Two marchers in Taiwan`s 11th annual LGBT Pride March in Taipei City Oct. 26 affirm that "I am proud to be gay; I'm not a sex refugee!" Credit: Dennis Engbarth/IPS

By Jassmyn Goh
UNITED NATIONS, Jul 28 2014 (IPS)

To teenagers, running away can seem like the easiest answer to problems at home, but for Alex* it was his only option when his family refused to accept that he identified as a transgender male.

Although physically born a female, Alex always knew that he was a boy, but he grew up in an extremely homophobic and transphobic environment in Malaysia."I felt betrayed. It was the time when I needed my parents the most and they were not there for me. They chose to turn their backs on me." -- Alex

“One of my first memories was of my grandmother when she sort of chastised me for peeing standing up. She kept beating me and saying ‘Be like a girl, be like a girl’,” Alex told IPS.

Alex and people in Asia who identify as lesbian, gaym, bisexual, or transsexual (LGBT) often find themselves victims of violence from family members, who in fact are often the main perpetrators, according to a recent report by the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC).

The report interviewed people from Malaysia, Japan, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and the Philippines over three years.

The high level of violence from family members was one of seven key findings and had the greatest impact on the victims. This violence was not only physical, but also emotional and sexual.

At 17, when Alex’s parents found out he had a girlfriend, they restricted his movements and took to physical abuse.

“They started controlling my movements, and Internet and phone usage. I could not go anywhere without somebody knowing where I was going and it was very saddening,” the 27-year-old student said.

“When my dad found out about my new passport, he confronted me and slapped me. He said it was his house and his rules. If I could not follow them then I should leave, and I did because I could not take it anymore.”

Grace Poore, IGLHRC’s Asia programme coordinator and the main coordinator of the research project, said that because of the violence from family along with discrimination from outside perpetrators there was no relief for the individuals.

“What stood out was that in countries that had a dominant religion, and where it was being enforced in a way where people’s dignity, people’s rights and ability to be different [was not respected], there was definitely greater violence. Whatever was going on outside the family seemed to be mirrored or reflected back within the family,” Poore told IPS.

“At the time I felt betrayed, it was the time when I needed my parents the most and they were not there for me. They chose to turn their backs on me,” Alex said.

The report also found that there is limited to no counselling or sheltering services for LGBT people in each country. Shelters that are LGBT-friendly cannot openly advertise as such for fear of being shut down by the government and facing a possible backlash from the community.

In Malaysia, the government has an official religious department where monitors roam the streets to oversee and enforce Sharia and Islamic law for Malay people. Pakistan also has religious police, as do at least 15 other countries worldwide.

“The education ministry of each state [in Malaysia] asks teachers to identify effeminate boys. They are then rounded up and sent to camps for religious instruction,” Poore said.

More than 70 countries have laws that criminalise homosexuality, with punishment ranging from imprisonment to execution.

Malaysia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka all have laws that criminalise same-sex relations. Though Japan and the Philippines do not, the Philippines has vague provisions for homosexual relations.

The Philippines also has an equal protection clause in the Bill of Rights that technically protects all citizens. The other countries have no laws prohibiting violence and discrimination against a person due to their sexual orientation or gender identity.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon made a statement on May 15 calling for LGBT equality and highlighted the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights’s (OHCHR) “Free and Equal Campaign”.

“Human rights are for everyone, no matter who you are or whom you love,” Ban said.

Toiko Kleppe, a human rights officer for OHCHR on LGBT, told IPS that the campaign that was launched in July 2013 is the U.N.’s first against homophobia for LGBT equality.

“Its purpose is for public information and education. The message we are getting out is that LGBT people are like anybody else. The only difference is how they feel about specific things, who they choose to spend their life with or how they identify their gender,” Kleppe said.

U.N. human rights treaty bodies have also confirmed discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity is illegal under international human rights law.

Since the release of the report in May there has been a high level of shock from readers about the results, Poore said. IGLHRC plans to keep raising awareness and education about the issue through webinars, cross-country and multi-city tours.

After spending six years overseas, Alex returned to Malaysia in 2011 and found a supportive circle within the LGBT community. However, he is still estranged from his father.

“It has been nearly nine years and whenever I go back [home] my dad pretends I don’t exist. He rarely talks to me,” Alex said.

*Name has been changed to protect his identity.

Panelists at the United Nations discuss the role of interfaith leaders in nuclear disarmament talks. Credit: Jassmyn Goh/IPS

By Jassmyn Goh
UNITED NATIONS, Jun 20 2014 (IPS)

With legislation, legality and policy at the forefront of governmental decisions on nuclear weapons, what seemingly gets neglected are our morals.

The controversial nature of the topic, combined with states’ inability to reach binding agreements on non-proliferation and disarmament, has prompted religious leaders to step in to fill the gap in civil society by educating their followers about the issue.

At a recent panel discussion at the United Nations headquarters in New York City, interfaith leaders sat down with members of the Global Security Institute (GSI) and the Philippines mission to the U.N. to discuss the moral compass that could guide progress on disarmament and deterrents.

In a jovial yet poignant statement, Libran Cabactulan, the Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the U.N., called the gathering a “last ditch” attempt to advance the issue, which appears to have reached a global stalemate.

“Religious voices can help set the moral compass for the community but they have thus far not exercised their moral persuasion in a sufficiently influential fashion." -- Jonathan Granoff, president of the Global Security Institute (GSI)
Cabactulan told IPS that governments have a tendency to use multilateral forums as platforms for discussing practicalities, principles and politics, rather than questions of right and wrong.

This is why, he said, religious and interfaith leaders have an important role to play.

During the panel discussion H.E. Archbishop Francis A. Chullikatt, from the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See, urged religious leaders to join the dialogue for the sake of “future generations” because the issue of nuclear weapons concerns the very “future of humanity.”

“If we don’t prevail on this issue we have no future (because) by accident, design or madness the weapons are going to be used,” GSI President Jonathan Granoff told IPS.

There are some 17,265 nuclear weapons in the world today, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

If these weapons were to be used each explosion would be around eight to 100 times larger than the bombs used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

At least 2,000 of the roughly 4,400 deployed warheads are in a state of high operational alert.

The U.S. is responsible for 2,150 of the world’s deployed weapons, while Russia follows close behind with 1,800. France and the UK have 290 and 160 deployed weapons respectively.

Data for China, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea are harder to find, according to SIPRI.

According to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, both Russia and the United States have recorded massive declines in their respective stockpiles over the years.

As of 2012, Russia had 4,650 active warheads compared to 45,000 in 1986, while the U.S. had trimmed its stocks from 31,000 in 1967 to 2,250 in 2012.

Still, the two superpowers remained far ahead of their counterparts in the P5 (the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council) including France, which has 300 active warheads, China (240) and Britain, which possess 225.

‘Limited’ role for civil society

GSI approached the Philippines mission as a partner largely due to Cabactulan’s leadership in the field as the 2010 Non-Proliferation Review Conference President. They collaborated with seven faith leaders along with the U.N High Representative for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), Angela Kane.

“We (UNODA) don’t [necessarily] target religious groups, but we have very strong partners in civil society and we really rely on them to be a multiplying factor,” Kane told IPS.

However, Kane noted that progress on the issue with the help of interfaith leaders was very limited.

“Progress is not dependent on you or I or religious leaders [but] on the member states making progress in these areas,” she said.

Granoff also said that although there had been many statements made by religious leaders about non-proliferation and disarmament their words have failed to gain much traction.

“Religious voices can help set the moral compass for the community but they have thus far not exercised their moral persuasion in a sufficiently influential fashion,” he said.

With 85 percent of the world’s people identifying with some form of organised religion, the potential for faith-based organisations to change public opinion is huge.

Granoff said he “would like to create a coalition of religious and interfaith leadership that would exercise their moral persuasion to their full capacity.”

“The United Religious Initiative and the Religions for Peace have a large footprint and engagement with many religious leaders and are seriously committed to the issue and I look forward to working with them,” he asserted.

With the next non-proliferation treaty (NPT) review conference to be held next year the ambassador expressed serious concern over the lack of movement from member states.

“Nobody seems to be interested, nothing is happening. In the latest PrepCom [the third Preparatory Committee meeting this year] they were not able to agree on practically anything,” he said.

“This worries me and everyone is saying that the NPT is done, done for disarmament and non-proliferation. I hope the NPT will not be thrown overboard because nothing happens, I say keep it and expand it.”

The treaty currently represents the only legal commitment made by nuclear weapon states to work towards disarmament, but progress has been painfully slow.

Kane also noted that funding for the process of disarmament is low. Within the U.N. system, UNODA is one of the smallest departments and was only allocated 0.45 percent of the world body’s 2014-2015 budget, despite the department’s crucial role in determining the future of humanity.

In contrast, member states shell out huge sums of money to maintain their nuclear arsenals. According to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), nuclear states spend nearly 300 million dollars a day on their nuclear forces.

The global advocacy coalition estimates that annual expenditure on nuclear weapons is close to 105 billion dollars, which works out to roughly 12 million dollars an hour.

Experts say the time is ripe for members of civil society, particularly faith leaders, to help turn the tide.

“I long to see a day when every pope, every sermon, [and every] synagogue around the world is trumpeting that these weapons of mass destruction are an instrument of the devil and an instrument of sin,” Cabactulan said.

“The clock is ticking and we do not know what is going to happen and maybe by a flick of a finger or a click of a mouse we [will] all [be] gone,” Cabactulan said.

(END)

The launch of the “Guidance Note on Attacks Against Schools and Hospitals” at the United Nations headquarters in New York. Credit: Jassmyn Goh/IPS

By Jassmyn Goh
UNITED NATIONS, May 22 2014 (IPS)

With increasing reports on targeted attacks on schools and hospitals in armed conflict areas, a guidance note aiming to help prevent and end these violations was launched on Wednesday.

The launch presented by the U.N. Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict Leila Zerrougui said the note was designed to provide the necessary tools for those dedicated to ending and preventing unacceptable attacks on schools and healthcare institutions.

“Every child everywhere has the right to education and health, but in conflict areas in the world these rights have been compromised,” Zerrougui said.

The note entitled “Guidance Note on Attacks Against Schools and Hospitals” was complied by the office of the U.N. Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the World Health Organisation, U.N. Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and U.N. experts on the issue.

Zerrougui said that attacks on schools and hospitals have become an all too familiar aspect of conflicts today and that the guidance note would be a instrument to stop the attacks.

The note provides practical implementation of the U.N Security Council Resolution 1998 that highlighted the violation of attacks on the two institutions. It also aims to help monitor and report attacks, promote advocacy and dialogue, and to increase partnerships with stakeholders.

“A key component in our fight against attacks on schools and hospitals live with the security council’s monitoring process. With the security council resolution 1998 we received clear endorsement to dabble our efforts to monitor, respond and hopefully prevent attacks,” she said.

UNESCO director general Irina Bokova said that between 1998 and 2008 an estimated two million children were killed in armed conflict and six million were left disabled.

“Over half of the children out of school today live in conflict countries and this represents 28 million girls and boys. This we believe is a human rights crisis, a security crisis and a long term development disaster,” Bokova said.

“Education cannot wait until a conflict is over, or until buildings are rebuilt and resources are available, we must act now. I believe these guidelines will help us in our approach.”

The Permanent Representative of Luxembourg Sylvie Lucas said the note launch was timely and cited the recent abduction of 300 schoolgirls and the hundreds of murdered school children in Nigeria.

“The Security Council has expressed a unanimous deep concern at the military use of schools as it could render schools to attacks and endanger children and teacher safety,” Ambassador Lucas said.

“The council also encourages governments to consider concrete measures to deter the military use of schools and calls for the U.N. country task forces to enhance monitoring and reporting on the use of military in schools.”

With the U.N Convention on the Rights of the Child in mind, Zerrougui called upon member states to make a greater effort to assist the U.N., conflict affected states and civil society partners to work towards a world where all children can attend school and seek medical attention without fear.

“The fear is real. Preventable diseases such as polio are popping up due to the breakdown of health services in conflict areas as there are targeted attacks against vaccination workers. This is a tragedy,” she said.

“We cannot allow conflict to relegate a whole class of children to suffer in silence. We cannot lose a whole generation of young people.”

With lingering doubts about the long-delayed international conference for a nuclear weapons-free zone in the Middle East, a Finnish diplomat said there has been progress in getting the event underway.

“We have had three consultation sessions in Glion, Switzerland and that’s the first time in 19 years the parties in the Middle East have sat at the same table discussing this particular security issue,” Ambassador Lars Backström, the deputy facilitator of the Helsinki Conference, said Monday.

The conference is scheduled to take place in the Finnish capital of Helsinki in a yet-undetermined date.

The decision to hold the conference was taken during the 2010 Review Conference for the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), with the UK, U.S., Russia and the U.N. Secretary-General designated as organisers.

The conference was scheduled for 2012 but was postponed due to the political situation in the Middle East and the inability within the region to reach an agreement on the conditions of the conference, according to the U.S. Department of State.

During a panel discussion here, Backström clarified rumours of a December date for the conference.

“You may or may not have heard about a date in December but I have to disappoint you and say there is no agreement on a date. We have talked about June, October and December as possible timeslots,” he said

Backström said it was up to the participating countries to agree on all outstanding issues first.

“The next steps will be consultations in Geneva in mid-May and this time it will be under the U.N. umbrella. Glion was not under the U.N. umbrella and a few countries have said this is very important,” he said.

Backström praised the Glion consultations and said that it provided an opportunity to find out where the countries stood and their differences – specifically on issues relating to the agenda, modalities, roles and procedures.

“Participants have been very actively involved and constructive. They have been ready to engage and the discussions have been open and constructive,” he said.

He noted that the chief facilitator of the conference, Jaakko Laajaya, had been involved in 400 to 500 facilitations, consultations and meetings.

The Finnish Ambassador also added that due to the amount of divergent views there was still a lot more work to be done and that compromise was a necessary factor for progress on the issue.

Also speaking at the panel, executive director of FW de Klerk Foundation in Cape Town, Dave Steward said that peace could be achieved through “the acceptance of very painful compromises that peace inevitably requires from all parties.”

Steward commented on South Africa’s success as the only country to have voluntarily dismantled its nuclear capabilities through agreements by all involved parties that there could not be an armed solution.

He said that this mentality needed to be recognised in the Middle East for a solution to be reached.

“The Middle East parties need to accept that there can be no armed solution and there needs to be a genuine commitment by all parties for a negotiated settlement.”

Michèle Auga the executive director of Friedrich Ebert Stiftung in New York, one of the co-sponsors of the discussion, said that the three factors in reaching a weapons of mass destruction free zone in the Middle East were trust, sequencing and the role of regional outside actors.

On April 30 the U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met with Laajaya to reaffirm their commitment to convene the conference. They appealed to Middle Eastern states to continue their constructive engagement, including the preparatory meetings in Geneva.

Musical “Committed” music and lyric writer Andrew David Sotomayor and Tricia Brouk who wrote the book, directed and choreographed the production that raises awareness on mental illness. Credit: IPS/Jassmyn Goh

By Jassmyn Goh
UNITED NATIONS, Apr 29 2014 (IPS)

Starting off with the high-energy number “Welcome to the Madhouse,” the new musical “Committed” gives the audience a mix of ups and downs along with humour, intelligence and awareness of mental health.

Not usually a lively issue, the musical written, directed and choreographed by Tricia Brouk, brings to life eight characters suffering from schizophrenia, depression, personality disorders, bipolar and other illnesses who are being treated in a psychiatric clinic in New York, They are done through song and dance.

Brouk had not initially focused on mental health for awareness purposes but instead wanted to create a humorous production.

“I didn’t originally start researching about mental illness because I thought it would be fun to write a musical about crazy people,” Brouk told IPS. However, once research began Brouk realised it was an issue that needed to be more openly discussed.

“Once I started researching, I knew I needed to honour the realities of these illnesses and to treat them with respect and as much honesty as I could,” she said.

Brouk had not only found out about the different characteristics of the illnesses but also the lack of support from the healthcare system for people suffering from mental illnesses.

“I found it interesting the healthcare system will only allow somebody with severe mental illness whether it’s bipolar, depression or schizophrenia to be hospitalised for a limited time and then they’re released without proper care,” she said. “They are released without being treated and not knowing how to treat their chemical imbalance and putting themselves and others at risk.”

According to a 2011 World Health Organisation (WHO) report , the majority of primary healthcare doctors and nurses do not have official in-service training in mental health in the U.S.

On a global level, WHO found that only 77 percent of mental hospital admissions remained in hospital care for more than one year and only 32 percent of countries have the facilities to provide follow-up care.

Another report by the National Comorbidity Survey Replication in 2005, on the treatment of mental disorders, said that treatment fell below minimum quality standards in the U.S.

Andrew David Sotomayor, who wrote the lyrics and music for the show, and also plays the character of David who is anti-social, said that during his research he found that many people were turning to the Internet for help instead.

“I was able to get on to the NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) message boards. They have open forums for people to discuss and its very similar to a group therapy situation,” he said.

“I was able to see them discuss their depression and there were more severe cases where they could not even get to a group or a therapist but could get to their computer screens to communicate.”

The 80-minute musical is set in the late 1980s in the Upper East Side as Brouk was inspired by a clinic in the area that was torn down in 1989.

“There was a rush for these people to get better in one year before the building was torn down and so for me it was that pressure and urgency that excited me,” she said.

Last year during World Mental Health Day on October 10, the U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that people are “reluctant to seek help because of the stigma surrounding mental illness.”

Ban also spoke about the World Health Assembly’s Mental Health Action Plan to the year 2020 that aims to have 80 percent of all countries to have a developed or updated policy for mental health in line with international and regional human rights instruments by 2020.

The “Committed” premiere that ran from April 17-20 hopes it has brought awareness to all mental illnesses. Brouk would like to have a New York City on-going run of the show and to have the production shown at universities and regional theatres for awareness.

“We let everybody know right away that it’s not going to be a depressing ride. We start off with energy and then we take them off guard. It’s an up and down journey, just like life,” Brouk said.

Ai Weiwei’s “Colored Vases” piece featuring Han Dynasty vases at the Brooklyn Museum for “Ai Weiwei: According to What?” exhibition. Credit: Jassmyn Goh/IPS

By Jassmyn Goh
UNITED NATIONS, Apr 23 2014 (IPS)

Without authorisation to leave China for the US, artist and activist Ai Weiwei has opened the last leg of his touring North-American exhibition in New York.

Although Ai was detained and his passport confiscated in China three years ago, his current Brooklyn exhibition “Ai Weiwei: According to What?” brings to life his experiences and beliefs – mostly through photography, sculptures, videos and art installations.

During a video address to the press, Ai expressed his regret that he was unable to attend the exhibition.

“I really hoped that I could be there with you and give necessary explanations of the work but for three years I’ve been secretly detained, put on bail and been in soft detention. My passport is not in my possession,” Ai said.

In recent years the Chinese government has had an aggressive crackdown on activists, lawyers and campaigners who attempt to criticise the government.

“This [crackdown] is deeply disturbing,” Sophie Richardson, the China director at Human Rights Watch, told IPS.

“The government is trying to sustain an unrealistic balance between appearing to respond to certain kinds of public unhappiness on certain issues without feeding power into independent institutions nor are they tolerant of criticism,” she said.

Richardson said the prosecutions are a result of convenient individual and organisational targets.

“There is a need for the senior levels of state willing to prosecute their own people and not for politically convenience purposes.”

Ai said his inability to attend also reflected the plight of other Chinese nationals in the same position.

“Being not allowed to attend also reflects my condition and so many writers, poets and musicians in China who are in detention or jail,” he said.

“This is part of today’s world. It’s not as peaceful or rational or civilised but for artists it’s a human condition and we can make art out of it.”

One of the installations entitled “S.A.C.R.E.D.” is one of Ai’s newest works and the first to be shown in North America. It was made as a response to Ai’s 81-day detention where he was held secret location. The dioramas were reproduced from his memory of his daily life during this period.

Also on display is Ai’s room-sized piece “Straight” that although has been shown during the tour has doubled in size for the New York leg. The piece reflects the artist’s feelings towards the sub-standard materials used for housing and schools after the 2008 Sichuan earthquake killed over 69,000 people.

The piece was originally produced from 38 tonnes of rebar from the collapsed buildings but for this exhibition the piece expanded to 73 tonnes.

As a former resident of New York for 10 years, Ai said that this last leg of the tour was the most emotional for him.

“New York is such a metropolitan with so many artists, intellectuals and a great audience from all over the world. Brooklyn is a good opportunity for me to present my world and to really examine the works, it’s a very desirable place to show my work.”

In March, Chinese lawyer and activist Cao Shunli died while in detention after not receiving medical attention. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed his deep concern that Cao was detained in relation to her work and U.N. human rights mechanisms.

The exhibition “Ai Weiwei: According to What?” is running until 10 August at the Brooklyn Museum.

OCHA Assistant Secretary-General Kyung-wha Kang accepts a cheque for three million dollars, earmarked for Syrian humanitarian aid, from Ambassador Mansour Ayyad Al-Otaibi, the permanent representative of Kuwait to the U.N. Credit: Jassmyn Goh/IPS

By Jassmyn Goh
UNITED NATIONS, Apr 7 2014 (IPS)

A message of hope has been delivered to the people of Syria in the form of generous humanitarian aid from an oil-blessed Gulf nation: Kuwait.

Speaking at a ceremony Monday, Assistant Secretary-General in the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Kyung-wha Kang said that Kuwait’s contribution to the United Nations and the international humanitarian system goes beyond monetary values.

In January 2014, Kuwait pledged 500 million dollars in humanitarian funding to Syria and has since delivered 300 million dollars of that pledge.

Kuwait presented four cheques to OCHA, U.N. Children’s Fund (UNICEF), U.N. Development Programme (UNDP) and to U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). In Geneva, four other agencies also received cheques from Kuwait totalling 205 million dollars.

The support from Kuwait has helped U.N. agencies provide assistance to alleviate the suffering of the Syrian people affected by the crisis, Kang said.

“More than nine million people are in need of aid and protection inside Syria, some three million of them in hard-to-reach areas, and up to 240,000 of those in currently besieged areas.”

“We hope that our contributions will encourage other donors to deliver on their commitments,” said Ambassador Mansour Ayyad Al-Otaibi, the permanent representative of Kuwait to the U.N.
Since the second pledging conference in January, only 30 percent of the pledges have materialised, said Kang.

“With the Kuwati cheque, it is still only 44 percent of the pledged amount. Many of the pledges from other countries have not come through yet,” Kang told IPS.

Kuwait will channel half of the 500 million dollars to the U.N and its specialised agencies, and the rest to Kuwaiti non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the Kuwait Development Fund.

“The state of Kuwait highly appreciates and values the roles of the organisations and entities benefitting from the donation and hopes that it will help end the suffering of the Syrian people,” Al-Otaibi said.

Kang said areas that were in urgent need of help were the provision of food assistance, health services and medical supplies, non-food relief items, education, early recovery support, nutrition, protection-related activities and water, sanitation and hygiene programmes.

“Timely funding, such as this donation from Kuwait, is essential to ensure that supply pipelines are not interrupted and we can use the most direct routes to bring these supplies in,” she said.

According to the Financial Tracking Service (FTS), countries such as Qatar, Iraq and Oman have pledged 60 million dollars, 13 million dollars and 10 million dollars respectively, but have not committed any amount to the fund.

Jordan Ryan, the UNDP assistant administrator and director bureau for crisis prevention and recovery said “we deeply appreciate Kuwait’s leadership, generosity and vision in making sure that humanitarian work now links to development so it is sustainable, and to make sure that life is better for all.”

“This generous contribution from the State of Kuwait will bring a message of hope to the people of Syria and make a real and tangible difference in the lives of hundreds and thousands of Syrians,” Kang said.

By Jassmyn Goh
UNITED NATIONS, Apr 4 2014 (IPS)

Although world peace has been a societal goal for centuries it cannot be achieved without sustainable development and vice-versa, a high-ranking U.N. official said Wednesday.

“The fight to build tolerance, protect diversity and promote co-existence is a moral obligation if we want to advance the cause of peace, human rights and development,” said U.N. High Representative for the Alliance of Civilisations (UNAOC), Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser.

Al-Nasser added that the U.N. has prioritised the issue of peace and has implemented its vision worldwide through various U.N. bodies.

Since the U.N.’s 1999 declaration on a Culture of Peace and the establishment of the UNAOC in 2005, participation in the alliance and initiatives towards a peaceful society have widened and deepened, said Ahmet Davutoglu, the Turkish minister of foreign affairs.

“Without peace, stability, the rule of law and good governance we cannot ensure the wellbeing of our people. Violence in all forms, lack of the rule of law and weak public institutions have hampered the progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in many parts of the world,” he said.

Speaking about the MDGs, Amina J. Mohammed, the Secretary-General’s special advisor on post-2015 development planning, said countries that are off track in attaining the MDGs are often the ones that suffer from violence and fragility.

The panel agreed that to achieve sustainable development, a peaceful co-existence is necessary.

“Many of the present conflicts have clear cultural dimensions based on social and ethnic differences. It is not possible to build lasting peace and security without a sustainable and equitable development,” said Ambassador Román Oyarzun Marchesi, the permanent representative of Spain to the U.N.

The Permanent Representative of Qatar to the U.N. Ambassador Sheikha Alya Ahmed Saif Al-Thani stated that sustainable development could not be attained during tension, war, terrorism, turmoil and violence.

Al-Thani stressed that the UNAOC has an imperative role to promote dialogue tolerance and understanding amongst civilisations, cultures and religions.

“These challenges require urgent and collective action to achieve mutual respect and to provide equitable development chances for each individual and community,” she said.

Yusra Khan, the deputy permanent representative of Indonesia to the U.N., alluded to Indonesia’s experience with managing over hundreds of cultures in its own country along with their participation in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

“Indonesia has 240 million people that come from hundreds of cultures and have hundreds of languages and local dialects. For centuries, people in the vast archipelago has learnt the advantage of learning about different cultures,” he said.

Al-Nasser called for support in the fight for peace and sustainable development stating “We can’t do it alone. We will always need your support and cooperation and that of the U.N. system, as well as the support of all peace loving partners.”

“Peace, security, human rights and development are mutually reinforcing elements. Without peace there will be no chance for development,” he said.

The UNAOC was established by former Secretary-General Kofi Annan to understand the divide between cultures and society and to form programmes to address the issue.

The meeting was held in preparation for the upcoming UNAOC annual focal point meeting in Doha, Qatar from April 29 to 30, and its sixth global forum in Bali, Indonesia from August 29 to 30.

By Jassmyn Goh
UNITED NATIONS, Apr 3 2014 (IPS)

For peace to be embedded in culture and society, it starts with childhood education which leads to the creation of global citizens, according to a panel of experts.

Former Under-Secretary-General and High Representative of the U.N. Anwarul Chowdhury said fostering global citizens is important in achieving peace.

“Global citizenship requests transforming the way children think and act to forge more just, peaceful and tolerant societies,” he told the panel Thursday..

“The foundation for global citizenship is laid during childhood where they learn compassion and empathy.”

The concept of global citizenship is an individual’s awareness of the interconnected nature of the world and the need for a global focus for development.

Chowdhury said that to achieve such citizens there are four key elements – self-transformation, intergenerational dimensions, inclusivity and institutional support.

“Self-transformation links very closely with the concept of the culture of peace. It deals with the human mind. We are trying to change every individual into an agent of peace and non-violence,” he added.

Chowdhury’s leadership led to the U.N General Assembly’s adoption of the 1999 Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace. Since then, he said that there has been a lot of interest from international organisations.

“[Since 1999] there has been a big mobilisation in civil society and the push for the global society. Since 2012 there has been a high level of focus on implementation,” Chowdhury told IPS.

“The member states and governments are a little slow as they have not yet put this agenda into their national policies but civil society is pushing hard and I believe there is a lot of interest now from international organisations.”

Chowdhury singled out the United Nations, the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and the U.N. children’s agency UNICEF as organisations pushing for peace, education and sustainability.

“We are now seeing that this is the essential thing (education) for sustainability,” he added.

Vibeke Jensen, the director of UNESCO New York said that global citizenship education encourages people to become proactive contributors in promoting peace, tolerance and the culture of peace in a secure and sustainable world.

“Global citizenship education is a concept that articulates the purpose of education. It recognises the role of education in moving beyond the development of skills in order to promote social interaction.”

Jensen stressed that it is not sufficient to discuss the importance of this education but putting it into practice and monitoring it was essential too.

“It is not enough to talk about it or write about it in books or give knowledge. We need to go further to make sure that children and adults practice global citizenship,” she said.

She noted that although one of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) was achieving universal primary education by 2015, there are still about 57 million children who are not in school or do not have access to education.

“Monitoring figures have shown that 125 million children have spent more than four years in school but are still unable to read, write or do basic calculations.”

She added that universal global citizenship education could not be achieved unless all children have access to education.

“Peace cannot be gained by government actions alone. It’s individuals and communities that can sustain lasting peace. It rests on the persons capacity for non-violence and equality,” Chowdhury said.

The “dirty war” in Argentina, that occurred 38 years ago, has left the country mystified, with disappearances still a continuing crime, a victim of the war said Friday.

“I was born at a clandestine detention centre after my mother had been kidnapped and I was only able to spend two days with her until I was stolen,” said Leonardo Fossati, who was only able to learn the truth about his family in 2005.

During the period of 1976 to 1983 Argentina, along with several Latin American countries, were overwhelmed by terrorism as right-winged dictators sought to overthrow and eradicate communism.

In doing so, as many as 500 children are thought to have been kidnapped or born in secret detention centres as their families were believed to have had ties with the left-wing military dictatorship.

Always feeling that he was different from the rest of his family, Fossati approached the Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo, an organisation that finds the identity and family history of stolen children.

“I began my search with the abuelas (grandmothers). I started the investigation with the available documentation. A few months after I was asked to provide some blood for genetic testing,” Fossati said during an event that brought four recovered children to tell their stories.

“Nine months later I was able to get the result that proved and certified that I had not been abandoned, but stolen.”

Although Fossati was able to uncover his identity, the search is still not over for him.

“The search is not over, I’m still looking for the remains of my parents. In 38 years things that were impossible to imagine then, (forensic testing) is possible now and we’ve only recovered 25 percent,” Fossati said referring to the 110 children who have been recovered.

Lorena Battistiol, who is also still looking for her parents, asked for the community to help their cause.

“I ask you never to abandon the grandmothers, to help them – anything is useful for us. This is a crime that continues and carriers on beyond the crime itself because we continue this struggle and we need to be able to tell this and transmit this message around the world,” she said.

U.N. Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, Ivan Šimonović, praised the Argentine government for its efforts in search of the truth.

Friday’s event coincided with the ‘International Day for the Right to the Truth Concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims’.

“The persistent efforts of civil society in Argentina supported by the government have made a considerable contribution to the international recognition to the right of truth,” he said.

“The international community including the U.N. has come a considerable way in recognising the centrality in the search for the truth of justice.”

Fossati agreed with Šimonović and said, “We need to do more in this search and get international support. Today we experience government state policies due to initiatives by human rights agencies and this has made our task much easier and have allowed for justice.”

“Our right to the truth is the right to the truth of an entire society. Join us in our struggle.”

Failure to account and justify lethal drone activity by the United States represents a major violation of international law and international human rights law, a former U.N. rapporteur said Wednesday.

Since the beginning of drone attacks in 2001, the U.S. has conducted around 450 lethal drone strikes that have raised humanitarian and international legal issues.

“About 370 have taken place in Pakistan, with the next largest, 60 to 70, in Yemen,” said Steve Coll, dean of Columbia’s Journalism School, and a former Pulitzer prize winning reporter for the Washington Post and New Yorker.

Speaking during a panel discussion, he said: “The peak was in 2010 where there were 120 drone strikes in Pakistan. That equates to about one every three days.”

With reports by Pakistan military stating that 2,160 militants and 67 civilians were killed through drone attacks that were carried out through covert operations, the panel agreed that the U.S. government needs to address this human rights issue.

Former UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions Philip Alston said the U.S. failed to justify the basis for the use of armed drones, failed to acknowledge if a law has been broken or if civilian casualties have occurred.

“This failure regardless of anything else represents a major violation of international law and sets the U.S. up as an actor that sees itself as not accountable,” he said.

“The entire structure of both international humanitarian law and human rights law are premised on the notion that states accused of violating laws will respond with sufficient information to enable an evaluation and assessment to be undertaken.”

“There have been two fronted covert aerial wars in two different settings. The Obama administration finally acknowledged (in 2013) for the first time that the drone campaign exists,” Coll said.

Although the use of drones lies under U.S. law and policy framework of a “memorandum of notification”– a legal document authorised by the U.S. president to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to carry out covert action — it does not mean it aligns with international law, he said.

Alston added that after he challenged the CIA about the strikes, he received no response as to their involvement and rationale.

He said the response he did receive was that “we, the CIA have no obligation to tell you anything and we have not told you anything. What we have done is to leak various statements when it suits us, including the John Brennan (director of the CIA) statement that not a single civilian was killed.”

The controversial topic of drone strikes by the U.S. has raised concern from numerous organizations, including the United Nations.

In a statement last August, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that the use of armed drones should be subject to the rules of international law and international humanitarian law.

He added, “Every effort should be made to avoid mistakes and civilian casualties.”

The United Nations has deployed unarmed drones, which it describe as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) , in at least one of its peacekeeping missions in Africa.

The role of women in the management of forests is crucial for the success of sustainable development, according to diplomats and experts meeting Friday to commemorate International Day of Forests.

With forests covering one-third of the earth, the panel of experts stressed that awareness of sustainable development of forests must be coupled with concrete action, along with the need to focus on women, as change agents and drivers for the cause.

“Women play a vital role in the agriculture sector and rural women in countries like Gabon rely heavily on the products from forests,” said Ambassador Marianne Bibalou, deputy permanent representative of Gabon to the U.N.

“This day helps set the stage for members of the U.N. forum on forests to make decisions for international and multilateral policies for forests.”

In May 2015 the UN Forum of Forests (UNFF) will hold its 11th session where member states will decide on the future of multilateral policies and institutions on forests.

“I urge member states to integrate the role of women in the sustainable management of forests in 2015 and to continue to support initiatives that empower women. Forests and the global community can only gain from women being involved,” said Susana Malcorra, U.N. chef de cabinet to the executive office.

Malcorra also stressed that although there has been some progress on gender equality, women are often excluded in the decision making process.

“Women’s contributions to forest management are largely in the form of informal and unpaid work and so their share of the benefits is not proportionate to their contribution,” she said.

She added the U.N. and the international community have the responsibility to “promote full involvement of women in the decision making process, resource allocation and research priorities relating to forests.”

Rosa Rogers, director of the documentary “Water Forests of Senegal”, said that although women were the ones that understood the importance of mangroves they were unrecognised as leaders and agents of change.

Most visible activists are men but it’s the women who are working in the mangroves every day. They gather food, collecting firewood and teach children about the mangroves, Rogers said.

With estimates of 1.6 billion people depending on forests for food, fuel, shelter and income worldwide, co-founder of “Project ORANGS”, Madison Vorva, stressed the impact of deforestation on communities and ecosystems.

“As consumers, we need to evaluate the way we are exhausting our planet’s resources. If we don’t consider the impacts of our purchasing decisions on local and global communities it’s easy for the continual destruction of our earth,” she said.

As Indonesia’s land comprises of 60 percent of forests and contributes to 10 percent of the world’s tropical forests, the Indonesian Ambassador to the U.N. Desra Percaya agreed with the continued the need for the implementation of sustainable forest management along with the involvement of women.

“We are confident that creating gender equity in forest management policy will benefit the success of sustainable forest management. Women’s involvement in forest decision-making in communities has shown to have positive effects on a range of forest management issues including the regulation of illegal activities and conflict management,” Percaya said.

“Women’s active participation in decision-making can improve governance and sustainable resources.”

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the United Nations formally declared the International Day of Forests in 2013 to raise awareness and to “acknowledge the vital role of forests and pledge to work together to protect and sustainably manage these vital ecosystems.”

Despite escalating tensions and anti-government demonstrations, the Venezuelan government has not addressed any human rights issues regardless of the rising death toll and captive political prisoners, a panel of experts stressed Monday.

Issues such as humanitarian rights, economic policies and governance problems were discussed at the Americas Society/ Council of the Americas panel discussion “What’s Next for Venezuela?”.

The panel agreed that the country faces many challenges such as insecurity, rising inflation and lack of staple products, and that the Venezuelan government has been unable to make any swift negotiations, decisions or changes to curb the crisis.

Many of the protests, which began in January, have ended in violent clashes where the death toll has risen to 28, over a thousand arrests have been made and political prisoners have become an issue.

Although students sparking these demonstrations are bringing attention to humanitarian issues, the government has not responded to their cause,, the experts said.

“This has been one of (President Nicolas) Maduro’s most serious mistakes. If you look at the demands of the students, the first is the human rights issues of political prisoners. This has become more central as the protests went on,” said Javier Corrales, professor of Political Science at Amherst College.

In February, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for the protection of human rights of all Venezuelans, and urged authorities to listen to the protesters’ demands.

The Geneva-based U.N. Human Rights Council also drew attention to the unnecessary use of force and violence against protesters and journalists. However, the Maduro government has not made any serious efforts to investigate human rights abuses.

Accountability for the lack of action has been drawn towards the poor decision making process within the government and the apparent absence of political knowledge.

“The decision making process has been hijacked internally. For them to survive they need to solve the decision making process. So far politics is not in its toolkit. So the first reaction we see is repression and censorship,” said Luisa Palacios, head of Latin America Macro and Energy Research.

The panel referred to the arrest of opposition leader Leópoldo Lopez as part of President Nicolás Maduro’s government’s failure in decision-making.

“They don’t really know how to play politics,”Palaciios said, pointing out a flawed decision-making process that commits the mistake of putting Leópoldo in jail, making a martyr out of a political prisoner.

Palacios also emphasised that international involvement is very important in solving the crisis. She said that the Venezuelan government would not understand the consequences or the point of view of human rights unless it becomes an international issue.

“International involvement will make this a much safer process as we go along. If Venezuelans are left to their devices I remain concerned due to the lack of the government’s political tools.”

Corrales stated that the U.N’s response to the instability and unrest has been far more forceful and remarkable than usual as the U.N’s involvement in Latin American affairs is usually quite low.

He made a comparison to the protests in Brazil and Chile where the governments were able to make immediate negotiations, changes in cabinet and new programmes despite larger demonstrations.

“In Chile, only one person died during two-and-a-half years of protests. The protests were massive, perhaps more massive than in Venezuela. The international community complained about the police force in Chile and only one student died and there were about 1,800 arrests,” Corrales said.

Since Maduro took office in April 2013, he has been accused of following former President Hugo Chávez’s failed policies.