moldova.
Findings from these pilot projects have been published to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Importantly, the models centre the participation and leadership of women and women’s civil society, embedding women’s rights activists in local structures that develop the plans and budgets to address gender-based violence.
The core idea underpinning the participatory planning and paying approach is simple: the benefits of reducing violence are shared by everyone, so the costs can also be shared. Different sectors stand to gain from the financial benefits of reducing violence against women, but are unlikely to adequately fund a comprehensive programme of prevention and response if each acts separately.
Instead, bringing these sectors together along with local communities and other stakeholders, the project facilitated the development of local action plans (LAPs) to address GBV, using participatory methods. Each LAP addressed locally defined priorities to prevent and respond to violence with targeted benefits across a range of health, economic and social sectors and issues.
The LAPs are costed, and, just as the plan itself is participatory, so too is paying for its implementation, with ‘payers’ identified across sectors, and budgets pooled to maximise impact. Rather than siloed budgets funding a mixture of interventions and services with no coherent structure, funding streams are pooled to support a coordinated plan. Through collaboration, shared expertise and decision-making, and local community accountability, the total is greater than the sum of its parts.
Implementing this innovative model is inherently challenging. Particularly in resource-constrained settings such as the settings for these pilots, there are competing demands for limited budgets, and multiple priorities that struggle for attention and funding.
Breaking down siloes to achieve shared financing is a political, contested process, and centring the voices, priorities and rights of women, especially those most marginalised, is a challenge. A key learning from the pilot projects is the need to ensure that senior decision-makers who have budget responsibilities in key sectors and government departments, are engaged early in the process of developing LAPs to gain their support.
Despite the challenges, the benefits of shared budgeting and resource mobilisation are clear. In Peru, UNDP undertook a ground-breaking study to estimate the costs associated with failing to prevent gender based violence. The “Cost of No Prevention” study estimated the annual costs of GBV in the Villa El Salvador community (where the project pilot was implemented) at nearly $72.9 million USD (in 2018 figures), including direct costs such as health care and indirect costs such as absence from work and loss of income, borne by affected women, their children and families, networks and wider communities.
Cost estimates for the participatory planning process to prevent and respond to GBV were estimated at $256,000 USD over 2.8 years (including the costs of project initiation and development of tools and products, so will reduce over subsequent years). This is a clear demonstration of the value for money of participatory approaches to planning and paying models to address gender-based violence.
Failure to adequately prevent and respond to violence places the costs squarely on women’s shoulders. The “Cost of No Prevention” study estimated that 45% of the costs of GBV are absorbed by the affected women themselves, including the costs of increased physical and mental health problems, out of pocket expenses and lower income.
A further 11% is subsidised by households and 44% by the community, including missed school days for children affected by violence in the home, and provision of emotional support, shelter and personal loans by others in the community. Inadequate funding, siloed budgets and limited resources only increase the costs for women, communities, and societies.
Participatory planning and paying models offer a blueprint to fund and provide the services and interventions women need, want and are entitled to. Ultimately, someone must pay the price of violence against women.
Dr Jacqui Stevenson is a research consultant, leading work to generate new evidence on the intersections of gender and health, including GBV and COVID-19, at the UN University International Institute for Global Health (UNU-IIGH).
Pan-African initiatives to boost food production and research and development could increase yields on farms on the continent. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS
by Joyce Chimbi (nairobi)
Inter Press Service
Nairobi, Nov 22 (IPS) – Upheaval on the global stage, the war in Ukraine, conflict in the Horn of Africa, severe climatic shocks, high international inflation, increasing global commodity prices, high prices of agricultural inputs and low intra-continental trade are fuelling food insecurity across Africa.
Of the 24 countries classified as hunger hotspots by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Food Programme in 2022, 16 are in Africa. The continent accounts for 62 percent of the total number of food insecure in hotspot countries.
“Over time, climate shocks have significantly impacted Africa’s fragile food chain. The most severe drought in the Horn of Africa in decades is ongoing, floods in West Africa and severe cyclones in Madagascar and Mozambique. Climate change will contribute to a decline in African agricultural yields, which are already very low, by 5 to 17 percent by 2050,” says Hafez Ghanem, former regional Vice President of the World Bank Group and a current non-resident senior fellow in the Global Economy and Development Program at the Brookings Institution.
External factors – the disruption of food systems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent reduced purchasing power, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which led to an increase in world food, fuel and fertiliser prices – coupled with drastic weather changes, and continuation or intensification of conflict and insecurity have compromised an already fragile food chain.
Ghanem says that conflict and climate change are the most pressing challenges for Africa, creating conditions for food insecurity, worsening food insecurity levels and making it difficult for the continent to put food on the table. Rising food insecurities are, in turn, a catalyst for conflict.
One in five, or an estimated 140 million people, in Africa, face acute food insecurity. The situation is even worse in conflict-affected countries and regions, including the Horn of Africa, northern Nigeria, eastern DRC and the Sahel region.
According to FAO and WFP, three countries – DRC, Ethiopia, and Nigeria – account for more than 56 percent of the food insecurity in Africa.
“The three countries have two characteristics in common, conflict and vulnerability to climate change. This situation is further worsened by external factors such as the war in Ukraine, global inflation and rising fuel prices,” he observes.
As a net food and fuel importer, FAO research shows Ethiopia is particularly affected by high international prices. Food price inflation averaged 40 percent during the first half of 2022.
The onset of floods in 27 Nigerian states earlier in February 2022 has, according to FAO and WFP joint reports, damaged 450,000 hectares of farmland, seriously compromising the 2022 harvest. Floods have similarly disrupted agriculture in South Sudan.
Ghanem says that these climatic shocks coming after the locust infestation of 2019-2020, which affected 1.25 million hectares of land in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia, have had substantial negative consequences for food security in the region. Political instability and conflict in Ethiopia, Sudan, South Sudan, and Somalia have worsened the situation.
He says that the Sahel – Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger – has seen a 50 percent increase in food insecurity compared to 2021. A reflection, he says, “of the sharp increase in political instability and conflict in Mali, Chad, Burkina Faso, and rising world prices for food, fuel, and fertilisers.
Ghanem urges political leaders and civil society to address the root causes of conflict and instability and says solutions include dealing with the social, political and economic exclusion of large segments of the population. He says all people should feel invested in their own country.
Against this backdrop, he argues for pan-African initiatives to boost food production “Africa’s agriculture has the lowest yields in the world. Africa has the least percentage of irrigated land and uses the least fertiliser per hectare. The continent also invests the least in research and development.”
In the absence of up-to-date research to produce innovative approaches to combat challenges facing agriculture today and without the use of quality fertiliser, certified seeds and new and more climate change-resilient varieties of seeds, he says the continent will be hard-pressed to overcome rising food insecurities.
“Despite these challenges, I am optimistic that pan-African initiatives and joint projects are viable to address these gaps, including establishing four or five research centres for agriculture on the continent, joint irrigation projects and building fertiliser-producing companies,” he explains.
“Africa imports about 60 percent of all fertiliser use, making it very expensive for our farmers, leading to low fertiliser usage. We already have big fertiliser-producing companies, including Dangote in Nigeria and OCP in Morocco. The continent can work with such African fertiliser producers to establish more fertiliser factories on the continent.”
He stresses that Africa is ripe with opportunities for inter-African cooperation and that the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement, which all 54 countries have signed on the continent, will accelerate the free flow of goods and services and could increase pan-African investment projects in agriculture.
In making a case for a pan-African approach to tackle food insecurity, Ghanem says besides open markets and free trade, this would be an opportunity to promote multi-country regional investments in infrastructure, which would, in turn, enhance agricultural productivity and resilience to climate change.
Further, he sees such an approach as an opportunity to create an African council to coordinate and encourage agricultural research and development. Equally important, a pan-African approach could support a facility to ensure vulnerable African countries can finance food imports in times of crisis.
Buoyed by its vast natural resources and human capital, he says a united vision for Africa will help develop Africa’s bread baskets and deliver a future with food security for all. For more on this subject, see Ghanem’s paper here.
Opinion by Jomo Kwame Sundaram, Ndongo Samba Sylla (dakar and kuala lumpur)
Inter Press Service
DAKAR and KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 22 (IPS) – The ongoing plunder of Africa’s natural resources drained by capital flight is holding it back yet again. More African nations face protracted recessions amid mounting debt distress, rubbing salt into deep wounds from the past.
With much less foreign exchange, tax revenue, and policy space to face external shocks, many African governments believe they have little choice but to spend less, or borrow more in foreign currencies.
Ndongo Samba Sylla
Most Africans are struggling to cope with food and energy crises, inflation, higher interest rates, adverse climate events, less health and social provisioning. Unrest is mounting due to deteriorating conditions despite some commodity price increases.
Economic haemorrhage
After ‘lost decades’ from the late 1970s, Africa became one of the world’s fastest growing regions early in the 21st century. Debt relief, a commodity boom and other factors seemed to support the deceptive ‘Africa rising’ narrative.
According to the High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa, the continent was losing over $50 billion annually. This was mainly due to ‘trade mis-invoicing’ – under-invoicing exports and over-invoicing imports – and fraudulent commercial arrangements.
Transnational corporations (TNCs) and criminal networks account for much of this African economic surplus drain. Resource-rich countries are more vulnerable to plunder, especially where capital accounts have been liberalized.
Jomo Kwame Sundaram
Externally imposed structural adjustment programs (SAPs), after the early 1980s’ sovereign debt crises, have forced African economies to be even more open – at great economic cost. SAPs have made them more (food) import-dependent while increasing their vulnerability to commodity price shocks and global liquidity flows.
Leonce Ndikumana and his colleagues estimate over 55% of capital flight – defined as illegally acquired or transferred assets – from Africa is from oil-rich nations, with Nigeria alone losing $467 billion during 1970-2018.
Over the same period, Angola lost $103 billion. Its poverty rate rose from 34% to 52% over the past decade, as the poor more than doubled from 7.5 to 16 million.
Oil proceeds have been embezzled by TNCs and Angola’s elite. Abusing her influence, the former president’s daughter, Isabel dos Santos acquired massive wealth. A report found over 400 companies in her business empire, including many in tax havens.
From 1970 to 2018, Côte d’Ivoire lost $55 billion to capital flight. Growing 40% of the world’s cocoa, it gets only 5–7% of global cocoa profits, with farmers getting little. Most cocoa income goes to TNCs, politicians and their collaborators.
Mining giant South Africa (SA) has lost $329 billion to capital flight over the last five decades. Mis-invoicing, other modes of embezzling public resources, and tax evasion augment private wealth hidden in offshore financial centres and tax havens.
Fiscal austerity has slowed job growth and poverty reduction in ‘the most unequal country in the world’. In SA, the richest 10% own over half the nation’s wealth, while the poorest 10% have under 1%!
Resource theft and debt
With this pattern of plunder, resource-rich African countries – that could have accelerated development during the commodity boom – now face debt distress, depreciating currencies and imported inflation, as interest rates are pushed up.
Zambia’s default on its foreign debt obligations in late 2020 has made headlines. But foreign capture of most Zambian copper export proceeds is not acknowledged.
During 2000-2020, total foreign direct investment income from Zambia was twice total debt servicing for external government and government-guaranteed loans. In 2021, the deficit in the ‘primary income’ account (mainly returns to capital) of Zambia’s balance of payments was 12.5% of GDP.
As interest payments on public external debt came to ‘only’ 3.5% of GDP, most of this deficit (9% of GDP) was due to profit and dividend remittances, as well as interest payments on private external debt.
For the IMF, World Bank and ‘creditor nations’, debt ‘restructuring’ is conditional on continuing such plunder! African countries’ worsening foreign indebtedness is partly due to lack of control over export earnings controlled by TNCs, with African elite support.
Resource pillage, involving capital flight, inevitably leads to external debt distress. Invariably, the IMF demands government austerity and opening African economies to TNC interests. Thus, we come full circle, and indeed, it is vicious!
Africa’s wealth plunder dates back to colonial times, and even before, with the Atlantic trade of enslaved Africans. Now, this is enabled by transnational interests crafting international rules, loopholes and all.
Such enablers include various bankers, accountants, lawyers, investment managers, auditors and other wheeler dealers. Thus, the origins of the wealth of ‘high net-worth individuals’, corporations and politicians are disguised, and its transfer abroad ‘laundered’.
What can be done?
Capital flight is not mainly due to ‘normal’ portfolio choices by African investors. Hence, raising returns to investment, e.g., with higher interest rates, is unlikely to stem it. Worse, such policy measures discourage needed domestic investments.
Besides enforcing efficient capital controls, strengthening the capabilities of specialized national agencies – such as customs, financial supervision and anti-corruption bodies – is important.
African governments need stronger rules, legal frameworks and institutions to curb corruption and ensure more effective natural resource management, e.g., by revising bilateral investment treaties and investment codes, besides renegotiating oil, gas, mining and infrastructure contracts.
Records of all investments in extractive industries, tax payments by all involved, and public prosecution should be open, transparent and accountable. Punishment of economic crimes should be strictly enforced with deterrent penalties.
The broader public – especially civil society organizations, local authorities and impacted communities – must also know who and what are involved in extractive industries.
Only an informed public who knows how much is extracted and exported, by whom, what revenue governments get, and their social and environmental effects, can keep corporations and governments in check.
Improving international trade and finance transparency is essential. This requires ending banking secrecy and better regulation of TNCs to curb trade mis-invoicing and transfer pricing, still enabling resource theft and pillage.
OECD rhetoric has long blamed capital flight on offshore tax havens on remote tropical islands. But those in rich countries – such as the UK, US, Switzerland, Netherlands, Singapore and others – are the biggest culprits.
Stopping haemorrhage of African resource plunder by denying refuge for illicit transfers should be a rich country obligation. Automatic exchange of tax-related information should become truly universal to stop trade mis-invoicing, transfer pricing abuses and hiding stolen wealth abroad.
Unitary taxation of transnational corporations can help end tax abuses, including evasion and avoidance. But the OECD’s Inclusive Framework proposals favour their own governments and corporate interests.
Africa is not inherently ‘poor’. Rather, it has been impoverished by fraud and pillage leading to resource transfers abroad. An earnest effort to end this requires recognizing all responsibilities and culpabilities, national and international.
Africa’s veins have been slit open. The centuries-long bleeding must stop.
Dr Ndongo Samba Sylla is a Senegalese development economist working at the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation in Dakar. He authored The Fair Trade Scandal. Marketing Poverty to Benefit the Rich and co-authored Africa’s Last Colonial Currency: The CFA Franc Story. He also edited Economic and Monetary Sovereignty for 21st century Africa, Revolutionary Movements in Africa and Imperialism and the Political Economy of Global South’s Debt. He tweets at @nssylla
A conservationist, a sustainable waste management enterprise, an economist, a women’s rights activist, and a wildlife biologist were selected from nearly 2,200 nominations – a new submission record.
UNEP’s annual Champions of the Earth award is the UN’s highest environmental honour, which recognizes individuals and organizations from a number of fields, including civil society, academia and the private sector, that are blazing a trail in protecting our natural world.
Meet the champs
Three champions were honoured within the category of Inspiration and Action.
Pioneering environmental non-profit group Arcenciel garnered the accolade for two decades of helping Lebanon manage its waste.
“We identified lots of problems affecting the environment and especially the community and the health of society,” said Robin Richa, Arcenciel’s General Manager. “We have tried to be strategic in identifying activities where we can make a sustainable impact”.
Meanwhile, Cécile Bibiane Ndjebet, co-founder of Cameroon Ecology and President of the African Women’s Network for Community Management of Forests, was recognized for her work in repairing damage caused by chopping down forests, draining wetlands, and polluting rivers at unstainable rates.
“I realized that women were struggling a lot”, recalled Ms. Ndjebet, expressing her desire to “advocate for these rural women, to improve their lives”.
The organization Asociación Ecosistemas Andinos, founded in 2000 by biologist Constantino Aucca Chutas, has planted more than three million trees in Peru and protected or restored 30,000 hectares of land.
“When we plant a tree, we give something back to Mother Earth. We are convinced that the more trees we plant, the more people will be happy”, said Mr. Aucca calling it “a day of happiness”.
Category: Entrepreneurial Vision
Wildlife biologist Purnima Devi Barman leads the “Hargila Army”, an all-female grassroots conservation movement that has brought the greater adjutant stork back from the brink of extinction by empowering thousands of women, creating entrepreneurs and improving livelihoods.
As a child in Cameroon, she recalled that her grandmother took her to nearby paddy fields and wetlands where she “saw storks and many other species”. “I fell in love with the birds”, said Ms. Barman.
Category: Science and Innovation
Over the decades, Partha Dasguptahas made ground-breaking contributions to economics – awakening the world to the value of nature and the need to protect ecosystems.
“Economic forecasts consist of investment in factories, employment rates, [gross domestic product] growth. They never mention what’s happening to the ecosystems,” said Mr. Dasgupta. “It really is urgent that we think about it now”.
Since its inception in 2005, the annual Champions of the Earth award has been given to trailblazers at the forefront of efforts to protect our natural world.
To date, the award has recognized 111 laureates: 26 world leaders, 69 individuals and 16 organizations.
Spokesperson Liz Throssell said executions have been taking place almost daily over the past two weeks, following the end of a 21-month official moratorium.
“The resumption of executions for drug-related offences in Saudi Arabia is a deeply regrettable step, all the more so coming just days after a wide majority of States in the UN General Assembly called for a moratorium on the death penalty worldwide,” she told journalists in Geneva.
17 executions to date
Since 10 November, Saudi Arabia has executed 17 men for what were termed drug and contraband offences, with three taking place on Monday.
Those executed to date were four Syrians, three Pakistanis, three Jordanians, and seven Saudis.
As executions are only confirmed after they take place, OHCHR does not have information on how many people may be on death row in the country.
Halt imminent execution
However, Ms. Throssell said they have received reports that a Jordanian man, Hussein abo al-Kheir, may be at imminent risk.
The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention had previously taken up his case and found that his detention lacked legal basis and was arbitrary. The rights experts also noted grave concerns relating to his right to a fair trial.
“We urge the Saudi Government to halt al-Kheir’s reported imminent execution and to comply with the Working Group’s opinion by quashing his death sentence, releasing him immediately and unconditionally, and by ensuring that he receives medical care, compensation and other reparations,” she said.
Against international norms
Ms. Throssell stressed that imposing the death penalty for drug offences is incompatible with international norms and standards.
“We call on the Saudi authorities to adopt a formal moratorium on executions for drug-related offences, to commute death sentences for drug-related offences, and to ensure the right to a fair trial for all defendants, including those charged with such offences, in line with its international obligations,” she said.
The development came amid ongoing nationwide protests sparked by the death in custody of Jina Mahsa Amini.
The 22-year-old from Iran’s Kurdistan region was arrested by Iran’s so-called “morality police” on 13 September for not wearing her hijab properly.
According to OHCHR, thousands have been detained throughout the country for joining peaceful protests.
Unholy charges
“At least six people connected to the protests have been sentenced to death on charges of ‘moharebeh’, or ‘waging war against God’, or ‘efsad-e fel-arz’, or ‘corruption on earth’, said spokesperson Jeremy Laurence.
“A growing number of people, including Iranian celebrities and sportswomen and men who have expressed support for the protests, have been summoned or arrested”, he added.
According to OHCHR, security officers reportedly responded “forcefully” to demonstrations in several mainly Kurdish locations on Monday evening, including Javanrud and Saqqez, Ms. Amini’s hometown.
Two 16-year-old boys were among six people killed over the weekend, according to the UN rights office, which noted that more than 300 people have lost their lives, including 40 children, since nationwide protests erupted on 16 September.
Families denied bodies of relatives
OHCHR also reiterated concerns that the authorities have refused to release the bodies of the dead to their families, or making their release “conditional” on not speaking to the media.
“With respect to bodies not being returned to their families, of course that’s of grave concern to us”, said Mr. Laurence.
“What is the motive behind that, I’m not sure. But the families have the right to have the bodies of their loved ones returned to them. It’s cruel that they’re not”.
Mr. Laurence noted that the security forces’ approach had hardened to protesters, who have been killed in 25 of Iran’s 31 provinces, including more than 100 in Sistan and Baluchistan.
He urged the authorities to address people’s demands for “equality, dignity and rights” – instead of using disproportionate force against demonstrators.
“The lack of accountability for gross human rights violations in Iran remains persistent and is contributing to the growing grievances”, said the OHCHR spokesperson.
The Iranian authorities have also reported that a number of security force personnel have been killed since the start of the protests.
Presenting the Secretary-General’s latest report on the issue, Martha Pobee, an Assistant Secretary-General in the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA), warned of a shifting situation that will require greater response.
The decline in incidents is the result of concerted efforts by national authorities, supported by regional and international partners, both on land and at sea.
Actions such as increased patrols, deployment of naval assets, enhanced coordination, as well as convictions, have served as deterrents to criminal activity.
Changing dynamics
However, piracy in the Gulf of Guinea has morphed over this period, Ms. Pobee reported.
“Pirate groups are adapting to changing dynamics both at sea and in coastal areas,” she said.
“In this respect, the recent decrease in instances of piracy may in part be attributable to the shift by criminal networks to other forms of maritime and riverine crime, such as oil bunkering and theft, which they likely view as both less risky and more profitable”.
She stressed that it was imperative for States and their regional and international partners to accelerate efforts to establish security in the Gulf of Guinea, as outlined in the Yaoundé Code of Conduct, signed in June 2013.
UN Photo/Loey Felipe
Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee, Assistant Secretary-General for Africa in the Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations, briefs the Security Council meeting on peace and security in Africa.
Political and technical assistance
Ms. Pobee pointed to some of the achievements since then, such as the recent signing of an agreement to establish a Multinational Maritime Coordination Centre (MMCC) for a zone that covers Cabo Verde, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Mali and Senegal.
A maritime exercise involving 17 of the 19 countries that border the Gulf of Guinea, as well as eight international partners, was also conducted last month over an area stretching from Senegal to Angola.
She also underscored the UN’s continued political and technical assistance to States, including through agencies such as the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Address underlying causes
“At present, there is no firm evidence to suggest any potential or possible linkages between terrorist and pirate groups,” she told the Council.
“However, addressing the underlying social, economic, and environmental challenges faced by communities in the region will ultimately serve to contain both threats.”
Ms. Pobee said the UN is also strengthening collaboration with international financial institutions to support countries in addressing the underlying causes of fragility and security.
Support rule of law
With the 10th anniversary of the Yaoundé framework approaching, UNODC chief Ghada Waly pointed to the opportunity to dedicate greater attention, resources and action to supporting maritime security and the rule of law in the Gulf of Guinea.
She urged the international community to help governments develop their capacities and legal frameworks, with domestic laws that criminalize piracy and enable prosecution.
“We must improve investigation and prosecution capacities, to give teeth to enforcement efforts and reach a ‘legal finish’ to every case pursued,” she said.
UN Photo/Loey Felipe
Ghada Fathi Waly (on screens), Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, briefs the Security Council meeting on peace and security in Africa.
Expand cooperation
Ms. Waly highlighted the need to be quick to respond to the shifting trends in piracy to “prevent the threat from simply taking a different form”.
She called for developing a regional framework to expand cooperation and urged vigilance against the possibility of terrorist groups in the Sahel linking up with criminal enterprises in coastal regions.
The UNODC Executive Director also underscored the crucial need to address the root causes of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea by working with vulnerable coastal communities.
These populations are also dealing with challenges such as environmental degradation and biodiversity loss, fuelled by climate change and illegal fishing.
Stop criminals, engage youth
“Criminals at sea must be stopped and held accountable, but to ensure a truly sustainable response, due attention must be paid to the people who may become such criminals, the factors that drive them to it, and the people most affected,” she said.
“We must pursue community-based crime prevention strategies and engage with at-risk and marginalized youth to cultivate personal and social skills, prevent risky behaviors, and grant them opportunities.”
Ms. Waly said UNODC is supporting the development of community-based crime prevention strategies in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, which she hopes will be replicated in other coastal communities.
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