The two-day meeting has been organized by the International Labour Organization (ILO) to inform its proposal for a Global Coalition for Social Justice.
“The world is at a decisive moment. Today’s policies on climate, on threats to global security, on social solidarity and more, will shape our future and that of our children and grandchildren,” he said.
As such, the Summit provides an opportunity “to explore solutions that will make that future more just, equitable, sustainable and inclusive”, he added.
A ‘seismic shift’
Mr. Guterres noted that the world of work “is changing at warp speed”, amid ongoing common challenges, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and rising poverty, hunger, inequality, hatred and discrimination.
Furthermore, the climate crisis, conflict and humanitarian emergencies are uprooting and disrupting the education and working lives for hundreds of millions worldwide.
The fourth industrial revolution is unfolding against this chaotic backdrop, he said.
“We cannot predict its results – but we already know the outlines of the seismic shift that is underway: greater automation; the digital transition; a shift towards renewables; sustainable production; and a need for quality education, reskilling and retraining,” he added.
Prepare now
This change means that jobs will be lost in some areas and created in others, requiring different skills, and “we must prepare now, to avoid even greater divisions, injustice and mistrust.”
Mr. Guterres said the ILO has been at the forefront of laying out a roadmap to navigate the transitions to a sustainable and just future of work, and its “foundation” must be social justice.
Putting people first
He said the Global Coalition for Social Justice represents a crucial force to help advance sustainable development and meet current and future challenges.
The initiative “is about rebuilding the social contract through people-centred policies grounded and guided by social justice.”
He stressed that the social contract must have women and young people at the centre and encompass equal opportunities for all; access to essential services; lifelong education and training; decent jobs and social protection.
The UN platform will coordinate international financing for hundreds of millions of new jobs and extend social protection to four billion worldwide who are without coverage.
Alarm over the potential threat posed by the rapid development of generative artificial intelligence (AI) must not obscure the damage already being done by digital technologies that enable the spread of online hate speech, as well as mis- and disinformation, he said.
The policy brief argues that they should be integral players in upholding the accuracy, consistency and reliability of information shared by users.
“My hope is that it will provide a gold standard for guiding action to strengthen information integrity,” he wrote in the introduction.
Connecting and dividing
Digital platforms – which include social media channels, search engines and messaging apps – are connecting billions of people across the planet, with some three billion users of Facebook alone.
They have brought many benefits, from supporting communities in times of crisis and struggle, to helping to mobilize global movements for racial justice and gender equality. They are also used by the UN to engage people worldwide in pursuit of peace, dignity and human rights on a healthy planet.
Yet these same digital platforms are being misused to subvert science and spread disinformation and hate, fuelling conflict, threatening democracy and human rights, and undermining public health and climate action.
“These risks have further intensified because of rapid advancements in technology, such as generative artificial intelligence,” the UN chief said in the report, adding “it has become clear that business as usual is not an option.”
Deceitful, dangerous and deadly
Although misinformation, disinformation and hate speech are related and overlap, they are distinct phenomena.
Hate speech refers to abusive or threatening language against a group or person, simply because of their race, colour, religion, ethnicity, nationality, or similar grounds.
The difference between mis- and disinformation is intent, though the distinction can be difficult to determine. In general, misinformation refers to the unintentional spread of inaccurate information, while disinformation is not only inaccurate but intended to deceive.
Regardless, they have all proved to be dangerous and even deadly.
“While traditional media remain an important source of news for most people in conflict areas, hatred spread on digital platforms has also sparked and fuelled violence,” the report said. “Some digital platforms have faced criticism of their role in conflicts, including the ongoing war in Ukraine.”
Adolescent girls use cellphones and tablets in the Za’atari camp for Syrian refugees (file).
Safer digital space
Given the threat, the Secretary-General has called for coordinated international action to make the digital space safer and more inclusive while also protecting human rights.
Constructive responses have largely been lacking. Some tech companies have done far too little to prevent their platforms from contributing to the spread of violence and hatred, while Governments have sometimes resorted to drastic measures – including internet shutdowns and bans – that lack any legal basis and infringe on human rights.
Code of Conduct
The report puts forward the framework for global action though a Code of Conduct for information integrity on digital platforms, that outlines potential guardrails while safeguarding the rights to freedom of expression and information.
It will build on principles that include respect for human rights, support for independent media, increased transparency, user empowerment and strengthened research and data access.
The Secretary-General also provided recommendations that could inform the Code of Conduct.
They include a call for Governments, tech companies and other stakeholders to refrain from using, supporting, or amplifying disinformation and hate speech for any purpose.
Governments should also guarantee a free, viable, independent, and plural media landscape, with strong protections for journalists.
Meanwhile, digital platforms should ensure safety and privacy by design in all products, alongside consistent application of policies and resources across countries and languages.
All stakeholders should take urgent and immediate measures to ensure that all AI applications are safe, secure, responsible and ethical, and comply with human rights obligations, he added.
Advertisers and digital platforms should ensure that ads are not placed next to online mis- or disinformation or hate speech, and that ads containing disinformation are not promoted.
Our common future
The policy brief is the latest in a series of 11 reports based on proposals contained in Our Common Agenda, the Secretary-General’s 2021 report that outlines a vision for future global cooperation and multilateral action.
“Half of people worldwide still believe men make better political leaders than women, and more than 40 per cent believe men make better business executives than women,” according to the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in its latest Gender Social Norms Index (GSNI) report.
“Social norms that impair women’s rights are detrimental to society more broadly, dampening the expansion of human development,” said Pedro Conceição, head of UNDP’s Human Development Report Office.
The more things change
A staggering 25 per cent of people believe it is justified for a man to beat his wife, according to the report, reflecting the latest data from the World Values Survey.
The report argues that these biases drive hurdles faced by women, manifested in a dismantling of women’s rights in many parts of the world with movements against gender equality gaining traction and, in some countries, a surge of human rights violations.
Biases are also reflected in the severe underrepresentation of women in leadership. On average, the share of women as heads of State or heads of government has remained around 10 per cent since 1995 and in the labour market women occupy less than a third of managerial positions.
Broken links in progress
The report also sheds light on a broken link between women’s progress in education and economic empowerment. Women are more skilled and educated than ever before, yet even in the 59 countries where women are now more educated than men, the average gender income gap remains a 39 per cent in favour of men.
“Lack of progress on gender social norms is unfolding against a human development crisis,” Mr. Conceição said, noting that the global Human Development Index (HDI) declined in 2020 for the first time on record and again the following year.
“Everyone stands to gain from ensuring freedom and agency for women,” he added.
Governments’ crucial role
The UNDP report emphasized that governments have a crucial role in shifting gender social norms, from adopting parental leave policies, that have changed perceptions around care work responsibilities, to labour market reforms that have led to a change in beliefs around women in the workforce.
“An important place to start is recognizing the economic value of unpaid care work,” said Raquel Lagunas, Director of UNDP’s gender team.
“This can be a very effective way of challenging gender norms around how care work is viewed. In countries with the highest levels of gender biases against women, it is estimated that women spend over six times as much time as men on unpaid care work.”
United Nations
SDG Goal 5: Gender Equality.
Change can happen
The report emphasized that despite the continued prevalence of bias against women, the data shows change can happen.
An increase in the share of people with no bias in any indicator was evident in 27 of the 38 countries surveyed. The report authors said that to drive change towards greater gender equality, the focus needs to be on expanding human development through investment, insurance, and innovation.
This includes investing in laws and policy measures that promote women’s equality in political participation, scaling up insurance mechanisms, such as strengthening social protection and care systems, and encouraging innovative interventions that could be particularly effective in challenging harmful social norms, patriarchal attitudes, and gender stereotypes.
For example, combatting online hate speech and gender disinformation can help to shift pervasive gender norms towards greater acceptance and equality, according to the report.
The report recommended directly addressing social norms through education to change people’s views, policies and legal changes that recognize the rights of women in all spheres of life, and more representation in decision-making and political processes.
The goal is to improve “ocean literacy”, according to the UN Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea of the Office of Legal Affairs (DOALOS), who organized the event.
Coupled with information on ocean health and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the event also aims at raising the profile of SDG 14 on conserving and sustainably using the oceans, seas, and marine resources – which has so far attracted the least investment of any of the 17 Goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
So pay a visit to UN Headquarters in New York, or check out the Photography for Sustainable Oceans exhibit online here, which highlights the full range of challenges and solutions.
Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report, from the International Energy Agency (IEA), the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the UN Statistics Division (UNSD), the World Bank, and the World Health Organization (WHO), warns that current efforts are not enough to achieve the SDG 7 on time.
There has been some progress on specific elements of the drive to reach SDG 7 – for example, the increased rate of using renewables in the power sector – but progress is insufficient to reach the targets set forth, in time for the 2030 deadline.
SDG 7 is to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy. The goal includes reaching universal access to electricity and clean cooking, doubling historic levels of efficiency improvements, and substantially increasing the share of renewables in the global energy mix, said the report authors.
Big benefits reaching SDG 7
Reaching the goal, will have a deep and positive impact on people’s health and well-being, helping to protect them from environmental and social risks such as air pollution, and expanding access to primary health care and services.
The global energy crisis, exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, is expected to stimulate the deployment of renewables and improve energy efficiency, as some governments boost investment.
However, IRENA estimates show that international public financial flows in support of clean energy in low and middle-income countries have been decreasing since before the COVID-19 pandemic and funding is limited to a small number of countries. To meet SDG 7 targets, it is going to be necessary to structurally reform international public finance and define new opportunities to unlock investments, the authors said.
The report also finds that mounting debt and rising energy prices are worsening the outlook for reaching universal access to clean cooking and electricity.
Falling short
Current projections estimate that 1.9 billion people will be without clean cooking facilities, and 660 million without electricity access in 2030 if the status quo continues.
These gaps will negatively impact the health of our most vulnerable populations and accelerate climate change, says the report.
According to WHO, 3.2 million people die each year from illness caused by the use of polluting fuels and technologies, which increase exposure to toxic levels of household air pollution.
Protect the next generation
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the WHO, said: “We must protect the next generation by acting now. Investing in clean and renewable solutions to support universal energy access is how we can make real change. Clean cooking technologies in homes and reliable electricity in healthcare facilities, can play a crucial role in protecting the health of our most vulnerable populations.”
Stefan Schweinfest, of the UN Statistics Division, said that despite a recent slowdown in electrification figures, the number of people without electricity almost halved over the past decade, from 1.1 billion, in 2010 down to 675 million in 2021.
“Nonetheless, additional efforts and measures must urgently be put in place to ensure that the poorest and hardest-to-reach people are not left behind. To reach universal access by 2030, the development community must scale up clean energy investments and policy support.”
The UN human rights office, OHCHR, and its mandate has become a powerful vehicle for change, progress, dignity, and justice, yet “this is far from enough to meet today’s challenges”, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said in his keynote address at the +30 Symposium, Vienna World Conference: 30 Years On: Our Rights – Our Future.
Common language
Convened to mark the third decade of the adoption of the landmark Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, the symposium aims at highlighting achievements and outlining challenges ahead.
“While there have been massive gains in human rights since the Vienna Declaration, today, all around the world, we are seeing dramatic rollbacks”, he said. “The common language of human rights is our compass to guide us towards progress.”
The global agreement remains a “living document that can guide us today in our ambitions”, the High Commissioner said.
Rolling back rights
From Afghanistan to Ukraine, he said, the world is witnessing pushbacks on rights, a rise in hate speech, shrinking civic space, and a changing geopolitical landscape that has revealed a disturbing trend of deepened divisions within and across countries threatening national cohesion, he warned.
The 21st century has also seen the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution alongside digital shifts, including artificial intelligence developments, that are rapidly transforming the world, “moving faster than the regulators who should be setting up careful human rights guardrails to protect us from their dangers”, he said.
Rights foundations
“Today’s emerging human rights challenges will continue to test us,” he said. “It would be naïve to say we can pass all these tests, but it would be dangerous and counter-productive to stop trying.”
Recalling his youth in post-Second World War Austria, he said the “echoes of trauma and of grave human rights violations were palpable”.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which turns 75 this year, was “a powerful unifying force for equality, social progress, justice, and respect” in an era of profound social transformations amid dynamic movements for social justice, feminism, LGBTI rights, anti-apartheid, decolonization, and environmental protection, he said.
When UN Member States adopted the Vienna Declaration in 1993, the agreement had shattered the long-held fallacy that social, economic, and cultural rights have less value than civil and political rights, he said.
The landmark agreement also confirmed the conviction that human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent, and interrelated, and boldly rejected the view that certain human rights could be considered optional while paving the path for numerous other breakthroughs, from establishing the International Criminal Court, to historical advances on the rights of women, children, and indigenous peoples.
Learning from mistakes
“Anniversaries are arbitrary unless we seize them as meaningful opportunities to reflect on our achievements, learn from our mistakes, and take fearless steps towards progress and transformation,” he said.
“The task before all of us today, this year, and in the future is to apply the Universal Declaration’s visionary words to our current global challenges,” he said, urging all participants to constructively join the symposium with pledges and positive impact stories.
“Restoring faith and certainty in human rights at a time of profound global turmoil is the focus of this symposium, and it must be the focus of our future,” he added.
It also aims at mobilizing the “full weight” of the UN to ensure that all people, everywhere, enjoy their human rights, he stressed.
“As we remember those who worked for the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, we pledge to continue the fight to put human rights at the heart of our work, and our world to guarantee freedom, justice and equality for all,” he said.
The Assembly runs through Thursday in Nairobi, Kenya. It is hosted by the government of Kenya in collaboration with UN-Habitat, the UN Human Settlements Programme.
More than 80 Ministers and Vice Ministers are due to attend, together with 5,000 delegates from around the world, said the UN urban affairs agency.
In his message, António Guterres pointed out that cities are on the front line for realising the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the New Urban Agenda, and the Paris Agreement on climate change.
Over 2 billion in cities by 2050
“Cities are critical battlegrounds. They generate 70 percent of global emissions. They house half of humanity. And by 2050, over two billion more people will call them home.”
The Secretary-General’s blueprint for action, Our Common Agenda, calls for a reinvigorated and more inclusive multilateralism, recognizing the pivotal role cities and other local authorities play, in addressing the challenges ahead.
“Such multilateralism is vital to help cities to play their part”, he said, “to ensure the finance, information and support is in place for them to become resilient, inclusive and sustainable.”
Although cities have always spawned the ideas and innovations that have led human development, they’re more important than ever, “amidst a world in crisis”, he added.
“Inequalities are increasing. Global temperatures are rising, with catastrophic effects. Debt is straining developing countries’ economies to the limit. And halfway to the deadline for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, we are leaving more than half the world behind.”
Mr. Guterres pointed out that an estimated 670 million still live in extreme poverty, and over one billion people, continue to endure slum conditions, due to lack of services available elsewhere.
Trends can be reversed
“There is still time to reverse these trends”, he said, and multilateralism must support cities to act on climate change, affordable housing, and the SDGs.
“I am confident that this UN Habitat Assembly will advance these aims, including through your ministerial declaration. Together, we can achieve the sustainable urban future we need to build a peaceful, prosperous and healthy world for all”, he concluded.
OPENING ADDRESS UN SECRETARY GENERAL VIDEO ADDRESS TO THE ASSEMBLY #UNHA2
In his video remarks to the Assembly, President of the General Assembly Csaba Kőrösi, outlined key ways that cities can become more sustainable.
First, he pointed to the importance of compiling comprehensive data and statistics. Secondly, governments must fully assess urban development in the context of climate change, health, food security and water supply.
“But what we urgently need is a mindset shift. From a business-as-usual planning and operation, to one aiming at real sustainability transformation”, he said. “This means strengthening the science-policy interface, advancing evidence-based solutions, and approaching our goals holistically.”
OPENING ADDRESS PRESIDENT OF UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY ADDRESS TO THE ASSEMBLY #UNHA2
Kenya’s President, William Ruto, officially opened the Assembly, alongside UN-Habitat Executive Director, Maimunah Mohd Sharif.
Prioritise cooperation
She told delegates that Member States needed “to prioritise national and local cooperation as the basis of a just transition. Let us never forget human rights and the UN Charter, as the basis for sustainable urbanisation.”
Ms. Sharif described the challenge facing all humankind as “enormous”.
“The only way we can achieve positive and transformative impact on the ground, is not to go at it alone, but to embrace multilateral action.”
The First Lady of Kenya, Rachel Ruto, is due to host the inaugural First Ladies Roundtable on women and their role in placemaking in cities on Tuesday.
The five-day programme includes a high-level dialogue of the heads of state, thematic debates, and dialogues focusing on universal access to affordable housing, urban climate action, urban crises recovery, localization of the SDGs, and prosperity and local finance.
He was speaking at UN Headquarters in New York, where he presented three new policy briefs on these themes to Member States.
Serious challenges
“They touch on some of the most serious challenges we face – challenges that may determine whether we are able to achieve the vision of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals, or whether we continue towards a future of continued social, financial, political and environmental breakdown,” he said.
The briefs are intended to inform discussions ahead of the crunch SDG Summit in September, marking the midpoint towards achieving the Goals, and the related Summit of the Future next year.
They are the latest in a series of 11 briefs based on proposals contained in Our Common Agenda, the Secretary-General’s 2021 report that outlines a vision for future global cooperation and multilateral action.
Equitable finance system
Mr. Guterres has frequently spoken about the need to reform the international financial architecture to make it more resilient, equitable, and accessible to all.
The current system, established under the Bretton Woods Agreement nearly 80 years ago – “when many of today’s developing and emerging economies were under colonial rule” – is supposed to represent the world but doesn’t, he said.
The COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath also revealed how the system “largely failed” in fulfilling its core mandate as a financial safety net, with many developing countries now facing deep financial crisis and debt relief at a standstill.
“Africa now spends more on debt service costs than on healthcare,” he remarked.
The City of London, a historic financial district, in England.
Addressing historic injustices
The policy brief sets out proposals to address historic injustices and systemic bias and covers six areas, including global economic governance, debt relief and the cost of sovereign borrowing, and international public finance.
“Overall, the proposals in the brief are aimed at moving away from a system that benefits the rich and prioritizes short-term gains, towards one that is equitable, and invests up-front in the SDGs, climate action, and future generations,” he said.
Measures put forward include expanding the boards of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund “to strengthen the voice and representation of developing countries”.
Oversight body
There should also be “a representative apex body” overseeing the entire system, to enhance its coherence and align priorities with the 2030 Agenda, as well as a Debt Workout Mechanism which would link development financing with commercial creditors.
Another proposal calls for “the massive scaling up of development and climate financing, in part by changing the business model of multilateral development banks and transforming their approach to risk, to massively leverage private finance at reasonable cost to developing countries.”
Going beyond GDP
Turning to the second policy brief, Mr. Guterres noted that although GDP will continue to be an important metric, it must be accompanied by other ways to measure progress.
“There is a growing recognition that GDP overlooks human activities that sustain life and contribute to well-being, while placing disproportionate value on those that damage us and deplete our planet,” he said.
“Human progress depends on many factors, from levels of poverty and hunger, to inequality and social cohesion, and vulnerability to climate breakdown and other shocks,” he explained.
In Mozambique’s Nampula province, children paint a mural highlighting the negative impact of child marriage.
Reflect common values
The policy brief first proposes that countries “make a political commitment to a conceptual framework that accurately values what matters for people, the planet, and the future.”
The goal would be on achieving three outcomes: a focus on well-being and agency, respect for life and the planet, and reduced inequalities, and developing related metrics.
New indicators of progress
“GDP is concise. It summarizes information in an intuitive manner that tells a story. But well-being, equality, and environmental sustainability cannot be addressed bya single snapshot,” Mr. Guterres said, underlining the need for “a broader set of indicators to monitor and analyse progress and recognize trade-offs and consequences”.
The policy brief further calls for a massive step-up in support to help countries develop the data capacity necessary to make any new metrics operational, which will also improve monitoring progress towards achieving the SDGs.
Greater digital cooperation
The final brief proposes a vision for digital cooperation that is anchored in human rights and protects against risks and harms. It also underscores the need for a Global Digital Compact, one of the recommendations in the Our Common Agenda report.
The brief comes at a time of “exponential acceleration” in technology – including in areas such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), deep fakes and bioengineering. At the same time, access remains unequal, as highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, control of digital technologies has brought huge wealth to a select few individuals and companies. Governments and regulators have struggled to respond, leading to lack of trust in regulatory institutions.
Unsplash/Markus Spiske
Information technology has ‘leapt forward’ over the past 30 years.
Mitigate new tech risks
The Secretary-General also pointed to the challenge presented by the increasing and now widespread use of generative AI, such as ChatGPT, the future impact of which is unclear.
He said although AI could potentially “turbocharge development and productivity”, including towards achieving the SDGs, it also presents serious ethical challenges.
Global Digital Compact
“The prospect of further technological progress now often inspires fear rather than hope,” he continued.
“There is an urgent need for governments to come together in a Global Digital Compact, to mitigate the risks of digital technologies, and identify ways to harness their benefits for the good of humanity.”
The Compact would provide a framework to align national, regional and industry approaches around global priorities, principles and objectives.
The brief also identifies areas for urgent global action, including scaling up access, building digital public infrastructure and supporting public administrations to regulate technology.
Mr. Guterres reiterated his proposal for a High-Level Advisory Body for Artificial Intelligence to review AI governance arrangements so that they can align with human rights, the rule of law and the common good.
Policy brief update
The Secretary-General has been releasing a series of policy briefs that offer more detail on some of the proposals contained in Our Common Agenda.
“I want to make the most of my time, even in prison, and this training should help me find a job later,” said Denny, 31, who has just over two years left of a five-year prison sentence. “Of course, I knew how to make a coffee before, but here I am learning about different flavours, smells and aromas, and about the artistic side of coffee making.”
Denny is one of 200 inmates in the Tangerang Class IIA Correctional Facility and among more than 35,000 inmates across Indonesia who are involved in vocational training, from eco-printing on textiles to farming. While learning how to be a barista behind bars, he said he hopes to get a job in a café following his release.
Salis Farida Fitriani, who heads the correctional facility, said the programme aims at building a better future, but skills training alone is not enough for inmates to succeed in the outside world.
To deal with a society that often stigmatizes them for life, she said, the prison offers training in personality development, counselling, and religious teaching.
“Our goal is to provide positive activities and training for the inmates,” she said. “The programme includes personality development as well as vocational training to help with their future livelihoods.”
UNIC Jakarta
Starting a business is hard after serving time in prison, said Haswin, a 32-year-old former drug offender who opened a coffee shop after leaving Tangerang Class IIA Correctional Facility in Indonesia in January 2022.
Breaking the ‘ex-con’ stigma
Starting a business is hard after serving time in prison, said Haswin, a 32-year-old former drug offender. Leaving Tangerang correctional facility in January 2022, he now operates his own coffee shop, mixing modern and traditional coffee styles alongside mocktails and snacks.
“Life is so much better now,” said Haswin, adding that his former bartending job was a prime factor in his involvement with drug-related offences that led to his arrest in 2018.
“I am more content with life and proud of my creativity,” he explained. “I had never thought I could find a career outside nightlife.”
Now, his work is not just a “means to make ends meet”, but a new opportunity.
“I want to break the stigma around ‘ex-cons’ by showing that former offenders can also be independent and creative,” he said.
UNIC Jakarta
Studying for a university degree is part of a UN-supported pilot programme at the Tangerang Class IIA Correctional Facility in Indonesia.
From sports to university programmes
Tangerang Class IIA gives prisoners a chance to do that. They can also compete in professional sports at Tangerang, a prison unique in Indonesia for offering a full university education programme. Open to prisoners across Indonesia, a pilot programme currently serving 200 inmates is poised to roll out countrywide, subject to funding, Ms. Fitriani said.
Asep, a third-year Islamic studies student with Syekh Yusuf Islamic University, said he, like many in the programme, could not afford to go to university in his life before prison.
“I was always keen to learn, but my economic situation did not make it possible for me to study,” he said.
Following the same curriculum the university offers to its regular students, Asep and his schoolmates attend classes thrice weekly for six hours each day. After graduation and before the end of his prison sentence, Asep said he hopes to help his fellow prisoners by offering religious counselling.
“I get to learn a lot about the world and about life outside,” he said. “It helps me cope better with my long sentence. It will help the others, too.”
UNIC Jakarta
Inmates at the Tangerang Class IIA Correctional Facility in Indonesia can compete in professional sports through a pilot programme.
Tailored to inmates’ needs
Supported by the UN Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC), the training programmes are designed with help from a set of assessment tools that provide evidence-based approaches tailored to inmates’ individual needs.
Corrections officers use these tools to evaluate and better understand inmates, including the level of security risk they may pose, their compatibility with the programme, and their likely response to education.
Within UNODC’s prisoner rehabilitation initiative, which focuses on education, vocational training, and employment during incarceration, the goal is to contribute to the prisoners’ employability after release, thus reducing chances of recidivism.
United Nations
SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions.
With this in mind, the agency partnered with Indonesia’s Directorate-General of Corrections to create an assessment matrix that helps corrections officers to build psychological and security profiles of prisoners and enables staff to keep track of their progress, said Rabby Pramudatama, a programme manager at UNODC’s Jakarta office.
“We need to make sure, for instance, that we get inmates who are unlikely to disturb the classes and will cooperate with teachers and their fellow students,” he said.
Second chances
UNODC also collaborates and supports such non-governmental organizations as Second Chance, which help inmates to reintegrate into society once they are out of the facility.
On a quiet morning, some inmates were reviewing verses from the Quran, while others gathered around to watch a pair of sparring kickboxers. As rain set in, they spoke of the sunshine that was bound to break through, sooner or later.
For Denny, he said the sunshine will come on the day when he, too, can get out and find a job.
“My main drive right now is to be a better person than I was before,” he said, adding that until that day, he will focus on religious activities and brewing perfect cappuccinos in barista classes.
Learn more about how UNODC is helping to reform prisons across the world here.
In this feature, part of a series exploring the fight against trafficking in the Sahel, UN News focuses on the illegal fuel trade in the region.
Transported by criminal networks and taxed by terrorist groups, illegal fuel flows along four major routes snaking across the Sahel towards ready buyers, siphoning millions from nations on the road to stabilizing their security-challenged region, home to 300 million people.
“Fuel trafficking is undermining the rule of law; it’s fuelling corruption,” said François Patuel, Chief of the Research and Awareness Unit at the UN Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC). “It’s also enabling other forms of crime. That’s why it needs to be addressed.”
Demand calls, traffickers answer
Fuel trafficking is big business in the region. A report from the UNODC, Fuel Trafficking in the Sahel, finds that it funds illegal non-State armed groups, terrorist groups, financial institutions, corrupt law enforcement officials, and groups with ties to prominent individuals with interests in retail fuel companies. It is also in high demand among the population.
The biggest enablers are low, heavily subsidized gas prices in Algeria, Libya, and Nigeria. UNODC reported that Libyan gas stations charge 11 cents a litre, but across the border, Malian pump prices average $1.94.
Lost millions
“By just crossing the border, they make 90 cents profit per litre,” Mr. Patuel explained. “It’s easy revenue for criminal groups.”
He said the traffickers then sell to the population, who rely on cheaper fuel to carry out their activities and everyday life, from fuelling generators to produce electricity or fill their gas tanks to drive their goods to market.
“They really exploit those needs in order to sell their criminal products, including contraband fuel,” he added.
The UNODC report tracked operations across Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger. Along well-trafficked routes, drivers carry millions of litres of contraband fuel each year. Established routes run from Algeria to Mali, another links Libya to Niger and Chad, and yet another begins in Nigeria via Benin towards Burkina Faso, and via Niger to Mali.
Lost revenue for Sahelian nations is staggering, said Amado Philip de Andrés, UNODC’s regional representative for West and Central Africa.
The illicit trade costs Niger almost $8 million annually in tax revenue, the according to the country’s High Authority for Combatting Corruption and Related Offences. Traffickers who evaded taxes by purchasing fuel marked for export at reduced costs and diverting deliveries domestically or across borders, the Government office said.
Terror tax
Smugglers do, however, pay “taxes” to newly formed terrorist groups, including around Kourou/Koualou, where illegal warehouses stored tanks of contraband fuel while in transit, UNODC reports, adding that Al-Qaida-affiliated groups operate some of zone’s gold-rich mines, and routinely levy fees on contraband.
In terms of natural resource trafficking in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, “local communities are particularly vulnerable, as they live in isolated areas with a limited law enforcement presence,” according to a Trends Alert report by the Security Council’s Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED).
Often, contraband fuel scratches the surface of a very deep well of trafficking, reflecting a nexus of criminal activities, from drugs to migrants, Mr. Patuel said, citing the example of a 2021 Nigerian police seizure of 17 tons of cannabis resin involving a known fuel trafficker who owned petrol stations. The suspect allegedly used drug trafficking proceeds to buy contraband fuel sold at his petrol stations.
UNODC highlighted other new and disturbing trends showing companies associated with Security Council-sanctioned individuals involved in fuel smuggling from the Niger to Mali, as traffickers peddle an ever-growing range of products.
Such profiteering has raised alarms across the UN system. Continuously expressing concern at terrorist groups using proceeds of natural resource trafficking to fund their nefarious activities, the UN Security Council has urged States to, among other things, hold perpetrators accountable.
UNODC/INTERPOL
In Burkina Faso, frontline officers carried out checks at suspected smuggling hotspots.
Excising corruption
However, ending fuel smuggling is a complex venture with potentially deadly consequences in a region with sky-high rates of informal employment, from 78.2 per cent in the Niger to 96.9 per cent in Chad. Damming illicit fuel flows, the UNODC worries, could drive up transportation and energy prices along with costs for most commercial goods and services.
The Office suggests that Sahelian nations and neighbouring countries identify and prosecute fuel smuggling cases with direct links to organized crime, armed groups, and corruption. At hand are tools contained in such international treaties as the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and UN Convention against Corruption.
Capping illicit flows
While some anti-smuggling efforts have been met with violent resistance, including the death of a law enforcement officer, despite the risks, the nations continue to stem illicit flows using fresh and collaborative approaches, UNODC said.
The agency’s latest threat assessment on the phenomenon provided a raft of examples, from police-escorted gas convoys in Algeria near the Malian border to Benin’s imposed curfews and raids to stop cross-border armed groups.
For its part, Burkina Faso has been meticulously dismantling since 2019 a highly organized fuel trafficking network that smuggled more than 3 million litres of contraband over a three-year period, with fleets of trucks transporting up to 30,000 litres per trip.
Back in Kourou/Koualou, the flow of illegal fuel has been reduced to just a trickle following government crackdowns, but terrorist groups continue “to tax what fuel is still being trafficked, as well as other smuggled goods”, according to UNODC.
“Criminal groups feed on and exploit the needs of the population,” the agency’s chief researcher Mr. Patuel said. “Combining the efforts and having a regional approach will lead to success in addressing organized crime in the region.”
Ongoing violence, climate change, desertification, and tension over natural resources are all worsening hunger and poverty across Chad.
UN in action
The UN and its partners are working to stamp out trafficking and also build up opportunities in the region. Here are some examples:
The UN launched a $180 million project in 2022 targeting 1.6 million people in the Liptako-Gourma area, straddling the borders of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, aimed at improving economic opportunities and livelihoods, with a focus on women, youth, and pastoralists, as part of its Integrated Strategy for the Sahel (UNISS).
Within UNISS peace and security initiatives, a project is helping to prevent the spread and rise of violent extremism in transborder areas between Senegal, Guinea, and Mali.
Stakeholders exchanged initiatives and ideas on preventing violent extremism in West and Central Africa at a meeting held in Dakar from 28 February to 2 March and co-organized by the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), Senegal’s Centre for Advanced Defence and Security Studies, and Switzerland’s foreign affairs department.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the G5 Sahel Force signed a new agreement in April to strengthen regional and intra-state cooperation across the spectrum of human mobility as an accelerator to building resilience, development, and integrated border governance in the G5 countries (Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger).
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is addressing emerging challenges in Côte d’Ivoire, issuing in late May its first situation report on the country, which continues to be impacted by the spillover of conflict from the central Sahel crisis.
UNOCHA/Eve Sabbagh
The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, has launched cash-for-work programmes which employ youth from host communities in Awaradi, Niger, to make bricks.
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