Heritage Stewardship

UNESCO
Protecting, preserving and promoting access to the world’s documentary heritage
11/02/2021
Key challenges
Documentary heritage – from preserving documents in libraries, archives and museums to the software that is driving the digital transformation – is an essential part of humanity’s collective memory. It is a key resource that helps us learn from the past; whether it be contributing to building more equitable, inclusive and sustainable societies or helping us tackle current crises with information on past responses.
Many original and unaltered items and collections are today endangered because of looting and dispersal, illegal trading, deliberate destruction, inadequate storage and a lack of funding.
Moreover, these risks are heightened during times of crisis such as conflicts and natural disasters.
New strategies are thus needed to support and update documentary heritage preservation tools and techniques, and digital preservation should be included as a component in disaster risk reduction strategies. This should also include strengthening the capacities of memory and research institutions to improve their resilience in the face of emergency and crisis situations.

UNESCO aims to:

COVID-19: Perspective/Opinion

Why the world needs a Covid-19 exit strategy
The public needs to know when, how and how quickly restrictions will be lifted
Financial Times – The editorial board
February 12, 2021

February is one of the busiest months of the year for travel bookings in the northern hemisphere. Families plan how they will spend their summer holidays and try to grab a bargain spot in the sun. Not this year, however. The uncertainty over how long coronavirus restrictions will remain in place means that while some have taken a risk and booked a break, most are sitting on the sidelines, unsure of what to do. This confusion is emblematic of the wider uncertainties that exist over the reopening of economies. Tired of severe curbs of civil liberties — which have lasted far longer than most anticipated — many people are asking when governments will finally set out a path for life to return to something like normal, how it will happen, and how fast.

This anxiety has only been heightened in recent weeks by signs that in some cases restrictions, instead of easing as lockdowns take effect, are in fact being toughened to guard against more infectious and possibly more deadly new mutations of the virus. In the UK, tough border controls will take effect from Monday for people arriving in the country, including jail terms for those offending. Germany is poised to reinstate border controls with some areas of Austria and the Czech Republic, while in Australia the state of Victoria has announced a snap five-day lockdown after an outbreak.

A global, well-funded vaccination campaign is the only way to end the pandemic for good. But despite relatively high inoculation rates in some countries, it is now clear that vaccinating enough people to achieve herd immunity will take much longer than hoped. Covax, the global initiative to distribute vaccines equitably, aims to deliver at least 2bn doses by the end of this year but that will not cover much more than a third of its target population. The new variants mean that some of the measures we have become accustomed to during lockdown will have to stay in place for some time. While some curbs on freedom will be accepted, others — bans on foreign travel and on seeing family and friends — cannot be tolerated indefinitely. A point will come where the public will rebel against restrictions that make life unbearably bleak. In the UK, scientific advisers are calling for a debate on the terms of allowing a “big wave of infection”.

The solution is for politicians to provide as much certainty as is possible. They must make it clear what will trigger the lifting of restrictions and what will not be possible in the short-to-medium term. In the UK, the government has so far produced little evidence of the costs and benefits of current restrictions.

Priorities must be set, supported by appropriate economic and epidemiological modelling. Concern is rife over the impact of the lockdowns on young people and the loss of education. Reopening schools must therefore be a priority. Teachers will need to be vaccinated. Fast testing and accurate and quick contact tracing is critical. How to reboot travel must also be a consideration. For this to happen, vaccination passports would be essential, but with the aim of facilitating travel, not prohibiting travel. A recent policy document proposes that areas in Europe where the virus has been eliminated are declared green zones in which civil liberties are restored. These zones expand as more regions achieve elimination. Such an approach, while appealing, will require careful, global co-ordination.

The pandemic has severely damaged economies and societies. As far as is scientifically possible, the public deserves to know the route out of current restrictions. It is time for politicians to play their part and move from crisis response to forward planning.

Featured Journal Content – COVID Vaccines/Therapeutics

The Lancet
Feb 13, 2021 Volume 397 Number 10274 p555-640, e6
Comment
Urgent needs of low-income and middle-income countries for COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics
Lancet Commission on COVID-19 Vaccines and Therapeutics Task Force Members
WHO and partners have learnt from the mis-steps in the response to the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic1 and established the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator to promote equitable access to vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics.2 However, many high-income countries already have bilateral agreements with manufacturers of COVID-19 vaccines.3 The COVAX Facility of the ACT Accelerator has agreements to access 2 billion doses of WHO pre-qualified vaccines during 2021, but this represents only 20% of the vaccine needs of participating countries.4 Most low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) face difficulties in accessing and delivering vaccines and therapeutics for COVID-19 to their populations.5 COVAX will require decisive action by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, WHO, and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), supported by the countries they serve and with financing for vaccine purchasing, to ensure people worldwide have equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines.6, 7, 8

For 80% of the populations in LMICs that will not benefit from COVAX-provided COVID-19 vaccines, finances for purchase or donations are needed. Government measures in response to COVID-19 and the broader global financial situation have led to increasing fiscal imbalances of heavily indebted countries.9 Multinational agencies, financial institutions, and wealthier countries should consider measures that could provide relief to indebted LMICs. The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and others need to lead an international initiative to mobilise support for LMICs in need.

Many LMICs do not have an established platform for vaccinating their adult populations.10 Although it is feasible to deliver COVID-19 vaccines to health-care and other front-line essential workers, in some LMICs it will be difficult to effectively reach and vaccinate with two doses all elderly populations and individuals with co-morbidities, given insufficient mechanisms to identify such groups. Governments and technical leaders will need to use transparent, accountable, and unbiased processes when they make and explain evidence-based vaccine prioritisation decisions, while also building confidence in COVID-19 vaccines and engaging with all the stakeholders.

The ultracold chain requirements of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines are likely to be an insurmountable hurdle in LMICs, outside of major cities. COVID-19 vaccine delivery will require considerable investment of resources, health-care staff, and careful planning to avoid opportunity costs, including a disruption of routine health services and a decline in essential childhood vaccination coverage, which could result in outbreaks of measles and other vaccine-preventable diseases. There were more deaths from measles than Ebola virus disease in 2019 in the aftermath of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, due to failure to maintain adequate childhood vaccinations.11 The infrastructure for vaccination in many LMICs is already inadequate, as shown by the 19·7 million under-vaccinated infants globally, most of whom are in these countries.12 Thus, preparation for all aspects of COVID-19 vaccine delivery in LMICs must begin now with the support of international partners.

Strengthening the capacity of LMICs to do clinical trials and promoting LMIC participation in research are also crucial.13 More LMICs need to participate in future vaccine trials and in testing the clinical effectiveness of different therapeutic agents to ensure that interventions and implementation are suitable for local contexts.

Tracking the safety and effectiveness of different COVID-19 vaccines over time in various populations and settings will necessitate improvements in pharmacovigilance.14 Regulatory authorities in many LMICs need to be strengthened and could benefit from a programme of national and international support, as well as regional cooperation and reliance mechanisms.15 As part of internationally coordinated actions, COVID-19 technologies should be transferred to LMIC-based manufacturers, accompanied by regulatory guidance. Efforts to boost local manufacturing capacity in LMICs will contribute to equity, global solidarity, and global health security. India and South Africa have called for the suspension of intellectual property rights related to COVID-19 vaccines to improve access for LMICs, a move now supported by many other countries, but opposed by the pharmaceutical industry, which cites the disincentive to innovation.16

There are further challenges. Governments in LMICs with strong private health sectors, as those in high-income countries, will need to manage the inherent potential for inequity, whereby the rich could access COVID-19 vaccines before individuals with less access to private care who may be at increased risk of severe disease and death, such as older people and those with comorbidities. LMICs affected by war, civil conflict, economic crises, or natural disasters, or with large refugee populations or populations with special needs or vulnerabilities need additional support for vaccines and vaccination under extremely difficult operational conditions.

Re-examining global governance structures, including the UN and its Security Council, is much needed so that the voices and interests of billions of people in LMICs are better represented and recognised. Global support to multilateral institutions is essential to sustain their support to LMICs to facilitate vaccinations globally. The COVID-19 pandemic shows that no nation can stand alone. We are all part of a common humanity that requires us to respect our diverse experiences, cultures, and countries and forge partnerships that better serve the interests of all.

[Author conflicts and disclosures at title link above]

In the COVID-19 vaccine race, we either win together or lose together
Joint statement by UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore and WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
10 February 2021 Joint News Release
New York/Geneva
Of the 128 million vaccine doses administered so far, more than three quarters of those vaccinations are in just 10 countries that account for 60% of global GDP.

As of today, almost 130 countries, with 2.5 billion people, are yet to administer a single dose.
This self-defeating strategy will cost lives and livelihoods, give the virus further opportunity to mutate and evade vaccines and will undermine a global economic recovery.

Today, UNICEF and WHO – partners for more than 70 years – call on leaders to look beyond their borders and employ a vaccine strategy that can actually end the pandemic and limit variants.

Health workers have been on the frontlines of the pandemic in lower- and middle-income settings and should be protected first so they can protect us.

COVAX participating countries are preparing to receive and use vaccines. Health workers have been trained, cold chain systems primed. What’s missing is the equitable supply of vaccines.

To ensure that vaccine rollouts begin in all countries in the first 100 days of 2021, it is imperative that:
:: Governments that have vaccinated their own health workers and populations at highest risk of severe disease share vaccines through COVAX so other countries can do the same.
:: The Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, and its vaccines pillar COVAX, is fully funded so that financing and technical support is available to lower- and middle-income countries for deploying and administering vaccines. If fully funded, the ACT Accelerator could return up to US$ 166 for every dollar invested.
:: Vaccine manufacturers allocate the limited vaccine supply equitably; share safety, efficacy and manufacturing data as a priority with WHO for regulatory and policy review; step up and maximize production; and transfer technology to other manufacturers who can help scale the global supply.

We need global leadership to scale up vaccine production and achieve vaccine equity.

COVID-19 has shown that our fates are inextricably linked. Whether we win or lose, we will do so together.”

Our World in Data
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Vaccinations
Our World in Data and the SDG-Tracker are collaborative efforts between researchers at the University of Oxford, who are the scientific editors of the website content; and the non-profit organization Global Change Data Lab, who publishes and maintains the website and the data tools that make our work possible. At the University of Oxford we are based at the Oxford Martin Programme on Global Development.
Research and data: Hannah Ritchie, Esteban Ortiz-Ospina, Diana Beltekian, Edouard Mathieu, Joe Hasell, Bobbie Macdonald, Charlie Giattino, and Max Roser
Web development: Breck Yunits, Ernst van Woerden, Daniel Gavrilov, Matthieu Bergel, Shahid Ahmad, Jason Crawford, and Marcel Gerber

Selected Country Announcements: COVID-19 Vaccines – Announcements/Regulatory Actions/Deployment

President of Honduras and his Cabinet relinquished their right for receiving the COVID-19 vaccine as a prioritized group
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, Feb. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Honduras President and members of his Cabinet announced that they have relinquished their right granted by Honduras laws which mandates that State´s officials, both elected and appointed, are a priority group in national vaccination programs. This decision responds to Hernandez´s administration policy of granting access to the most vulnerable groups to COVID-19, including the elderly with pre-existing diseases and to the front-liner workers…

Emergencies

POLIO
Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)

Polio this week as of 10 February 2021
:: The Polio Oversight Board (POB) held its last meeting of 2020 taking stock of programme epidemiology, finances, and strategy and management revision, and make decisions on next steps to achieve the polio eradication goal. The minutes of the meeting are available here.

Summary of new WPV and cVDPV viruses this week (AFP cases and ES positives):
:: Afghanistan: 34 cVDPV2 cases
:: Pakistan: four WPV1 and three cVDPV2 positive environmental samples
:: Chad: one cVDPV2 case
:: Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo): one cVDPV2 case
:: Kenya: one cVDPV2 positive environmental sample
:: Tajikistan: one cVDPV2 case
:: South Sudan: two cVDPV2 cases
:: Yemen: one cVDPV1 case

Meeting of the Polio Oversight Board (POB) – Teleconference 18 December 2020
[Excerpt; text formatting from original text]
[p.13-14]
ANNEX: Donor Statement at the December 18, 2020 POB meeting
Presented by H.E. Leslie Norton, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations in Geneva
…Specifically, we would like to register five points of concern with the POB:
First, we expect to see the Independent Monitoring Board’s (IMB) analysis and recommendations considered and fully implemented. We expect to see a clear and direct link between the analysis of the IMB and the future work of GPEI.

Second, we would like to again underscore how the Governance Review process is crucial to achieving progress on eradication, integration and transition. The formal role of Donors, governments and NGOs/civil society in the decision-making of GPEI urgently needs to be addressed in order to reverse the current trend and overcome chronic barriers to eradication. We recommend a rapid and full implementation of the recommendations over the next six months as well as improved leadership and accountability by the GPEI partners in this next year. This includes a clear and transparent communications on the process.

Third, we welcome the engagement of partners and donors in the strategy review process. Greater involvement and leadership from government and civil society partners, particularly in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and the most at-risk countries, is critical for strong country commitment and ownership especially when it comes to implementing the revised strategy. Please note, Donors expect to review and provide input into a draft of the strategy before it is finalized.

Fourth, we believe that programmatic and financial decisions must be better aligned. GPEI has completed important work in reviewing the budget and funding gaps for 2021. As a next step, we ask the GPEI to develop a robust approach to managing risks that clearly outlines key budget assumptions. This also includes regular revision of the budget to allow for immediate reactions.

Fifth, as the Finance and Accountability Committee highlighted last week, intense and diverse resource mobilisation, including through innovative financing, is needed in order to have the resources available to reach eradication. Given the global economic downturn we do not see any more space for complacency. Making progress on integration, cost sharing, and maximizing synergies between related programs are likely to be essential for donor investments…

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Editor’s Note:
Continuing with this edition, we include information about the last apparent update evident on the WHO emergency country webpages, recognizing almost universal and significant interims since last update regardless of the level of the emergency listed.

WHO Grade 3 Emergencies [to 13 Feb 2021]

Democratic Republic of the Congo – No new digest announcements [Last apparent update: 12 Jan 2021]
Mozambique floods – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 3 November 2020]
Nigeria – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 29 Jun 2020]
Somalia – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 17 July 2020]
South Sudan – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 4 February 2020]
Syrian Arab Republic – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 24 October 2020]
Yemen – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 30 June 2020]

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WHO Grade 2 Emergencies [to 13 Feb 2021]
Niger – Le ministre de la Santé du Niger sur le maintien des cas de COVID-19 à un faible niveau
11 février 2021

Afghanistan – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 5 July 2020]
Angola – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 03 December 2020]
Burkina Faso – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update 04 février 2021]
Burundi – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 04 July 2019]
Cameroon – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 22 August 2019]
Central African Republic – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 12 June 2018]
Ethiopia – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 22 August 2019]
Iran floods 2019 – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 12 March 2020]
Iraq – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 16 December 2020]
Libya – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 7 October 2019]
Malawi Floods – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 09 October 2019]
Measles in Europe – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 16-12-2020]
MERS-CoV – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 8 July 2019]
Mozambique – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 03 November 2020]
Myanmar – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: :: 3 January 2021
occupied Palestinian territory – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 4 September 2019]
HIV in Pakistan – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 27 August 2019]
Sao Tome and Principe Necrotizing Cellulitis (2017) – No new digest announcements
Sudan – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 24 June 2020]
Ukraine – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 1 May 2019]
Zimbabwe – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 10 May 2019]

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WHO Grade 1 Emergencies [to 13 Feb 2021]

Chad – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 30 June 2018]
Djibouti – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 25 novembre 2020]
Kenya – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 11 December 2020]
Mali – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 3 May 2017]
Namibia – viral hepatitis – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 20 July 2018]
Tanzania – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 21 October 2020]

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UN OCHA – L3 Emergencies
The UN and its humanitarian partners are currently responding to three ‘L3’ emergencies. This is the global humanitarian system’s classification for the response to the most severe, large-scale humanitarian crises. 
Syrian Arab Republic – No new digest announcements identified
Yemen – No new digest announcements identified

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UN OCHA – Corporate Emergencies
When the USG/ERC declares a Corporate Emergency Response, all OCHA offices, branches and sections provide their full support to response activities both at HQ and in the field.
East Africa Locust Infestation
:: Desert Locust situation update 9 February 2021

COVID-19 – No new digest announcements identified

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The Sentinel

Human Rights Action :: Humanitarian Response :: Health :: Education :: Heritage Stewardship ::
Sustainable Development
__________________________________________________
Week ending 6 February 2021 :: Number 353

This weekly digest is intended to aggregate and distill key content from a broad spectrum of practice domains and organization types including key agencies/IGOs, NGOs, governments, academic and research institutions, consortia and collaborations, foundations, and commercial organizations. We also monitor a spectrum of peer-reviewed journals and general media channels. The Sentinel’s geographic scope is global/regional but selected country-level content is included. We recognize that this spectrum/scope yields an indicative and not an exhaustive product. Comments and suggestions should be directed to:

David R. Curry
Editor
GE2P2 Global Foundation – Governance, Evidence, Ethics, Policy, Practice
david.r.curry@ge2p2center.net

PDF– The Sentinel_ period ending 6 Feb 2021

Contents
:: Week in Review  [See selected posts just below]
:: Key Agency/IGO/Governments Watch – Selected Updates from 30+ entities   [see PDF]
:: INGO/Consortia/Joint Initiatives Watch – Media Releases, Major Initiatives, Research:: Foundation/Major Donor Watch -Selected Updates
:: Journal Watch – Key articles

Global Governance

UN Secretary-General Presents 10 Priorities for 2021
3 February 2021
:: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres outlined ten priorities for 2021 during a UNGA plenary meeting on 28-29 January 2021.
:: He explained how the 2030 Agenda points the way to a sustainable and inclusive recovery from COVID-19, how humans can “make peace with nature,” and a strategy for increasing women’s rights.
:: The Secretary-General also provided indications of the recommendations he may make to governments in September 2021 for resetting global governance.

UN Secretary-General’s Ten Priorities for 2021 are:
:: Respond to COVID-19
:: Start an inclusive and sustainable economic recovery
:: Make peace with nature
:: Tackle poverty and inequality
:: Reverse the assault on human rights
:: Gender equality, the greatest human rights challenge
:: Heal geopolitical rifts
:: Reverse the erosion of the nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime
:: Seize the opportunities of digital technologies while protecting against their growing dangers
:: Launch a reset for the 21st century

Guterres said the first priority is responding to COVID-19, and the “first great moral test” of the year is to make vaccines available and affordable to all, treating them as a global public good. He called for prioritizing vaccine distribution to the most vulnerable in order to prevent mutations from spreading and becoming more deadly, and for more resources for the COVAX facility led by the World Health Organization (WHO).

On economic recovery, Guterres said “the 2030 Agenda points the way.” He stressed the need for investments in health systems, universal health coverage, mental health care, social protection, and safe returns to school. To avoid making developing countries choose between providing basic services and servicing their debts, he called for a “quantum leap in financial support,” including debt relief and an expansion of the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative. He also called for embracing renewable energy and green and resilient infrastructure…

Human Rights – Trafficking in Persons

Share of children among trafficking victims increases, boys five times; COVID-19 seen worsening overall trend in human trafficking, says UNODC Report
Media Release
Vienna 2 February 2021 – The number of children among detected trafficking victims has tripled in the past 15 years, while the share of boys has increased five times. Girls are mainly trafficked for sexual exploitation, while boys are used for forced labour, according to the Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, launched by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) today.

In 2018 about 50,000 human trafficking victims were detected and reported by 148 countries. However, given the hidden nature of this crime, the actual number of victims trafficked is far higher. The Report shows traffickers particularly target the most vulnerable, such as migrants and people without jobs. The COVID-19-induced recession is likely to expose more people to the risk of trafficking.

“Millions of women, children and men worldwide are out of work, out of school and without social support in the continuing COVID-19 crisis, leaving them at greater risk of human trafficking. We need targeted action to stop criminal traffickers from taking advantage of the pandemic to exploit the vulnerable,” said UNODC Executive Director Ghada Waly.

“The UNODC Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2020, coupled with the technical assistance UNODC provides through its global programmes and field network, aims to inform governments’ anti-trafficking responses, end impunity, and support victims as part of integrated efforts to build forward from the pandemic.”…

.

Global Report on Trafficking in Persons
UNODC
2020, 176 pages
PDF: https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/tip/2021/GLOTiP_2020_15jan_web.pdf

The 2020 UNODC Global Report on Trafficking in Persons is the fifth of its kind mandated by the General Assembly through the 2010 United Nations Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons. It covers 148 countries and provides an overview of patterns and flows of trafficking in persons at global, regional and national levels, based primarily on trafficking cases detected between 2016 and 2019. As UNODC has been systematically collecting data on trafficking in persons for more than a decade, trend information is presented for a broad range of indicators.

As with previous years, this edition of the Global Report on Trafficking in Persons presents a global picture of the patterns and flows of trafficking (Chapter 1), alongside detailed regional analyses (Chapter 6) and country profiles.

In addition, this Report provides four thematic chapters. Chapter 2 of the Report examines how poor socioeconomic conditions are used by traffickers to recruit and exploit victims. The third chapter expands on patterns of child trafficking and the roles that extreme poverty, social norms and familial backgrounds play in this form of trafficking. Then, the fourth chapter focuses on trafficking for forced labour and explores the specific economic sectors that are more vulnerable to trafficking. Finally, the fifth chapter presents emerging patterns on internet technologies that are used by traffickers to facilitate recruitment and exploitation…

Heritage Stewardship

HERITAGE AT RISK. World Report 2016-2019 on Monuments and Sites in Danger
Machat, Christoph (ed.), Ziesemer, John (ed.) Berlin, hendrik Bäßler verlag,
2020. 173 p., illus. [Eng]
ISBN 978-3-945880-67-8
PDF: http://openarchive.icomos.org/id/eprint/2430/
Abstract
The ICOMOS World Report 2016-2019 on Monuments and Sites in Danger (Heritage at Risk) is the latest volume of what is already a whole series of World Reports started in 2000. It consists of contributions from 23 countries, among them reports from National and international Scientific Committees of ICOMOS, but also, as usual, reports by individual experts, completed by short information on the World Heritage Watch network, founded in 2014, and by press releases on the Europa Nostra programme “The Seven Most Endangered Heritage Sites in Europe” launched in 2013.

Le Rapport mondial 2016-2019 de l’ICOMOS sur les monuments et sites en péril (Heritage at Risk) est le dernier volume de ce qui est déjà toute une série de rapports mondiaux commencés en 2000. Il se compose de contributions de 23 pays, parmi lesquelles des rapports des comités scientifiques nationaux et internationaux de l’ICOMOS, mais aussi, comme d’habitude, des rapports d’experts individuels, complétés par de brèves informations sur le réseau World Heritage Watch, fondé en 2014, et par des communiqués de presse sur le programme Europa Nostra “Les sept sites du patrimoine les plus menacés en Europe” lancé en 2013.

Heritage Stewardship – Tools

Getty Conservation Institute Releases Free Online Publication: “The Twentieth-Century Historic Thematic Framework: A Tool for Assessing Heritage Places”
February 04, 2021
LOS ANGELES – Getty Conservation Institute released today “The Twentieth-Century Historic Thematic Framework,” a free online tool for architecture and heritage conservation professionals around the world.

The 20th century was a time of rapid growth, technological advancement and political upheaval, resulting in a proliferation of new buildings, cities, and landscapes. However, the existence of so many potential heritage places from the 20th century can make it difficult for professionals to determine what is significant and why. This publication provides a structure to help users identify and assess 20th century heritage, which is often the first step needed to conserve and sustain these places.
The publication uses broad thinking to identify the principal social, technological, political, and economic drivers that shaped the 20th century globally, and these have been distilled into ten succinct historic themes seen in the diagram below:

The publication is offered for free and can be utilized and adapted by anyone involved in heritage conservation around the world.

Themes
The Framework uses ten succinct themes to organize and define history, helping to identify heritage sites and place them in context:
1. Rapid Urbanization and the Growth of Large Cities
2. Accelerated Scientific and Technological Development
3. Mechanized and Industrialized Agriculture
4. World Trade and Global Corporations
5. Transportation Systems and Mass Communication
6. Internationalization, New Nation-States, and Human Rights
7. Conserving the Natural Environment, Buildings, and Landscapes
8. Popular Culture and Tourism
9. Religious, Educational, and Cultural Institutions
10. War and its Aftermath

Beginning with an overview of the themes, subthemes, and places that exemplify them, readers can quickly navigate to any one theme that is of particular importance to their area of research. Each section concludes with a photo gallery showing a diverse range of buildings, sites, structures, and landscapes that illustrate the issues discussed.

Although globally structured, this framework can be used locally to survey and assess places within the context of the twentieth century and to conduct comparative analyses of places. It can be utilized and adapted by anyone involved in heritage conservation around the world. Our hope is that it will aid many forms of research, analysis, and survey work, and ultimately help sustain and conserve the heritage of the twentieth century.

Commissioned by the Getty Conservation Institute working in collaboration with the ICOMOS Twentieth-Century Heritage International Scientific Committee, this publication is an outcome of the Conservation Institute’s Conserving Modern Architecture Initiative.
Thematic frameworks are already being used to identify and assess heritage places in countries such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States, and internationally by the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, ICOMOS (the International Council on Monuments and Sites), and other heritage organizations.
This new publication meets a global need by creating a thematic framework for assessing 20th century heritage. Previous Getty initiatives such as the Conserving Modern Architecture Initiative and Keeping It Modern have addressed these issues using international conservation management planning and grant funding, respectively.

Development – AI

Atlas AI Launches Aperture™ – Unlocking Unparalleled Insight to Target Investments and Drive Impact in Emerging Markets
Feb 04 2021 Press Release
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA – Atlas AI today announced the launch of Aperture™, a market and economic intelligence platform unlocking unparalleled insight into demographic, economic and infrastructure conditions across the emerging markets. Aperture integrates Atlas AI’s proprietary data layers into a user-friendly web-based application to enable site selection, market prioritization and network optimization for businesses and investors making high stakes location-based decisions in regions traditionally starved for reliable and timely data. Aperture is available for the full continent of Africa at launch, with plans to expand the software globally later in 2021…

Transforming how billions of dollars are invested for a more sustainable future
Atlas AI bring together world class machine learning talent and deep domain expertise to develop software that allows customers to plan and monitor high stakes investments including infrastructure development initiatives and market expansion programs.

Atlas AI was founded in 2018 as a Public Benefit Corporation by a team of Stanford University Professors – Marshall Burke, Stefano Ermon, and David Lobell – based on their pioneering research at the intersection of Economics, Earth Science, and Computer Science. Marshall, Stefano and David had spent years advancing research on how to apply cutting edge AI techniques to develop better quality and more localized socioeconomic measures in data sparse environments like Sub-Saharan Africa.
Atlas AI resulted from their desire to translate these research techniques into market-ready data sets, and to expand access to insights about economic development in the emerging markets to help solve important societal pro

Launching with four critical lenses on economic development
Atlas AI’s peer-reviewed and validated technology enables the highest quality understanding of conditions across Africa:

Population Dynamics
Understand the demographic data across the continent, we combine public data sets to provide a holistic demographic insight.
Africa (continent wide)
Updated annually Last update: 2020

Economic Conditions
Understand the economic data across the continent, identify trends across key identifies such as Asset wealth, etc
Africa (continent wide)
Updated annually Last update: 2018

Electrification
Understand the infrastructure data across the continent, analyse electrification trends across the continent.
Africa (continent wide)
Updated annually Last update: Dec 2019

Agricultural Productivity
On demand
We provide on-demand crop monitoring and large-scale crop area and yield estimates for current and past growing seasons anywhere at a 10m spatial resolution.

U.S. – Re-engagement
 Executive Order on Rebuilding and Enhancing Programs to Resettle Refugees and Planning for the Impact of Climate Change on Migration
February 04, 2021 • Presidential Actions

Remarks by President Biden on America’s Place in the World
February 04, 2021 • Speeches and Remarks

Fact Sheet: President Biden to Sign Executive Actions Restoring America’s Place in the World
February 04, 2021 • Statements and Releases

Remarks by President Biden at Signing of Executive Orders Advancing His Priority to Modernize Our Immigration System
February 02, 2021 • Speeches and Remarks

Executive Order on the Establishment of Interagency Task Force on the Reunification of Families
February 02, 2021 • Presidential Actions

Executive Order on Creating a Comprehensive Regional Framework to Address the Causes of Migration, to Manage Migration Throughout North and Central America, and to Provide Safe and Orderly Processing of Asylum Seekers at the United States Border
February 02, 2021 • Presidential Actions

Executive Order on Restoring Faith in Our Legal Immigration Systems and Strengthening Integration and Inclusion Efforts for New Americans
February 02, 2021 • Presidential Actions

Protection – Children on the Move

The European Union, UNICEF and UNHCR join efforts to protect children on the move in Central America, Mexico and Southern Africa
02 February 2021
BRUSSELS/JOHANNESBURG/NAIROBI – The European Union (EU), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency have announced today the launch of the new EU Global Promotion of Best Practices for Children in Migration programme to strengthen child protection systems and provide alternatives to immigration detention.

This multi-country programme, with a total budget of €7.5 million, has received €7 million from the EU and is being implemented across four countries in two regions: El Salvador and Mexico in Latin America; South Africa and Zambia in Southern Africa. Over the course of the 30-month programme, UNICEF and UNHCR will jointly work with national governments; local authorities with portfolios of child protection and social welfare, home affairs and justice; civil society organisations and other stakeholders around three key goals for children.

Firstly, the programme will ensure that the capacity of child protection systems to include gender responsive services and alternative care options to immigration detention is enhanced.

Secondly, that the capacity of frontline actors to detect children on the move suffering from, or at risk of, gender-based violence and to refer them to appropriate alternative family and community care is increased.

And, thirdly, that lessons learned and best practices on programming for children on the move are documented and shared to contribute to strengthened south-south and global cooperation.

Welcoming the launch of the programme, Jutta Urpilainen, European Commissioner for International Partnerships, said: “Children should always be treated first and foremost as children, regardless of their migration status. They have the right to be protected and to live in a safe environment. This includes having access to education, healthcare and sanitation, social and legal services, and psychological support. In partnership with UNICEF and UNHCR, the European Union is reaching out especially to children affected by immigration detention.”

Mohamed M. Malick Fall, Regional Director for UNICEF in Eastern and Southern Africa, said:
“In an era where COVID-19 has jeopardized access to services, these children are now even more vulnerable. Our joint programme will address the impact that immigration detention has on children’s mental and wellbeing; and critically, the increased risks of child rights violations,” he said.

“This project is a crucial opportunity for all actors involved in the protection of children on the move to work better together. These boys and girls face specific risks requiring tailored, gender specific, and child sensitive responses. Children should not be detained,” said Grainne O’Hara, UNHCR’s Director of International Protection.

“Having fled from violence and persecution, children too often face further abuse, neglect and exploitation on their journey or at their destination. With this programme, we hope that safe alternative care arrangements will be strengthened and that children at risk are quickly identified and receive the attention they urgently need,” she said…

Coronavirus [COVID-19] – WHO
Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019

Weekly Epidemiological and Operational updates
Last update: 23 January 2021
Confirmed cases :: 104 956 439 [week ago: 101 561 219] [two weeks ago: 96 877 399]
Confirmed deaths :: 2 290 488 [week ago: 2 196 9440 [two weeks ago: 2 098 879]
Countries, areas or territories with cases :: 223

Weekly epidemiological update – 2 February 2021
Overview
Globally, just under 3.7 million new cases were reported in the past week, a decline of 13% from last week, and the number of new deaths reported was over 96 000, comparable to the previous week. This brings the cumulative numbers to over 102.1 million reported cases and over 2.2 million deaths globally since the start of the pandemic.
In this edition of the COVID-19 Weekly Epidemiological Update, special focus updates are provided on: COVID-19 and health workers, as well as on SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern.

Weekly operational update on COVID-19 – 1 February 2021
Key Figures
:: WHO-led UN Crisis-Management Team coordinating 23 UN entities across nine areas of work
:: 145 GOARN deployments conducted to support COVID-19 pandemic response
:: 8 540 231 face shields shipped globally
:: 6 713 379 gowns shipped globally
:: 35 821 900 gloves shipped globally
:: 197 343 426 medical masks shipped globally
:: 19 948 965 respirators shipped globally
:: More than 2.5 million people registered on OpenWHO and able to access 25 topical courses in 44 langu

Emergencies

POLIO
Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)

Polio this week as of 03 February 2021
:: The first Polio News edition of 2021 is now out containing the latest programme updates, news and donor information.

Summary of new WPV and cVDPV viruses this week (AFP cases and ES positives):
:: Afghanistan: one WPV1 and 14 cVDPV2 cases and two cVDPV2 positive environmental samples
:: Pakistan: three WPV1 and 18 cVDPV2 positive environmental samples and eight cVDPV2 cases
:: Benin: one cVDPV2 case and two positive environmental samples
:: Nigeria: one cVDPV2 case

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Editor’s Note:
Continuing with this edition, we include information about the last apparent update evident on the WHO emergency country webpages, recognizing almost universal and significant interims since last update regardless of the level of the emergency listed.

WHO Grade 3 Emergencies [to 6 Feb 2021]

Democratic Republic of the Congo – No new digest announcements [Last apparent update: 12 Jan 2021]
Mozambique floods – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 3 November 2020]
Nigeria – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 29 Jun 2020]
Somalia – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 17 July 2020]
South Sudan – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 4 February 2020]
Syrian Arab Republic – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 24 October 2020]
Yemen – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 30 June 2020]

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WHO Grade 2 Emergencies [to 6 Feb 2021]
Burkina Faso –
:: Au Burkina Faso, une lutte soutenue contre le cancer du sein 04 février 2021

Afghanistan – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 5 July 2020]
Angola – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 03 December 2020]
Burundi – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 04 July 2019]
Cameroon – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 22 August 2019]
Central African Republic – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 12 June 2018]
Ethiopia – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 22 August 2019]
Iran floods 2019 – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 12 March 2020]
Iraq – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 16 December 2020]
Libya – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 7 October 2019]
Malawi Floods – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 09 October 2019]
Measles in Europe – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 16-12-2020]
MERS-CoV – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 8 July 2019]
Mozambique – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 03 November 2020]
Myanmar – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: :: 3 January 2021
Niger – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 29 December 2020]
occupied Palestinian territory – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 4 September 2019]
HIV in Pakistan – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 27 August 2019]
Sao Tome and Principe Necrotizing Cellulitis (2017) – No new digest announcements
Sudan – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 24 June 2020]
Ukraine – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 1 May 2019]
Zimbabwe – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 10 May 2019]

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WHO Grade 1 Emergencies [to 6 Feb 2021]

Chad – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 30 June 2018]
Djibouti – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 25 novembre 2020]
Kenya – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 11 December 2020]
Mali – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 3 May 2017]
Namibia – viral hepatitis – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 20 July 2018]
Tanzania – No new digest announcements identified [Last apparent update: 21 October 2020]

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UN OCHA – L3 Emergencies
The UN and its humanitarian partners are currently responding to three ‘L3’ emergencies. This is the global humanitarian system’s classification for the response to the most severe, large-scale humanitarian crises. 
Syrian Arab Republic
:: Syrian Arab Republic: COVID-19 Humanitarian Update No. 23 As of 1 February 2021

Yemen – No new digest announcements identified

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UN OCHA – Corporate Emergencies
When the USG/ERC declares a Corporate Emergency Response, all OCHA offices, branches and sections provide their full support to response activities both at HQ and in the field.
COVID-19
:: Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19): Weekly Epidemiological Update (2 February 2021)

East Africa Locust Infestation
:: Desert Locust situation update 4 February 2021

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The Sentinel

Human Rights Action :: Humanitarian Response :: Health :: Education :: Heritage Stewardship ::
Sustainable Development
__________________________________________________
Week ending 30 January 2021 :: Number 352

This weekly digest is intended to aggregate and distill key content from a broad spectrum of practice domains and organization types including key agencies/IGOs, NGOs, governments, academic and research institutions, consortia and collaborations, foundations, and commercial organizations. We also monitor a spectrum of peer-reviewed journals and general media channels. The Sentinel’s geographic scope is global/regional but selected country-level content is included. We recognize that this spectrum/scope yields an indicative and not an exhaustive product. Comments and suggestions should be directed to:

David R. Curry
Editor
GE2P2 Global Foundation – Governance, Evidence, Ethics, Policy, Practice
david.r.curry@ge2p2center.net

PDF– The Sentinel_ period ending 30 Jan 2021

Contents
:: Week in Review  [See selected posts just below]
:: Key Agency/IGO/Governments Watch – Selected Updates from 30+ entities   [see PDF]
:: INGO/Consortia/Joint Initiatives Watch – Media Releases, Major Initiatives, Research:: Foundation/Major Donor Watch -Selected Updates
:: Journal Watch – Key articles

COVID – Collateral Impacts

Risk of Instability, Tension Growing, amid Glaring Inequalities in Global COVID-19 Recovery, Top United Nations Officials Warn Security Council
25 January 2021 SC/14422
The sweeping and devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are continuing to grow, and so too are the risks of instability and tension amidst glaring inequalities in the global recovery, senior United Nations officials warned today during a Security Council videoconference on the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on international peace and security.

The meeting focused on the implementation of resolution 2532 (2020), adopted on 1 July 2020, in which the Council expressed its support for the Secretary-General’s appeal, made 100 days earlier, for a global ceasefire to help unite efforts to fight COVID-19 in the world’s most vulnerable countries. Through that text, the 15-member organ also called for an immediate 90-day humanitarian pause to enable the safe, unhindered and sustained delivery of life-saving assistance.

Rosemary DiCarlo, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, said that the pandemic’s impact on peace and security has intensified — exacerbating inequality and corruption; breeding misinformation, stigmatization and hate speech; and creating new flashpoints for tension and increased risks of instability. It is hindering diplomatic action and complicated peacemaking efforts, without for the most part affecting the underlying dynamics of armed conflicts. The impact on women, youth and other marginalized groups is particularly alarming, she said.

In some instances, the Secretary-General’s call for a global cessation of hostilities has given new momentum to faltering peace processes, she said, pointing to ceasefires in Libya and Ukraine, ongoing Afghanistan peace negotiations and the start of a disarmament process among insurgent groups in Mozambique. Other places, however, have witnessed a dangerous escalation of tension, including large-scale fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh. Without exception, United Nations missions and the Secretary-General’s special representatives and special envoys have adjusted to the changing reality, embracing new tools such as digital focus groups. At the same time, since the onset of the pandemic, the United Nations has supported 19 elections and one referendum in 18 countries.

Looking ahead, she warned that as the pandemic’s impact grows, so too will the risk of tensions and instability, magnified by inequalities in the global recovery. As rich countries get vaccinated, the developing world — including countries already trapped in conflict and instability — risks being left behind, dealing a severe blow to peace and security.

“One thing is clear: The pandemic has served as a political stress test as much as a structural and public health one,” she said. It has laid how acute crisis can become an opportunity to gain advantage on the battlefield or as a pretext to perpetuate oppression — but it has also confirmed that almost no barrier is insurmountable when there is real political will, supported by the global community, to make and sustain peace. Going forward, the collective and individual engagement of Council members will remain crucial, she said, adding that “recovering better” in the wake of the pandemic will require more political and financial investment in conflict prevention…

Governance – Competence/Stability

COVID-19 shows that we cannot take stability and competent governance for granted
Opinion
Gro Harlem Brundtland, The Elders
28 January 2021
With the Doomsday Clock remaining at just 100 seconds to midnight, Gro Harlem Brundtland warns of an alarmingly high level of existential risk to humanity. Published in Project Syndicate.

Last January, my fellow Elders Mary Robinson and Ban Ki-moon participated in the unveiling of the Doomsday Clock, the annual indicator of global catastrophic risk published by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. In 2020, the clock’s hands moved closer to “midnight” than they have ever been – just 100 seconds away – and they will remain there in 2021.

With an economic rescue plan that is both ambitious and well targeted, US President Joe Biden and his team have demonstrated a clear understanding of the scale and range of action that the current situation requires. A broader reconstruction plan can and must come later; but crisis management remains the order of the day.

It is hardly reassuring that we came no closer to midnight this year. The COVID-19 pandemic has served as a stark and deadly demonstration of the precariousness of our way of life. We have made remarkable progress on vaccines, and a new US administration brings hope of renewed multilateral cooperation. But there is no doubt that the future will be rife with existential threats: new pandemics, the climate crisis, nuclear conflict, and other risks that we cannot ignore.

Post-pandemic political leadership will be a crucial test of the world’s ability to rise to these challenges. Too many of our leaders have been found wanting. The virus has claimed some two million lives and wrought economic devastation worldwide. While mass vaccine rollouts offer some people a glimmer of hope, most of the world’s population will remain unprotected for quite some time.

To be sure, US President Joe Biden’s decision to re-engage with the World Health Organization is a welcome signal of America’s renewed commitment to multilateralism, as is his signing on to the COVAX scheme for equitable vaccine distribution. But WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has warned that unless we do more to ensure that COVID-19 vaccines are produced and distributed according to the principles of universal health coverage (UHC), the result will be a “catastrophic moral failure.”

As a new report by The Elders shows, fully overcoming COVID-19 and equipping ourselves for future health emergencies requires remodeling global public-health policy around three key pillars: preparation for future pandemics; ensuring UHC at national and global levels; and promoting healthier societies through holistic policies and social development.

No part of this agenda is revolutionary or too complicated to deliver quickly and at scale. Some of the countries that have performed well during the pandemic – including Thailand and Vietnam, which have reported barely 100 COVID-19 deaths between them – are already implementing this type of strategy. The challenge, as ever, is to back words with action, and to ensure that our efforts are properly funded and designed not to overlook the needs of the poor and marginalized.

Nowhere is this more essential than vaccination policy. The rapid development of not just one but several vaccines in less than a year is an incredible achievement and a triumph of human ingenuity, innovation, and cooperation. But it would be unpardonable if these precious vaccines were not equitably distributed around the world. In a pandemic, we cannot hope to recover fully or repair our social fabric unless we affirm and apply the principles of multilateralism and solidarity.

One of the most important lessons from the COVID-19 crisis is that short-termism and nationalism have weakened global health policy. It is now clear that national moves toward UHC must go hand in hand with multilateral efforts to strengthen public health systems globally.

To equip these systems for future pandemics, all stakeholders should define pandemic preparedness and response as a “global public good” that necessitates a multilateral approach, with states and global institutions pooling resources, capacity, and expertise. Equally important is support (and respect) for the ongoing work of the WHO and other bodies specifically charged with pandemic preparedness, including the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (which I co-chair) and the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response.

In economic terms, investing in preparedness to strengthen health security offers excellent value for money. In the case of the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board, an annual global expenditure of around $5 per person could avert a repeat of the COVID-19 disaster, which has already cost the world economy more than $11 trillion. And a similarly high rate of return can be found in UHC reforms, which have been shown to bring countries rapid health, economic, and societal benefits at all income levels.