Tag: Human Rights

The Bitter-Sweet Sides of Ugandas Oil and Gas Development — Global Issues

A former fishing village based in the Buhuka flats on the Uganda side of Lake Albert on the DRC border. Residents in the area say oil exploration has come with changes. Credit: Wambi Michael/IPS
  • by Wambi Michael (kampala, buliisa, kikuube)
  • Inter Press Service

KAMPALA, BULIISA, KIKUUBE, Sep 21 (IPS) – French oil and gas giant TotalEnergies and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) are moving with pace in the development of oil and gas projects with a potential investment portfolio estimated at more than USD 15 billion. IPS looks at the project’s human rights record for the compensation of affected communities.

The development of oil and gas infrastructure in Uganda’s Albertine has been moving quickly since February 2022 when China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) and France’s TotalEnergies signed the Final Investment Decision (FID).

It is anticipated that part of the 1.4 billion barrels of oil discovered in the Rift Valley region bordering DRC should be pumped out of the ground by the end of 2025.

TotalEnergies EP Uganda is working with CNOOC Uganda and Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC) through a Joint Venture Partnership plan to invest more than USD 10 billion to develop upstream facilities alongside the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) that will transport oil produced from Uganda’s Lake Albert oilfields to the port of Tanga in Tanzania onwards to world markets.

Some Have Benefitted

The effect of the flow of so-called “petrodollars” to a region whose people have for ages begged for development is visible to those who have been to this area long before oil and gas were discovered there. From once-dirt roads to several newly constructed tarmacked roads, an international airport near completion, and new iron-roofed houses in some communities as compensation to the Project-Affected Persons (PAPs), as they are commonly referred to in the Districts of Hoima, Buliisa, Kikuube, and Nwoya.

“I think oil has impacted the Buliisa district greatly. Because I would not expect this road. Can you imagine a tarmac road has reached my home? It is because of oil. It was going to take us many years to get such good roads if the oil project had not kicked off,” says Mugaye Richard.

While there are serious environmental concerns related to the developments, the developers and the government are determined to proceed. Some residents, like Richard Mugaye, have benefited from compensation in cash or had new houses say they benefited way before the oil gets out of the ground.

“I’m expecting an even better life when oil production begins,” says Amina Lubyayi, a 38-year-old mother of seven who lives near the Buhuka flats, where China National Offshore Oil Corporation’s (CNOOC) Kingfisher development is located.  The project will produce 40,000 barrels of crude oil per day during peak production.

Lubyayi is among those who had houses constructed for by CNOOC under the King Fisher resettlement action program in Buhuka flats.

“Our house was walled with mud and reeds. The mud would collapse whenever it rained. That is no more; I used to cook from a makeshift kitchen, but now I have a permanent one. We have light from solar, and we have a pit latrine, too,” Lubyayi told IPS.

Over 100 kilometers away from Kikuube to Buliisa district, 40-year-old Phinehas Owor-Mungu is planting fruit trees in the gardens of his newly acquired four-roomed stone-built house.

He told IPS that he was among the “lucky ones” whose land and developments were affected by TotalEnergies projects. “Because I and my family live in a much better house. I also got some cash in compensation for trees and crops and a disturbance allowance,” he explained.

“You see, sometimes, when you are eating well, your neighbors may be jealous. People have been compensated. Those who opted for cash got their cash, and we who opted for houses have had houses built for us. The roads here have improved, and people are getting employed. And then one says people are worse off?”

Down the road, 33-year-old Stephen Enach is busy placing a slab on a pit latrine to one of the houses that will soon be handed over to another person affected by the oil projects.

Jobs like Enach’s have become plentiful, and many young men and women are directly working with TotalEnergies or its subcontractors.

So far, 12,000 jobs have been created, according to Betty Namubiru, the Manager of National Content at the Petroleum Authority of Uganda.

“It is important to note that 94 percent of the 12,000 are Ugandans. We hope to hit 160,000 jobs when the construction of facilities is at its peak. And more Ugandans will have more opportunities,” Namubiru told IPS.

Compensation Complaints

Fred Lukumu, the District chairperson, told IPS that while the Buliisa District is witnessing some of the benefits of oil and gas developments, there has been an outcry over the delay in compensating the PAPs.

“So many people have lost their lives before earning their compensation which they were entitled to because of the delay. There has also been an outcry that compensation rates have been generally low. Especially for land.”

He told IPS that land in Buliisa district was valued at 3.5 million shillings ($945) per acre, yet in the neighborhood, the cost of land there was almost double the cost.

Fred Balikenda is one of those who have refused to be relocated from their land before they are adequately compensated. He is a resident of Kigwera sub-county, where TotalEnergies is putting up several structures, including a central processing facility. While all his former village mates accepted compensation and moved to their resettlement houses, Balikenda told IPS that he was determined to die for his land.

“They came and fenced my land illegally. They were supposed to construct a house for me before I vacated. The road which I was using was closed,” he narrated. “A man will remain a man. I will stay here. If they don’t pay me 200 million shillings, I will not shift. They will kill me, and it will remain as history.”

Peter Lokeris, Minister of State for Minerals, is one of the government officers who has tried to resolve compensation-related complaints. He told IPS that the 200 million shillings ($540,000) that Balikenda was demanding was exorbitant. He told IPS that the government has faced challenges with “speculators” who said have tended to hike the price of the land beyond the market rates.

“We shall have to repay the oil companies the money they have used to build houses and pay compensation. They are not free,” he said. “So, if we think that we will cheat the companies, the companies will cheat us. If we produce and there is no profit, we shall not earn anything as a country.”

In July, Human Rights Watch released a report, “Our Trust is Broken,” which documented what it described as “devastating impacts” on the livelihoods of Ugandan families from the land acquisition process.

“Critically, Human Rights Watch found that affected households are much worse off than before,” said the report.

“Most lands were initially evaluated in 2017-2019. Compensation was not received until three to five years later, in 2022 or 2023. Considerable hardship accrued from these delays that were also poorly communicated amidst confusion over the ability to access crops during this time,” the Human Rights Watch report said.

“EACOP has been a disaster for the tens of thousands who have lost the land that provided food for their families and an income to send their children to school and who received too little compensation from TotalEnergies,” said Felix Horne, senior environment researcher at Human Rights Watch. “EACOP is also a disaster for the planet, and the project should not be completed.”

Dickens Kamugisha, a lawyer and the Executive Director of the African Institute for Energy Governance (AFEIGO), told IPS that some of the PAPS have waited for over five years without compensation.

“We have seen hundreds of Ugandans who are being displaced without fair and adequate compensation. The constitution says you must give those who are affected adequate and fair compensation.”

TotalEnergies says it would apply an uplift of additional financial compensation of 15 percent per year for the period between the valuation of the inventory and payment in Uganda to mitigate the impact on the communities.

 “These measures were aimed at mitigating the effects of these delays on the PAPs in their daily lives. In practice, most people interviewed by Human Rights Watch only received 30 percent (two years of 15 percent) even though compensation delays, in many cases, were between three and five years. One man said: “This was grossly inadequate to make up for several years of diminished or no revenue from lost land.”

Another man said: “For three years, I did not access my coffee plants. Two kids dropped out of school. My revenue went from 4 million to 1 million a year. They gave me 30 percent.”

Patrick Jean Pouyanné, TotalEnergies’ Chief Executive Officer, has continued to dismiss reports like the one by Human Rights Watch.

“I can tell you that we always take care of community concerns. There are so many reports by third parties. Not by us because nobody believes in us. The fact is that you can have one or two people who may not be happy with the way they are relocated. But we are doing that in the best standards possible.”

However, Human Rights Watch said TotalEnergies’ practices on EACOP’s land acquisition process were inconsistent with its expressed commitment to uphold relevant international standards on land acquisition.

Why the Delay in Compensation?

Ernest Rubondo, the Executive Director at the Petroleum Authority of Uganda, whose Authority regulates the Oil and Gas Sector, told IPS that the delay in compensation for EACOP, Tilenga, and Kingfisher developments was one of the challenges. However, he noted that no land can be utilized for the projects before full compensation.

He explained that the processes of land acquisition and compensation in Uganda are not short.

“First of all, you have to properly identify the land that you would like to acquire. Secondly, you have to confirm the number of people who are on the land. And that isn’t always easy because the land ownership systems in the country are quite different,” he said. “There are many people sitting in Canada and the US, but they have land here.”

Rubondo told IPS that in some instances, they found people occupying land but had no proof of ownership and did not know how much land they had, especially in the Albertine region, where land had not been titled right from the colonial period.

The Determination of Compensation Rates

According to Rubondo, the determination of compensation rates originated from the district where the land is located.

“The district has to propose the rate; the government Chief Government Valuer has to compare them with what happens in other districts and the other values. As you would expect, no one ever accepts that this is the right amount for ‘my land’. So, you start going back and forth,” explained Rubondo.

He said once the rates are determined, they are communicated to the landowners who had options whether to receive cash compensation in exchange land for land, or have houses built for them.

“For those that opt for cash, you have to help them to open bank accounts; then you have to educate them on how to handle the money. Because NGOs are saying it is unfair to get these large amounts of money and put them in the hands of people who have never had such large sums of money,” added Rubondo. “You will never have all of them to agree. You put those who disagree in a certain bracket. So that process is not short.”

He noted that the value of the land identified for the project changes per year.

“The delays have been recognized. And these project-affected persons are being compensated for the delay at a rate of 15 percent per year. Thirty percent of the value of land compensation for disturbance is a disturbance allowance. And then they are given things like food to take them through the transition.”

However, Dickens Kamugisha told IPS that government officers tended to prioritize fast-tracking projects like EACOP regardless of the complaints by PAPs.

“It’s those officials who say that they have learned from the failures of those other oil producers, that they will not repeat those mistakes. But when you say the project must move on when you know that there are things you must address, what are you doing to your country? What are you doing to your citizens?” asked Kamugisha.

Compensations Update

IPS received information from the Petroleum Authority about the status of compensation under the King Fisher Development Project (KFDP) operated by CNOOC, Tilenga Development, operated by TotalEnergies, and EACOP under a joint venture led by TotalEnergies.

Tilenga Project by TotalEnergies

The total land requirement for the Tilenga Project is approximately 2,901 acres. The land acquisition process for the Tilenga project stands at 97 percent, with approximately 5,412 out of 5,523 PAPs fully compensated, with 143 resettlement houses handed over, 15 are ready to be handed over, and 77 under construction.

The Kingfisher Development Project (KFDA) by CNOOC.

The acquisition of land for the KFDA was concluded at 100%. The total land requirement for the KFDA is approximately 1,020 acres with 727 Project Affected Persons (PAPs). Sixty-five (65) resettlement houses were constructed and handed over to the owners.

EACOP Compensation Ugandan Side

The total land taken for the EACOP project was estimated at 2,740 acres, housing four construction camps, heating stations, and the pipeline right of way (ROW). The compensation stood at 84 percent, with 3,062 out of 3,656 having received their compensation and a total of 177 resettlement houses handed over to the respective owners.

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Barriers to Movement are the Never Ending Normal for Palestinians — Global Issues

72-year-old Kawthar Ajlouni stands alone in her yard in H2, Hebron, the occupied Palestinian territory. The backdrop reveals a fortified Israeli checkpoint. Amid 645 documented movement obstacles in the West Bank, 80 are here in H2 as of 2023. Isolated due to strict Israeli policies, she is one of 7,000 Palestinians enduring heavy restrictions, while many others have left. The Israeli-declared ‘principle of separation’ (between Palestinians and Israeli settlers) limits their life, generating a coercive environment that risks forcible transfers. Kawthar stays, fearing her home’s conversion into a military post. Credit: OCHA/2023
  • by Abigail Van Neely (united nations)
  • Inter Press Service

UNITED NATIONS, Sep 21 (IPS) – Sundus Azza scans the news before she heads home, checking for signs that her 30-minute commute could turn into a four-hour-long slog. Any incident could make travel difficult.

Sometimes Azza waits for her father to call and tell her if the checkpoints around their home are open. After living in Hebron, a city in the West Bank, for the last 20 years, she is used to planning her day around unpredictability.

Obstacles to movement in the West Bank have increased in the last two years, preventing Palestinians from accessing hospitals, urban centers, and agricultural areas. Restrictions and delays are the new normal.

In a recent review, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports an 8 percent increase in the overall recorded number of physical barriers, from 593 in 2020 to 645 in 2023. They range in scale from elaborate checkpoints guarded by military towers to a pile of rocks in the middle of the road.

The number of barriers has fluctuated over the past years. However, OCHA finds a notable 35 percent increase, especially in the number of constantly staffed checkpoints in strategic areas. Zone C, the area still under Israeli administrative and police control, is home to most roads and most obstacles to movement. It covers 60% of the West Bank.

Under international law, Israel must facilitate the free movement of Palestinians in the occupied territories. Cities’ entry points and main roads are often shut down without warning for arbitrary “security reasons.”

“The objective of the occupying forces is to make sure that they can isolate entire areas if security requires to do so,” Andrea De Domenico, the deputy head of OCHA’s office for the Occupied Palestinian Territory in Jerusalem, explains. “It’s always a little bit of an unknown- when you get out, you don’t know when you will be able to come back.”

As a result, most activities require extensive coordination- whether it’s getting a firetruck past checkpoints in time, filtering passengers off and on a bus during an ID check or planning a trip to visit relatives.

Guarded Life in Hebron

The H2 area of Hebron is one of the most restricted in the West Bank. Facial recognition cameras, metal detectors, and detention and interrogation facilities fortify 77 checkpoints that separate the Israeli-controlled parts of the city.

To get to her house in the H2, Azza knows she must pass through at least two checkpoints. But planning is difficult. There aren’t specific times when the checkpoints will be open. If they are closed, there aren’t waiting areas. Azza says when that happens, she hopes there’s a nice guard – and that he speaks Arabic or English – and explains that she’s just trying to get home.

The checkpoint near Azza’s university was closed for three months following a stabbing incident in 2016. She remembers the streets being crowded with soldiers as she was walking one chilly winter. Azza put her hands in her jacket pockets to warm them, 100 meters away, a guard she recognized yelled at her to remove her hands. Now, Azza says she is cautious about even buying a kitchen knife she may get in trouble for carrying home.

There are other challenges to navigating the historic Palestinian city littered with checkpoints. De Domenico tells stories of an elderly woman who stopped going out to avoid being harassed by soldiers. “If settlers are in the streets, they can attack me anytime they want,” Azza says.

De Domenico says Palestinians often don’t report incidents to the Israeli police for fear of having their permits taken away in retaliation. Besides, just getting to a police station in an Israeli settlement is a challenge. Because their cars are not permitted to drive through, Palestinians must walk behind Israeli cars sent to escort them.

When soldiers ask for her ID, Azza says they want her ID number, not her name: “They consider us as a number.”

Permits as Power

Permits control life across the occupied Palestinian territories.

Musaab, a university student in Nablus, submitted six permit applications for travel to receive cancer treatment. All were denied. He was finally forced to travel to Jordan twice, without his father, for care.

“This is so inhumane. How can this happen in any place in the world? Why are they blocking me from accompanying my son? I just want to hold his hand when he goes for surgery,” Musaab’s father told WHO.

Stories like Musaab’s are common as patients across the West Bank and Gaza are kept from seeking healthcare by permit restrictions. According to OCHA, in 2022, 15 percent of patients’ applications to visit Israeli health facilities in East Jerusalem were not approved in time for their appointments. 93 percent of ambulances were delayed because patients were required to transfer to Israeli-licensed vehicles.

The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that 160,000 physical restrictions in Zone C have led many communities to depend on mobile clinics funded by humanitarian aid. This year, OCHA’s humanitarian response plan was only 33% funded.

“ warns that humanitarian needs are deepening because of restrictions of movements of Palestinians inside the West Bank. This undermines their access to livelihoods and essential services such as healthcare and education,” Florencia Soto Nino, associate spokesperson of the Secretary-General, told reporters.

Putting up Walls

Walls aggravate these humanitarian issues.

A now 65 percent constructed barrier runs along the border of the West Bank and inside the territory, often carving out Israeli settlements, dividing communities, and sometimes even literally running through houses.

To enter East Jerusalem, women under 50 and men under 55 with West Bank IDs are required to show permits from Israeli authorities. Even then, they can only use three of the 13 checkpoints.

Palestinian farmers have also been separated from their land- and livelihoods.

According to OCHA, many private farms have been trapped inside areas Israeli military forces established as “firing zones.” As a result, they are sometimes only accessible twice a year. The UN Food and Agricultural Organization reports that the region’s agricultural yield has been reduced by almost 70% because Palestinians have had to abandon their land.

The size of a farmer’s plot determines when and for how long it can be tended. Farmers must coordinate times when soldiers will open the gates that allow them onto their land. Harvest days are especially tricky. In some cases, De Domenico says, an agricultural permit is only given to the owner of the land and none of their laborers.

Meanwhile, De Domenico describes Gaza, a territory separated from Israel by a 12-meter-high wall, as a “gigantic prison” for 2.3 million Palestinians. Here, less physical obstacles are required to limit movement.

“It is the only place on the planet where, when a war starts… people cannot flee,” De Domenico said.

Living with Tension

Riyad Mansour, permanent observer of Palestine to the United Nations, expressed disappointment at the “paralysis of the international community” when it came to protecting Palestinian people from discrimination during a meeting of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of Palestinian People at the end of August.

At the same time, OCHA is working to facilitate “humanitarian corridors to ensure that basic services are delivered,” De Domenico says. For instance, the office has helped teachers reach communities where students would have had to walk for miles.

De Domenico adds that reports can facilitate important discussions. Israeli authorities, who have contested materials OCHA produced in the past, have been invited to ride along while UN agents map new barriers.

Still, “there is always the potential of tension flying in the air,” even for UN agents, De Domenico says. “You constantly live with this tension.”

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Gains, Losses & Lessons One Year On — Global Issues

  • Opinion by Sanam Naraghi (new york)
  • Inter Press Service

NEW YORK, Sep 20 (IPS) – On September 16th Iranians everywhere commemorated the first anniversary of Mahsa Jina Amini’s murder by the country’s notorious ‘guidance patrol’. Arrested for being badly covered, the 22-year-old was beaten so violently, she died from brain injuries.

This violence and the regime’s obfuscation of its crime unleashed a forty-years long pent-up fury among Iran’s women and girls. Protests ensued in cities and towns across the country’s length and breadth. Young and old men, who in past generations had shown limited empathy for the daily humiliations and systemic discrimination facing women, joined.

Amini’s Kurdish origins prompted mobilization of Iran’s Kurds, Baluch, and other minorities. As protesters’ images flooded social media, the #WomenLifeFreedom movement was born. With the regime cracking down, killing over 500 people, raping, injuring, and threatening countless others, young Iranians’ message to the world was ‘be our voice’.

The world responded. A year on, what is there to show for the sacrifices and lives? Civil Disobedience in Iran: The Fire Under the Ashes Anticipating mass demonstrations for the anniversary, the regime rounded up people, killed more protestors and deployed security forces across major cities. Lawmakers have threatened new legislation to reinforce harsh hejab rules and punishment.

Politically, faced with an existential threat, the regime’s competing flanks – hardline principalists and moderate reformists -closed rank and arguably are more consolidated than in recent years.

Economically, thanks to the mix of sanctions and internal corruption, the revolutionary guard have monopolized much of the private sector space. Security-wise the state is beefed up, with a mix of old-fashioned hired hands and the latest surveillance and face recognition technologies.

But facing a deep domestic crisis of legitimacy, the leadership also sought external support. This time, Saudi Arabia, Iran’s longstanding regional nemesis, was their proverbial knight in shining armor. This rapprochement with China as guarantor has enabled the regime to save face and turn eastward.

But none of this has deterred Iran’s Gen-Z. The heavy crackdowns of the past year did result in significant back-downs too. From Tehran to Mashad and beyond, many women no longer wear the mandatory headscarf.

As the Persian saying goes, the WLF movement is like burning fire underneath the ashes. Knowing the regime’s playbook, the young developed new tactics. A recent visitor to Tehran noted that for weeks prior to the anniversary, young women were sharing flyers advising people to dress in solidarity. White t-shirt and jeans for women, button down shirts and cargo shorts for men.

Such nonconfrontational civil disobedience tactics are low-risk and thus high participation. Iranians knows that the regime’s arrests of musicians, artists, students, film directors, authors, poets and even chefs, was indicative of an existential fear.

With ten-year old girls ripping up photos of Ayatollah Khamenei and school age students singing protest songs, the generational tectonic shift taking place inside Iran is undeniable.

It is a shift towards greater freedom, modernity, and gender equality. It is not simply a ‘bottom up’ revolution. It is a radical societal evolution that has entrenched itself in the homes of the country’s most powerful, conservative figures.

To put it bluntly, the regime’s leadership know that their attempt to turn Iran into an ideologically Islamist society has failed with their own children and grandchildren, girls, and boys.

This is a key political, social, and ideologically symbolic victory, that no one should underestimate. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of the Iranian Diaspora The call to ‘be my voice’ led to unprecedented mobilization of the Iran’s global diaspora.

A community traumatized and mistrustful of each other, characterized by their aversion to political engagement, was suddenly energized, vocal, and flexing political muscle from the streets of Los Angeles to the corridors of the European Parliament.

Not surprisingly some marginal exiled political forces sought to co-opt the events for their own political gain. Others tried to forge coalitions to offer a viable challenge to the regime. There was emotional and cognitive dissonance.

At a public level pent-up anger towards the regime, coupled with hope for a different future, became the emotional fuel for diaspora participation in demonstrations and political activism.

But hope and anger are not sufficient. Political figures who united around their shared opposition to the Islamic regime, faltered as they disagreed on a shared vision for the country and the roadmap to achieving it.

Too often it seemed that these opposition forces, from the Monarchists to the MEK, were relitigating the revolution of 1979, with old tactics, instead of embracing the Gen-Z and intrinsically feminist nature of the WLF movement inside Iran.

A year on the political groups remain divided. The wider diaspora, however, has become more empowered and with greater access to the political arenas of their adopted nations. Their challenge now is to make nuanced and responsible choices that support and not inadvertently harm the domestic WLF movement.

The world will cheer from the sidelines, but self-interest is the driver The world also responded to the call of ‘be my voice’.

For forty years, western media had demonized Iran through stereotypical images of militancy, aging angry clerics, black-clad women, and nuclear weapons. The burst of smiling, defiant Iranian teenagers on Instagram, waving scarves, singing, or dancing, bearing a striking resemblance to teenagers around the world, touched a nerve.

The news of their arrests and assassinations, prompted greater outrage. College students, artists, rock, and movie stars, showed their solidarity, by cutting their hair, and speaking out.

The emotive power of ‘Baraye’, the anthem of the burgeoning revolution, generated a level of empathy that is rare in modern times. But public attention came with stark political realities. The heartfelt support of US, Canadian and European politicians was largely rhetorical.

There is no appetite for interventionism and their overarching priority is to contain the nuclear program. For understandable reasons: On the one hand, a nuclear-armed Iranian regime that will have an interminable existence.

On the other hand, Israel has consistently warned that it would not wait for Iran to achieve breakout capacity. It would strike preemptively. So, geopolitically, the threat of a devastating war, the unknowable chaos and human suffering that comes with it, is inextricably linked with the fate of Iran’s young.

Regionally too, despite their disagreements, the Arab states prefer the proverbial devil they know, then the uncertainly of a power vacuum that a revolution could foment.

The Saudi regime and its proxies were key players in unfolding event. Since the signing of the JCPOA in 2015 and the break in Saudi-Iran relations in 2016 they had supported the armed insurrection of ethnic groups and enabling political access to the Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MEK) across Europe and North America.

Private Saudi funding bolstered the satellite television channel, Iran International, enabling it to broadcast a diet of nostalgia for the Shah and anti-JCPOA messaging into Iranian homes. It was also a prime channel covering the WLF protests.

But the Saudis, were neither interested in the regime’s collapse or chaos nor an independent, strong Iranian democracy, particularly women-led and feminist. Their ideal scenario was a weakened Iranian regime, in need of Saudi’s hand. This is exactly what they got.

Meanwhile the Iranian regime is benefiting from the ebbing power of democracies and the rise of authoritarianism. Its distancing from the west and closer allegiance to Russia, and the BRICS countries is a bet on greater economic ties to bolster the regime apparatus domestically. It is unlikely that the regional or BRIC countries will voice concerns over women’s rights.

So, the world may have sympathy for young Iranians but will not stand with them. So, what will become of WLF? The answers lie in Persian poetry. The first is the parable of the Rock and the Spring. A trickle of melted snow hurtling down the mountain hits a rock. The trickle asks the rock to move aside. The rock refuses to budge.

Over time, the water pools and erodes the rock, turning first into a stream and then a powerful river. Iranian women – the grandmothers, mothers and now daughters (and sons) = who have fought the regime’s misogyny day in, year out, for decades, inching back the hijab, populating universities, and fighting for equality under the law are an unstoppable river.

“We will stay and reclaim Iran” they shout, refusing to be pushed into exile. They have ideals but are not ideologically driven. In chipping away from within, they are fostering evolution and transformation, not revolution or reform.

As for the exiled figures who seek to claim leadership of WLF, they should revisit the epic 10th poem, ‘Conference of the Bird’. As the story goes, the world was in strife.

The Hoopie bird calls on all birds to journey in search of the mythical ‘seemorq’, a wise leader. The birds soar above mountains and valleys, through snowstorms, firestorms, and deserts.

Some give up, others falter. Ultimately thirty reach the final mountain peak with a glacial lake. ‘Where is the Seemorq?’ they cry. “Look into the lake and you will see.” replies the Hoopie.

The birds peer in and see their own reflections – the faces of thirty birds (See-morq). The leadership lies within themselves. In Iran, a year on from Mahsa’s death, the river is gathering force. There will be tough times ahead, but the millions are emerging as the Seemorq.

Sanam Naraghi Anderlini, MBE Founder/CEO, International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN) Adjunct Professor, School of International Public Affairs (SIPA), Columbia University, New York. [email protected]

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Afghan rights, Armenia-Azerbaijan ceasefire, road safety campaign — Global Issues

A new report by UNAMA’s Human Rights Service has documented over 1,600 cases of human rights violations including torture, committed by the de facto authorities across the country during the arrest and detention of individuals from 1 January 2022 to 31 July this year.

Commenting on the findings, UN rights chief Volker Türk described as “harrowing” the personal accounts of beatings, electric shocks, water torture and numerous other forms of cruel and degrading treatment, along with threats made against individuals and their families.

“Torture is forbidden in all circumstances,” he insisted.

According to the report, violations of due process guarantees, including denial of access to lawyers, have become the “norm” in the country.

Mr. Türk urged the Taliban to halt the abuses and hold perpetrators accountable.

Afghanistan remains bound as a State Party by numerous international human rights treaties. UNAMA is mandated by the UN Security Council to support their implementation.

Armenia-Azerbaijan: UN reiterates calls for humanitarian access

UN Secretary-General António Guterreshas said that he remained concerned about the humanitarian situation in the South Caucasus where there’s been a flare-up in fighting.

Through his Spokesperson, Mr. Guterres reiterated his call for full-fledged access for aid workers to people in need.

In a statement referring to the situation between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Mr. Guterres said that he was “extremely concerned” over the use of military force in the region and reports of casualties, including among the civilian population.

According to the latest media reports, a cessation of hostilities in the region was announced on Wednesday.

Conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the region has persisted for more than three decades, but a ceasefire was agreed almost three years ago following six weeks of fighting, by the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia, leading to the deployment of several thousand Russian peacekeepers.

The UN chief urged “in the strongest terms” for de-escalation and “stricter” observance of the 2020 ceasefire and principles of international humanitarian law.

Just last month, UN humanitarians and partners briefed the Security Council on the need for unimpeded passage of aid in the region through the Lachin Corridor. The key route reportedly reopened last week.

Mr. Guterres said that he regretted that the latest “worrying developments” followed the delivery of “much-needed humanitarian assistance” to the local population on 18 September.

The UN rights chief Volker Türk also said on Tuesday that he was worried about “the impact of renewed use of armed force on civilians”. He insisted that it was “absolutely critical” that Azerbaijan and Armenia return to the peace process and work on an agreement “grounded in human rights”.

UN launches star-studded road safety campaign

Coming soon to a billboard near you: a new global UN road safety campaign launched on Wednesday to help prevent road traffic crashes, which kill 1.35 million people each year.

Crashes are the leading cause of death for people aged five to 29 around the world and developing countries account for a staggering 93 per cent of the victims.

According to the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the most vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists, and the poor are disproportionately affected.

The UN chief’s Special Envoy for Road Safety, Jean Todt, said that road safety was “not high enough” on the political agenda in most countries.

To raise awareness of the issue, the new UN campaign mobilizes celebrities ranging from pop star Kylie Minogue to football icon Ousmane Dembélé who are encouraging road users to adopt safe practices. The billboards will go on display in some 1,000 cities worldwide.

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UN Must Live Up to Its Promises of Gender Equality —and Support Women — Global Issues

  • Opinion by Shihana Mohamed (united nations)
  • Inter Press Service

UNITED NATIONS, Sep 19 (IPS) – In 2015, the UN’s 193 member states adopted 17 goals for the health of the world that together comprise the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be reached worldwide by 2030.

The UN hosted a SDG Summit 2023 on September 18-19 to review progress toward those goals. Among the aims is to “achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.” On this, progress is not going well.

As UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned in July, “Halfway to the 2030 deadline, the Sustainable Development Goals are dangerously off track. Gender equality is almost 300 years away.”

Among the furthest behind is the Asia-Pacific. Although a dynamic region, at this point the Asia-Pacific should have made half the progress needed to achieve the goals but its progress has reached only 14.4%.

According to the UN Women report on Women’s Leadership in Asia-Pacific, women’s representation in parliament is at 20% in the Asia-Pacific, below the global average of 25%. Women are underrepresented among chairs of permanent committees in charge of finance and human rights.

Women’s participation in peace negotiations — as negotiators, mediators and signatories — is notably rare. Women hold managerial positions at only 20%. This lack of progress exists at the UN as well.

The Asia-Pacific is home to around 4.3 billion people — 54% of the world population — and more than half of the world’s women. Yet only 18% of women are from the region among women in professional and higher categories of staff in UN organizations.

Among the professional staff in UN organizations, there is a visible disproportionate parity between the West and the rest of the world. Out of five regional groups of the UN member states — Western European and Other States, African States, Asia-Pacific States, Eastern European States, Latin American and Caribbean States — women from Western European and Other States, including North America, constitute just more than half of the population of professional women (51%) in the UN system.

Women from the Asia-Pacific constitute only 6% of senior or decision-making posts in UN organizations. The majority of these posts (about 53%) are held by staff from Western European and Other States.

The recent review of racism in UN organizations by the Joint Inspection Unit, the UN’s external oversight body, confirmed that UN staff from countries of the Global South, where the population is predominantly people of color, tend to be in lower pay-grades and hold less authority than those from countries where the population is predominantly white or from the group of Western European and Other States. This racial discrimination in seniority and authority has emerged as a macro-structural issue to be addressed.

At the opening of the 61st session of the Commission on the Status of Women, the Secretary-General Guterres declared: “We need a cultural shift — in the world and our United Nations. Women everywhere should be recognized as equal and promoted on that basis. We need more than goals; we need action, targets and benchmarks to measure what we do. But for the United Nations, gender equality is not only a matter of staffing. It relates to everything we do.”

If the UN is serious about definitive advancement in the status of women, its organizations should focus exclusively on necessary measures to increase the representation of women from Asia-Pacific countries.

These measures should include, but not be limited to, establishing targets for balanced regional diversity in UN organizations, ensuring recruitment and selection assessments are free from biases, and conducting audits of Asia-Pacific women’s career progression to identify and eliminate barriers. It is equally essential to ensure that women from the region are placed in decision-making positions.

UN organizations must faithfully reflect the diversity and dynamism of staff from all countries and regions of the world, including at senior and decision-making levels. This aspect is critical if the organizations are to implement mandates to help deliver the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

At the event organized by the UN Asia Network for Diversity & Inclusion to commemorate the 77th UN Day, Ambassador Anwarul Chowdhury, former Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the UN and former UN Under Secretary-General, noted that the UN Charter “is the first international agreement to affirm the principle of equality between women and men, with explicit references in Article 8 asserting the unrestricted eligibility of both men and women to participate in various organs of the UN.”

“It would therefore be most essential for the UN to ensure equality, inclusion and diversity in its staffing pattern in a real and meaningful sense,” he said.

“Leave no one behind” is the central, transformative promise of the Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals adopted eight years ago. Fulfilling this promise for all women and girls requires addressing the rights, needs and concerns of marginalized groups.

Leaders of UN organizations need to ensure that they meet their goals at home and in their own organizations, while calling for their achievement worldwide.

Shihana Mohamed is one of the Coordinators of the United Nations Asia Network for Diversity and Inclusion (UN-ANDI) and a Public Voices Fellow with The OpEd Project and Equality Now.

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One Year on, Whats Changed? — Global Issues

  • Opinion by Ines M Pousadela (montevideo, uruguay)
  • Inter Press Service

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay, Sep 19 (IPS) – It’s a year since a photo of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini – bruised and in a coma she would never recover from after being arrested by the morality police for her supposedly improperly worn hijab – went viral, sending people onto the streets.

The protests became the fiercest challenge ever faced by Iran’s theocratic regime. The unprecedented scale of the protests was matched by the unparalleled brutality of the crackdown, which clearly revealed the regime’s fear for its own survival.

Led by women and young people, mobilisations under the ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ banner articulated broader demands for social and political change. They spread like wildfire – to streets across Iran, to universities, even to cemeteries where growing numbers of the regime’s victims were being buried. They were echoed and amplified by the Iranian diaspora around the world. The Iranian people made it abundantly clear they wanted the Islamic Republic gone.

A year on, the theocratic regime still stands, but that doesn’t mean nothing has changed. By sheer force, the authorities have regained control – at least for now. But subtle changes in daily life reveal the presence of active undercurrents that could once again spark mass protests. The regime knows this, hence the fear with which it has awaited this date and its redoubled repression as it neared.

A glimpse of change

Last December, as protests raged and the authorities were busy trying to stop them, women could be seen on Iranian streets without their hijabs for the first time in decades. After the protests were quelled, many simply refused to resubmit to the old rules. A tactical shift followed, with mass street mobilisation turning into more elusive civil disobedience.

Women, particularly Gen Z women just like Mahsa, continue to protest on a daily basis, simply by not abiding by hijab rules. Young people express their defiance by dancing or showing affection in public. Cities wake up to acts of civil disobedience emblazoned on their walls. Anti-regime slogans are heard coming from seemingly nowhere. In parts of the country where many people from excluded ethnic minorities live, protest follows Friday prayers. It may take little for the embers of rebellion to reignite.

Preventative repression

Ahead of the anniversary, family members of those killed during the 2022 protests were pressured not to hold memorial services for their loved ones. The lawyer representing Mahsa Amini’s family was charged with ‘propaganda against the state’ due to interviews with foreign media. University professors suspected to be critical of the regime were dismissed, suspended, forced to retire, or didn’t have their contracts renewed. Students were subjected to disciplinary measures in retaliation for their activism.

Artists who expressed support for the protest movement faced reprisals, including arrests and prosecution under ridiculous charges such as ‘releasing an illegal song’. Some were kept in detention on more serious charges and subjected to physical and psychological torture, including solitary confinement and beatings.

Two months ago, the regime put the morality police back on the streets. Initial attempts to arrest women found in violation of hijab regulations, however, were met with resistance, leading to clashes between sympathetic bystanders and police. Women, including celebrities, have been prosecuted for appearing in public without their hijab. Car drivers carrying passengers not wearing hijab have been issued with traffic citations and private businesses have been closed for noncompliance with hijab laws.

The most conservative elements of the regime have doubled down, proposing a new ‘hijab and chastity’ law that seeks to impose harsher penalties, including lashes, heavy fines and prison sentences of up to 10 years for those appearing without the hijab. The bill is now being reviewed by Iran’s Guardian Council, a 12-member, all-male body led by a 97-year-old cleric.

If not now, then anytime

In the run-up to 16 September, security force street presence consistently increased, with snap checkpoints set up and internet access disrupted. The government clearly feared something big might happen.

As the anniversary passes, the hardline ruling elite remains united and the military and security forces are on its side, while the protest movement has no leadership and has taken a bad hit. Some argue that what made it spread so fast – the role of young people, and young women in particular – also limited its appeal among wider Iranian society, and particularly among low-income people concerned above all with economic strife, rising inflation and increasing poverty.

There are ideological differences among the Iranian diaspora, which formed through successive waves of exiles and includes left and right-wing groups, monarchists and ethnic separatists. While most share the goal of replacing the authoritarian theocracy with a secular democracy, they’re divided over strategy and tactics, and particularly on whether sanctions are the best way to deal with the regime.

Ever since the protests took off last year, thousands of people around the world have shown their support and called on their governments to act. And some have, starting with the USA, which early on imposed sanctions on the morality police and senior police and security officials. New sanctions affecting 29 additional people and entities, including 18 members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and security forces, were imposed on the eve of the anniversary of the protests, 15 September, International Day of Democracy. That day, US President Joe Biden made a statement about Mahsa Amini’s inspiration of a ‘historic movement’ for democracy and human dignity.

The continuing outpouring of international solidarity shows that the world still cares and is watching. A new regime isn’t around the corner in Iran, but neither is it game over in the quest for democracy. For those living under a murderous regime, every day of the year is the anniversary of a death, an indignity or a violation of rights. Each day will therefore bring along a new opportunity to resurrect rebellion.

Inés M. Pousadela is CIVICUS Senior Research Specialist, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report.


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How an International Criminal Court Investigation Could Expand Human Rights — Global Issues

Flashback to a time when women and girls were able to attend school. UNICEF supported Zarghuna Girls School with educational supplies, teachers’ training, and assists in repairing the infrastructure. Credit: UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe
  • by Abigail Van Neely (united nations)
  • Inter Press Service

UNITED NATIONS, Sep 18 (IPS) – Two years have passed since the Taliban re-assumed power in Afghanistan, and women and girls have yet to return to work or school. Can the international justice system now come to their defense? Experts say a case for Afghan women and girls has the potential to change the way the legal community thinks about human rights abuses. Will it?

Crimes Against Humanity

Gordon Brown, the United Nations special envoy for global education, says Taliban leaders should be prosecuted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for denying Afghan women and girls education and employment.

“Afghan girls and Afghan women … have been fighting the most egregious, vicious, and indefensible violation of women’s rights and girl’s rights in the world today,” Brown told journalists in August.

Such acts constitute crimes against humanity if they meet the ICC’s definitions set forth in Article 7 of the Rome Statute. The acts must be part of a “widespread or systematic civilian attack directed against any civilian population.” The charges must also be brought against an individual or group of individuals, like Taliban authorities, who had knowledge of and perpetrated the crimes. The Taliban’s policies that specifically target all women and girls provide clear evidence of all these elements, a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report has found.

According to HRW, Taliban authorities are specifically responsible for gender persecution. This persecution has been imposed through spoken and written decrees that have restricted women’s and girls’ movement, expression, employment, and education.

Persecution must also occur in connection with another recognized crime against humanity to be considered by the ICC. HRW’s report cites instances of women who protested discriminatory policies being detained for up to 40 days without communication as evidence of the crime of “imprisonment.”

David Cohen, Director of the Center for Human Rights at Stanford University, adds that the severe restriction of women’s movement might be seen as “imprisonment” itself.

“A creative argument would be that Taliban increasingly confining women to their homes and preventing their free movement… is a severe deprivation of physical liberty,” Cohen said.

Another type of crime is described as “inhumane acts” that cause “great suffering.”

HRW explains that cutting off women and girls from their livelihoods and opportunities for the future has had a “devastating impact on the mental health of many women and girls” would also qualify.

Expanding Notions of Human Rights Law

Under these grounds for investigation, an ICC case for Afghan women and girls could have broader implications.

For one, the case presents an opportunity for the court to move beyond looking at individualized actions and begin looking at broader policies, Tayyiba Bajwa, a clinical supervising attorney in the International Human Rights Law Clinic at the University of California, Berkeley, explains.

“A crime of persecution is a particularly important crime within the ICC’s mandate because it really speaks to systemic discrimination,” HRW’s International Justice Director Elizabeth Evenson said. “We’re talking about actions that are designed to deprive individuals of fundamental rights – in this case by virtue of their gender identity – and so, in a way, it really gets at the worst kinds of discrimination.”

It could also set more precedent for the future. Most ICC cases in the past have focused on crimes like torture, disappearances, and extrajudicial killings. A 2018 case involving forced marriage and sexual violence in Mali was the first in which an ICC prosecutor charged the crime of gender persecution.

However, prosecuting more cases of gender persecution is a priority for ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan, Evenson notes. Khan’s office has released multiple publications on gender-based crimes in the past year, including a policy on the crime of gender persecution.

Kelli Muddell, the director of the gender justice program at the International Center for Transitional Justice, suggests that investigating incidents of gender persecution can help the international community consider new aspects of the law.

“I think the sort of innovative and maybe provocative thing about this case, if it were to go forward, is that it really centers around this expanding of crimes against humanity to look at social, political and economic and civil rights,” Muddell said.

Bajwa also recognized that ICC investigations can be leveraged to impose broader sanctions or restrictions. However, she expressed concern that focusing on the prosecution of Taliban leaders as a means of delivering justice may ignore the responsibility of other powerful actors, especially those in the Global North.

“One of the other real concerns I have about this is that prosecuting an individual from within the Taliban, in isolation, to me, ignores the long history and responsibility of Western countries for how and why the Taliban are in government in the first place,” Bajwa said. “If the ICC is truly to have legitimacy, it needs to stop being so myopic.”

Bajwa encouraged the public in influential countries to put pressure on their governments to take tangible actions, like working to make it impossible for Taliban officials to travel.

This is not the first time an ICC case involving Afghanistan has been considered. In 2021, Khan resumed an investigation of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by both the Taliban and United States armed forces. Bajwa said she thinks any potential case on behalf of Afghan women and girls would be an expansion of the preexisting investigation, which doesn’t have an end date.

Still, Cohen says the chances of a case going to trial are “slim.” Even if there was a successful investigation, Taliban authorities would have to respond to an arrest warrant and sit for trial. The ICC prohibits trials in absentia.

Regardless, the symbolic value of an investigation alone may be significant enough, especially for victims seeking justice. Many experts agree that even without a conviction, the discussion facilitated by the global spotlight of the ICC can be a useful advocacy tool.

Beyond the ICC

The education envoy also addressed other ways international institutions have tried to support Afghan women and girls beyond the ICC.

There are workarounds to the education bans, like online learning and underground schools. However, these alternatives are another burden on a budget already spread thin. According to Brown, women and girls in Afghanistan fight for their rights while also facing extreme poverty.

Only 23 percent of the required funds for Afghanistan’s humanitarian response plan have been received, with 50 million people failing to receive the aid they need. As more girls flee to neighboring countries like Pakistan, even more funding will be needed to support refugees.

At the same time, Brown has called on individual governments to sanction the Taliban. UN education aid has been suspended until schools are reopened for girls.

Brown said he believed there was a split in the Taliban regime, with some important voices, especially in the Ministry of Education, still in favor of education for all. He encouraged the leaders of Muslim-majority countries to use their position to persuade Taliban leaders to remove bans on girls’ education and women’s employment, which he said “has no basis in the Quran or the Islamic religion.”

International bodies continue to monitor human abuses under other UN treaties ratified by Afghanistan, like the Convention on the Rights of the Child and Women.

“We know that if we allow oppression to go unchallenged in Afghanistan, it could spread to other countries,” Brown warned.

Still, he spoke about the importance of seeing the resilience of Afghan women and girls as a sign of encouragement: “They can close down the schools girls go to, but they cannot close down their minds.”

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Deepening Democracy in an AI-enabled World — Global Issues

Credit: Unsplash/Steve Johnson
  • Opinion by A.H. Monjurul Kabir (united nations)
  • Inter Press Service

UNITED NATIONS, Sep 18 (IPS) – In 2002, the Human Development Report (UNDP) focused on Deepening Democracy in a Fragmented World. It was an important discourse then that evoked lot of insightful cross-regional exchanges of ideas. It reiterates that politics matter for human development because people everywhere want to be free to determine their destinies, express their views and participate in the decisions that shape their lives.

An ILO global analysis suggests that most jobs and industries are more likely to be complemented rather than substituted by the latest artificial intelligence wave. August 2023

The year 2022 brought AI into the mainstream through widespread familiarity with applications of Generative Pre-Training Transformer (a type of large language model and a prominent framework for generative artificial intelligence).

The most popular application is OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The widespread fascination with ChatGPT made it synonymous with AI in the minds of most consumers. However, it represents only a small portion of the ways that AI technology is being used today. The large language models may disrupt far more than just the economy. They also appear to challenge democracy including the traditional forms of democratic engagement.

Today in 2023, on #democracyday and beyond these newer innovation and capabilities are just as important for human development—for expanding people’s choices—as being able to read or enjoy good health.

Public debate may be overwhelmed by industrial quantities of autogenerated argument. Deepfakes and misinformation generated by AI could undermine elections and democracy. Let us also lose sight of empowering citizens, fighting corruption, reforming public administration an addressing climate change.

Increasing International Monitoring and Scrutiny

We all know that AI brings targeted benefits to both development and political agenda in the digital era. It is already the main driver of emerging technologies like big data, robotics and IoT — not to mention generative AI, with tools like ChatGPT and AI art generators garnering mainstream attention. It can, nevertheless, instill bias, and significantly compromise the safety and agency of users worldwide.

Increasingly, these inter-dependent and inter-connected AI elements are getting more international scrutiny. The UN Security Council for the first time held a session on 18th July 2023 on the threat that artificial intelligence poses to international peace and stability, and UN Secretary General called for a global watchdog to oversee a new technology that has raised at least as many fears as hopes.

The UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities presented a report (March 2022) to the Human Rights Council on artificial intelligence (AI) and the rights of persons with disabilities. Enhanced multi-stakeholder efforts on global AI cooperation are needed to help build global capacity for the development and use of AI in a manner that is trustworthy, human rights-based, safe, and sustainable, and promotes peace.

In fact, the multi-stakeholder High-level Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence, initially proposed in 2020 as part of the Secretary-General’s Roadmap for Digital Cooperation (A/74/821), is now being formed to undertake analysis and advance recommendations for the international governance of artificial intelligence (AI).

AI and Democracy: Improving democratic Process

The debate on AI’s impact on the public sphere is currently the one most prominent and familiar to a general audience. It is also directly connected to long-running debates on the structural transformation of the digital public sphere. AI is contributing to both sides of democratic aspirations: Majority rule and protection of minorities.

While the discourse on AI and the democratic public sphere focuses mostly on the societal requirements for a healthy democracy, an additional discourse looks at how we “practice” democracy, namely at elections and how they are conducted. Recent election cycles in different countries have made it clear that malicious actors are both willing and able to leverage digital applications to subvert democracy and democratic processes.

With the advent of powerful new language models, those actors now have a potent new weapon in their arsenal. Here is good reason to fear that A.I. systems like ChatGPT and GPT4 will harm democracy.

The call for the digitalization of politics often implies a surge in automating decision-making procedures in public administration. Examples reach from welfare administration to tax systems and border control. The hope is that in an ever more complex world a shift towards highly automated systems will result in a more efficient political system.

Automation should eradicate failures and frustration, allow for more fine-grained and faster adjudication, and free up resources for other problems. However, it is important to ensure that automation values contextual realities.

Improving Democratic Process: AI Potentials and Challenges

Any system that reduces personal involvement will require years of testing before it is implemented on a large scale. However, there are a few ways it could greatly improve our processes:

  • Since AI can understand individual preferences, it can help voters make decisions and, by extension, increase participation.
  • AI will have the targeted ability to identify fraud and corruption in the system.
  • With better ways of identifying corruption, AI will open up room for electronic voting (e-voting), create more convenience, and enable a wider cross-section of society to participate.
  • AI has the potential to give voters expanded authority, allowing more issues to come up for community input and public decisions.
  • AI will allow voters to make informed choice and corresponding decision ( “drill down” and get the facts straight on any decision before they make it).
  • AI will have the ability to deal with negative campaigning, biased reporting, and unnecessary arguments.
  • AI has the potential to reduce the cost of campaigning, reduce the reliance on contributors, and reduce political corruption.
  • AI has the potential to reach out to those who are traditionally excluded or marginalized in public processes.

Needless, to say, all these potentials, if not fulfilled properly, might end of harming democratic process.

Quest for pluralism in democracy: Can Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion (DEI) help?

AI can play a crucial role in progressing diversity and inclusion agenda by addressing biases, promoting fairness, and enabling equitable opportunities. By harnessing the capabilities of AI, organizations can identify and mitigate biases, improve hiring practices, enhance accessibility, promote inclusion, and cultivate an inclusive environment. A tall order that needs far more work and genuine commitments through contextual innovation.

While there is a growing awareness of the broad human rights challenges that these new technologies can pose, a more focused debate on the specific challenges of such technology to different groups including the rights of persons with disabilities is urgently needed.

Participation rights apply intersectionally, covering Indigenous people, migrants, minorities, women, children, and older persons with disabilities, among others. For example, the right of persons with disabilities and their representative organizations including organisations led by women with disabilities to participate in electoral process and public policy including artificial intelligence policymaking and in decisions on its development, deployment and use is key to achieving the best from artificial intelligence and avoiding the worst.

The question still remains – Can AI be the real window to the world for the disadvantaged groups and marginalized communities?

The future …

The discourse on AI and democracy is still in its infancy. Academic treatments and policy adaptation started around the same time and are by now still mostly driven by broader debates on digitalization and democracy and exemplary cases of misuse.

Governments need to build up expertise in artificial intelligence so they can make informed laws and regulations that respond to this new technology. They will need to deal with misinformation and deepfakes, security threats, changes to the job market, and the impact on education.

To cite just one example: The law needs to be clear about which uses of deepfakes are legal and about how deepfakes should be labeled so everyone understands when something they are seeing or hearing is not genuine.

Perhaps, we need a deeper analysis to see how political power and institutions – formal and informal, national, and international – shape human progress in an AI-enabled, still deeply fragmented world.

While focusing on enhance cooperation on critical challenges and address gaps in global governance, reaffirm existing commitments including to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the United Nations Charter, and move towards a reinvigorated multilateral system that is better positioned to positively impact people’s lives, the proposed UN Summit of the Future 2024 should look into these challenges.

We must assess what it will take for countries to establish democratic governance systems in an increasing AI and digital world that advance the human development of all people in a world where so many are left behind.

Dr. A.H. Monjurul Kabir, a senior adviser at UN Women HQ, is a political scientist, policy analyst, and legal and human rights scholar on global issues and cross-regional trends. For academic purposes, he can be followed on twitter at mkabir2011. The views expressed in this article are in his personal capacity.

IPS UN Bureau

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Mass killings continue, risk of further ‘large-scale’ atrocities — Global Issues

The latest report from the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia documents atrocities perpetrated “by all parties to the conflict” since 3 November 2020 – the start date of the armed conflict in Tigray – including mass killings, rape, starvation, destruction of schools and medical facilities, forced displacement and arbitrary detention.

Commission Chair Mohamed Chande Othman said that violent confrontations were now “at a near-national scale” and highlighted “alarming” reports of violations against civilians in the Amhara region as well as on-going atrocities.

“The situation in Oromia, Amhara and other parts of the country – including ongoing patterns of violations, entrenched impunity, and increasing securitization of the State – bear hallmarked risks of further atrocities and crimes,” he warned.

Amhara: ‘mass arbitrary detention’

In the Amhara region, where the Government announced a state of emergency last month, the Commission said that it was receiving reports of “mass arbitrary detention” of civilians and “at least one drone strike” carried out by the State.

Multiple urban centres in the region are under curfew, and a militarized “Command Post” system without civilian oversight has been deployed. The Commissioners said “such structures are often accompanied by serious violations”.

“We are deeply alarmed by the deteriorating security situation in Amhara and the continued presence of risk factors for atrocity crimes,” they said.

Humanitarian needs in the region have surged. In early August WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the people of Amhara “could not bear another conflict”, emphasizing that almost two million required health assistance – a situation made even more complex by the influx of refugees from war-torn Sudan.

Tigray: intergenerational trauma

Turning to Tigray, Commissioner Radhika Coomaraswamy warned that rape and sexual violence against women and girls by Eritrean forces was “ongoing” in the region.

“The ongoing presence of Eritrean troops in Ethiopia is a clear sign not only of an entrenched policy of impunity, but also continued support for and tolerance of such violations by the Federal Government,” she said.

The Commissioner highlighted the trauma brought on by atrocities in Tigray, which is “likely to persist for generations”.

‘Flawed’ justice process

The Commissioners called for a “credible” process of truth, justice, reconciliation and healing, while pointing out the shortcomings of the consultation process initiated by Ethiopia’s Government.

Their report maintained that Ethiopia’s Government has “failed to effectively prevent or investigate violations” and has instead launched a “flawed” transitional justice process where victims “remain overlooked”.

The Commission

The International Commission was established by the UN Human Rights Council in December 2021 to conduct an impartial investigation into violations committed in Ethiopia since the start of the conflict in Tigray in November 2020.

It is composed of three human rights experts appointed by the President of the Council, who are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work.

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Our 5 Asks at the SDG Summit — Global Issues

A protest for women’s rights in Puebla, Mexico. Credit: Melania Torres/Forus
  • Opinion by Bibbi Abruzzini, Marie LHostis (new york)
  • Inter Press Service

The 2023 Special Edition of the SDG Progress Report emphasized that we’re falling short in implementing the SDGs. In April this year, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres deplored that “Progress on more than 50 per cent of targets of the SDGs is weak and insufficient; on 30 per cent, it has stalled or gone into reverse,” disproportionately impacting the world’s poorest and most vulnerable.

As we approach the halfway mark of the 2030 Agenda, we urge world leaders at the UN General Assembly to address the precarious state of SDG implementation. Here’s our 5 asks.

Walk the talk with clear implementation plans and benchmarks for the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals.

“In Guatemala, there are two worlds, one for a small group that benefits from this macroeconomic stability, this weakness of democracy, this co-optation of state institutions, and a large majority of the population that faces poverty and inequality,” says Alejandro Aguirre Batres, Executive Director of CONGCOOP, the national platform of NGOs in Guatemala that recently published an alternative report on the implementation of the SDGs in the country.

Human rights activists in Cartagena, Colombia from the Coalition of Human Rights in Development at the Finance in Common Summit. Credit: Sebastian Barros/Forus

Governments must make specific national implementation plans to advance the Sustainable Development Goals, with clear benchmarks on when to achieve the targets set in 2015. Following the SDG Summit, we call on the United Nations and its partners to ensure that the “National Commitments to SDG Transformation” called for by the Secretary-General are adequately compiled and tracked, including by providing a transparent and inclusive platform for showcasing these commitments, helping to ensure adequate implementation, follow-up and accountability.

All efforts and commitments must focus on breaching the increassing gap in inequalities, healing polarisation and restoring socio-environmental rights at the core of Agenda 2030 implementation as no form of development should come at the cost of environmental degradation and injustice.

Presenting a viewpoint from Asia, Jyotsna Mohan Singh, representing the Asia Development Alliance, emphasizes that while the SDGs look good on paper, their real-world implementation remains far from satisfactory. She explains, “Governments should develop a policy coherence for sustainable development roadmap with timebound targets,” adding that it’s all about creating spaces grounded in equity where civil society and other stakeholders can join discussions and connect with local communities.

In regions like the Sahel, stretching 5,000 kilometers below the Sahara Desert from the Atlantic to the Red Sea, challenges like conflict, political instability, extreme poverty, and food insecurity affect nearly 26 million people. Yet, this region is teeming with opportunities, boasting abundant resources and a young population, including 50% young women and girls.

As civil society leader Mavalow Christelle Kalhoule, Forus Chair and President of SPONG, the Burkina Faso NGO network, puts it, “What unfolds in the Sahel and in so many other forgotten communities ripples across the globe, impacting us all even if we choose to look away.

Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals is vital to unlock a different future. But for global change to truly happen, we need countries to come together, we need solidarity, horizontal spaces, and for world leaders to start listening and acting accordingly.”

Commit to the protection of civic space and human rights.

“Although the state of Pakistan has ratified many global instruments, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the SDGs, the irony is that none of them have been transformed into local policies and regulatory frameworks. Unfortunately, civil rights advocates and organizations have either transformed themselves into humanitarian organizations or practiced self-censorship to avoid state atrocities. Pakistan is failing to achieve SDGs due to disengagement with civil society and other stakeholders.

Ironically, the government is unable to provide reliable data on any of their own priority indicators to measure progress towards the implementation of SDGs, particularly on rights-based indicators,” says Zia ur Rehman, National Convener of the Pakistan Development Alliance. Their newly published Pakistan Civic Space Monitor reveals a generally restricted civic space, including restraints on freedom of speech, assembly, information, rule of law, governance, and public participation, with further deterioration. This rings true for 92% of Forus members – comprising national and regional civil society networks in over 124 countries – who consider the protection of civic space and human rights a top priority.

Fridays for Future activists during a Climate March in Brussels, Belgium. Credit: Both Nomads/Forus

Indeed, over the past decade, thousands of civil society organizations have faced increasing challenges due to restrictions on their formation and activities. Nine out of 10 people now live in countries where civil liberties are severely restricted, including freedoms of association, peaceful assembly, and expression, according to the CIVICUS Monitor. Forus reports confirm that civil society deals with increasing restrictions, involving extra-legal actions, misinformation and disinformation about their work both online and offline.

Research also highlights the insufficiency of current institutional mechanisms to ensure an enabling environment for civil society, including addressing impunity for attacks on civil society and human right defenders, implementing supportive laws and regulations, and facilitating effective and inclusive policy dialogue. A recent ARTICLE 19 report highlights the inadequate integration of crucial elements like freedom of expression and access to information into SDGs, hampering progress.

Journalist killings increased in 2022. Additionally, monitoring access to information mainly focuses on having a legal framework, ignoring its quality and adoption. Strengthening these rights is vital for advancing all SDGs. The growing number of human rights defenders being killed every year – at least 401 in 26 countries were murdered for their peaceful work in 2022 – is another worrying trend that needs to be reversed as the protection and promotion of human rights is the cornerstone of achieving sustainable development. Without human rights we will just move backwards.

Strengthen and Catalyze Robust Financing for the SDGs.

From the recent Summit for a new global financing pact to the Finance in Common initiative, it’s clear that the focus this year has been on increasing investment. But we need quality not just quantity, as expressed in a join civil society declaration aimed at public development banks signed by over 100 civil society organisations from 50+ countries.

While we welcome UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres’s call for a SDG Stimulus, we remind Governments, International Financial Institutions, public development banks and donors that more efforts must be done to scale up investments for the realization of the SDGs at all levels, including through additional support for civil society and by involving communities in all “development talks”.

The role of the private sector and financial institutions in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda must be talked about openly. It is important to include in all development projects being carried out specific budgets for actions linked to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. Discussions about financial reforms that are being repeatedly undertaken by several countries cannot happen behind close doors and in non-inclusive forums such as the G7 and G20. Instead, they should be open, inclusive, and transparent, involving a broader spectrum of protagonists, including civil society, to ensure fairness and sustainability in shaping global financial policies.

“The SDGs are severely off track as we reach the critical half-way point of Agenda 2030. We need a renewed global ambition on financial commitments to make progress on the SDGs. Reforms of global financial architecture are a crucial part of this to ensure we have a fairer, more effective, inclusive and transparent system supporting lower-income countries that are at the forefront of the global climate, debt, poverty, food, and humanitarian crises. It’s not about a lack of finance, it is about political will and getting our priorities right,” says Sandra Martinsone, Policy Manager – Sustainable Economic Development at Bond UK.

Mobilize Transformative Commitments for SDG16+.

Recognizing the vital role of SDG16+ as a critical enabler for the entire 2030 Agenda, governments should come to the SDG Summit with targeted, integrated, focused and transformative commitments to accelerate action on SDG16+.

As developed in the #SDG16Now collective campaign, this includes domestic policies and resources, legal reforms and initiatives to advance SDG16+ at the international, national and local levels, as well as ambitious global commitments to strengthen multilateralism and international resolve to promote peace, justice, the rule of law, inclusion and institution-building.

Additionally, governments must use key moments – such as the 2024 High-Level Political Forum and the Summit of the Future – to advance implementation and delivery of the SDGs through similar commitments to action, and ensure adequate follow-up to these commitments going forward.

Ensure civil society participation and listen to communities, reinvigorate commitments to SDG17.

The 2030 Agenda overall cannot be achieved without building on the role of civil society and fostering a true global partnership. Every year at the fringes of the UN General Assembly, initiatives such as the Global People’s Assembly bring to the ears of world leaders the voices of communities historically marginalised. Governments need to reinvigorate engagement towards SDG17 to trengthen the means of implementing sustainable development goals and revitalising global partnerships for sustainable development.

It’s high time we move away from conducting discussions about the future of development in closed-door settings. Tokenistic participation of civil society, where their involvement is merely symbolic or superficial, undermines the core principles of nclusivity, hurting genuine progress and meaningful collaboration. A more inclusive approach must be embraced that actively involves civil society and communities. Let’s #UNmute their voices and perspectives by bringing about reforms to current participation mechanisms, and giving them a real platform to be heard.

In 2015 every government in the world agreed as a global community on what we want for our comon future for people and planet. So many efforts and work went on to reach such an agreement. Now is the time for governments and world leaders to walk the walk and prioritize people and the planet, delivering the 2030 Agenda, essential to secure our shared future. It is time for world leaders to act decisively and uphold their commitments to the SDGs.

IPS UN Bureau


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© Inter Press Service (2023) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service



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