Development – Remittances

Record high remittances to low- and middle-income countries in 2017
WASHINGTON, April 23, 2018 — Remittances to low- and middle-income countries rebounded to a record level in 2017 after two consecutive years of decline, says the World Bank’s latest Migration and Development Brief.

The Bank estimates that officially recorded remittances to low- and middle-income countries reached $466 billion in 2017, an increase of 8.5 percent over $429 billion in 2016. Global remittances, which include flows to high-income countries, grew 7 percent to $613 billion in 2017, from $573 billion in 2016.

The stronger than expected recovery in remittances is driven by growth in Europe, the Russian Federation, and the United States. The rebound in remittances, when valued in U.S. dollars, was helped by higher oil prices and a strengthening of the euro and ruble.

Remittance inflows improved in all regions and the top remittance recipients were India with $69 billion, followed by China ($64 billion), the Philippines ($33 billion), Mexico ($31 billion), Nigeria ($22 billion), and Egypt ($20 billion).

Remittances are expected to continue to increase in 2018, by 4.1 percent to reach $485 billion. Global remittances are expected to grow 4.6 percent to $642 billion in 2018.

Longer-term risks to growth of remittances include stricter immigration policies in many remittance-source countries. Also, de-risking by banks and increased regulation of money transfer operators, both aimed at reducing financial crime, continue to constrain the growth of formal remittances.

The global average cost of sending $200 was 7.1 percent in the first quarter of 2018, more than twice as high as the Sustainable Development Goal target of 3 percent. Sub-Saharan Africa remains the most expensive place to send money to, where the average cost is 9.4 percent. Major barriers to reducing remittance costs are de-risking by banks and exclusive partnerships between national post office systems and money transfer operators. These factors constrain the introduction of more efficient technologies—such as internet and smartphone apps and the use of cryptocurrency and blockchain—in remittance services…

Featured Journal Content – Heritage Stewardship

Science
27 April 2018 Vol 360, Issue 6387
http://www.sciencemag.org/current.dtl
Policy Forum
Advancing the ethics of paleogenomics
By Jessica Bardill, Alyssa C. Bader, Nanibaa’ A. Garrison, Deborah A. Bolnick, Jennifer A. Raff, Alexa Walker, Ripan S. Malhi, the Summer internship for INdigenous peoples in Genomics (SING) Consortium
Science27 Apr 2018 : 384-385 Full Access
Summary
Recent scientific developments have drawn renewed attention to the complex relationships among Indigenous peoples, the scientific community, settler colonial governments, and ancient human remains (1, 2). Increasingly, DNA testing of ancestral remains uncovered in the America s is being used in disputes over these remains (3). However, articulations of ethical principles and practices in paleogenomics have not kept pace (4), even as results of these studies can have negative consequences, undermining or complicating community claims in treaty, repatriation, territorial, or other legal cases. Paleogenomic narratives may also misconstrue or contradict community histories, potentially harming community or individual identities. Paleogenomic data can reveal information about descendant communities that may be stigmatizing, such as genetic susceptibilities to disease. Given the potential consequences for Indigenous communities, it is critical that paleogenomic researchers consider their ethical obligations more carefully than in the past.

Recommendations
[Excerpt]
Recent technological advances have also enabled paleogenomic studies of DNA from dental calculus, hair, coprolites, and even soil, providing alternatives to destructive analysis of the bones and teeth of ancestors. However, community engagement is still needed in these contexts. Indigenous perspectives on the sacredness of materials from the body and earth should be considered, and paleogenomic studies of these materials can have social, political, and legal consequences for Indigenous communities.

To aid the process of community engagement, we offer these guiding questions for paleogenomic researchers to consider:
:: In the absence of known descendant or culturally affiliated communities, which Indigenous peoples, tied to land where ancestors were buried, will be consulted?
:: Who is the appropriate community body (e.g., tribal council, tribal IRB, elders) or representative (e.g., tribal president, historic preservation officer) to initiate discussions with about paleogenomic analyses?
:: What are potential ethical pitfalls of this research or harms that could affect the community? What cultural concerns of the community, such as destruction of ancestral remains, need to be considered?
:: How will the community benefit from the paleogenomic research?
:: How will the community provide input on study design and interpretation of results? How frequently does the community wish to be contacted during the project?
:: When community members participate directly in the project (e.g., as advisers or laboratory technicians), will they coauthor research publications and presentations? How do communities and individuals wish to be recognized in research products?
:: What happens after the project ends? Who will have access to the data generated? How will remaining samples from ancestors be handled, stored, returned, or reburied?

Because Indigenous communities have diverse practices and views on genomics, the nature and structure of engagement will vary. Although it may not always be obvious how to proceed if different potentially linked communities hold differing views, we believe engaging with Indigenous communities should be as integral to the research process as hypothesis development…

Syria – Donor Conference

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Brussels Syria donor conference fails to go ‘nearly far enough’
Joint NGO reactive: CARE, IRC, Mercy Corps, NRC, Save the Children, Oxfam, Humanity and Inclusion, Action Against Hunger, World Vision
Wednesday, 25 April 2018
As the 6th international conference on the Syria crisis concluded today, nine international organisations welcomed the commitments that were made, and noted the following in reaction to its outcomes:

On aid:
Though the crisis is now in its eighth year, the unmet and growing needs of millions of men, women and children mean that donor countries cannot show any sign of fatigue. This conference did not go nearly far enough to provide adequate support to the millions of Syrians who are in need of assistance and are facing an uncertain future.

On the need to follow through on jobs, education and resettlement commitments:
The promises made in Brussels, whilst welcome, will not keep a child from having to work in Lebanon, nor send every child to school in Jordan unless there are robust mechanisms to ensure that commitments are translated into action.

This includes the commitments to create more than one million jobs for Syrian refugees and to get millions of Syrian children back into school. Women’s role in the workforce, for example, should be turned from a positive slogan to real opportunities that allow families to live with dignity. Furthermore, donors and countries hosting refugees need to ensure that all Syrians have legal protections, and that the most vulnerable have pathways to resettlement, and other refugees have access to other forms of admission such as family reunification.

On protection of Syrian civilians:
Politicians must offer their support, not their sympathy to the Syrian people. Civilians are bearing the brunt of the continuous violence and attacks on hospitals and schools. Countries meeting in Brussels sent a strong message of support by calling for protection of civilians trapped in the conflict and reaffirming that returns of Syrians to and within the country is not possible so long as the conditions for a safe, dignified and voluntary return are not met.

The international community also stressed the importance of unimpeded and sustained access to civilians inside Syria, which is central to any effective delivery of life-saving aid and to enhanced protection.

But donor countries have once again done nothing to increase resettlement beyond the paltry 3 per cent of Syrian refugees they have taken in, favouring instead to leave them in Syria’s neighbouring countries, which are hosting more than five million refugees.

On reconstruction:
We welcome the fact that the conference recognised that reconstruction is not yet appropriate or possible inside Syria, as long as the conflict continues and an inclusive solution has not been reached. In the meantime, donor countries should support longer-term delivery of basic services, access to jobs and livelihoods opportunities, and access to identity documents inside Syria and neighbouring countries, which will help remove future obstacles to recovery.

Emergencies

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POLIO
Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)
Polio this week as of 24 April 2018 [GPEI]
:: In January, children in Raqqa city, Syria, received polio vaccines for the first time in two years as families return to their homes.
:: The GPEI Post-Certification Strategy (PCS), which is aimed at ensuring the availability of core functions to sustain a polio-free world after global certification (such as outbreak response capacity, surveillance, immunization and containment), is now available to read on our website. The PCS will be presented to Member States at the World Health Assembly (WHA) in May.
:: Recommendations and meeting outcomes from the recent Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on immunization (SAGE) meeting are now published. Among other things, the group reviewed and endorsed the main elements of the PCS, and reviewed proposed recommendations relating to global containment and immunization policies for countries hosting polio essential facilities (PEFs).
:: The Polio Oversight Board has released a statement welcoming and actively supporting steps being taken by the international community to prevent and stop sexual misconduct. The full statement may be read here.
 
Summary of newly-reported viruses this week:
Pakistan: One new wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1)  positive environmental sample has been reported, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo: One case of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) reported, from Haut Katanga province.
Nigeria: Circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) has been confirmed, following isolation of the virus from three environmental samples collected between 10 January and 20 March, from two environmental sites in Jigawa state.
Somalia: Circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 3 (cVDPV3) has been confirmed, following isolation of the virus from four environmental samples collected between 8-22 March, from two environmental sites in Banadir province.

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WHO Grade 3 Emergencies  [to 28 April 2018]
Yemen 
:: WHO scales up support to mitigate child malnutrition in Yemen  18 April 2018

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WHO Grade 2 Emergencies  [to 28 April 2018]

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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: The Humanitarian Crisis in Syria as of 23 April 2018 [EN/AR]

Yemen  
:: Yemen Humanitarian Update Covering 17 – 23 April 2018 | Issue 12

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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.
Somalia
:: OCHA Somalia Flash Update #2 – Humanitarian impact of heavy rains | 26 April 2018
 
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Editor’s Note:
We will cluster these recent emergencies as below and continue to monitor the WHO webpages for updates and key developments.

MERS-CoV [to 28 April 2018]
http://www.who.int/emergencies/mers-cov/en/
Maps and epicurves
:: Epicurve of confirmed global cases of MERS-CoV   png, 213kb  20 April 2018
:: Global map of countries with confirmed cases of MERS-CoV  gif, 2.42Mb  20 April 2018
 
Yellow Fever  [to 28 April 2018]
http://www.who.int/csr/disease/yellowfev/en/
:: Dr Tedros, WHO Director-General, launches the EYE Strategy in Africa
26 April 2018
On 10 April 2018, as part of the Eliminate Yellow fever Epidemics (EYE) Strategy regional kick-off meeting in Abuja, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, together with Professor Isaac Folorunso Adewole, Nigeria’s Minister of Health, and other partners called African countries to reinforce their engagement to eliminate yellow fever epidemics by 2026…

The Sentinel

Human Rights Action :: Humanitarian Response :: Health :: Education :: Heritage Stewardship ::
Sustainable Development
__________________________________________________
Week ending 21 April 2018

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 version: The Sentinel_ period ending 21 April 2018

Contents
:: Week in Review  [See selected posts just below]
:: Key Agency/IGO/Governments Watch – Selected Updates from 30+ entities
:: INGO/Consortia/Joint Initiatives Watch – Media Releases, Major Initiatives, Research
:: Foundation/Major Donor Watch -Selected Updates
:: Journal Watch – Key articles and abstracts from 100+ peer-reviewed journals

Venezuela
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Message of the Secretary General on Venezuela – Organization of American States (OAS)
April 20, 2018
The Venezuelan people are today experiencing an involuntary exodus, forced upon them by the growing economic and institutional degradation of the country.

The data speaks for itself. According to the International Organization for Migration, in 2015 some 698,000 Venezuelans lived outside of Venezuela. At the end of 2017, there were already 1.6 million. It is very likely that this situation will worsen if the fraudulent elections of May 20 are finally held and, as expected, consolidate the dictatorial power of the current regime.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) already estimates that this year the figure could more than double, even surpassing 3 million people, 10 percent of the total Venezuelan population.

This is already a humanitarian crisis of proportions never seen before in the Americas. It is a moral obligation of all the rest to help the Venezuelan brothers and sisters in this aspect as well.

We know that migrating is not an easy process. That is why we support UNHCR’s efforts to promote the protection of and assistance to Venezuelan refugees.

That is why we also applaud initiatives of other Venezuelans outside their country, such as the Tú País Foundation and the CDEI Foundation to create a space for migrants to adapt in the best possible way to their new situation.

At the OAS we are working on several initiatives. We are supporting a refugee resettlement program in cities in the interior of Brazil, analyzing legal regularization options in Ecuador, Colombia and Peru. Likewise, we are developing a guide for those who migrate by bus to the south and preparing a study on how support initiatives from different countries can be complemented.

Know that you are not alone. We know what Venezuelan migrants are suffering. I want to convey to you all my solidarity and support for the drama you are experiencing and the forced exodus that many are going through…

Forced Migration – Data
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World Bank Group, UNHCR sign memorandum to establish joint data center on forced displacement
Date: April 20, 2018
World Bank Group Chief Executive Officer Kristalina Georgieva and UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi signed a Memorandum of Understanding today to establish a new Joint Data Center on forced displacement. Set to begin operating later this year, the new Center responds to growing demand for more and better data, to inform a stronger global response to forced displacement and improve policies and programming to help affected people.

Facing historically high levels of forced displacement, currently with about 66 million refugees, internally displaced persons and asylum seekers globally, the Bank Group and UNHCR have been expanding collaboration in recent years, including through a series of joint analytical work in the Horn of Africa, the Lake Chad Basin and the Middle East.

The new Center builds on these efforts, and focuses on the collection, analysis and dissemination of primary microdata. This will enable the two institutions to complement each other’s strengths; UNHCR in protection data, registration and collection, and the Bank Group in household data, policy dialogue and analytical work. The Center will serve as a catalyst to stimulate work across both institutions, as well as to support governments, multi-lateral development banks, private sector, civil society, researchers, and others. Partnerships will be explored with other organizations that have substantive experience in forced displacement data, to further enhance complementarities and synergies.

In terms of scope, the Center will cover demographic and socioeconomic data – detailed information on income, consumption, skills, health, and economic activity among others – that will be anonymized to protect privacy and prevent identifying individuals. Data will encompass refugees, internally displaced persons, stateless people, returnees, asylum-seekers, and host populations…

Humanitarian Response : Financing Mechanisms
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MDBs Launch New Platform to Coordinate Support for Economic Migration and Forced Displacement
News Release
WASHINGTON, April 20, 2018 — Seven Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) launched a new platform to enhance their collaboration on economic migration and forced displacement today on the margins of the IMF-World Bank Group Spring Meetings. The platform will advance strategic dialogue and operational coordination to maximize the impact of MDBs’ growing engagement in these two areas.

While economic migration and forced displacement are distinct issues and require a different response, each has emerged as a complex development challenge. There are an estimated 250 million international economic migrants worldwide, and roughly 66 million people are forcibly displaced as refugees or internally displaced persons fleeing conflict and persecution.

The new platform represents a strong effort by MDBs to enhance cooperation to address these challenges, in response to a request made by the G7. After presenting a strategic framework for action at the G7 meeting in Bari, Italy, in May 2017, MDBs worked closely together to prepare specific initiatives under the new platform.

Cooperation is ongoing. Since the platform was first announced in October 2017, MDB representatives have met several times to discuss respective approaches, results, and challenges. Four priority areas where there is high potential to increase impact have been identified to serve as the focus of the platform in the initial phase:
:: Refining the common framework for MDB engagement;
:: Advancing cooperation on knowledge, evidence, and data;
:: Ensuring strategic coordination on priority topics in coordination with governments, UN, and other partners; and
:: Deploying better-targeted instruments and products.

Today’s platform launch was attended by representatives of all participating MDBs—African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, European Investment Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, Islamic Development Bank, and the World Bank Group—as well as G7 deputies and strategic partners including the European Commission and UNHCR…

Development – Financial Inclusion
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The Global Findex Database 2017: Measuring Financial Inclusion and the Fintech Revolution
World Bank – Asli Demirgüç-Kunt, Leora Klapper, Dorothe Singer, Saniya Ansar, Jake Hess
2018 ]April] :: 151 pages
PDF: https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/29510/9781464812590.pdf
Foreward
…A growing body of research demonstrates the impact of country advances on significant priorities such as reducing poverty, hunger, and gender inequality. Today, member states at the United Nations are using Global Findex data to track progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals.

Dozens of national governments have adopted policies to expand financial inclusion. These and other global and national efforts are paying off. New Global Findex data reveal that globally the share of adults owning an account is now 69 percent, an increase of seven percentage points since 2014. These numbers translate into 515 million adults who have gained access to financial tools. The 2017 figures on overall account ownership continue the upward trajectory we’ve seen since the Global Findex database was first released—with financial inclusion rising 18 percentage points since 2011, when account ownership was 51 percent.

The 2017 Global Findex data reflect the continued evolution of financial inclusion. Recent progress has been driven by digital payments, government policies, and a new generation of financial services accessed through mobile phones and the internet.

The power of financial technology to expand access to and use of accounts is demonstrated most persuasively in Sub-Saharan Africa, where 21 percent of adults now have a mobile money account—nearly twice the share in 2014 and easily the highest of any region in the world. While mobile money has been centered in East Africa, the 2017 update reveals that it has spread to West Africa and beyond.

Digital technology is also transforming the payments landscape. Globally, 52 percent of adults have sent or received digital payments in the past year, up from 42 percent in 2014. Technology giants have moved into the financial sphere, leveraging deep customer knowledge to provide a broad range of financial services. Payments made through their technology platforms are facilitating higher account use in major emerging economies such as China, where 57 percent of account owners are using mobile phones or the internet to make purchases or
pay bills—roughly twice the share in 2014.

Some advances have been made in helping women gain access to financial services. In India three years ago, men were 20 percentage points more likely than women to have an account. Today, India’s gender gap has shrunk to 6 percentage points thanks to a strong government push to increase account ownership through biometric identification cards.

Still, in most of the world women continue to lag well behind men. Globally, 65 percent of women have an account compared with 72 percent of men, a gap of seven percentage points that is all but unchanged since 2011. Nor has equality in account ownership been achieved in other regards. The gap between rich and poor has not improved since 2014: account ownership is 13 percentage points higher among adults living in the wealthiest 60 percent of households within economies than among those in the poorest 40 percent. And urban populations continue to benefit from far broader access to finance than rural communities. In China around 200 million rural adults remain outside the formal financial system…
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.Press Release
Financial Inclusion on the Rise, But Gaps Remain, Global Findex Database Shows
515 Million Adults Have Opened Accounts Since 2014
WASHINGTON, April 19, 2018—Financial inclusion is on the rise globally, accelerated by mobile phones and the internet, but gains have been uneven across countries. A new World Bank report on the use of financial services also finds that men remain more likely than women to have an account.

…“In the past few years, we have seen great strides around the world in connecting people to formal financial services,” World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim said. “Financial inclusion allows people to save for family needs, borrow to support a business, or build a cushion against an emergency. Having access to financial services is a critical step towards reducing both poverty and inequality, and new data on mobile phone ownership and internet access show unprecedented opportunities to use technology to achieve universal financial inclusion.”

There has been a significant increase in the use of mobile phones and the internet to conduct financial transactions. Between 2014 and 2017, this has contributed to a rise in the share of account owners sending or receiving payments digitally from 67 percent to 76 percent globally, and in the developing world from 57 percent to 70 percent.

Globally, 1.7 billion adults remain unbanked, yet two-thirds of them own a mobile phone that could help them access financial services. Digital technology could take advantage of existing cash transactions to bring people into the financial system, the report finds. For example, paying government wages, pensions, and social benefits directly into accounts could bring formal financial services to up to 100 million more adults globally, including 95 million in developing economies. There are other opportunities to increase account ownership and use through digital payments: more than 200 million unbanked adults who work in the private sector are paid in cash only, as are more than 200 million who receive agricultural payments…

Governance – Foundations and Impact
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Being the Change
FSG – with funding from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, Democracy Fund, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Humanity United, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and The Omidyar Group.
April 2018 :: 80 pages

AT A GLANCE
As foundations adopt new approaches for creating social change, they must also adapt their internal practices.

To achieve meaningful impact at scale, many foundations are aiming to influence the actions and investments of the public and private sectors, as well as address the complex and deeply entrenched conditions that hold social problems in place. To do so, foundations are not only offering grant funding, but are also expanding how they apply their assets, knowledge, skills, networks, and people in new ways.

There is a wealth of information on how to adapt strategies to create impact at scale and to change systems; however, less has been written about what internal practices are needed to make this happen. To find out, we interviewed 114 practitioners representing 50 funders and 8 philanthropic services organizations that have gone through or advised internal transformation. Our interviews yielded surprising commonalities. Whether the foundations had grantmaking budgets of $5 million, $50 million, or $500 million, they agreed that new practices are needed in the areas of staffing philosophy, structure and design, skill development, and supportive culture (see chart on next page).

By experimenting with these practices, foundations hope to foster connectivity, vibrancy, and deep engagement both internally (across all people and parts of their organization) and externally (with grantees, community members, and other partners), ultimately opening up new avenues for impact.

The 12 Ways Foundations Are Transforming Themselves to Transform Their Impact
STAFFING PHILOSOPHY
Redefining capacity needs by:
[1] Viewing staff as impact multipliers, not cost drivers
[2] Designing teams based on functions, not formulas
[3] Using size-based benchmarking as a compass, not ruler

STRUCTURE & DESIGN
Unlocking new sources of value by:
[4] Coloring outside the lines of classic philanthropic giving
[5] Transforming backoffice support into front-line impact
[6] Busting silos between issues, people, and teams

SKILL DEVELOPMENT
Reconceiving and nurturing talent by:
[7] Seeking out and supporting five key mindsets
[8] Welcoming and valuing diverse and lived experience
[9] Boosting breadth and depth of professional development

SUPPORTIVE CULTURE
Fostering openness and authenticity by:
[10] Committing to continuous learning and adaptation
[11] Attending to power dynamics with partners
[12] Mirroring internally what is sought

Heritage Stewardship – Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS)
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New unique agricultural heritage sites designated – FAO
19 April 2018, Rome – Thirteen new landscapes were formally celebrated as Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) here today, paying tribute to the ingenious ways that human needs and nature’s resources have been combined to create mutually sustainable livelihoods and ecosystems.

The new sites in this landmark FAO program are in China, Egypt, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Portugal, Spain and Sri Lanka. Their primary production ranges from fruits, vegetables, salt and rice to silk, meat, tea and wasabi.

These systems “reflect a profound harmony between humanity and nature,” FAO Deputy Director-General Maria Helena Semedo said at an international forum in Rome.

Read more about all the new entries here.
To see how stunning these landscapes are, click here.

The new additions bring to 50 the total number of GIAHS worldwide. The programme highlights unique ways that rural communities have over generations forged to foster food security, viable livelihoods, resilient ecosystems and high levels of biodiversity, all while enhancing remarkable beauty.

“The sites are not about a nostalgic past but offer solutions for the present and the future,” Semedo emphasized. “GIAHS is also about innovation and opportunities, including broadening access to new markets and businesses such as eco-labelling, agri-tourism, youth empowerment to add value to our agricultural patrimony.”

Among the new GIAHS sites are the first members from Europe and North America: An agro-sylvo-pastoral system in Barroso, Portugal, a unique way of making salt in Salinas de Añana, Spain, a millennial way of growing muscatel grapes in Axarquía, Spain, and a set of artificially developed farmland in Mexico City (Chinampas) based on oral transmission of traditional techniques widely used during the Aztec civilization.

…Globally important agricultural heritage systems embody managed ecosystems in which water use, soil health and other ecosystem factors are intricately linked, often in ways that require bespoke social governance rules regarding tenure, resource allocation and labor.

Heritage systems bring together the economic, social, environmental and cultural pillars of sustainable development, Semedo noted. Recognizing them also underscores the leading role that smallholder famers – their creators and custodians – play in promoting biodiversity and a host of other shared goals, she added…

Featured Journal Content

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Conflict and Health
http://www.conflictandhealth.com/
[Accessed 21 April 2018]
Short report
16 April 2018
Epidemiological findings of major chemical attacks in the Syrian war are consistent with civilian targeting: a short report
Authors: Jose M. Rodriguez-Llanes, Debarati Guha-Sapir, Benjamin-Samuel Schlüter and Madelyn Hsiao-Rei Hicks
Abstract
Evidence of use of toxic gas chemical weapons in the Syrian war has been reported by governmental and non-governmental international organizations since the war started in March 2011. To date, the profiles of victims of the largest chemical attacks in Syria remain unknown. In this study, we used descriptive epidemiological analysis to describe demographic characteristics of victims of the largest chemical weapons attacks in the Syrian war.

We analysed conflict-related, direct deaths from chemical weapons recorded in non-government-controlled areas by the Violation Documentation Center, occurring from March 18, 2011 to April 10, 2017, with complete information on the victim’s date and place of death, cause and demographic group. ‘Major’ chemical weapons events were defined as events causing ten or more direct deaths.

As of April 10, 2017, a total of 1206 direct deaths meeting inclusion criteria were recorded in the dataset from all chemical weapons attacks regardless of size. Five major chemical weapons attacks caused 1084 of these documented deaths. Civilians comprised the majority (n=1058, 97.6%) of direct deaths from major chemical weapons attacks in Syria and combatants comprised a minority of 2.4% (n=26). In the first three major chemical weapons attacks, which occurred in 2013, children comprised 13%-14% of direct deaths, ranging in numbers from 2 deaths among 14 to 117 deaths among 923. Children comprised higher proportions of direct deaths in later major chemical weapons attacks, forming 21% (n=7) of 33 deaths in the 2016 major attack and 34.8% (n=32) of 92 deaths in the 2017 major attack.

Our finding of an extreme disparity in direct deaths from major chemical weapons attacks in Syria, with 97.6% of victims being civilians and only 2.4% being combatants provides evidence that major chemical weapons attacks were indiscriminate or targeted civilians directly; both violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL). Identifying and quantifying chemical weapons violations requires inter-disciplinary collaboration to inform international policy, humanitarian intervention and legal action.

Featured Journal Content

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Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice
https://joppp.biomedcentral.com/
[Accessed 21 April 2018]
Commentary
19 April 2018
The Belgian commitment to pharmaceutical quality: a model policy to improve quality assurance of medicines available through humanitarian and development programs
Authors: Raffaella Ravinetto, Tim Roosen and Catherine Dujardin
Abstract
Today, a combination of globalization of pharmaceutical production, lack of regulatory harmonization, and weakness of Medicines Regulatory Authorities, creates the “perfect conditions” for poor-quality medicine to circulate in the global market and to penetrate the less-regulated countries. Medicines regulation is the responsibility of the national regulatory authorities in the recipient country, but in the poorer countries, in practice, the responsibility of supply of quality-assured medicines is often taken by Non-Governmental Organizations and other implementers. But with some notable exceptions, many donors lack a pharmaceutical procurement policy with adequate quality requirements; and many implementers lack the skills and expertise needed to orient themselves in the complex web of global pharmaceutical supply. Thus, patients served by humanitarian or development programs may remain exposed to the risk of poor-quality medicines.

When public money is used to purchase medicines for medical programs to be carried out overseas, adequate policies should be in place to assure that the same quality requirements are set that would be required for medicines marketed in the “donor” country.

We will describe here a policy recently adopted in Belgium, i.e. the “Commitment to Quality Assurance for Pharmaceutical Products”, signed in October 2017 by the Vice Prime Minister and Minister for Development Cooperation and 19 Belgian implementing agencies. By signing the new policy, the counterparts committed to ensure quality of medicines in the programs funded by Belgium’s Official Development Assistance, and to build quality-assurance capacity in the recipient countries. Implementers are requested to integrate in their financing applications a section for pharmaceutical quality assurance, with a justified budget. They are also invited to consider how costs could be rationalized and mutualized by aligning the strengths of the various implementers. This model policy has the potential to be considered for adoption by other donors, to help to reduce the current multiple standards in pharmaceutical quality, and to contribute to protect vulnerable communities from the plague of poor-quality medicines.

Emergencies

 
POLIO
Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)
Polio this week as of 17 April 2018 [GPEI]
Summary of newly-reported viruses this week:
Pakistan: Two new wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1)  positive environmental samples have been reported, one in Sindh province, and one in Balochistan province.
Kenya:  Notification of a circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVPDV2) detected from an environmental sample has been confirmed, linked to the cVDPV2 confirmed from Somalia in March. No cases of paralysis associated with this virus have been detected in either country.

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Yemen

UNICEF – Military action on and around water infrastructure jeopardizes efforts to prevent another outbreak of cholera in Yemen
AMMAN, 17 April 2018 – “Yemen continues to be one of the world’s most water-scarce countries. Access to drinking water is extremely costly for the most vulnerable people: 8.6 million children in Yemen don’t have sufficient access to water, sanitation and hygiene services.

“Since 2015, the escalation of conflict has only exacerbated this already dire situation, with attacks and military action on and around water infrastructure cutting off even more people from access to safe drinking water.

“Earlier this week, the Al-Hamazat water system in the Sehar district in Sa’ada governorate was completely destroyed in an attack that left 7,500 people, including internally displaced families, without water. During the attack, the nearby solar energy system which provides power to the water system was also severely damaged. The same water system came under attack and was destroyed in 2015. UNICEF rebuilt it in 2017.

“At the same time, armed groups have launched military attacks from sites close to water points.

“Access to clean water is especially critical to prevent waterborne diseases from spreading further in the war-torn country. Last year, Yemen had the biggest outbreak of cholera/acute watery diarrhea in the world and the likelihood of another outbreak looms if access to water continues to be jeopardized.

“UNICEF is calling on all parties to the conflict wherever they are in Yemen and those who have influence over them to protect basic civilian infrastructure. In line with international humanitarian law, all parties to the conflict should immediately stop attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure and any military activities near or from these facilities including schools, hospitals, water facilities and keep children out of harm’s way.”

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WHO Grade 3 Emergencies  [to 21 April 2018]

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WHO Grade 2 Emergencies  [to 21 April 2018]
Democratic Republic of the Congo
:: 5 April 2018 Reanalysing the humanitarian context to better redefine priorities for action [FR]
— The crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo affect more than 13.1 million people, specally affected areas are Tanganyika, Kasai region, Kivus and Ituri. WHO national experts from the Health Emergency Management Team (WHE) and other Country Office clusters (epidemiologists, logisticians, internal and external communications, data managers, finance and travel services etc.), and international experts deployed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo gathered together to review WHO emergency operations in the county…

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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: The Humanitarian Crisis in Syria as of 15 April 2018 [EN/AR] 18 Apr 2018
KEY MESSAGES
…As humanitarian needs remain staggering in terms of their scale, severity and complexity, no amount of humanitarian assistance and protection services can offset the lack of a political solution.
…Against this backdrop, the overall conditions for safe, dignified, voluntary and sustainable returns are not yet in place in Syria, with the need for a coherent response to the needs of IDPs and returnees based on humanitarian and protection principles paramount…

DRC 
::  Democratic Republic of the Congo: CERF allocations overview 2017-2018 (as of 12 April 2018…

Yemen  
:: Yemen Humanitarian Update Covering 10 – 16 April 2018 | Issue 11

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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.
Ethiopia 
:: Ethiopia: Conflict Displacement Situation Report #3 (17 April 2018)

The Sentinel

Human Rights Action :: Humanitarian Response :: Health :: Education :: Heritage Stewardship ::
Sustainable Development
__________________________________________________
Week ending 14 April 2018

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 version: The Sentinel_ period ending 14 April 2018.docx

Contents
:: Week in Review  [See selected posts just below]
:: Key Agency/IGO/Governments Watch – Selected Updates from 30+ entities
:: INGO/Consortia/Joint Initiatives Watch – Media Releases, Major Initiatives, Research
:: Foundation/Major Donor Watch -Selected Updates
:: Journal Watch – Key articles and abstracts from 100+ peer-reviewed journals

Syria :: Security Council – Chemical Weapons – Airstrikes

Editor’s Note:
The extraordinary and disturbing series of Security Council Meetings over the last week included too many low points to fully capture here. But included below are links to the videos of the SC meetings on Syria held on Friday and Saturday [if you elect to watch the four+ hours of meeting coverage prepare to be disheartened]. Also below is the report on yesterday’s meeting and the sobering briefing at Friday’s meeting by the UN Secretary General.

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UN Security Council 14 Apr 2018
The Situation in the Middle East (Syria) – Threats to international peace and security – Security Council, 8233rd meeting
[Video: 2:42.06]
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Following Air Strikes against Suspected Chemical Weapons Sites in Syria, Security Council Rejects Proposal to Condemn Aggression
14 April 2018
SC/13296
[Excerpt]
On the heels of air strikes meant to hamper Syria’s ability to use chemical weapons, the Security Council today rejected a proposal by the Russian Federation to condemn such aggression by the United States and its allies over suspected chemical weapons use in the country, amid pressure from the Secretary-General to abide by the tenets of international law.

The draft resolution — which was defeated by a recorded vote of 8 against (Côte d’Ivoire, France, Kuwait, Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States) to 3 in favour (Bolivia, China, Russian Federation), with 4 abstentions (Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, Peru) — would have demanded the United States and its allies immediately cease such actions and refrain from any further use of force in violation of international law.

It also would have expressed grave concern that such acts had taken place at a time when the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) fact-finding mission had begun to collect evidence in the Syrian city of Douma.

Briefing the Council, Secretary-General António Guterres said it was his duty to remind States of their obligation, particularly in peace and security matters, to act consistently with the Charter of the United Nations and with international law in general.

“I urge all Member States to show restraint in these dangerous circumstances and to avoid any acts that could escalate matters and worsen the suffering of the Syrian people,” he asserted. “If the law is ignored, it is undermined.”

Speaking before the vote, the representative of the Russian Federation said his Government had called for the meeting — the fifth that week on the Syria situation — to discuss aggressive actions by the United States. It was shameful that, in justifying its aggression, that Government had cited its Constitution. Washington, D.C, must learn: the international code of behaviour regarding the use of force was regulated by the Charter.

Decrying that the United Kingdom and France had taken part in such an illegal military venture, he said: “You’re constantly tempted by neo-colonialism. There is no serious work you’re doing in the Council. You don’t consult us, yet claim otherwise.” The conflict could end within a day if Washington, D.C, London and Paris ordered their hand-picked terrorists to stop fighting the Syrian authorities.

The United States delegate, meanwhile, said the time for talk had ended the previous night when her country, along with the United Kingdom and France, had acted, not in revenge, punishment or a symbolic show of force, but to deter the future use of chemical weapons by holding the Syrian regime accountable.

She said a disinformation campaign by the Russian Federation was in full force. However, a large body of information demonstrated Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s culpability. The targets selected were at the heart of the regime’s illegal chemical weapons programme, and the action taken by the three countries had been legitimate and proportional. In the coming weeks, the Council should reflect on its role in defending the international rule of law…

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UN Security Council 13 Apr 2018
The situation in the Middle East (8231st meeting), 2) Sudan and South Sudan (8232nd meeting[
[Video: 2:16:41]
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Cold War ‘Back with a Vengeance’ amid Multiple Entrenched Divides in Middle East, Secretary-General Tells Security Council, Urging Efforts to Avert Further Chaos
SG/SM/18986-SC/13294
13 April 2018
Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the Security Council meeting on the Middle East, in New York today:

The situation in the Middle East is in chaos — to such an extent it has become a threat to international peace and security. The region is facing a true Gordian knot — different fault lines crossing each other and creating a highly volatile situation with risks of escalation, fragmentation and division as far as the eye can see with profound regional and global ramifications.

We see a multiplicity of divides. The first is the memory of the cold war. But, to be precise, it is more than a simple memory. The cold war is back — with a vengeance, but with a difference. The mechanisms and the safeguards to manage the risks of escalation that existed in the past no longer seem to be present.

Second, the Palestinian-Israeli divide. Third, the Sunni-Shia divide, evident from the Gulf to the Mediterranean. It is important to note that apparent religious divides are normally the result of political or geostrategic manipulations.

Finally, a wide range of different factors — from opposing attitudes in relation to the role of the Muslim Brotherhood or the status of the Kurds, to the dramatic threats to communities that have been living in the region for millennia and are part of the rich diversity of Middle Eastern societies.

This multiplicity of divides is reflected in a multiplicity of conflicts with different degrees of interconnection, several of them clearly linked to the threat of global terrorism.
Many forms of escalation are possible. We see the wounds of the Palestinian Israeli conflict deepening once again. The recent violence in Gaza has resulted in many needless deaths and injuries. I repeat my call for an independent and transparent investigation into these incidents. I also appeal to those concerned to refrain from any act that could lead to further casualties, and in particular, any measures that could place civilians in harm’s way.

This tragedy underlines the urgency of revitalizing the peace process for a two-State solution that will allow Palestinians and Israelis to live in two democratic States side by side in peace and within secure and recognized borders. I reaffirm the United Nations’ readiness to support these efforts.

In Yemen, we are witnessing the worst humanitarian disaster in today’s world. There is only one pathway to ending the Yemeni conflict and addressing the humanitarian crisis — a negotiated political settlement through inclusive intra Yemeni dialogue. My Special Envoy, Martin Griffiths, is doing everything possible to facilitate that political settlement — and he will brief the Council next week.

In Libya, I encourage all parties to continue to work with my Special Representative Ghassan Salamé, as he engages in the political process with a broad range of Libyan interlocutors across the country to implement the United Nations Action Plan. It is high time to end the Libyan conflict.

Iraq demonstrates that progress is possible with concerted local, regional and global commitment. With the defeat of Da’esh, and after overcoming the risk of fragmentation, the Government of Iraq must now focus on reconstruction, reforms and reconciliation. I hope the upcoming elections will consolidate this progress.

At the recent Paris and Rome conferences, the international community reaffirmed its support for Lebanon’s sovereignty, stability and State security institutions. It is absolutely essential to avoid a new Israel-Hizbullah conflict that could inevitably result in many more victims and much greater destruction than the last war. I reiterate the critical importance to act on key principles and commitments on Lebanon, including Security Council resolutions, such as [resolution] 1701 (2006), and the policy of disassociation. The dangers of the links to the Syrian conflict are evident in the recent confrontations between Iran and Israel in Syria.

Syria indeed today represents the most serious threat to international peace and security. In Syria, we see confrontations and proxy wars involving several national armies, a number of armed opposition groups, many national and international militia, foreign fighters from everywhere in the world and various terrorist organizations.

From the beginning, we have witnessed systematic violations of international humanitarian law, international human rights law and international law tout court — in utter disregard of the letter and spirit of the United Nations Charter. For eight long years, the people of Syria have endured suffering upon suffering.

I reiterate: there is no military solution to the conflict. The solution must be political through the Geneva intra-Syrian talks, as stipulated in resolution 2254 (2015) of the Security Council, in line with the consistent efforts of my Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura.

Syrians have lived through a litany of horrors: atrocity crimes, sieges, starvation, indiscriminate attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure, the use of chemical weapons, forced displacement, sexual violence, torture, detention and enforced disappearances. The list goes on.

In a moment of hope, the Security Council adopted resolution 2401 (2018) demanding that all parties cease hostilities without delay for a durable humanitarian pause. Unfortunately, no such cessation of hostilities ever really took place. That is the bleak panorama of Syria today.

In this panorama, I am outraged by the continued reports of the use of chemical weapons in Syria. I reiterate my strong condemnation of the use of chemical weapons by any party to the conflict and under any circumstances. Their use is abhorrent and a clear violation of international law. The seriousness of the recent allegations requires a thorough investigation using impartial, independent and professional expertise.

In this regard, I reaffirm my full support for the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons — the OPCW — and its fact-finding mission in undertaking the required investigation into these allegations. The fact-finding mission should be granted full access, without any restrictions or impediments to perform its activities. I take note that the Syrian Government has requested it and committed to facilitate it. The first team of the OPCW is already in Syria. A second is expected today or tomorrow. But, we need to go further.

In a letter to the Council two days ago I expressed “my deep disappointment that the Security Council was unable to agree upon a dedicated mechanism to attribute responsibility for the use of chemical weapons in Syria”, following the end of the mandate of the Joint Investigative Mechanism, or JIM.

I want to repeat today that the norms against chemical weapons must be upheld…

As I wrote in the same letter: “Ensuring accountability for a confirmed use of chemical weapons is our responsibility, not least to the victims of such attacks. A lack of accountability emboldens those who would use such weapons by providing them with the reassurance of impunity. This in turn further weakens the norm proscribing the use of chemical weapons and the international disarmament and non-proliferation architecture as a whole. I urge all Member States to act responsibly in these dangerous circumstances. I appeal to the Security Council to fulfil its duties and not give up on efforts to agree upon a dedicated, impartial, objective and independent mechanism for attributing responsibility with regard to the use of chemical weapons. I stand ready to support such efforts.”

Increasing tensions and the inability to reach a compromise in the establishment of an accountability mechanism threaten to lead to a full-blown military escalation. In my contacts with you — especially with the permanent members of the Security Council — I have been reiterating my deep concerns about the risks of the current impasse and stressed the need to avoid the situation spiralling out of control.

This is exactly the risk we face today — that things spiral out of control. It is our common duty to stop it.

Forced Displacement
World Bank
April 11, 2018 Type: Brief
Globally, there are an estimated 65.6 million people who have fled their homes either as refugees (22.5 million), internally displaced persons (40.3 million), or asylum seekers as a result of conflict…

…“Under its mandate to reduce poverty, the World Bank Group is concerned about the welfare of the displaced as well as their host communities. The Bank is actively engaged to address this challenge through financing, data and analytics and operations, working in complementary ways with the United Nations Refugee Agency UNHCR and across humanitarian-development partners. As part of a global effort, the Bank takes a development approach, focused on addressing the social and economic dimensions of displacement crises in the medium-term, to help both refugees and host countries thrive.

The flagship report Forcibly Displaced: Toward a Development Approach Supporting Refugees, the Internally Displaced, and Their Hosts, examines available data to better understand the scope of the challenge, and suggests a development approach that aims to help the displaced access jobs and services so they can become self-reliant and rebuild their lives with dignity. It also emphasizes the need to support host communities manage the arrival of large numbers of people.

For low-income countries, the International Development Association, the Bank’s fund for the poorest, is making an additional $2 billion available to support refugees and host communities. Eight countries so far – Cameroon, Chad, Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Niger, Pakistan, and Uganda – have been found eligible for this financing, and projects are under preparation. Overall, interventions will aim to make a shift from crisis response to managing risks; support host communities and lagging regions; move towards social and economic inclusion; and take regional and country-level approaches.

For middle-income countries, the Global Concessional Financing Facility, launched in partnership with the UN and Islamic Development Bank, has unlocked $1.4 billion in concessional financing for Jordan and Lebanon, promoting job creation and expanding vital public services and infrastructure.

The GCFF has approved nearly US$200 million in grants to leverage five times that amount in concessional financing for projects to improve the lives of Syrian refugees and the communities hosting them by promoting job creation and expanding vital public services and infrastructure.
In the long term, the Bank is doing more to help fragile and conflict affected areas address the drivers of conflict and create more stable societies that provide opportunities for all, so that people will not need to risk their lives and flee in the first place….
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Forcibly Displaced: Toward a Development Approach Supporting Refugees, the Internally Displaced, and Their Hosts
World Bank
2017 :: 187 pages
PDF: https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/25016/9781464809385.pdf?sequence=11&isAllowed=y
Forcibly Displaced — Toward a development approach supporting refugees, the internally displaced, and their hosts is a groundbreaking study conducted in partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which examines the role of development in resolving the challenge of forced displacement. It responds to the growing need to better manage these crises as an important development challenge, part of an overall effort to reduce poverty and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. The aim of development support is to address the longer term, social and economic dimensions of displacement, in close collaboration with humanitarian and other partners working in complementary ways.

While the current crisis is severe—with a reported 65 million people living in forced displacement—the report finds that over the past 25 years, the majority of both refugees and Internally Displaced Persons under UNHCR’s mandate can be traced to just a few conflicts in the following areas: Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Sudan, Colombia, the Caucasus and the former Yugoslavia.

Since people typically flee to neighbors of their countries of origin, the responsibility of hosting has not been shared evenly. About 15 countries have consistently been hosting the majority of refugees. At the end of 2015, Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan, Syria’s neighbors, hosted 27 % of all refugees worldwide; Pakistan and Iran, Afghanistan’s neighbors, hosted 16 %; and Ethiopia and Kenya, Somalia and South Sudan’s neighbors, hosted 7%.

“Forced displacement denies development opportunities to millions, creating a major obstacle to our efforts to end extreme poverty by 2030,” said World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim. “We’re committed to working with our partners to help the displaced overcome their ordeal and seize economic opportunities, while ensuring that host communities can also benefit and continue to pursue their own development.”…

Report Excerpt [p.29]
…To help the forcibly displaced rebuild their lives in a durable manner, development actors
should:
:: Support returnees and the communities that receive them. The impact of return on receiving communities is in many respects similar to the impact of forced displacement on host communities: it is a shock that has to be managed. Receiving communities are likely to face considerable economic and social difficulties, which typically affect both the returnees and those who stayed throughout the conflict. Development actors should support the countries of return in their recovery efforts. They should also help create socioeconomic opportunities for the returnees and their communities, to the extent that these are economically viable and can be sustained.

:: Help people who are “de facto” integrated acquire a satisfactory legal status. For example, providing formal legal migrant status to de facto integrated refugees may be a way to recognize the reality of their situation and the normality of human mobility. Such an approach distinguishes between citizenship (formal political membership and associated rights) and residency (economic and social integration). And it makes economic security a priority over
political membership. Development actors should support countries willing to explore such solutions, including with financing.

:: Work to end situations of “continuing limbo” where people remain dependent in camps for extended periods. Development actors should support efforts to transform camps into settlements. They should also work with other partners to enhance the way assistance is provided so as to gradually reduce dependency—for example, by strengthening targeting, supporting people in rejoining the labor force, and building capacity to allow for a gradual
shift to country systems.

:: Remain engaged over the medium term to help overcome lasting vulnerabilities. Forced displacement can leave scars that take decades, sometimes generations, to heal. Development support may be needed for very long periods. This would typically include assistance to overcome trauma or destitution, building on programs that have been developed for marginalized or excluded groups.

Governance – Judicial Integrity

First Advisory Board of the Global Judicial Integrity Network appointed at Vienna launch
Vienna, 10 April 2018 – After two days of discussions among more than 350 participants and in the presence of chief and senior justices from around the world, the Global Judicial Integrity Network was formally launched by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime’s (UNODC) Global Programme for the Implementation of the Doha Declaration.

During the conference closing session the Terms of Reference of the Global Judicial Integrity Network were endorsed by acclamation. The Terms outline the Network’s mission statement, objectives, participation and organization of work, as well as the role of the Secretariat (carried out by UNODC) and of the Advisory Board.

The Advisory Board of the Network will help identify priority challenges and emerging topics in judicial integrity, and assist judiciaries in addressing those challenges as they arise.

The conference concluded with the adoption, by acclamation, of the Declaration on Judicial Integrity and the invitation by Masoud Mohamed Alameri, Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Council of Qatar, to hold the next conference of the Global Judicial Integrity Network in Qatar. Addressing the participants, Chief Justice Alameri stressed: “As we proceed with the Global Judicial Integrity Network, we should remember that our efforts are of historic value to us, as it will be the first purely judicial project connecting and bringing together the world’s judicial authorities under the auspices of the United Nations.”

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Declaration on Judicial Integrity [April 2018]
Recalling Article 11 of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, which recognizes the crucial role of the judiciary in combating corruption and requires that States parties, in accordance with the fundamental principles of the legal system and without prejudice to judicial independence, take measures to strengthen integrity and prevent opportunities for corruption among members of the judiciary, including rules with respect to the conduct of members of the judiciary,

Convinced that a justice system based on the principles of integrity, transparency, accountability and professionalism is key to the rule of law, to upholding public trust, and to ensuring the effective delivery of justice;

Recalling the work carried out by the Judicial Integrity Group, including in the development of the Bangalore Principles of Judicial Conduct and the Commentary thereto;

Re-committing ourselves to the effective implementation of the Bangalore Principles of Judicial Conduct, as endorsed by ECOSOC Res. 2006/23;

Recalling with appreciation the work of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in developing the Resource Guide on Strengthening Judicial Integrity and Capacity and the Implementation Guide and Evaluative Framework for Article 11 and in providing assistance to States in strengthening judicial integrity, accountability, capacity and professionalism;

We, the members of Judiciaries here gathered, on 9 and 10 April 2018 at the United Nations in Vienna, decide to:
1. Continue our efforts in upholding judicial independence and promoting integrity, accountability and transparency in the justice system;
2. Promote peer-learning and the exchange of good practices in strengthening and upholding judicial integrity;
3. Support the creation and the strengthening of oversight and accountability mechanisms, without prejudice to judicial independence;
4. Support initiatives that promote transparency in the recruitment and promotion of judges and magistrates, as well as on court and case management and on disciplinary proceedings, when appropriate;
5. Support initiatives that promote the training of judges on effectively complying with relevant standards of conduct;
6. Work together, as appropriate, to develop guidance materials and other knowledge products to help our judiciaries to address new challenges to judicial integrity and independence, including those created by the emergence of new information technology tools and social media;
7. Recognizing that the above mentioned objectives should be pursued at the global level to the benefit of every region, launch the Global Judicial Integrity Network as a platform of mutual support by judges for judges, and welcome the readiness of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to facilitate the Network;
8. Invite all judges and judiciaries to participate in the Global Judicial Integrity Network;
9. Express our appreciation to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime for hosting this first meeting of the Global Judicial Integrity Network…

Development Financing

Financing for Development: Progress and Prospects 2018
Report of the Inter-agency Task Force on Financing for Development
UN DESA
April 2018 :: 201 pages
PDF: https://developmentfinance.un.org/sites/developmentfinance.un.org/files/Report_IATF_2018.pdf
Abstract
The 2018 report of the Inter-agency Task Force on Financing for Development finds that most types of development financing flows increased in 2017, and that there has been progress across all the action areas of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda. This progress was underpinned by an upturn in the world economy, but at the same time the report warns that risks could derail development progress and structural impediments continue to undermine sustainable development prospects.

The 2018 report provides policy options which, if implemented, would put the world on a sustained and sustainable growth and development path. It also examines the financing challenges to the SDGs under in-depth review in 2018 to help assess progress in the means of implementation for goals on water and sanitation, affordable and clean energy, sustainable cities and communities, sustainable production and consumption, and terrestrial ecosystems.

The 2018 report is the second substantive assessment of progress in implementing the Financing for Development outcomes and the means of implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals since the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda. The assessment draws on the expertise, analysis and data from almost 60 agencies and international institutions that make up the Task Force, which is led by UN DESA and includes the World Bank Group, the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organisation, as well as UN agencies such as UNCTAD and UNDP.
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Press Release
Short-termism impedes progress of hundreds of millions of people, United Nations report says
13 April 2018, New York
Major report released in advance of the G20 and World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings

The prospects of around 800 million of the world’s poorest people remain dire. The global economy is experiencing a moderate upturn, and momentum around sustainable investing is growing, the UN said today.But the vast majority of investment is still short-term oriented and commitments by the international community to create sustainable economies are not being met.

There is an increasing interest in socially responsible investing, but that is no substitute for a broader transformation in the financial system. The report states that the current system rewards investors, financiers and project managers that prioritize short-term profits. Similarly, policy makers are excessively focused on short-term considerations. But there is a price to pay. Infrastructure projects are shelved in favour of short term priorities. Small businesses and women remain excluded from the financial system.

“The good economic news in some regions masks the very real risk that the poorest will be left behind,” said LIU Zhenmin, Under-Secretary-General for the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. “There is no room for complacency.”…

Development :: OECD Aid

OECD – Development aid stable in 2017 with more sent to poorest countries
09/04/2018 – Foreign aid from official donors totalled USD 146.6 billion in 2017, a small decrease of 0.6% from 2016 in real terms as less money was spent on refugees inside donor countries but with more funds flowing to countries most in need of aid, according to preliminary official data collected by the OECD.

Stripping out in-donor refugee costs, net ODA was up 1.1% from 2016 in real terms (i.e. correcting for inflation and currency fluctuations). ODA spent by donor countries on hosting refugees fell by 13.6% to USD 14.2 billion as refugee arrivals, mainly in Europe, decreased. In-donor refugee costs were 9.7% of total net ODA, down from 11% in 2016.

Bilateral (country to country) aid to least-developed countries increased by 4% in real terms to USD 26 billion, following several years of declines. Aid to Africa rose by 3% to USD 29 billion and, within that, aid to sub-Saharan Africa was also up 3% to USD 25 billion. Humanitarian aid rose by 6.1% in real terms to USD 15.5 billion.

A 1988 DAC rule allows donor countries to count certain refugee expenses as ODA for the first year after their arrival. Australia, Korea and Luxembourg did not count any in-donor refugee costs as ODA in 2017 but nine countries spent over 10% of their ODA on refugees. Among them, Germany, Greece, Iceland and Italy used over 20% of ODA for in-donor refugee costs.

Overall, total net ODA flows rose in 11 countries in 2016, with the biggest increases in France, Italy, Japan and Sweden. ODA fell in 18 countries, in many cases due to lower numbers of refugee arrivals, with the largest declines seen in Australia, Austria, Greece, Hungary, Norway, Slovenia, Spain and Switzerland.
:: Download the data in Excel