“We should focus on inclusive policies,” said the Director of the Division for Social Policy and Development (DSPD), Daniela Bas. Credit: Jean-Baptiste Viallet/IPS

By Jean-Baptiste Viallet
UNITED NATIONS, Apr 10 2014 (IPS)

In a report released here, the U.N. Commission for Social Development (UNCSD) stressed that information and communications technologies (ICT) can contribute to people’s empowerment and serve as a crucial means of expanding access to information and opportunities.

“New technologies are a key driver of development for all,” the Permanent Representative of El Salvador to the United Nations Ambassador Carlos Enrique García González, said at a panel discussion here.

One of the highlights of the discussion was the digital innovations that have brought about a substantial change in society, and the proper use of new technologies in the future.

ICTs are seen as powerful tools for poverty eradication, economic, sustainable and social development.

They help disseminate valuable information on public services, health care, education and training, livelihoods and rights, and also connect individuals with one another, thereby improving social inclusion facilitating citizen participation, according to the panellists.

However, access to new technologies is still not evenly distributed across countries. A digital divide continues between developed and developing countries.

“I encourage all to think about ICT as a tool in addressing the financial inclusion gap,” said Karen L. Miller, Chief Knowledge and Communication Officer at the Women’s World Banking.

In 2009, the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor estimated that mobile financial services in the developing world created a market worth up to five billion dollars by 2012.

Panellists also stated that ICT are able to improve industrial processes, while also aiding the agricultural sector through the dissemination of information on new techniques, market developments, commodity prices and weather forecasts.

The UN Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Post-2015 Development Planning, Amina J. Mohammed, warned that it requires good governance and good information.

“Information empowers citizens as it promotes social equality,” she added.

Masato Usui, Counsellor from the Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations, stressed that access to new technologies can play a vital role in managing natural disasters.

It also streamlines emergency responses and deploys geographic information systems and satellite data.

Panellists also agreed that new technologies are able to create more jobs through innovation and through the promotion of global partnership for development, as well as facilitating e-participation that gives individuals the ability to voice their opinions helping them organize around common causes.

“The ICT revolution is here. As it is a neutral tool, we need to learn how to use the information we receive,” concluded Gonzales.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has estimated that illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing costs about 20 billion dollars annually.

During two days of discussions here, which concluded Tuesday, the primary focus was on the need to implement the FAO Code of conduct for responsible fisheries and the role of regional fisheries management organisations.

“A new development on fishing management is ongoing, but it is still a slow process,” Árni M. Mathiesen, FAO Assistant Director-General, Fisheries and Aquaculture Department, told IPS.

The FAO code, which was adopted in 1995, stresses that countries and all those involved in fisheries and aquaculture should work together to conserve and manage fish resources and their habitats.

The real purpose is to help countries to develop their fisheries and aquaculture. But it requires finance, skills and experience that are not always available in developing countries.

“The present structures of international legislation were built over decades,” Mathiesen said. “We have to recognize that the current system is criticized. It is justifiable because the performance of the organizations is variable,” Mathiesen told IPS.

Indeed, the role of the FAO is to assist countries to develop their ability to manage fisheries and aquaculture. “All the instruments are negotiated but are not yet operational. If we had them operational, we would be working in a very different environment,” Mathiesen said.

One of these instruments, the Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA), aims at harmonizing how ports evaluate and inspect foreign-flagged fishing vessels. If implemented, the procedures would help officials’ spot and turn away illegally caught fish. Only 11 countries, including the United States, have ratified the treaty that will take effect once 25 parties have ratified it.

“There is definitely no opposition to the PSMA. The treaty and the effects that such an agreement would have are needed,” Mathiesen said.

The European Union recently banned fish imports from Belize, Cambodia and Guinea in fight against illegal fishing. Currently 15 percent of the worldwide fishing is illegal, representing an amount of 10 billion euros.

According to the latest FAO State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture report, fisheries and aquaculture accounted for about 148 million tons of fish in 2010.

Of the 126 million tons available for human consumption in 2009, fish was lowest in Africa (9.1 million tons), while Asia accounted for two-thirds of total consumption. “Agriculture is taking off. Regarding the effects on consumers in Asia, we will continue to see increasing fish consumption,” said Mathiesen.

In Asia, the consumption of fish per capita is around 40 kilograms (kg) per year, while the recommended minimum consumption – mostly based on Omega-3 minimum requirements – is around 15 kg.

A portion of 150 grams of fish is needed to provide about 50–60 percent of the daily protein requirements for an adult. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the average per capita fish supply should decline from 10 kilograms to five kilograms per year by 2050, according to current estimates.

“If this scenario becomes reality, that would be absolutely unacceptable,” stressed Mathiesen. “In the FAO ‘World Agriculture Towards 2030’ report, the prediction is that we would need around 50 million tons in increase production,” he added.

Based on the relationship between gross domestic product (GDP) and fish consumption, there is a need to increase production by 100 million tons.

“If we succeed in increasing the production, the consumption in Africa would go up to between 11 and 12 kg,” Mathiesen said. “It is not only a question of distribution. We really need to increase the production of fish,” he added.

However, because of the disparity in GDP growth, some regions could not compete for the fish with regions that are growing faster. Eliminating illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing would probably not lead to any jump in fish consumption, but it would help to increase the production by 10 to 20 million tons.

The United Nations Wednesday marked the first anniversary of the adoption of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). Nine months after the treaty was opened for signature, a group of 18 countries have jointly deposited their instruments of ratification.

“We must not forget the difference this treaty will make, if well implemented, for the lives of so many,” said UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson.

Adopted by the UN General Assembly by a 154-to-three votes in April 2013, the ATT is a multilateral treaty regulating the 85 billion dollar annual international trade in conventional weapons.

To date, the agreement has been signed by 118 member states, but 50 ratifications are still required for entry into force.

Eliasson warned that civilians are still being killed and driven from their homelands, as weapons and ammunition remain in the hands of human right abusers and terrorists. According to Amnesty International, 500,000 civilian lives are lost each year in armed conflicts.

“Every day, we witness the human cost of the irresponsible transfer of weapons,” he added. He also highlighted that “good things can be achieved when governments and civil society work together through the United Nations.”

In a statement Wednesday, UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon encouraged all other States to sign and ratify the ATT “without delay.”

He also called on States, civil society, and international and regional organisations “to continue working together to ensure the ATT can play its full role, in helping to reduce needless human suffering and build a safer world for all.”

“No-where is the need for an effective treaty so apparent as in the devastating humanitarian crisis in Syria,” stressed Anna Macdonald, on behalf of the Control Arms Coalition.

War in Syria has killed over 150,000 people and over nine million are in dire need of humanitarian aid.

The conflict has been fuelled by transfers of arms, munitions and ammunition from outside parties. From 2000 to 2010, it is estimated that Russia sold around 1.5 billion dollars worth of arms to Syria, making Damascus Moscow’s seventh-largest client.

Today, the United States is responsible for more than 30 percent of global arms sales. The ATT has been criticised specifically by the National Rifle Association (NRA), the biggest single arms lobby in the country..

The NRA’s campaign is based on the right to bear arms, which is protected by the Second Amendment to the US Constitution.

Opposition to the treaty also came from some member states and civil society groups. During negotiations, several countries such as Cuba, Venezuela, Egypt and Iran held strong concerns about the implications of the ATT for national sovereignty.

Many African countries consider the treaty would not be efficient without any restrictions on the ammunition trade. A 2012 Conflict Armament Research reports that ammunition being delivered by Iran is used in 14 African countries; among them, only four are used by governmental forces.

Within the 18 countries, France and the United Kingdom ratified the treaty at the ceremony on Wednesday.

“It is extremely positive that five of the world’s biggest arms exporters are among those ratifying today,” Macdonald said. She also emphasised the need for governments to implement the ATT very seriously.

“This is a treaty about saving lives. It will require changes in legislation, and it must achieve changes in behaviour,” she added.

The Director and Deputy to the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Virginia Gamba, said the ATT could enter into force in the second half of this year.

Rokhaya Diallo at the French-American Foundation's screening in New York: “Both the United States and France are equally racist, but at different levels”– Credit: FAF

By Jean-Baptiste Viallet
UNITED NATIONS, Apr 2 2014 (IPS)

The issue of racism was the underlying theme of a new documentary screened at the French-American Foundation Monday.

Titled “The Marches For Freedom”, it was the latest documentary of the French journalist and activist Rokhaya Diallo.

From the Elysée Palace to the suburbs of Paris, the movie documents 10 young Americans visiting France– seen as the historical nation of human rights — to explore the issues of race and multiculturalism through transatlantic lens.

Diallo has built a reputation with her deep-rooted opinions regarding integration, secularism and multiculturalism. Currently writing for several publications, she is a journalist and also an activist on human rights who pioneered the 2007 antiracist movement Les Indivisibles.

She has faced several threats and been a victim of verbal aggression. And in June 2013, she was publicly assaulted.

Focusing on the impact of the civil rights movement in each nation, her movie looks on the legacy those historic steps have left on today’s youth.

The first national anti-racist movement in France took place between October and December 1983. At that time, the country was experiencing a wave of racist crimes against people from Maghreb and African migrants.

Led by the priest Christian Delorme and the pastor Jean Costil, the non-violent march was mainly inspired by civil rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr and Mahatma Gandhi.

Thione Niang, political activist and community leader, is one of the students featured in the documentary.

Named by Complex Magazine as one of the “10 Young Activists Who Are Changing The World” in March 2013, he launched the Give1 Project, a global organization that aims to engage young people as leaders in creating and building strong and healthy communities, of whose students were involved in the film.

“The purpose of the documentary was not to show which country is more racist,” Diallo said. “Both the United States and France are equally racist, but at different levels,” she added.

She explained that France needs to acknowledge its history. “We should do something about remembering. The movie was a tribute to all those who died for our liberty,” she added.

The 2001 Taubira Law recognises the Atlantic slave trade and slavery as a crime against humanity. It specifies the obligation of including the topic in educational curriculums and scientific research.

“We have an unclear history of slavery. I have seen many teachers wanting to teach about slavery on their own initiative. The Minister of National Education is very centralised and strict about scholar curriculum,” Diallo said.

Moreover, she said that racism has been tinged with humour in France. “The first movie about slavery was a comedy.”

The documentary reveals how American students introduced a new perspective of France as a country facing controversial issues about identity and integration.

“In France, people had that fear about where I came from,” said one of the American students during the discussion.

“Racism decreased over the last decades in France,” Diallo said. “Important figures that are part of the Republic have diverse ethnic roots, such as Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, Spokesperson for the French government, or Christiane Taubira, Minister of Justice,” she added.

Back in the U.S to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington, the students have learned from their trip that the struggle against discrimination and racism remains a day-to-day struggle in France.

A new report launched Tuesday in Stockholm by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) raises the issue of the opportunities that new technologies have opened up, and focuses on recent progress towards media freedom.

“Freedom of expression is essential to dignity, dialogue, democracy and sustainable development,” said Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO.

The study, ‘World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development’, shows how these technologies have empowered individuals with unprecedented ways to access, produce and share media content across multiple platforms.

But the report also highlights that technology has allowed for new threats to emerge in the form of Internet censorship, filtering, blocking, and surveillance.

Bokova emphasised the need to act on the ground to train journalists, build capacity and advance media and information literacy.

“We must continue to support media independence by promoting professional standards and self-regulation,” she said.

Spearhead by UNESCO, with contributions from 27 international experts from civil society and academia, the report analyses trends in press freedom through four dimensions: freedom, pluralism, independence and the safety of journalists.

The report warns that progress towards greater media freedom is weak in regions that have experienced political transitions. Indeed, self-censorship remains challenge to journalists worldwide.

It shows that the vast expansion of information sources and platforms has positively impacted media pluralism, despite of the economic dominance of a handful of companies.

Even if non-profit investigative journalism groups managed to emerge, state and public advertising still affect independent reporting.

Moreover, the study applauds the growing awareness of the importance of journalists’ safety throughout the world since 2007, due in large part to the implementation of the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity.

Nevertheless, the number of journalist killings has continued to rise. UNESCO’s data found that 430 journalists were killed between 2007 and 2012, including 23 women.

In new estimates released Monday, the World Health Organisation (WHO) reports that around seven million people died prematurely in 2012 as a result of air pollution exposure. The figures confirm it is one of the world’s largest single environmental health risks.

The Geneva-based U.N. agency said South-East Asia and Western Pacific are now the most polluted regions in the world, with a total of 3.3 million deaths linked to indoor air pollution and 2.6 million deaths related to outdoor air pollution in 2012.

The new data reveals a stronger link between indoor and outdoor pollution exposure and cardiovascular diseases, as well as between air pollution and cancer.

“Poor women and children pay a heavy price from indoor air pollution since they spend more time at home breathing in smoke,” said Dr Flavia Bustreo, WHO Assistant Director-General Family, Women and Children’s Health.

She stated that cleaning up the air reduces disease risks among women and vulnerable groups, including children and the elderly.

Indeed, around 80 percent of the 3.7 million deaths from outdoor pollution came as a result of stroke and heart disease, 11 percent from lung diseases and 6 percent from cancers.
In 2008, the WHO reported that indoor and outdoor air pollution led to 3.2 million deaths.

The new estimates are based not on an increase in pollution, but thanks to more knowledge of the links between air pollutants and heart diseases and cancers and the use of improved measurements and technology.

“The risks from air pollution are now far greater than previously thought or understood,” said Dr Maria Neira, Director of WHO’s Department for Public Health, Environmental and Social Determinants of Health (PHE).

WHO also estimates that indoor air pollution was linked to 4.3 million deaths in 2012 in households cooking over coal, wood and biomass stoves.

According to Dr Carlos Dora, WHO Coordinator for PHE, excessive air pollution is often a by-product of unsustainable policies in sectors such as transport, energy, waste management and industry.

He added that, in most cases, “healthier strategies will also be more economical in the long term due to health-care cost savings as well as climate gains.”

The report was published at a time when China frequently faces the so-called “Airpocalypse” phenomenon of heavy and extreme pollution; as well as main French cities, where pollution with fine particles had reached an unusually high level.

In the 2009 Blacksmith Institute World’s Worst Polluted Places report, indoor air pollution and urban air quality were listed as two of the world worst toxic pollution problems.

“We live in a multicultural world. The language we speak affects both the way we think and act,“ said Under-Secretary-General Peter Launsky-Tieffenthal, the UN Coordinator for Multilingualism, at a roundtable discussion on the occasion of the International Francophonie Day on Thursday.

The discussion focused on both cultural diversity and multilingualism, which play an essential role to spread the message of the United Nations throughout the world.

Currently, about 220 million people speak French in 77 countries that are official members of the International Organization of la Francophonie (IOF).

Panelists highlighted the importance of multilingualism for a better understanding of the contemporary world. “Multilingualism is a basic condition to the establishment of an international cooperation,” said Launsky-Tieffenthal, head of the department of public information (DPI).

He added that cooperation and common values have the power to reinforce creativity and build a more inclusive society.

Ambassador Mohammed Loulichki, Permanent Representative of Morocco to the United Nations and President of the Group of Francophone Ambassadors, stressed the need to stand up for multilingualism, which is a federative and connected process.

“Diplomacy and culture have so much in common,” he said.

Manu Dibango, a well-known Cameroonian saxophonist, singer and UNESCO Artist for Peace in 2004, underscored the contribution of artists with a view to peace.

“The constant struggle for peace still exists because war is still in place,” said Dibango. “Between peace and war, artists try to create room for dreams.”

The Chief of Cabinet of the UN High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations, Tariq Al-Ansari,singled out the issue of cultural diversity and multiculturalism in the service of effective international action.

He said that Francophonie is not only a language; it is also about how civilizations can share and communicate with each other.

“Better languages provide better opportunities to understand each other correctly,“ Al-Ansari added. “Francophonie is a catalyst between nations,“ he stated.

By its singular network throughout five continents, and by educational, cultural and political initiatives, Francophonie contributes to the elaboration of a better comprehension between nations.

“Culture must play a stabilizing role as regards human rights and development,” said Filippe Savadogo, Permanent Representative of the IOF to the United Nations.

Quoting Léopold Sédar Senghor, Senegalese poet, politician, cultural theorist and first president of Senegal, he underlined the fact that “culture is at the beginning and the end of development.”

Maria Bashir, Afghanistan's only female chief prosecutor via video message. Credit: IDLO

By Jean-Baptiste Viallet
UNITED NATIONS, Mar 19 2014 (IPS)

“Progress for women is progress for all,” said Irene Khan, director-general of the International Development Law Organization (IDLO), at a roundtable discussion Monday on the sidelines of the two weeklong session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW)

The discussion focused both on the situation of women in Afghanistan and on a new report by the IDLO which argues that fundamental changes in justice for women will only come through increased participation and inclusiveness.

Since the fall of the Taliban, women have seized opportunities and entered the justice sector as professionals at a steady but slow pace.

“Rights have improved for all Afghans,” stated Ambassador Zahir Tanin, Permanent Representative of Afghanistan to the United Nations.

He emphasized some of the major achievements to improve women’s professional participation, including the judicial reform and the Constitution that guarantees equal rights to men and women.

“The report tells the story of women’s expectations,” Khan said, specifically In a country where 19.3 percent of lawyers are women while 85 percent of women experience some kind of abuse in their lifetime.

“Every female lawyer who challenges discrimination contributes to a better Afghanistan,” she said.

Khan warned that many Afghan women continue to fear the justice system. As a consequence, this contributes to the low number of women lawyers.

She underlined that female lawyers and judges would understand the problems better. And most of them are afraid of telling men the truth about their cases.

The report puts forward some policy recommendations, such as capacity building and technical assistance programmes, and promoting positive examples of women in the justice sector.

Panelists also highlighted obstacles to Afghan women seeking to enter the justice sector; social pressure, negative stereotypes, unequal access to legal education curricula and ongoing insecurity.

The study stresses the necessity of engaging strategies with legal education institutions, civil society and professional associations; in order to ensure the sustainability of measures targeting women’s participation in the justice sector.

“New technologies can be powerful multipliers for human rights and empowerment; but this doesn’t happen by itself. It requires strong frameworks and policies,“ said Irina Bokova, Director-General of the UN Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

She said real empowerment comes from skills and opportunities to use them.

To coincide with current session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), which began Monday, the United Nations hosted a panel discussion on information and communications technology (ICT), free media and women’s empowerment.

“ICTs must be inclusive, bridging divides, not deepening them,“ Bokova stated, stressing they must be underpinned by respect for human rights and dignity.

This side-event was aimed at highlighting the urgency to empower women and girls though access to ICTs, as well as promoting an environment for a free and independent media.

Statistics show that women are 25 percent Internet users in Africa, 22 percent in Asia, 38 percent in Latin America, and a mere 6 percent in the Middle East.

The results of the survey on “Violence and Harassment Against Women in the News Media” were presented at this side event. Created by the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF), the study gives an overview of the global situation of female journalists and the nature of the dangers they face.

According to UNESCO, 33 women journalists and media workers were killed between 2006 and 2013. “I stand up every time a journalist is killed and call for justice,“ Bokova said.
“This global survey reveals a hidden crisis: a crisis of threats and abuse, of sexual harassment, affecting all regions of the world,“ she added.

Elisa Lees Munoz, Executive Director of International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF), also highlighted some of the results of the survey.

Nearly two-thirds of respondents said they had experienced acts of “intimidation, threats and abuse” in relation to their work, where bosses were the most commonly reported perpetrators of “intimidation, threats and abuse.” Of 546 respondents, 14.3 percent said they had experienced sexual violence in relation to their work.

According to Munoz, “We all agree that journalists have personal responsibilities with regard to their preparedness; but there are security measures that media organizations can provide as well,“ such as measures for accountability within the workforce.

“Media has the power to transform both women, who work in the media, and the many more in the audience; understanding what they want, what they listen to, what information they hunger for,“ stated Anne Bennett, Executive Director of Hirondelle Foundation USA.

A study on women active in the ICT sector published in October 2013 by the European Commission found that more women entering the digital jobs market can boost gross domestic product (GDP) by an annual 9 billion euros in the European Union countries alone.