By - - and José Domingo Guariglia
UNITED NATIONS, Nov 5 2011 (IPS)

According to the Human Development Report 2011 released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) this week, Latin America remains the region with the highest income inequality, even as the situation has improved in countries like Argentina, Brazil, Honduras, Mexico and Peru.

Heraldo Muñoz Credit: José Domingo Guariglia/IPS

“People are unsatisfied that Latin America is growing economically but the distribution is unequal. People feel that the country is growing but that prosperity is not entering in their homes,” UNDP Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean Heraldo Muñoz told IPS.

UNDP’s annual report this year focuses on sustainability and equity in global development, and the next challenges for the 187 countries it covers, including 33 in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Chile and Argentina are the only Latin American nations in the list of countries with a “very high” Human Development Index in 2011, ranking 44th and 45th, respectively, while the countries with a “high” Human Development Index include Uruguay, Cuba, Mexico, Panama, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, Colombia and Belize.

IPS Correspondent José Domingo Guariglia spoke with Muñoz regarding the main challenges and opportunities for Latin America and the Caribbean in a context of global recession, poverty and increasing violence.

Excerpts from the interview follow.

Q: Do you think it is possible to reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Latin America by 2015, especially the eradication of poverty, and gender equality? A: I think that many Latin American countries will achieve the MDGs, while others are far from the goal. What is very clear is that Latin American countries have made many efforts in reducing poverty. We have programmes of conditioned cash transfers like Bolsa Família in Brazil or Oportunidades in Mexico or Chile Solidario in Chile, and poverty has been reduced.

In addition, there has been growth in the region. Latin America is passing through one of its best moments in recent history.

As UNDP, we are making efforts to collaborate with governments to do an MDG acceleration framework, which is a strategy to try to bring the efforts of attending the MDGs from a national level to a local level.

In general, Latin America will fall rather behind in the attainment of some goals like maternal mortality, gender empowerment and equality.

Q: Latin America has experienced a long democratic period, characterised by a sense of frustration due to inequalities, corruption, crime and violence. Do you think a new institutional framework is needed? A: For sure. One of the keys to strengthen democracy is working on strengthening institutions. Latin America is passing through a good moment in electoral democracy. This year there will be six presidential elections: Haiti, Peru, Argentina, the first round in Guatemala, and the pending elections in Nicaragua and Guyana by the end of the year.

However, there is a question on the quality of our democracies. There is frustration, there is apathy, institutions are weak and that is the key: working on strengthening the separation of the branches, strengthening the judiciary, collaborating with parliaments, organising the work of the executives.

People are unsatisfied that Latin America is growing economically but the distribution is unequal. People feel that the country is growing but that prosperity is not entering into their homes.

Latin America continues to be the most unequal region in the world. Out of the 15 most unequal countries in the world, 10 are from Latin America and that’s absolutely unacceptable. The first step would be to recognise that reducing inequality should be a political priority.

We have reduced inequality in the last decade thanks to the expansion of programmes in education and health, but we still have a long way to go.

Q: Can Latin American countries grow with high rates of criminality like the ones that exist in Honduras, Mexico or Venezuela right now? A: Crime can be a threat. We live in the most violent region in the world. Latin America and the Caribbean represent nine percent of the world population but we concentrate 27 percent of world homicides.

There is a very important impact of crime in development. Central American countries spent last year four billion dollars in security- related investments, money that could have gone to education, health and social purposes.

This is a situation of epidemic proportions in Latin America. It should be placed as a priority and the key is how to address it. The strategy includes control and repression but also prevention, how to tackle the situation of youth, reform of the penal code, in the penitentiary system, justice, police, international cooperation.

Q: Do you think multilateral organisations in Latin America like Mercosur, Unasur or ALBA can contribute to South-South cooperation? A: Latin American cooperation has been changing. Unasur is an expression of the combination of Mercosur and the Andean Community. It wants to be like the European Union to tackle military affairs, political coordination and cultural integration. It is quite an ambitious project and it can be the basis for South-South cooperation and to provide assistance for least developed countries.

As UNDP, we are trying to cooperate with countries of the region to give assistance to others. We are working to take the experience of democratic transitions to countries that have experienced the Arab Spring, particularly Egypt and Tunisia.

Q: How is the current financial crisis impacting developing nations? A: The region has resisted the crisis better than Europe and the United States. Latin American countries have strong banking regulations because of the experience of the crisis of the 1980s. In addition to that, several countries have implemented policies that allow them to spend more during crisis and save in the moments of boom.

These are times for caution in the region. If the situation in Europe becomes more and more delicate and the United States does not get out of the moment of stagnation, it will be very difficult for Latin American countries to not feel the pinch of the crisis.

Q: Next year will be the International Year of Cooperatives. How do you evaluate the presence of cooperatives in Latin America? A: Cooperatives have the people at the centre of development. In addition to that, cooperatives and small-medium enterprises have created jobs. They are always a significant part of the solution.

Excerpt:

By - - and José Domingo Guariglia
UNITED NATIONS, Nov 3 2011 (IPS)

Different countries may celebrate Oct. 31 in a variety of ways, but this year, the 193 member states of the United Nations (U.N.) launched the International Year of Cooperatives 2012 to raise awareness about the impact of cooperatives on the development of communities where they operate.

Pauline Green, president of the International Cooperative Alliance, speaking during the launch of the International Year of Cooperatives Credit: Rousbeh Legatis/IPS

Global discussions about the impact of cooperatives will take place at a local level among the U.N.’s 193 member states, members of media, sponsors and international organisations.

One of those organisations is the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA), founded in 1895 as an independent non-governmental group that unites and represents cooperatives around the world. Its members are 260 cooperatives operating in 96 countries.

ICA focuses on the promotion and protection of the cooperative identity in order to guarantee that cooperatives will be able to compete in the market as legitimate forms of enterprise. At the same time, it pushes for changes in legislation and policy to foster cooperatives’ growth.

ICA President Pauline Green has worked with the cooperative movement for the past 35 years. She was chief executive and general secretary of Co-operatives UK from 2000 to October 2009 and co-president of Cooperatives Europe and ICA vice-president for Europe until she was elected ICA president in November 2009.

IPS correspondent José Domingo Guariglia interviewed Green about her expectations for the IYC and on the importance of cooperatives.

Excerpts from the interview follow.

Q: The 2012 International Year theme is “Cooperative enterprises build a better world”. Do you agree with that statement? A: Cooperatives teach good democratic practices, help to build solidarity and cohesion in local communities, develop leadership potential among local people and support training and education.

Cooperatives are about meeting human needs, not just human greed, and they do this by creating member-owned businesses that allow local people to support the development of their own community. By returning profits from the business to their members, they keep the wealth within local communities and allow it to grow further.

It is about allowing people to pull themselves out of poverty through their own endeavours and with dignity. In this way cooperatives have diminish conflict, created more cohesive societies, enhanced skills and supported the evolution of well-informed, empowered citizens.

That is how cooperatives build a better world.

Q: Who is financing the IYC? A: So far the ICA is funding its activities for the IYC directly from its own resources and from its member contributions, and we have an appeal out for that purpose. Occasionally we ask for sponsorship for specific events or publications.

The more we can raise, the more we can do to lift the visibility and profile of our model of business across the world, lobby governments and global bodies to improve cooperative access to the market, and show to the world that we have a model of business that is not business as usual.

Q: Why did the ICA get involved in the organisation of the IYC? A: The ICA has been working for this outcome for a considerable time – probably five years in a serious way. Much is owed to the government of Mongolia who finally took the resolution to the floor of the General Assembly of the U.N. seeking a mandate for the IYC.

In the final analysis, the resolution at the U.N. was supported by nearly double the number of governments than usually sign the resolutions on an International Year – so it was very gratifying and a clear sign that in many countries, governments regard the cooperative input to their national economy to be important in their nations.

Q: Do cooperatives have a role in the achievement of the U.N. Millennium Development Goals? A: Cooperatives are active in a whole range of sectors of the economy, from agriculture to insurance, from retailing to health, from banking to renewable energy, from housing to education.

From a commercial perspective, they support the lives and livelihoods of both their members and their employed staff who, incidentally, are often members as well.

Cooperatives can help in achieving the U.N. Millennium Development Goals. In fact, I would argue that over our 170-year history we have done more than any other single organisation to take people out of poverty.

Q: What else should the U.N. do to promote the work of the cooperative sector? A: The different organs of the U.N. have supported the growth of various sectors of the cooperative economy – in agriculture, credit unions and microfinance, for instance. And the ILO (International Labour Organisation) has, of course, worked hard over the years to support good cooperative legislation across the world that subscribes to the worldwide values and principles of the movement.

As to what more the U.N. could do, we are about to launch the U.N.’s latest great gift to cooperatives worldwide and that is the International Year of Cooperatives.

It might look extremely ungracious to be asking for more. However, at a moment when so many people are suffering as a direct result of the collapse of the investor-led financial sector of the economy, and the resultant recession, it is vital that the cooperative movement is reinforced and strengthened to do its job for those people whose lives could and should be better.

That is something for which cooperators around the world will work very hard.

Excerpt:

By - - and José Domingo Guariglia
NEW YORK, Oct 31 2011 (IPS)

In his campaign, President Barack Obama promised to make comprehensive immigration reform a top priority – a pledge mainly directed at Latino voters.

Many in the Latino community are disappointed by U.S. President Barack Obama's failure to push through comprehensive immigration reform. Credit: Valeria Fernandez/IPS

But the Obama administration has not merely left aside the question of reform.

One of the key demands of Latino rights activists is an end to a controversial Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) programme known as Secure Communities.

Although the aim of the programme is to deport undocumented immigrants who have criminal records, it has led to massive sweeps of immigrants without criminal records.

The Secure Communities web site says the programme “uses an already-existing federal information- sharing partnership between ICE and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) that helps to identify criminal aliens without imposing new or additional requirements on state and local law enforcement… Under Secure Communities, the FBI automatically sends the fingerprints to ICE to check against its immigration databases.

“If these checks reveal that an individual is unlawfully present in the United States or otherwise removable due to a criminal conviction, ICE takes enforcement action – prioritising the removal of individuals who present the most significant threats to public safety as determined by the severity of their crime, their criminal history, and other factors – as well as those who have repeatedly violated immigration laws,” the web site adds.

But “the programme has been a total failure,” Roberto Lovato, cofounder of Presente.org, an online Latino advocacy organisation, told IPS. The result, he said, is that “the immigrant community avoids going to the police to report crimes that are being committed or that they have witnessed.”

Secure Communities, which is to be extended nationwide by 2013, has also been rejected by authorities in California, Illinois, Massachusetts and New York. Nevertheless, it has been activated by the federal government in some districts in those states.

Besides the deportations, activists are concerned about reported violations of the human rights of the detained immigrants.

“Lost in Detention”, a Frontline documentary aired on the PBS public broadcasting station on Oct. 18, examines the situation in the country’s network of detention facilities for immigrants.

According to the programme, the country’s immigration laws – and Secure Communities in particular – have broken up families. The documentary also shows immigrants being held in subhuman conditions and reports sexual and psychological abuse of detainees, as well as racism.

Deportation – in numbers

According to the Department of Homeland Security, there are some 11 million unauthorised immigrants living in the United States.

Of that total, 6.6 million, or 62 percent, are from Mexico. The next leading source countries are in Central America: El Salvador (620,000), Guatemala (520,000) and Honduras (330,000); and South America: Ecuador (110,000) and Brazil (100,000).

One million immigrants have been deported since Obama took office in January 2009.

Of the nearly 400,000 people deported in fiscal year 2011 – a record high – 55 percent had felony or misdemeanour convictions, according to ICE Director John Morton.

The various programmes – Secure Communities, Criminal Alien and 287(g) – that give state and local authorities the power to enforce federal immigration laws, and the lack of reforms to regularise the status of long time immigrants, have generated confusion in the scope and aims of the country’s immigration laws.

In an unprecedented encroachment on a policy area constitutionally reserved for the federal government, several states have passed their own immigration laws, such as Arizona’s SB 1070, enacted in April 2010 and partially blocked by the federal courts, and Alabama’s HB 56.

The Alabama law, passed by the state legislature in June 2011, is described as one of the country’s harshest anti-immigrant bills. It requires that police demand identity documents of anyone who they have “reasonable suspicion” to believe is in the country unlawfully, and requires public schools to determine the immigration status of primary and secondary school students, while authorising school officials to report children or parents who may be in the country illegally.

It also establishes penalties, even jail time, for people who hire, rent to or even assist undocumented immigrants, by giving a ride to a neighbour, for instance.

The NY Immigration Coalition‘s director of immigration advocacy, Jacqueline Esposito, said Secure Communities and similar programmes “have created an environment where anti-immigrant laws like those in Arizona and Alabama have flourished at the local level.”

Lucía Gómez, executive director of La Fuente, an umbrella community organisation for civic participation projects in New York, says these laws confuse civil immigration violations with criminal offences. “An immigration infraction does not mean someone is a criminal, like someone who has killed a person,” she told IPS.

In many cases, immigrants are immediately deported, without being allowed to contact their families or talk to a lawyer, after they are transferred to detention centres far from their homes, she added.

The view from Washington

The Obama administration announced in August that it was suspending deportations while it reviewed 300,000 pending cases. Under the new policy, immigration authorities will cancel the deportations of long time residents who do not pose a risk to society and do not have a criminal record.

But Esposito said “the new policy has not yet been implemented, which raises serious concerns.”

Felicia Escobar, White House senior policy adviser on immigration, recently told local Latino leaders gathered at Baruch College in New York that the president wants immigration reform, but is obligated to enforce current laws until an agreement is reached.

“We all think that the laws should be changed and the system is broken,” said Escobar.

But Obama has repeatedly stated that he will not act on his own to implement a reform bill that has failed to gain congressional approval.

Esposito said Congress is divided by “partisan politics” and has failed to adequately address the question of immigration.

Lovato believes the recent suspension of deportations was merely an attempt to win Latino votes, “a way to channel the hopes, wishes and passion of Latino voters towards Obama. But now they need to win the votes of more conservative independent whites,” he said.

Gómez said the president is trying a two-pronged approach to hang on to the support of the two-thirds of Latinos who voted for him in 2008.

“The problem is the president’s negotiating strategy: he’s trying to show that he can be tough, but that he also respects the community. It has been a dangerous dance because the Republican Party has not yielded an inch, and we have been victims of that strategy,” she said.

Excerpt:

By - - and José Domingo Guariglia
UNITED NATIONS, Oct 29 2011 (IPS)

With 800 million members in over 100 countries, the cooperative sector is a globally important group of collective organisations. On Oct. 31, the United Nations (U.N.) will begin a year of recognising their importance by launching the International Year of Cooperatives (IYC) in New York.

Members of the Bhorle Community Seed Bank, a cooperative in Nepal. Credit: Sudeshna Sarkar/IPS

Cooperatives can play a significant role in helping to achieve the U.N.’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015, experts say.

“International Year of Cooperatives 2012: Cooperative enterprises build a better world“, planned by the U.N. and the Committee for the Promotion and Advancement of Cooperatives (COPAC), aims to raise global awareness about the work of cooperatives, strengthen their influence in society and promote discussion about the topic among the organisation’s 193 member states.

The themed year also includes conferences, seminars, workshops, publications and film screenings, financed by participating organisations.

Member states’ participation is essential, as one of the year’s goals is to encourage governments to establish policies and laws that will boost the formation and growth of cooperatives. Some member states have set up national committees that coordinate events at a local level and also bring together parties involved at other levels, including cooperatives, media, development agencies and NGOs.

IPS Correspondent José Domingo Guariglia interviewed Felice Llamas, focal point on cooperatives for the U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs, about the role of cooperatives in socioeconomic development.

Excerpts from the interview follow.

Q: Why is it important to have an International Year of Cooperatives? A: The U.N. designates international years to draw attention to major issues and to encourage action on matters or concerns that have global importance.

In this case, the IYC will highlight the contributions of cooperatives to socioeconomic development. In declaring the IYC, the U.N. seeks to help raise awareness of these contributions. The IYC also seeks to promote the growth of cooperatives as an important business model that can be leveraged for development.

Q: What are the characteristics or principles that define a cooperative? A: Cooperatives are member-owned economic enterprises and self-help organisations which play an important role in improving the socioeconomic conditions of their members and their local communities.

Self-help, social responsibility and equality, democratic and participatory approach and concern for community – these are some of the values and principles that underlie cooperatives. Through their adherence to principles aligned with the common good, they contribute to social integration and cohesion and the well being of society at large.

Q: The theme for the International Year of Cooperatives is “Cooperative enterprises build a better world”. How can cooperatives create a better world? A: Cooperatives create, improve and protect the income and employment of their members and contribute to poverty reduction. Cooperatives support and promote small and medium enterprises in many sectors.

As people-centred businesses, cooperatives help promote social cohesion and inclusion. With their participatory and democratically based approach, cooperatives help empower women, youth, people with disabilities, older persons and indigenous peoples, thus promoting an inclusive society. These are all factors that help create a better world.

Finally, the world today faces unstable financial systems and increased food insecurity, growing inequality and rapid climate change and environment degradation. Cooperatives offer a compelling model of economic enterprise that is relevant for today’s challenges.

Q: Cooperatives usually work at a very restricted and local level. Do you think cooperatives have a role in the achievement of the U.N. ‘s Millennium Development Goals? A: Cooperatives have a role in helping the global community achieve the Millennium Development Goals. We know cooperatives that help in poverty reduction and in employment generation. Cooperatives employ more than 100 million people worldwide. The largest 300 cooperatives in the world alone have an aggregate turnover of 1.1 trillion dollars.

In many parts of the world, worker cooperatives, dairy and agricultural cooperatives improve the livelihoods of members. Agricultural cooperatives play an important role in the production and distribution of food supply, which helps food security.

In addition, cooperatives strengthen local and regional economies. Because cooperatives are owned by members, a significant portion of their income stays local, supporting other local businesses and generating tax revenues for the community.

It is also noteworthy that many cooperatives allocate a certain portion of their revenues to community projects like schools and health facilities. While the MDGs are global objectives, cooperatives operating locally are strongly contributing to meet those objectives.

Q: Has the U.N. given proper support to cooperatives worldwide? A: The U.N. has been promoting cooperatives for many years and recognises the contributions of cooperatives to the U.N. development agenda. At the Social Summit in Copenhagen in 1995, the role of cooperatives in a people-centred approach to socio-economic development was underscored.

The U.N. Guidelines of 2001 and the International Labour Organisation Recommendation No. 193 of 2002 on the promotion of cooperatives have served to guide cooperative formation. These mechanisms encourage governments to provide an enabling environment and level playing field for cooperatives to compete alongside other types of businesses.

In 2012, the U.N.’s IYC will give visibility to cooperatives and highlight their contributions to society. The U.N. seeks to generate more support for facilitating and improving the international and regional collaboration of cooperatives.

Furthermore, we hope the IYC will promote an effective dialogue among governments, the cooperative movement, academia and other stakeholders that will identify strategies and priorities towards a plan of action beyond 2012.

Excerpt:

By José Domingo Guariglia
UNITED NATIONS, Oct 13 2011 (IPS)

In May 2011, Brazilian journalist Natália Garcia decided to spend one year travelling to different cities around the world to better understand how to make urban landscapes more liveable for inhabitants.

Natália Garcia, Brazilian journalist and founder of Cidades para Pessoas Credit: Courtesy of Natália Garcia

She called her project Cidades para Pessoas (Cities for the People), and the 12 cities in her itinerary were chosen by Danish architect Jan Gehl, responsible for the new urban structure of Copenhagen, also known as “the city of the bicycles”.

Garcia has already visited Copenhagen, Amsterdam, London, Paris and Lyon, and through May 2012 she will be travelling to Barcelona, Sydney, Melbourne, San Francisco, New York, Portland and Mexico City.

According to the World Bank, 51 percent of the world’s population lived in cities in 2010. In some regions, this percentage was above 70 percent, such as in Latin America and the Caribbean (79 percent) and Europe (74 percent). But along with growing urbanisation come problems like increased traffic and crime.

In an interview with IPS from Lyon, France, Garcia explained that the solution to improve quality of life in the cities consists of “putting people at the centre of public administration”.

Funding the project was itself a collaborative initiative, consisting of a website, a blog and a Youtube channel. Garcia worked with the site Catarse, a “crowdfunding” initiative where people can present projects and call on others who may want to finance them.

IPS correspondent José Domingo Guariglia interviewed Garcia on her views regarding urbanism and how to develop Latin American cities in the context of crime, violence and lack of planning.

Excerpts from the interview follow.

Q: Why did you create the project Cidades para Pessoas? A: My interest in urban planning started with my personal life. I am from Sao Paulo, and when I was 18 years old I started to drive around the city. At 24, tired of spending four hours a day in the car, I bought a bike to get around the city. My relationship with Sao Paulo changed completely.

In 2008, I started doing some informal research about city issues, like urban planning and mobility. I started writing about those things, I participated in some journalistic projects that made me learn a lot, and I knew about the work of the Danish planner Jan Gehl. He was one of the first in the world to create the concept of “cities for the people”.

I got in contact with him when I decided that I wanted to travel all over the world for one year, visiting 12 cities and living for one month in each of them, searching for ideas that have improved those cities for their people. The travel started on May 5, in Copenhagen, and I have already gone through Amsterdam, London, Paris, Strasburg, Freiburg and Lyon.

Q: Do you think the quality of life in Latin American cities can be improved even with their high rates of violence and criminality? A: I am sure, but Latin American cities have some peculiar characteristics. They developed, to a great extent, after World War II, when cars were produced on a large scale through the world and were considered a status symbol.

We have cities made for cars, public transport services of poor quality, and disorganised growth, all of which lead to very poor neighbourhoods with people living without basic infrastructure.

I think violence and crime are a consequence of bad planning. Violence and crime happen when there are not equal opportunities for everyone.

In my opinion, the first step to alter this situation is putting the people at the centre of public administration. The main goal of the government is to make cities better places to live.

Bogota, in Colombia, is a proof that this change can be possible in a short period of time: in 15 years the city got a quality public transport system that reaches almost every neighbourhood, bike lines, revitalised squares, parks and open areas.

A city where people don’t interact and live together is a city of enemies.

Q: In the list of cities there is only one from Latin America: Mexico City. Why? A: In European cities I tried to understand the classic concepts of urban planning. European concepts can be important tools for Latin American cities. On the other hand, the informality and the focus on cars make the problems of Latin American cities more complex.

But some of the solutions studied in Europe are perfectly applicable, like urban agriculture as a tool to regulate the growth of the cities with “green belts”, decentralisation to improve the work of local authorities, democratic participation in political decisions and civic engagement movements in cities.

I think the concepts learned in the project can be applied in Brazilian and Latin American cities if they are adapted to our reality.

Q: Some of the problems in big Brazilian cities are traffic and pollution. Do you think it is possible to promote the use of bicycles like in Copenhagen? A: I think it is perfectly possible, but we have to realise that Brazilian cities have a different scale. Sao Paulo, for example, has more inhabitants than Denmark. So the key to promoting the use of bicycles in Sao Paulo relies on integrating bicycles with public transportation. We need bicycle parking near train stations, metro stations and buses.

Q: Cidades para Pessoas is also a blog and a Youtube channel where you reveal what you have done in these cities. What are you going to do with all this material once you complete the year of travel? A: I have many plans. Presenting this to the Brazilian authorities is one of them. Putting together reports about how these ideas could be applied in Sao Paulo is another one. There are also some civic engagement strategies that I would like to promote among citizens.

Q: You have visited so far Copenhagen, Amsterdam, London and Paris. Which one has surprised you the most and why? A: I think Copenhagen, because they clean their canals so that people can swim in them. This particular approach with the water is so far from the reality of Brazilian cities.

Excerpt:

By José Domingo Guariglia
UNITED NATIONS, Sep 19 2011 (IPS)

Before 1999, she was best known as the richest woman in China. Her business empire included a trading firm, real estate investments and a department store, putting her among the top 10 wealthiest individuals in the Asian nation.

Rebiya Kadeer Credit: Courtesy of the Uyghur American Association

Today, Rebiya Kadeer is a political exile in Washington who works full-time defending the cause of the Uyghur people, one of the 55 national minorities in China.

The dramatic change in her life came in 1999 when she was imprisoned by the government and sentenced to eight years in jail for allegedly revealing “state secrets” to the United States. She was released in 2005 after a campaign organised by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, and following the intervention of the George W. Bush administration in the U.S.

Since then, she has been working with the Uyghur American Association.

“I realised that I had to challenge the Chinese government’s treatment of Uyghur people after the massacre of Uyghurs in February 1997. At that time, I realised that Chinese leaders were not interested in improving the lives and in respecting the human rights of the Uyghur people,” she told IPS.

Nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2006, Kadeer has been accused several times by the Chinese government of instigating riots organised by opposition groups, and in particular the Uyghurs, Muslims located in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region, one of the most important because of its rich natural resources.

Uyghurs have expressed concern about the immigration of Han Chinese people in their territory and efforts to destroy their language and their whole culture.

To publicise the situation of the Uyghur people, Kadeer will participate at the Global Summit Against Discrimination and Persecution Sep. 21-22 next to U.N. headquarters in New York.

The conference will produce draft resolutions on genocide, torture, discrimination, and the systematic violation of civil, religious and political freedoms.

IPS correspondent José Domingo Guariglia interviewed Kadeer to talk about her expectations for the summit, the situation in China, and how the United Nations can intervene to guarantee the respect of human rights.

Excerpts from the interview follow.

Q: Why did you decide to participate in the Global Summit Against Discrimination and Persecution? A: The reason is because the Uyghur people, including me, suffered persecution and discrimination under the six-decade rule of the Chinese Communist Party. I am highly sympathetic to all oppressed peoples around the world who have been persecuted and discriminated by authoritarian countries like China. I want to stand with them and support their peaceful struggles for freedom and human rights.

Not only the governments but also the long-suffering peoples will pay attention to this very important summit. I am sure the authoritarian countries will pay even more attention.

Q: The event is being organised by a coalition of NGOs and you were released from prison in 2005 because of the active campaign for your liberation put up by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. What’s the role of non-governmental organisations in the defence of human rights? A: NGOs play an extremely important role in shaping human rights debates and policies of many Western governments and in pressuring authoritarian states to respect the fundamental human rights of oppressed peoples. My release is an example of the excellent work of human rights organisations. I cannot but thank all the human rights organisations for pressuring China to release me and other political prisoners.

Q: Do you think reform of the U.N. Security Council and the elimination of the veto power could boost the protection of human rights in countries like China, Pakistan, Syria or Libya? A: Yes. A reform at the U.N. Security Council is needed because it has become a weak international body in the protection of human rights in countries like China.

Q: One of the petitions of the organisers of the summit is to ban nations like China, Iran and Saudi Arabia from U.N. bodies that regulate basic freedoms. Do you think it will be possible? A: I believe all dictatorial and repressive states should be banned from all bodies which regulate basic freedoms at the U.N. Their presence at such bodies is incompatible to the way they rule their own countries. The U.N. will only lose its credibility by allowing such authoritarian regimes to be on the boards of such bodies.

Q: The panel sessions will also include the topic of the “Arab Spring” and the events that took place in Tunisia and Egypt. Are the conditions favourable in China for something similar to occur? A: I believe the conditions are soon going to be favourable in China in light of the heavy-handed repression of the Chinese authorities against Chinese democrats, Uyghurs and Tibetans and all those who are not happy with China’s communist rule. Things are bound to change in China whether the Chinese Communist Party is willing to do it or not. It is just a matter of time.

The Chinese Communist Party cannot stop the legitimate demands of the Uyghur, Tibetan and the Chinese people for freedom, human rights and democracy.

Q: Why does the Chinese government refer to Uyghur people as terrorists? A: Because Uyghurs believe in Islam. It is a convenient cover for the Chinese authorities to deceive the international community on the nature of Uyghur’s struggle and justify its brutal repression against the peaceful Uyghur people.

The Chinese government has to stop its brutal treatment of Uyghurs, Tibetans and Chinese and allow them to live with human dignity and without fear.

I’d like to ask the Chinese government to initiate a genuine dialogue to peacefully resolve the political status of East Turkestan (Xinjiang). But I am not sure if the current Chinese leadership has the political will to initiate such dialogue. Their heavy-handed approach to resolve the Uyghur problem has failed.

Labelling Uyghur dissent as terrorism and launching attacks on peaceful Uyghurs will never create the conditions for peace and stability or the harmonious society championed by Chinese President Hu Jintao.

Excerpt:

By José Domingo Guariglia
UNITED NATIONS, Sep 10 2011 (IPS)

“The anger that rushes through me goes well beyond the hellish night I’ve just lived through. In a flash, I feel a terrible bond not only with the victims of September 11th but also with the kids brainwashed to become instruments of death in the name of an invented Islam,” Mariane Pearl wrote in her 2003 book “A Mighty Heart”.

Mariane Pearl Credit: Courtesy of Mariane Pearl

The previous year, Pearl was five months pregnant when her husband, Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, was kidnapped and brutally killed in Karachi, Pakistan, for allegedly being a CIA spy.

Later, the French journalist would write that the Islamic fundamentalist group that committed the murder chose her husband just for being Jewish and a U.S. national, in an emblematic case of terrorism and discrimination based on race and religion.

In an interview with IPS nine years after the incident, Pearl discussed her participation at the upcoming Global Summit Against Discrimination and Persecution, a civil society initiative to take the lead in defending human rights, rather than waiting for action from governments and international bodies.

“Many of us are wary of politicians and organised bodies. It is much more difficult to be cynical about individuals who, with their own lives, have elevated our humanism,” Pearl told IPS.

The Sep. 21-22 Global Summit is taking place in New York at the same time as the 66th Session of the U.N. General Assembly and the tenth anniversary of the Durban Conference on Racism, Discrimination and Xenophobia.

The summit is expected to produce draft resolutions for governments to adopt on genocide, torture, discrimination and basic freedoms.

Pearl plans to focus on women’s rights and empowerment. In her second book, released in 2007, “In Search of Hope”, she presented the stories of extraordinary women from all over the world.

IPS Correspondent José Domingo Guariglia interviewed Pearl about her expectations for the summit, how civil society can fight human rights violations, the legacy of Daniel Pearl, and the Sep. 11 terrorist attacks.

Excerpts from the interview follow.

Q: Why did you decide to participate in the Global Summit Against Discrimination and Persecution? A: Global efforts and commitments to address issues undermining us all as human beings are worth the effort. I think that we are heading to a world where international cooperation, dialogue and understanding are vital for our very survival.

Q: The summit will be held parallel to the 66th session of the U.N. General Assembly. Do you think the governments will pay enough attention to it? A: No, the appropriate attention would mean that the summit is held within the U.N. addressing the General Assembly. It is difficult for politicians to pay enough attention to those issues as they struggle to appropriately value other vital problems such as education. On the other hand, a world leader that does not truly understand the importance of defending human rights might not deserve people’s trust.

Q: At the panel, you will be joined by Yang Jianli, John Dau and Rebiya Kadeer, among others. What do you think all of you have in common? A: I wouldn’t be able to tell you what we have in common as when I read about what all of them have done, I felt incredibly humbled. To me these individuals are like lighthouses.

Our societies often feel like lost ships swayed by countless currents and lured by many illusions, such as greed. These people all have been through a lot of sufferings and through those sufferings they have learned.

We should capitalise on their knowledge and aspire to understand what they know, so we can defeat the root causes of discrimination and wars.

Q: The event is being organised by a coalition of NGOs. What’s the role of non-governmental organisations, civil society and the U.N. in the defence of human rights? A: In general, I believe that civil society will become more and more important in defending human rights. Many of us are wary of politicians and organised bodies. It is much more difficult to be cynical about individuals who, with their own lives, have elevated our humanism.

Personally, I find the NGO landscape quite confusing. Some do remarkable work, some don’t, but it is important that they retain people’s trust.

To me the U.N. is an utterly imperfect body but it is the world’s answer to war and genocide. It is our instrument for global dialogue and that dialogue needs to exist. Part of that dialogue, probably the most important part, is about listening. We have to find a way to communicate.

Q: You focused on the stories of courageous women in your last book “In Search of Hope”. Why did you choose to explore gender issues? A: I approached women stories as a journalist and I was blown away by what I saw everywhere in the world regardless of context, race or religion. Most of the valuable transformations requiring a tremendous amount of resilience, courage and compassion are undertaken and carried through by women.

I just think that women are an incredible asset for peace and development if they are given a chance.

Q: How do you think the international community can address the hate that has spread in countries like Pakistan and has taken the lives of many, including your husband? A: I think that if we care to look closely, we can find many individuals whose lives and messages defy even the most ruthless or hateful propaganda. It takes so much more strength and courage to resist violence than to give in to those instincts.

There are many people who are ready to sacrifice their lives to the hatred they feel so we can only hope that there will be many more who are willing to give it all to spread hope like others spread fear.

I think Danny (Daniel Pearl) has accomplished a lot for someone who had a rather short life. He has inspired countless individuals worldwide. His example shows that you are as good as the values that guide your life.

Q: Ten years have passed since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. What has changed? A: So much has changed. The Arab world is undergoing its own revolution which, as painful as it is, can also be the best we can hope for. The dialogue between civilisations will always be a struggle.

Excerpt:

By José Domingo Guariglia
UNITED NATIONS, Sep 1 2011 (IPS)

The year 1994 was marked by blood. Between April and June, more than 800,000 Rwandans were killed in 100 days, in a terrible genocide that followed the assassination of Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana and the explosion of racial tensions between the country’s two major ethnic groups, the Hutus and the Tutsis.

Odette Kayirere Credit: Courtesy of Slice Communications/AVEGA Agahozo

Odette Kayirere was one of the thousands of women who lost their husbands during the genocide. She helped to create AVEGA Agahozo, a non-profit organisation launched in 1995 with 50 members to help Rwandan genocide survivors to rebuild their lives. “AVEGA” is an acronym for the French name “Association des Veuves du Genocide” (Genocide Widows Association) while “Agahozo” means “consolation”.

Today, AVEGA Agahozo has reached more than 20,000 people and 71,000 dependents and orphans with five different centres across Rwanda. But even as they have tried to help survivors by promoting welfare, education and medical services, for Kayirere, now executive secretary of the organisation, there is still a long road ahead in the quest for justice and reparations.

“African countries should come together and conjugate more efforts to see how they can address this issue. Many criminals are still wandering (free) in many countries and some countries seem to be unconcerned. They ignore that these people constitute a threat for Africans and the entire world in general,” Kayirere told IPS from Kigali, Rwanda.

In June, 16 years after its creation, AVEGA Agahozo won the prestigious 500,000-dollar Gruber Prize for Women’s Rights 2011. According to the foundation’s president, Patricia Gruber, they have “improved life for all of Rwanda and set an example for the rest of the world”. The award ceremony will take place in New York on Sep. 26.

Excerpts from the interview follow.

Q: What does it mean for AVEGA Agahozo to have won the Gruber Prize for Women’s Rights? A: Words failed to express what we felt after winning this prize. We are very proud and it was unexpected. We did not compete or do any application to win. According to external eyes, AVEGA’s work has been effective and constructive. In addition, it is very interesting to see genocide victims taking the initiative to help their fellow genocide survivors.

There is no shadow of doubt: our service in favour of widows and their orphans in Rwanda is not in vain. This money will be invested in income-generating activities for our members to fight poverty.

We are still struggling to help widows regain hope for life and ameliorate their living conditions and knowledge through education, sensitisation and provision of social, economic and health support. Moreover, trauma remains a persistent problem.

Q: How has the organisation changed Rwandan widows’ and children’s lives? A: AVEGA has put in place different departments. Those are advocacy, justice and information, which is in charge of providing legal assistance to beneficiaries who are in need.

The psycho-medical department provides help to beneficiaries who have physical and psychological disabilities. Three health centres were built and are open to our beneficiaries and the public. Many of them have trauma-related problems.

Others are the capacity-building department and the social-economic department, which help our beneficiaries to do income-generating activities. We have made many changes in the lives of widows and orphans.

Q: In Rwanda, women were systematically raped by HIV- infected men and this led to a whole generation of HIV-positive widows. How are you treating these cases? A: It is the widows and orphans who witnessed the atrocities and, in many cases, suffered extreme violence themselves. Sexual violence was often used to humiliate and degrade women during the 100 days of the violent scourge, with estimates of the number of women raped ranging between 250,000 and 500,000. Traumatised and shamed, many of these women are seeking help now only because they are ill.

For these women, AVEGA is a refuge, providing medical services, psychological counselling, education and training, housing and legal services.

AVEGA offers medical help to those suffering from AIDS and has coordinated voluntary testing for HIV for more than 10,000 of its members. It also delivers antiretroviral treatment and wrap-around care and treatment, including nutrition support, to more than 1,500 HIV positive women.

Q: Are you satisfied with the African actions to arrest and extradite Rwandan genocide fugitives? A: Taking into account that genocide is an international crime, African countries should come together and conjugate more efforts to see how they can address this issue. Many criminals are still wandering in many countries and some countries seem to be unconcerned. They ignore that these people constitute a threat for Africans and the entire world in general. Therefore they should take initiative together to actively participate in arresting genocide fugitives and judge them.

Q: Do you think the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) has been effective? A: In the beginning, the ICTR was very slow. Few trials were judged but in the last few years, there was an improvement. They also participated in identifying those who committed genocide.

We appreciated the decision of judging genocide crimes within the country because the money spent on the expenditures pertaining to trial procedures is too much; instead it would be spent to assist genocide survivors who are still undergoing genocide consequences.

Q: Do you think the new special body set up by the U.N. Security Council for the Rwandan genocide that will start on Jul. 1, 2012 could help to speed up the investigation? A: This is a good idea as this new organ will have a specific task to achieve within a specific period of time. This organ will be composed by judges assigned to accomplish their responsibilities. Our wish is that those who committed genocide crimes would be preferably judged in Rwanda than elsewhere.

Excerpt:

By José Domingo Guariglia
NEW YORK, Aug 30 2011 (IPS)

The fight against corruption has taken centre stage in the government of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, and has led to the resignation or dismissal of several ministers over just a few months.

There are enough digital tools for citizens to participate in political decision-making, says Raquel Diniz. Credit: Bernardo Gutiérrez/Courtesy Raquel Diniz

Civil society groups in Brazil are using digital media to protest against corruption, which is so deeply rooted in politics and economics that it is costing this South American country 43 billion dollars a year, according to the latest report by the Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo (FIESP), published in May 2010.

Over a few short days, a post on the Facebook social networking site convening a rally in Rio de Janeiro Sept. 20, under the slogan “Todos unidos contra a corrupção” (Everyone United against Corruption) has attracted positive responses from 13,130 people.

But merely protesting is not enough. Citizens also have a role to play in watching over public resources and denouncing cases of misappropriation of funds, said Raquel Diniz, a journalist, filmmaker, and creator of the Mapa Colaborativo da Corrupção do Brasil, an online collaborative map of corruption in Brazil, in this interview with IPS.

“My idea was for people to take some sort of action, that would lead them to realise the seriousness of the problem, and to fight for a country free of corruption,” she said in response to questions by email.

Her corruption map, which has been on-line since May, was inspired by maps designed in Spain by the NOLESVOTES (Don’t Vote For Them) movement, the map of People’s Party (PP) corruption, and the map used by the “Indignant” movement to plan protest camps at the Puerta del Sol in Madrid and in other Spanish cities, which led to the formation of the May 15 (15M) Movement.

Supporters of Diniz’s map site are determined to use it to deliver a message of rebuke to the ruling elite.

“Politicians haven’t really caught on to the idea; they are too far away, isolated in their shiny office blocks,” Diniz said. “Sooner or later they will have to understand that everything has changed. Those who govern must hand over some of their power so that society can be truly democratic.”

Map users can pinpoint the geographic location of cases of corruption that have been documented in the press, building up a collective memory that, in theory, will help citizens to access more information about politicians before voting for them in future elections.

Q: Why is it important to have a map of corruption in Brazil? A: It’s an opportunity for people to be informed about corruption cases, to participate in producing the map, in order to stimulate interest in the issue. It’s very important that people should get angry when they see the map. I think when people are mad, they begin to want to change things and to fight back against corruption.

Corruption in Brazil is extremely serious, but people are so accustomed to corruption scandals that they seldom take action to change the practice, which is so common among politicians, the police, and therefore society as a whole.

Q: There are similar tools in the region to report and map crime and violence. Where did you get the idea from? A: I went to live in Spain just as the 2008 economic crisis broke out. I saw the rise of many movements against the government, and the immense growth of communication via social networks. Then I found out about the NOLESVOTES Movement’s corruption map, and the map on corruption perpetrated by the PP, the most conservative party in Spain, posted by Leo Bassi (a well-known Spanish leftwing journalist) on his PPLeaks web page.

I came back to Brazil and kept in touch with the growth of the 15M Movement. When I came across a Google map people could use to set up a virtual encampment at the Puerta del Sol (in Madrid), I realised that the Arab world and Europe were living through a time of profound social transformation, whereas here in Brazil it was the reverse. The vast majority of Brazilians are happy with the country’s macroeconomic growth and turn their backs on social problems.

The same morning, an environmentalist couple who lived in the (northern) Amazon region were murdered, and that afternoon the lower chamber of Congress approved an amendment to the Forest Code, legalising the use of illegally deforested land which formerly had been protected reserves.

I was extremely angry that day. I felt I had to do something, and I created the map.

Q: What are the main results? A: The main result was coverage in the principal Brazilian newspapers, and people hearing about the map and helping to construct it. My idea was to prompt people to take some sort of action that would lead them to understand the seriousness of the problem and to fight for a country free from corruption.

As it is an open access site, I always recommend that every post should carry references to articles published in the press, so that the posted data have credibility.

Brazil has a great record of investigating corruption cases, but corrupt people hardly ever go to prison. Any who are convicted just pay a fine and are released, and then they stand as candidates in the next elections. Many of them are voted into office again and exercise power!

Q: In your view, is the internet an effective tool for citizens and government to communicate with each other? A: It could be very effective, because it’s a channel for mutual interaction and the sharing of information. There are enough digital tools in the web 2.0 world, many of them with open access, for citizens to be able to participate in political decision-making.

It would be very easy to institute participative democracy systems for making political decisions, but we are all only just getting to know this new way of interacting.

Politicians haven’t really caught on to the idea; they are too far away, isolated in their shiny office blocks. Sooner or later they will have to understand that everything has changed. Those who govern must hand over some of their power so that society can be truly democratic.

Q: Several studies have reported that Latin America is a leader in the use of social networks like Facebook or Twitter. Why do you think this is so? A: People in Latin America are more sociable than those on other continents; they like to get to know people. Also, society here is very hierarchical, so there are few mechanisms for the social base to participate in building and running the country. The mass media are controlled by the elite, and are dependent on political advertising. The social networks, in a way, are a substitute for traditional mass media.

Excerpt:

By José Domingo Guariglia
UNITED NATIONS, Aug 26 2011 (IPS)

As the United Nations readies for a major international conference on sustainable development next June in Brazil, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are preparing to play a key role in the run-up to the summit meeting and are preparing a plan of action to be adopted by world leaders.

Michael Renner. Credit: Courtesy of Michael Renner

The Rio+20 conference will take place 20 years after the historic Earth Summit in Brazil in June 1992.

Asked about the importance of NGO contributions, Michael G. Renner, senior researcher at the Worldwatch Institute told IPS, “I think the answer is still outstanding. It will depend on how successful NGOs are in ensuring that the conference has adequate visibility in the public eye.”

He said NGOs need to make sure that the conference is not seen as disconnected from people’s daily concerns.

A series of NGO meetings are scheduled to take place in the coming months, including one sponsored by the U.N.’s Department of Public Information in Bonn, Germany, Sep. 3-5.

In an interview with IPS, Renner said that mainstream media often either ignore U.N. conferences or portray them as only of interest to U.N. “bureaucrats” and policy wonks.

So, NGOs need to be an effective bridge: translate specialist lingo into language that is meaningful to people in communities around the world, and at the same time carry grassroots concerns into the conference.

They also need to ensure that the conference is not an isolated event. The time before and after the conference is as important as the conference itself.

Excerpts from the interview follow:

Q: Why is it important to have another Conference on Sustainable Development? A: The Rio 2012 conference presents an opportunity to take stock of both the progress that has been made and the goals that remain unmet. It offers a unique political opening to review and refresh commitments and promote new modes of international cooperation to address some of the most pressing issues of the century.

By and large, the environmental trends since 1992 have not been encouraging, and so we need fresh commitments, and a reassessment of which policies work and which don’t.

Clearly, this is not just a “technical” assessment, but in large part a deeply political exercise. Since the first Rio conference, we have heard much rhetoric about relying on market tools and mechanisms. But if governments don’t provide an overall framework, then they are simply abdicating their responsibilities. And if the public cannot hold governments and corporations accountable, then commitments may never properly be translated into action.

The conference is simply a means to an end, training the spotlight on where we have succeeded and where we have failed. I don’t so much look to the speeches that will be given or official communiqués that will be released. What’s more important is to create a renewed sense of forward momentum, to forge new partnerships and alliances, and to empower those who all too often are relegated to sidelines.

Q: What do you think are the new and emerging challenges the world is facing regarding the environment? A: I think less in terms of new challenges than about the need to think in more interdisciplinary ways. We are by now quite aware of the various strands of the environmental challenge, such as climate change, declining biodiversity, growing water scarcity, and so on. We need to get better at understanding how these strands are interwoven and that we may be in for growing surprises. Environmental change is not linear, but full of unexpected discontinuities and feedback loops.

An important aspect of the Rio 2012 conference is environmental governance. Mention this, and many people will think it means creating an arcane bureaucratic structure. But what is really required is that we challenge our compartmentalised world.

We can’t properly address environmental challenges if we assume that it’s a job for the environment ministries of the world alone. The causes and the impacts are multi-faceted, and policies at other ministries – economics, finance, science and technology, labour, foreign affairs, to name just a few – must evolve accordingly.

We have to figure out ways to overcome the walls that separate the different turfs, not to mention the borders that separate us into competing nation states. Clearly, a single conference is not going to accomplish this, but the discussions in Rio can help connect the dots.

Q: The U.N. Conference on Sustainable Development will take place in June 2012, 20 years after the original Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. This time the focus will be put on building a green economy and sustainable development governance. What are the main advances in these areas since 1992? A: An important advance is that concepts like ‘Green Economy’ or ‘Green Jobs’ have entered the lexicon as accepted terms. For too many years, the discussion focused on whether the pursuit of environmental goals would be detrimental to the economy and to employment. But it has become clear that environmental protection and economic wellbeing do not have to be mutually exclusive goals.

In fact, economic wellbeing will increasingly depend on pursuing technologies that reduce humanity’s overall footprint, and a transition of economic and social structures toward greater sustainability.

That’s not to say the discussion is over, far from it. In some countries, such as the United States, the public discourse has suffered reversals. There is also the question of what is meant by green economy. As with other terms, such as sustainable development, there is a certain danger that it will come to mean highly different things to different people.

‘Green growth’ is now often seen as the goal, sidestepping the question whether continued expansion of the physical economy can go on unchecked, or whether there is a need to more fundamentally rethink how the economy functions. Greater efficiency in the use of energy and materials are important, but these gains might be cancelled out through higher levels of consumption.

Q: What comes after the Rio+20 Conference? What’s next? A: As always, there is the challenge of making good on the speeches and declarations – to ensure that a conference like this is not just a one-time event with no meaningful follow-up. So, the work must continue. And in some ways, what happens in the corridors between conference sessions – making new connections, building new alliances – may well be even more important than what happens during the sessions. I regard the conference as an opportunity to create momentum, but the momentum then needs to be sustained.

Excerpt:

“I was walking down the street, talking on my cell phone, when a guy on a motorbike came by and grabbed the phone out of my hand. I ran after him but I couldn’t catch him. He had probably been following me.”

Crime map of Brazil. Red dots indicate most dangerous places. Credit: WikiCrimes

This message, from a person who had his cell phone stolen in the southern Brazilian city of São Paulo, was posted on WikiCrimes, a web site where citizens who have lost confidence in the effectiveness of police action can report crimes directly.

WikiCrimes in Brazil, and similar initiatives in Venezuela, Panama, Mexico, Argentina and Chile, provide interactive maps that people can use to anonymously report crimes, describe what happened and pinpoint the location. In this way, crime mapping identifies danger zones – crime hotspots – within a region with generally high crime rates, to enhance people’s awareness, preparedness and safety.

According to a report on Citizen Security and Human Rights, by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, in early 2010 Latin America was the region with the highest average murder rate in the world, 25.6 per 100,000 population. Young people aged 15-29 were the most frequent victims, with a murder rate of 68.9 per 100,000 people in this age group.

The crime maps seek to supplement the paucity of official crime reports at police stations, and to guide implementation of policies to fight crime, Vasco Furtado, a systems engineer who created WikiCrimes, told IPS.

“It’s very common nowadays to hear about someone who has been mugged, but who is not going to report it to the police because they are convinced nothing would be done. Surveys of victims of crime in Brazilian cities show that under-reporting in the most densely populated areas may be as high as 60 percent for some offences,” he said.

WikiCrimes receives crime reports from around the world, although most originate in Brazil.

In Venezuela, crime data maps can be accessed at the VicTEAMS and QuieroPaz sites.

VicTEAMS was created in 2009 in reaction to the thousands of hold-ups, kidnappings and murders committed in Venezuela, and especially in the capital, Caracas, considered the second most dangerous city in Latin America after Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, according to a study by the Mexican Citizens’ Council for Public Security and Criminal Justice (CCSP-JP).

An online Crime Map of Mexico City was created by the newspaper El Universal, and a Buenos Aires province “map of insecurity” was funded by Argentine businessman and centre-right lawmaker Francisco de Narváez.

Crime map sites have also been set up in Chile and Panama. The Chilean crime map distinguishes between official crime reports and online reports from citizens, and Mi Panamá Transparente (My Transparent Panama), created by a group of journalists and non-governmental organisations, widens the focus to include swindles and corruption.

The crime problem in Venezuela is exacerbated by the lack of official statistics, said Ángel Méndez, a consultant at Tendencias Digitales, a firm that carries out market research in the field of information technology.

“Venezuela is one of the most violent countries in Latin America, and unfortunately there are no official statistics to monitor the violence. Body counts from the morgues are published in the media every Monday, but there is no crime database available,” Méndez told IPS.

Citizens as agents of change

According to VicTEAMS, online maps are a useful tool towards reaching the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a series of targets adopted in 2000 by the international community to drastically reduce poverty, hunger, inequality, illness, mortality and environmental degradation across the globe by 2015.

The team responsible for crafting the web site attended an international workshop on “Engaging Citizens in Development Management and Public Governance for the Achievement of the MDGs”, organised by the U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs and the government of the Spanish region of Catalonia in the regional capital, Barcelona, in June 2010.

The meeting produced the Barcelona Declaration on “The Critical Role of Public Service in Achieving the Millennium Development Goals“, stating that “citizens’ engagement has to be considered to accelerate the progress towards reaching the MDGs,” and governments should work alongside citizens to address social problems proactively.

Wider access to the internet in Latin American countries has been crucial to the rise of online tools like crime maps. Governments and NGOs in the region are promoting free or low-cost access to information and communication technologies for low-income sectors of the population.

A Brazilian government programme called Computers for Inclusion, and the Infocentres that provide access and computer literacy courses in Venezuela, are typical of such initiatives.

Crime maps and the problem of data accuracy

The interactive capability of crime maps and other online tools can hinder their effectiveness, due to incomplete or inaccurate crime reporting.

“At WikiCrimes we are concerned about false reporting. It is up to users to provide the system with information that boosts its credibility. Links can be added to videos, newspapers, photos or any other document that supports the informant’s credibility,” Furtado said.

On interactive crime maps, the incidents reported depend on the goodwill of citizens, but cooperation with government agencies can be decisive.

“The authorities do not view WikiCrimes as their ally, because it challenges the status quo. They are afraid of being pressured by society,” said Furtado.

Academics like Iria Puyosa, an expert on social networking and social capital, say “the problem of violent crime in Latin America will not be solved by online maps,” which are useful to a limited extent, for fighting invisibility and the absence of information, she told IPS.

The impact of social networks

The connections between the worldwide web and other innovative technology, like cell phones, favour online crime reporting. According to information from Tendencias Digitales, 27 percent of internet access is dialled up by mobile phone in countries like Venezuela, and a large proportion of citizens use smart phones to report crimes or traffic conditions, via Twitter.

In fact, Latin America is the world’s second region for users of social networks like Facebook and Twitter as a proportion of the population, after North America, according to SocialTimes, an information source on social media.

The July 2011 Web 2.0 Ranking produced by Tendencias Digitales named Chile, Brazil and Venezuela as the top three Latin American countries for social media use.

“We are more inclined to sharing and paying attention to what people are saying. For instance, Facebook penetration, measured as a percentage of the population, is 26 percent in Latin America compared to 20 percent worldwide. Performing the same calculation for Twitter, we find its penetration in Venezuela is eight percent, compared to three percent for Latin America and the rest of the world,” said Méndez, quoting figures from the study.

Twitter accounts like @SINviolenciaMX (violence-free Mexico) foster the development of a user network where people can both post and receive information about crime zones or traffic jams.

However, Puyosa stressed that messages from smart phones or social networks cannot be regarded as “real” crime reports.

“Effective denunciation of a crime, with the aim of evoking a law enforcement response, must be made formally to the police. Victims may vent their feelings of frustration via Twitter or Facebook, but these are not effective channels for reporting crime,” she said.

* Follow José Domingo on Twitter @jdguariglia.

By José Domingo Guariglia
UNITED NATIONS, Aug 8 2011 (IPS)

The historic 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro marked one of the world’s seminal international conferences on the environment, creating or reinforcing a slew of U.N. treaties and protocols on climate change, biodiversity, desertification and forests.

Daniel Mittler Credit: Martin Horak

Still, nearly 20 years later, as the United Nations prepares for a follow-up Rio Plus 20 conference in Brazil next June, the Earth Summit’s successes and failures are coming under increased scrutiny.

In an interview with IPS, the political director of Greenpeace International, Daniel Mittler, said that since the Rio summit, governments have clearly failed to make any advances on sustainable development governance.

“They have created powerful new laws to protect the interests of business, such as the World Trade Organisation (WTO), but they have failed to provide the poor and the environment with the kind of institutional support they need,” he said.

“The green economy is starting to happen. However, we know that the transition is not fast enough,” Mittler added.

The upcoming Rio Plus 20 conference in Brazil is expected to promote actions to guarantee that economic activities will not further harm the environment and a new institutional framework that will allow sustainability in a long term.

In the run-up to the conference, representatives of civil society will meet in Bonn Sep. 3-5 at a U.N. Conference for Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), that will discuss the topic “Sustainable Societies; Responsive Citizens”.

“NGOs need to hold governments and business to account, and they need to provide ideas for solutions, and also organise public support for delivering concrete steps forward for people and the environment,” Mittler said.

Greenpeace will participate in this NGO conference to make sure that “governments and businesses are ready to respond to the needs of the poor and the planet rather than dirty industries and their lobbyists,” Mittler said.

Excerpts from the interview follow.

Q: The Rio Conference was held in 1992. Ten years later there was another conference in Johannesburg. Why is it important to have a new conference on sustainable development? A: Conferences themselves are never important. Results are. Big conferences have often failed in recent years. Rio Plus 10 (Johannesburg), for example, adopted what we termed a “Plan of Inaction”. That said, global conferences are key hooks for global debates and opportunities to highlight current failures and current and future opportunities. Development since Rio has been everything but sustainable.

If returning to Rio is to make any sense, governments will have to get serious about implementing the many promises of Rio they have broken, business will have to seize the opportunity fair and clean development provides, and dirty lobbyists will have to be exposed for holding us back.

For Greenpeace, Rio Plus 20 will only be important if it delivers real advances for people and the planet.

Q: You have worked with Greenpeace International and Friends of the Earth. What has been the contribution of the NGOs to environmental meetings? A: NGOs need to hold governments and business to account, need to provide ideas for solutions, and need to organise public support for delivering concrete steps forward for people and the environment.

The discussions about Rio Plus 20 are in many ways only just the beginning. NGOs must engage with them with honesty and stand up against those trying to “greenwash” business as usual and call it “green economy”.

NGOs must also resist just doing the kind of campaigns they did 10 and 20 years ago, simply because we have done it before. We must analyse the current situation and choose targeted inputs in those areas that are most likely to see real change.

Q: What are Greenpeace International’s suggestions for the Rio Plus 20? A: We have many. Rio Plus 20 must support an energy revolution based on renewable energy and energy efficiency and providing access to energy for all.

Governments and businesses must commit to zero deforestation by 2020. Developed countries and corporations must end policies and funding that drive deforestation.

Rio Plus 20 must make the transition to a green economy fair and equitable and commit to a decent jobs agenda. It must strengthen the governance system that delivers an “environment for development” by upgrading the U.N. Environment Programme to specialised agency status.

Greenpeace calls for a new implementing agreement under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) for the conservation of marine biodiversity and sustainable management of human activities in areas beyond national jurisdiction.

Q: Will Greenpeace be at the conference “Sustainable Societies – Responsive Citizens” that will take place in Bonn? A: We will be participating and I am looking forward to speaking on one of the panels. Our action plan is what I have just outlined. These action points are the key test cases, whether Rio Plus 20 will move us towards sustainable societies – and whether governments and businesses are ready to respond to the needs of the poor and the planet rather than dirty industries and their lobbyists.

Q. What comes after the Rio Plus 20 Conference?

A: The next big test for the global community will be 2015, when governments will likely have missed many of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in many countries.

A global commitment to an economy based on renewables and efficiency, to zero deforestation and the adoption of a legal instrument to protect the high seas – all that could be next, if governments listen to the people rather than polluting corporations.

Clean industries must help us ensure governments stop standing in their way and get serious about the transition to a fair and clean global economy. What’s next also depends on all of us. I invite all to go to www.greenpeace.org to join us to hold governments and businesses to account – and to deliver real solutions with all who are willing to do so.

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By José Domingo Guariglia
UNITED NATIONS, Jul 25 2011 (IPS)

The work of the International Criminal Court (ICC), the world’s first and only permanent court that pursues war criminals, is likely to be hampered by a shortage of funds next year.

Christian Wenaweser Credit: UN Photo/Paulo Filgueiras

If the court does not get the necessary funding, due primarily to proposed “zero growth” in its budget, at least six active investigations in the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, Uganda, Kenya and Libya could be affected.

In an interview with IPS, the president of the Assembly of States Parties and permanent representative of Liechtenstein to the U.N., Christian Wenaweser, spoke about the troubles in the formulation of the budget for 2012.

“Part of the difficulty stems from the extremely high costs arising from the situations referred by the Security Council to the court,” he said.

Currently, the ICC’s member states bear the entire financial burden of its mandate, something that was not foreseen by the drafters of the Rome Statute, which created the ICC.

“The time has come for the United Nations to pay for the investigations it refers to the court,” he added.

According to the Coalition for the ICC and Amnesty International, the budget for 2011 was 149 million dollars. A “zero growth” budget in 2012 could affect the six active investigations, they warn.

The ICC is financed by its 116 member states, using the scale adopted by the United Nations for its regular budget, so that the main contributors are Japan, Germany and the UK. The United States is not a contributor of the ICC because is not a signatory of the Rome Statute.

Once presented by the ICC, the Committee on Budget and Finance makes recommendations to the Assembly of States Parties and the countries approve the funds for the next year.

Excerpts from the interview with Ambassador Wenaweser follow.

Q: Who are the major funders of the ICC budget? A: The ICC has essentially the same scale of assessments as the United Nations. Consequently, those ICC States Parties that are the greatest contributors to the United Nations are also the major funders of the ICC budget. Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Canada, Spain, Mexico, the Republic of Korea and Australia are the top 10 States Parties in this respect.

Q: How does the ICC punish delays in contributions by the States Parties? A: At the last session of the Assembly of States Parties, a small number of countries had arrears amounting to two years of contributions. As in the United Nations General Assembly, such countries lose their right to vote in the Assembly, but they may apply for an exception to that rule if the inability to pay is beyond their control, as may be the case for least developed countries.

For substantial delays of less than two years, however, there are no such clear sanctions. Overall, however, States Parties do actually make their payments in a rather responsible manner.

Q: How does the Contingency Fund work? A: The Contingency Fund was established in 2004 to help the Court deal with unforeseen expenses, in particular since judicial activities are extremely difficult to forecast in a budget planning process. The Court must notify States Parties of its intention to tap into the Fund, and it may only do so where it has actually run out of money under its approved budget.

Due to the Security Council referral of the situation in Libya, the Court has already concluded that it will have to make use of the Fund. There is a legal requirement that the resources available in the Fund should not fall below 7 million euros (about 10 million dollars). Due to a number of unforeseen funding requirements, the fund would thus have to be replenished.

Q: The ICC is working in six different cases and there is the chance of a new investigation in Cote d’Ivoire. Do you think the ICC will need to increase its budget for 2012? A: At this stage in the budget planning process, it is up to the Court to make this assessment. Currently the Court assumes it will need an increase of 13 percent. At the next phase, the Committee on Budget and Finance (CBF) will subject this budget proposal to close scrutiny, before States make the final decision at the December session of the Assembly.

Q: The convenor of the Coalition for the ICC, William Pace, said that France and the UK were demanding “zero growth” budget for 2012, even though they were among the nations that asked the ICC to probe Libya’s regime. What can you say about it? A: States Parties will have to embark on difficult budget negotiations in December 2011. I would therefore prefer not to comment on the positions of individual States Parties.

Q: In any case, do you think a “zero growth” budget could compromise the activities of the ICC? A: I believe that it is the duty of States Parties to see that the Court’s activities must be properly funded. That said, I also think that the budgetary reality of States Parties must be taken into account and the Court must find ways to make savings. As always, a compromise must be struck, one that takes into account the needs of the Court and the abilities of States Parties.

Part of the difficulty stems from the extremely high costs arising from the situations referred by the Security Council to the Court. Currently, the ICC’s States Parties bear the entire financial burden of these situations, something that was not foreseen by the drafters of the Rome Statute. The time has come for the United Nations to pay for the investigations it refers to the Court.

Q: How can the U.N. pay for these investigations if it also depends on a limited budget from member states? A: The money would in the end of course come from U.N. member states, not from the U.N. as such, and there is already much overlap in the list of the biggest contributors of both organisations. The U.N. General Assembly would have to take a specific decision regarding the full or partial reimbursement of these costs, which would then be binding on all U.N. Member States. Such arrangements are already foreseen in the Relationship Agreement between the United Nations and the ICC.

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