Leading the call for countries to implement constitutional change and strong environmental laws to bring about positive change, UN-appointed independent rights expert David Boyd said that all such discussions should stem from the recognition of everyone’s right to a healthy environment.
Rights inspiration
Echoing that call, Marcos Orellana, UN Special Rapporteur on toxics and human rights, also said that we should not forget how human rights inspired key elements of the original 1972 Stockholm Declaration.
“This is a key moment for international environmental law to change direction and embrace a human rights-based approach to environmental protection,” he added.
Multiple benefits
The experts insisted that “putting human rights at the centre of environmental action will have positive implications for air quality, clean water, healthy soil and sustainably produced food”.
A rights-based approach would also help “green energy, climate change, biodiversity and the elimination of toxic substances and (the) protection of indigenous people’s rights”, they added.
Standing in the way of progress on environmental action are multiple challenges, including climate shocks, biodiversity loss and pollution – all of which impact on the enjoyment of human rights, the experts maintained.
The resolution marked the culmination of decades of efforts by civil society organisations, including youth groups, national human rights institutions and indigenous peoples.
Kaye and Orellana, together with fellow Special Rapporteurs Francisco Calí Tzay and Ian Fry – encouraged States to encourage the UN General Assembly to consider recognizing the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment at its earliest convenience, just as the UN Human Rights Council had done.
General Assembly call
“A General Assembly resolution on the right to a healthy environment would reinforce the urgency of actions to implement the right,” they said in a statement, adding: “We are all extraordinarily fortunate to live on this miraculous planet, and we must use the right to a healthy environment to ensure governments, businesses and people do a better job of taking care of the home that we all share.”
Special Rapporteurs and independent experts are appointed by the Human Rights Council to examine and report back on a specific human rights theme or a country situation. They are independent from any government and are not paid for their work.
UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed at the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) meeting mid-May.
by Thalif Deen (united nations)
Inter Press Service
UNITED NATIONS, May 30 (IPS) – The four-month-old Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has triggered a hefty increase in military spending among Western nations and a rise in humanitarian and military assistance to the beleaguered country, is now threatening to undermine the flow of Official Development Assistance (ODA) to the world’s poorer nations.
In an advance warning of the upcoming cuts, the UN’s Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed told a recent meeting of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC): “As Chair of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group, I am deeply troubled over recent decisions and proposals to markedly cut Official Development Assistance (ODA) to service the impacts of the war in Ukraine on refugees”.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who was equally concerned about the impending reductions, has urged donor nations to reconsider making cuts that will affect the world’s most vulnerable.
The people who benefit from the work of the UN system need additional and more predictable funding, he added. “Contributions to key UN agencies, funds and programmes, working with people on the ground, are facing steep proposed reductions. Cuts to development and the United Nations mean scaling back support at a time when demand for support to meet the deepening development needs has reached an all-time high”.
He said ODA is more necessary than ever, and called upon all countries to demonstrate solidarity, invest in resilience, and prevent the current crisis from escalating further.
UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed at the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) meeting mid-May.
At a meeting in mid-May, the Group of Seven – comprising some of world’s biggest economies — Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK and the US, plus the European Union– agreed to provide nearly $20 billion to support Ukraine and bolster its war-ravaged economy.
Separately the US has pledged over $40 billion in economic, humanitarian and military assistance to Ukraine since the Russian invasion last February.
The widespread fear is that the collective $60 billion assistance to Ukraine may result in corresponding reductions in ODA.
Bhumika Muchhala, senior advocate on global economic governance at the Third World Network, told IPS cuts to ODA at a time of a convergence of crises in the Global South is extremely concerning.
She said the pandemic is still ongoing, and health and economic recovery need immediate funds. Food security is being threatened by global supply disruptions, exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, creating urgent crises of malnutrition, hunger and even famine.
She also pointed out that climate change is creating catastrophes every day, from fatal heat waves to floods and droughts, while both existing climate financing as well as ODA commitments still remain unfulfilled by rich countries.
“Underpinning these crises is the surge in gender inequality, as women absorb the shocks and costs of global inequalities”.
“Making matters worse, a large number of developing countries are in debt distress or experiencing debt crisis, leading to another era of austerity that is already arresting the achievement of SDGs, resulting in a retrogression of poverty reduction that has taken many decades of hard-won economic and social development to achieve”. said Muchhala.
In light of the fact that every crisis in the South will ripple through the world economy with adverse effects for all, “rich countries have a collective duty to fulfill existing ODA commitments, as well as climate financing commitments and efforts to create genuine fiscal space for developing countries through equitable debt restructuring, international tax cooperation to eradicate illicit financial flows, and needs-based issuances of Special Drawing Rights,” she declared.
The Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), comprising some of the world’s richest nations, has been providing development assistance since the 1960s.
According to OECD, ODA is defined as “government aid that promotes and specifically targets the economic development and welfare of developing countries”.
The DAC adopted ODA as the “gold standard” of foreign aid in 1969 and it remains the main source of financing for development aid.
“Yet, 13 countries cut ODA, and the sum remains insufficient for the vast needs of developing countries”.
But according to OECD, ODA rose to an all-time high of $178.9 billion in 2021, up 4.4% in real terms from 2020 as developed countries stepped up to help developing countries grappling with the COVID-19 crisis, according to the latest available figures.
This figure included $ 6.3 billion spent on providing COVID-19 vaccines to developing countries, equivalent to 3.5% of total ODA. Excluding ODA for donated COVID-19 vaccines, ODA was up 0.6% in real terms from 2020.
The 2021 ODA total is equivalent to 0.33% of DAC donors’ combined gross national income (GNI) and still below the UN target of 0.7% ODA to GNI.
Meanwhile, in a new report released May 24, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) warned of the direct and indirect impacts of the war in Ukraine on the African continent, which could further stall the continent’s development trajectory already significantly jeopardized by the COVID-19 crisis.
This report, entitled “The Impact of the War in Ukraine on Sustainable Development in Africa”, reinforces findings of the Global Crisis Response Group (GCRG) that the war in Ukraine is pushing the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and the aspirations of the African Union’s Agenda 2063 further out of reach, and provides key recommendations for actions that need to be taken immediately, to avert further crises in Africa.
“Africa is facing a double crisis with the combined effects of the war in Ukraine and of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, with strategic partnerships, the crisis also presented the opportunity to rechart Africa’s development trajectory, breaking away from a dependency cycle” said Achim Steiner, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and UNDP Administrator.
“Now is a critical time for action. It is time to intensify efforts and reframe development finance, strengthen resilience in African economies, and foster economic transformation as a key driver for change in Africa.”
According to the report, some of the direct impacts of the crisis in Africa include trade disruption, food and fuel price spikes, macroeconomic instability, and security challenges. African countries are particularly affected due to their heavy reliance on imports from Russia and Ukraine.
The current hike in prices for food and fuel directly affects the entire continent, including the biggest economies, as food and fuel account for over one-third of the consumer price index in most African countries, (Nigeria 57 per cent, Egypt 60 per cent, Ghana 54 per cent, and Cameroon 42 per cent).
In 2020, African countries imported $4.0 billion worth of agricultural products from Russia, 90 per cent of which was wheat.
Daniel D. Bradlow, SARCHI Professor of International Development Law and African Economic Relations at the University of Pretoria told IPS: “I think the UNDP statement gives a good summary of the situation”.
“The impact of the war in Ukraine is having a devastating impact on Africa. If it continues it is likely to lead to hunger, increased poverty and serious debt crises across the continent,” he added.
“If the Western countries really wanted African support for the war in Ukraine, they should have taken steps to shield Africa and other parts of the Global South from the impacts of a European war. Instead, they are redirecting aid that could have gone to Africa to Ukraine and are cutting their aid budgets”.
He pointed out that the support that is being offered through the IFIs and others are likely to be in the form of loans rather than grants.
“This means that at the end of the day, the Western states are making African states pay for a conflict in Europe that suits their political agendas.”
In a statement last April, Jeroen Kwakkenbos, EU aid expert at Oxfam said donors have thrown out the rule book by counting vaccine donations in aid budgets.
“Over 350 million vaccine doses came from hoarded stocks, some of which, were donated far too close to their expiry date. Many more were donated without essential equipment such as syringes making them almost useless. Including these ‘donations’ in aid budgets inflates aid. It is merely donors patting themselves on the back for a job that may have cost lives,” he noted
“The war in Ukraine poses a risk to future aid budgets. Aid is already being pulled from countries like Syria to fund the reception of Ukrainian refugees in Europe.”
“We are left with the bizarre situation where European countries could become the largest recipients of their own aid. Instead of cherry-picking humanitarian crises, donor governments need to boost aid budgets to meet the challenges of today.”
MAKASSAR, Indonesia — Three days after a cargo boat sank in the Makassar Strait in South Sulawesi province, 10 more survivors were located, including the captain and other crew.
Of the total 42 people on board, 31 have been rescued since search and rescue operations began Saturday, said Djunaidi, the head of the provincial search and rescue agency. Like many Indonesians, Djunaidi goes by only one name.
The KM Ladang Pertiwi 02 sank in bad weather Friday afternoon. The boat left Thursday from a seaport in Makassar heading to Kalmas Island in Pangkep Regency, South Sulawesi Province, with stops along its route to visit some islands in Makassar Strait.
The 10 survivors rescued Monday morning by a local fisherman were taken to their home at Pamantauan Island, located in Makassar Strait.
“They are safe and in good condition,” Djunaidi said.
The sunken vessel was initially said to be a passenger ferry, but Djunaidi later clarified that it was a cargo boat carrying construction materials. Thirty-six passengers had asked for a ride on the boat with its six crew members. The search and rescue team is looking for the 11 remaining passengers, officials said.
Ferry tragedies are common in Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, where ferries are often used as transport and safety regulations can lapse.
In 2018, an overcrowded ferry with about 200 people on board sank in a deep volcanic crater lake in North Sumatra province, killing 167 people.
In one of the country’s worst recorded disasters, an overcrowded passenger ship sank in February 1999 with 332 people aboard. There were only 20 survivors.
The eastern DRC has experienced conflict and instability over many years and many people have been forced to flee their homes making them more vulnerable to exploitation.
Delu Lusambia is the project manager and coordinator of SYAM, (which stands for Siku ya Mazingira in Kiswahili), a local civil society organization in eastern DRC which implements projects for the UN Trust Fund in support of victims of sexual exploitation and abuse.*
“My organization, SYAM, has been working on the issue of sexual exploitation and abuse by UN personnel since 2007. Around that time, many people in the DRC were internally displaced because of conflict and took refuge near MONUSCO camps in North Kivu and eastern provinces.
They were left without jobs, without any means to sustain their lives. As a result, many women and girls exchanged sexual favours with UN peacekeepers for money and food. Economic vulnerability and power imbalances can expose people to the risk of sexual misconduct.
From 2007 to 2016, SYAM conducted surveys and heard many testimonies about sexual exploitation. We shared the result of the surveys and proposed projects to support and empower women and girls in partnership with MONUSCO.
We realized the urgent need to support victims, especially those who had children born of sexual abuse by peacekeepers.
UN Photo/Sylvain Liechti
A UN peacekeeping patrol passes people on the road in the Beni region in eastern of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
That is why we created vocational training centres for women and girls where we train them in pastry-making, tailoring, bread-making, hairdressing, and agriculture.
I am proud of the impact that we are making. First, from our observation on the ground, occurrences of sexual exploitation and abuse have decreased. Also, a large number of beneficiaries have been trained through our projects. I am delighted that a total of 375 beneficiaries between 2020 and 2021 have gained vital skills to sustain their lives.
We are also witnessing changes in the culture and attitudes. SYAM works with local community networks to raise awareness within communities in eastern DRC about sexual exploitation and abuse and how to report these wrongs. Now the reporting of such cases has become a common practice. Whenever they see suspicious activities, the communities speak up to raise concerns with MONUSCO.”
United Nations
* Trust Fund projects are funded by 24 UN Member States and implemented in partnership with development actors, including United Nations agencies and civil society.
More than one million peacekeepers have served under the UN flag, but they are not alone in the pursuit of peace. Peacekeeping is powered by strong and diverse partnerships, a theme which is highlighted in this year’s International Day of Peacekeepers.
KATHMANDU, Nepal — The wreckage of a plane carrying 22 people that disappeared in Nepal’s mountains was found Monday scattered on a mountainside, the army said. There was no word on survivors.
The Tara Air turboprop Twin Otter was on a 20-minute flight Sunday when it the lost contact with the airport tower while flying in an area of deep river gorges and mountaintops just before it was scheduled to land.
The army said the plane crashed in Sanosware in Mustang district close to the mountain town of Jomsom where it was heading after taking off from from the resort town of Pokhara, 200 kilometers (125 miles) west of Kathmandu.
An aerial photo the army posted on Twitter of the crash site showed parts of the aircraft scattered around the mountainside.
No other details were given.
The search for the plane had been suspended due to bad weather and darkness Sunday night but resumed Monday.
According to tracking data from flightradar24.com, the 43-year-old aircraft took off from Pokhara at 9:55 a.m. (04:10 GMT) and transmitted its last signal at 10:07 a.m. (04:22 GMT) at an altitude of 12,825 feet (3,900 meters).
Four Indians and two Germans were on the plane. The three crew members and other passengers were Nepali nationals.
The plane’s destination is popular with foreign hikers who trek the mountain trails and also with Indian and Nepalese pilgrims who visit the revered Muktinath temple.
The Twin Otter, a rugged plane originally built by Canadian aircraft manufacturer De Havilland, has been in service in Nepal for about 50 years, during which it has been involved in about 21 accidents, according to aviationnepal.com.
The plane, with its top-mounted wing and fixed landing gear, is prized for its durability and its ability to take off and land on short runways.
Production of the planes originally ended in the 1980s. Another Canadian company, Viking Air, brought the model back into production in 2010.
KATHMANDU, Nepal — Rescuers zeroed in on a possible location of a passenger plane with 22 people aboard that is feared to have crashed Sunday in cloudy weather in Nepal’s mountains, officials said.
The Tara Air plane was on a 20-minute scheduled flight from the resort town of Pokhara, 200 kilometers (125 miles) west of Kathmandu, to the mountain town of Jomsom. The turboprop Twin Otter aircraft lost contact with the airport tower close to landing in an area of deep river gorges and mountaintops.
An army helicopter and private choppers were taking part in the search, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal said in a statement.
Army troops and rescue teams were headed to the possible site of the crash, believed to be around Lete, a village in Mustang district, Narayan Silwal, the army spokesman, said on Twitter.
But bad weather and nightfall caused the search to be suspended until Monday morning, Silwal said.
“Poor visibility due to bad weather is hindering the efforts. The plane has not yet been located,” he said. Rescuers were trying to reach an area where locals allegedly saw a fire, although it is still unclear what was burning, Silwal added. He said that officials can only verify the information once the troops reached the location.
Sudarshan Bartaula, spokesman for Tara Air, said that rescuers had narrowed down a possible location of the plane.
According to plane tracking data from flightradar24.com, the 43-year-old aircraft took off from Pokhara at 9:55 a.m. (04:10 GMT) and transmitted its last signal at 10:07 a.m. (04:22 GMT) at an altitude of 12,825 feet (3,900 meters).
There were six foreigners on board the plane, including four Indians and two Germans, according to a police official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to talk to the media.
The plane was carrying 19 passengers and three crew, Bartaula said.
It has been raining in the area for the past few days but flights have been operating normally. Planes on that route fly between mountains before landing in a valley.
It is a popular route with foreign hikers who trek on the mountain trails and also with Indian and Nepalese pilgrims who visit the revered Muktinath temple.
Nepal has had a spotty air safety record.
In 2016, a Tara Air Twin Otter flying the same route crashed after takeoff, killing all 23 people aboard. In 2012, an Agni Air plane also flying from Pokhara to Jomsom crashed, killing 15 people. Six people survived. In 2014, a Nepal Airlines plane flying from Pokhara to Jumla crashed, killing all 18 on board.
In 2018, a US-Bangla passenger plane from Bangladesh crashed on landing in Kathmandu, killing 49 of the 71 people aboard.
The Twin Otter, a rugged plane originally built by Canadian aircraft manufacturer De Havilland, has been in service in Nepal for about 50 years, during which it has been involved in about 21 accidents, according to aviationnepal.com.
The plane, with its top-mounted wing and fixed landing gear, is prized for its durability and its ability to take off and land on short runways.
Production of the planes originally ended in the 1980s. Another Canadian company, Viking Air, brought the model back into production in 2010.
This version has corrected the location to west of the capital, not east.
BOGOTA, Colombia — Colombians emerging from the coronavirus pandemic voted for a new president Sunday, choosing from six candidates who promised varying degrees of change amid rising inequality, inflation, violence and discontent with the status quo.
Former rebel Gustavo Petro, who led in opinion polls, could become Colombia’s first leftist president. But those polls also indicated he probably would fall short of the 50% of votes needed to win in the first round and avoid a runoff against the second-place finisher.
Behind him were a populist real estate tycoon promising monetary rewards for tips on corrupt officials and a right-wing candidate who tried to distance himself from the widely disliked conservative current president, Iván Duque.
“The main problem in the country is the inequality of conditions, the work is not well paid,” said Jenny Bello, who sold coffee near a long line of voters under a typical cloudy sky in the capital of Bogotá. She had to resort to informal sales after months without work because of the pandemic.
A Petro win would add to a series of leftist political victories in Latin America as people seek change at a time of dissatisfaction with the economic situation. Chile, Peru and Honduras elected leftist presidents in 2021, and in Brazil, former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is leading the polls for this year’s presidential election. Mexico elected a leftist president in 2018.
This is the second presidential election in Colombia — Latin America’s third most populous country — since the government signed a peace agreement with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as FARC. But the divisive agreement was not a central campaign issue, with poverty and corruption drawing more attention.
Election Day took place peacefully for the most part across the country. But in the south-central state of Guaviare, three explosions were set off in rural areas far from polling stations, leaving a soldier with shrapnel wounds, said Defense Minister Diego Molano, who added that FARC dissident groups were allegedly responsible. The dissidents operate in the area.
Meanwhile, dozens of Colombians who wanted to return to their home country to vote faced difficulties at the border with Venezuela. The non-governmental group Colombian Electoral Observation Mission complained that “the Venezuelan Guard prevented the passage of Colombians” over the border bridges.
Immigration authorities in Colombia said an agreement calls for allowing Colombians registered to vote at border consulates to enter their homeland.
Petro has said he would resume diplomatic relations with the government of Nicolás Maduro, broken with Duque since 2019.
It is Petro’s third attempt to be the South America’s country president. He was defeated in 2018 by Duque, who was not eligible for reelection.
A victory for Petro would usher in a new political era in a country that has always been governed by conservatives or moderates while marginalizing the left due to its perceived association with the nation’s armed conflict. He was once a rebel with the now-defunct M-19 movement and was granted amnesty after being jailed for his involvement with the group.
He has promised to make significant adjustments to the economy, including a tax reform, as well as changes to how Colombia fights drug cartels and other armed groups. His main rival for most of the campaign has been Federico Gutiérrez, a former mayor of Medellin who is backed by most of Colombia’s traditional parties and ran on a pro-business, economic growth platform.
Gutiérrez has promised to fight hunger with the extension of subsidies and public-private alliances so that food that otherwise goes to waste is destined for the poorest.
A Gallup poll conducted earlier this month showed that 75% of Colombians believe the country is heading in the wrong direction and only 27% approve of Duque. A poll last year by Gallup found 60% of those questioned were finding it hard to get by on their income.
The coronavirus pandemic set back the country’s anti-poverty efforts by at least a decade. Official figures showed that 39% of Colombia’s 51.6 million residents lived on less than $89 a month last year, which has a slight improvement from the 42.5% rate from 2020.
Meanwhile, the country’s inflation reached its highest levels in two decades last month. Duque’s administration has justified April’s 9.2% rate for April by saying it is part of a global inflationary phenomenon, but the argument has not tamed discontent over increasing food prices.
“The vote serves to change the country and I think that this responsibility falls a lot on young people who want to reach standards that allow us to have a decent life,” said Juan David González, 28, who voted for the second time in a presidential election.
In addition to economic challenges, Colombia’s next president will also have to face a complex security issue and corruption, which is a top concern of voters.
The Red Cross last year concluded Colombia reached its highest level of violence in the last five years. Although the peace agreement with the FARC has been implemented, the territories and drug-trafficking routes that it once controlled are in dispute between other armed groups such as the National Liberation Army, or ELN, a guerrilla founded in the 1960s, FARC dissidents and the Gulf Clan cartel.
Duque’s successor will have to decide whether to resume peace talks with the ELN, which he suspended in 2019 after an attack killed more than 20 people.
Aware of voters’ corruption worries, real estate tycoon Rodolfo Hernández has placed the issue at the center of his campaign. Hernández, the former mayor of Bucaramanga, surprisingly rose in the final stretch of the campaign after promising to “clean” the country of corruption and to donate his salary.
The other candidates on the ballot are Sergio Fajardo, former mayor of Medellín and candidate for the center coalition; Christian leader John Milton Rodríguez, and the conservative Enrique Gómez.
The contested eastern city of Severodonetsk is still controlled by Ukraine, the Luhansk regional governor said Sunday morning in his latest update on Telegram.
“The enemy is not succeeding,” said Serhiy Haidai, adding that Russian forces remain stuck in the Hotel Myr on the eastern outskirts of the city. “Moreover, they are experiencing losses there because our [troops] are constantly shelling them there and knocking them out of the hotel. For now, they are hiding there, but they cannot proceed further.”
He rejected Russia’s claims that it captured the whole city. “Our boys are holding the line of defense. Severodonetsk is ours,” he said.
Haidai also said that Russian shelling of the Lysychansk-Bakhmut highway, southwest of Severodonetsk, has decreased after the Ukrainians managed to push the enemy back farther east “by a few kilometers.”
Severodonetsk is one of the last big cities under Ukrainian control in Luhansk province, and its capture would enable Russia to trumpet a victory after weeks of battlefield attrition. Only an estimated 10,000 people, one-tenth of its prewar population, remain in the city, and they have taken shelter in basements from Russian bombardment.
MEXICO CITY — The first hurricane of the season formed off Mexico’s southern Pacific coast on Sunday and was growing more powerful ahead of an expected strike along a stretch of tourist beaches and fishing towns.
Hurricane Agatha could make landfall on Monday in the area near Puerto Escondido and Puerto Angel in the southern state of Oaxaca — a region that includes the laid-back tourist resorts of Huatulco, Mazunte and Zipolite.
On Sunday morning, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said the center of Agatha was located about 200 miles (320 kilometers) west-southwest of Puerto Angel, with winds of 85 mph (140 kph).
It was heading to the north-northwest at 2 mph (4 kph) and was forecast to be near major hurricane status before making landfall. A hurricane warning was in effect between the port of Salina Cruz and the Lagunas de Chacahua.
The civil defense office in Oaxaca said the hurricane’s outer bands were already hitting the coast. The office published photos of fishermen hauling their boats up on beaches to protect them from the storm.
The government’s Mexican Turtle Center — a former slaughterhouse turned conservation center in Mazunte — announced it was closed to visitors until further notice because of the hurricane.
The Hurricane Center warned of dangerous costal flooding, as well as large and destructive waves near where Agatha makes landfall and destructive waves.
The storm was expected to bring 10 to 16 inches (250 to 400 millimeters) of rain to parts of Oaxaca state — with isolated maximums of 20 inches (500 millimeters) — posing the threat of flash flooding and mudslides.
Because the storm’s current path would carry it over the narrow waist of Mexico’s isthmus, the center said there was a chance the storm’s remnants could reemerge over the Gulf of Mexico.
In northern Guatemala, a woman and her six children died Saturday when a landslide engulfed their home, but the accident did not appear to be related to Agatha.
LONDON — Britain is getting ready for a party featuring mounted troops, solemn prayers — and a pack of dancing mechanical corgis.
The nation will celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s 70 years on the throne this week with four days of pomp and pageantry in central London. But behind the brass bands, street parties and a planned appearance by the aging queen on the balcony of Buckingham Palac e lies a drive to show that the royal family still remains relevant after seven decades of change.
“The monarchy is not elected, so the only way in which a monarch can demonstrate consent is not through the ballot box, but through people turning out on the streets,” said Robert Lacey, the historical adviser on “The Crown″ series. “And if the monarch turns up on the balcony and waves and there’s no one there, that’s a pretty definitive judgment on the monarchy.
“Well, when it comes to Elizabeth, the opposite has been the case. People can’t wait to mass and cheer together,” he added.
And the royals, sometimes criticized as out of touch with modern Britain, want to show that their support comes from all parts of a society that has become more multicultural amid immigration from the Caribbean, South Asia and Eastern Europe.
As part of the jubilee pageant, dancers from London’s African-Caribbean community will don costumes of giant flamingos, zebras and giraffes to re-imagine the moment in 1952 when Princess Elizabeth learned she had become queen while visiting a game park in Kenya. Another group will recall the queen’s 1947 marriage to Prince Philip and celebrate weddings around the Commonwealth with Bollywood-style dancing.
The jubilee is an opportunity for the royals to demonstrate their commitment to change and diversity, something the queen has embodied as she traveled the world over the last 70 years, said Emily Nash, royal editor of HELLO! magazine.
“She’s been everywhere and she has engaged with people from all walks of life, from all creeds and colors and faiths,” Nash said. “I think it’s easy to see, in the sort of pomp and pageantry, perhaps more of a lack of diversity. But if you look at what the royal family actually do, the people they engage with, the places they go to, I think it’s perhaps a little unfair to say that it’s not as diverse as it could be.”
If the depleted stock at the Cool Britannia gift shop is any indication, the jubilee has caught public attention. The shop around the corner from Buckingham Palace has run out of Platinum Jubilee tea towels. Spoons are sparse. Mugs are in short supply.
And it’s not just foreign tourists who are buying all things Elizabeth. Visitors from around the U.K. are also hunting for jubilee mementos, said Ismayil Ibrahim, the man behind the counter.
“It’s a very special year,” he said. “They’re celebrating it as a big event.”
The question for the House of Windsor is whether the public will transfer their love for the queen to her son and heir, Prince Charles, when the time comes.
It is a problem that stems, in part, from the queen’s unprecedented reign, the longest in British history. The only monarch most people have ever known, she has become synonymous with the monarchy itself.
The shy woman with a small handbag, a trailing corgi and passion for horses presided over an era that spawned Monty Python, the Beatles and the Sex Pistols. People who thought they knew her thought wrong — as evidenced by her star turn as a Bond Girl at the 2012 London Olympics.
Yet through it all, the queen has built a bond with the nation through a seemingly endless series of public appearances as she opened libraries, dedicated hospitals and bestowed honors on deserving citizens.
Susan Duddridge feels that connection. The administrator from Somerset will dance in the Platinum Jubilee pageant, 69 years after her father marched in the queen’s coronation parade.
“I think it’s amazing that the country always comes together when there’s a wedding, a royal jubilee, whatever the royals are involved in,” she said. “We love the queen!’’
Against this backdrop, the jubilee is also part of the effort to prepare the public for the day when Charles takes the throne. Now 73, Charles has spent much of his life preparing to be king and battling a somewhat stuffy image that wasn’t helped by his ugly divorce from the still-adored Princess Diana.
Charles reportedly may play a key role during the first event of the jubilee weekend, taking the salute of passing soldiers during the annual military review known as Trooping the Colour. The queen will attend the more than 400-year-old ceremony that marks her official birthday if she feels ok, but will decide on the day.
Elizabeth, who only recently recovered from COVID-19 and has begun using a walking stick, has given Charles an increasingly important role as the public face of the monarchy. Earlier this month, he stood in for his mother when what the palace describes as “episodic mobility problems” prevented her from presiding over the state opening of Parliament.
Still, in the days afterward, she t urned up at a horse show, opened a subway line and toured the Chelsea Flower Show in a chauffeur-driven royal buggy — a sort of luxurious golf cart.
“There is no blueprint for a reign of this length and, subsequently, I think the palace and courtiers are having to improvise all the time,” said Ed Owens, a royal historian and author of “The Family Firm: Monarchy, Mass Media and the British Public 1932-1953.”
“In the case of Elizabeth II, we haven’t had a monarch this elderly who has reigned for so long and is so meaningful to so many people having to essentially transfer her role to the next in line.’’
But don’t expect the queen to leave the scene any time soon.
Robert Hardman, biographer and author of “Queen of Our Times: The Life of Elizabeth II’’ said he expects to see an even bigger party four years from now when Elizabeth turns 100.
“A 100th birthday raises the intriguing prospect: Will she send a card to herself?” Hardman mused, referencing the queen’s tradition of sending a personal birthday card to anyone who reaches that milestone. “I’m looking forward to that debate in 2026.”
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Cookie
Duration
Description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional
11 months
The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy
11 months
The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
