Africa

By Valentina Ieri
UNITED NATIONS, Mar 21 2016 (IPS)

“We, indigenous women want to be considered as part of the solution for sustainable development, because we have capabilities and knowledge, ” said Tarcila Rivera, a Quechua journalist and activist for the rights of indigenous people in Peru, at a press conference on the Empowerment of Indigenous Women.

Tarcila Rivera Zea, President of the Centre for Indigenous Cultures of Peru (CHIRAPAQ) and a member of the UN Women Global Civil Society Advisory Group, addresses a press conference on indigenous women’s rights, March 2015. Photo: UN Media/ Mark Garten

Rivera, like many other women who are fighting for the rights of indigenous people in parts of Central and Latin America, Northern Europe, Canada, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and Africa, is attending the 60th annual sessions of the inter-governmental body, UN Commission of the Status of Women (CSW60), which concludes March 24.

As a functional commission of the U.N. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the CSW is meeting with representatives of Member States, U.N. agencies, international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and civil society to discuss the status of women’s political, economic and social advancement and the elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls.

Opening the 60th CSW session, Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, who during his nine years in office has appointed over 150 women as Assistant Secretaries-General or Under-Secretaries-General — urged country leaders to take action to end gender inequality.

“In countries where children have “disappeared”, grandmothers stood up to demand justice. In areas ravaged by AIDS, HIV-positive mothers replaced stigma with hope. In homophobic societies, lesbian victims of rape survived and organized […] As long as one woman’s human rights are violated, our struggle is not over.”

In line with this year’s CSW theme —Women’s Empowerment and Its Link to Sustainable Development and the U.N. 2030 Agenda– indigenous women are demanding governments in their countries to recognise them as a driving force in achieving economic and social development.

In Kenya, it is mostly women who play a key role in supporting families despite growing up in a patriarchal society, explained Valerie Kasaiyian – an indigenous Maasai woman, lawyer and educator for girl’s reproductive rights.

There are indigenous women groups, such as those from Samburu, who for the past 20 years have provided alone for their entire community by building houses and schools. They also established self-sustaining economic activities by selling livestock or traditional jewels in order to get their families out of poverty, continued Kasaiyian.

Women from Marsabit, in the northern part of Kenya, developed sustainable farms, where they grew tomatoes and other crops in greenhouses, and then sold them to the community, without reliance on their male counterparts.

“Sustainable development is about preserving resources and the land for future generations. Indigenous communities, who for centuries have lived in isolation, have found their own system to work the land and to preserve it. It is in our ancestral culture and identity,” Kasaiyian told IPS.

“Yet we assist to a systematic ethnocide of our indigenous culture by the government […] where young indigenous women are meant to be homogenised and integrated into the mainstream culture,” she added.

Since the implementation of the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action, along with the U.N. Resolution 1325, on the importance of women in peace negotiations and peace-building, and the 2007 U.N. Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous People, there have been several important steps to highlight the voices of indigenous women in the international arena. But at a slow pace.

Indigenous women and girls- who are not to be confused with rural women – have their own identity, defined by their own specific language, education, traditional knowledge and socio-economic values, remarked Rivera, who is the founder of the Center for Indigenous Cultures of Peru (CHIRAPAQ) .

However, they are mostly excluded by government policies, as they are not fully treated with human dignity, said the Peruvian activist.

“Many programs look at us as subject of assistance. But we don’t want to depend on these kind of food programs. We are trying to be considered as subject of change, and development from within, (through) our capacity,” she said.

Despite the lack of thorough national statistics, indigenous women suffer from high levels of discrimination, sexual and domestic violence, extreme poverty, trafficking, lacking in access to land rights and education and poor maternal and infant healthcare.

Myrna Cunningham Kain, member from Nicaragua of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, briefs journalists on highlights of the twelfth session of the Forum on Indigenous Issues, taking place in New York from 20 to 31 May, 2013.Photo: UN Media/Evan Schneider

Myrna Cunningham, an indigenous Mixteca woman from the Waspam community in Nicaragua, told IPS about the problem of data disaggregation in certain countries, where indigenous people are not counted or excluded from certain indicators.

“When talking about statistics” – said Cunningham, who is President of the Center for Autonomy and Development of Indigenous Peoples (CADPI), and former chair of the U.N. Permanent Forum of Indigenous Issues – “self-identification, should be the main indicator, which can be used complementarily to other types of info-gathering questions. Also, government statistics should use more culturally sensitive indicators, which will help to define public policies and implement them.”

With the adoption of the U.N. Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous People, the U.N. set a framework that will foster the partnership between members states and indigenous communities, through dialogue, proposals and projects, in order to further implement the Declaration and recognise and protect indigenous women, Chandra Roy-Henriksen, Chief Secretariat of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, told IPS.

Kasaiyian said: “We will strongly push for a U.N. Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Women specifically, so that women can prosecute in case of violation of their rights in international tribunals.

Indigenous women must bridge the gap between academics, professionals and activists, by establishing their own jurisprudence and theories of law regarding the eradication of violence against women and to empower future generations.”

(End)

By René Castro Salazar
ROME, Mar 21 2016 (IPS)

The next time you turn on the tap to fill the kettle, you might want to spare a thought for the forest that made it possible. It may be a hundred kilometres away or more from where you are sitting, but the chances are that you owe your cup of tea, in part at least, to the trees that helped to capture the water, and to filter it on its long journey to you the consumer.

René Castro Salazar

The importance of forests to the water cycle cannot be overstated. They slow down the flow of water, percolating it gently through the soil, ensuring stable year-round supplies even during drier seasons. At the same time, forests filter the water that enters our rivers, lakes, streams and groundwater, increasing the quality of this life-giving resource. Research in Burkina Faso has shown how a single tree can help with groundwater recharge, protecting water from evaporating from the soil, its root system allowing rainwater to filter more deeply into the ground, providing clean, safe drinking water.

The intertwined and essential relationship between forests and water is the theme of this year’s International Day of Forests (March 21). At the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), we are taking the opportunity to highlight the crucial role that forests play in providing good quality water for the world’s growing population. As well as safeguarding quality water supplies, forest management reduces poverty by creating jobs, preventing forest fires, protecting watersheds and providing other services, such as removing carbon dioxide from the air we breathe.

Worldwide, forested watersheds and wetlands provide a massive 75 percent of our freshwater resources. That may not come as much of a surprise for rural areas. But think of big cities, such as Mumbai, Tokyo, Bogotá and Mexico, and ask yourself where their water comes from. The truth is that one-third of the world’s largest cities obtain a significant proportion of their drinking water from protected forests – and this figure will continue to rise as urban centres increase in size and population. Take the case of New York, one of the most densely populated cities on the planet. There, two forest systems — spread over 2,000 square miles (5,180 square kilometres) and located far upstream from the city itself — supply water for 9 million people, delivering 1.3 billion 4.9 billion litres every day.

Like any living organism, trees transpire, and in so doing they increase humidity levels in the air, ultimately leading to rain or snowfall. On average, 40 percent of rainfall over land originates from evapotranspiration – the name given to this process – from plants, including trees. In some areas, that figure is even higher. For example, more than 70 percent of rainfall in the Rio de la Plata river basin originates from evapotranspiration from the Amazon forest.

When managed sustainably, forests also make a significant contribution to reducing soil erosion and the risk of landslides and avalanches – natural disasters which in turn can disrupt sources and supplies of freshwater. Forests can reduce the effects of flooding and prevent and reduce dryland salinity and desertification. By storing water, trees and forests bolster resilience to drought events, one of climate change’s most damaging symptoms.

The evidence is clear: investing in forest-water policies aimed at sustainable management makes sound economic sense. Faced with a choice between putting in place a forest resource protection strategy or installing a facility to treat water for consumers, New York City planners quickly realised there was no contest. The artificial system would have cost US$6-8 billion, plus an annual $300-500 million in operating costs. The total price tag for sustainably managing the two forests upstream on either side of the Hudson River was far lower, at less than $1.5 billion.

One telling example of the economic value of forests as providers of freshwater comes from China. Its forests have a water storage function worth an estimated $1 trillion—three times the value of the wood they contain.

The value of forests can be measured in human lives too – the most important metric. In Africa, there is strong evidence that the extensive deforestation currently taking place in the tropical central belt is having an impact on water supplies in other parts of the continent, such as Ethiopia in the east. Some people have been forced to migrate from their homeland as a result. It is a sobering thought that forest management decisions – or lack of them –can have such a devastating effect on communities situated thousands of miles (kilometres) away.

Clearly, the links between forests, water, and human well-being are many – and cannot be ignored.

René Castro Salazar was minister of environment, energy and foreign affairs of Costa Rica and is currently Assistant Director General of FAO, Forestry Department.

(End)

Dubai International Humanitarian Aid and Development Conference and Exhibition (DIHAD)

By Robert Williamson-Noble
DUBAI, Mar 21 2016 (IPS)

The Dubai International Humanitarian Aid and Development Conference and Exhibition (DIHAD) opened today with key speakers emphasizing the urgency to discuss innovative solutions to be applied in humanitarian operations. Under the patronage of HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President, Prime Minister of United Arab Emirates, Ruler of Dubai, the 13th edition of DIHAD was inaugurated by HE Mr. Ibrahim Bumelha, Cultural and Humanitarian Advisor of HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and Chairman of DIHAD Higher Committee, President of DISAB, on behalf of UN Messenger of Peace and Chairperson of International Humanitarian City HRH Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein, wife of HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

Attended by a large number of international organizations and associations, the DIHAD conference is another big step toward realizing the vision of HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum to make Dubai a global hub for innovation in all sectors. HE Ibrahim Bumelha in his address emphasized “It is no secret that the UAE is always keen to respond instantly to humanitarian crises and disasters that happen in all over the world, and it strives to help those in need and to alleviate the suffering of victims, refugees and the displaced, which follows the guidelines of our leadership and the directives of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE.” He added that “The importance of this edition of DIHAD lies in discussing the pressing issues related to innovation and its importance in enhancing the relief and development efforts to meet the humanitarian challenges that lie ahead especially asylum-seekers, migration, and climate change, and most of all finding appropriate solutions for all these issues.”

“From our point of view, innovation represents a forward-looking vision for the future of the humanitarian work on the long run, aimed at ensuring a decent life for the victims of conflicts and disasters. Certainly, innovation will have a positive impact on the humanitarian efforts via planning for the future using innovative and unconventional tools that harness science, knowledge, and technology to serve humans and achieve maximum happiness and well-being,” stated Dr. Mohammaed Atiq Al Falahi, Secretary General of Emirates Red Crescent, on behalf of HH Sheikh Hamdan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Representative of the Ruler of Abu Dhabi in the Western Region and President of the UAE Red Crescent Authority. He concluded “What we see today on the humanitarian front, especially in the Arab region, from humanitarian tragedies that exceed all expectations, puts us in front of great challenges that need to be faced through constructive cooperation and concentrated efforts to reduce the human losses caused by the conflicts and severity of disasters.”

Ms Helen Clark, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and Chair of the UN Development Group, who also addressed the opening session of DIHAD, emphasized that “As humanitarian and development actors alike, we must rethink how we collaborate in response to the increasing number of protracted conflicts which the world is currently witnessing.” She added: “Traditional relief first, development later approaches are not tenable in the kinds of complex and protracted crises we face today. That is why UNDP has championed resilience-based development approaches to dealing with protracted crises, like that which Syria and neighboring countries are experiencing.”

Dr. Abdul Salam Al Madani, Executive Chairman of DIHAD Conference and Exhibition and the international scientific committee DISAB welcomed all humanitarians taking part this year, and said: “DIHAD now occupies a distinctive position on the world map, and with every success we achieve, the responsibility becomes bigger and bigger. Through the years we took the lead to embrace all international organizations, associations, institutes and NGOs and encouraged them to cooperate and build partnerships in addition to join their efforts for the benefit of the people who are going through crisis and catastrophes.”

Finally, Amin Awad, Middle East and North Africa Director of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said: “DIHAD’s theme for this year is a reflection of the leadership and commitment of the United Arab Emirates’ leadership to fostering a culture of innovation, particularly in humanitarianism. This commitment is aligned with UNHCR’s emphasis on finding new and ground-breaking responses to refugee crises in the Middle East and North Africa, and globally.”

DIHAD is organized by INDEX Conferences and Exhibitions – member of INDEX Holding and supported by Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Humanitarian and Charity Est, the United Nations, the UAE Red Crescent Authority, Organization of Islamic Cooperation, International Humanitarian City, the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs – Dubai and Dubai Cares. DIHAD 2016 is also sponsored by Al Khair Foundation & IQRA TV.

(End)

By Farhana Haque Rahman, Director General, Inter Press Service
ROME, Mar 21 2016 (IPS)

Water scarcity is already a clear and present danger, and it is the innocent, particularly women and children, who are harmed most. When we are inundated with information about water it’s easy to become desensitized. World Water Day on March 22nd gives us an opportunity to reflect on the one simple truth: water is life.

Farhana Haque Rahman

85 percent of the world’s population lives in the driest half of the planet; almost as many do not have access to adequate sanitation. Every year, 6 to 8 million of our fellow humans die due to water-related diseases and disasters. One in seven people on the planet lack access to safe drinking water. Increasingly intense and frequent El Ninos and La Ninas are intensifying droughts and flooding on opposite corners of the earth.

Where water is scarce, and where poverty is clear, women and children bare the primary responsibility for water collection to accomplish the most basic of family needs. On average, in Africa and Asia, they walk 3.7 miles a day just to collect water. In some parts of the world, water collection takes 6 hours a day – globally, women spend 125 million hours a day collecting. If they do not, their probability of survival begins to fade – water is the foundation of all of their needs.

Globally, fresh water resources are diminishing, but our demands for water continue to rise, putting added pressures on governments to find ways to continue to provide for their people.

Through a wider lens, these facts show the impact of fresh water scarcity on larger groups of people. 70 percent of fresh water consumption is currently attributed to agricultural demands; in faster growing economies, it accounts for almost 90 percent. Fresh water resources, often shared between national borders, are diminishing, and their value has a political impact of Machiavellian intrigue. As recently as 2015, in the arid landscape of the Middle East, Syria, Yemen and Iraq, to cite a few have militarily targeted water supply facilities in order to advance their agendas.

In the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, where fighting has crippled the main pumping station for months at a time, UNICEF has recorded 18 deliberate water cuts this year alone. Taps in some communities were left dry for up to 17 days in a row – and for over a month in some areas of the city. In the same time-frame, we have seen conflict over water between the Ukraine and Russia, Iran and Afghanistan, and witnessed fatal disputes in Columbia, Somalia and Mexico.

Between refugee camps on borders and peoples isolated by military campaigns, women and children continue to look for and collect water. It is more and more difficult for them to do so in alarmingly un-secure environments. Jordan, one of the driest countries in the world, is running out of water. With 600,000 Syrian refugees camped in the northern part of the country, pressure on its already over-stretched resources is immense. And as these conflicts continue to spread, the innocent will always continue to suffer. Their coming lives will be dictated by the erosion of our environment, population growth, rapid urbanization, and the decisions made by those in ivory towers. For them, it is time for all of us to act. (Ends)

Water and Sanitation Challenge in Ekta-Vihar Slum in New Delhi

By Fawzia Tarannum
NEW DELHI, Mar 21 2016 (IPS)

During the month of March 2016 and ironically very close to the World Water Day, the Supreme Court of India had to step in to resolve a water sharing dispute between three contiguous states including the National Capital Region. That, this was not the first time that the Supreme Court had to intervene is a stark indicator of the extent of the water crisis that is confronting India, a country that aspires to be a global power. Earlier Supreme Court had to step in to resolve a bitter dispute on water sharing between two Southern states of India – Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

On the international front, India has been having major differences on water sharing arrangements with almost all its neighbouring countries. For a country that is home to almost 17.5% of the world’s population but has only 4% of world’s fresh water resource; the criticality of sustaining these sources of water cannot be overemphasized. The Fifth Assessment Report of the IPCC has identified India as one of the most vulnerable countries due to climate change. The impact of climate change, manifested in the increased incidences of droughts and crop failure, is already leading to large scale rural-urban migration in India. Even though, as per official figures, India’s pace of urbanization is considered to be much slower than the global average, the World Bank brief ‘Leveraging Urbanization in India’ brought out in 2015, disputes this fact and highlights that urbanization in India is ‘messy and hidden’. Statistical disputes apart, what cannot be denied is the sheer size of the humanity affected by this rapid urban sprawl, characterised by lack of access to clean water and sanitation.

Fawzia Tarannum

In India, the multiplicity of agencies with overlapping jurisdictions over water and sanitation, have led to diffused accountability and therefore official impunity in denying the basic right to urban slums. While ambitious schemes like the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) were launched in 2005 with an objective to create ‘economically productive, efficient, equitable and responsive Cities’ through capacity building and infrastructure development, the outcomes on the ground have been marginal. Drawing from the experiences of the earlier schemes, the present government launched their flagship programmes like Smart Cities Mission, AMRUT (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation) and Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Mission) in 2014.

The objectives of these developmental agenda of India are also closely aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). While SDGs have taken of from where the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) left, it has looked at water and sanitation more holistically by including other water related challenges like insufficient availability of water, inequity in its access, efficiency in its usage and sustainability of water resources in its targets. Water being a cross cutting goal has a bearing on achievement of other goals like poverty eradication, quality education, gender equality, good health, sustainable cities etc. Thus, achieving SDG 6 would be like winning half the battle. According to the latest UNICEF report, India accounts for 59 per cent of the people in the world who practice open defecation, a major cause for the diarrheal deaths, malnutrition and school drop-outs among children and health, safety and dignity issues among women. Nevertheless, open defecation has a cultural approval in India and building toilets may not bring about an immediate attitudinal change. In addition, the geographic constraints present in the urban slums in India also pose a major challenge in setting up conventional sewerage infrastructure. Simpler technologies in the form of low-cost communal toilets have not gained popularity due to lack of ownership and odour.

TERI University in partnership with TERI and Coca Cola India and with the support of USAID has been working on a project, ‘Strengthening of Water and Sanitation in Urban Settings’, since 2014. The project aims to help achieve the government’s sanitation targets as well as contribute to the SDG target 6.2, by conducting a Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) risk analysis and socio-economic behavioural assessment in urban slums in two Indian cities. The data thus generated shall be used in developing participatory intervention strategies in urban areas and capacity building of university faculty and students through design and implementation of model sanitation curriculum. The program interventions aim to reach 20 municipal schools, 2500 students through school WASH programs, 50000 beneficiaries in low-income settlements, and over 300 professionals through governance strengthening activities. As part of this project, the alliance has recently concluded an Inter-University National Water Competition designed to create awareness among undergraduate students in the field of water and sanitation. The competition focused on engaging with youth to develop sustainable, replicable and scalable decentralised solutions for water management. Parallely, the team is also engaged in conducting summer schools for stakeholders and training of trainers programme for catalyzing behavioral changes in slum children on WASH.

(End)

By Zarrar Khuhro
Mar 21 2016 (Dawn, Pakistan)

The German language is truly underappreciated. Talce `Drachenfatter` for example: translating as `dragon fodder` this is the gift one gives as a peace offering to an angry partner or spouse. Then there`s `Schadenfreude` which means: `pleasure derived from another person`s misfortune` There`s a lot of that going around these days, with careful statistical research showing that global schadenfreude levels peak whenever Donald Trump opens his mouth.

This isn`t just expected, it`s also deeply satisfying. After all, America has lectured the world for decades on everything from human rights to democracy and everything in between. For those used to a steady stream of `do mores` from the exceptional nation, the opportunity for some payback is irresistible.

Latest to take a pot shot is the state-owned Chinese newspaper Global Times. In a mirror image of editorials one would normally see in the New York Times or Washington Post, the Global Times expresses concern that democracy itself may be the problem. After all, they argue, if such a `clown` can get so far in `one of the most developed and mature democratic election systems` in the world then what does that say about that system of government itself? In another jab, it points out that Hitler also came into power through the ballot box before going on to say that while Trump would probably not become president, the US does face the `prospect of an institutional failure`. Implicit in this criticism is the message that the Chinese system is far superior, given that it delivered dividends and not Donalds.

Echoing think pieces written by American journalists about the Middle East, journalist Murtaza Hussain sought to explain Trump`s rise in the context of American culture, saying that `it makes sense that fascist politics in the US would come via a reality TV star`.

In Pakistan, we are used to retired servicemen regaling us with their opinions about politics and even firing occasional shots across the bow of civilian statecraft and now, lo and behold, former CIA chief retired Gen Michael Hayden has come out saying that the US military would `refuse to act` if Trump were to actually order them to kill the family members of terrorists, as he pledged to do in his campaign speeches.

Were a former ISI chief to say this in Pakistan, we would be forgiven for keeping a close eye on the movements of the 111 brigade. As it stands, it isn`t impossible to picture a container outside the Capitol if Trump doesn`t get his way, with the soulchilling possibility of Kanye West standing in for DJ Butt. However, any possible (andprobable) Trump agitation would be nowhere near as peaceful as Imran Khan`s dharna, given that Trump has repeatedly and actively advocated violence against protestors at his rallies and has actually warned that his supporters may riot if he doesn`t clinch the nomination.

Add to that the massive support his fascist rhetoric garners and one can safely assume that were this to be happening in another country the US State Department would have issued at least one strongly worded statement of `concern` about the democratic process while readying the cruise missiles.

Turnabout is fair play of course, and Lebanese humorist Karl Sharro took advantage of the Chicago clashes between proand anti-Trump factions to express the hope that the US could one day hold peaceful elections. He also offered to send Lebanese election observers to help with capacity building for Americans in what seems to be an increasingly sectarian election season.

He`s (mostly) joking, but the highlyrespected Economist Intelligence Unit is dead serious when it warns that a Trump presidency would pose a major threat to the global economy.

On a scale of one to 25, they rank the threat of a Trump presidency at12,four points above a clashin the South China Sea and three points below the breaking up of the eurozone and the fracturing of the European Union.

According to the EIU, Trump gets this ranking due to his hostility towards free trade, his `exceptionally right-wing stance on the Middle East` and his `alienation of China and Mexico`. However, while the EIU also states that it does not expect Trump to defeat Hillary Clinton, his `most likely` contender for the Presidency, it says that there are `risks to this forecast, especially in the event of a terrorist attack on US soil` It`s not without irony then that, at number 12, Trump ties with the danger of an escalation in `jihadi terrorism`.

America borrows many symbols with the Roman Empire of old, so it is instructive to remember that Rome fell only after being weakened by a succession of weak, and of ten insane emperors. It`s also instructive to remember the old saying, `those whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad`.

Or in this case, make ridiculous.

The writer is a joumalist. Twitter: @zarrarkhuhro

This story was originally published by Dawn, Pakistan

By N Chandra Mohan
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia, Mar 21 2016 (IPS)

For the first time, an all-female flight crew recently operated a Royal Brunei Airlines jet from Brunei to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. Such a feat certainly appears noteworthy in a country where gender segregation is pervasive. When women are still not permitted to drive a car; where there are separate entrances for men and women in banks, is there a possibility of an all-female crew operating a Saudi Airlines plane from Jeddah to Brunei? Not immediately, as there are disturbing signs that the limited gains on the gender front might face reversals.

N Chandra Mohan

To be sure, official Saudi attitudes to female pilots are not that rigid as is the case with women driving passenger cars. A couple of years ago, a Saudi woman, Hanadi al-Hindi, became the first to be licensed to fly and she has been followed by others. This was largely because of pressure from a billionaire who wanted her to pilot his small and wide-bodied luxury planes. But the numbers of female pilots are still too small to envision an all-female flight deck crew operating the national flagship carrier. Reform to ease the rigours of gender discrimination is still twisting in the wind.

Paradoxically, Saudi women occupy only 13 per cent of job positions in the private and public sector despite accounting for 51 per cent of graduates according to the central department of statistics and information. More and more women are getting educated both at home and abroad but their participation in the labour market is limited. Only 2 per cent of lawyers in the country are women. Women vote and participate in elections. But only 18 per cent of them in the age group 15-59 years are either employed or looking for work. Their rate of joblessness among women is high at 33 per cent.

How does one interpret these dismal numbers? A conservative view is that women are not used to working and have got used to stay at home. Another is that the 33 per cent number reflects a desire on their part to search for work. An unemployed person is not only out of work but is also actively searching for it. The high rate of unemployment thus reflects a situation where job openings are much less than the demand for work. The bogey that they prefer to stay at home is not quite true as more and more women are getting out of the house to take up or seek employment.

According to an article by Elizabeth Dickinson in Foreign Policy, two-income families have become the norm in Saudi Arabia. As many as 1.3 million out of 1.9 million women in the workforce are married. The latest numbers also indicate that the number of female employees rose by 48 per cent since 2010. These trends are very much in line with economic development and urbanisation. The growing number of nuclear families with both the husband and wife working to support a middle-class standard of living has been observed elsewhere in the developing world.

Interestingly, the current juncture of low oil prices offers the best prospect for Saudi Arabia and other oil producing countries in West Asia to reap a gender dividend. Oil prices have fallen off the cliff from over $114 per barrel in June 2014 to $40 per barrel. They are expected to stay low in the near future as well, which seriously strains the finances of the Saudi government. With back-to-back double digit budgetary deficits – the gap between dwindling revenues from selling cheaper and cheaper oil and rising expenditures, the decks are being cleared for swingeing cuts in subsidies and reform.

So long as crude prices remain low, Saudi Arabia’s royal family must look to a future beyond oil. Following Thomas Friedman’s first law of petropolitics, there is an inverse relation between oil prices and economic freedom and reform. Reformists like Muhammad bin Salman, deputy crown prince and defence minister are now talking about diversifying into mining, subsidy reforms, expanding religious tourism, leveraging unutilised assets, among other ideas. Foreign investments are being attracted. The big global banks are opening branches in the royal kingdom.

More jobs in the private sector are bound to be created. Unlike in the past when expatriate labour would take them up, the preference now is for using educated Saudi youth. Employing more Saudi women could be part of this emerging scenario. But this is not a done deal as the Saudi government is desperately trying to control the supply of oil to ensure that prices head up from $40 a barrel to a more comfortable range of $60 to $80 a barrel. Leading oil producers thus are contemplating a freeze in output when meet in Doha on April 17. Rising and high oil prices weaken the hand of reformers.

There are signs that this is already happening with the return of more conservative elements. The limited gains in on the gender front in Saudi Arabia thus are tenuous when compared to the situation in other Gulf economies like Bahrain. Even in Iran, the situation is much better. UAE recently appointed women as state ministers for happiness, and tolerance and a 22 year-old to head youth affairs. In contrast, the only female deputy education minister in the Saudi government lost her job last year. An all-female Saudi fight deck crew might have to wait for some more time!

(End)

Customary landowners in the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea, both rainforest nations in the Southwest Pacific Islands, are suffering the environmental and social impacts of illegal logging. Credit: Catherine Wilson/IPS

By Catherine Wilson
CANBERRA, Australia, Mar 21 2016 (IPS)

The vast rainforests of Papua New Guinea (PNG) and the Solomon Islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean are crucial for environmental sustainability, survival of indigenous peoples and the wider goal of containing climate change. But forest degradation, driven primarily by excessive commercial logging, most of which is illegal, is a perpetual threat.

PNG is now the world’s top exporter of tropical timber, estimated at 3.8 million cubic metres in 2014. But an estimated 90 per cent of the formal trade in wood-based products from the country and 85 per cent from the Solomon Islands are illegal, reports the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Eighty per cent of log exports from PNG are exported to China, the world’s main destination for illicit timber.

On the International Day of Forests, observed on March 21, Pacific Islanders spoke of why fighting for the future of their rainforests is also a struggle against fraud and crime.

Samson Kupale of the PNG Eco-Forestry Forum, a non-governmental organisation headquartered in the capital, Port Moresby, told IPS that lack of compliance and enforcement of the logging code of practice is a major issue.

“Trees are being cut in prohibited zones, logging occurs beyond surveyed areas….community obligations [by logging companies], such as roads and bridges, are not built to standards,” he declared.

PNG is one of the world’s largest tropical rainforest nations with an estimated 29 million hectares covering about 75 per cent of its landmass. Neighbouring to the east, the Solomon Islands has 2.2 million hectares of forest covering 80 per cent of the country, considered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation to contain ‘globally outstanding biodiversity.’ More than 80 per cent of the population of both countries resides in rural areas and forests are essential sources of food, fresh water and materials for shelter.

But industrial logging has escalated with the immense demand for raw materials by emerging Asian economies. Land clearance for other uses, such as agriculture and plantations, now contributes further to high timber export volumes.

The monitoring of logging operations, which are mostly conducted in remote rural locations, can be a serious challenge for forestry authorities in developing countries. Recently, the London-based Chatham House rated PNG 25-50 per cent for level of forest governance.

Professor Simon Saulei of the PNG Forest Research Institute said that, amongst other factors, “the [forestry] authority is not effectively addressing and responding to such issues [of logging non-compliance] due to insufficient manpower and other resources, including funds.”

Inadequate law enforcement further undermines PNG’s strong forestry legislation, according to Chatham House.

Meanwhile, the US-based Oakland Institute recently claimed in a new report that there are strong indicators of widespread transfer pricing in the country with the potential loss of US$100 million per year in tax revenues. Despite the rapacious appetite for timber extraction by foreign investors, the majority claims that they have made little or no profit over the past decade and, thus, avoided paying 30 per cent income tax on profit, the report details.

“In any business venture, if you cannot make any profit from whatever you are doing then it makes no sense to continue and you might as well close up or do something else profitable. Here one can only ask where are they getting the money to continue their respective operations?”, Professor Saulei probed.

In the Solomon Islands, the situation is now critical where, after decades of commercial logging peaking at seven times the sustainable rate of 250,000 cubic metres per year, accessible forest resources are nearing exhaustion.

Half the forests on Kolombangara Island in the country’s northwest are now degraded after 50 years of voracious extraction while local landowners have battled against illegal loggers in the courts for years.

Timber trafficking depends on the agency of government, forestry and customs officials; the actions, often involving bribery and patronage, of people in critical positions throughout the production and supply chain. Crooked collusion between foreign logging companies and political elites is acknowledged as a serious barrier to industry compliance.

“There are government ministers, provincial ministers who are agents of these loggers and they exercise undue discretionary powers over the granting of logging concessions,” Ruth Liloqula, Chair of Transparency Solomon Islands, told IPS, adding that loggers also “have undue influence over the politicians not to pass relevant legislation in this sector.”

Misconduct in public office, according to the nation’s leadership code, includes business associations which could lead to conflicts of interest with public duties. However, the Leadership Code Commission, which is mandated to hold leaders accountable, is “under-resourced and the penalties are too small,” Liloqula claims.

Another problem, she said, is that logging companies, rather than the government, now pay the costs of timber rights meetings where decisions are made about logging proposals.

“Even when the evidence is heavily on the side of the objectors, the decision is [often] in favour of the side supported financially by the loggers,” Liloqula said.

The fate of forests is being decided at the local level, too. More than 80 per cent of land in the Solomon Islands is under customary ownership and negotiation between logging companies and traditional landowners for access to land can be flawed. ‘Middle men’, or individuals within communities who do not have the traditional authority, are known to sign-off logging agreements in return for sweeteners, Liloqula confirms.

Yet educated informed rural communities play a significant role in environmental justice. In 2012, landowners from Western Province in PNG, supported by the Center for Environmental Law and Community Rights, achieved a victory in the national court following legal action against Malaysian logging company, Concord Pacific. It was found to have cleared a vast tract of unauthorised forest either side of a road construction project and fined US$97 million for environmental damage associated with the wrongful extraction of an estimated more than US$60 million worth of timber.

“This win was an important moment for the environmental NGO movement in PNG and sends out a clear message that destructive logging is not acceptable and cannot be tolerated,” Kupale emphasised.

(End)

Children from the Abu Shouk camp for internally displaced performed in 2015 traditional dances at the International Day of UN Peacekeepers, El Fasher, Sudan. Credit: UN Photo/Albert Gonzalez Farran

By Kareem Ezzat
Cairo, Mar 20 2016 (IPS)

When the United Nations was still getting ready to mark this year’s International Day of Happiness on 20 March, the rulers of an Arab State could have well said: ”but we are ahead and have already created a Ministry for Happiness and appointed a young lady to be in charge of it!”

It is the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a federation of seven emirates: Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah, and Umm al-Quwain. That beat the UN on happiness, it seems.

Located in the southeast end of the Arabian Peninsula, the UAE was established in 1971 as a federation, forming the second richest state in the Gulf, after Saudi Arabia.

Well, the decision to create a Ministry for Happiness was announced at the beginning of February this year as part of the largest-ever government reshuffling that implied the appointment of a cabinet of 30 ministers and secretary of state, including 8 women. The youngest woman minister is only 22-years-old.

The young woman, Ohoud al-Roumi, appointed as minister of state for Happiness, is expected to drive policy “to create social good and satisfaction,” according to the UAE’s president, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who is also the ruler of Dubai.

Map of the United Arab Emirates | Credit: Ksamahi | Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Wikimedia Commons

A new post of minister of state for Tolerance was also created “to promote such virtue “as a fundamental value in UAE society”, Sheikh Mohammed said. The ministry’s main task will be to oversee tolerance in the Arab Gulf country that is home to a diversity of faiths and ethnicities.

Sheikh Mohammed added that several ministries would also be merged. He also unveiled plans to outsource most government services. “Governments must be flexible. We don’t need more ministries, but more ministers capable of dealing with change.”

“We want a young and flexible government that will fulfill our youth’s aspirations and achieve our people’s ambitions,” he said while announcing the creation of UAE Youth National Council.

The “elite group of young men and women” would advise the government on youth issues and be led by a female minister of state for youth no older than 22, he said, adding “The energy of youth will fuel our government in future.”

“It is the beginning of a new journey of achievements for our people.”

The Sheikh went on saying that “the new executive will focus on the future, on young people, but also on development of education and the fight against climate change”.

Credit: UNICEF

The cabinet reshufflE includes entrusting all issues relating to climate change to the Ministry of Environment and Water, and to call this portfolio Ministry for Climate Change and Environment. “The goal is to develop programmes, laws and policies aiming at keeping a clean Emirati environment for future generations’” the UAE leader stressed.

Furthermore, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum announced that the UAE would privatise some governmental services.

With a combined population estimated at around 10 million inhabitants, of which 1,5 million are Emirati and 8,5 are expatriates, the UAE has the second largest economy in the Gulf Cooperation Council (after Saudi Arabia), with a gross domestic product (GDP) of $377 billion in 2012.

Since 1971, UAE’s economy has grown by nearly 230 according to estimates by financial corporations. The non-oil trade has grown by around 28 times from 1981 to 2012.

THE UAE is ranked as the 31st best nation in the world for doing business based on its economy and regulatory environment, ranked by the Doing Business 2016 Report published by the World Bank Group.

Although the UAE has the most diversified economy in the Gulf, its economy remains extremely reliant on oil. With the exception of Dubai, most of the UAE is dependent on oil revenues.

The gross domestic product (GDP) of the UAE has reached 339.085 billion dollars in 2015, which amounts to 35,392 dollars if translated into GDP per capita.

Meanwhile, United Nations secretary general Ban ki-moon, marked the International Day of Happiness, with a message saying: “At this time of grave injustices, devastating wars, mass displacement, grinding poverty and other man-made causes of suffering,” the Day is a global chance to assert that “peace, well-being and joy deserve primacy.”

“It is about more than individual contentment; it is an affirmation that we have a collective responsibility to humanity,” he added.

By advancing progress towards the interlinked Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted by the UN General Assembly last September, “we can help spread happiness and secure peace, he stressed. “The best way to celebrate this International Day of Happiness is by taking action to alleviate suffering,” he urged.

“Peace, prosperity, lives of dignity for all – this is what we seek. We want all men, women and children to enjoy all their human rights. We want all countries to know the pleasure of peace,” the Secretary-General said in his message for the Day.

Well, it seems that there is at least one country—the UAE that is taking it seriously.

(End)

Comedian Eddie Izzard has completed his challenge in South Africa to run 27 marathons in 27 days for Sport Relief.

A still from Afia Nathaniel’s Daughter.

By Laila Khondkar
Mar 20 2016 (The Daily Star, Bangladesh)

You give dowry and I receive it, why are you bringing government into this?”said a woman in a village in Rangpur district during a discussion on women’s status. I had the opportunity to facilitate the session, and have thought of this many times since hearing several years ago. The comment reminds me that it is extremely challenging to get rid of a harmful practice if it is socially accepted, even when it is prohibited legally. Law is important, but not enough to bring social change.

Recently there have been several discussions about child marriage, since there were reports that the government might lower the minimum age of marriage for girls. Like many others, I strongly believe that the minimum age of marriage for girls must remain 18 years, and any move to change this is a serious violation of child rights. But today’s article is not about this. I would like to reflect on why the rate of child marriage (64 percent) is so high in Bangladesh, even when we have the Child Marriage Restraint Act of 1929.

Child marriage is one the most significant reasons for girls dropping out of school, and marks the end of childhood for them. This increases the risk of domestic violence to the girl children. Due to physical and mental immaturity, married adolescents are sometimes unable to perform responsibilities according to the expectations of their in-laws. This makes them vulnerable to abuse. In extreme cases, there is divorce or separation. Married adolescents are also not able to participate in the decision making process of their family, and thus the patriarchal norms continue. Child marriage leads to early pregnancy, and adolescent girls are not properly prepared for parenthood. Adolescent mothers are more likely to suffer from birth related complications than adult women. Malnutrition is also very common for them.

All of us are aware that poverty, social insecurity of adolescent girls, lack of education and vocational skills development opportunities for girls, natural disasters, social acceptance and weak enforcement of law are some of the reasons contributing to child marriage. I want to emphasise on something that is usually missing in child marriage discourse. Gender inequality is one of the root causes of child marriage. The society places disproportionate emphasis on women’s reproductive and caring roles, and they are often not viewed as individuals with the right to realise their full human potential. Thus, marriage becomes the most important and central event for a girl or woman (across all socio-economic groups), and parents consider it to be their major responsibility to ensure that their daughters are married off. So when they find a ‘suitable’ groom, they arrange marriage for their daughters, even when they are under-aged and/or have not completed their education. When a boy drops out of school, even poor parents take initiatives (for example, enrolling him in vocational training or giving him money to run a small business) so that he can be economically productive. But when a girl drops out of school, most parents will arrange their marriage. Parents believe that they need to ensure that their son gains the capacity to generate income, but they do not hold the same belief for their daughters. This does not only happen in poor families. Many parents from well-off backgrounds do not understand the importance of continuing education of girls or their full participation in the workforce. That is why they do not hesitate to arrange the marriage of their daughters in the middle of their university education.

In her novel Motichur published in 1904, Begum Rokeya wrote:

“We shall do whatever is needed to be equal to men. If we have to earn independently in order to gain independence then we should do that…Why shouldn’t we earn? Don’t we have hands, legs, and intellect? Can’t we engage in business with the amount of energy that we spend in household work in the husband’s place? […] Why do we cry if our girls are not married off? Educate your daughters properly and let them enter the workplace; they can earn their own livelihood.”

We have not been able to live up to the vision of the revolutionary Begum Rokeya in creating an environment where women’s economic emancipation is valued and celebrated. More than a century ago, Begum Rokeya wrote that women are suitable for any profession, including being a judge, magistrate, barrister and even viceroy. Wouldn’t she be upset to learn that even now parents ‘cry’ when they are unable to marry off their daughters? Marriage is critical for maintaining one’s family and social life, but that is relevant for both men and women. Why should only women’s lives revolve around marriage? Why do they have to ‘sacrifice’ their academic and professional ambitions to maintain a family life? Don’t most of them face gender stereotypes in choosing a career? We shall not be able to address child marriage until we truly confront these issues.

Child marriage is one form of sexual violence and is a major challenge of our time. So what should be done to prevent this? Integrated programmes, instead of disjointed projects, addressing the structural causes should be implemented to address child marriage in a holistic way. The enforcement of legal processes, proper birth and marriage registration, strengthening social safety net programmes to increase parents’ income, improving girls’ safety in communities, including through national and community-based child protection systems are needed to address child marriage. Men and boys should be involved as key agents to prevent child marriage. But most importantly, parents should be educated on the rights of girls to education, health and protection. Their capacity should also be developed in treating boys and girls equally. There must be attitudinal changes in the ways parents and the community, in general, view girls and women. A social movement is required to achieve true gender equality. There must be full economic, political and social empowerment of women; we must learn to celebrate their achievements beyond their roles as wives and mothers.

Let us have the same aspirations for our boys and girls. Let us raise our girls in a way that they become confident about themselves, and can realise their dreams to the fullest.

The writer is Director of Child Protection, Save the Children.

This story was originally published by The Daily Star, Bangladesh

By Bina Shah
Mar 20 2016 (Dawn, Pakistan)

For as long as I can remember, people have been talking about the possibility of revolution in Pakistan. They were originally inspired, or perhaps frightened, by the Iranian Revolution in 1979, when ordinary Iranians rose up under the leadership of the clergy and overthrew Western-backed Reza Shah Pahlavi.

As an intellectual exercise, Pakistanis have always wondered whether a similar revolution could take place in Pakistan, and if so, what would that revolution look like? Some envision it as a religious revolution where the Pakistani religious right wing encourages its militants to come out on the streets and seize power and enact Sharia throughout the country. Others imagine a revolution along the lines of the French revolution, where the have-nots slaughter the haves in a bloody uprising, and take control of their land and property.

Most people dismiss the idea of these kinds of revolutions, however, in light of the cloud of apathy in which Pakistanis live. The status quo, they think, is here to stay. Well, the revolution is already here, but it doesn`t quite look like what people imagined it to be.

Nor is it being enacted by the people they expected it to encompass. Pakistan`s revolution is a women`s revolution, and although we`re in its early stages, it`s already looking powerful enough to change a nation.

Although women have always participated in political revolutions around the world, the women`s liberation movement in the 1970s was the first time that women, mostly in the developed world, joined together to agitate for their rights. While many offshoots of feminism, including radical feminism and socialist feminism, developed from this movement, women in countries like Pakistan did not feel its benefits directly in their lives.

Pakistani women had their own problems to deal with when Bhutto started to Islamise Pakistan. Then Gen Zia picked up the baton after deposing Bhutto, hurtling the country towards even greater heights of gender discrimination. And he wielded that baton unmercifully on Pakistani women`s bodies.

Pakistani women have never truly held full authority over their own bodies; their bodies belonged to their families, to their male protectors, fathers, husbands, brothers and sons, who decided how and when to dispose of them through marriage or other means.

Now the state was codifying the control of women`s bodies, prescribing jailing, lashing and even execution for adultery and for the crime of being raped. Encasing them in chadar and chardiwari, repressing their very existence until the practice of pre-Islamic Arabs burying their baby girls at birth started to look less painful compared to how Pakistani women were being symbolicallyburied throughout their lives. And while Zia is long gone, regressive societal attitudes towards women live on.

Reading Ta-nehisi Coates`s excellent book on race in America, Between the World and Me where Coates writes of the state`s ability to enact destruction on black bodies with no repercussions for perpetrators of those attacks, it struck me that the same thing happens to the bodies of women in this country.

Here in Pakistan, families enact the violence, but the state is complicit through its inaction. Without legal and social reform, Pakistan`s girls and women will continue to be shot in the head for trying to exercise their own autonomy. Men will continue to enslave women while pretending to be their protectors and caretakers. Half the country`s population will continue to function as second-rate citizens, and justice and peace will forever remain elusive in Pakistan.

The furore of the religious right against the Women`s Protection Act in Punjab, and the anger and hysteria about something that is morally unarguable a woman`s right tonot be abused, thrown out of her house, even killed proves that a rotten nerve has been exposed to the light. We cannot accept this situation as the status quo anymore. Yet as proven in the American Civil War, men do not give up their slaves easily.

Revolution begins when a human beingsays `Enough.` Pakistan`s women have finally said `enough`. Enough of the domestic violence, the sexual harassment and abuse, the beatings, the acid attacks, the `honour` killings. Enough of keeping girls illiterate, of stopping women from collecting their inheritance, from owning property.

Enough blood their own has been spilled.

Pakistan`s women are raising not just their voices, but their bodies. They are insisting on the right to be educated, to work, to live in safety and security. Women parliamentarians are taking up their cause in the legislature, enacting laws to protect them. Nobody can reverse this social awakening.

It may seem like the path to chaos and societal destruction, but when the smoke clears, it will change Pakistan for the better. This revolution may even rescue us from the morass of degeneracy that has gripped us for so long we no longer know what a normal environment for women looks like.

The writer is an author. Twitter: @binashah

This story was originally published by Dawn, Pakistan

Martin Jol guides Al Ahly into the last-16 of the African Champions League as fellow Egyptians Zamalek also win.

March 19, 2016 (JUBA) - Abiem Community leadership in the defunct Northern Bahr el Ghazal state of the newly created Aweil East state has announced removal and replacement of the chairperson of the community, Sultan Abdel Bagi Ayii Akol from his position.

Aweil politicians at community meeting in Juba on 1 Nov. 2012 (ST)

The community leadership, according to the statement which Sudan Tribune has received, cited long time absence from the area as the reason for removal.

Phillip Gong Awier was named as the immediate replacement. Awier was the immediate deputy of the leadership elected in 2015 under Sultan Abdel Bagi Ayii Akol, a former presidential advisor on peace, border and traditional affairs.

The dismissed Akol is a prominent and controversial community figure. He was one of the militia commanders who fought alongside the Sudanese armed forces against the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) during the second civil war between the north and south which took more than two decades and ended with the signing of the comprehensive peace agreement (CPA) in January 2005.

Akol later became part of the other armed forces under the overall command of late General Paulino Matip Nhial, who signed a 2006 Juba declaration. The deal allowed the forces under Nhial, including forces associated with Akol, to be integrated into the SPLA.

In 2010, Akol displayed dissatisfaction with the performance of president Salva Kiir after accusing him of failing to listen to him and acted on his advice on matters related to the affairs of the country.

Akol then left Juba for Khartoum where he joined ranks and file with several armed dissident groups, including General Peter Gatdet Yakah and late General George Athor Deng, who had taken up arms against the government.

The group accused Kiir of allegedly having rigged elections, displayed dictatorial tendencies and failed to effectively control with efficiency to manage the affairs of the country thereby leading to rampant corruption and insecurity.

Akol was later convinced by his community elders and returned to Juba where he met with President Kiir but was not given any assignment.

In 2015, he was selected as the community leader of his Abiem East community, replacing late General Alfred Deng Aluk. He thereafter travelled to Khartoum for medical treatment. In Khartoum, however, one of his closest sons to him, Hussein, again started releasing statements indicative of dissatisfaction with the system under President Kiir.

The statements have therefore received mixed reactions and some people started interpreting them to mean another rebellion in Northern Bahr el Ghazal state, though there has not been formal declaration.

While this was not cited as the reasons for change of community leadership, observers say this may have been one of the reasons which prompted Akol's dismissal from the leadership in order to dissociate other members from his activities and pre-empt any suspicious links to him.

(ST)

Leicester go eight points clear at the top of the Premier League after a goal from Algeria's Riyad Mahrez sees off Crystal Palace.

An elderly woman receives cooking oil at an emergency food aid distribution in the village of Estayish in Ethiopia's northern Amhara region, February 11, 201 (Photo Reuters/ Katy Migiro)

March 18, 2016 (ADDIS ABABA) – The Ethiopian government on Friday has appealed for more food assistance as the Horn of Africa's nation faces the worst drought in decades.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said his country is seeking of more international support because of the hundreds of thousands of refugees from neighbouring countries it hosts.

According to aid agencies, the conflict in neighbouring South Sudan, which causes huge influx, is also among factors causing a worsening food insecurity situation.

Ethiopia has witnessed a huge influx of South Sudanese refugees since the outbreak of violence in South Sudan in mid-December 2013.

Currently over 280,000 South Sudanese refugees mainly women and children are being sheltered at camps in Ethiopia alongside local communities.

Recently, Ethiopia's refugee agency has launched an urgent appeal for food aid to assist hundreds of thousands of refugee's particularly South Sudanese refugees.

The call for emergency assistance came as Ethiopia struggles to feed millions of its citizens affected after a drought induced by an El Nino weather phenomenon.

Ethiopia currently hosts over 730,000 refugees mainly from South Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea and Sudan.

Administration for Refugee and Returnee Affairs (ARRA), a local implementing partner of UNHCR says the refugees mainly those from South Sudan, are in a critical state as the national refugee agency has run short of supplies of food for the refugees.

UNHCR officials told Sudan Tribune that although the refugee agency appealed for 280 million US dollars, donors however have funded only 8% of it.

According to Aid agencies, more than 10 million Ethiopians need urgent food aid and more than 1.4 billion US dollars is needed to deal with the crisis.

Meanwhile, the Ethiopian government said Friday that the drought has no effect on the construction of Ethiopia's massive dam Project; the Grand Renaissance Dam Ethiopia is building in the Nile River.

The Office of National Council for the Coordination of Public Participation on the Construction of said “the drought has no adverse effect on the construction of the dam”.

Media and Communication Directorate Director with the Office, Hailu Abrham, told a local media that Ethiopia is intensively engaged in the completion of the GRED despite El-Nino's effect on the country.

Hailu added that Ethiopians are contributing a lot for the construction of the dam by defying the El-Nino effect.

Currently, the construction of the 4.2 billion dollar massive dam project is at half-way mark.

Slated for completion in 2017, what would be Africa's largest dam will have power generation capacity of 6,000 MWs.

(ST)

March 18, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday appointed a south African diplomat as special envoy for Sudan and South Sudan.

Nicholas Haysom, head of UN mission in Afghanistan speaks to journalists following a Security Council meeting on December 2016 (UN Photo)

Nicholas Haysom will succeed Haile Menkerios, ''to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for his dedication and commitment,'' said a statement released by the office of the UN chief's spokesperson.

Haysom who has focused on democratic governance, constitutional and electoral reforms, reconciliation and peace processes, served as the principal adviser to the Mediator in the Sudanese Peace Process from 2002 to 2005.

Until recently, he was UN special envoy for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) since 2014 and Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General of UNAMA since 2012.

From (2007 to 2012) he served as Director for Political, Peacekeeping and Humanitarian Affairs in the Executive Office of the United Nations Secretary-General. Also he was the Head of the Office of Constitutional Support for the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) (2005 to 2007).

During his work in the South African government Haysom was involved in the Burundi Peace Talks as chair of the committee negotiating constitutional issues, from 1999 to 2002 under the facilitation of the late former President Nelson Mandela

(ST)

By Mahir Ali
Mar 19 2016 (Dawn, Pakistan)

It is wise of Angela Merkel not to have panicked in the wake of setbacks for her Christian Democrats (CDU) in Sunday`s three regional elections. The German chancellor acknowledged the blow, but discounted the likelihood of abrupt changes to her government`s policy on refugees.

That very policy has accounted for a surge in support for the anti-immigrant Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), a recently formed party with links to the far-right Pegida movement. But that is only part of the picture.

Whereas the AfD`s seats in regional assemblies are based to a large extent on the backing of Germans who previously did not bother to vote, a fairly substantial number of CDU appear to have drif ted to the Green party and the Social-Democrats, notably in situations where CDU candidates sought to distance themselves from Merkel`s generosity.

In Baden-Württemburg, for instance, 30pc of the voters who switched from the CDU to the Greens said their decision was based on the refugee issue. The state`s Green premier has been quoted as saying that he was `praying ever day` for Merkel`s well-being.

Germany`s divisions on this issue were inevitably exacerbated after the appalling sexual assaults and coercive thef ts in Cologne on New Year`s Eve, even though only a tiny proportion of the assailants turned out to be components of the latest wave of refugees that brought more than a million people to Germany last year.

Merkel`s open-borders policy has been held responsible for precipitating a Europewide crisis, with those who are able to make their way from Turkey to Greece and beyond opting for relatively welcoming countries such as Germany. The alternative, though, was to deny entry to Europe to the clearly desperate victims of the strife in Syria in particular.

In some ways, that scenario has lately come to pass, with Macedonia seeking to seal its border with Greece and all too many of its neighbours pursuing similar policies in blatant disregard of the international rules put in place in the wake of the Second World War. Back then, it was Jewish refugees from Germany and Nazi-occupied territories who suffered the consequences of reactionary bigotry.

Not many European countries other than Germany have flung open their doors to the wretched of the earth, with some letting in refugees from Syria and Iraq but refusing access to others from various African countries, Pakistan and Bangladesh. That may seem fair enough in some respects, given Europe cannot be expected to accommodate the all too many economic refugees that international capitalism has spawned.

Levels of desperation are hard to judge, though.Greece`s fear, meanwhile, of turning into what its prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, has poetically characterised as a `warehouse of souls` is perfectly legitimate. Hundreds of thousands of refugees from Turkey keep on turning up In Greece, with no intention of remaining there, but find their pathway to elsewhere in Europe blocked.

The European Union, meanwhile, has reached an agreement with Turkey whereby all refugees who make it to Greek shores will be returned to Turkish soil, but Europe will accommodate one Turkey-based Syrian for each one sent back. The United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, and various other human rights organisations have pointed out that such a policy would violate international law.

Whether the agreement will bear fruit remains to be seen. Europe`s handling of the unprecedented crisis thus far has provided plenty of cause for consternation. And former members of the Soviet bloc have been by far the least inclined to adopt a humanitarian approach.The Russian president, meanwhile, has been accused of actively striving to whip up tensions in Europe by funding the anti-immigrant backlash. It`s hard to tell, though, whether that is indeed the case, given thatthe charge has been made by a Latvian official associated with Nato who has an axe to grind vis-à-vis Russia.

That doesn`t necessarily mean he is lying,although Vladimir Putin`s announcement on Monday that most Russian forces will be pulled out of Syria militates against the notion that his intervention was intended primarily to exacerbate Europe`s refugee woes.

Not much hope was held out for the talks on Syria`s future taking place in Europe this week, but it would be folly to completely write off the prospect of some sort of agreement. After all, the ceasefire put in place three weeks or so ago has largely held, contrary to expectations.

It would be unduly optimistic, though, to read into that an indication that the awful conflict in Syria is approaching its conclusion. It would be amazing if that were indeed the case. In the interim, though, the `warehouse of souls` remains in place, and it could very well return to haunt Europe for decades hence unless Merkel`s plea for a Europe-wide humanitarian solution finds at least a few more takers.

m mahir.dawn@gmail.com

This story was originally published by Dawn, Pakistan